Category: Thoughts & Ideas

An Anarchist Perspective On Plebgate.

This morning I had one of those most enlightening conversations
which I tend to have with members of the Met Police Diplomatic
Protection Group.

The conversation took place while I was picketing outside of the Japanese Embassy.

We talked about the long term effects of nukiller power.

All very much of a scary set of issues.

I also got to chat with him about the Plebgate issue,
and  both agreed that the whole thing is very much blown up out of all proportion.

One point I did make to him on this issue: –
As an anarchist my sympathies are very much with the police.

I’ve always found members of the Met Police Diplomatic
Protection group to be very polite to me,
and why should they be any different while on duty at Downing Street?

Yet here is the bottom line: –

Plebgate revolves around the conduct of a tory politician,
&
who’s ever going to believe the word of  any former Conservative chief whip?

I of course think that there is nothing wrong with being called a pleb,  or one of the people,  but elitist politicians do have a tendency to forget the people whom they are supposed to be
representing.

Enough said for now – – – – .

Looking At Paintings.

I spend a lot of my time visiting art galleries, which is why I have come to the
following conclusion:-

That the classification of art can sometimes prevent us from really understanding
just what the artist is or was doing.

I’d like to illustrate this observation by looking at the work of two artists.

Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne ( 1839–1906 ) has traditionally been thought of as an Impressionist
painter,
yet in many ways he was more than that.

Just look at these painting:-

L’Estaque
1883–1885

The Bay of Marseilles, view from L’Estaque
1885

Still Life, Drapery, Pitcher, and Fruit Bowl
1893–1894

&

The  watercolour

Mill at the River
1900–1906

If you look these works closely enough you will realise that they are more cubist
than impressionist in nature.

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh ( 30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890 ) is always referred to as being a
post-Impressionist painter.

What are less commented upon are  his drawings.

For example:-

Cypresses (Les Cyprès), 1889

or

Starry Night, after the painting, 1889

Now just start looking at his paintings such as:-

The Starry Night, June 1889

Wheatfield with Crows, 1890

and

Cypresses, 1889

What will then become very obvious to you is that many of his paintings were no
more and no less than drawings in colour.

Understand that,
and start to look at the rest of his works with a fresh eye.

These observations about looking afresh at works of art can also be applied to political thought.

Just you think about it.

Don’t Tell Me As I’m Immune To This.

Switch off or take no notice.

That’s my attitude to most advertising,
and here is the reason why.

Most advertisements make a presumption about both ones
lifestyle,
and  those social values which do not apply to me.

I also know just which lines tend to show that I’m about to be
conned out of my money.

So – Here is a check-list of those words  or expression which will
never work on me: –

– Mortgage.

– Credit card(s).

– Take away food menu(s).

– Cable Television.

– Mobile phone.

– Retirement & funeral plans.

– Loan offers.

– Celebs.

– ‘ As seen on TV ’.

– Branded goods.

– Christmas.

– Sports sponsorship.

– Corporate sponsorship.

– The Olympics and all that goes with it.

– The internal combustion engine.

– Offers for two.

– Anything which says ‘family friendly’.

– Upgrade(s).

– New  or Exciting.

&

– Special offer.

Now I could write something about those words and expressions
which might work on me,
but I just don’t want to deal with yet more spam or junk mail.

No thank you very much.

On Record keeping & Getting Older.

Some times I thinks about people that I once knew.

It’s just like keeping a  scrapbook that’s full of obituaries,
or having a notebook full of information about missing people.

You may have them in your possession,
but fewer & fewer people you know will of meet the individuals
who are listed in them.

During this year this observation has really come home to me.

First of all I got a confirmation about someone I used to know
having died a few years back.

Then over the last month or so I have been trying to contact
someone who I last saw over a quarter of a century go.

I still can not trace her,
& I’ve tryed ever route which I know.

Over the 60 years that I have been alive we’ve moved on from
Paper & Card records, to Microfilm & Micrcofiche, and then to
electronic dates bases.

Yet just as we have moved on from mainframe to PC to laptop to
netbook, w e have & are constantly changing the software which
holds these records.

I just wish that some of the people who work on computer
software would keep in mind the old saying:-
If it ain’t bust then don’t fix it.

Yet with all of these moves of records have come losses of
information,
& the increasing presumption that ‘it’s all on the computer.’

Not so.

What makes it really difficult in tracing people is that they
might have common names,
or be know just by their nickname(s),
or changed their surname,
and now be living on the side of the world.

While the phone book, and  other directories, give just an initial
& surname on the basis that you will already know just where
they live.

Ever wondered just why the police are always so keen to know
peoples date of birth?

If more directories included this piece of information then it
would be so much easier to trace ones old friends.

In the meanwhile I’m left looking for other peoples scrapbook
which will supplement my own.

One World or Just One Long List.

I’ve noted on a lot of websites that people have a habit of
producing long lists of places they have travelled too.

We can all do the same I guess,
but I came up with the following list while thinking of
something else than just lists:-

The number of Embassies or National tourist offices I’ve
demonstrated outside of over the years.

This list includes such places as :-

Austria.
Australia.
China.
Czechoslovakia.
Denmark.
France.
Germany.
India.
Korea  ( South ).
Norway.
Portugal.
Russia.
South Africa.
Soviet Union.
Spain.
Turkey.
&
the USA.

I mention them all to illustrate my one world view of politics.

Whether it be Nukiller Power,
Militarism,
or
any form of exploitation:
the issues are always the same.

It matters not in which countries these problems occur.

All that matters is that they happen,
and that some of us are willing to do something about it.

Stand Back , or Some Thoughts Upon Pacifism and Nonviolence.

Reconciliation or social revolution ?

I’ve always been somewhat reluctant to write a long and
philosophical article upon Pacifism and Nonviolence,
as most of what I would like to say has been written about
before now.

Yet I still find myself reading a lot of works that confuses
Nonviolent principles with those ideas which exclude any
references to humanitarian social justice. Continue reading Stand Back , or Some Thoughts Upon Pacifism and Nonviolence.

Design It Yourself.

I’m constantly amazed at just how bad design information can
make life really difficult for us all.

Here are just a few example which illustrate the point.

– That one constantly sees posters about the dangers of
running up & down escalates.

Yet if I ever have to use a stationary escalator then I get
vertigo.

I’m still waiting to see a sign that says
Danger! Stationary Escalator.

– That self checkout machines in supermarkets are never
designed so for those of us who want to use our own
backpack?

I’ve still got to come across one that is designed by someone
who uses ergonomic principles.

– That there is never any thought given to the needs of
pedestrians waiting for traffic lights to change.

I’ve always thought that they should include a rain shelter as
one can sometimes take an age to wait for the pedestrian light
to change green.

It would also be better if it there was some indication as to
just how long one would have to wait before crossing over to
the other opposite pedestrian way.

These lights do already operate in the Netherlands, and so
what about bring them in to use in the rest of the world?

– That those who set the standards on VDU use have never
worked out that they do not march up with the very different
distance requirements of those of us who use verifocals.

Perhaps they should try setting up a working group of those
who use verifocals in order to produce a new set of real
world VDU user standards.

– That more medications do not have a brail label as a part of
the design upon the packaging.

It’s not that difficult to do so with modern packaging
technology.

Hum – Maybe I should set myself up as a design consultant.

I couldn’t produce worse results that what some of the
current designers have left us with   – – –   Could I ?

Ely Cathedral

I recently paid a visit to Ely.

In the 22 years since I last paid a visit to the city it was
changed a lot for the better.

A major restoration of the cathedral has left it looking like
the magnificent building it is,
rather that the rather neglected place which I remember it as
being.

There is also a stained glass museum within the cathedral
which I would highly recommend anyone to visit.

What I found of particular interest is to be found within the
Lady Chapel,
which is a very fine example of Gothic architecture.

At one stage the windows of this chapel was servery damaged
and there are now just plain glass windows where formally
there would of been magnificent stained glass windows.

Should you visit the Lady Chapel then you might notice
something else which is not ‘bog standard’ in most cathedral
buildings,
for etched in to the bottom of each window is listed one of the
bodies which has help to restore the cathedral,
with with the organisonal symbol or crest placed next to
their name.

The first one of these I noted was that of
Tescos PLC.

I jest not.

The other names include:

– The Marshall of Cambridge.

– The Mercers Company.

– The Kings School.

– British Railway Board.

plus

Barclays, Midland, Lloyds, and Trustee savings banks.

Just how one can justify the inclusion of any references to these corporate bodies as a
part of such an important historical building still needs to be seen.

Cambridge Electronic Instutries also have their own window
within the lady Chapel.

Cambridge Electronic Industries
manufactures electronic interconnection items.

It is owned by Wilson-Mottaz Ltd.

I’d be interested to learn just which companies their products are sold to?

Percentage Figures and Gross Effects.

Last week I saw an advertisement which claims that one in
eight of the people who use the tube are victims of identity
theft.

I just sat there and thought that equates to12.5% of the
population,
which must also mean that 87.5% of the population do not
suffer from any form of identify theft.

The interesting difference between saying 1 in 8
and 87.5%
is that one of them sounds alarmingly high number,
while the other sounds like  a reasonably low percentage.

Perhaps that’s why I always like to see the raw statistics,
rather than any one else’s interpretation of just what they
might mean.

When it comes to any fiscal or population figures then it
makes a lot of sense to do so.

For even 1% of a population can equate to many thousands of
people, which in turn will equate to many thousands of
individual tragedies.

When it comes to percentage cuts in public finances it is not a
question of looking at the figures,
but just what this means to individuals,
and the social impact it will have upon the population as a
whole.

There is a very good argument that all social services should
be protected.

On the other hand there is a conservative argument that
people should not be encouraged to stay within a benefits
reliant culture,
but do something in order to help themselves.

The problem with this comes with a belief that this can be
solved with a totally unrealistic and totally unatonable
‘enterprise culture’.

There is an old socialist saying:
‘ From each according to his abilities
From each according to his means.’

I would agree with the conservatives that we do need to get
away from a benefit reliant culture,
but that must mean setting up more self help projects,
while also establishing more workers & consumer
co-operatives.

Perhaps it is time to look at the figures again,
and see just what will work of the benefit of all.

Talk of cutting public expenditure by 25% may sound very
draconian,
but cutting military expenditure be 100% would be most
welcome indeed.

It might also be worth while if we could all start to think of
public expenditure in terms of encouraging social cooperatives.

If cuts are on the way, then we are going to really need to
money in to those  projects which would benefits us all,
rather than just keep paying out money to the individual.

Failure to do so will mean a lot more poverty stricken
individuals that will need some sort of fiscal help.

It’s not the percentage figures which matter,
but just what those figures mean within the real world.