Read this article http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/13/glaxo-smith-kline-cheap-medicine
What a bloke!
Is it real? I mean, really? There must be some dark dirty reason right? Or is he another good person who's slipped throught the net?
I mean, shit, Glaxo aren't exactly your local chemist and he's basically laying down the gauntlet right? Surely the world will applaud and the rest of the pharmaceuticals will have to follow suit?
At this rate we're going to run out of bubble wrap and armour plating to keep all the good guys safe...
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Police State?
Ladies and Gentlemen - as of today it is illegal, under Section 44 The Terrorism Act, to take a photo of a UK copper. The offence carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and a fine.
http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=836675
Let's hear that again shall we?
UNDER SECTION 44 (TERRORISM ACT) IT IS NOW ILLEGAL TO TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF A POLICE OFFICER IN THE UK.
Should we not remember that the police are public servants? They are there to keep us safe from harm. What possible reason could there be for making it illegal to take a photo of a policeman.
In day to day policing this law is largely useless and it will obviously be used at each individual officers discretion but how about at a peaceful protest? How will it affect the behaviour of the police then? What will happen when anyone they find pointing a camera at them can be arrested? This includes press as far as I can tell.
As recently as January 2009 we have seen the police herding a group of peaceful protesters down into the Hyde Park underpass to give them a little bit of a beating away from the eyes and lenses of the public and press. From what I can tell from the footage available they then emerged from the tunnel with the group of angry, scared, attacked protesters. When the news spread about what had happened people got angry and the crowds became restless and more confrontational but THIS behaviour is what was caught on film. The police could then turn around and say "Look! Look at all the angry violent protesters!" It's like someone punching you in class when the teachers back is turned and then just as you retaliate the teacher turns round and it's YOU that doesnt get any playtime...
What will it be like when they dont even have to hide in a tunnel? How will they behave when they can arrest and confiscate the equipment of anyone pointing a camera at them?
A friend told me about a press photographer friend of his who was at one of the recent anti Israel invasion protests, (maybe even the same one as mentioned above), he was manhandled by the police, made to state his name on film, (oh yes, of course, THEY can still take photos of YOU), and then thrown back into the crowd. He was there with a fully visible press badge.
Also worth remembering:
- The UK has one of the highest rates of CCTV cameras per member of the population in the world.
- From April communications providers will be required, by law, to keep records of all telephone calls, texts and emails sent.
What the fuck is going on?
http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=836675
Let's hear that again shall we?
UNDER SECTION 44 (TERRORISM ACT) IT IS NOW ILLEGAL TO TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF A POLICE OFFICER IN THE UK.
Should we not remember that the police are public servants? They are there to keep us safe from harm. What possible reason could there be for making it illegal to take a photo of a policeman.
In day to day policing this law is largely useless and it will obviously be used at each individual officers discretion but how about at a peaceful protest? How will it affect the behaviour of the police then? What will happen when anyone they find pointing a camera at them can be arrested? This includes press as far as I can tell.
As recently as January 2009 we have seen the police herding a group of peaceful protesters down into the Hyde Park underpass to give them a little bit of a beating away from the eyes and lenses of the public and press. From what I can tell from the footage available they then emerged from the tunnel with the group of angry, scared, attacked protesters. When the news spread about what had happened people got angry and the crowds became restless and more confrontational but THIS behaviour is what was caught on film. The police could then turn around and say "Look! Look at all the angry violent protesters!" It's like someone punching you in class when the teachers back is turned and then just as you retaliate the teacher turns round and it's YOU that doesnt get any playtime...
What will it be like when they dont even have to hide in a tunnel? How will they behave when they can arrest and confiscate the equipment of anyone pointing a camera at them?
A friend told me about a press photographer friend of his who was at one of the recent anti Israel invasion protests, (maybe even the same one as mentioned above), he was manhandled by the police, made to state his name on film, (oh yes, of course, THEY can still take photos of YOU), and then thrown back into the crowd. He was there with a fully visible press badge.
Also worth remembering:
- The UK has one of the highest rates of CCTV cameras per member of the population in the world.
- From April communications providers will be required, by law, to keep records of all telephone calls, texts and emails sent.
What the fuck is going on?
Friday, 30 January 2009
Obamarama!
What can I say? First of all I guess I need to say how strange it is to me that I place so much hope in a man who leads another country that is thousands of miles away.
But still, if Barack Obama does all he says he will, (or even half of it), then the world will be SO much better for lots and lots of people. Even if he just tries without succeeding at some of the things he's talking about then the world will change.
Just thinking about him fills me with a sense of such hope that my belly actually churns and I feel sick. We are peddled such a large amount of shit that makes us feel bad, not only about the world around us but bad about ourselves, that when someone comes along who says they will stand up and do good things for everyone because everyone is equal it's hard not to get very very excited. Look at how massive amounts of people line up behind him and the others that have come before him - John Kennedy, John Lennon, The Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King Jnr and Bob Marley to name a few.
Maybe I'm a hopeless optimist or romantic or something. So be it. I'd rather be embarrassingly gushingly hopeful than resign myself to the belief that the terrifying shitheads that seem to run EVERYTHING will win in the end.
I guess a bunch of you will stop reading at this point but in my opinion there are dark people running the world we live in. Maybe I'll expand on that in a later post with some kind of references or something to make it more of a legitimate argument rather than just my ramblings. But man, there is shit going on behind the scenes that we will never know anything about. There are a very small amount of people at the top of this 'democratic' pyramid that we have built who own and run everything. That includes us. They have all the money and all the power. So much money and power, in fact, that it possibly doesn’t even matter to them anymore exactly how much power they have, only that they have it and that it keeps them safe.
Ok I guess one reference is needed so have a look at this about the distribution of wealth from the Office for National Statistics: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=2
And that’s just the UK, chances are that our rich people are NOT the most powerful rich people in the worl.
These people are insanely powerful and who knows whose interests they are serving as they wield those powers. Who even knows what those powers are?
Anyone who stands up in the face of this power and attempts to serve the other 99% must face such extreme, scary opposition. But the people line up behind those that do in their droves. I line up happily.
Barack Obama appears to be one of those people. I’m sure he’ll make mistakes and I’m sure not everyone will agree with everything he does, (that would just be spooky anyway), but if he will at least stand up to some of the bad things that happen and the bad people that do those things then we should ALL line up behind him. When people get together great things really can happen.
I have a theory: Arseholes reach the top of their fields all the time simply by being bigger, stronger, more clever, more cut-throat and more arsehole-ish than their rivals. It’s in their nature to be the top dog and so they often achieve their goals. I’m not saying that it’s always the case but I reckon it happens a lot, especially in business and politics. Arseholes win all the time. It may as well be a scientific fact.
But every so often people get so sick of the arseholes and their lies that their strength of feeling has enough force to push a good guy through the net, despite all attempts by the arseholes to stop it happening.
With that in mind, the fact that Barack Obama is President of the USA means one of two things:
1. He’s been lying all along and really he’s just another arsehole. This is of course a possibility. Or
2. We’ve got one through the net! There is actually a good guy in charge of the biggest superpower in the world!
Barack Obama has a huge responsibility on his shoulders and I don’t envy him one bit but man this could be good. Like I said at the top, he’s not even my president and I’m so filled with hope by his arrival. When people all over the world celebrated the election victory it showed the importance of his rise to office and the dire need for a new era, free from the ludicrous George Fuckhead Bush and the delightful Mr Cheney.
Basically, in amongst all the thousands of total arseholes there are running things for there own ends all over the world, there is one bloke who doesn’t appear to be an arsehole and has managed to become the most powerful non-arsehole in the world.
We need to wrap him up in cotton wool, lead, and bombproof armour and then never let him out of our sight. Or maybe make him an office inside a tank, inside an armoured lorry loaded on board an armoured military bomber in a hanger with the doors open and the engines running constantly juuuust in case anyone tries anything dodgy.
This man could do truly great things, let's keep our fingers crossed and do anything we can to help. I mistakenly thought Blair was a properly good person but he turned out to be a bit of a wolf in sheeps clothing. Lets hope Obama is a bona fide sheep who successfully persuades the wolves that vegetarianism is the only way forward in todays modern world.
I found this picture, it's one way of looking at things...
But still, if Barack Obama does all he says he will, (or even half of it), then the world will be SO much better for lots and lots of people. Even if he just tries without succeeding at some of the things he's talking about then the world will change.
Just thinking about him fills me with a sense of such hope that my belly actually churns and I feel sick. We are peddled such a large amount of shit that makes us feel bad, not only about the world around us but bad about ourselves, that when someone comes along who says they will stand up and do good things for everyone because everyone is equal it's hard not to get very very excited. Look at how massive amounts of people line up behind him and the others that have come before him - John Kennedy, John Lennon, The Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King Jnr and Bob Marley to name a few.
Maybe I'm a hopeless optimist or romantic or something. So be it. I'd rather be embarrassingly gushingly hopeful than resign myself to the belief that the terrifying shitheads that seem to run EVERYTHING will win in the end.
I guess a bunch of you will stop reading at this point but in my opinion there are dark people running the world we live in. Maybe I'll expand on that in a later post with some kind of references or something to make it more of a legitimate argument rather than just my ramblings. But man, there is shit going on behind the scenes that we will never know anything about. There are a very small amount of people at the top of this 'democratic' pyramid that we have built who own and run everything. That includes us. They have all the money and all the power. So much money and power, in fact, that it possibly doesn’t even matter to them anymore exactly how much power they have, only that they have it and that it keeps them safe.
Ok I guess one reference is needed so have a look at this about the distribution of wealth from the Office for National Statistics: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=2
And that’s just the UK, chances are that our rich people are NOT the most powerful rich people in the worl.
These people are insanely powerful and who knows whose interests they are serving as they wield those powers. Who even knows what those powers are?
Anyone who stands up in the face of this power and attempts to serve the other 99% must face such extreme, scary opposition. But the people line up behind those that do in their droves. I line up happily.
Barack Obama appears to be one of those people. I’m sure he’ll make mistakes and I’m sure not everyone will agree with everything he does, (that would just be spooky anyway), but if he will at least stand up to some of the bad things that happen and the bad people that do those things then we should ALL line up behind him. When people get together great things really can happen.
I have a theory: Arseholes reach the top of their fields all the time simply by being bigger, stronger, more clever, more cut-throat and more arsehole-ish than their rivals. It’s in their nature to be the top dog and so they often achieve their goals. I’m not saying that it’s always the case but I reckon it happens a lot, especially in business and politics. Arseholes win all the time. It may as well be a scientific fact.
But every so often people get so sick of the arseholes and their lies that their strength of feeling has enough force to push a good guy through the net, despite all attempts by the arseholes to stop it happening.
With that in mind, the fact that Barack Obama is President of the USA means one of two things:
1. He’s been lying all along and really he’s just another arsehole. This is of course a possibility. Or
2. We’ve got one through the net! There is actually a good guy in charge of the biggest superpower in the world!
Barack Obama has a huge responsibility on his shoulders and I don’t envy him one bit but man this could be good. Like I said at the top, he’s not even my president and I’m so filled with hope by his arrival. When people all over the world celebrated the election victory it showed the importance of his rise to office and the dire need for a new era, free from the ludicrous George Fuckhead Bush and the delightful Mr Cheney.
Basically, in amongst all the thousands of total arseholes there are running things for there own ends all over the world, there is one bloke who doesn’t appear to be an arsehole and has managed to become the most powerful non-arsehole in the world.
We need to wrap him up in cotton wool, lead, and bombproof armour and then never let him out of our sight. Or maybe make him an office inside a tank, inside an armoured lorry loaded on board an armoured military bomber in a hanger with the doors open and the engines running constantly juuuust in case anyone tries anything dodgy.
This man could do truly great things, let's keep our fingers crossed and do anything we can to help. I mistakenly thought Blair was a properly good person but he turned out to be a bit of a wolf in sheeps clothing. Lets hope Obama is a bona fide sheep who successfully persuades the wolves that vegetarianism is the only way forward in todays modern world.
I found this picture, it's one way of looking at things...
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