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Constitutional Project for Corsica – 1765

By on Nov 23, 2013 in Truth, Truth & Lies | 0 comments

“The island of Corsica, being incapable of growing rich in money, should try to grow rich in men. The power derived from population is more real than that derived from finance, and is more certain in its effects. Since the use of manpower cannot be concealed from view, it always reaches its public objective. It is not thus with the use of money, which flows off and is lost in private destinations; it is collected for one purpose and spent for another; the people pay for protection, and their payments are used to oppress them. That is why a state rich in money is always weak, and a state rich in men is always strong.” Complete document found here: constitution.org/jjr/corsica.htm One of the best constitutions written, drafted by Rousseau and Pasquale Paoli. Unfortunately it only lasted for 4 years before France annexed Corsica in...

Networks of Outrage and Hope

By on Nov 14, 2013 in Truth, Truth & Lies | 0 comments

…leading figures of the banking sector were arrested in Reykjavik and London to respond to the charges against their unlawful financial management. And former Prime Minister Haarde was brought to trial under the accusation of mismanagement of public funds and yielding to the influence of pressure groups. As expected, economic experts warned against the dire consequences of nationalising the banks, controlling capital flows and refusing to pay the foreign debt. However, after Iceland reversed its economic policies, asserting government control, the economy bounced back in 2011 and 2012, outperforming most economies of the European Union. After experiencing negative growth in 2009 and 2010, GDP increased by 4 percent in 2012. Unemployment dropped from 10 percent in 2009 to 5.9 percent in 2012, inflation was reduced from 18 percent to 4 percent and Iceland’s financial standing...

The Malay Archipelago

By on May 12, 2013 in Truth, Truth & Lies | 0 comments

Among the things I had sent for was a box of arrack, and I was now of course besieged with requests for a little drop. I gave them a flask (about two bottles, which was very soon finished, and I was assured that there were many present who had not had a taste. As I feared my box would very soon be emptied if I supplied all their demands, I told them I had given them one, but the second they must pay for, and that afterwards I must have a Paradise bird for each flask. They immediately sent round to all the neighbouring houses, and mustered up a rupee in Dutch copper money, got their second flask, and drunk it as quickly as the first, and were then very talkative, but less noisy and importunate than I had expected. Two or three of them got round me and begged me for the twentieth time to tell them the name of my country. Then, as they could not pronounce it satisfactorily, they insisted...

Jason Molina

By on Mar 24, 2013 in 2013, Sound & Vision, Toons, Truth, Truth & Lies | 0 comments

A few years ago I missed two gigs that I really wanted to see. One was Jack Rose playing solo (ex-Pelt) and the other was Jason Molina (of Songs:Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. fame). Jack Rose died just a few months later, and despite my careful monitoring of his touring schedule, Jason Molina never played in the UK again. Last week Jason Molina also died of organ failure, after a prolonged fight with illness. I first heard Jason Molina in The Star in Oxford. The song was Blue Factory Flame from the Songs:Ohia album Didn’t It Rain: When i die put my bones in an empty street to remind me of how it used to be don’t write my name on a stone bring a Coleman lantern and a radio Cleveland game and two fishing poles and watch with me from the shore ghostly steel and iron ore ships coming home where i am paralyzed by the emptiness It affected me as soon as I heard it. His lyrics...