Living with War

An estimated 300,000 people marched down Broadway today protesting the war in Iraq. This is the biggest protest we've had in a year or so and it was good to see that the anti-war movement is getting stronger - indeed it seems to have crossed over more, from the usual liberal tree-huggers (like myself) to more regular blue-collar everyday people. this can only be good, I just hope these people remeber this march when they march into the voting booths next November.

On a related note, if you goto Neil Young's website you can hear his new album streaming online before it is released in the stores. The album is essentially an anti-war rant. A good message, still haven't decided if I like the music yet. I think it is growing on me though, check out track 7 called "Let's Impeach The President" which has snippits of Bush speaking and Neil singing "Flip Flop" in the background. You'll remember that "Flip Flop" was what the Republicans screamed at John Kerry during the last election.

I met up with a guy from one the message boards I post on for a few beers last weekend and we had a laugh. I was thinking about him as I was listening to NY's album. He is the bass player in a brit-rock style band, Oasis/The Verve type music. His band Fallen Penny are just starting out and have been utilising the net and "myspace" as a way of getting the music to the masses. Hopefully they take off (epecially since he gave me a limited edition CD!) You can hear his band here.

The internet has such an anarchistic potential, the anti-war march was only a few hours ago but you can already watch clips of it on YouTube. We can bypass the mainstream media and make our own rules... Long live internet anarchy... oh wait, Neil Young is on Warner Brothers and "Myspace" is owned by Rupert Murdoch... never mind....

Dick

Getting some practice in for his next visit to Washington

Oil Price Blues

Spent this morning reading an article in Rolling Stone magazine entitled "The Worst President Ever", of course reffering to Dubya. It was written by Princeton historian Sean Wilentz and compared him to other White House fuck-ups like Nixon. It was a good article but it struck me as a little bit "too little too late". Where was Rolling Stone and the rest of the media 2 years ago when this guy got re-elected?

George Clooney gave an interview a while back where he attacked the press and the Democratic Party for not questioning Bush's rationale for starting the war in Iraq. He basically said that if he, an actor, could see the guy was lying, then why couldn't the press and politicos? Cowards!!! They were basically scared of being called "Unpatriotic". What's wrong with being unpatriotic? Especially if your country is the world's biggest bully?

I am what I call "A 90 minute Patriot", as soon as the football game is over, and Scotland have inevitably lost, the flag is lowered and the Planet Earth goes back to being round.

"Too little too late" is actually a good hrase for summing up this week, yesterday was Earth Day and Bush was out promoting alternative fuels. What? This guy does not believe in global warming, why should he give a fuck? Oh yeah, oil went to $75 a barrel this week and even though that makes his buddies loads of money it kinda makes him look bad with the average guy on the street who can no longer drive to the grocery store.

It's a bit of a laugh to see Americans complaining about $3 prices when they have been twice as much as that in Europe for some time. Time to ditch the $60 a tank SUV and get yorself a Smartcar Mr and Mrs Wallmart. What do you think will happen when this...


meets this..............


Save the Environment, save money and lose weight! Maybe high priced oil ain't so bad after all!

Democracy

George Dubya is thinking about his legacy. He wants to be remembered as the President who brings democracy to the Middle East. So why is he, and his imperialist cronies in Europe shutting down aid to the Palestinian Authority, a democratically elected government?

It must be because the elections were rigged right? No, the UN said they were mostly free and fair! It is because the government of the PA is led by Hamas and the only thing we know about Hamas in the West is that they make young Palestinians strap on suicide belts and send them into Israel to blow people up.

Well, sorry George! I don't like Hamas either but they were democratically elected! You either support democracy or you don't. Democratic governments and puppet governments are not the same thing!

Now it looks like Gaza might implode and it's all thanks to you George!!! Democracy rules!!! Yeah!!!!!

Talkin' Disability Taxi Fare Blues

The summer has arrived early on the East Coast. We are luxuriating in gorgeous 70 degree weather, well at least most people are, I am currently sitting at work in a room with no real windows and a huge air conditioner. I work from Noon - Midnight on Saturdays thereby missing all the good weather! I think am developing rickets and pretty soon I should be able to get on a horse without having to open my legs...

Unfortunately, missing all the nice weather is not the only thing stressing me out. I seem to have manage to start a war with my local late-night taxi drivers in Jersey City. It's a long story but basically it boils down to this - disabled people and senior citizen are supposed to get half-price taxi fares in my town at all times except during rush hour. I am registered disabled, I have ID, and I'm entitled to that fare!

I get back to Journal Square in Jersey City at 1245AM and EVERY NIGHT I have to fight with the driver for my discount fare - I've heard every excuse from it doesn't apply after midnight (It does) to I'm not going far enough to get the discount (distance has absolutely nothing to do with it). I've had these arguements so much now and I've been left standing on the sidewalk more than a few times - it's really starting to wear me down. I've paid full-fare and gotten the cab drivers number and license then reported him but it doesn't seem to make any difference - if anything, I get left behind even more now!

The difference between full-fare and half-fare is only 3 dollars and I can afford to pay it but it seems to me that this is not the point. To me, this is a civil rights issue. Discrimination against disabled people is every bit as bad as discrimination against someone because of their race or creed. It's just wrong.

I've tried to explain to the drivers thatI would drive if I could, hell I would walk if I could (it's too dark at this time - during the day I happily walk it), but none of them seem to care.

So anyway, I think I am going to change tact. I have researched the name of my local council woman and plan to write to her this week regarding the issue. I am also planning an op-ed piece for the local paper with a veiw to getting the rules changed so that there are NO opt out times for half-fares. Senior citizens and disabled people should ALWAYS be half-fare!

i just want what is due to me, is that too much to ask?

Monkey Business

Cheetah the Chimp has turned 74 and this is the first thing I've seen in ages that made me glad that I am a news junkie! All those Saturday mornings watching Johnny Weissmuller scream "Me Tarzan, You Jane. We Shag!" were not wasted after all! This monkey has outlived other great monkeys from 1930's Hollywood like Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Good for you Cheetah! Raise a middle-primate-finger in the direction of Abbott and Costello will ya!

A Lost Month

This is the longest I've ever gone without posting something - even if it is something stupid - my blank month shames me enough that I have to start some serious scribbling!

Where have I been for the last month? Simple answer... down the pub. Many pubs and many beers, many games of pool and darts and songs on the jukebox and many lost braincells later and I think I am ready to call "Last call for alcohol" and move onto parenthood gracefully and soberly.

I had three friends come to visit from the UK and Ireland for this lost month and I'd like to thank them all for the beer and company, see you all on the other side of fatherhood! Pipe and slippers will be provided on your next visit!

The drinking started the night before St Patrick's Day and continued through my birthday on the 31st until we all ran out of steam. I think I only left one pint on the bar - a disgusting beer called "Highlander" which was in all honesty the first beer I could not finish one pint of - it was that bad. I declared myself "No Longer a Scotsman!" for leaving it!

It appears that the world continued to turn without me - a Bush administation official was arrested for soliciting sex from a child who turned out to be an undercover police officer - two grannies were arrested as terrorists in the UK - Bush is still in the shits - a dead bird in one of my favorite wee towns in Scotland turned out to have Bird Flu (I thought birds always flew?) and the British National Party (a.k.a The Nazi Party) have picked a candidate for the upcoming local elections called Sharif Abdel Gawad.

The World continues to be a strange place.

On the New York front, I sat in my garden last Sunday with my friends and got sunburned then on Wednesday I commuted to work in a major blizzard! What the fuck is going on? My sunburn still tingled in the heavy snow!

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro - H.S.T