From the poem 'It's Ours'
that space
there
before they get to us
ensures
that
when they do
they won't
get it all
ever
~ ~ ~
and another version...
The woodcut is from "Madman's Drum" by Lynd Ward, about 1930
there is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average
human being to supply any given army on any given day
and the best at murder are those who preach against it
and the best at hate are those who preach love
and the best at war finally are those who preach peace
those who preach god, need god
those who preach peace do not have peace
those who preach peace do not have love
beware the preachers
beware the knowers
beware those who are always reading books
beware those who either detest poverty
or are proud of it
beware those quick to praise
for they need praise in return
beware those who are quick to censor
they are afraid of what they do not know
beware those who seek constant crowds for
they are nothing alone
beware the average man the average woman
beware their love, their love is average
seeks average
but there is genius in their hatred
there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you
to kill anybody
not wanting solitude
not understanding solitude
they will attempt to destroy anything
that differs from their own
not being able to create art
they will not understand art
they will consider their failure as creators
only as a failure of the world
not being able to love fully
they will believe your love incomplete
and then they will hate you
and their hatred will be perfect
like a shining diamond
like a knife
like a mountain
like a tiger
like hemlock
their finest art
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
The Genius Of The Crowd: Charles Bukowski
Global Revolution Baby! ‘Egypt imports 21 tons of tear gas from the US, port staff refuses to sign for it’
The arrival of 7 and half tons of tear gas to Egypt’s Suez port created conflict after the responsible officials at the port refused to sign and accept it for fear it would be used to crack down on Egyptian protesters.
Local news sites published documents regarding the shipment that shows that the cargo, which arrived in 479 barrels from the United States and was scheduled to be delivered to the ministry of interior.
The reports also mentioned in the documents that a second shipment of 14 tons of tear gas was expected, making the total 21 tons, in one week.
[ ... ]
The al-Shorouk newspaper reported that upon the arrival of the shipment, massive disapproval broke out between employees, where five employees refused to sign for the shipment, one after the other.
The five, being dubbed by activists as the “brave five”, will be refereed to a investigative committee as to why they refused to perform their duties.
Beatnik-era Peyton Place may be given national historic status
Druid Heights, a little-known enclave where Zen philosopher Alan Watts, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder and prostitutes union founder Margot St. James once lived with other counterculture characters in ''shared bohemian poverty," has long been one of Marin County's best-kept historical secrets. Although most people have never heard of the place, this once flourishing alternative community, whose members were dedicated to radical artistic, philosophical, spiritual, political and sexual experimentation, is beginning to slowly emerge from its cocoon of obscurity. An isolated cluster of architecturally eccentric dwellings near Muir Woods, Druid Heights is not only a fascinating chapter in Bay Area history, it may even be of national significance and therefore worthy of preservation. A recent study by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area concludes that the five-acre property meets all the criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and "would make an ideal artists' retreat." "This small community succeeded in its goal to create a secluded, supportive space in which imaginative people could work, live and celebrate, unburdened by the demands of mainstream society," the study says. ''Their efforts later had a significant impact on the emerging counterculture in the San Francisco Bay Area, and would eventually influence broader events in the history of the United States."
First Amendment hijacked by moneyed interests
A funny thing happened to the First Amendment on its way to the public forum: It was hijacked.
According to the Supreme Court, money is now speech, and corporations are now people.
Yet when real people without money assemble to express their dissatisfaction with the political consequences of this, they're treated as public nuisances - clubbed, pepper-sprayed, thrown out of public parks and evicted from public spaces.
The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision last year ended all limits on political spending. Now millions of dollars are being funneled to politicians without a trace.
[ ... ]Millionaires and billionaires on Wall Street and in executive suites aren't contributing all this money out of sheer love of country. Their political spending is analogous to their other investments. Mostly they want low tax rates and friendly regulations.
Yet all this money is drowning out the voices of average Americans. Most of us don't have the dough to break through. Giving First Amendment rights to money and corporations has hobbled the First Amendment rights of the rest of us.
This is where the Occupiers come in. If there's a core message to the Occupy movement, it's that the increasing concentration of income and wealth at the top endangers our democracy. With money comes political power.
Yet as Occupiers seek to make their voices heard about all this, they're told the First Amendment doesn't apply. When they peacefully assemble - erecting tents in public spaces - they're attacked and evicted.
image from http://www.spitting-image.net
