That Inauguration Speech in Short

So Bush wants to give the world Freedom as well as the War on Terror. And what do the terrorists want?

The Palestinian, IRA, Basque, Chechen, Tamil Tigers and Iraqi insurgents all share one common goal: desire for self-determination for their people.

Freedom, in other words. Even Al-Q'aeda have as one of their goals to free the soil of Saudi Arabia from the military bases of the infidel US.

Now Bush is talking the same language as the terrorists, perhaps we can get round the table and commence negotiations?

(Answer: no. Sadly)

Is Tony Blair Naive or Cynical?

I have long been pondering this question. He seems so convinced of his own rightness; I recognise my adolescent evangelical self in his earnestness, so surely he is just naive, a choirboy taken in by the hard bitten neo-cons in the White House. Of course, all politicians traduce themselves; it goes with the job. But this news item from Greenpeace finannly persuades me to come down on the cynical side of the fence:

Greenpeace accused Tony Blair of a 'betrayal' after leaked documents revealed the Prime Minister was boasting about global warming commitments in keynote speeches while his government was simultaneously trying to ditch them at European meetings.

It looks as if Blair is at one with his playmate Dubya in a Leo Straussian (or should that be Goebbelian) game of confuse the masses with deliberate lies.

Freedom's just another word ...

...for nothing left to lose...

Hi George. You have your presidential inauguration today, based on a electoral process that undermines democracy with its long queues, its malfunctioning evoting machines and questionable tallies.

You spoke about freedom, but the world knows that by this, you mean a world dominated by the overwhelming power of the armed forces that you command.

On this basis of a dodgy, tawdry vote you are moving forward with your war on terror.

Now you are not a war veteran, but any real war veteran will tell you that war is not good, healthy, reasonable, or - even - courageous.


You see things as black/white, good/ evil, democracy/ terrorism.

Reality is not as simple as that. Reality is not a James Bond film, where all the problems are solved by a large explosion in the penultimate scene.

First, there is more to being a democracy than using that name as a description of your political system. Many "democracies" fall short of full democracy - including yours, especially after November 2004.

Second, as we have seen here, what passes for terrorism depends on which side you are on. For instance, many Americans who back the "War on Terror" also would be happy to finance the IRA, who are clearly viewed as terrorists by most people in the UK, although we are at last achieving a welcome political settlement with them.

Arab public opinion overwhelmingly backs the people that westerners call terrorists.

In view of this position of Islamic opinion, the "War on Terror" would become a war of Christendom against the Islamic world. Is this really what the world wants or needs?

You may point to the fact that the Mullahs are calling for exactly this war - a jihad against the Christians and Jews. They say they want this. Does this mean that we should grant them what they want?

To attack a man for talking nonsense is to see my enemy drowning in a bog and to jump in after him with a knife. The mullahs are hysterical - emotionally uncontrolled, seeing things in black and white categories. Does this mean that we should join them in the same categorical errors?

A boundless war on terror is a war on a miasma, an attempt to put out a fire by smothering the flames with oil, a war without end.

In the end, hatred is overcome by wisdom and intelligence, not more hatred. The political juridical and economic responses to terrorism will be more effective than violence.

War is not good, healthy, reasonable, and courageous. It is just a recipe for more hatred and more terrorism.

PS do not even think about going into Iran. Thanks.

Poetry at the Lansdown, 3rd Wednesday in the Month

Just back from poetry night at the Lansdown, Bristol. Like all gatherings, there were exactly the right number of people there. Poets of every shape, gender and size, all shot through with the enthusiasm that afflicted every poet from Homer to Ginsberg, all sharing the delusion that is is poossible to make sense out of noises emitted from the human larynx. A dizzying melee of images, a welter of thought words sound pictures and feeling, all free of charge, all charged with freedom. Edward had a mermaid dissected before our horrified and fascinated eyes, a philosopher found time frozen in a piece of wood, Peter took us from the very depths of interstellar space to the breakfast table and back again, Helen Gregory reminded us that Winnie the Pooh and Piglet had been kidnapped by the Mob. Living structures of language, some finely shaped and polished to the last degree, some still covered in blood and meconium; once a fine long period of extended silence, zipped with the monotone of the refrigerator behind the bar.

As Shakespeare said,
"The poet, lover and the hanglider
are of imagination all compact"

But that's all right because, as Pink Floyd said, we're mad, we know we're mad, we're supposed to be mad.

Index of Governance meme

Yesterday evening, instead of skater hockey, went to North Somerset Amnesty International group to present the Index of Governance . Eleven good people there (out of a population of 199,000)who are prepared to sacrifice their evenings in working to get political prisoners and torture victims out of prison. The presentation was well received mainly, but I was surprised to learn that most AI members had not heard of the Amnesty/Observer Index of Human Rights, so I have to start further back. And had to clarify my intent, which is to get the Index adopted by AIUK, then AI itself, together with the UNA, as preparation for adoption by all green/peace/human rights NGOs, in preparation for pressing for its adoption by the UN itself.

That's all.

Richard Dawkins has a useful concept of the meme, a mental gene which passes from mind to mind, multiplying like a virus, until it passes from being strange to being common sense.

This is the Index of Governance meme:

Before the UN resorts to the use military force against “rogue” states that are abusing the human rights of their citizens, it needs to have in place a non-violent system that disables oppressive regimes. The Index of Governance will measure objectively the human rights performance of all states at UN level, and will set a tariff of targeted sanctions designed to disempower the ruling elite of states that abuse the human rights of their citizens.

Remember - you read it here first.

Compared to Somalia, even England looks democratic...

Get email from Ali Said Omar Ibrahim, the Chair of the Centre for Peace and Democracy in Somalia. Trying to set up peace and democracy in a place torn to shreds by war and lawlessness.

An Bhaghdad Rose writes today (see link to right) About the elections. I still wish to participate in it and I still think about it everyday, should I go? what if I die? who will raise my daughter after me and her father, we will go together.

Makes you realise that even living under Tories and New Labour is better than living in a country without law.

Not enough people know that "Tony Blair, a PM" is an anagram of "I am Tory Plan B".

Years ago, we wanted to run an election under the slogan, "Vote Green, they are better than a pack of mad yaks". The vicar, who was about to print our leaflets, though not a good idea. I suggested "No matter who you vote for, the Government always get in. So vote Green, they never get in." The local party thought that was a bit negative.

In Britain, the best we can do is to laugh about politics. For Ali and Rose, there is not much to laugh about. But the neo-cons may be about to wipe laughter out of politics in the West, unless they fall over. I think they will fall over.

I wish the Green Party could do something to help the Centre for Peace and Democracy. Have sent Ali's letter on to the GP discussion list. FWIW.

Religiously Ignoring God Question

Scrolling through my "Sent" files, I find this one to the Sunday programme, a BBC Radio 4 religious talk show. It went unacknowledged and unanswered.

Dear Roger Bolton

Throughout history, at times of theological crisis, there have been great councils which have met to make serious pronouncements. In the present climate, it might be helpful if the leaders of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism were to get together and address this question: "Do the words "Yahweh", "God", and "Allah" refer to the same entity or to different entities?”

I would suggest that the way to tackle this would be for them to meet, not for debate, but to sit in silent meditation on the One that they worship, while also contemplating the above question for a couple of hours, and then for each to write a few words to encapsulate their view of the situation; and for the words then to be perhaps composited into a short phrase that all three Abrahamic religions could assent to.

If the religious leaders can declare that monotheists are indeed worshipping the same infinite loving Being, some behavioural modification of the millions of believers that they lead may be expected to flow. Not a lot, of course; it will take a great deal more than the words of a few leaders to heal humanity's current wounds; but as part of a number of political measures designed to address global injustice and inequity, it will help a little. It will give a lead.Is this proposal flawed? Might it be helpful? Is it something that you could spend a little time on?

Onviously this was not something they thought worthy of spending a little time on. If anyone wants to send it to him again in the interests of world peace, the address is mailto:Sunday@bbc.co.uk