tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23016583258058006812024-02-07T05:36:37.840+00:00A broken cyclists ramblings!Writings on criminology, sociology, politics and Arsenal. Intermittent mutterings about music. May also contain cycling related complaints on occasion!Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-81180042033476951912016-11-13T16:52:00.000+00:002016-11-13T16:52:33.691+00:00Post Pop DepressionPhew. Been a while since I did one of these. But here it goes:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Post Pop Depression</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ok, I know this album came out on March 18<sup>th</sup>
and we’re approaching its 8 month anniversary so that is how I’m framing this
blog! It’s a celebration of its 8 month birthday! What spurred me to write this
was the release of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post Pop
Depression Live at Albert Hall</i>. But the album itself is an album worth
celebrating. With the loss thus far this year of such magical storytellers such
as Bowie and Cohen and musicians in the last twelve months like Prince and
Lemmy, Pop is a remaining legend in the storytellers grouping and deserves
wordly recognition. Honestly, I never listened to him much prior to this album.
I knew his ‘hits’, I knew of his band with the stooges, but I never paid
attention to his work or words. He is 50 years in the music industry. That is
incredible. His longevity is incredible in an industry known for its artist’s
excesses, the cut-throat nature of the industry itself. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For those who are unaware, the album is a
collaboration between </span><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme, Arctic
Monkeys drummer Matt Helders and LA multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita (also
currently QotSA). It is Joshua Homme that brought this album to my attention as
I follow his work as closely as I can. Anything he touches musically is so so
awesome thanks to his ability to evolve his sounds and output. He is smoothness
personified in my opinion, his music is like silk to my ears. Even …Like
Clockwork, the Queens last output, it dealt with themes of life and death. It
was dark. It was heavy. It was supreme. But Homme still makes it 100%
listenable. Pop is the essence of 70’s punk: Brash, outlandish, a voice filled
with life and experience. But this album is him at his most thoughtful. As <a href="http://www.nme.com/reviews/iggy-pop/16419" target="_blank">NME succinctly put it</a>, this album is a coming together of these two musical deities
and their skills: “Brilliantly, that’s what ‘Post Pop Depression’ actually
sounds like. Iggy’s vocals and lyrics are astounding – he’s like an angry young
man all over again, and is far more gnarly and potent than any of his
contemporaries” </span><span lang="EN-US"></span><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ok. Let’s break down the songs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">Break Into Your Heart</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Pop doesn’t need
to slowly break you into his style. He just goes for it. The moment I heard the
first 0:22 seconds are just so memorable. Iggy with a haunting sounding guitar
behind his painfully somber lyrics [emphasis is mine]:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">“I’m gonna break
into YOUR heart,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">I’m gonna crawl
under YOUR skin,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">I’m gonna break
into YOUR heart,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">And follow. Till
I see where you begin. “</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">They’re
hauntingly beautiful, matching the guitar. Then we get the first taste of the
collaboration. Matt’s drums throughout are tight. Dean’s bass is heavy,
thumping, rhythmic, mesmerizing. The song as a whole just grips you and pulls
you in. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">Gardenia</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">This is my favourite song
on the album. I just find the music so uplifting after the emotional journey
that was Break Into Your Heart. Wonderfully melodic chords, a perfect balance
of clear music and Iggy’s voice. Josh’s backing lyrics add to the songs
balance. Iggy’s ‘matter-of-fact story telling come to the fore massively here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">“America’s greatest living
poet / was ogling you all night / you SHOULD BE WEARING THE FINEST GOWN.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">The subject is admonished
for not looking her best for her ‘oogler’. It’s musical narration at its
finest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">American Valhalla</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">Again, the drums and bass
to bring us into this song are excellent. Then, just listen to Pop and Homme
<a href="http://songexploder.net/iggy-pop" target="_blank">speak</a>
about this song, from the horses mouths so to speak!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">My main takes from it are
Josh pointing out that “If I have outlived my use, please take what’s left of
me” is wonderfully emotive. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">And I love Iggy’s coarse
gravelly tones nakedly uttering “I’ve nothing, but my name” are haunting and
desolate. The writer is at the end, realising that at the exact moment before
death, we carry nothing but our name. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">Lyrically, it’s sinister,
dark. . .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>impending</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">In The Lobby</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">The different tones
running through this song are interesting. Musically, the sounds are a little
erratic, high pitched solos alongside an increasing fragility of the writers
mind on each of the “And I hope I’m not losing my life tonight”</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">From near spoken, to a
slightly upwardly lilting to full on panic. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">The messages of mortality
are ones that run through a lot of the songs, if not all songs on this album. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">Sunday</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">A lovely funky riff and
drums open this song. Iggy’s lyrics are masterful and storyful. He is part of a
musical artistic collective whose words are more than mere letters. They’re
descriptive art pieces. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">“this street is as cold as
a corporate lawsuit.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">Incredible imagery.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">Tying into the notion that
in our corporate world, Sunday is just another day for them. For us it’s a day
where we can say “fuck off! Don’t you know it’s Sunday?!” Iggy eloquently
reminds us of this in the live album!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">Vulture</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">In an album dealing with a
lot of questions around mortality, it seems fitting there’d be a song about the
bird that feasts on the only thing we leave behind: our bodies. Again,
wonderfully evocative lyrics provide a masterful imagery to us listeners:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">“Vulture waiting</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">For a life to end</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">Proving the prophet</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">He's nobody's friend</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">If he gets near</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">Your bones he'll clear</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">He'll jump your bandwagon</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">'Til it's your corpse he's draggin'”</span><span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">German Days</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">In this song Iggy is
reminiscing about Berlin when he was with his good friend Bowie. It’s again a
song laced with mortality due to the subject written about.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">Chocolate Drops</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">The lyrics are dramatic,
the backing vocals haunting. His words again resonate on many levels:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When is painful to express the things you feel
(inside)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">When it hurts to share because they're bare and
real (so real)</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">So when everyday is judgement day, I won't pray
(don't pray)</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">When there's none to share that empty chair,
well okay (okay)”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He’s
fighting to hang on, but understands that if there’s no one to share your
burden with, it’s understandable how you might go in search of your own
Valhalla. But he qualifies his understanding with a possible double entendre: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<span style="background: white;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“There
is nothing in the stars if You fail to move</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">There is nothing in the dark, it's just some old
excuse</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Hanging on, let it go”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
could mean ‘let the burden go. Untangle yourself. Be free.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Or
he could understand your letting go of just hanging on. Either way. It’s
fascinatingly morbid.</span><span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">Paraguay </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">At 6:25, it is the longest
song on the album. It is also an angry, I want to say diatribe, but it’s almost
an oration of anger. It’s a fascinating trip from the writer attempting to lay
the blame on his own feet for wanting to “pack [his] soul and scram”, to full
on anger at the “they”; the realisation that “</span><span style="background: whitesmoke; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Out of the way I'll get away / Won't have to
hear the things they say”, that fear is what drives people to feel this way.
His anger builds monstrously thanks to his realisation that it’s ‘their’ fault:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span style="background: whitesmoke; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“There's nothing awesome here</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Not a damn thing</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">There's nothing "wow!"</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Just a bunch of people, scared</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Everybody's fuckin' scared</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Fear eating all the souls at once</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">I'm tired of it</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">And I dreamed about gettin' away</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">To a new life</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Where there's not so much fucking knowledge</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">I don't want any of this
"information"</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">I don't want "you"</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">No, not anymore</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">I've had enough of "you"</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Yeah I'm talking to "you"</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">I wanna go to Paraguay</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Live in a compound under the trees</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">With servants and bodyguards who love me</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Free of criticism</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Free of manners and bores [?]</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">I wanna be your basic Clyde [?]</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Who made good</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">And went away while he could</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">To somewhere where people are still human
beings</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Where they have spirit</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">You take mother-fucking laptop</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Just shove it into your goddamn foul mouth</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Down your shit-eating gizzard</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">You fuckin' phony two-faced, three-timing
piece of turd</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">And I hope you shit it out with all the
words in it</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">And I hope the security services read those
words</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">And pick you up and flay you</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">For all your evil and poisonous intentions</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">Cause I'm sick and it's your fault</span><br />
<span style="background: whitesmoke;">And I'm gonna go heal myself now.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">That last line is almost
cathartic – he has mentally dealt with the shit in this mortal world. He’s
cleansed of the crap. He’s ready for whatever is next on this life journey. On
his terms.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s wonderfully poetic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In conclusion, it’s an album where </span><span style="background: white; color: #1b1916; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Iggy’s dangerousness and raw sexuality [are] meshing with Homme’s
hypnotic <a href="http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/03/album-review-iggy-pop-post-pop-depression/" target="_blank">guitar rock</a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s poetic, it’s a trip through a thought
process of what our mortality is and means to this fantastic mind. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Listen to it. Enjoy it. Breathe in his new
lust for life.</span></div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-53761557571256625792013-05-17T18:57:00.001+01:002013-05-17T18:57:04.686+01:00Keep A Space for Sagna
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<span lang="EN-GB">It’s my first Arsenal blog in a while today
but I was in the writing mood so I’ll compose a few thoughts on one of our most
consistent players of the past few seasons: Mr Bacary Sagna.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNblfVqudYYGpjhYVGgT_TkDeubHh7ectayS9WYCBYrTxq5pDgA9MCEaTg-Q29GMYr7gQyhLqiZrMiOHravrl9a7YWwWq_ygIdaZY0sh7_9ZMW82ZbxAQLVDD_ZjbtOiwlbif4gNIP9Qc/s1600/Sagna+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNblfVqudYYGpjhYVGgT_TkDeubHh7ectayS9WYCBYrTxq5pDgA9MCEaTg-Q29GMYr7gQyhLqiZrMiOHravrl9a7YWwWq_ygIdaZY0sh7_9ZMW82ZbxAQLVDD_ZjbtOiwlbif4gNIP9Qc/s1600/Sagna+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I read that he was the last to depart the
pitch on Tuesday night and his waves appeared to be lingering ones. I would
fully agree with @LittleDutchVA on his Arseblog <a href="http://arseblog.com/2013/05/strap-on-strap-in" target="_blank">column</a>
when he said that he’d like to see Jenkinson phased into the team with Sagna
there to help the transition. <a href="http://gunnerblog.com/" target="_blank">Gunnerblog</a>
made a very good observation on Tuesday night when he noticed how Gibbs was
“coached through the game by Steve Bould who regularly passed on advice to
Gibbs from the touch-line.” I think we can all agree with him that it worked and
McManaman was fairly subdued in the game. Gunnerblog went on to say that “Gibb’s
positional play and anticipation were as good as I’ve seen him produce.”
Remembering how good Sagna was against Sunderland when he was moved into the
centre due to injuries, I can only imagine his experience at centre back being
a positive were we to keep him for the final year of his contract. I know Merty
and Kos are the preferred centre back pairing but if we could persuade him to
see out the final year of his deal to help mould Jenks into the brilliant
right-back we know he will be that could only be a good thing. He could be that on field coach for the young Jenkinson knowing exactly what's needed having bombed up and down that right flank for his career. I do think our
squad now has the right balance of youth and experience and getting one more
year from Sagna would be fantastic. The criticism he has received at times this
season has been un-warranted. Yes he has made a few mistakes this season but
it’s only after 5 years of sterling service. It’s only now I realised he’s only
human. But seriously, with abs like the ones in the picture above<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>you can be forgiven for thinking he wasn’t human! Super ability coupled
with such impressive determination meant that no cause was lost if it was on
Sagna’s radar. I remember <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g97fWWWQjyU" target="_blank"><i>this</i></a> goal saving clearance like it was yesterday! Supreme determination!
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27rmyknDyCIVQBaTyV0E2QNkIeUHHE3EnbjTAQtSNkXF0ZTsQzjqp-47BtODMR_lYrmaZlhGyhW437tYYYXVvPoOpowORMgREQ_4I9fx4LOI7A3pqtAD3dEubxf4P7dMDlMo54Fr6pys/s1600/Sagna+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27rmyknDyCIVQBaTyV0E2QNkIeUHHE3EnbjTAQtSNkXF0ZTsQzjqp-47BtODMR_lYrmaZlhGyhW437tYYYXVvPoOpowORMgREQ_4I9fx4LOI7A3pqtAD3dEubxf4P7dMDlMo54Fr6pys/s320/Sagna+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">One leg break, let alone two, are difficult
injuries to return from. But return he did and he’s rarely if never given less
than 100% for the team. His recent error against Man United led to a double
error such was his determination to make up for the first error. That’s
determination to right a wrong. We all know over determination can lead to two
wrongs but I forgive when there’s 100% dedication and commitment to the cause
by the player. My belief in his ability to shift from right to centre back is
one that comes from watching Thuram make a similar move from right back to
centre back while playing for Juventus. Like Sagna, Thuram was a top quality
right back, quick in the tackle, strong and his reading of the game was
fantastic. All the skills which are necessary to make the move to centre back. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Keeping this attitude and player in the
squad can only be a positive for Arsenal for next season. This season has been
a very tough one and we’ve no one to blame for its toughness as it was caused
solely by ourselves during the early part of the season. But look at our form
since January. If we can continue with this newly found grit and determination
into next season, coupled with a few offensive additions I believe we are
looking at an Arsenal side capable of challenging for the title. In my view,
Sagna could be a big part of this. No Arsenal fan can forgot <i>thee </i>defining gritty and determined goal of the last couple of seasons!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwEVxIgDWlq2NpAY_nbzGlEHdG7-LflOVFFSDv2VRgaczRcd4orJ5xtQHSNWZp-E0XZxpegWDakg-FtVJDfUePPh-WgQYAtn0twrYXLD_vkQOPEX-lz4_ZZ_gA_xTIYJ3cjLZwMJ21Sk/s1600/Sagna+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwEVxIgDWlq2NpAY_nbzGlEHdG7-LflOVFFSDv2VRgaczRcd4orJ5xtQHSNWZp-E0XZxpegWDakg-FtVJDfUePPh-WgQYAtn0twrYXLD_vkQOPEX-lz4_ZZ_gA_xTIYJ3cjLZwMJ21Sk/s320/Sagna+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">BOOMPH! What a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2106696/Arsenal-5-Tottenham-2-Theo-Walcott-brace-settles-it.html" target="_blank">header</a>! What's that? From another angle you say? No problem!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8NfER_r1A6Kx44pm-_AiMPrmXTH88DgKJXXGo0Kxs-6BD4_zNvy6EXmfJjRG4fyo03slyhpSflfIb0fSIIY9OgSmxXBU8c6ijeLBak_9MXvZremL57z7nR2p_ro06Na93O_iIw-jE40/s1600/Sagna+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8NfER_r1A6Kx44pm-_AiMPrmXTH88DgKJXXGo0Kxs-6BD4_zNvy6EXmfJjRG4fyo03slyhpSflfIb0fSIIY9OgSmxXBU8c6ijeLBak_9MXvZremL57z7nR2p_ro06Na93O_iIw-jE40/s320/Sagna+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Shiver me timbers! That was a <a href="http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/2011/12-player-review-bacary-sagna" target="_blank">goal</a>! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> Obviously it is all dependent on what the man himself wants but he's been a fantastic player for us since 2007 and I'd show the same determination to keep him as he has shown on his right wing since he first sprinted up it</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-3939287943414841262013-05-17T18:40:00.000+01:002013-05-17T18:40:11.884+01:00My Tribute to the Commander
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<span lang="EN-GB">I meant to post this a few days ago and it
slipped my mind so apologies for the late and brief tribute Commander!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">So the legend that is Commander Hadfield
has left the International Space Station. The man who brought us into orbit
with him and shared so many wonderful glimpses of our beautiful Earth has
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/chris-hadfield-comes-back-down-to-earth-star-of-twitter-bowie-fan-and-international-space-station-astronaut-returns-8614817.html" target="_blank">returned</a> to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">terra firma</i> and he should be returning to a lot of gratitude from all of us. I personally
was lucky enough to have my home <a href="http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/32206-astronaut-chris-hadfield-tw" target="_blank">county</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>featured on one of his flyovers. Even more
amazingly he got us without cloud. Something that led me to believe he
photoshopped his image! This <a href="https://cogsnscc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/basicviewer/index.html?appid=0d1b3909ad9944dab7e29354f465ade7" target="_blank">website </a>is amazing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kudos to the people
who mapped out his pictures into lovely drop down options. From what I can tell,
via Dara O’Briain, it was <a href="https://twitter.com/DaveAtCOGS" target="_blank">this</a>
guy that mapped it out so a big thank you to him!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The Commander is one lucky man however.
Even in this day and age he has bosses that evidently don’t have a clue about
social media. Their employee was up in space tweeting, playing space sounds on
Soundcloud and ‘Youtube-ing’ to his heart’s content! Did the man get any actual
work done up there I wonder?! How many billions in working hours did he cost
his employers? Actually, now that I think of it, I’m glad the Commander is
back. Hopefully the next Commander of the International Space Station actually
does some work up there and gets off the Twitterer and Facebuk or whatever
they’re called. IT’S NOT A HOLIDAY CAMP SPACE PEOPLE.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">On a more serious note, in the last number
of years, we have seen the United States decimate its funding of NASA while its
military budget is ever increasing: both are to the detriment of humanity. Not
only is NASA’s core budget cut for sending shuttles to space, its outreach
program is also being <a href="http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/03/28/nasa-m28.html" target="_blank">destroyed</a>. Commander Hadfield should act as an inspiration to governments around the
globe to quit both cuts to education and austerity measures and pump money into
science and education. It should be noted the interest this man garnered from
the Earth’s populace. Imagine a new age of cooperation among nations and a
space race that was not about one country winning, but everyone. Just imagine
the technologies that could be invented due to massive investment in new research
and people. Look at the jump humanity took when NASA was receiving a mere 4% of
the US’ Federal budget in the 1960’s. Sadly since then, NASA’s budget has
continuously <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA" target="_blank">shrunk</a>. It didn’t even receive <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">half a percent</i></b> of total Federal
funds this year. That is criminal. I mean compare it to the funds the Energy
Corporations receive. Massive, profit making, tax avoiding, Earth polluting,
energy companies. The figures are <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0309/Budget-hawks-Does-US-need-to-give-gas-and-oil-companies-41-billion-a-year" target="_blank">terrible</a>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Upon landing (and at the time of writing)
he had amassed 969,338 <a href="https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield" target="_blank">Twitter</a> followers. Imagine if we could get more people in such wonderfully privileged positions
to engage so wonderfully with the general populace. Give people proper role
models in life with proper aspirational goals. You would hope that stories like
<a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/column-chris-hadfield-is-inspiring-a-new-generation-of-astronauts-906515-May2013/" target="_blank">this</a>
are true and that he does inspire more and more people to dream about space.
That can only have a knock on effect in terms of funding and humanities
evolution as a species.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Of course there can’t be many people who
didn’t see or at least know about his amazing penultimate departure day serenade!
David Bowie’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo" target="_blank">Space Oddity</a> never <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">looked</i> so good and with over
six million views – the world agrees! Can you imagine having written that song,
how awesome it must have been to have it performed so fantastically by an
actual astronaut?! Actual space footage to go with your words? It sent chills
through me watching that video and listening to the words! The Commander has
inspired us and governments should ride this wave of inspiration and drive
ourselves on for a new scientific age. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I mean when you glimpse at a selection of
his <a href="http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/the-best-of-space-station-astronaut-chris-hadfields-photos-from-orbit" target="_blank">best photos</a> <a href="http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/the-best-of-space-station-astronaut-chris-hadfields-photos-from-orbit"></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"></span>it is truly awe inspiring to think of the
possibilities for better understanding our planet and its wonders. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">So for reminding me of just how amazing our
home, Earth, is and just how lucky I am to have a chance at living on this
planet, I humbly thank thee.<span class="MsoHyperlink"></span></span></div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-61675680677129318982013-05-11T10:05:00.000+01:002013-05-11T10:05:42.844+01:00Musical Mutterings: Encore un Fois
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This week I’ve been utilising my Spotify to hear some
splendidly eclectic music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Public+Service+Broadcasting" target="_blank">Public Service Broadcasting</a> possibly stood out for me. They’re a London based duo according
to Last.fm who remix up old TV sound bites and for good measure, they mish mash
banjo, guitar, drums and electronic into the mix. Really unique sound I have to
say. I like a bit of the old spoken word, Gil-Scott Heron being one of those
that tickles my fancy, but this was something uniquely different. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lit Up </i>commences with a lovely melodic
intro which leads into the following broadcast: “Once again we’re taking you on
board HMS Nelson for a description of the scene at Spider Head [I couldn’t pick up the exact name] tonight by Lieutenant Commander Thomas Woodrum…….. At the
present moment the whole fleet is lit up…."
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<br /></div>
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The crackling of the broadcast, the voices of the past, the
music of the present lends to a really nice ambiance of sound, if that makes any
sense! They’re playing in Cork on May 30<sup>th</sup> and if anyone is reading
this from Cork, I’d highly recommend going to Cypress Avenue to check them out.
Ironically I’ll be in where their base is, London, on that night. Quite annoyed
at that. In the Guardian’s G2 magazine on May 3<sup>rd</sup>, they described
how Public Service Broadcasting perform before a bank of old TV sets showing
manipulated footage from the films they get their sound bytes from. Reminds me
of both British Sea Power and God Is An Astronaut. Should make for an
interesting gig.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I listened to their Spotify sampler and the six tracks
available on it were all impressive. I liked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Everest</i> a lot. It was a fast paced, lively song. I think it’s at
the top of my shopping list when I get a bit of money again. Check them out
anyway.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This week I also listened to and was glad I found a wonderful
band called <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Haiku+Salut" target="_blank">Haiku Salut</a>. Their album <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tricoloure
</i>is a lovely light, floatsy glide along album. Their use of <span style="color: #151515; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">accordions,
ukeleles, glockenspiels, pianos, loopery and laptopery (last.fm’s description)
makes for a splendidly different album. You honestly don’t know what to expect
from one song to the next. You listen to a rock album, you expect rock. You
listen to this, you honestly don’t know where it’s bringing you but you
trustingly go along for the journey and it does not disappoint you. Beautifully
uplifting, there’s a zest to the album that I haven’t heard in a debut album
before. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sounds Like There’s a Pacman Crunching
Away at Your Heart</i> typifies the album. It sounds like it could be a sad,
crushing song of despair, of lost love, but it’s a beauty of a song. I urge a
listen. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Leaf Stricken </i>is just
something totally different following on. It’s the laptopery, loopy stuff
described before but strangely it just fits right in. Not expecting or
anticipating any particular journey when listening to this album is a major
plus. The different sounds they fit in add to the incredible musical journey
Haiku Salut offer. Again – definitely worth a few minutes of your time.</span>
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<span style="color: #151515; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Otherwise I spent a bit of time making up a 20 track, fast rock
playlist. Check it out and let me know what you think!</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv32nqPlRH-mbUykD6Os4HcZFt7HmvyKiSdG659YggRE6PiTg36uq3Y7rr-jMlvKn31enkUL2yXiWLtX_jks1hpH9VlvkV0b9-0obCmw8hCSMtSvExv-4QyOaWOqQY4B_2wuIlZSXJboA/s1600/Rockin+Playlist.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv32nqPlRH-mbUykD6Os4HcZFt7HmvyKiSdG659YggRE6PiTg36uq3Y7rr-jMlvKn31enkUL2yXiWLtX_jks1hpH9VlvkV0b9-0obCmw8hCSMtSvExv-4QyOaWOqQY4B_2wuIlZSXJboA/s400/Rockin+Playlist.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #151515; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";"><br /></span></div>
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Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-82689475034156746982013-02-07T16:21:00.000+00:002013-02-07T16:22:42.331+00:00My Response to Mr. Hopper<style>
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My apologies this response is a bit late but better to
destroy non-factual and ridiculous arguments later than never!
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So in a response to Ruth Dudley Edwards absurd <a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/ruthdudleyedwards/100200301/the-jews-crucified-our-lord-irish-antisemitism-and-the-complicity-of-the-catholic-bishops/" target="_blank">blog</a> there arrived this supporting <a href="http://derekhopper.tumblr.com/post/41707493960/ignorance-ancient-hatreds-and-unwanted-limelight" target="_blank">beauty</a> posted on January 28th. I honestly didn’t think anything could beat Richard
Humphries <a href="http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/richard-humphreys-surely-israel-isnt-the-planets-worst-human-rights-offender-3357889.html" target="_blank">article</a> in the Irish Independent
but Mr. Hopper’s does.</div>
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To defeat his argument entirely and to save you from
absolute boredom, I (and you dear reader) need not go past the title. [I did
venture past the title and decided nothing in it was worth responding to as it
did not make Ireland any more or less unique than any other country in the
world. I let the facts speak for themselves in a few lines time] For Mr. Hopper
to begin as he did with such an inaccurate statement in the title - “ancient
hatreds” – was ridiculous. What ancient hatreds sir? There was a<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>so-called ‘pogrom’ in Limerick in 1904 and
from the research I conducted I found nothing of serious note. A boycott
against Jewish business organised by a young Redemptionist Catholic priest [crazy
warning number 1] by the name of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Creagh" target="_blank">John Creagh</a>
which unfortunately forced the Jewish population from their homes in Limerick
where many fled to Cork and they were welcomed into peoples own homes. That in
itself was a blessing. Have you been to Limerick?* It was a embarrassing and
disgusting period in Catholic Limerick history, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not </i>Irish history. Irish Protestants in Limerick supported the
Jewish people in Limerick, Corkonians welcomed them into their homes when the
Jewish people decided they (understandably) had to leave Limerick. </div>
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To quote from a letter sent to the <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Letters/Article.aspx?id=302123" target="_blank">Jerusalem Post</a> <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Letters/Article.aspx?id=302123"></a>by a retired History teacher, Leonard Hurley, I give you a small timeline of
Irish Jewish relations:</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“Daniel
O’Connell, the “Liberator,” was responsible for the Catholic emancipation in
1829, but Honig failed to mention that he rejected anti-Semitism and in 1846,
in the House of Commons, helped repeal the law, De Judaismo, which
discriminated against Jews. O’Connell stated: “Ireland has claims on your
ancient race, it is the only country that I know of unsullied by any one act of
persecution against the Jews.”</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Our [Mr.
Hurley’s] church is called the Daniel O’Connell Memorial Church, and buried on
the grounds is Msgr. Hugh O’Flaherty. O’Flaherty was given the title Righteous
Among the Nations by the Israeli government for the work he did in saving many
Jews in Rome during the war.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Many other Irish
historical figures, including Michael Davitt and John Redmond, rejected
anti-Semitism. Redmond stated: “Race hatred is at best an unreasoning passion.”</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Both Dublin and
Cork have had Jewish lord mayors, and all political parties, including the
present government, have Jews in senior positions.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Of course, you
will find anti- Semitism in Ireland, but you will also find anti-Irish
sentiment if you look for it in other countries.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">But the claim
that Ireland has a history of anti-Semitism is based on one disgraceful episode
and therefore is factually incorrect.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I suggest that
Honig visit the subject again and this time focus on the positive.” </span></div>
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Lastly I will add one more point: You’ll notice Mr Hurley
said definitively that what happened in Limerick was a pogrom. I personally
said ‘so-called’ pogrom in my paragraph above <a href="http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/leader-local/jewish-envoy-says-limerick-pogrom-is-over-portrayed-1-2193239" target="_blank">because in 2010</a> “t<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">he new Israeli ambassador,
Boaz Modai, speaking at the Jewish cemetery in Castletroy said: "I think
it [the ‘pogrom’] is a bit over-portrayed, meaning that, usually if you look up
the word pogrom it is used in relation to slaughter and being killed. This is
what happened in many other places in Europe, but this is not what happened
here. There was a kind of a boycott against Jewish merchandise for a while, but
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">that's not a pogrom</b>. That's
something that is, unfortunately, a bad mark for the history of this city, but
I don't think it is something anyone should pay more attention to than it
deserves."</span></div>
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So Mr. Hopper, Ms. Dudley Edwards, Mr. Humphries and anyone
thinking they made any argument of sense, desist from your attempts to stir
shit due to some silly, silly peoples unfounded garbling and ill informed
writing. I am all for reasoned debate about proper issues in regard to
Israel and Ireland and actual anti-Semitism but your articles about my country
and its people were totally inaccurate and your smears laughable.</div>
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*Limerick people reading this – I jest! Don’t do anything
mad now</div>
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Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-27407409221156804332013-01-22T00:46:00.001+00:002013-01-22T00:46:24.815+00:00My open letter to a person of influence regarding Julian Assange
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<br />
To:<br /><div align="right" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Department of the Taoiseach,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Government Buildings,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Upper Merrion Street,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dublin 2</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
Dear
Mr. Kenny,</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>I write to you today as
one of the “engaged citizens” <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> that
José Manuel Barroso lauded Ireland for having in his speech launching the
European Year of Citizens and I write to you today as a student of History,
Politics and Criminology regarding an issue which concerns all subjects.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
I
also write to you today on behalf of issues such as transparency in politics,
trust between politicians and the people and I write to you on behalf of a
mother who has urged people who care about this case to write to people in a
position of power who can help influence the current situation her innocent son
finds himself in.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
I
will present to you today, a case that needs urgent investigation and I believe
that as Taoiseach in Ireland’s current role as President of the European
Council, you are placed precisely in a role to investigate this matter.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
In
this the European Year of the Citizen we have in our midst a man who is being
kept illegally in the Ecuadorian embassy by the United Kingdom and Sweden. He
has had to stay there since August after the UK denied him safe passage to
Ecuador after being granted political asylum. In the case I present to you
today, I will present the evidence as to why you must investigate and act as a
matter of urgency on this man’s behalf. The evidence will clearly demonstrate
why you must question both the UK and Sweden on their ulterior motives in
regard to Mr. Julian Assange.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Why Should We Be So Concerned?</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
Without
going into every little background detail on Wikileaks, Julian Assange and the
countries involved, I will bring to your attention the most concerning issues
regarding the situation and talk about why, using available evidence, this
issue needs addressing now. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sweden:</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
Sweden
today says that it can’t extradite people to the US because of European Law.
That has not stopped the following instances of extraordinary renditions
involving Sweden, foreign nationals and its <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">own
citizens: </i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
In
2001, Sweden allowed the CIA to extraordinarily rendition two Egyptian’s who
were deemed to be terrorists to Mubarek’s Egypt. They did this even though <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">extraditing
people to countries known to be engaged in torture is <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">against international law</i></b></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">.</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Swedish government also kept
the CIA's role in the case a secret for more than three years. Then, in 2004,
following unofficial reports of the rendition, it released documents showing
that a U.S.-registered plane had been used to transport the Egyptians to Cairo
but said the details were classified. It wasn't until March, when the
parliamentary investigator released his findings that the CIA's direct
involvement was publicly confirmed. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
In
2012, Sweden allowed the US to detain two of its citizens, of Somali descent,
in Somalia. Despite Swedish diplomats being allowed to visit the men, there was
absolutely no protest or objection by Sweden to the illegal rendering of their
citizens. Indeed the Washington Post quoted them as saying “authorities in
Sweden and Britain had monitored the three men for years as they travelled back
and forth to Somalia, but neither country assembled enough evidence to press
criminal charges.” </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
The
Washington Post wrote that “<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">U.S.
agents accused the men — two of them Swedes, the other a longtime resident of
Britain — of supporting </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-intensifies-its-proxy-fight-against-al-shabab-in-somalia/2011/11/21/gIQAVLyNtN_story.html"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">al-Shabab, an Islamist militia </span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">in Somalia that Washington considers a
terrorist group. Two months after their arrest, the prisoners were secretly
indicted by a federal grand jury in New York, then clandestinely taken into
custody by the FBI and flown to the United States to face trial.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
Did you notice the mention of those two European countries
again in the Washington Post’s article – Britain and Sweden? Well here is what <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Asim Qureshi, a spokesman for human rights
charity Cageprisoners, had to say regarding the British resident: 'We believe
that because of the problems that the UK Government has had with deportations
and extraditions, it has been easier for them to remove the citizenship of
individuals, thus allowing them to be victims of rendition by third-party
countries.'<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
On January 18th it emerged that a British court will hear Mr. Hashi's case to
restore his British passport.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Regarding Swedish
political interference in Julian Assange’s case, please look at the</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> series of statements made by members of the
Swedish Executive and government officials on the Assange case cited<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
from a letter written by Australian Green Party Senator Scott Ludlam to Senator
Bob Carr, Australia’s Foreign Minister.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Such executive
commentary in Sweden, or indeed any European country, compromises the
democratic principle of separation of the executive from judicial processes and
is prejudicial and therefore jeopardises the potential for a fair trial.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">For these reasons
I respectfully request that representations be made to the Swedish government
noting and regretting the potential damaging nature of these statements made
about an Australian citizen, requesting their retraction or at the very least
cessation.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">11 February 2011
– The Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt mistakenly stated that Assange
had been charged. The statement was never officially retracted.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">25 January 2012 –
Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, criticised Assange on Swedish
national radio one week before Assange’s Supreme Court case was heard in the
UK. Reinfeldt stated that Julian Assange’s criticisms of abuses by the Swedish
system in his case were not legitimate and were a strategy to avoid
extradition. The full interview is available at the cited link.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">February 2012 –
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt makes statements on Assange via Twitter<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">8 February 2012 –
In a parliamentary address the Prime Minister Reinfeldt said that “we do not
accept sexual abuse or rape” and said that Assange and his lawyers had little
regard for women’s rights. Mr Assange’s barrister, Geoffrey Robertson QC, said
Mr Reinfeldt had also “accused Mr Assange of claiming women’s rights are
worthless”.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">15 August 2012 –
Swedish Minister of Social Affairs Göran Hägglund issued a series of tweets:
”Sick. A coward who does not dare to have his case tried by the court. If the
accusations against him are true, he is a lowlife.” None of these statements
have been retracted.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span></span></span></a>
Please see the citation for a longer version of the entire Twitter
conversation.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">In a statement
given to Expressen later that week, The Minister called Assange a “coward” and
a “pitiful wretch” for taking refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy. “Assange is a
very cowardly person who does not dare confront the charges against him.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[13]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">18 August 2012 –
the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a tweet, presumably arguing why
Assange cannot be questioned in London: “You do not dictate the terms if you
are a suspect. Get it?”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[14]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">While the
comments of journalists, particularly those writing for Dagens Nyheter, Svenska
Dagbladet, Expressen and Aftonbladet are beyond the control of the government,
statements made by senior officials have contributed to providing a permissive
environment for blatantly offensive aggression towards Assange in the Swedish
press, a few examples of which are also provided below.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">22 February 2012
– Expressen publishes a story – entirely false as it turns out – that Wikileaks
threatens to publish an internal memo that will reveal Carl Bildt as an
informant for the US. This causes Bildt to make hostile public statements on
his blog. Wikileaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson puts the matter to rest but
not before a great deal of destructive and malicious commentary is made in the
Swedish press.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15]</span></span></span></span></a>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn16;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[16]</span></span></span></span></a>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn17;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[17]</span></span></span></span></a>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn18;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[18]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">29 February 2012
– Sweden’s largest daily, Dagens Nyheter, called Assange “paranoid”, and a
“querulant”. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn19;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[19]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">14 March 2012 –
Aftonbladet’s prominent journalist Martin Aagård called Assange an, “Australian
pig”. ”There are many good reasons to criticize Assange. One of them is that
he’s a repugnant swine.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn20;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[20]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">24 April 2011 –
Jan Guillou stated in Aftonbladet that regardless of, “whether Assange is
guilty or not – he’s still an unprincipled disgusting little creep”, adding
”and now I’m holding back”.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn21;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[21]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">16 August 2012 –
Aftonbladet columnist Oisín Cantwell characterised Assange as a ”coward”, a
”creep”, a ”white-haired crackpot” and an ”asshole” because he would rather
request asylum from Ecuador than face extradition to Sweden.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn22;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[22]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">18 August 2012 – TV journalist Jenny
Strömstedt stated in Expressen that Assange should be put on display in a glass
cage at Ecuador’s London embassy for the next fifteen years ”so that anyone
willing to pay entrance can watch his aging struggles”.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[23]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rhetoric like the
above is hardly conducive to constructive discourse or any sort of fair hearing
Taoiseach.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The United States:</b></div>
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With
regard to the United States, this is a country that previously openly said<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn24;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[24]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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that they were not after Mr. Assange. Why then in 2010 did
Vice President Joe Biden describe Julian Assange as a “high tech terrorist”?<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[25]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And why when asked by David Gregory if the
United States was doing anything to stop Wikileaks and Mr. Assange did Vice
President Biden say “we’re looking at that right now”.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn26;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[26]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why Taoiseach, has there been a secret grand
jury actively investigating Wikileaks for 857 days at the time of writing?</div>
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Karl
Rove said that he feels Julian Assange is “a criminal who ought to be hunted down,
grabbed and put on trial.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn27" name="_ftnref27" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn27;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[27]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Karl Rove was from 2009 until 2011 at least, an
advisor to the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn28;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[28]</span></span></span></span></a> who
as you read above, has no problem openly stating his opinions regarding Mr.
Assange.</div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
Mitch
McConnell who is the US Senate Minority leader said (also in 2010) on Meet the
Press that Mr. Assange “needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law
and if that becomes a problem, we need to …. to change the law”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn29" name="_ftnref29" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn29;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[29]</span></span></span></span></a> and
that was not mere rhetoric. In December 2010 <span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">the so-called Securing Human Intelligence and Enforcing
Lawful Dissemination (Shield) Bill was thus introduced by Congressman Peter
King and Senator Joe Lieberman to prosecute Mr. Assange.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn30" name="_ftnref30" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn30;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[30]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></div>
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Here
I have what is a link to the bill.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn31" name="_ftnref31" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn31;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[31]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
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Lastly,
why do leaked emails from the US intelligence firm Stratfor clearly confirm
that the <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">US has a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sealed
indictment</i></b> on Julian? Were you aware that this Indictment cannot be
served until Julian Assange is in prison? Say for example, in Sweden?</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Taoiseach, since
WikiLeaks began publishing leaked US diplomatic cables in 2010, the US
government has made clear its intention to prosecute Mr. Assange:</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 7.1pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 0cm 11.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -7.1pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">On 29 November 2010, US Attorney-General,
Eric Holder, announced “an active, ongoing criminal investigation’ into Mr.
Assange and WikiLeaks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 7.1pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 0cm 35.45pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -7.1pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">US officials told the Australian Embassy in
Washington that the investigation is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“unprecedented
in both its scale and nature”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 7.1pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -7.1pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">The existence of a secret grand jury
convened in West Virginia for the purpose of indicting Mr. Assange has been
confirmed by the publication of subpoenas compelling witnesses to testify
before it.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">A transcribed record of courtroom
proceedings for alleged whistle-blower, Private Bradley Manning, reveals that
the FBI currently has a file on WikiLeaks that is “42,135 pages or 3,475
documents”, excluding grand jury testimony.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Now tell me that the US is not
interested in prosecuting Mr. Assange. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The journalist
Glenn Greenwald wrote that </span><span style="color: #0f0f0f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">“over the last decade, the US government - under both parties -
has repeatedly accused people of being Terrorists and punished them as
Terrorists who were nothing of the sort. Whether due to gross error or more
corrupt motives, the Executive Branch and its various intelligence and military
agencies have proven beyond any reasonable doubt that their mere accusation
that someone is a Terrorist - unproven with evidence and untested by any
independent tribunal - is definitively unreliable.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn32" name="_ftnref32" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn32;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #0f0f0f; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[32]</span></span></span></span></a></span> </div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Why are we still trusting their words? </span>As
you’ve seen previously with the two Somali’s – if the US deems you to be any
type of terrorist they believe they can rendition and prosecute you. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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As
you can see from the US’ political responses, the charges against Mr. Assange
are of a most serious political nature. Why else after Marianne Ny allowed him
to leave Sweden in 2010 would all these issues arise? Mr. Assange himself has
the answer: “<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">I stayed five weeks
in Sweden, was given permission to leave. I published Cablegate & got an
INTERPOL warrant.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The
United Kingdom:</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Finally regarding the UK, the Foreign
Office has said that </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"on
the case of Mr. Julian Assange, the foreign secretary told [the Ecuadorian]
Minister Patino that the UK was under an obligation to extradite Mr Assange to
Sweden.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn33" name="_ftnref33" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn33;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[33]</span></span></span></span></a></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Isn’t it funny how in 2000, Jack Straw,
then the UK’s Home Secretary </span><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">took his decision not to extradite General Pinochet to Spain
under a section of the 1989 Extradition act which requires him not to extradite
an alleged offender if he believes it would be "unjust or oppressive"
to do so. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Indeed
it is well known that this decision was taken on medical grounds, although it
may be done on others, such as that the offence was trivial or the accusations
were not made in good faith, or because of the passage of time since the
alleged offences.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The
home secretary's discretion not to surrender someone after the magistrate has
committed them for extradition is wide. He is required to consider the personal
circumstances of the alleged offender and any new evidence since the committal.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn34" name="_ftnref34" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn34;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[34]</span></span></span></span></a> I agree absolutely with
Preside</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">nt Correa when he says </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">that Britain's
failure to extradite former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet more than a
decade ago means it has no right to lecture others over the fate of WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange. He continued </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">“Pinochet was not extradited for humanitarian reasons, when there were
dozens of Europeans and thousands of Latin Americans who were murdered, and
tens of thousands of people were tortured during the Pinochet dictatorship,” he
told reporters in Quito.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Pinochet was arrested
by British police at a hospital in London in 1998 after Spain demanded his
extradition for alleged torture and murder, including of Spanish citizens,
during his 1973-1990 rule.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">The British government decided in 2000
that the frail Pinochet was unfit to stand trial and free to fly home.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn35" name="_ftnref35" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn35;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[35]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">So are we to understand that it is to be
one rule for an innocent, award winning, transparency seeking citizen of the
world, another for a US installed, murderous dictator?</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">To reiterate
the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">FACT</b>: The UK Government can and
has previously overruled court decided Extraditions.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
We
are at a point now Taoiseach where Sweden has refused to question Mr. Assange
in the Ecuadorian Embassy. Julian has not refused to answer any allegations
that he has been accused of. What he has refused to do, is travel without any
guarantees for his safety and without any guarantee that Sweden will not hand
him over to the US. Why have they not been able to offer this simple guarantee
Taoiseach? Can Ireland in its role as President of the European Council get an
answer for all of us who seek answers to this extreme injustice?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Why are Julian Assange and WikiLeaks
different?</u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
I’m
now going to list some of the awards that Wikileaks and Julian Assange have won
in their role as journalists:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Julian won The
Economist magazine’s Freedom of Expression Award in 2008.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Julian won the Amnesty UK Media Award in
2009 for the “Cry of Blood” report into extrajudicial killings and
disappearances in Kenya</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
In
2010, Julian was awarded the Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence
(regarding the Iraq War Logs) On the panel that day? <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Retired senior US Military and Intelligence Officers no less.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">In 2011 </span><a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=#Assange"><u style="text-underline: #2C56B3;"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; text-decoration: none; text-underline: #2C56B3; text-underline: none;">Julian Assange</span></u></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> won a Wakely Award for Most Outstanding
Contribution to Journalism.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Also in 2011,
Assange won the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. The awarders of the prize
noted that </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">“He is brave, determined
and independent and a true agent of people not power… [WikiLeaks'] goal of
justice through transparency is in the oldest and finest tradition of
journalism.”</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">And finally in 2011, Mr. Assange </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">was awarded<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn36" name="_ftnref36" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn36;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[36]</span></span></span></span></a>
the Sydney Peace Foundation's gold medal for "exceptional courage in
pursuit of human rights". </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">The
Sydney Peace Foundation has only awarded 4 Gold Medals in 16 years, with Nelson
Mandela and the Dalai Lama being 2 of the other 3 recipients.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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On
February 3<sup>rd</sup> this year, Julian will receive (in absentia) the Yoko
Ono Lennon Courage Award in New York; The Centre for Constitutional Reform's
Michael Ratner and Judge Garzon will accept this on his behalf.</div>
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And
may I point out that Wikileaks <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">has
a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">perfect
record</i></b> regarding information reliability. No Government has denied the authenticity
of any documents.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn37" name="_ftnref37" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn37;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[37]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span></div>
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The
only ‘crime’ Wikileaks and Julian Assange could be accused of is releasing
‘treasonous truths’. Well let me say that the truth should never be considered
treasonous. In an age where politics is at a low ebb and José Manuel Barroso
has admitted that politicians need “to earn [the peoples] trust more than ever”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn38" name="_ftnref38" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn38;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[38]</span></span></span></span></a> –
this is your chance to earn peoples trust and admiration the world over. </div>
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Now
Taoiseach, you might ask “well why doesn’t Mr. Assange face justice for his
alleged crimes in Sweden? Why if he is innocent, does he not return to Sweden
to face his accusers?” Well you have previously read the beliefs and attitudes
of the Swedish executive and as one of my heroes in life, Arsene Wenger, said
in a speech to sports journalist students “<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We have moved to a ‘media' society, from a rational to an emotional
society, opinions spread quickly.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn39" name="_ftnref39" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn39;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[39]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #353535;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">He could have
made that comment to any school of journalists. The opinions of the Swedish
executive were put out in the public sphere concerning Mr. Assange after his
release of US Government files showing the illegal actions of the US government.
Please, let me offer you some facts on the case Taoiseach so you may see for
yourself why a return to Sweden is not currently possible:</span></div>
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Firstly,
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">If extradited to Sweden,
Julian Assange will be </span><a href="http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/swe/2009-34-inf-eng.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">immediately placed in solitary confinement</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">,<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> incommunicado,
despite the fact that he has </span></span><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/news/julian-assange-v-swedish-prosecution-authority.html"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">yet to be charged</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn40" name="_ftnref40" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn40;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[40]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> with a crime. This treatment
can be seen in the </span><a href="https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9233504/Pirate_Bay_co_founder_suspected_of_serious_fraud_and_another_data_intrusion"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">recent case</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn41" name="_ftnref41" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn41;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[41]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> of Pirate Bay co-founder
Gottfrid Svartholm.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">You may also be asking ‘</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Is Julian Assange
avoiding questioning by the Swedish prosecution’?</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Julian Assange has offered to be questioned
in London for over two years, and </span><a href="http://wikileaks.org/Statement-by-Julian-Assange-after.html"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">continues to offer</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn42" name="_ftnref42" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn42;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[42]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> such to this day. Questioning someone in
another country is a </span><a href="http://ec.europa.eu/justice/criminal/judicial-cooperation/legal-assistance/index_en.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">standard EU legal procedure</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn43" name="_ftnref43" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn43;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[43]</span></span></span></span></a>
which Sweden used just last year </span><a href="http://www.unt.se/uppsala/mordmisstankt-forhord-i-serbien-1701566.aspx"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">for an alleged murderer</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn44" name="_ftnref44" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn44;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[44]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The Swedish prosecutor </span><a href="http://www.twitlonger.com/show/ivqp19"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">offers no
reason</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn45" name="_ftnref45" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn45;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[45]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> as to why she will not question Mr Assange
in London.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The Swedish case is very strange Taoiseach.
The case was initially closed, then </span><a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/wikileaks_assange_rape_case_reopened_r7CubC3brOX8i1opvSDofP"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">reopened by another prosecutor</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn46" name="_ftnref46" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn46;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[46]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The interview of one complainant </span><a href="http://www.swedenversusassange.com/Investigation.html#ITPA"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">was not recorded</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn47" name="_ftnref47" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn47;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[47]</span></span></span></span></a>
despite the fact that interviews with all other persons were recorded. A condom
submitted as evidence by the other complainant </span><a href="https://rt.com/news/assange-condom-no-dna-277/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">contained no
DNA</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn48" name="_ftnref48" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn48;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[48]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> from Mr Assange. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">So to reiterate
a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">FACT</b>: The only conditions Sweden
will accept to interview Julian is if he is first in indefinite detention in
Sweden. Why Taoiseach?</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">These are just a few examples of the
peculiar conduct of the investigation.</span></div>
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You
might also question the changing relationship of the mainstream media and how
they’ve turned against Wikileaks and Mr Assange. I urge you to look at the slowly
changing attitudes of the New York Times<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn49" name="_ftnref49" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn49;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[49]</span></span></span></span></a> and
the LA Times.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn50" name="_ftnref50" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn50;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[50]</span></span></span></span></a> </div>
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The
reason? During a recent court hearing in Bradley Manning’s trial, the
journalist Kevin Gosztola recorded the following line of questioning that happened:</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Judge:
if we substituted the New York Times for WikiLeaks, would you still charge
Bradley Manning in the way that you have? </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Without
hesitation the Government answered “yes.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn51" name="_ftnref51" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn51;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[51]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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This
is the frightening direction we are heading towards. Thankfully this answer has
slowly started awakening some people in the media in the US as to the dangers
we all face to freedom of information.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>European Arrest Warrant</u></b></div>
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Lastly
in regard to Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks, I wish to draw your attention to the
European Arrest Warrant (EAW) that has been issued by Sweden for Mr. Assange as
this is in regard to our European Law. </div>
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From
the European Unions own website, Europa.eu,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn52" name="_ftnref52" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn52;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[52]</span></span></span></span></a> it
says that a EAW <span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">applies
in the following cases:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">where a final sentence of
imprisonment or a detention order has been imposed for a period of at least <b>four
months</b>;</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">for offences punishable by
imprisonment or a detention order for a maximum period of at least <b>one year</b>.</span></div>
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Neither
of these issues apply to Julian Assange.</div>
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Europa.eu also says<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn53" name="_ftnref53" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn53;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[53]</span></span></span></span></a> that
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">the framework decision
defines "European arrest warrant" as any judicial decision issued by
a Member State with a view to the arrest or surrender by another Member State
of a requested person, for the purposes of:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">conducting a criminal
prosecution;</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">executing a custodial
sentence;</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">executing a detention order.</span></div>
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Again, not one of these points relates to Mr. Assange’s
case. Sweden has consistently stated he is wanted for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">questioning. </i>I find it hard to fathom why a EAW was issued when the
Chief Prosecutor of Stockholm, Eva Finne dismissed the rape allegation in 2010
as "having no basis". Also after refusing Julian’s requests for an
interview, Prosecutor Marianne Ny gave Julian permission to leave Sweden on
15/9/10. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Please read the actual
court documents<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn54" name="_ftnref54" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn54;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[54]</span></span></span></span></a>
Taoiseach. Point 13 states Mr. </span><a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=#Assange"><u style="text-underline: #2C56B3;"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; text-decoration: none; text-underline: #2C56B3; text-underline: none;">Assange</span></u></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> was given permission to leave.<span style="color: #353535;"></span></span></div>
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It
is also a fact that Julian offered to fly back to Sweden for an interview, Oct
9-10 2010, but the Swedish Prosecutor refused because it was a weekend. And
lastly, it is also a fact that Sweden has refused ALL Julian’s requests to be
interviewed via Mutual Legal Assistance - the normal protocol.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn55" name="_ftnref55" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn55;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[55]</span></span></span></span></a> </div>
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As
the great Carl Sagen once said, “I don’t want to believe, I want to know.” Well
I don’t want to believe that you will look into this Taoiseach, I want to know
you will. It is an issue of utmost importance. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">As Jonathan Turley, </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">an
American lawyer, legal scholar, writer, commentator, and legal analyst in
broadcast and print journalism commented, “</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">the material released by WikiLeaks ticked off the US government,
primarily because it showed that the government had been routinely lying to the
American people. That produced tremendous anger from government officials who
are not used to being exposed in this way, including members of Congress. These
are people who tightly control what the public knows and what information is
allowed out of the government.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn56" name="_ftnref56" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn56;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[56]</span></span></span></span></a></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"> </span></div>
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We
the citizens need to know <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">what are
the rights of people to expose the truth? Where are our protections?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How far are you, our government prepared to
go to protect us from this unstable attitude the US currently has towards
freedom of information in regard to crimes committed by said government?</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Readers of Shoutout UK voted<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn57" name="_ftnref57" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn57;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[57]</span></span></span></span></a>
The European Union the 5<sup>th</sup> most influential organisation in 2012.
Can you use this influence to help protect the 2<sup>nd</sup> most influential
organisation<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn58" name="_ftnref58" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn58;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[58]</span></span></span></span></a>
Taoiseach?</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>So Where Do We Currently Stand?</u></b></div>
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At
the time of writing, here is where we stand:</div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">WikiLeaks </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">has been financially </span><a href="http://wikileaks.org/Banking-Blockade.html"><span style="color: #1f457e; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">blockaded</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> without process for<b> 780 days.</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Julian Assange
</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">has been </span><a href="http://justice4assange.com/"><span style="color: #1f457e; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">detained</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> without charge for<b> 777 days. </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> - 215
days </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">at the Ecuadorian
Embassy.</span></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Bradley
Manning </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">has been in </span><a href="http://www.bradleymanning.org/"><span style="color: #1f457e; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">prison</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> without trial for<b> 972 days. </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Jeremy Hammond
</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">has been in </span><a href="http://freehammond.com/"><span style="color: #1f457e; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">prison</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> without trial for<b> 323 days. </b></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A<b> secret Grand Jury </b>on WikiLeaks has
been </span><a href="http://wikileaks.org/"><span style="color: #1f457e; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">active</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> for <b>857 days</b>. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftn59" name="_ftnref59" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn59;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[59]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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This
is neither a legal, moral or decent place to find ourselves in Taoiseach.
Ireland must act in its current role as President of the European Council and
also with our seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Today,
Barack Obama had his inauguration on Dr. Martin Luther King day. Let me leave
you with two quotes from Dr. King that resonate as strongly today as they did
when he said them:</div>
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"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
</div>
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The US’ tentacles of ‘justice’ are stretching far from its
own shores. By not having anyone question their illegalities of the last decade
we find ourselves under threat of injustice in Europe because of Obama’s
repressive and secretive war on information and European governments are
seemingly happy to ignore this injustice.</div>
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<span style="color: #353535; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">“There
comes a time when silence is betrayal." </span></div>
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As
I demonstrated earlier, the silence has been deafening in regard to the
injustice being bestowed upon WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. Politicians silence
is betraying us the citizenry. We need you to be our voice on issues that
affect our freedoms this deeply. Please Mr. Kenny, use your position of
influence to bring this case to the attention of those who can affect change. The
world awaits your action. Please don’t betray Mr. Assange or we the people with
silence any longer.</div>
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I
thank you most sincerely for taking the time to read this.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Yours
sincerely,</div>
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<br /></div>
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__________________</div>
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<br /></div>
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Me</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4h1GCxv0-6G6DhGTHl51Ld7YxsMMcUZ_kDyr9F1s2j00bVD9UQg2e_duGFILWab-m1-lWwly-X8Cyk2M2FkifK7wxQifBdq42OlJYujRUTGSz7EXynbGQGn8RQ9qxPdAsZhXEHFn5Fso/s1600/RulEP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4h1GCxv0-6G6DhGTHl51Ld7YxsMMcUZ_kDyr9F1s2j00bVD9UQg2e_duGFILWab-m1-lWwly-X8Cyk2M2FkifK7wxQifBdq42OlJYujRUTGSz7EXynbGQGn8RQ9qxPdAsZhXEHFn5Fso/s320/RulEP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-9_en.htm"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-9_en.htm</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://rixstep.com/1/20121227,00.shtml"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://rixstep.com/1/20121227,00.shtml</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn23;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[23]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.expressen.se/kronikorer/jenny-stromstedt/mindre-snack-och-mer-verkstad---den-nya-kvinnan-ar-har/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">http://www.expressen.se/kronikorer/jenny-stromstedt/mindre-snack-och-mer-verkstad—den-nya-kvinnan-ar-har/</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn25;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[25]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/assange-is-a-hitech-terrorist-says-biden-2164988.html"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/assange-is-a-hitech-terrorist-says-biden-2164988.html</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn28;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[28]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.swedishwire.com/opinion/8165-karl-rove-key-player-in-swedish-wikileaks-probe"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.swedishwire.com/opinion/8165-karl-rove-key-player-in-swedish-wikileaks-probe</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref29" name="_ftn29" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn29;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[29]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> 1.11: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuQW0US2sJw"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuQW0US2sJw</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref32" name="_ftn32" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn32;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[32]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/11/27-2"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/11/27-2</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref35" name="_ftn35" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn35;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[35]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://en.mercopress.com/2012/08/24/correa-recalls-the-uk-non-extradition-of-pinochet-on-humanitarian-reasons"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">http://en.mercopress.com/2012/08/24/correa-recalls-the-uk-non-extradition-of-pinochet-on-humanitarian-reasons</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref37" name="_ftn37" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn37;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[37]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://waca.net.au/get-the-facts/"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">http://waca.net.au/get-the-facts/</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref38" name="_ftn38" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn38;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[38]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-9_en.htm"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-9_en.htm</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2301658325805800681#_ftnref59" name="_ftn59" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn59;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[59]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.thisdayinwikileaks.org/"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.thisdayinwikileaks.org</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-25701359100140241622012-12-17T23:55:00.000+00:002012-12-17T23:55:45.365+00:00Surveillance – Who Can ‘Surveil’ the ‘Surveilors’?
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Yes dear reader(s?) it has been a small while since my writings
were consistent and while I promised I had been working on a few articles -
that is true – they remain works in progress for your dear blogger has been a
magnus ignavus solum. Yes I can roll out the upper class fancities when needs
must. So today I am going to write a little about a few different interests of
mine all nicely intermingled into the one blog: history, criminology and
politics. The history is brief – a quick synopsis of the report released
recently about Pat Finucane. The criminology is investigative of the state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The politics will aim to show how if we
sociologically and politically wished to learn from history and criminology, we
can quite easily do that and the tools are there for us now.</div>
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A <a href="http://www.patfinucanereview.org/report/%20" target="_blank">report</a> was recently released detailing how British intelligence colluded with the RUC and the UDA, or to be
PC about it, they ‘facilitated’ the murder of a Human Rights lawyer, Mr. Pat
Finucane. To be un-PC about it, the report merely stated in cold truth the
unspoken words of the years of ‘the Troubles’ – that the agents of the British
government, in the name of law and order conspired with the loyalist militias
to kill (as they saw it) Republican sympathizers. If they were willing to do
this to get a human rights lawyer, then you cannot be in any doubt it was done
to get Republican Paramilitaries as well. The report of Sir Desmond de Silva
implied that <span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">ignorance
among politicians about what was happening on the ground in Belfast was almost
intentional</span>. On BBC Radio 4 Wednesday, Lord King (who was Thatcher’s
Northern Ireland Secretary) feigned total shock at the findings of the De Silva
Report and of course defended the RUC. As an agent of the state, the RUC were
answerable to government so this defense by King is wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed <span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">De Silva said his report, which was mainly a review of the
paperwork relating to the case, "left me in no doubt that agents of the
state were involved in carrying out serious violations of human rights up to
and including murder". He went <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/12/pat-finucane-secret-service-killing" target="_blank">on</a>: "However, despite the different
strands of involvement by elements of the state, I am satisfied that they were
not linked to an over-arching state conspiracy to murder Patrick
Finucane."</span></div>
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If he merely reviewed the paperwork relating to the case,
the Northern Ireland Secretary would have seen this paperwork at the time. The
other side to this is the side of the Finucane family. Mr. Finucane’s widow
spoke after the release of the statement and after watching the debate about
the report in the House of Commons. She said that it was<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> “a report into which we have had no input. The British
government has engineered a suppression of the truth behind the murder of my
husband." She went on to say that </span>d<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">ead witnesses and now-defunct military organisations had
been given the main share of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/12/pat-finucane-family-report-sham" target="_blank">blame</a>. </span></div>
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On the side of the government, that is not too shabby a hand
to try and play. But as <span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Michael
Finucane, one of Pat Finucane's sons, said: "This is another piece of the
jigsaw. The report needs to be read and the documents studied.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"They
are bare and cold, containing more shocking facts. That can be used to further
our case for a public inquiry."</span></div>
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It has taken over twenty years for the family to get this
far and they are not finished their journey yet. Twenty three years to squeeze
a little more information from the government archives in their search for the
truth. Now I realise this is a sensitive subject and I apologise if anyone
reads this that thinks I’m attempting to exploit this case for my argument. I’m
not. I’m arguing for an immense power that we the people have in our midst and
we’ve allowed ourselves be blinded by lies as to how helpful it can be for us.</div>
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(A quick aside to the Finucane news, Robert Fisk pointed <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/finucane-sami-alsaadi-and-khaled-elmusri-will-we-once-again-just-move-on-from-the-murky-conduct-of-mi6-and-the-cia-8420936.html" target="_blank">out</a> that “our protectors” released some more damning <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/libyan-dissident-gets-22m-payout-from-government-over-rendition-to-libya-8412919.html" target="_blank">news</a> on the same day that the Finucane Report came out. Amazing
the stories that our governments slip out on the quiet.)</div>
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As a society, we have in our midst today an organisation
that has been pilloried, attacked and in effect, criminalised by some of the
most criminal governments around. An organisation that in the last number of
years, has had <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/7911497/Wikileaks-a-timeline-of-the-sites-top-scoops.html" target="_blank">more</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/09/01/wikileaks_revelations/" target="_blank">journalistic</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2010/12/24/wikileaks_23/" target="_blank">scoops</a> than ‘esteemed’ journalistic empires like the BBC or the New
York Times. </div>
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This organisation is of course, Wikileaks. </div>
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The anger is still obvious today. Here is an <a href="http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?52669-Julian-Assange-Full-Heated-interview-...-with-Zeniab-Badawi-on-BBC..Must-watch-imo..%20" target="_blank">interview</a> conducted by the BBC with the leader of the organisation,
Julian Assnage. Invited on to discuss his new book<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">, <a href="http://www.orbooks.com/catalog/cypherpunks/%20" target="_blank">Cypherpunks</a> </span>(which I highly recommend), it didn’t take the ‘journalist’
10 seconds to forget her Journalism for Dummies handbook and accuse Mr. Assange
of the falsities that the mainstream media are still perpetrating. I emailed
the BBC World Service and complained about her personal attack on him and her
false accusations and was told that</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“We regret that
you were unhappy with the Zeinab Badawi interview with Julian Assange. We would
like to assure you that we always strive to report in an unbiased, responsible,
factual and sensitive manner.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The relevant
department have given us the following statement, regarding this interview:</span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">"It was a
robust interview where Mr Assange put his points and the BBC asked challenging
questions - as we do of all guests."</span></i></div>
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Robust interview my arse! The mainstream are fighting
governments’ battles so they can maintain their access and this shows.</div>
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Wikileaks have uncovered and shared with the world massively
important issues that prove beyond doubt governments lie, they cover up murder,
they tolerate abuse. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think Afghanistan
and Iraq war logs. They’ve released diplomatic communications detailing what
diplomats think of their host nations and government ministers. With relevance
to Ireland, Wikileaks detailed what government ministers <a href="http://politico.ie/irish-politics/7569-wikileaks-cable-irish-government-disturbed-by-shannon-five-acquittal.html" target="_blank">thought</a> of their own
legal system and it’s people. All this <a href="http://www.wsm.ie/c/wikileaks-comes-ireland-shannon-connection-0" target="_blank">information</a> obtained and released within a few years of their
happenings. </div>
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When awarded their <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/11/27/wikileaks_wins_major_journalism_award_in_australia/" target="_blank">Walkley</a> prize for journalism in Australia
(the comparison would be the American Pulitzers), the panel noted <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">the group’s “courageous and controversial
commitment to the finest traditions of journalism: justice through
transparency,” and hailed it for having “applied new technology to penetrate
the inner workings of government to reveal an avalanche of inconvenient truths
in a global publishing coup.” In summation, they said “by designing and
constructing a means to encourage whistleblowers, WikiLeaks and its
editor-in-chief Julian Assange took a brave, determined and independent stand
for freedom of speech and transparency that has empowered people all over the
world.” Some commendation.</span></div>
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In tackling State Crimes, I don’t believe there is any
organisation more valuable to society than Wikileaks. Don’t believe me? Look at
how the attitudes changed within the mainstream media after the US government
started going after them. The New York Times, The Guardian, all dropped
Wikileaks like a hot stone. If you are in the media and the government love
you, then there is something wrong. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">"A
cantankerous press, an obstinate press, an ubiquitous press must be suffered by
those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of
expression and the right of the people to know." --<i> Judge Murray
Gurfein, Pentagon Papers case, June 17, 1971</i></span></div>
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The problem today is access. The press wants it and the
government gives it to the good news clubs. Wikileaks threatened these news
corporations access by revealing government lies and the access was revoked.
That caused anger on behalf of the news organisations. Hatred and jealousy
festered and those that were associated with Wikileaks also bore the brunt of
the mainstream media’s petty jealousy. Read the following <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2012/dec/10/bradley-manning-guardian-person-of-the-year-2012" target="_blank">article</a> from the
‘liberal’ Guardian newspaper on the winner of their Person of the Year 2012 Award
</div>
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Bradley Manning has been held for 934 days at the time of
writing <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">without trial.</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was
accused of releasing state secrets to Wikileaks. State secrets that Robert
Gates, then defense secretary of the US, later <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_trials_of_bradley_manning_20121212/" target="_blank">stated</a> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">“has not revealed any sensitive intelligence sources and methods
compromised by the disclosure.” </span></div>
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Yet there he is. 934 days without being charged of any
crime. Do the mainstream media cover his case? No. The media complicity and
submissiveness of the last few years has been criminal. </div>
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Likewise without any criminal prosecutions, US ‘lawmakers’
got companies like Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, Amazon to all <a href="http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/177_227/wikileaks-blames-u-s-lawmakers-for-visa-mastercard-blockade-1054655-1.html%20%20" target="_blank">cut</a> support for
Wikileaks and their work. Corrupt, inept politicians. Who has stood by it? The People.
People are financing it, keeping it going. Paypal, Visa and Mastercard stopped
allowing payments to be made despite Wikileaks breaking no laws. Anywhere.</div>
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Thankfully our <a href="http://falkvinge.net/2012/11/20/europarliament-scolds-visa-mastercard-paypal-for-killing-wikileaks-donations-initiates-regulation/" target="_blank">European Parliament</a> has some balls. <a href="http://falkvinge.net/2012/11/20/europarliament-scolds-visa-mastercard-paypal-for-killing-wikileaks-donations-initiates-regulation/"></a>
</div>
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But did Wikileaks die? No. People are still finding ways of
supporting it. </div>
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Like <a href="http://wikileaks.spreadshirt.net/" target="_blank">this</a> way. </div>
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Or <a href="http://shop.wikileaks.org/" target="_blank">this</a>.</div>
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<span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="color: #3d812d; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span>Or <a href="https://beattheblockade.org/" target="_blank">this</a>.</div>
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Besides my hinting at ways to support this organisation, my
main point with this argument is that organisations like Wikileaks can ensure
that if States commit or collude in crimes, that swifter justice for victims
could ensue. It could mean less chance that d<span style="color: #262626;">ead witnesses and now-defunct military organisations could
be saddled with the main share of the blame in cases like Mr. Finnucane’s. Think
of the Hillsborough tragedy and the time taken to get the government to
acknowledge the wrong that happened. Think of the struggles that families have
had while the police, the government and the media created a false shitstorm
around the 96 victims. Thankfully in the US, there is a fight back taking
place. </span><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="color: #262626;"> The newly formed <a href="https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Press Freedom Foundation</a> is taking the lead to try and ensure that Wikileaks can get the funds needed to
operate successfully. I would urge you if you can spare a few of whatever
currency you use to spare it on these guys. Their battle for transparency
affects us all. Whatever one government gets away with, others will only
follow.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We
need whistleblowers and we need organisations like Wikileaks. Ironically,
Hilary Clinton has spoken about the need for whistleblowers while her President
has used the Espionage Act more times to prosecute whistleblowers than any
preceding administration <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">combined.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKdmdlT62sQ" target="_blank">This</a> clip really says it all </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKdmdlT62sQ"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></a><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">and <a href="http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/42-2012/1893-obama-indicts-sixth-whistleblower-under-the-espionage-act" target="_blank">this article</a> is worth a read </span><a href="http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/42-2012/1893-obama-indicts-sixth-whistleblower-under-the-espionage-act"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></a><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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Remember that in 2008 Candidate Obama <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/06-8" target="_blank">said</a> “<span style="color: #0f0f0f; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Government
whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from
reprisal."</span></div>
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934 days. Without trial.</div>
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Most mainstream media do not even bother covering Bradley
Manning’s case. Al Jazeera’s programme, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2012/12/2012121583424345609.html" target="_blank">The Listening Post</a>, covered investigated
this in their most recent show. </div>
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It is thanks to Twitter and being able to follow dedicated
professional caring human beings that I have been able to. These people,
alongside Bradley Manning, are heroes. They refuse to let Bradley’s story die.
They cover it, tweet about it, write about it, go on independent media with his
story. </div>
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So for Christmas this year, consider <a href="http://www.bradleymanning.org%20%20/" target="_blank">supporting</a> Bradley
Manning, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
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Even if it is to be supportive and write him a <a href="http://www.bradleymanning.org/learn-more/write-to-bradley-manning" target="_blank">letter</a> to
know that his cause is being followed.
Small acts can be the biggest boost when you learn others around the world
believe your cause to be just. Don’t let the military machine of the US beat
this man.</div>
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Consider supporting Wikileaks using the links above. </div>
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Remember: The truth is not treason unless we allow it to
become treason by not standing up for the truth tellers. </div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-18470902076213713232012-12-13T23:14:00.000+00:002012-12-13T23:15:07.293+00:00An Open Letter to Rhoda Grant MSP<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Ms. Grant MSP,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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I am writing to you today regarding your proposal to
criminalise the purchase of sex in Scotland. I hope this email can help you to
open your eyes, change your heart, your mind and your proposal. I have
highlighted below the questions I felt were properly answerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a private individual. I recently obtained my
Criminology Masters from University College Cork and one of the areas that I
studied was Prostitution. I wrote about and analysed whether or not it should
be legalised. I honestly approached this topic weighing more on the ‘no’ side
as I was under the impression from certain groups here in Ireland, that
prostitution itself was wrong, the people involved were in it as a last resort
and were being abused and trafficked. In researching this topic with an open
mind, every view I held was challenged and overcome. I am now firmly in favour
of legalising sex work and using all available resources to tackle the scourge
that is illegal human trafficking. The two areas unfortunately are currently
interlinked, but not as much as some NGO’s would like you to believe. I believe
that with proper regulation, supervision and employment services, sex workers
can openly contribute to society and the scourge of human trafficking can be
tackled. I will attempt to answer some of the questions in your proposal while
providing you with evidence from my research that shows the Swedish model of
criminalising the buyer does not work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Q1:
</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Do
you support the general aim of the proposed Bill? Please indicate </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">
</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“yes/no/undecided” and explain the reasons for your response. </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">I do not support
the aim of the proposed Bill. Criminalising the purchaser of sex services only
makes the provision of these services more difficult. This Bill will not make
sex workers disappear, the provision of sex services will not go away. All that
will happen is that those who are involved in sex work will be made more
vulnerable and will be forced to accept unsafe working conditions and sexual
practices due to the very nature of Police evidence compilation. Condoms, lubes
etc. are used as evidence in cases of sex purchasing in Sweden and Norway. </span>The
sex workers who I write about in this email will have the recognisable faces of
the people we know. “Their circumstances may be different from our own but they
are ordinary people living ordinary lives – the fact of their buying or selling
sex is part of those lives rather than the defining characteristic of them.”
(McKeganey et al. 1996: 1-2) Is prostitution actually a crime Ms. Grant? What
harm do sex workers do to society? If it is your morals motivating you to
propose this Bill – I will point out that it is not a crime to be unchaste Ms.
Grant. I ask why is it a crime when two consenting adults conduct a business
transaction for sex? In a sample of interviews with men in Glasgow, the
overriding reason for buying sex was one of ease: “The attractions of
prostitutes are that it’s easy. We both know what we want, there’s no charade.
If I go to a club or something I have to work for it but with a prostitute it’s
pure sex, no one’s kidding the other.” (McKeganey et al., 1996: 52) It is not a
crime to go on a night out, spend money on a woman with the intention of
sleeping with her. If two consenting adults conduct a business transaction for the
purpose of a sexual act, why do you wish to criminalise the buyer? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems that two major groups have been established. On one
side, ‘sex work’ liberals want to normalise prostitution and see it as just
another form of employment which, however demeaning, is seen as being no better
or worse than many other forms of service work which disadvantaged women engage
in. The abolitionists and radical feminists, on the other side, claim that
prostitution is a distinctively different form of activity than other types of
service work and has damaging personal and social consequences.” (Matthews
2008: 136) What I am attempting to show is that the people who sell sex, their
views and attitudes differ from the radical feminists and that people do decide
to sell their bodies for sex – of their own free will. Prostitution like sex in
general, is surrounded by myths, one of which is the belief that it always
involves someone else; the woman who sells sex is never our mother, our
daughter, or our sister but some anonymous other who is infinitely more
desperate than those we love. Similarly the man who buys sex is never our
father, brother, husband or boyfriend, but another whom we do not know and may
not even wish to know.” (McKeganey et al. 1996: 1)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Sex work has a human face to it.
Criminalising the buyers pushes sex work further into the underworld and makes
everyone more vulnerable to the criminals you claim to be stopping.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Q2:
</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What
do you believe would be the effects of legislating to criminalise the purchase
of sex (as outlined above)? Please provide evidence to support your answer. </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">I believe the effects would be entirely
negative. Sweden to the best of my knowledge, has not released a proper report
into their criminalisation legislation. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">You have to go to Norway to
get reports on the Swedish model. In 2004, a report by the Norwegian justice
ministry “cited evidence of an ‘increased fear of attack’ among Swedish
prostitutes, who found it harder to assess their clients because transactions
had to be agreed hastily or on the telephone.” (The Economist, 2008)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Skeptics have argued, indeed it has been
widely reported in Sweden, that by “driving prostitution away from Sweden the
authorities have simply exported it, sending sex-hungry Swedes to nearby
countries or else to Thailand.” There was a report late last year in the
Swedish newspaper, <i>Aftonbladet, </i>that investigated the number of Swedes
availing of cheap flights to places like Thailand to avail of sex.
(www.aftonbladet.se; The Economist, 2008) Even in 2001, </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">the United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern that “the
Swedish legislation may have rendered prostitutes more vulnerable, and asked
the Swedish Government to evaluate the effects of the law. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">(CEDAW 2001:79; cited from </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bryngemark</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">The Swedish Parliament recently voted in favour of a proposal to
undertake such an evaluation, but to my knowledge no investigation into the
matter has been initiated as yet.” <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bryngemark,
2005: 50)</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Following another investigation into the matter in 2010, Norway
presented a </span><a href="http://www.unaids.org/en/dataanalysis/monitoringcountryprogress/2010progressreportssubmittedbycountries/norway_2010_country_progress_report_en.pdf"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Progress Report to UNAIDS</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">, the Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It noted the following:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">“Experience
shows that it has become more difficult to have a good overview of and gain
admittance to prostitution circles. In addition, it is reported that individual
sex workers no longer want to carry condoms and lubricants out of fear that
they will be used by the police as indicators of sale of sexual services. The
support and health services for sex workers in Norway, describe increased
vulnerability for sex workers. They argue that due to increased competition and
greater stress on the market, sex workers are forced to offer clients e.g.
unprotected sex. In addition, sex workers in escort services are forced to sell
sex at the customer’s arena, which makes them more vulnerable to violence and
abuse.” (Norwegian Ministry of Health cited through </span><a href="http://feministire.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">http://feministire.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">NGOs like
Ruhama in Ireland who want the Swedish model implemented – (Ruhama are </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">the main opposition to sex worker
rights being established in Ireland and are also a powerful religious anti-sex
work organisation. Ruhama is a joint initiative of the Good Shepherd Sisters
and Our Lady of Charity Sisters, who have been ‘caring’ for Ireland’s ‘fallen
women’ since 1848 and 1853 respectively. Please Google ‘Magdalene Laundries’ to
see for yourself, the shining example of the care they provided Irish women) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">– they argue that another deterrent of this
style of anti-prostitution law is that it would curtail the trafficking of
women. On their website they say that prostitutes tend to be women who </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">“were trafficked into prostitution in
Ireland but a significant number were trafficked or prostituted into other
countries but escaped to Ireland. Now while living here, they have sourced
Ruhama for help” (Ruhama.ie) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘In Whose
Name?’ </i>– the largest study of migrant sex workers in the UK to date raised
a few issues. It argued that there is a climate of fear being created amongst
sex workers due to increasing police activity that is driven by “hype and
misinformation promoted by NGOs who are ideologically opposed to commercial
sex.” (bbc.co.uk; 2011) This claim is backed by the rare voices of sex workers
against the same campaign in Ireland.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">The Metro
focused on the same study and reported “the majority of sex workers who were
asked in a study say they prefer working in the sex industry to menial jobs
where they are less likely to achieve such a good standard of living.” (The
Metro, 2011)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Jesper Bryngemark is a lecturer in Law in Malmo. He
argues that “one reason this law (criminalising the purchaser) became a
reality
in Sweden in the first place
was that so few sex workers were
ready to go
public. Prostitution
traditionally has been invisible in
Sweden. Connected to
this invisibility is the fact that the sex workers’ movement in Sweden is very,
very weak. And feminism is very, very strong.” </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bryngemark, 2005: 49) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Regarding the law, “a few reports have been
written, although none of them meet acceptable scientific standards for
methodology. Two Swedish official reports </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">in 2000 and 2003, </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">state that street prostitution appears to have decreased, but that no
causal link can be drawn between this decrease and the law. The question, “What
happened to the sex sellers who stopped working from the street?” is raised in
both reports, but is left unanswered. According to the same reports,
clandestine prostitution has increased since the law entered into force.” <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bryngemark, 2005: 50)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Q3:
</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Are you aware of any
unintended consequences or loopholes caused by the offence? Please provide
evidence to support your answer. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Q4:
</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What are the advantages
or disadvantages in using the definitions outlined above? </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Q5:
</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What
do you think the appropriate penalty should be for the offence? Please provide
reasons for your answer. </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">It should not be an offence. Prostitution
and sex work should be legalised.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Q6:
</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">How should a new offence
provision be enforced? Are there any techniques which might be used or
obstacles which might need to be overcome? </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Q7:
</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What
is your assessment of the likely financial implications of the proposed Bill to
you or your organisation; if possible please provide evidence to support your
view? What (if any) other significant financial implications are likely to
arise? </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Legalise sex work and the economic
implications are entirely positive. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Q8:
</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Is
the proposed Bill likely to have any substantial positive or negative
implications for equality? If it is likely to have a substantial negative
implication, how might this be minimised or avoided? </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"></span></i></b></div>
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It creates massive inequality by not providing a safe work
environment for sex workers. They will not stop working. They will only become
inaccessible and invisible as Norway reported to the UN.</div>
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There
are very few sex workers voices being heard in any argument regarding the
criminalisation of the purchase of sex in Ireland, Northern Ireland or
Scotland. Why not? You realise that sex workers are people? With their own
reasons for doing what they do? They can be people who have suffered either
physical or sexual abuse at home, run away and had to live a life on the
streets that has led them into prostitution. They are also young people who
simply happen to be in debt. When looking at Sweden previously, feminists
argued that no woman would willingly choose to sell herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However in studies where the sex workers have
been interviewed, it has been shown that “prostitution offers a means of
earning a good income where otherwise employment opportunities might be
considered limited and low wages the norm.” (McKeganey et al., 1996: 26) More
recently, a letter was published that was sent to the Irish Justice Committee
who are debating prostitution laws in Ireland. The sex worker said the
following:</div>
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“<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">There is no NGO currently speaking for sex
workers in any real sense. All NGOs ruthlessly exclude them from decision
making as if they were stray animals, or some kind of substandard, feral people
in need of guidance and control from their “betters”. They even go so far as to
abuse invalid statistics and distort facts to cultivate this as an image of sex
workers in the public eye. The truth is, most sex workers are of above average
intelligence, many of them are remarkably well read and/or well educated. They
are intelligent people who can do their own thinking and speak for themselves
far better than the NGOs who try to insist on being funded to do it for them
against their will and sex workers are likely to base that thinking and
self-representation on reality rather than the usual NGO basis of pursuit of
agenda and funding that is mostly deployed on huge and superfluous salaries and
expenses.” </span>(sexwork.ie)</div>
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I urge you to read the rest of
that sex workers letter.</div>
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Any interviews conducted with
the actual workers produce very similar stories. For example, women interviewed
in Ann Marie O’Connor’s study in 1996, said that “the bad thing is having to
hide, the good thing is that it keeps you independent. I have been able to
provide for my children without being dependent on any man.” (O’Connor; 1996:
12) On the streets, the dangers are greater as the author noted that “a number
of women had experienced problems with clients; making them leave, being beaten
up, being forced to have sex.” (O’Connor; 1996: 13) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In comparison, lets look at a sex worker from
the last decade: Belle de Jour. Belle de Jour on the other hand, she was part
of an agency. She was secure in the knowledge that if anything went wrong and
she failed to text or ring her agency after meeting a client, “the manager will
ring the client, then the hotel, her own security if they’re nearby, then the
police. She knows. She’s been in your shoes too.” (Jour 2005: 11) What other
profession would you have to deal with this disparity? What is amazing is that
despite everything these people have to go through, “in virtually all
countries, sex workers are strong, courageous women, attempting in any way
possible to establish control over their work and their lives.” (McKeganey et
al., 1996: 2) Why should there be differences especially when it affects the
most vulnerable of the sex workers. The answer lies in the legal aspect. That
is where politicians can actually help society. Not by moralising, not by
attempting to pass laws criminalising adult behaviour, but by legislating to
ensure workers can work in safety.</div>
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Can I just finish my email to
you with the following? A report released in 2004 by the Association of Chief
Police Officers notes that ‘Police Forces in England and Wales are currently
operating in a policy vacuum: the law regarding prostitution is clear, but the
application of the law – in order to best serve the public and protect the
vulnerable – is not.” (Brain in Matthews 2008: 126) The law surrounding
prostitution is fair to no one, whether it is the police or the women involved.
But the question must be asked - is prostitution actually a crime? Who in
society says yes? Politicians? They will say yes when it is deemed to be a
public menace and laws will be drafted. But policy vacuums emerge due to
inadequate legislation. When society demands action against prostitution, it is
generally because they’ve read that trafficking or drugs or pimping is out of
control. “People are not disturbed by things, they are disturbed by the view
they take of them” (Epictetus) and this is proven in the fact that “policing
prostitution has generally been seen as a low priority in police work and the police
response has largely been a function of community and political pressure.”
(Matthews 2008: 125) Very few people in reality experience problems with
prostitution. Their problems arise from what they read is ‘happening’.
Operating in a policy vacuum is not fair on the police. In a study conducted in
Ireland in 1996, only one<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> Garda
(police officer)</span> gave an interview for the research and while the views
expressed do not represent those of the<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> Garda</span> force, it is very interesting to note that “in his view legalisation
of prostitution would be the best option, from a control, security and health
point of view.” (O’Connor; 1996: 17)<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> Legalising</span> it would stop any ambiguities arising, that is, on
the one hand stressing that “the law must be enforced” (O’Connor; 1996: 17),
while similarly “he agreed that relationships have to be built between the
women and the Gardai: “if anything goes wrong they must feel they can come to
us”, saying that women would certainly “not be charged if they reported an
attack”” (O’Connor; 1996: 16) Removing the criminal label is a first step to
“giving women the power and authority to report abuse and coercion and to
believe that such reports will be taken seriously and acted upon.” (Matthews
2008: 124) Research has shown that “where a woman had been forced to have sex
with a client the woman in question worked on the streets and would not tend to
report the attack to the Gardai.” (O’Connor; 1996: 12) This is not right. The
law should be there to protect everyone. Policy makers need to be encouraged
“to introduce some more radical and far reaching reforms” (Matthews 2008: 138)
and religious organisations who argue that prostitution is wrong and lobby
governments to make it illegal should be ignored. Previously, courts that
tended to be led by a moralistic view were “excessively punitive towards women
who deviate from the norm by not conforming to acceptable standards of
femininity, heterosexuality and monogamy.” (Heidensohn in Sanders, 2005: 95) It
is hard to argue that “if forms of welfare intervention are developed which can
reduce women’s motivation to engage in prostitution, address their personal
social and economic needs, the need for criminal sanctions should be removed.”
(Matthews 2008: 125) The multiplicity of legislation directed at prostitution
has not succeeded in eradicating it. We have a simple choice. We either decide
“whether we want to essentially increase the welfare response or extend the
criminal justice response.” (Matthews 2008: 124)</div>
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When the Irish government first
looked into prostitution, little changed. After a government paper was released
entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Girls on the Street: The Need
for a Welcome</i>’, Jim Finucane, who in the late 1970’s was the researcher and
secretary to Fine Gael’s spokesman for Justice Michael Keating TD, “was
appalled to discover the full implications of prostitution in Dublin: ‘the
slavery, the brutality and the way the system works against the girls on the
street” (Levine et al., 1987: 35). “The findings of the paper recommended the
establishment of ‘Welcome Centers’ and law reform. The center would be run by
ex-prostitutes to provide a homely atmosphere for women who needed help. They
would also try to develop any talents that would encourage an alternative way
of life, offer professional help when required and provide protection and
relaxation.” (Levine et al., 1987: 35) Mr. Keating raised this matter in the
Dail but nothing ever came out of this work and the number of women involved in
prostitution only increased. Today, we are again looking at prostitution but
from your current perspective: criminalising the buyer.</div>
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Lastly, can I ask you to look
at a hypothetical: Brothel keepers like Tom McDonnell earned millions from
running their brothels in Dublin in the 1990’s – “McDonnell was earning around
£1,000 a day from the brothels at Grattan Street and South William Street.”
(Reynolds, 2003: 24) Yes he exploited the women working for him. But in a
legitimate environment, a safe house, that is regulated by government and run
by sex workers, for sex workers, why can they not avail of this demand when it
is evidently there? Money earned goes back into the economy. Why can’t the
government use this revenue potential?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Profits could be used to increase the police force to fight the real
crime: trafficking. Money can be used to pay for health care and education
centers for the sex workers. Good would come from it.</div>
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In regard to prostitution and
trafficking, ensure trafficking is the focus of criminal law. They are linked,
but they are not hand in glove like some NGOs portray it. No system is ever
going to be perfect. You need to try and help the greatest number. Legalising
prostitution could help lower the number of trafficked people. By regulating
it, governments, councils and the police will know who is involved. Keep a
register. New person comes in? Find out where from? If you regulate properly
then problems as reported by The Economist, need not happen. The Economist
noted that while the level of sex trafficking into the UK appears to have
significantly increased over the last decade, the level of regulation of
prostitution in general and brothels in particular has declined. (The
Economist, 2 September 2004) Proper regulation and laws would negate this.
While you keep the sex workers illegal and criminalise their buyers, the
likelihood is that the only relationships sex workers will be able to maintain
will be with those see them as an easy source of money. (Davis et al., 1994)
That is what we should be tackling.</div>
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I thank you for taking the time
to read this and I hope you read this with the open mind I did when researching
my topic. </div>
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Yours sincerely,</div>
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 31.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
BBC News; (2011) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Most Sex Workers ‘Not Trafficked’, says
study. </i><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15522279"><span style="color: windowtext;">www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15522279</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Belle de Jour; (2005) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Intimate Adventures of a London Call
Girl. </i>Weidenfeld & Nicolson</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bryngemark, Jesper; (2005) <i>Sex
Workers Rights. <a href="http://www.sexworkeurope.org/"><span style="color: windowtext;">http://www.sexworkeurope.org/</span></a></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Davis, S & Shaffer, M;
(1994) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prostitution in Canada: The
Invisible Menace or the Menace of Invisibility? </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.walnet.org/csis/papers/sdavis.html"><span style="color: windowtext;">http://www.walnet.org/csis/papers/sdavis.html</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Mai, Dr. Nick; (2011) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In Whose Name? Migration and Trafficking in
the UK Sex Industry: Delivering Social Interventions Between Myths and Reality.
</i>London Metropolitan University</div>
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<br /></div>
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Matthews, Roger; (2008) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prostitution, Politics and Policy. </i>Routledge-Cavandish</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 31.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
McKeganey, Neil & Barnard,
Marina; (1996) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sex Work on the Streets:
Prostitutes and Their Clients. </i>Open University Press</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services; (2009) </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">UNGASS Country Progress Report, Norway.</i>
Online @ <a href="http://www.unaids.org/en/dataanalysis/monitoringcountryprogress/2010progressreportssubmittedbycountries/norway_2010_country_progress_report_en.pdf"><span style="color: windowtext;">http://www.unaids.org/en/dataanalysis/monitoringcountryprogress/2010progressreportssubmittedbycountries/norway_2010_country_progress_report_en.pdf</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 31.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
O’Connor, Ann Marie; (1996) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Women Working in Prostitution: Towards a
Healthier Future. </i>University College Dublin</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 31.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
Reynolds, Paul; (2003) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sex in the City – The Prostitution Racket in
Ireland. </i>Pan Macmillan Ltd.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 31.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
Sanders, Teela; (2005) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sex Work: A Risky Business. </i>Willan
Publishing</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://sexwork.ie/2012/12/12/letter-from-a-sex-worker/"><span style="color: windowtext;">http://sexwork.ie/2012/12/12/letter-from-a-sex-worker/</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Economist; (2004) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘It’s a Foreigners Game’, Volume 372, Issue
8391, September 4<sup>th</sup></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 31.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 31.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
The Economist; (2008) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Policing Prostitution, The Oldest Conundrum.
</i>Available online @ <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/12516582"><span style="color: windowtext;">www.economist.com/node/12516582</span></a> October
30th </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 31.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
The Metro; (2011) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prostitutes Believe Selling Sex ‘Beats Doing
a Menial Job’ – Study. </i><a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/news880224-prostitutes-believe-selling-sex-beats-doing-a-menial-job-study"><span style="color: windowtext;">www.metro.co.uk/news880224-prostitutes-believe-selling-sex-beats-doing-a-menial-job-study</span></a></div>
</div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-67698433128252757282012-11-14T13:02:00.000+00:002012-11-14T13:02:08.762+00:00An open letter to Taoiseach Enda Kenny
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: -.75pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Dear Mr Kenny,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">You stated in a recent interview that you are personally against
abortion and you said the following: “I think that this issue [abortion] is not
of priority for government now.” Well Mr Kenny – you were not elected for your
personally held beliefs or opinions. You were elected to govern this country
for the benefit of all citizens. That involves doing what is best for the
people in this country whether your opinion deems it moral or not. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">And let me tell you something about opinion. I was once of the opinion
that abortion was inherently wrong. Due in no small part to what I heard from
the Catholic Church I thought anyone that even thought of doing it, was in a
way evil. For me to remember that now, to think that I even thought that makes
me ashamed. Why? It wasn’t until someone close to me had to make that choice.
Then it hit me: who the hell am I to even attempt to force my opinion on
someone regarding a choice they have made in regard to their own body? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">You know what I decided to be angry about from that day on? Firstly I
was angry at myself for allowing myself believe that. Then I became angry about
men in a corrupt institution and the fact they had made me even think that. I
was angry at those who like telling others what to do with their own bodies. I
became angry at the fact that Irish women have to leave their own country, they
have to leave supportive families, friends and services behind to go abroad to
have abortions. I am angry that women are not free to choose what it is they
wish to do with their bodies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What century are we living in Mr Kenny? You know what also angers me?
That the organisation behind this ‘moral’ crusade is the institution of the
Catholic Church and their ideological ‘supporters’. You know – that’s the
institution who for years covered up the rape and abuse of children.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: -.75pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">You know – children. The beings who in the Church’s warped opinion have
a right to life in the womb, but once born the very same beings were the ones
that priests could rape, molest and abuse for decades and their superiors
excused them for doing it. They moved them and shielded them from the law of
the State. Some morals to live by! But then – nothing surprises me about the
backwardness, immorality and evil of the Catholic Church. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I believe regarding the abused children, the Church and the State of
Ireland, you once said: “But thankfully for them [the children], and for us
[the people], this is not Rome. Nor is it industrial-school or Magdalene
Ireland, where the swish of a soutane smothered conscience and humanity and the
swing of a thurible ruled the Irish-Catholic world. This is the 'Republic' of
Ireland 2011. A Republic of laws.....of rights and responsibilities....of
proper civic order..... where the delinquency and arrogance of a particular
version..... of a particular kind of 'morality'..... will no longer be
tolerated or ignored.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Why are you still allowing this criminal institution and its arrogance
dictate what choices you make? Why are you are still tolerating “a particular
kind of morality” when it comes to women and their choices regarding their
bodies? Why Mr Kenny?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I do not call into question your own personally held beliefs Mr Kenny, but
you are the Taoiseach of this country. You govern a people with many, many
differently held beliefs. You govern many, many different cultures and you were
elected to make decisions based on the legal constitution of this country. As
you said yourself – this is a Republic of laws. I remind you that since 1992 a
woman has had the right to an abortion in this country, yet successive
governments, including yours, have refused to legislate. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“What”? I hear you ask. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I know Taoiseach. This is a country of “rights and responsibilities, of
proper civic order” and yet 31-year-old Savita Praveen Halappanavar died in
Galway because “a particular kind of ‘morality’” still runs through our
political discourse and culture.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Shame on you and your government for allowing this to continue and shame
on you for not having the decency and courage to sort out this shambolic mess
that the women of this country find themselves in when it comes to decisions
about their bodies. It took the rape of a fourteen year old in 1992 to get the
Supreme Court to act. A woman has now needlessly died. What will make legislating
for the X case a priority for your government Taoiseach? Another rape? Another
death? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IE; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Or will it take a particular type of ‘moral guidance’ about women and
their bodies from a man in a hat and a frock to make you legislate? </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
eyes of the world are currently on us as a nation in regard to </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Savita’s
tragic death.</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
The ball is in your court Taoiseach. Be a leader. Legislate for the X case and
move us beyond a particularly twisted form of morality.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sincerely</span></div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-46620871532525423212012-11-11T17:42:00.000+00:002012-11-11T17:42:55.565+00:00Historical Musical Mutterings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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Today’s musical mutterings is a little
different – it’s a musical history muttering! Enjoy!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZauwXi2f8TWhu5gbUd8TF4sFZQfkNeunhqBmDCwq-2-H-OFVQESATIFDC2AfA66PHf-z6oVuFke34kv26jE4zxaOxora-DR2Ni2TBTIVQU8oCWYBHnrYlxTyBG4cMBSHb2KSBfIicFHE/s1600/1.+Samsung+Yepp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZauwXi2f8TWhu5gbUd8TF4sFZQfkNeunhqBmDCwq-2-H-OFVQESATIFDC2AfA66PHf-z6oVuFke34kv26jE4zxaOxora-DR2Ni2TBTIVQU8oCWYBHnrYlxTyBG4cMBSHb2KSBfIicFHE/s200/1.+Samsung+Yepp.jpg" width="169" /></a>One of my more ridiculous musical obsessions
is the creation of music playlists for my listening pleasure. The fascination
began with my first MP3 player the mighty <a href="http://commonemitter.blogspot.ie/2012/06/samsung-yepp-yp-e32-mp3-player.html" target="_blank">Samsung </a>Yepp player.</div>
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It had a mahoosive 32 megabytes of
memory! Yup! That’s right! 32 megabytes! I have single songs with more
megabytes than that these days! Oh the memories! I won’t go into the how and
the why I bought it or how it was mis-sold to the eager youngster standing
there with hi entire weekly pay packet…… ugh. The memories.
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<br /> </div>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfzb-zqzdO27wpK9F5vI8SCo_LfXuTr-C3_HBPFiwOBU7VQgXJl1nNJANmNLkiUVIpQrS0EpMQBmxN9FVlLHlWC14UzxtQ0eP59uGVeZdU5zn9VYe2MleQP0IJcEmUOrP2llz1XjAjiLs/s1600/2.+Keep+It+Fresh+Yo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfzb-zqzdO27wpK9F5vI8SCo_LfXuTr-C3_HBPFiwOBU7VQgXJl1nNJANmNLkiUVIpQrS0EpMQBmxN9FVlLHlWC14UzxtQ0eP59uGVeZdU5zn9VYe2MleQP0IJcEmUOrP2llz1XjAjiLs/s200/2.+Keep+It+Fresh+Yo.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeping 'it' Fresh YO</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;">Needless to say I had to create
many a ‘6 song’ playlist to fit the 32 mb limit so that my bus ride to work and
back from work was kept fresh yo.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;">I hasten to add here that my music
collection at that stage was approximately 23 cds and I had only just
discovered Napster so my ability to mix it up and keep the music fresh was…..
somewhat limited. So after a few months of having to change the playlist every
night, I got my hands on some dosh that enabled me to buy a Sony <a href="http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-R700.html" target="_blank">Minidisc</a>
player.
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It was the happiest day of my
musical existence! I now had a device that I could make proper playlists for
and I could bring minidiscs with me on my journeys to school, work and friends
houses so I could have a choice of playlist! Also I had always been a Sony
head. My first Walkman had been a Sony, the blank tapes I bought were Sony, my
first stereo system was a Sony and I was a PlayStation fiend! To return ‘home’
to Sony felt good after a treacherous stepover to Samsung. “Yuck” I said as I
brushed my shoulder and sanitised my hands. MPFREEEE was how I liked it and
MiniDO was the future.
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As I was now working a bit more
frequently after school and at weekends, I had a bit of spare money to buy more
music. My CD collection exploded. Online sites allowed me check out songs from
bands I had never heard of. The internet allowed me talk to music heads from
around the world and swap songs by email. It was sheer bliss. I discovered
original music sites like ‘cdwow’ and amazon and discovered I could get cds for
less than half the price I was currently paying HMV. If angels existed, their
‘hallelujah’ moment for me was then. My minidisc collection was small because I
didn’t want to copy over albums for the sake of it. My intention was that my
minidisc collection would be my personal DJ collection. Mixes and playlists that
I created. They were creatively entitled ‘Minidisc 1’ and ‘Minidisc 2’ and….. I
think you get the picture! But not only could you have an assortment of discs, but </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQMwE3TBKhVfALeQvFjgTZlaBMmRxmrMSa-eQmIDd5lz4Jt1toTa412y1KjHOOaHrkizVuPKZsBvsJ7drKRI_1DzQK4CF6HHduMLhoazeLznq7f_SbEvzh5PTQVTXigd82Ea_Xm2VqgM/s1600/5.+A+minidisc.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQMwE3TBKhVfALeQvFjgTZlaBMmRxmrMSa-eQmIDd5lz4Jt1toTa412y1KjHOOaHrkizVuPKZsBvsJ7drKRI_1DzQK4CF6HHduMLhoazeLznq7f_SbEvzh5PTQVTXigd82Ea_Xm2VqgM/s1600/5.+A+minidisc.png" /></a></div>
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they were different <a href="http://md.nickhamze.com/about/" target="_blank">colours</a> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3d1TnWXXI2ZWl5wXJo9H2y9MJknrMKW48DUHACN3dZwcVbjYTQ84U2bty2AbgL2Emb-6uykjxSOqXfc7neY71QeuNXmlM3fa8baeC0h_jo1lxyFp2B7LRNuRG7b69Uhsb6vZ_IKqkPEg/s1600/6.+A+TDK+Minidisc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3d1TnWXXI2ZWl5wXJo9H2y9MJknrMKW48DUHACN3dZwcVbjYTQ84U2bty2AbgL2Emb-6uykjxSOqXfc7neY71QeuNXmlM3fa8baeC0h_jo1lxyFp2B7LRNuRG7b69Uhsb6vZ_IKqkPEg/s200/6.+A+TDK+Minidisc.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What happened TDK?</td></tr>
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they were different….. <a href="http://www.minidisc.org/charman/what.html" target="_blank">names</a>! </div>
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Brilliant!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqGwtj7ViiQ0vPYU7BCd4-l2gln7dxNrdnKGGbHggtN9HZlodODzsAuhj1Rzk7owuYRdgLwaiQRsiwnitI-OtNuc18cqT3Tyq7S3IItoMMvI1utCFjWeuvQ5Ih_5zN5D5j2tl-kpZf7o/s1600/7.+Brilliant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqGwtj7ViiQ0vPYU7BCd4-l2gln7dxNrdnKGGbHggtN9HZlodODzsAuhj1Rzk7owuYRdgLwaiQRsiwnitI-OtNuc18cqT3Tyq7S3IItoMMvI1utCFjWeuvQ5Ih_5zN5D5j2tl-kpZf7o/s320/7.+Brilliant.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Em..... what he said</td></tr>
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So in my years of ownership I
created in the region of 15 playlists which let me tell you, received the
highest amount of detailed listening to ensure one song followed the other
perfectly. I tried to mix it nicely with some light rock to start; that would
lead you into heavier rock, then to some metal, before ending on a chilled out
note.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNOCybmJlyfdZzviJqAhXiAenazhyphenhyphen_ZzPCrsuI-Cwnfqb7QG89_kqKo22bd756kTPSoX3-qGwh9i8iWwvUmn71RPn_qyKATWv35B46GCnQowBl73UVyjpi6yRDkdaHIJUg0tTox7yAeg/s1600/4.+Sony+Minidisc+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNOCybmJlyfdZzviJqAhXiAenazhyphenhyphen_ZzPCrsuI-Cwnfqb7QG89_kqKo22bd756kTPSoX3-qGwh9i8iWwvUmn71RPn_qyKATWv35B46GCnQowBl73UVyjpi6yRDkdaHIJUg0tTox7yAeg/s200/4.+Sony+Minidisc+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Second Minidisc Player</td></tr>
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For some reason then in 2004, the
unthinkable happended: I fell out of love with the Minidisc player. It was one
of those relationships that ended, not due to falling out of love with it, but
the love had changed. We were going in different directions. My second minidisc ended up being sold to a Cash
Generators store and for Crimboxmas 2004, I requested and received the
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-worst-gadgets-of-the-decade-2009-12?op=1" target="_blank">following</a>:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Way_2gLODlIl7zIrXQnyERY3ik4JfVuS-ccO8OFsajQlnmm0K7D6fNb_1WhTsXaCRNPeFm2AGZmurmyTppVtlp30GHOmi3c-04ZLBT9KBbKDDEid-CYlnkMDL-oaCYu96Lq12Jo_7lY/s1600/9.+Sony+MP3+Player.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Way_2gLODlIl7zIrXQnyERY3ik4JfVuS-ccO8OFsajQlnmm0K7D6fNb_1WhTsXaCRNPeFm2AGZmurmyTppVtlp30GHOmi3c-04ZLBT9KBbKDDEid-CYlnkMDL-oaCYu96Lq12Jo_7lY/s320/9.+Sony+MP3+Player.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yes. I had gone a full 360 from
being MPFREE to being back at MPTOTALLY. Memory size had rocked in the 4 years
since I last owned an MP3 player and I felt it was the right time to go back
and of course, Sony were my guys to turn to. I still kept my minidiscs as my
HiFi system was a Minidisc one so I still had my playlists and strangely, I
never remade them for my MP3. They felt sacred to the old Minidisc life and I
left them be.
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Things went along ok for about
nine months. This was a time when no matter what MP3 player you bought, your
manufacturer had their own software they wanted you to use and use it you had
to. I liked the emerging iTunes, but Sony demanded that I use SonicStage. All
my MP3’s had to be converted into WMA’s or something else in order to work. I
pined for the days of hassle free music listening and I wanted the ability to
choose what software I wanted to use no matter what MP3 I bought. But of
course, things would never be that easy. I ended up having two separate but
duplicate music libraries on my laptop. I loved iTunes, hated SonicStage but
couldn’t bring myself to sell the MP3 that I had received for Crimboxmas
previous. </div>
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Then in October 2005, my old Dell
laptop died. It was no longer fit for anything besides solitaire. My music was
thankfully backed up on a hard drive so it was not lost. I wondered what next.
My decision was to change my musical and technology based life for ever. I
bought an Apple iBook G4 laptop (which to this day is still working!) and that
purchase signaled the end for my Sony MP3. It was not Apple compatible and
rather strangely I lost all interest in having a personal music player. I sold the
MP3 on eBay and didn’t bother with anything for months.</div>
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I started working full time in
September 2006 in sales and my first months incentive payment was used to move
back into the personal music sphere. I bought an iPod Nano! It was 8 GB, the
same size as my old Sony so this was perfect for the time. Then I decided I’d
be sacreldiscus. I made playlists on my iTunes of all my old Minidisc playlists
and in memory of them, kept the creative titling. Indeed, I was so happy to
have digitally reconnected with those playlists that on my iPod today I am
currently beginning ‘Minidisc 31’! The main changes today are that my Nano was
exchanged for a 160GB Classic iPod as my music collection now verges on the
insane. I have in excess of 24,000 songs and over 177GB of music. And crazily,
all my ‘Minidisc’ playlists are now joined by 11 ‘Chillout’ playlists, 3
Classical playlists and numerous Setlist playlists of bands that I’ve seen
live. I have only a few rules when making my playlists. No more than 20 songs
and artist duplication is nearly always forbidden. Some playlists I have
allowed exceptions! But I try my best to keep the artists as mixed and as
separated as possible. Some playlists need exceptions because the genre of
music can be so unique, see my example below.</div>
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But do I think I have a problem?!</div>
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Simple answer is ‘no’! I find it
very challenging and thoroughly enjoyable to sit down and try and thrash out a
new playlist. I have a ‘list’ that I throw songs I’ve heard and liked into, then
I start from there. It can be a great way to hear different genres together and
appreciate many different types of music. One of my two most recent playlists
is a most interesting listen. I’ve gone for a real up/down tempo mixing rock
with some post rock. It’s quite the ride!</div>
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Thus far the list is:</div>
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Auto Rock – Mogwai</div>
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Little By Little – Oasis</div>
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Moya – Godspeed You! Black Emperor
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Come on Home – Franz Ferdinand</div>
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Blaise Bailey Finnegan III -
Godspeed You! Black Emperor</div>
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Pardon Me – Incubus </div>
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Retreat! Retreat! – 65daysofstatic</div>
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Your Love Alone Is Not Enough –
Manic Street Preachers</div>
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Oroborus – Ulfomammut</div>
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Pick A Part That’s New –
Stereophonics</div>
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State of Non-Return – Om</div>
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The Day That Never Comes -
Metallica</div>
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I’m aiming for 17 or 18 songs on
this list I think.</div>
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So that’s my musical history
muttering! Let me tell you, remembering my old Minidisc’s and MP3 players was
awesome! Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing this!</div>
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Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-27668685743945575312012-11-07T21:35:00.000+00:002012-11-07T21:36:00.759+00:00Lack of Leadership on board the Arse<style>
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It’s been a while since I wrote about my beloved Arsenal. I
guess I find it can be a bit more difficult because there are so many different
gooner voices out there in blogland, let alone the blogosphere and spblogace,
that I wonder if I’m adding anything of interest to what’s already there. But
after a trying few weeks I’m going to add my thoughts to some things that have
already been written. Hopefully my voice adds something to the conversation!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YD2MA9VbU16DJLU6LpdCTHOk7pZfQH91yKdTGIx6iqiUfDYlSDBP6-qQRSd7VTEU0GXQ3JKVgkjyT5tGJdCOxB81BILg66YHGS_GLflHxww_WR50JwrDHhxoW7t6Jl3h0JpyOjO5DL4/s1600/Le+Prof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YD2MA9VbU16DJLU6LpdCTHOk7pZfQH91yKdTGIx6iqiUfDYlSDBP6-qQRSd7VTEU0GXQ3JKVgkjyT5tGJdCOxB81BILg66YHGS_GLflHxww_WR50JwrDHhxoW7t6Jl3h0JpyOjO5DL4/s200/Le+Prof.jpg" width="141" /></a><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/110032899/le-professeur-sra3-print" target="_blank">Le Prof </a><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/110032899/le-professeur-sra3-print"></a></div>
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(picture by Dan Leydon)</div>
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I have read quite a few different reactions to Arsene over
the last number of years and they seem to ebb and flow with regard to ‘he knows
what he’s doing’ to ‘what the hell is he doing?’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve always been a massive fan and supporter
of his ideology and I still am. When arguments used to happen in pubs, I was
standing up for the need to build the stadium and an acknowledgment that there
might be a few years without a league trophy (wasn’t expecting the current
trophy drought!) and the need to go for youth. Arguments against this
philosophy were never personal attacks like these days on the beautiful magic
interweb. What Wenger did in the first years of the stadium was nothing short
of miraculous. I don’t think the fans were ever told the whole truth about
monies being available to the manager but I accepted that belt tightening was a
necessity due to our circumstance. However, what was apparent was the ever-increasing
competition for the top 4 places. That Wenger has kept us there is proof of his
ability as a manager and a coach. Yes there have been seasons with luck and
seasons where without a certain 30 goal scoring thing we wouldn’t be anywhere
but that is part and parcel of football. The point is that it happened, nothing
you can do now except reminisce. I’m not like others in that I don’t get strung
up about when Wenger talks about 4<sup>th</sup> place being like a trophy. Yes
an actual trophy would be nice after such a drought, but in todays football
world, putting the effort in to winning a cup like the League Cup and/or the FA
cup can cost you League points. I look at Liverpool – yes the club that
everyone likes to compare us to and if you ask Liverpool fans about blah blah
blah, they say they wished blah blah blah. You’ve heard it all. My point is
regarding their struggle post Benitez. Liverpool were like us. They were one of
the teams pre season who was going to finish in the top 4. Then they didn’t.
And look at their struggles since. Look at the money they have spent. Yes
they’ve bought quite a bit of mediocrity but it’s a very, very tough journey
back to the promised land of the top 4 and the margins for error are getting
slimmer and slimmer every season. Arsenal this season are showing slight signs
of slippage and despite Arsene’s previous miracles, there is just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">something </i>missing from the club today
that I think is the cause of this slippage.</div>
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What I feel Arsenal currently lack is leadership at every
point in the club. We have an owner who is silent. We have a CEO who says the
right things to the right people at the right times. We have a manager whom I
don’t think is even questioned. Now I’m not asking for ownership that interferes
in the day-to-day managers job – that’s not Arsenal. The leadership I feel
we’re missing at the top are the custodians. People like Danny Fizsman and
David Dein, who while not questioning the manager, would (and I certainly feel
this) subtly have asked questions about players, teams and matches. Even if it
were to subtly encourage or motivate Arsene to think a little differently. What
they cared about was Arsenal. Well in Dein’s case, he did up to about 2007 when
he sold his shares to Usmanov. I don’t buy into his reasoning for selling and
if he truly cared about the club he’d clip his son around the ear when it comes
to being an agent for some of our past players. We currently have an owner who
cares about a club that will make him money. He is happy to keep things going
the way things currently go as it keeps our share price high and ultimately I
feel that is his sole goal having seen and heard nothing to inspire me or make
me think otherwise. I remember the summer of 2001 where after a few mediocre seasons,
Wenger whipped out the cheque book and brought players like Van Bronkhorst,
Sol, Richard Wright and Jeffers to the club. Now some signings were inspired,
some great squad additions and others didn’t work out. What happened after the
additions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My own personal thoughts are
that Wenger was told from above that the money was there, tell us who to sign
to make us title challengers again and let us worry about the money for now. There
was mutual understanding between everyone and Wenger trusted them like they
trusted him. Currently Wenger has to worry about balancing the books and the
team and I worry he does it alone. I look at the run down in the fantastic blog
from <a href="http://swissramble.blogspot.ie/2012/10/arsenal-song-remains-same.html" target="_blank">The Swiss Ramble</a>
where he lays it out brilliantly and plainly how Arsenal’s business plan means
they really do need to sell before they can buy. No one on the board currently
is an Arsenal man besides the honorary PHW who hasn’t much influence anymore.
It’s very eerily silent.</div>
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The other lack of leadership issue I have has been the
choice of captains. Since Vieira left I don’t think Arsenal have had a proper
captain with the exception of a certain scoring thing last season. Yes I know
the way he left, but last season he had the players doing things together, he
knew the traditions of Arsenal and on the pitch he was a talker and an action
man. Wenger has never been much of a ranter or a hairdryer style manager. He
inherited Adams who knew the right things to say and gave 100% He gave the
captaincy to Vieira. These were players who didn’t know the meaning of giving
up, of not contesting every 50/50, but also knowing what to say and when to say
it. Henry’s shadow was too great when he inherited the captaincy. Look at the
freedom the team played with after his departure. Gallas? Need I say anything
more than ‘center circle’? While Fabregas was one of the greatest players I
ever got to watch, he was no captain. Vermaelen this season seems to be
burdened by it. He doesn’t seem to be the player of old who made less mistakes
but his slightly reckless mistakes were made up by the fact he scored goals.
Arteta would have been the best choice for captain but the fact he’s not means
he’s not going to try and step on Vermaelen’s toes. While Wenger doesn’t hold
the idea of captaincy in the highest of regard and prefers his leaders to be in
the dressing room and all over the pitch, there’s something that choosing the
right captain can bring. Vieira calmed his insane temperament when he inherited
the responsibility of captain. He was a leader on the pitch that if the team
was down he inspired others to rise with him. After Vieira left we still had
what Wenger termed ‘leaders’ on the pitch, but they didn’t do much without a
proper captain and leader. There’s just something that can inspire you when looking
to the man wearing the armband when you need inspiration. If you look and see
an Adams or a Vieira with the look of anger in their eyes after conceding, or
hearing them shout at you having done something silly – you awaken to the
challenge. Right now while Arteta is respected and seen as a captain, the
players will look at Vermaelen and see little to be inspired about.</div>
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So in summation – my belief is that Wenger doesn’t have
leadership around him in the club and this is what is holding Arsenal back. He
has yes men above him and players that respect the pants off him. I think what
Wenger and Arsenal need more than ever right now, is a true captain major to
run the ship and a true captain to rally the troops on the pitch. A club is
made up of many elements all gently pushing, persuading, sometimes fighting,
but all pushing in the same direction. Arsenal currently has a man trying to
steer somewhere he knows he wants to go, but has no leadership to help him get
there. I think Wenger is still the man to lead our club, but he needs his
leadership around him in the supporting roles. I think he misses the subtle inputs of others who share his same goal: for Arsenal to win trophies.</div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-84220963155486764382012-11-07T12:11:00.001+00:002012-11-07T12:11:10.324+00:00Musical Mutterings
Bit of a quieter musical muttering this week. More of a
musical mumble cough *tumbleweed* blog! My music listening has not stopped,
fear not dear reader, but I have no new albums to review this week. My musical choices were inspired by what would get my legs pumping hardest on my new bicycle! Disc 2 of Garage Inc. was a definite leg mover! My top 5
listenings for the last week were:<br />
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Idlewild</div>
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Metallica</div>
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Queens of the Stone Age</div>
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Incubus</div>
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Green Day</div>
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I am a big fan of Idlewild and I am disappointed they never
made it as big as they should have. They’ve released some sublime musical
offerings over their career (currently on hiatus) yet never managed to break
into the upper echelons of the musical halls. They’ve had their own cult
following which thankfully, was big enough to keep them together for over a
decade. Their last album, ‘Post Electric Blues’, was a brilliant album and it was funded solely by
fans (like me) paying in advance of its making to finance the recording! You
see music industry? People are willing to pay for music. Good music. And pay
more than you charge for shit. Take note. </div>
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On another muttering note, I saw an amazing bit of news from
Queens of the Stone Age the other day. Not only are they back recording a new
album, but Dave Grohl is back on drums! For those in the not know - check out the album Songs for the Deaf from 2002 - masterpiece. He has always said Josh Homme is the
only man who can persuade him to sit behind the kit. I was lucky enough to
see Grohl from afar behind the kit when I saw QotSA play in 2001 and 2002 at a
festival, but even more lucky to get a ticket to Them Crooked Vultures in
Hammersmith Apollo in 2010. I was right up front and watching Grohl bash that
kit was an amazing experience. Getting close to the legend that is John Paul
Jones was also nice! This week I shall be getting my hands on two new albums so
more to musically mutter about next week. Hopefully I shall have a few of the
other projects I’m writing about nearer to completion also. Waiting for a book
to come into my library for one project and editing two more! Been a bit quiet
here on the old blog this last week but that should change soon!</div>
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Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-23569714355756387832012-10-28T22:35:00.000+00:002012-10-28T22:35:02.304+00:00Musical Mutterings
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So as promised last week, this week begins with a review of
Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s (GY!BE) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Allelujah!
Don’t Bend! Ascend!</i> I’ve spent the week listening to it and I have to say I
love it. For a band in such a particular genre as ‘post-rock’ to have a 10-year
hiatus between albums and to come back with this – it shows their immense
musical qualities. The album starts off with a monstrous beast of a song,
‘Mladic’. Twenty minutes of awesome. Starting with some spoken words, leading
into a rather slow, violinic (©) intro, by 1:15 the song introduces its first
distorted guitar sounds and builds it into the immense opening. At 3:30 the
steam begins to gather at the chimney of the pressure cooker. For the next
three minutes, there are subtle hints as to what is to come – at 6:42 there are
a few squeals from distorted guitars that they are ready to go. At 7:42, you
would be forgiven for thinking that the real rock is kicking off, but GY!BE
shift the intro of the song beautifully: this is merely the building process to
the real kick off of the song at 8:16.
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Immense.</div>
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The deconstruct into distortion, then guitars, then more
distortion is just as good. It’s what GY!BE reformed to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Their Helicopters’ Sing’ is a six-minute ear
and mind cleanser. It awakens you from the trance of the previous twenty
minutes by gently bringing you back to earth with a soft two-minute electronic
intro. Then on 2:12 we have some bagpipes to awaken the mind! It’s a cacophony
of noise but that is not to be derogatory about the song. The album is a
punishing one for different reasons and this is just going for a shorter blast
at different musical senses. Sandwiched in between the two beasts of the album,
it’s a brave but an expectedly brave song sandwich from GY!BE. </div>
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We drop to near silence for the intro of ‘We Drift Like
Worried Fire’ and within the first minute we have the first taste of some
finger picking and more violinic (©) musings. At 2:57 we have a quite sudden
change to defined guitar finger picking and the building process begins again.
3:58 brings in the drums as the song begins to simmer under the surface and it
boils over at the six-minute mark. It changes tack at the mid point and chills
out for a while with some nice violin work. But fear not! By 14:53 we are truly
on the crest of a crescendo of guitars again! It chugs along beautifully until
three minutes from the end of the song where it becomes quiet rather suddenly
luring you into a false sense of peace. It comes back as quickly as it faded.
The song is another twenty-minute mammoth but it hooks you from first to last.</div>
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The last song ‘Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable‘
is another electronic, static noise track. Again – that’s not to be
disparaging. It’s challenging your senses to adjust to the ultimate changes of
the album: the songs themselves rather than just the changes within the songs.
The reason these guys are so good is evident in this album. I believe they
provide the ‘building rock’ © for ‘post-rock’ and this ability is what makes
these guys genii at their craft.</div>
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Just as an aside incase there’s any interest, other ‘post-rock’
artists that I enjoy would be Explosions in the Sky, God Is An Astronaut and
65daysofstatic. But GY!BE are the gods of the genre in my humble opinion.</div>
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Another new album acquired this week was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Apocryphon</i> from The Sword. I came across
these guys in 2009 when they supported Metallica on their tour of the UK and
they impressed me. They’ve a really distinct sound and made me think they were
a heavier version of Fu Manchu – I doubt anyone else will think that! The album
itself is good. I have given it a few listens on my hifi and I may have zoned
out for a few songs but the ones I heard – I liked! That’s the difference
between a metal album and post-rock – I find myself actually sitting down and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">listening</i> to a post-rock album whereas I
can do other stuff and merely <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hear</i> a
metal album. So far my standout track is the opener ‘The Veil of Isis’ but I
also include ‘Cloak of Feathers’, ‘Arcane Montane’ and ‘Aporcyphon’ in my list
of songs to check out. As happened with their previous two albums, you can find
gems buried deep. ‘The Black River’ was buried at number nine on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gods of the Earth</i> and so I found
‘Apocryphon’ buried at number 10! Have to say though – not one song made me
want to skip forward so that’s always a good sign! It’s an album I’d define as
groovy stoner metal so those seeking a thrash metal Sword album might be a
little disappointed. </div>
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In closing, with thanks to last.fm as always, my top 5 listens for
the last week were:</div>
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The Sword</div>
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Rammstein</div>
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Mozart</div>
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Godspeed You! Black Emporer</div>
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Wolfmother </div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-88842732639094446822012-10-24T13:15:00.002+01:002012-10-24T14:14:33.460+01:00Go Small Part 2 - A supranational cooperative?Since my <a href="http://cyklistbhriste.blogspot.ie/2012/07/is-it-time-to-go-small.html" target="_blank">last</a><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://cyklistbhriste.blogspot.ie/2012/07/is-it-time-to-go-small.html"><span style="color: blue;"></span></a></span>
ramble about going small, there have been quite a few regions beginning to
demand independence from the larger state entities! Did they secretly read my
blog?! Viewing statistics would suggest ‘NO’ but I have a sneaky suspicion the
answer is definitely …..no!<br />
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My last argument centered around the need to downsize in the
hope that smaller entities would prove more difficult for corporations to buy,
that there would be more interest in the politics of your area. This blog post touches
on the interesting rumblings emanating from areas like Venice and the Basque
Region. I know there are also happenings in Catalonia, Scotland and Wallonia,
but for the purpose of this blog I’ll attempt to be concise with my argument.
I’ll try to argue for the notion of Venetian independence using the concept of
the Basque Region cooperative.</div>
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One of my previous points arose from my questioning of
central government. I basically asked if we downsized, would that be beneficial
to somewhere like Cork? Cork it was announced a while back, has seemingly
struck oil; well a corporation has and thanks to deals made in the 1980’s the
people will see absolutely no benefit from this. The Dublin government gets
nothing except the corporation rate of tax on the profits. Yipee. With the
recent abolition of and merging of lots of town councils, the Irish government
is going to be even more centralised. There are parts I agree with in this –
for example the planning process for developments was so corrupt it had to be
taken away from the local councils. But a lot of the councils are now seemingly
going to be money collection agencies for the government in relation to the
forthcoming property tax. The central government gets to wipe its hands of this
dirty business. How convenient. But I digress. My main argument here is that
the national resources being utilised by the government are our police force
and they’re being used against the <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0731/breaking14.html" target="_blank">people.</a> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0731/breaking14.html"><span style="color: blue;"></span></a></span>The corporations by having centralised laws can use those laws to their benefit
over both small and large landmasses. What government in one area feels is
necessary may not what the locality wants. </div>
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Lets look to Europe and assess some examples both of regions
who are actively seeking independence from the Nation State or who have unique
regional identity and whose independence movements are not yet as pronounced as
others. I’ll propose logical reasons as to why I feel going small could work. </div>
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The nation state as we know is only something of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Westphalia" target="_blank">recent</a>
political concoction. <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Westphalia"><span style="color: blue;"></span></a></span> The
Peace of Westphalia brought together lots of regions within a defined state
border mainly for protection. Europe had just gone through two wars, both
ending in 1648 with this Peace. Regions within Europe had been decimated by the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War" target="_blank">Thirty Years War</a> so
these small regions sought sanctuary within the borders of a more powerful
entity. This entity is what we call the Nation State. I believe that the nation
state today has become too powerful, too corrupt and controlled by a minority
that dictate to the majority what system we should use to live our lives and
what economic situation we have to live in. The variance between states is too
great and this variance is what causes people to risk their lives to escape one
nation state for another. I do believe however, in an organisation like the EU.
Yes it has its faults, but I think a supranational entity like that, run for
the benefit of all the EU’s citizens is a way forward. The EU already has a
regions policy. It promotes the cultural differences, the positives and the
peoples of Europe’s regions. It has a <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/newsroom/detail.cfm?LAN=EN&id=338&lang=en" target="_blank">webpage</a>
showing just some of the ongoing projects within the different regions and how
they are benefiting from being within the EU. I think the world is too small today and
wants to move too quickly to merit a move to nothing but totally independent
regions. But much like the way the state system we have has ceded certain
powers to the EU, for example in terms of trade negotiations, I believe regions
could do the same. The EU could become a kind of giant cooperative movement.
They have the basic formation of one in place already. <a href="http://euobserver.com/regions/117764" target="_blank">Indeed</a> “for one week
every year European regions are in the spotlight. It’s called Open Days, lasts
a week, and is dedicated to all issues regional and local. From every corner of
the continent, thousands of local leaders and administrators come to Brussels
to talk directly to EU officials and lawmakers. It is a time of networking,
exchanging ideas and passing on information. It is also about celebrating the
best of what Europe can produce. An array of local products – foods, wines
[and] regional specialities.”
Could this be a way forward with our politics? The answer in my opinion is
‘yes’ and I look to the example of a current cooperative. </div>
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We have extremely sad <a href="http://euobserver.com/social/117814" target="_blank">stories</a>
coming from the nation state of Spain and most of us have heard about the
economic difficulties Spain is facing, Well, despite these extreme difficulties
there are <a href="http://www.france24.com/en/20121018-spains-basque-co-op-thrives-despite-crisis" target="_blank">success stories</a>
and they emerge from communities working together. While Mondragon is a
corporation, it is one of the responsible and ethical ones. For “despite its
international presence, Mondragon's co-operative structure has kept most of its
jobs and production in Spain. It has 35,000 employees in the Spanish Basque
Country, 35,000 elsewhere in Spain and about 13,500 abroad.” (France 24
article) I believe cooperatives are the way forward, both socially and
financially. They bring communities together and ensure that the power base remains
within the cooperative. There are no gigantic wages for someone sitting at the
top while the people at the bottom work their balls off for a pittance. Profits
are shared and communities worldwide benefit. Even when tough decisions have to
be made, look at their methods:</div>
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“Most of its workers are partners in the firm, voting to
elect the bosses and determine sensitive decisions. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In May, for example,
workers of its flagship electronics brand Fagor agreed between them to cut
their salaries by 7.5 percent and to move workers to different locations.” People
do realise that tough decisions need to be made to save business and protect
industry. We often hear from governments that people ‘don’t realise that cuts
are necessary’ etc. The big one for me at the moment is the bank debt. I wrote
about bank reform <a href="http://cyklistbhriste.blogspot.ie/2012/08/reform-personal-banks.html" target="_blank">previously</a>
and my belief that personal banks should be run more like Credit Unions (well
maybe not <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/credit-unions-to-get-1bn-bailout-169950.html%20" target="_blank">Irish</a> credit unions) but a banking cooperative that ensures responsible lending and not only
promotes but rewards saving. Local money is used to run them, which again
benefits the communities. I spoke last time about calculating interest rates
based on the actual need of the loan. The aim of this is to go about reducing
exposure to bad debts as people may well be put off unnecessary spending and
bad spending practice if the interest for their proposed spending is too high.
Easy credit leads to boom and bust cycles. Reducing the size of the banks
brings them back to serve the localities they exist within.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another regional example I’ll touch on
is <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9589732/Mass-rally-in-Venice-to-call-for-independence-from-Italy.html" target="_blank">Venice</a>. </span><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9589732/Mass-rally-in-Venice-to-call-for-independence-from-Italy.html"><span style="color: blue;"></span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Venice
was a Republic for around one thousand years before the Napoleonic Wars caused
its cessation. What was a cause of its end? A powerful Nation State. Now you
have the people arguing about things that are important: economics. Venetians
argue about the tax they pay Rome and how they have a 20 billion deficit
between that which they pay and that which they receive. It’s an understandable
complaint when times are tough. What I am attempting to show here is that a lot
of our security concerns now are economic. I would argue that Europe is safe
from marauding hordes like the Mongols, that future independent regions like
Venice are safe from empires such as the Hapsburg Empire that engulfed it as
‘territory’ after Napoleon’s France was defeated. I would argue it’s a safe
time to return to regional entities.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I believe that using a supranational <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">organisation </i>like the EU could be the
answer to future regional security. Now I realise that while I’m pointing out
my belief in downsizing, I’m also arguing for a supranational body like the EU
to operate as a gigantic cooperative! My argument for that is rational. I would
still have bodies like the European Parliament, who do far more good than they
are given credit for, to ensure there is no democratic deficit within this
organisation. But firstly, by introducing a more cooperative corporation
whereby people see the benefit of voting for bosses, for pay increases and
decreases, for benefits – that may encourage people to vote in larger numbers
for their representatives in the supranational cooperative that would be my
vision of the EU. I believe that the policies of the EU could be carried
forward with ease. Freedom of travel, freedom to work where one wishes. I
believe these traits are transferrable to any future European Union. I think
removing the hormonal Nation State from politics removes one of the scourges of
humanity: nationalism. Downsizing society and its organs would not lead to a
lessoning of ‘internationalism’. By having the EU promote your local goods
globally, the people and their cooperatives can celebrate locally what they
both can achieve and helping others would make everyone proud of their and
others localities. Seeing your locality thrive on the international arena
thanks in no small part to decisions you helped shape and voted for - that
surely is a good thing.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The EU is not founded on principles
like <a href="http://www.helpcatalonia.cat/2012/09/european-parliament-vice-president.html?m=0" target="_blank">this</a>. I think the nation state has served its purpose and a cooperative based European Union is
what will bring people, communities and their cooperatives forward, together. For the
better.</span><br />
<br />
*quick update*<br />
I also believe this can work on a worldwide scale - this is <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/10/cooperatives-cushion-the-blows-of-hunger/" target="_blank">another</a> example of a cooperative movement helping its community </div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-79365063524349429122012-10-23T16:32:00.000+01:002012-10-23T16:32:19.027+01:00Musical Mutterings
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Good day to you all. Last weeks top five artists were:</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Grinderman</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Queens of the Stone Age</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Mogwai</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_Reinhardt" target="_blank">
</a></span></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_Reinhardt" target="_blank">Django Reinhardt</a>
(read his history - amazing)</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>We Cut Corners</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grinderman%20" target="_blank">Grinderman</a> are awesome. A side project to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – they bring
something amazing to my music library. Nick Cave can be a bit down, with
weighty lyrics at the best of times – that’s not a disparaging remark at all by
the way, I love his music, but didn’t you just wish sometimes he’d just rock
out a bit?! Grinderman are that. Their songs are rocking, they’re raw and
they’re good! No Pussy Blues is a brilliant example of Grinderman in my view.
Nick Cave’s brilliant frustrated lyrics detail how he’s doing everything he can
to get a woman to sleep with him:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">'I read her Eliot, I read her Yeats, I
tried my best to stay up late, I fixed the hinges on her gate, but still she
just never wanted to...'</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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But it’s his brilliance at arranging such a rocking song
with an instrument he wasn’t noted for using too much – the guitar – that
strikes you. His long time collaborator Warren Ellis and him are too amazing
musicians. If you’re a fan of the quieter stuff, check out ‘White Lunar’ – it’s
their music from movie scores they’ve written and there are some beautifully
arranged and beautifully written songs. Well worth a listen.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.delphilabel.com/the-artist/we-cut-corners" target="_blank">We Cut Corners</a>
are the other band I’ll write about this week. They’re a two piece Irish band
from Dublin whose debut album was released last year. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Today I Realised I Could Go Home Backwards’ </i>went in my cd player
the day I received it and didn’t leave it for a few days. Not only did it get
played there, it was on constant play on my ipod too! The album got so many
plays that <a href="http://www.wecutcorners.net%20/" target="_blank">We Cut Corners</a> were in my top 5 most listened to bands last year! They were only surpassed by
the big heavies Rammstein and Metallica. They have a few of their songs
available here <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/We+Cut+Corners">http://www.last.fm/music/We+Cut+Corners</a>
and their album is available from the Delphi Records <a href="http://www.delphilabel.com/the-artist/we-cut-corners" target="_blank">website</a>. Why do I think it’s
so good? It has a bit of everything from the ‘Indie’ genre. It has a bit of
screechy rock in ‘Three People’, '<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcxikW4CTcw%20" target="_blank">Go Easy</a>’ is a lively little song, soft yet moves nicely along. ‘<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJu-dOr1r8" target="_blank">A Pirate’s Life</a>'<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJu-dOr1r8"></a>
is a lovely chilled out number. The rest of the album is as strong and worth supporting!
They’re also playing in the Pavillion in Cork on November 2<sup>nd</sup> so if
you’re free it wouldn’t be a wasted evening!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Lastly, I’ll probably be reviewing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEsdiiYkhT8" target="_blank">this</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEsdiiYkhT8"></a>
next week as it’s newly released and these guys ROCK. I was lucky to see them
in Dublin in 2010 and it was one of the best gigs I was ever at. Give it your
time and ears for an hour</div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-48934614377926626662012-10-18T01:42:00.000+01:002013-01-02T15:13:30.843+00:00Reinventing NarcissismI listened to an interesting podcast this evening. The
podcast itself is called ‘Four Thought’ and it’s available on iTunes. The
episode I listened to was released on October 10<sup>th</sup>. The speaker was
Mark Vernon and the description of the talk was thus:<br />
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“<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Mark Vernon,
writer and former priest, says we should rehabilitate the concept of narcissism
as a valuable form of self-love.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Firstly
let me begin this post by defining ‘narcissism’.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">narcissism</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> |ˈnärsəˌsizəm|</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;"></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">noun</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">excessive
or erotic interest in oneself and one's physical appearance.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">• </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light";">Psychology </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">extreme selfishness, with a grandiose
view of one's own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a
personality type.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">That is pretty
harsh modern take in my view! </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">In my
thesaurus ‘narcissism’ has the following associated with it: vanity, self-love,
self-admiration, self-absorption, self-obsession, conceit, self-centeredness,
self-regard, egotism, egoism. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">Now if we
took aside the most self-centered definitions that may have been added over the
years, by my reckoning we’d be left with the following positives: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">self-love
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">self-admiration
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">self-regard
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">We may also
have the following slightly negative traits: </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">self-centeredness
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">self-absorption
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">egotism</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I ask you to look at the positives and read them. What in
all honesty is wrong with those? In my humble view – nothing is wrong with
those and nothing is wrong with any person showing these traits. The following
blog post will talk a bit about an institution I believe has a vested interest
in keeping humanity suppressed for its own selfish gain. Engaging in ‘positive narcissism’
in my view, could help free us from this institution.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reason Mr. Vernon’s talk caught my attention is because
he spoke about an issue that has been in my thoughts since I wrote my thesis.
Now my disclaimer here is that my arguments are against the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">institution </i>of religion itself, namely
the Roman Catholic Church whom I consider to be one of the most corrupt, evil
institutions the world has seen. My arguments are not so much about religious
beliefs – more the teachings of this criminal institution. Now part of my
thesis involved me researching and writing about the control the institution of
the Roman Catholic Church was able to place over society right from the
Church’s very beginnings. A lot of the Church’s teachings have been about
controlling the individual. Part of my first chapter centered on the French
philosopher <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Michael
Foucault. In lectures given in the 1970’s, Foucault spoke about certain Christian
practices which firstly began with “the emergence of a very strange phenomenon
in Graeco–Roman civilization, that is the organisation of a link between total
obedience, knowledge of oneself, and confession to someone else.” (Foucault in
Holland, 2002: 86) Foucault argued that the goal of these Christian practices
was the same: Their goal was “to get individuals to work at their own
‘mortification’ in this world.” In my thesis my argument was that this
phenomenon taught people to feel shame if they ever had a notion that the
Church was committing wrongs and that this inbuilt shame in people caused
silence rather than outspokenness in times of wrong doing for fear of offending
a god and/or shaming those purportedly doing his work here on earth. I argued
that this was and still is powerful and destructive control to have.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
mention this to give you the reader a very brief introduction to my theory of
institutional Church control. Mr. Vernon when speaking about the criticism
associated with self-love made the following point in his talk. He asks why
narcissism carries such automatically negative connotations today? He says “it
may have something to do with religious injunctions around the notion that its
better to give than to receive, though I suspect its too easy just to blame
religion.” (08.11 – 08.24) I have no such qualms! It is very easy to blame
institutional religion and I have part of my argument laid out above. The
institution of the Church has taught people over many, many centuries to feel
ashamed of their bodies. It has taught society to feel ashamed of the natural
act of sex. That any form of self-love is wrong. Only their definition of love
is acceptable. This societal indoctrination of course had an impact on the
psyche of people. This indoctrination led to the ‘crime’ of narcissism and the
negative associations that my thesaurus listed alongside the word. My thesis aimed
to prove that if society had different teachings, we would be different people.
I personally turn to philosophy in my attempts to find answers and in this
instance I turn to Aristotle.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">While the
word ‘narcissism’ was not around in Aristotle’s day, the concept of self-love
was and Aristotle <a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/ethics/section9.rhtml" target="_blank">spoke</a> of the need to love oneself for he believed that you
are closer to yourself than to anyone else. Aristotle argued that t</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">hose who denigrate self-love are
thinking of people who seek the greatest honors and pleasures only for
themselves. A good person who is self-loving will seek only what is best for
himself or herself, which will be consistent with what is best for all. A good
person will do seemingly unselfish acts, such as taking risks for friends or
giving away money, but will do these things because they are noble and are
motivated by self-love.
</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now I
do not believe the institution of the Catholic Church fully understand or
believe the message taught by their supposed saviour Jesus Christ because using
Aristotle’s logic from this point, Jesus could be described as a ‘positive
narcissist’.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Now, please
excuse me while I paraphrase <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sparknotes</i>
but the following paragraph succinctly returns us to my control theory. They
<a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/ethics/section9.rhtml" target="_blank">write</a> that Aristotle’s discussion of self-love marks him as one of the early
proponents of ethical egoism, a controversial issue in the modern world.
Ethical egoism is the idea that self-love is the most important virtue and that
if we all sought what was best for ourselves, the world would naturally work
its way into a desirable shape without the need for selflessness. This idea is
unpopular in the modern world because its most ardent proponents tend to be <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>selfish conservatives</u></b> (the
emphasis is mine) who have no interest in the needs of others. Unlike us,
however, Aristotle lived in a world where there was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">common agreement</i> on what was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good
for all</i> and where <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the community
mattered</i> more than the individual. In such a world, successful people
measured their success in part by the success of their fellow citizens.
Selfishness seems like a vice only in a world driven by individualism, where
there is no evident benefit for oneself in helping others. <a href="http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/ethics/section9.rhtml"></a>
</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some of
the most selfish conservatives that come to my mind today are the ones in the
upper echelons of the Roman Catholic Church. A close second are some of the
conservatives in the United States of whom a majority would recognise the
Christian god as their almighty. Don’t believe me? Look at Church responses to
the worldwide scandal of child rape and sexual abuse. A lot of Republican
conservatives in the US argue for the right to life right up to the point of
birth. Once born, you can face the death penalty at some point in your life,
crippling poverty – basically neither have much interest in the needs of
others. Their main priorities are maintenance of power and control over their
flocks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
believe that by reinventing the notion of self-love and thus ‘narcissism’, by
removing the stigma that the institution of the Church has put on the notions
of love, I believe a freer, more confident and vibrant people could emerge. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">My basic argument here is that in
nearly everyone’s life, you are one of your own first loves. As a child, loving
yourself helps to foster your belief in yourself that for example, your
decision-making skills are good. Obviously the love of a parent or parents,
guardian or guardians helps to foster these beliefs and they guide us back to
the right path when our inexperience in life leads us off in the wrong
direction. Loving yourself helps you feel grounded in your own body. It gives
you confidence to face the world as an individual person; warts and all. The
institution of the Church does not want this. It wants you to acknowledge that
you are weakness ‘humanified’. It requires you to pray for strength to overcome
your weakness. Self-love is no weakness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
believe humanity needs to have more belief in itself and love for itself. The
love starts within you. Please remember that </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Baskerville;">no form of love is perfect. If we could only remove the stigma
associated with narcissism I think we could persuade people to be a lot happier
and a lot more confident. Not only would this removal of stigma facilitate this,
I believe that it would begin to free society of the yoke that religion has
placed around its existence. By accepting that we have faults and that we must
live with them, only then can we can more easily accept the faults in others
and become a more tolerant society. It is beliefs put in our heads by the
Institution of the Church that cause us to question any theories or notions of
love. When presented with thoughts, it is most important to remember the
following:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It is the mark of an
educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. ~
Aristotle</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-21870784548056500472012-10-16T23:38:00.000+01:002012-10-16T23:38:03.203+01:00Musical Mutterings 2<div style="color: black;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the rain pours down upon my gaff, let me dip into this
week’s musical mutterings!
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My top five bands for the previous week were:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Om</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Metallica</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Gil Scott Heron</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>The Birthday Suit</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Charlie Parr</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ok so last time out I muttered somewhat about Om and how
awesome they are. That would explain their position in this weeks chart. Still
absolutely loving ‘Sinai’ and ‘State of Non-Return’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But on to the first of two artists I’m looking at this week
– <a href="http://www.thebirthdaysuit.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Birthday Suit.</a>
Currently I am in possession only of their 3 song EP called ‘Less Worthless
Years’ but have pre-ordered their new album due for release sometime this month
I think? They are headed by currently hiatussed Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones.
He’s joined by Jacqueline
Irvine, David Jack, Steve Morrison, Séan McLaughlin and Catrin Pryce-Jones. They
offer nice melodic rock/folk songs. ‘Past Passes By’ is a lovely song. It’s a
slow moving (not in a negative sense) song that builds beautifully and the
singing just ‘goes’. It is It’s 3.40 of niceness! ‘Sing It Alone’ is a bit more
of a straight up song. It starts as it means to sound, getting slightly more guitary
for the chorus. Still a decent song! ‘The Longingness of Time Comp’ I like a
lot. It starts with a nice picked melody with good vocals, builds gently over the
first minute, adds intensity for the chorus which kind of reminds me of The
Decemberists in a way, then reverses to the nice picking. They are (in my
opinion) a slightly rockier version of a beauty of a band called <a href="http://www.inthewillows.com/" target="_blank">In TheWillows.</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m also going to talk about <a href="http://www.charlieparr.com/" target="_blank">Charlie Parr.</a> Charlie was
recommended by a friend in the old US of A. He’s a bluesy folk
singer/songwriter. He is truly fantastic. His voice is softer than you’d
imagine when you look at him but it still sounds like it has a story to tell. And
tell it he does. The album I listened to last week was ‘Cheap Wine’. Seriously
– check it out. Opening with a beautiful number called 1922 Blues it grabs your
attention straight off. It rolls into my favourite song on the album <a href="http://vimeo.com/32806575" target="_blank">‘To A Scrapyard Bus Stop’. </a>Check out the linked video. It’s a beauty. It caught my
ear the very first time I heard it. Charlie is an extremely talented guitarist
and the story telling in his songs really kept me listening to both the words
and music solidly through this album. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s it for this musical mutterings. I’m working on a
bigger piece for a blog due tomorrow so this is a short mutter!</div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-18778611985632527242012-10-12T02:40:00.000+01:002012-10-12T02:40:04.412+01:00My open letterAs promised in my <a href="http://cyklistbhriste.blogspot.ie/2012/10/blamphemer.html" target="_blank">previous</a> blog post, this is the letter that I have sent to the following Members of the European Parliament from Ireland:<br />
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<span>Emer
Costello, Gay Mitchell, Paul Murphy, Liam Aylward, Nessa Childers, Mairead
McGuinness, Brian Crowley, Seán Kelly, Phil Prendergast, Pat the Cope Gallagher,
Marian Harkin, Jim Higgins - their profiles can be found</span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> <a href="http://www.europarl.ie/view/en/Your_MEPs/irish_meps_since_1973/irish_meps_2009_2014.html" target="_blank">here</a></span></b></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span>Dear MEP,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">I write to you
today as a very concerned citizen of the European Union. You probably have
heard of a lady called Catherine Ashton – she’s the European Union’s Foreign
Affairs minister. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A few weeks back she issued a joint statement with
the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League, on the
“importance of respecting all prophets”. The joint statement came about due to
the violent reactions caused by the film ‘Innocence of Muslims’. I, like many
others, worry greatly that the statement included only a passing reference to
freedom of expression and that its main focus was on the point that we should
be expressing respect for all religions and all prophets. I wish to briefly
highlight some very worrying points which I hope as a Member of the European
Parliament you can bring to Ms. Ashton’s attention and help persuade her to think
otherwise for the sake of the freedom of expression, speech and thought for Europe’s
citizens.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My first concern is regarding one of the
organisations she issued the joint statement with – the OIC. This is an
organisation that has, along with others, been attempting to introduce an
amendment to the UN charter that would make </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">defamation of religion a crime</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. If they succeed (which
thankfully at this moment in time they have not) they would be criminalising my
right as a European Citizen to question anything to do with religion. Why does
Ms. Ashton wish to associate Europe with this organisation? Now please, do not
misunderstand me – I am all for respecting the beliefs of people that are
religious; but why then are my beliefs as an atheist being targeted? Why are my
rights to question the messages, rules and contradictions in the teachings of
‘prophets’ being eroded? The old saying ‘history repeats itself’ is never more
accurate than it is now and I will use the example of the Catholic Church of
the Middle Ages to highlight the importance of freedom of thought when it comes
to religion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I ask you, where would women be if no one was ever
allowed question the religion taught by the Roman Catholic Church? Take the
views of one of the Church’s most revered saints:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">"The woman
is subject to man on account of the weakness of her nature . . . Man is the
beginning of woman and her end, just as God is the beginning and end of every
creature. Children ought to love their Father more than they love their
mother." – Thomas Aquinas </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Do we still respect this view? I should hope no one does. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Would we still have to respect this view if we were not allowed question,
challenge and criticise the Catholic religion? I imagine the answer to be
“yes”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Another of the Church’s fanstastic modern views relates to homosexuality.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">They are of the
view that homosexual acts are contrary to the natural law. The church believes
these acts close the sexual act to the gift of life; that they do not proceed
from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can
they be approved.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Do we as
citizens of the European Union respect this stance of the Catholic religion? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Again I should
hope not. But if Ms. Ashton’s statement is allowed to stand, our ability to
question archaic beliefs like the two examples I’ve given becomes all the more
difficult. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Where would we be as a society if we were never
allowed question the Church’s belief that the Earth was the center of the
Universe and that the sun orbited around us?</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Where would we be as a race of people if we never
questioned anything that the Roman Catholic Church deemed to be
blasphemous?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It is only by questioning the religious that we the
people help to make it freer. By challenging Saudi Arabia this summer, the
Olympic Council persuaded them to allow women to participate in the games. If
Europe aligns itself with an organisation such as the OIC it is entering
dangerous territory. Should they ever get their </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">defamation of religion</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> law passed, it means we lose our right to question
their interpretation of their prophets’ teachings. Look at </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Malala
Yousafzai, this week shot by extremists because she wishes to be educated. We
lose the right to question the extremist’s motives if we respect their
interpretation of their prophets’ teachings. They are after all merely carrying
out their interpretation of Islam and punishing those who counter the teachings
of their prophet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My second concern is that by issuing statements with the
aforementioned organisations, Europe gives increasing credence to some of these
Islamic states and their use of the blasphemy laws currently on their statute
books. Here are five examples that Atheist Ireland’s Michael Nugent gave when
writing on his blog:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">In
Indonesia, Alexander Aan, a 31-year-old atheist civil servant, has been jailed
for two and a half years for sharing material on Facebook about the Prophet
Mohammad and writing that god does not exist.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">In
Pakistan, Asia Noreen Bibi, a 41-year-old Christian mother, has spent three
years in prison and faces execution by hanging after a farcical blasphemy
conviction. And last year two Pakistani politicians who questioned her sentence
were murdered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Also
in Pakistan, Rimsha Masih, a 14-year-old Christian girl, was recently arrested
for allegedly burning pages from the Quran. An islamic cleric was later
arrested for planting the Quran pages as evidence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">In
Saudi Arabia, Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old Muslim poet, has been jailed for
blasphemy for publishing tweets saying that he would shake Muhammad’s hand as
an equal if he met him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">And
in Iran, Youcef Nadarkhani, a 35-year-old Christian Pastor, has just recently
been released after spending nearly three years in prison facing execution on
charges of apostasy and evangelising Muslims.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">The
European Union’s focus should be on getting these people released from prison
and forcing these countries to repeal their ridiculous blasphemy laws. I say
again that by aligning ourselves with oppressive organisations, it makes it
very difficult to speak out against their crimes when Europe is a partner in
their statements on what they interpret to be crimes against their beliefs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Lastly, I ask </span>where
is Catherine Ashton’s voice, or indeed any high-ranking EU politician’s voice,
condemning the following hate speech coming from the institution of the Roman
Catholic Church? Again I quote from Michael Nugent’s <a href="http://www.michaelnugent.com/2012/10/04/dangerous-arrogance-the-catholic-church-must-stop-dehumanizing-atheists/" target="_blank">blog</a>
because he puts it far more succinctly than I could hope to: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">“Pope Benedict recently said that to truly
live up to our being we must recognise that we are dependent on God. And Pope
John Paul II said that a culture which rejects God cannot be considered fully
human; that spiritual values are ultimately what make us fully human; and that
Jesus came to teach us what it means to be fully human.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">This dangerous arrogance is spread by
Cardinals and Bishops and theologians. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor has said
that atheists are not fully human because we leave out the search for
transcendent meaning that he calls God. Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo has
said that we will be fully human when we see the shining face of God. Cardinal
Paul Poupard has said that there does not exist a fully human culture that is
not open to the dimension of faith;. Bishop Patrick O’Donogue has said that the
fundamental needs of the human person can only be truly fulfilled through
encounter with the deepest truths about God and the human person.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">More disturbingly, this dangerous
arrogance is embedded in the principles of Catholic education of children. The
Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario says its Fully Alive program was
created to help Catholic parents teach their children to be fully human. An
Archdiocesan Board of Education in Iowa says that a Catholic school’s program
must concern itself with the whole child in development that is fully human and
thoroughly Catholic. Roncalli Catholic High School in Nebraska says its
students become more fully human by becoming more deeply aware of God, self and
others. Pope John Paul II Catholic School in Chicago says that it fulfills a
person’s right to be fully human. Holy Cross Catholic College in Bury says a
Catholic College strives to be fully human. These are only some examples.”</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">This is a far
more serious matter than people wish to acknowledge. In Europe’s recent
history, can you remember back to the teachings of a particular political party
telling its citizens that a certain part of society were less than human? What
were the consequences of those teachings? What was Europe built for if not to
counteract intolerance and bullcrap like that?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Words have
massive influence on people’s thoughts and it is for this reason that I await
Catherine Ashton’s joint declaration with leading secularists, atheists social
and religious leaders on the need to respect <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i></b> people from the
threat of religious institutional and interpretive man made intolerance. All
people are important and should be respected.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">I thank
you for taking the time to read this.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Yours
sincerely,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 22pt;">
<span><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/109959377926033753009/posts" target="_blank">(Me)</a></span></div>
<br />
I should point out that when I emailed an MEP of whom I am not a constituent, I added the following:<br />
<br />
'I write to you today, not as a constituent, but as a......'<br />
<br />
And I signed off with my name! Not (me)! <br />
<br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Please feel free to use this letter as a template if you wish to email the MEP's. The more that do, the more they realise this is how we the people feel.</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 22.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-78321888033772937812012-10-09T23:48:00.000+01:002012-10-09T23:48:21.403+01:00Blamphemer!
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<i><b>Brian</b>:
No, no. Please, please please listen. I've got one or two things to say.
<br />
<b>The Crowd</b>:
Tell us! Tell us both of them!
<br />
<b>Brian</b>:
Look, you've got it all wrong. You don't need to follow me. You don't
need to follow anybody! You've got to think for yourselves! You're all
individuals!
<br />
<b>The Crowd</b>:
Yes! We're all individuals!
<br />
<b>Brian</b>:
You're all different!
<br />
<b>The Crowd</b>:
Yes! We're all different!
<br />
<b>Man in crowd</b>:
I'm not...
<br />
<b>Man in crowd</b>:
Shhh!
<br />
<b>Brian</b>:
You've all got to work it out for yourselves.
<br />
<b>The Crowd</b>:
Yes! We've got to work it out for ourselves!
<br />
<b>Brian</b>:
Exactly!
<br />
<b>The Crowd</b>:
Tell us more!
<br />
<b>Brian</b>:
No! That's the point! Don't let anyone tell you what to do! </i></div>
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<i> - Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' (quotes sourced from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/quotes" target="_blank">IMDB</a>)</i></div>
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There has been a lot of who-ha around lately surrounding the
issue of religious beliefs, blasphemy and freedom of speech. I’d like to add my
own personal thoughts to this very matter. The first part of this blog will be
my own ramblings, using a variety of sources to back up or support or highlight
my points. You know – a normal blog! I’ll ramble and roam and hopefully hit on
a few valid points! </div>
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The second part of this blog coming in the next day or two will
include a more structured and possibly civilised open letter/email to all of
Ireland’s MEP’s regarding the <a href="http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/132512.pdf%20" target="_blank">recent declaration</a> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span>by Catherine Ashton. My letter will be inspired by <a href="http://www.michaelnugent.com/2012/09/24/european-union-and-islamic-states-jointly-say-it-is-important-to-respect-all-religious-prophets/" target="_blank">this</a><a href="http://www.michaelnugent.com/2012/09/24/european-union-and-islamic-states-jointly-say-it-is-important-to-respect-all-religious-prophets/" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.michaelnugent.com/2012/09/24/european-union-and-islamic-states-jointly-say-it-is-important-to-respect-all-religious-prophets/" target="_blank"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>blog</a> post.</div>
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Let us begin exactly with what she said and with whom she
said it. That will lead into my main argument.</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The aforementioned Catherine Ashton is the European
Union’s high representative for foreign affairs. A few weeks back she issued a
joint statement with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab
League, on the “importance of respecting all prophets”. This is the same
OIC that has for years been seeking to adopt a legally binding prohibition
against blasphemy most recently in the UN. As Michael Nugent pointed <a href="http://www.atheist.ie/2012/10/michael-nugent-asks-osce-meeting-in-warsaw-to-oppose-blasphemy-laws/" target="_blank">out</a>, “</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Respecting all prophets would mean
respecting not only the prophets of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, but also
respecting David Koresh at Waco, and David Icke who believes that George Bush
is a space lizard. This is clearly absurd. We can respect your right to
believe, while not respecting the content of your beliefs. You have rights.
Your beliefs do not. That is the essence of freedom of conscience.”</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What I find most astonishing is these prophets and
gods that our politicians aim to protect, need us mortals to fight their
battles for them here on earth. If they actually existed and heard our
‘blasphemies’ and were truly so concerned about our cruel, hurtful words – why
not do the old god thing and smite some poor suckers? You know? Show yourself
to be angry, then speak from a cloud and apologise for the smiting saying, it
was an incident that shouldn’t have happened…. and won’t happen again….. words
to the effect of something like… oh I don’t know…… this:</span></div>
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<span> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">'My smitings have
brought deep shame. But shame is not enough. The smiting of said suckers is a
grievous sin against god…. I mean me. Therefore we focus not on shame but on my
sorrow for your sins. This terrible crime, and the inadequate response by some
Church leaders, to my smitings grieve us all. Afterall…. You started it with
your name calling.’</span></div>
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Hmmmm, no <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1268025/Catholic-Church-bishops-offer-heartfelt-apology-child-abuse-scandals.html" target="_blank">that</a> won’t work. That’s too much of a ‘pass the
buck’ attitude. We need more zazz.</div>
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How about:</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"The
suffering and trauma endured by some suckers who have been smited while refusing
to respect my authoritah, and the effect on their family members, is a matter
of continuing shame and dismay to all gods. Let us be very clear. The smiting
of the suckers was, is and always will be a crime, and is contrary to all I
believe in. But seriously. Just believe in the prophets, don’t question and I
won’t need to do this again.”</span></div>
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Yes……<a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/vic-church-says-sorry-over-child-sex-abuse/story-fndo4eg9-1226454528174" target="_blank">that’s</a> more from the heart. We’ll stick with that one
for the time being. But rest assured oh prophet Space Lizard Bush – I know of
an institution whose recent existence has been all about learning different
ways to apologise for the same thing. If you need to call them their number is
1-800-GENERICOLGY – they’re also online at <a href="http://www.genericclericapology.abuse/">www.genericclericapology.abuse</a>
or <a href="http://www.institutionalcriminals.vatican/">www.institutionalcriminals.vatican</a> In fact – your two apologetic examples above are
paraphrasing some of their members worldwide apologies! They know how to
apologise to so many different cultures and nationalities in the same
meaningless fashion – if they can’t help you no one can.</div>
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So while EU citizens of all beliefs are being told to
respect all prophets by the EU’s highest foreign policy prophet, here in what I
like to call ‘reality’ or ‘everyday life’ we the people have an Institution full
of prophets that blasphemes against my belief system: humanity. And it has done
it since the first days of its formation. It has blasphemed against women, gay
people, scientists, Muslim’s, Protestants, children…. everyone that isn’t
deemed ‘Christian’. That institution is the Catholic Church. I have questions
regarding their blasphemy aimed at our politicians.</div>
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When are we going to have a senior politician stand up and
call out this criminal institution for the wrongs it has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">actually </i>committed and worse still – covered up. The very Pope that
‘apologises’ for the abuse of children, is the same man that wrote the laws
that damned the victims. </div>
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When will we have a senior politician who will stand up and
tell this institution that their <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-19383571" target="_blank">views</a> on gay marriage
are not even worthy of being associated with the stone age? Their views are so,
so wrong. Plain and simple.</div>
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When will we have a senior politician come out and chastise
the religious for having those whose interpretation of what their religion,
religious book and prophet teaches, leads to crimes against humanity like <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/10/20121099274132414.html" target="_blank">this</a>?
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What big men they’ve proved
themselves to be shooting a 14 year old girl . I am not implying that all take their beliefs as literally as
the above – but that is where the danger of Catherine Ashton’s statement
becomes very apparent: the interpretation of ‘prophets’ and whose prophet says
what to them. Some have a prophet or god who teaches them crap like <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/06/republican-congressman-paul-broun-evolution-video%20" target="_blank">this</a> and some feel they have the right to say <a href="http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Cardinal-Law-told-Mary-McAleese-he-was-sorry-for-Catholic-Ireland-to-have-you-as-President-173019561.html" target="_blank">this</a>.
In fact, there are the beginnings of a few cracks starting to <a href="http://richarddawkins.net/news_articles/2012/10/7/-catholic-theologian-preaches-revolution-to-end-church-authoritarian-rule#.UHRaNbQs2ji" target="_blank">appear</a> in one
religious institution. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>One hopes more feel duty bound to speak out
like Fr Hans <span style="color: #0d0d0d; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-effects-shadow-align: topleft; mso-effects-shadow-alpha: 40.0%; mso-effects-shadow-angledirection: 2700000; mso-effects-shadow-anglekx: 0; mso-effects-shadow-angleky: 0; mso-effects-shadow-color: black; mso-effects-shadow-dpidistance: 3.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-dpiradius: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-pctsx: 100.0%; mso-effects-shadow-pctsy: 100.0%;">Küng.</span></div>
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Lastly, I ask where are the voices in our political elite
when the aforementioned authoritarian, criminal institution, the Roman Catholic
Church, deems me and other people to be less than human? Where is Catherine
Ashton’s voice condemning the following hate speech of one Benedict XVI? This
Pope <a href="http://open.salon.com/blog/jlw1/2012/09/29/less_than_fully_human_-_the_pope_gays_jesus_jews_nazis" target="_blank">believes</a> that <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">gays and lesbians are, ‘less-than’. They are "incomplete".</span></div>
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I quote the following passage from a blog <a href="http://www.michaelnugent.com/2012/10/04/dangerous-arrogance-the-catholic-church-must-stop-dehumanizing-atheists/" target="_blank">post</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://www.michaelnugent.com/2012/10/04/dangerous-arrogance-the-catholic-church-must-stop-dehumanizing-atheists/"><span style="color: windowtext;"></span></a></span>by Michael Nugent
because I believe what he says is so true and overall it is such a serious
matter.</div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">“Pope
Benedict recently said that to truly live up to our being we must recognise
that we are dependent on God. And Pope John Paul II said that a culture which
rejects God cannot be considered fully human; that spiritual values are
ultimately what make us fully human; and that Jesus came to teach us what it
means to be fully human.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">This
dangerous arrogance is spread by Cardinals and Bishops and theologians.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor has said that atheists are not fully human
because we leave out the search for transcendent meaning that he calls God.
Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo has said that we will be fully human when we
see the shining face of God. Cardinal Paul Poupard has said that there does not
exist a fully human culture that is not open to the dimension of faith;. Bishop
Patrick O’Donogue has said that the fundamental needs of the human person can
only be truly fulfilled through encounter with the deepest truths about God and
the human person.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">More
disturbingly, this dangerous arrogance is embedded in the principles of
Catholic education of children. The Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario
says its Fully Alive program was created to help Catholic parents teach their
children to be fully human. An Archdiocesan Board of Education in Iowa says
that a Catholic school’s program must concern itself with the whole child in
development that is fully human and thoroughly Catholic. Roncalli Catholic High
School in Nebraska says its students become more fully human by becoming more
deeply aware of God, self and others. Pope John Paul II Catholic School in Chicago
says that it fulfills a person’s right to be fully human. Holy Cross Catholic
College in Bury says a Catholic College strives to be fully human. These are
only some examples.”</span></i></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">This is a far
more serious matter than people wish to acknowledge. In humanities recent
history, can you remember back to the teachings of a particular political party
telling its people that a certain part of society were less than human? What
were the consequences of those teachings?</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Words have
massive influence on people’s thoughts and it is for this reason that I await
Catherine Ashton’s joint declaration with secularists and atheists on the need
to respect all people from the threat of religious institutional and
interpretive man made intolerance. Blaming ones personal beliefs on a figment of ones imagination is just a handy excuse for people that make known their prejudices. All people are important and should be
respected no matter what their beliefs, but beliefs should not cost others their freedom. We the people exist. The proof? We pay the politicians salaries. </span></div>
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Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-39693738893890355732012-10-07T19:30:00.000+01:002012-10-07T19:30:35.933+01:00Musical Mutterings 1
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Starting tonight, I’m going to try and do a short weekly
blog on the bands that I’m currently listening to and the music that is
currently ‘doing it’ for me. This blog will be in addition to my blog take off,
launch edition 2.421a</div>
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<br /></div>
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I’m now finished my masters’ thesis and have time to begin
tending to my blog in a serious manner!</div>
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<br /></div>
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I recently bought the book <a href="http://www.bookshop.kennys.ie/book/US/9780312649890/Enter_Night_A_Biography_of_Metallica" target="_blank">‘Enter Night: A Biography ofMetallica’</a> written by Mick Wall and I have to say that I enjoyed it immensely.
It gave me a really good insight into areas of the band I wasn’t too familiar
with previously – namely the formation years of the band and some of the
different stories behind the recording of and influences behind the albums.
What was most interesting after reading the chapters on individual albums, was
listening to said albums straight through. While you notice the differences
yourself when it comes to the immediately audible sounds, it’s only after
reading that you notice the qualities that Cliff brought to the band in its
earlier years. Yes this is a well travelled road but I just found it amazing
the bass and musical skills he brought to the band. One very interesting point
Mick Wall writes about is a rumour that Dave Lombardo was supposed to replace
Lars in the band pre Cliff’s death. I can’t help but dream about the direction
the band would have embarked on with one of the greatest drummers, thee
greatest rhythm guitarist and such an amazing bassist. Not forgetting that Kirk
was a fantastic lead guitarist also. How would their music have evolved? It
kind of shocked me to read that Lars was still needing drumming lessons even up
to the making of the ‘Black Album’. Fascinating read nonetheless! For what it’s
worth, my top 3 Metallica albums would be:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Master of Puppets</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Ride the Lightening</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Metallica</div>
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<br /></div>
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In other music news, this last week my top five artists
<a href="http://www.last.fm/user/isiass" target="_blank">were</a>:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Metallica</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>La Strada</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>The Kinks</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Om</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Keith Jarrett</div>
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Metallica were the outright leaderboard winners in no small
part to listening to nearly all albums. I couldn’t being myself to listen to
anything on ReLoad except Fuel and Memory Remains. I couldn’t bring myself to
listen to anything on St. Anger. Period! La Strada are a Belgian three piece I
came across on a cruise I won through my old job. They were one of my classical
artists aiding me through a long night when spell checking my thesis. The Kinks
I hadn’t listened to in ages! They’re one of those bands that you should listen
to more but keep escaping my mind! Om on the other hand, have impressed me
massively with their latest offering ‘Advaitic Songs’. What a phenomenal album.
They played in Dublin a few weeks back but I couldn’t afford the trip to Dublin
to see them. If you like haunting, slow, bass and cello driven heavy rock –
these are the guys for you. The worst part is that my description probably does
them no justice! They’re in a genre of their own. The standout song on the
album for me would be ‘State of Non Return’. It’s six minutes of ultimate bliss
on a truly amazing album. The heavy slow guitars and bass intermixed with the
aforementioned cello – it’s a different sound from what you’ve heard before!
Trust me!</div>
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I’ve recently gotten into Keith Jarrett after I listened to
a fantastic <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ldwyp" target="_blank">episode of a podcast</a> that
I subscribe to: Witness, available through iTunes and made by the BBC World
Service. It gave the background to a concert he gave in Köln and as the blurb
says, the Köln concert was made possible thanks to this 17-year-old and her
perseverance. I got my hands on a copy of the concert from my local library and
it was truly something. So I’ve acquired a few more of his albums and he got me
through one night of spell checking and grammar checking. Rio is quite an album
also. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Ok so I’ll wrap up this post and hopefully have more music
mutterings next week.</div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-35464807060596388472012-09-29T15:19:00.000+01:002012-09-29T15:19:10.526+01:00A Kick Up The Arse
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Just a few post match thoughts but well, I have to say I’m more than a little miffed. I was fairly confident that we were going to
win today. But then I thought that we’d start with Giroud who was filled with
confidence after a good performance mid-week and Mert would slot back in at
center back alongside the Verminator. Keep things going in the league and then
use rotation for Champions League midweek. Yes it’s easy in hindsight to say
this is what was needed, but em….. that’s what I felt was needed to win today.
Go direct against a Chelsea back four who don’t particularly like it and
against a Chelsea midfield who, besides Mikel, don’t defend too deep. We have a
midfield who like to pick up on loose balls and a direct system today would
have suited us more. While I really hate losing to ‘them’ I don’t think today
will do us any harm. It allows questions to be asked – why did we not want it
as much as Chelsea? If we have any leaders in the team and we do – then questions
need to be asked of the Ox and Ramsey who both became a little too sloppy in
the second half. Experienced heads need to be able to say the right things
after a game like that to wake the younger heads up. It’s good to have a performance
like this early on so that the players can have their little arguments and
alert each other to the fact that unless everyone is giving 100% in every game –
that you won’t beat teams like Chelsea. I’m sure Wenger and Bould will be happy
to point this out to them too. Yes defeat against ‘them’ leaves a crusty, sour
taste in the mouth, but those defeats are the ones that should hurt more and
give the team more fire in the belly.
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<br /></div>
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On a positive side – like last week we created enough
chances to win the game. Don’t forget that this is still a team in the making.
We’ve seen that when they click, they’re fecking impressive. When they all work
100% for each other, they’re very organised and dam difficult to beat. It’s
days like today that the Vermaelen’s, the Arteta’s, the Poldi’s, the Mert’s –
the real leaders of the squad – today is the day that they help focus the
younger members to the required work ethic: 100% hard work. It’s easy to do
against the Southampton’s and the Coventry’s when you’re a few goals up and you
have a tired opposition. It’s another matter when you’ve a team of winners in
the opposite eleven. The Ox and Gibbs will learn from days like today.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I’m hopeful that today was nothing more than a slight blip. One
that the team will bounce back from starting on Wednesday against Olympiakos. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Come on you Gunners!</div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-38573375358907842172012-09-01T12:52:00.001+01:002012-09-01T12:52:05.452+01:00Transfer of Belief
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I am normally one of the most upbeat, optimistic Arsenal
fans around but my observance of the tale of ‘Two Merseyside’s, Two Years’ has
changed that a little. This (my) blog post was helped along by <a href="http://gingers4limpar.com/?p=2135" target="_blank">this</a>
fantastic read and I’ll add my own little thoughts on the matter here.
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Last transfer window, I was one of the fans who <a href="http://gingers4limpar.com/" target="_blank">G4L</a>
described as “putting it down to one of those things”. My reasons were twofold:
Firstly, I honestly believe Wenger thought he could persuade Nasri to stay and
even possibly Cesc. He couldn’t. That both sagas went on so long, forced the
trolley dash through the aisles of the market. Some buys were <a href="http://www.arsenal-talk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Arteta-19-110905MAFC.jpg" target="_blank">fantastic</a>, some
<a href="http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/1Qh_zGyoZ-Z/Chelsea+v+Arsenal+Premier+League/rDJAd8RUu64/Andre+Santos" target="_blank">cuddly</a>, some really <a href="http://images.planetf1.com/11/12/800x600/Per-Mertesacker_2695925.jpg" target="_blank">great</a>, <a href="http://images.football365.com/11/10/800x600/Park-ChuYoung1_2670333.jpg" target="_blank">others</a>….. well. You can’t say anything as no chance was
given due to their perceived lack of quality. So while it was frantic, I
thought the players bought were good. I compared Arsenal to Liverpool last
season. People said that Liverpool went about their business swiftly,
professionally and they were using the ‘moneyball’ factor – buy good young
talent who will hold their market value. Except Henderson, Downing, Carroll,
Adam were all crap. As you can now see with Brendan Rogers actively getting rid of them. Liverpool vastly overpaid for every single bit of mediocrity
in their boots. </div>
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<br /></div>
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This summer however, like so many Arsenal bloggers I read, I
thought things were going to be different. I had resigned myself to Van Persie
leaving a long time ago. The way he announced his decision has long been
discussed so no need to detail what a horrible way to do it, but by that stage
we had Giroud and Podolski in the bag. When we got Cazorla, Sahin was literally
5 minutes from signing too! I mean he was at the training ground in his full
kit! There to sign on the dotted lines! He was just waiting to find a pen!
There’s never one around when you need one. SOMEONE FIND HIM A PEN…… </div>
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he’s what now? That’s not him? </div>
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Oh. </div>
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Who is this guy? </div>
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And he ended up at Liverpool.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Across the trash scattered field that is Liverpool, Everton
have done what I always argued Arsenal tried to do. Yes we have to sell
players, but the money would be mostly reinvested in the team. For those are
the words we always hear the people ITK speaking. But this year, Everton sold <a href="http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2012/08/everton-transfers-david-moyes-funds-jack-rodwell-sale/%20" target="_blank">Rodwell</a> for £12 million and all that money has been reinvested in the team. One
player sold, four or five brought in. Wenger made a <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/340152/Wenger-admits-Giroud-and-Podolski-were-brought-in-to-replace-Van-Persie%20" target="_blank">comment</a> earlier in August that Podolski and Giroud were bought in the knowledge that
Van Persie may leave. This isn’t good enough anymore. Why was Wenger never
afraid to spend the money on players at Highbury where we were in debt and the
stadium couldn’t pay for the success we tasted. That was where players were
sold and the money was reinvested in the team. Take the Nicholas Anelka fee: a training ground was built for example. Our money now sits in the bank. I think our
transfer philosophy is easier to debate when a Liverpool comes along and spends
a ridiculous amount of money on crap. But when Everton come along and show you
just how well money can be reinvested to make the squad stronger, it hurts.
Don’t get me wrong – I feel we have a very strong first 11 and our defense thus
far has been vastly improved due to (the probably/possible) influence of Mr.
Bould. But our squad is thin in quality. And that is why I for the first time
in a long time, see the glass as half empty, rather than full of mystical
cloudy liquid. I want Arsenal to win the league more than anything. I believe
it can be done. I look at France and Montpellier; Germany and <a href="http://swissramble.blogspot.ie/2010/10/borussia-dortmunds-road-to-recovery.html" target="_blank">Dortmund</a>. Smaller teams punching massively above their weight and winning. Winning
against the budgets of <a href="http://swissramble.blogspot.ie/2012/07/paris-saint-germain-dream-into-action.html" target="_blank">PSG</a>
and <a href="http://swissramble.blogspot.ie/2012/02/bayern-munich-opportunities-lets-make.html%20%20%20" target="_blank">Bayern Munich</a>.</div>
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</div>
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But we need a squad. Not just a first 11. If we keep doing
what we seemingly do, then the only thing that will change with this fantastic
<a href="http://pic.twitter.com/vgSV6tRw" target="_blank">image</a> is the face of the exasperated manager and the name. Oh and
follow this hilarious <a href="https://twitter.com/garethdparker" target="_blank">man</a>
</div>
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On a slight side note, I rarely concur with <a href="https://twitter.com/timpayton" target="_blank">Tim Payton</a><a href="https://twitter.com/timpayton"></a> on
twitter (he’s a little bit too pessimistic for me – no offence meant if he
should read this!) but the few times (for me) he raises a valid point, it
strikes home:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PB-t8KWxfBE7runCGAh9GODItwmODVIX5yYhLkT01UHTHuQUxyPCIhi3-HJvLTnQtOShNgSO-yJVQm_m7SRaeThDyjz8AOrGpPq-zr3auP-VnMx3Lq-nFoXRAHTm5MaTOW2kOQU5szE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-09-01+at+12.31.57.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PB-t8KWxfBE7runCGAh9GODItwmODVIX5yYhLkT01UHTHuQUxyPCIhi3-HJvLTnQtOShNgSO-yJVQm_m7SRaeThDyjz8AOrGpPq-zr3auP-VnMx3Lq-nFoXRAHTm5MaTOW2kOQU5szE/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-09-01+at+12.31.57.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Why aren't we using our money better? If we’re sitting on vast reserves of cash and seemingly
don’t want to spend it on transfers – why can’t we make tickets cheaper for fans? In these
times of financial squeeze for the ordinary fan, why not use the cash reserves
to take even 10% off the cost of tickets? Just a thought. That's all for now!</div>
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<br /></div>
Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-74996432138055153252012-08-15T09:00:00.001+01:002012-08-15T09:01:06.750+01:00Reform the Personal Banks<style>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Hello again! Been a small
while since my last post but thesis writing has been taking up most of my time
lately. I’ll have a blog soon about some of that but today I want to write
about what I feel needs to be done about our banking system. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">My blog is based
on <a href="http://blogs.euobserver.com/irvin/2012/07/22/time-to-nationalise-the-big-banks/" target="_blank">something</a> I read a few weeks back. Mr Irvin hits the nail on
the head quite well with his points and I just wish to touch on a few important
points, points that I personally want to throw out there for your
interpretation. When I look at the banking industry today I see nothing,
absolutely nothing but greed. I see no one but the average person getting hurt
by the irresponsibility of our current financial system. The last great act
that we had to protect us was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act" target="_blank">Glass-Steagall</a> Act. I
say us collectively because as the biggest unregulated financial sector, the US
has the ability to destroy what we have. I think it’s time we nationalise our <i>personal </i>banking system so that what
people invest and save can <i>not</i> be
touched or mercilessly gambled away like in 2008. I look at the bonuses that
the financial sector ‘rewards’ itself with for its ‘hard’ work and I ask
myself, if the average person was actually provided with a savings account that
was rewarding for them, how much fairer and equitable would society be?
Consider the pipe dream of a bank director getting a bonus of €10,000 instead
of a few hundred thousand euro, or even the millions that <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/diamond-to-get-2-million-pay-off-7931886.html" target="_blank">some</a> get, and the
rest of the money being given to the loyal customers whose money the banks make
fortunes from. You know, a decent savings account rate that rewards your
average person for making the effort to save. I’d have a separate investment
banking side that businesses could invest in and they could take risks with
their money. You know, a business (the bank), taking both calculated and insane
risks with another businesses money. And I wouldn’t allow a personal bank have
an affiliation with a corporate bank. We’ve seen how easy it is for them to
suck money from one to the other to cover losses. I’d certainly give business
banks the ability to borrow capped amounts from personal banks. Nothing so
great that they could bankrupt a personal bank; However it would be enough so
that if they needed a short-term loan, it would be an available avenue for
them. I’d also make sure that these loans were fairly high interest due to the
risky nature of the loan. The interest the personal banks earn helps reduce
personal interest rates on loans for customers and/or adds to the kitty for
improved savings and investment rates for their personal customers. I’m fed up
with hearing about how the financial sector needs less and less regulations,
that they need tax breaks, that a Robin Hood tax would put too great a burden
on the financial sector in ‘difficult’ times for them. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Rubbish. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maybe not in Ireland, but
worldwide the biggest banks are still doing ok. Their directors are still
taking home insane salaries. They’re still paying out stupid bonuses. Meanwhile
the people are unemployed, starving and their governments have somehow been
hoodwinked into bailing out the financial institutions. Two countries stood
tall and told the banks and world institutions where to stick their
recapitalisation plans – <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/world/europe/icelands-economy-is-mending-amid-europes-malaise.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all" target="_blank">Iceland</a> and <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/uk-denmark-gdp-idUKBRE84U0GE20120531" target="_blank">Denmark</a> and they’re doing
ok. We need to bring services back to the people and make them for the people.
Not for corporate profit. Corporations profit massively from short-term bets
and the CEO’s take so much money from the companies that when things go arse
up, there’s no money left to help the companies they run. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i style="color: black;">« To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above
them. »</i><span style="color: #695d40;">
<a href="http://philosophical-quotes.com/" target="_blank"><b>Montesquieu</b></a></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think banks should be run a
bit more like Credit Unions. They should be there to serve communities and the
people in them. Loans should be available and interest rates should be
dependent on the nature of the loan. Children’s Education? Minimal interest
rate. Necessary home improvements? Low interest rates. A second or third car?
Medium rates as it might not be necessary. Shopping trips? High interest rates
for discretionary, unnecessary spending. These are only examples of course but
I’m just throwing ideas out there! There has to be a better way to run our
banks and make them work for us. Institutions may complain that without massive
salaries then they can’t entice the ‘best’ to manage them. Em…. The best did a
right old job on the world economy in the last 5 years. How about moderate
salaries starting at €60,000 rising to €100,000 after 5 years of proven
ability? You want more money? Ok then. Go elsewhere. Oh look – a hungry,
employee who has worked under you for the last number of years and is perfectly
qualified to take over your position. A position needs to be filled? Oh look –
a qualified graduate who would be delighted to have a job in which career
prospects are good and it’s a solid job. Want the excitement of the private
boom and bust banks? By all means – go work for them. In no way is this aiming
to restrict people and their job choices. I think a higher management turnover
provides more job opportunities to our graduates. It means fresh ideas are
constantly being brought from our Institutes of technology, our Business
Schools and our Universities. People no longer get lifetime positions on
gigantic salaries and pensions. Job security is not affected as if you prove
yourself capable of doing the job – then it’s yours. Just like it is now. But
you work for the honest growth of an institution; Not for gigantic profits at
year-end and therefore a gigantic bonus for you. Even the Financial Times has <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4d5b3eac-ac0f-11e1-923a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz23bA8S2ff" target="_blank">opinions</a> bubbling to the surface for a redistribution of bank wealth to make the banks more competitive. (You'll need to register free with the FT to read the citation)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“Nobody can go back and start
a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending” – Maria
Robertson</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Change needs to come soon </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-59861874305405933412012-07-26T18:23:00.000+01:002012-07-26T18:23:22.772+01:00Is It Time To Go Small?<style>
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Size matters. Ask anyone and they’ll all have their own
reasoning:
</div>
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“I enjoy a larger size” says Mark. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nadine disagrees: “A small one packs more punch. All you
need is a shot of caffeine in the morning. That’s why I like an espresso.” Mark
of course, is into his frothy latte so enjoys the ‘grande’ beverage offered by
some.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now what I’m going to write about is probably impossible to
achieve in this day and age but what I hope to provoke is thinking! Think about
the possibilities of downsizing society. My reasons for doing so can obviously
be debated, and I may be taking the most extreme examples but I believe extreme
is what works. There’s so much out there today that makes us say “oh. That’s
terrible” and click to the next news story.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So here it goes.</div>
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I believe that a downsizing of society is necessary. I
believe that we are proving ungovernable as sizable entities and I believe this
is being shown by countries like Greece, Spain and even America. It is too hard
to govern from one particular city, a vast country with so many differing
political philosophies. I believe that it is easier to corrupt someone who is
far from their electorate than someone who lives and works amoung their voters.
I hope my following examples will help my cause of why I’m beginning to believe
that less is more.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The nation state system we currently live in emerged after
the Treaty of Westphalia. We had defined borders, ones which other states could
not interfere in. All well and good until the transnational ‘person’ came to
be: the corporation. The world we live in right now is being overly influenced
by the power of the multinational corporation. Their size and their power are
massive influences on so many lives. Most worryingly, their monetary influence
in democracies is ever increasing. America is going to have the most
expensively bought presidency this November. The figures being mentioned are
just frightening and sickening. Not wanting to state the obvious, but when you
invest millions and millions of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$’s, €’s
or £’s in a parties or individuals campaign, then it’s expected they repay your
‘generosity’ by passing laws that benefit you, the donor.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But it seems to have come to a stage where the laws and
bills passed, are nothing but a gigantic benefit to corporations and are eating
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/jul/18/us-multinationals-control-food-aid?INTCMP=SRCH" target="_blank">away</a> at our humanity. The mantra is now consistently
‘profit before anything’, be it humanity or the environment. And personally I
find this very troublesome. Capitalism has taught a large section of humanity
to care, not about each other, but about their ‘stuff’. People’s concerns now
are about their property. While laws are passed that “don’t affect me” people
don’t care. This apathy is allowing big business buy control so much of what
affects us and what we do. People who want out of this society and want away
from the corporate bought governments are finding that laws written to protect
them, are not there for the people any <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/16/barons-in-control-of-britain" target="_blank">more</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In regard to the environment, well it truly is frightening
what corporations are doing. Bad news? Lets just buy <a href="http://www.readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/11094-blamed-for-bee-collapse-monsanto-buys-leading-bee-research-firm" target="_blank">silence</a>. Artic
is considered off limits for oil drilling? Let’s buy our way to that limit.
Lets prove that everyone has a <a href="http://www.juancole.com/2012/05/shells-4bn-lobbying-campaign-cleared-the-way-for-arctic-oil-drilling-ross.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29" target="_blank">price</a>. It’s hard not to write
they’re proving that everyone is corruptible, but for the most part, people
live in the here and now, for themselves. If someone offers them facilities
that they previously didn’t have, they accept. No thought is given to the
generations that we’re passing this earth to. It’s going to be in some <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-math-20120719" target="_blank">state</a>. There are some <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/04/beyond-coal-plant-activism?page=2" target="_blank">victories </a>for the small
guy, but they’re becoming so rare and localised that it’s disheartening for the
society we live in. Look at some of the other <a href="http://www.newint.org/features/2011/10/01/indigenous-peoples-fighting-for-environment/" target="_blank">battles</a> that are on
going and you realise the relentless push corporations engage in. They have the
means to keep on fighting in the courts and as shown in this amazing
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1326204/" target="_blank">documentary</a> they are becoming less able to lose, if indeed they
lose at all.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Smaller society could prove more difficult to buy as
individual communities would need to be negotiated with. A government based in
Dublin for example, couldn’t just <a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/how-much-is-the-barryroe-oil-find-actually-worth-to-us-394108-Mar2012/" target="_blank">sign away</a> the rights to an
oil field in Cork. Responsible governments like Norway’s for example, are
increasingly difficult to elect. Lies are told to get people into power and so
it exists until the next lying, sorry, election cycle. Look at what is possible
with a government <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">for </i>the people. A
solution where society as a whole <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76VOnzXQMsU&noredirect=1" target="_blank">benefits</a>, and the people get a
little bonus also. But how many countries firstly have the ability to stand up
to corporations, backed up by the countries governments they’ve bought, or are
brave enough to do so? </div>
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<br /></div>
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Now I know downsizing what we have is nigh impossible, but
what I hope to show in this writing is that it is possible; small victories
have been won but we need to want this change to last. By having smaller
society, communities will be willing to fight for each other more. I think this
would lead to a ‘decommercialising’ of our lives, but what we would lack in
capitalist consumerism, we could enrich our humanity with. I’m not asking for a
return to pre technological era, I think that technology could only improve the
community experience. We are all, after all, one big worldly community. But I
believe energy needs can be met locally with the improvements in solar energy,
wind power and wave energy. My examples above of small victories, I believe
more are possible in smaller society. Local, small victories make nice stories
in a national press. Nice stories that are forgotten about a few months down
the line by all those except those that fought. </div>
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<br /></div>
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We need to have more than symbolic victories which
corporations simply show their cunning and patience, in order to win at all
<a href="http://www.juancole.com/2012/05/shells-4bn-lobbying-campaign-cleared-the-way-for-arctic-oil-drilling-ross.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29" target="_blank">costs</a>.</div>
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My argument is currently thin, it needs fleshing out, but
these are just my formative thoughts!</div>Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2301658325805800681.post-46113555134847674892012-07-21T09:30:00.000+01:002012-07-21T09:30:03.121+01:00Gear Grinding
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A famous cartoon personality once had a famous phrase “you
know what really grinds my gears”?</div>
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Well, you know what grinds my gears? Religion. It is just
something that the more I read about and try and learn about, the more
ridiculous the whole thing becomes to me. I’m going to write about a few
personal experiences that are leading me to a life of pure Atheistic bliss.</div>
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A few things recently (and one thing a few months back) have
led me to write this non-too controversial blog. I have always been a quiet
observer on religious issues and tried to keep out of any debates or
discussions on religion and didn’t want a label of an atheist, agnostic or
secularist. I didn’t feel the need to involve myself in learning more, or
exploring more. No idea why – I just didn’t. That began to change when I
attended a debate in UCC back in February where Michael Nugent spoke, and spoke
very well, about the need for a secular state. Adnan Rashid was also in
attendance speaking for Islam. What really got through to me at this debate,
was Michael Nugent speaking without the need to force his beliefs on anyone in
attendance. He spoke about the need to keep religious belief separate and private.
No belief system should make or influence the making of rules in a society. Nothing
at all wrong with that. What got through to me from Adnan was the need for
RADICALISATION. DEATH TO THE INFADELS! Ha! I jest! …..hey it’s my blog – I’ll
jest when I want. But seriously, he spoke eloquently and clearly, but the
points were all stemming from the same belief. That good comes from his
religion, that his religion helped create scientific advances. That you need
religion for your morals. That Islam does this and it does that. Maybe it does
for him – but what I’m asking today is:</div>
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‘Why can’t people give themselves the credit’?</div>
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Yes - we are a miracle; but of science! We are supposed to be rational
beings. Why can’t we give ourselves the credit for what we do?! I went to hear
Richard Dawkins speak in the National Concert Hall in June and his talk
inspired me to join <a href="http://www.atheist.ie/" target="_blank">Atheist</a> Ireland. I find it more important than ever to support causes
that are societal driven. Fighting for a secular state merely means fighting
for equality for all. You can have your beliefs, but in the private sphere. </div>
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Now here’s where I get controversial. Throughout history,
different societies have had different gods. All as fake as the next. The only
thing I do not doubt the existence of is a man, yes a MAN, named Jesus. There
is evidence to suggest that a man named Jesus was around in the years he is
said to have been. But he was not and is not a god. What is my reasoning? Well
let’s look at how unique his story is:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqAGSMfQGUT2CuEdI8vVPj7rIuY3j-3JeBPIjfBfpInj9OqkFMWuRYpvSQDaiX0-47Q452IuiKx4EuVZ4AetkbKt8PhaG2pez4AG-YEonyXd6TbRQBdhZ6drwFkds_fw3K2Htnvp9x4U/s1600/518067502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqAGSMfQGUT2CuEdI8vVPj7rIuY3j-3JeBPIjfBfpInj9OqkFMWuRYpvSQDaiX0-47Q452IuiKx4EuVZ4AetkbKt8PhaG2pez4AG-YEonyXd6TbRQBdhZ6drwFkds_fw3K2Htnvp9x4U/s320/518067502.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
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Not very unique is it? As for the ‘god’ argument? I’ve
always been amazed by the fact, the two ‘great’ religions of today,
Christianity and Islam, began in the Middle East. It also amazes me that for an
all knowing all powerful ‘being’ who wanted all of humanity to know about him,
he didn’t do a great job of exporting his message to places like Asia…..
Australia…… Europe……. The Americas. Especially as ‘he’ ‘created’ the first two
people. I mean, that’s a really bad game of Chinese whispers if your message is
passed on by the people you created and you end up with lots of different
religions, and hundreds if not thousands of different churches a few thousand
years down the line. Where’s ‘his’ voice to remind people of the right way?! Where
was he during the Lutheran, Calvinist reformations? How about the major one of
Henry VIII calling bullshit on the pope and his power? If the pope truly was
and is this gods mouthpiece on earth – why no comeuppance for England as a
nation? Why did this god not smite this heathenous nation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s one simple reason – he doesn’t exist.
Why would he have allowed the gigantic hunt for witches? Why would he not have
given a simple hint as to the world’s position as a planet in a solar system
orbiting the sun? Why not a quick whisper to the pope, or to any of the priests
of whom so many hear his ‘calling’ but then don’t hear much else. So many
questions – so much proof as to the stupidity of it all. </div>
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The above reasons are merely a slight peek into my thoughts
on the ridiculousness of the Christian religion. There are obviously newer
examples to use as to why this god doesn’t exist but that will be for another
blog, another day. This little rambling will lead nicely into another blog on
religion for a close date in the future. I’m writing my thesis on religion and
law and I might condense some of my findings, writings on the matter into a
short blog post here. It’s made for a fascinating research topic so sharing
would be good! So remember:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYoFEYpe4WGMjdik9O6JNr2EXviMrP132vIu-9DPqJJSA2n4u4r5i8N4tixLlizipgfhqlPGcNWXniqpcItd4cj81FX1_pmgy3uI6jSHDKO6zncoRmZ22chxiAWJp_8pfiYP_vqLWkg0/s1600/319492_10151024894794780_2081842911_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYoFEYpe4WGMjdik9O6JNr2EXviMrP132vIu-9DPqJJSA2n4u4r5i8N4tixLlizipgfhqlPGcNWXniqpcItd4cj81FX1_pmgy3uI6jSHDKO6zncoRmZ22chxiAWJp_8pfiYP_vqLWkg0/s320/319492_10151024894794780_2081842911_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Vegan Stoichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14203964779832140381noreply@blogger.com0