frank talk

(title in homage to the pen name of steven biko_
murdered in police custody_ 12 September 1977)

just finished 2 weeks 'meditation'_
beginning as tradition requires
on the day that commemorates the beheading of John
(3 faces in the christian faith who psy_warrior has affinity with_
Archangel Mikhail, John the Baptist and apostle Paul _
is that because they're all lieutenants?
or because they don't care about the size of their enemies)

all assignments for my OU course handed in
with two exams to do in the coming weeks...
making it time to record the events of my summer here
perhaps as preparation for what comes next
or just a reflection on my first summer at liberty

i've just had an email from the bbc
apologising for having published a viewer's comments
written in a parody that was unacceptably racist _
they removed the comments
"shortly after receiving your complaint"
(that had also contained a time limit before i contacted CRE)
they conceded there was no excuse
but the 'reason' had to do with input overload _
i think the confusion over publishing the comments arose
because the viewer had added an apology
to anyone who might be offended!


i received a map of bomb-damaged Lebanon
that everyone should look at _

a more precise map is available as a jpg image or pdf file
at maps.samidoun.org
updated by lebanonupdates.blogspot.com



only thing I would ask the Israeli government_
What did you achieve?
apart from over 1000 dead_ over 3,500 wounded_
more than a third of those casualties children_
and more than a million scattered cluster bomblets
which have already killed fourteen returning refugees
and are expected to take the next two years to clear _

i'm not the only stranger thoroughly sickened by your excesses_
Lebanon and Gaza aren't South African 'bantustans'
nor is the West Bank a 'township' like Soweto_
(though Sabra and Shatila were indeed your Sharpeville)
you have no lawful jurisdiction in those countries
despite everything you connive with the US government _

although there are important differences_
nevertheless_ you are turning your own community
into the same kind that promulgated an apartheid state _
i used to admire the courage and tenacity of another Israel
and the beginning history of your nation inspired me as a child _
Ben-Gurion_ Meier_ Dayan_ Begin_ Rabin_
(where are your heroes now?!)
the truth of the matter is
that from the time of Sharon's military leadership
there has been more than one Axis of Evil
operating in the Middle East _


on a lighter note_
i finally attended a meeting of the 'A World to Win' organisation
(who describe themselves as socialist revolutionaries)
i only went after persistent invitations from their 'chief organiser'
who'd originally written to me while i was still in prison _
eventually requesting i write a short transcript
that she could read out at their 'inauguration'
then publish on their web-site_
(and which i've since had removed)

i left their meeting early
thankful for having train times as an excuse
feeling as though i'd attended a white, middle class 'support group' _
to be frank you could have used what was said and done there
as the basis for a rather tragic 'sit-com'_
the first two speakers appeared to be
philosophically at odds with each other _
one spoke of creating a constitution to change the government
the other of changing the government to create a constitution
(not the same thing by any means!)

speaker number three began_
"i know there's only forty of us in this room
but all around the country there are rooms with forty people in"
my own question about right time and place was misconstrued
(not that it matters_ but
as the first two speakers had created two starting points
i was trying to argue
that revolution in New Labour's UK was unlikely
therefore creating a constitution was the logical way forward _)
realising i'd been misunderstood
i restrained myself to a quiet assertion
that you'd need 125,000 'rooms of 40' to create a revolutionary army
which wasn't well-received by those who heard it_
nor the comment to my neighbour (who shrugged philosophically)
when i suggested the body count would be in hundreds of thousands _
subsequent proceedings were intermittently interrupted
by the only truly entertaining character in our midst_
"well, i'm an anarchist!
and i don't think we should have any rules at all" _
to catch the flavour you should read that last again (and again)
and with a slightly effeminate tone

we were there
supposedly as a forum
to produce a 'foundation document'
but despite the few intelligent comments i heard
nothing put me in mind of 1787 or the Founding Fathers
(i'm afraid the verbosity of the resulting AWTW constitution
quite literally said it all!
unfortunately it has much chance of capturing public imagination
as i have of stopping the bedlam we've created in Iraq)

but what finally dismissed them from my thinking
was the deceit carried out shortly after their next meeting
which took place at the chief organiser's home (cosy!)_
requiring paid monthly membership in future_ but only
available to those with access to credit cards/direct debit_
to pay for one full-time salary (guess whose)
and_ i quote_ "computers, the website, and broadband"_
(presumably listing these sub-categories
because there weren't any other real categories
to beef up the explanation for these fees) _
as to why those 'without the wherewithal'
were excluded from AWTW membership_
no explanation was offered at all _

(like i told them_ i was never a member anyway)

i might not have the same socially acceptable 'credentials'
but that's actually okay
my credentials come from my understanding of 'socialist'
which includes such concepts as 'equal class' & 'pan-ethnicity'_
it means prioritising the poor_ the disenfranchised_ the unemployed_
in short the 'underclass' who weren't represented at this meeting _
but i'd suspected something wrong with this lot earlier in the year
when i was informed they didn't support 'makepovertyhistory'(!)

i think all this 'chief organiser' has done
is weave herself a web of a few well meaning people
(and some miscreants)
who she hopes may financially support her
and provide her a website where she can publish her art reviews _
if ever there did come a 'Glorious Day of the Revolution' corinna
the one thing for certain that uprising would not see
would be any sign of you _



back on the ball_ UK politics wise
like i said in my 'have your say' blog_
i've been watching the special schools issue with interest _
now that the children's commissioner has spoken out
Lord Adonis needs to be watching this space _