Including One Single Impression, Manic Monday and Sunday Scribblings.
Have you had a go yet?
Well, he did it. A black man is President of the USA. No one can deny that this is an iconic moment in history. But now that a couple of days have elapsed, let’s have a reality check. He inherits 2 wars, an economic crisis and grave eco problems in a country and world that is, quite frankly, Bushed.
Barack Obama has a lot to do.
But you have faith in him? Well, you won’t have in a couple of years, because decisions will have to be hard. But more than this, a politician who is liked eventually believes the publicity, and what they become is quite different.
Hopefully, it won’t happen with Obama. But I’m afraid that, from Day One I saw Britain’s Tony Blair in him, and the euphoria since his election has been an exact echo of Britain, May 97 – the beginning of one of the worst governments in UK history.
Prove me wrong, Mister President Elect – please.
Humans use 30% more, each year, than the planet can replenish.
So says a new international study. We can argue about the percentage, but not about the message. The simple fact is, just like your bank account, nature comprises capital and interest.
Capital is the absolute amount available. Interest is the amount that can be used without depleting the capital. Modern society gobbles up the interest and eats into the capital. Try doing that with your bank account, and you’ll get an idea of what we’re doing to the planet.
This is what sustainability is all about. Of course, many eco-warriors tell us we simply have to cut back or disaster is on the way. But this isn’t quite the case. There is adequate new tech already on the drawing board that could, with the will, allow us to reach sustainability without seriously impeding our lifestyles.
So why isn’t it done? Because the only thing that would change is Big Biz. They require big systems to keep out the small guys and maintain their power. New tech is for the small scale – and by definition, a new generation of small business.
And herein lies the problem. Saving the planet involves sacrificing themselves. When are we going to make them do it?
Next post Tuesday. Hope to see you then.
© Anthony North, November 2008
PARADOX IN A POEM
You’ll find it here, or maybe not,
it depends, I suppose, on what you’ve got,
eyes to read, mind to think,
an answer there within a blink;
If, of course, it’s really here,
and not a mystery upon which to fear,
an enigma with no answer at all,
a psycho-maze to enthrall;
But that’s the thing about a paradox,
hard to wrap up in a box,
it’s here, it isn’t, can we interdict?
Maybe, or not – I must contradict
(c) Anthony North, November 2008
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BOUNTY – Fiction
‘So he did it.’
‘Yes, I didn’t know he still had it in him. He’s been working as a fat private investigator for years. Since … it ended.’
‘We can say it again, now. Russia is up to its old tricks. We can use the term: Cold War. We’re back.’
‘And the bounty worked. He’s not been doing well for years, and he always liked the money. So when we offered him that much, just to kill one man, he couldn’t resist.’
‘And did he do it cleanly?’
‘Yes. He hasn’t lost his touch. The target had left Russia for a holiday in France. Our man followed him and worked out when the perfect accident was possible. No one suspected a thing.’
‘Except the Ruskies, of course.’
‘Well, that’s their problem.’
‘And is he getting the bounty payment?’
‘The way I put it, he couldn’t refuse – paid in instalments, as a salary for coming back.’
‘So we’ve got an agent back, AND we’ve got him to kill his old controller. Quite a success, I think.’
‘It seems that way.’
‘But what I want to know is, did he know that we knew he was killing his old boss?’
‘That’s the question – and I doubt if we’ll ever get an answer to that.’
‘And which side do you think he’ll really be working for this time?’
‘It doesn’t really matter. The suspicion – the fear – is all that counts.’
The Russian turned off the recording. His men had done well bugging their office like that. His ribs still hurt from the ‘accident’. And he, too, wondered who he was really working for.
© Anthony North, November 2008
CHANGE
New man in town, no more frown,
change is here, time to steer,
a new course to a better world,
optimism can unfurl,
the people will at last be heard,
to get it wrong would be absurd,
as long as it is really new,
marching onwards good and true,
thinking of many, not the few,
no time now to ever be blue …
New man in town, no more frown,
no more sin,
as long as it’s not spin
(c) Anthony North, November 2008
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