The Diameter of the Bomb – Yehuda Amichai

In light of yesterday’s bombings in Boston, this poem seems all the more poignant. Thank you to Asha Mokashi for sharing it.

The Diameter of the Bomb

by Yehuda Amichai

 

The diameter of the bomb was thirty centimeters

And the diameter of its effective range about seven meters,

With four dead and eleven wounded.

And around these, in a larger circle

Of pain and time, two hospitals are scattered

And one graveyard. But the young woman

Who was buried in the city she came from,

At a distance of more than a hundred kilometers,

Enlarges the circle considerably,

And the solitary man mourning her death

At the distant shores of a country far across the sea

Includes the entire world in the circle.

And I won’t even mention the crying of orphans

That reaches up to the throne of God and

Beyond, making

A circle with no end and no God.

Perfection

To achieve perfection takes trial and error.

If others are involved in your task, they may see your experimentation as indecision.

Ignore that gnawing urge to placate them for an easier life, and press on with your goal.

Only then, will you hope to attain something that you can be 85 – 90% satisfied with.

The real goal is to rape Mali for all its worth.

Before we go all Gung-ho into Mali under the pretense of driving out militant Islamist rebels, let’s have a look at the real reasons why France, and now Britain, have such a keen interest in securing the region:

*Gold: Mali is Africa’s third largest gold producer with large scale exploration ongoing.

*Uranium: encouraging signs and exploration in full swing. Exploration is currently being carried out by several companies with clear indications of deposits of uranium in Mali.

*Diamonds: Mali has potential to develop its diamond exploration: in the Kayes administrative region (Mining region 1), thirty (30) kimberlitic pipes have been discovered of which eight are show traces of diamonds.

*Iron Ore, Bauxite and Manganese: significant resources present in Mali but still unexploited. Mali has according to estimates more than 2 million tonnes of potential iron ore reserves located in the areas of Djidian-Kenieba, Diamou and Bale.

And let’s not forget our old favourite – oil.

*Mali’s Petroleum potential already attracting significant interest from investors Mali’s Petroleums potential has been documented since the 1970’s where sporadic seismic and drilling revealed probable indications of oil. With the increasing price of global oil and gas resources, Mali has stepped up its promotion and research for oil exploration, production and potential exports. Mali could also provide a strategic transport route for Sub-Saharan oil and gas exports through to the Western world and there is the possibility of connecting the Taoudeni basin to European market through Algeria.

*Source: Global Research

I’m not saying we shouldn’t help the people of Mali rid themselves of bands of terrorists controlling huge swathes of the country. I’m saying we should have some transparency.

What exactly has President Hollande promised Cameron for his help? BP getting first dibs on oil exploration?

Before we send our troops out to die in the Sahara under the banner of defending The West from the tyranny of global terrorism, let’s have a bit of honesty about the real reasons we are going in there.

And that is to strip Mali, and its environs, of its natural resources.

Meanwhile, back at UN headquarters…

CONCIERGE: Good evening, may I see your invitation?

Hmm, we don’t appear to have you on the list.

Ah, here it is, number 194 – Palestine?

New here, are you?

Jolly good.

Do you have err…

…it’s, ahem, customary to bring a gift.

You know, as a gesture of good will.

Call it a donation for joining the “club”.

Oh, I don’t know, anything.

Do you have any oil?

Oil’s usually a good opening gambit. Great for a gaining an ally or two. I could do you a U.S. aircraft carrier if you’ve got any lying about the place.

I see. No matter.

Gold? Gold always goes down well with our American friends. They do love a bit of bling. I can get you a convoy of Humvees for a goldmine?

Nope. Okey-dokey.

How about minerals? Cassiterite? Wolframite? Coltan? For some Apache attack helicopters.

Just a few AK-47s and some novelty shemaghs, with… wait, what’s this? Ooh, look -  a cutesy little picture of Yasser Arafat saying “In your face Israel.”

I suppose they’ll have to do. Put them over there next to those Syrian RPGs.

Just keep quiet and take a seat at the back, next to Egypt and Libya.

Next…

…ahh, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Usual table, Sir?

I’m a celebrity get me a new constituency!

Tory MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, Nadine Dorries.
(Not in Mid-Bedfordshire by the looks of things.)

Tory MP, Nadine Dorries, is in the Australian jungle in the reality TV show I’m a celebrity get me out of here. Personally, I think she should stay there. I’d also prefer it if the rest of her Tory party chums were sent out to join her. But I believe we gave up that practice a few years ago.

The problem I have with her being on this jungle jolly is that she is still drawing her £65,738 MP’s salary + expenses. (So that could be anywhere up to a couple of million quid.) And she has publicly stated that she isn’t foregoing any of it. On top of that she’s also going to be paid £40 grand by ITV for appearing on the show. Doubtless there’ll be dozens of paid-for media opportunities once she gets out.

It’s common knowledge that eating koala babies and supping crocodile blood is nothing new to Tory MPs, so chowing down on a brace of Skippy’s gonads shouldn’t be much of an ordeal for Ms Dorries. But the simple fact is, she should be back here doing the job she is being paid to do by the British tax payer, which is representing the constituents of Mid-Bedfordshire.

Surely, absconding for a month while still drawing a salary is tantamount to gross misconduct?

And, before anyone says: ‘well, she’s got a wider audience to get her views across by appearing on the show’; have a listen to this radio interview. It features Nadine’s “speechless”parliamentary assistant being quizzed as to why one of her constituents isn’t getting a response to her letters.

I say she should be fired and a by-election held in Mid-Bedfordshire before she gets back.

If you agree with me, perhaps you’d be so kind as to share this petit post via Twitter and Facebook. And, if you don’t, enjoy that roasted koala baby you’re having for your dinner.

Nadine sucking a baby wombat’s eye out.

What’s that you say, Skippy? Nadine has fallen down an abandoned mineshaft at the old goldmine? Well, get those gelding irons and grab a slab of stubbies, we’re having a barbie!

Protection for Malala Yousufzai

What brave Taliban fighters.

As most of you are probably already aware, the Taliban tried to execute a 14 year old girl in Pakistan by the name of Malala Yousufzai.

They shot her in the head.

She is in a critical condition in hospital but it is hoped she will make a full recovery.

The Taliban, however, have vowed to kill her.

The reason they want her dead is because she wants to go to school.

She’s been actively campaigning for girls to have the right to education since she was 11 years old.

The Taliban don’t believe girls should be educated.

What I would like to know is – what are the Pakistani authorities, police and military doing to protect her?

That’s a genuine question. Is she being provided with round-the-clock security?

If not, why not?

And, without wishing to offend Pakistan’s sovereignty, should a UN security force be sent to the region to protect her?

This isn’t about protecting one child.

It’s about protecting an idea.

An idea a young girl has about moving her country forward.

It’s about protecting this idea from men who live in the Dark Ages.

I welcome any comments and thoughts about what is happening to Malala.

I hope that, one day, there will be a statue of her outside of a girls’ school she has fought so hard to achieve.

It was Gandhi who said: You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

Here’s a girl who is doing exactly that.

You can read Malala’s blog by clicking this link.

Alternatively, click on Malala’s image to go to the Amnesty International website.

Malala Yousufzai

Addendum:

A bit of good news – Malala has been airlifted to a hospital in the UK. You can read about it here: https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/p/3b5bn/tw

I’m lovin’ war

I came across this artist who wanted to remain anonymous for legal reasons.

They are very provocative pieces that challenge people’s perceptions about the real reasons why the west are engaged in conflicts around the globe.

The “I’m lovin’ war” series aim to make the statement that the real power and influence about who the west wages war against are large corporations and their profit margins.

Not intended to criticise the men and women of the armed forces – whose bravery is without question – the works are designed to illustrate how they are being duped by their governments and being used as private security forces for large corporations.

The idea proposes that, in the future, armies might go into battle sponsored by brands in the same way that sports are.

“i’m lovin’ war”, Artist Unknown. Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge.

Personally, I’m more of a Burger King man.

Meet the Superhumans

If you don’t live in London, but you do live somewhere else in England, you might be a bit fed up of hearing the media banging on about what legacies London 2012 will leave for the rest of Britain.

Well, the clue’s in the name, people!

I live in sunny Stockport, in the northwest of England, and I couldn’t give a rat’s ass what kind of legacy London 2012 will leave for Manchester.

We had the Empire Games back in 2002. And we still have loads of lovely legacies such as the Etihad Stadium, where Man City play. Then there’s the velodrome, where people can ride their bikes… I get a bit stuck after that.

You don’t hear Londoners whingeing about the Commonwealth games not leaving a legacy in t’ Big Smoke.

They’re not our games.

It’s a non-question. It’s non-news.

To be honest, the Olympics don’t do a lot for me in terms of sporting excitement.

I’m more of a turn on a sixpence put it in the back of the onion sack kind of bloke.

What does excite me though, is this ad for the Paralympics by those lovely people at Channel 4.

It really makes me want to watch the Paralympics much, much more than the Olympics because of their Superhuman attitudes and abilities.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting for one second that Olympians are any less motivated or hard working than Paralympians.

But, because I’m not that interested in the Olympics, it would have to take something superdooper special to get me interested. And this does.

Yes, it’s a little bit predictably shot, but it does get the hairs on the back of my neck standing, so job done. Not all ads are aimed at the head.

Not only is it a great ad. But I’m really looking forward to seeing some of these gladiators in action.

A world without the Arts…

Without the arts,
We have no culture.

Without culture,
We have no society.

Without society,
We have no civilisation.

And without civilisation,
We have anarchy.

Raping the NHS

As the fiscal year draws to a close we’re seeing roadworks popping up all over the country as LGAs (Local Government Agencies) desperately try to spend their surplus budgets.

The reason why they do this is because if they don’t spend it, the government will cut their budget for the following year.

This doesn’t just occur within town councils, but other government funded organisations too, such as the NHS.

A while back I worked in the Social Marketing sector. (Not to be confused with Social Media.) Social marketing clients tend to be LGAs and PCTs, (Primary Care Trusts), which run hospitals and health services.

Campaigns they might undertake include: Smoking cessation; healthy eating; chlamydia screening; teenage pregnancy; alcohol & drug misuse; contraception; STDs; etc.

I enjoyed plying my trade as an Adman, for what I felt were, worthy causes.

Where it all started turning sour for me, was when, at this time of year, one particular SM Agency embarked on what they call an ‘Underspend’ campaign. Whereby they target PCTs surplus budgets.

The PCTs operate in the same way as the LGAs, in that, if they haven’t spent their budgets they will have it reduced for the following year.

So the PCTs frantically try to find ways to spend their surplus. So what this Social Marketing agency did was invoice the PCT before the end of the tax year for work that they hadn’t yet undertaken. But would undertake the following financial year. (Still with me?)

What’s wrong with that? I hear you ask. Particularly if the work will be undertaken at some stage.

The problem I have is two-fold.

Firstly, rather than spend the money on an ill-conceived social marketing campaign to jettison the budget, why not spend it on something else, like a life-saving piece of equipment? Or employ another couple of nurses?

Well, because that’s a different department’s budget. And what we don’t want is another dept getting their grubby little MRSA contaminated fingers on our budget.

Secondly, some of this stockpiled money that the SM agencies are holding for work they will carry out at some stage, gets, let’s say, ‘forgotten about’ by the PCT.

But the SM agency hasn’t forgotten about it. Nor have they offered to return the money to the PCT. Perhaps it was an oversight.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Social Marketing is an important aspect of improving the health and well-being of our citizens. I also believe their are many SM agencies who are doing very noble and ethical work.

But, as in most industries, there are some companies who are just in it for the dosh. It’s just another ‘revenue stream’ to be tapped into. Or milked.

What galls me, is while the SM agency sits self-righteously on its moral steed, it’s also raping the the NHS for all its worth.

What seemed like a noble endeavour to me, turned out to be more rapacious than people’s perception of the one I had left. Namely, advertising.

So, what can we do about it?

Well, we could stop punishing LGAs and PCTs for being good at budgeting, for starters.

We could allow one dept to transfer money over to another without penalising them the following year.

We could allow them a period of grace. Say, three years. If they consistently underspend, then their budget will be reduced.

And, most importantly, we need proper accounting in PCTs to make sure work paid for in one financial year, actually takes place the following year.

Maybe this practice is widespread. And that’s why I’m a terrible businessman.

Anyway, that’s my tuppence worth.

Any suggestions?