Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle

                                 
                                            Guy Debord

In his fascinating book first published June in 1967 the Society of the Spectacle, Guy Debord leading figure of the French Situationist International argued that to succumbing to alienation caused by capitalism we have let our lives become colonised  by an immersive experience.
This spectacle has replaced social interaction and human needs. While this is superficially satisfying it  makes us isolated and lonely individuals.It is still one of the greatest theoretical examinations  of our social-cultural conditions describing in pinpoint accuracy the dreadful corporate globalization currently sweeping the planet.The spectacle accompanies us throughout our lives, via News Propaganda, advertising, enertainment and yes social media, presenting a continuous stream of imagery, projecting a constant justification for how our society and culture is formulated.
The text https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/guy-debord-the-society-of-the-spectacle.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1r_mORBe5b6eH__t7_A8iSz9ppVP2IwVVcmiVuTrqulmA5SZAwDlvSH6Q

was  a primary influence not only on  the near-revolution of May 1968 in Paris, but also on the ethos of London's  underground press and certain aspects of punk ideology. The SI developed out of an earlier Left Bank twitch of avante garde politics, carring out programs of provocation, graffit and antiparty revolutionary outrage. The Situationists were concerned to articulate a 'theory of moments,'  propogating ideas of pleasure and depicting the personal as intrinsically political (' boredom is always counterrevolutionary ' sneered one of their mottoes. Debord dissolved the SI ( proclaiming its victory over history') in 1972, their impact has been assured. Again we need t break with conventions, break out of our desolate paradigms, and be free.Viva the Situationists.
Sadly in 1994 aged 67, in the isolated village of Champot high in the Auvergne, Guy Debord shot himself with a single bullet to the heart.

Below Guy Debords 1967 text is remade into a contemporary context and turned into a mind-bending short film,with contributions from Marshall Mc Luhan and John Berger, made bt Aska with sound by Pippin Kenworthy.

Ornette Coleman Jazz Legend R.I.P ( 9/3/30 -11/6/15)

Unfortunately blog playing up at moment, again, can no longer upload certain stuff here, in the libray, hey hot despite this must mention the passing of Ornette Coleman,  legendary self-taught saxophone player who bought to the  jazz world his unconventional 'free jazz, becoming known as an avant garde genius, sadly died yesterday morning in New York aged 85.
He began playing alto sax at age 14, partucularly influenced by  Charlie Parker. In the late 1950's and early 1960's he became  a central figure in the downtown avant garde scene. A friend of poets and musicians alike.
Mr Coleman widened the options in jazz and helped change its direction. He pioneered  and presented a style  that is not for some ears accessible, but I loved most of his body of work. Hauntingly beautiful, raw and tender. He symbolisedf the outsider American spirit as effectively as any artist of the last century. His bold and exciting music has had a huge impact on me and the shape of jazz to come.Truly amazing inspirational character, thank you Ornette. R.I.P

For Ornette

A plastic saxophone,
releases free tonal notes,
passionately in whirlwinds of intensity,
simple melodies of improvisation,
breathes of illumination.
compositions leftfield,
blowing against tradition,
otherworldly and gentle,
hauntingly beautiful,
refusing to be sensible,
keeps on soaring,
long after exit time.
thank you ornette,
for your musical gift.,
your legacy, sublime,
it will stay in place,
harmolodics will keep on talking,
the sound of imagination,
always free.

Christopher Lee (27/5/22 - 7/6/15) - R.I.P Ghost Riders in the Sky

What Amazon Isn't Telling You

It's been another  good year of Sales  for Amazon.  Its never far from the headlines, if its not tax avoidance , its treatement of its workers and its union busting activities. Their CEO Jeff Brazen will tell shareholders  how rosy everything is.  But that is just spin. While  Jeff is lining his pockets,  Amazon workers are paying the price with miserable working conditions, stress, poverty  wages and job insecurity
Here's the story Amazon does not want you to see. Share it far and wide.
If you use social media why don't you join others in sending them a little message.





http://www.amazonanonymous.org/home

Release the Vortex

Mass worldy observation,
immersed in delusion and devotion,
amongst the dark swell of the afternoons' call,
that comes down daily to breach the peace.

There are no safe districts,
we all carry different scars,
force fed illusion, the need for consumption,
walls built of separation and division.

It is time to disassemble, unravel, untangle,
turn of the t.v, mobile phone, computer screen,
because there is nothing to be seen or heard,
that has not been  glanced at many times before.

The compass is broken, 
the map is torn, time to escape,
create a new destination,
where the signals of obedience do not call,
because they have all been switched off.

Thread by thread, we can rearrange,
it only takes a moment for light to return,
as rain falls down, filling in holes,
sparkles of nourishment, on breathing leaves,
release the vortex as fresh candles are lit.

Remembering the Naksa ( The Setback)

                                            Poster issued in 1967, to commemorate event

Yesterday June 5th saw the 48th anniversary of  the Naksa (the setback)  when Israel illegally seized what was left of the Palestininian's historic homeland.( the Sinai, the Golan heights,the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem )
In 1967 more than 400,000 Palestinians  were expelled  by Israel from their land  , making  it the secomnd expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland since the Nakba ( the Catastrophe) in 1948 when 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled  to neighboring Arab countries by Zionist terror groups, and 150,000 Palestinians  became internally displaced in the newly  born state.
It took less than  a week for the Palestinians to be forcibly displaced for the second time. A truly dark moment in history. The life in refugee camps, is truly miserable, whether in Lebanon, Syria or Jordan, the Palestinians today seek justice, freedom and Israel to abide by International law and allow Palestinian refugees their right to return to their homelands.

Well done Charlotte Church

Good to hear  that Charlotte Church has been standing up against austerity and for our NHS, welfare  state and public services. At a press conference for the Peoples Assembly she outlined her position.  She should  be congratulated  for making the direct link between progressive income tax and desperately needed services. She has also said she would be happy to  pay 60 to 70 % top rate of tax  if it meant saving services, which are the lynchpins of our society, adding that inequality made her ' angry as the hulk'.. This is a Welsh working class girl who has not forgotten  her roots, we should be very proud of her,we need more like her, who are prepared to lend their voice, this is how momentum gathers.
Asked recently why as a millionaire she had taken to marching against austerity, she said 'being poor is not a  prequisite for empathy'. She also publicised an anti austerity rally to be held in London on June 20th, urging members of the public to attend. 70,000 have already pledged their support to attend.

http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk

Charlotte Church a leading voice against austerity

House of Greed

As the incapacitated, unemployed and elderly are about to be hit with another round  of George Osbourne's austerity  cuts, it is simply astonishing  that the Government has now agreed to a 10%  pay rise, with no cuts  to their expenses, so now an ordinary M.P will get 74k a year, while people I know are survivng on £40 ta week hardship after sanctions, which includes disabled people, rhe mentally ill and the vulnerable, who have been unfairly sanctioned. Children now need  breakfast clubs at school,  people rely on food bank vouchers, while PIP is being refused to wheelchair users. It is quite frankly bloody obscene.
It simply represents the modern politicians detachment from reality, in this House of Greed, full of a self-serving political establishment that rewards itself as ordinary people struggle.
In a period of  sky high rising energy bills  for the rest of us, job insecurities.
At the end of the day these M.Ps are being rewarded for obdedience and conformity, little else, it certainly does not seem to be based on commitment or highly held priniciples. Their rising pay, will make them  more resilient to change, complacent and loyal to the status quo. Not in touch with the tough financial  conditions that the rest of us have to endure.
Surely Nurses, teachers, etc  represent more better value, 
Perhaps their pay should be subject to a medical, as metered out to people on benefits, I am sure there would be no  increase or reward for many.
And to no ones great surprise, David Cameron, who said he would not accept a rise, takes it after all, after calling it simply unacceptable. To be expected I guess.

Charles Kennedy (25/10/59 - 1/6/15) R.I.P Principled man of integrity

Sad news, former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy has been  found dead at his home aged 55. A liberal yes,  but also a staunch internationalist and proud scot. On all accounts a kind hearted man, seemingly unencumbered by institutional  political spite, humorous and quick to smile. Unlike most politicians he seemed almost human and was one of the few politicians that I respected.
The only Lib Dem who retained his integrity while the rest betrayed us all, who in his  innate wisdom stood  out against the coalition, while the rest of his party ignored him. Always a man of the left, he acted as the unofficial leader of the opposition to the coalition in the Labour Party's  5 year absence. Such a shame people will only learn  about this mans steadfast principles through todays obituary columns.
I remember too  his courageous opposition to the Iraq war, the only party leader to do so,  while others flinched, who said at the time ' I  find it personally and politically very difficult indeed to support a war in which there is no mandate from the UN and no sense of legitimacy on the international stage.' Not afraid  to stand up  for social justice and what he believed in,  who was able to admit his own human failings, with great dignity, his humanity and his kind nature endured him to many. Sadly  this did not extend to the Palestinians, he did have close links to the JNF , a group that wants to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian, sometimes we make mistakes. But for many a  good and decent man, a genuine person. And at end of the day we all have to make hard choices and then live with them.
He will be missed by all that encountered him.
Charles Kennedy R.I.P 

Charles Kennedy's finest hour

30 years anniversary of Battle of Beanfield

The Battle of the Beanfield took place over several hours , 30 years ago  today on the afternoom  of Saturday 1 June 1985. When Wiltshire police prevented a vehicle convoy of several hundred New Age Travelers, known as the 'Convoy'  and referred  to  as the ' Peace Convoy' by the media,  from setting up at the 11th Stonehenge Free Festival in Wiltshire, England. 
It resulted in innocent people, women and children being violently beaten up in their own homes, after 12 years of gathering  in the same place of celebration, by the combined  forces of the state, who armed with shields and batons ran savagely amok. There was carnage and mayham as the marginalised  and dispossessed were brutally  targeted by a police forces  under the auspices of  Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government,  were allowed to get seriously out of control, trying to suppress a peoples thirst for freedom, this quasi military force carried out serious abuses of their power with an unrelenting  frenzied brutality following similar attacks in the year on the miners. 
A horrible time, like today, when people who live on societies  edges are attacked simply for being different. Women and their babies were left showered with glass after the police had smashed up their vehicles. It would  leave over 116 travelers  hospitalised. and 420  of their number arrested ( few arrested were ever prosecuted) as  their homes were systematically looted, smashed and burnt  with their possessions stolen..
A dark day for British justice and civil liberties.  30 years later people still  suffering the consequences , and bearing the scars of this dark passage in history. But the stones remain.