a letter to soho house

this is my actual letter of resignation after a year of service for this company.  I was essentially fired, but since there werent reasonable, legal grounds to do so, i was told to write a letter of resignation.  Needless to say, this isnt what they expected me to come up with.

I write the following at the risk of offending, with the intent to honestly voice my grievances.

Nick Caton, Nick Jones, Martin, Duncan, Gregorz, Dillon, Steve, Arnaud, Arnaud, Joe, Tracey, Bert, Gabbi, Agata, all my fellow staff members and anyone else who this may effect or concern:

Unfortunately, the fact that you are reading this means that I am resigning from Soho house.  At this point however, I am at a loss to explain my reasons why, as I am being asked to leave, without my wish to do so, which I find unacceptable.

As the case may be, currently, it can be said that clearly, an example is being made out of my behaviour. While I admit to being truant from work on two occasions (and admit also, that my behaviour is unacceptable) Nick Caton himself, when asked why not, admitted that he “can’t fire me” and would rather that I wrote this letter to terminate my employment, since there obviously isn’t, justifiable ground to warrant me leaving, and he “can’t be seen to be putting up with this kind of behaviour”.

In light of this decision of politics, I strongly argue that there are many other staff members who have committed and are currently committing equal wrongdoing (there are even members of staff working in the building who have been fired legitimately before) it is simply unfortunate for me, and fortunate for Caton that I am in a situation where my position can be weakened (terminated, in fact) and my downfall utlilised in an unacceptable manner that will strengthen Nick’s position of authority.

It is with the fact in mind that Nick is “doing what is best for his venue”, that I am serving my notice.  Furthermore, what is best for the venue is in effect, unjustly, unacceptably and inethically firing someone who has positively changed the complexion of the venue and the bars in particular; that what is best is firing someone who contributes solidly to the running of the bars and the venue on a whole; that what is best is firing someone who has superior knowledge and skills to offer and who has built a significant relationship with many of its clientele and that what is best is firing someone who is a positive liaison between staff and management, and therefore a member of staff who can improve an operation that is clearly in need of improvement.

What’s more is that I take pride in doing all of the above.

Once again, common sense has not prevailed, and doing things by a misconstrued and ambiguous book, built on company bottom line and corporate whoring has reigned supreme, in a true fascist manner, within a company full of puppets, clowns and drones.

I have enjoyed my time at the house and within the company – the challenge of it all has been what I will remember and learn from most, as well as the memory of a glimpse into a sometimes confused and convoluted world, that is entertaining and stimulating at the same time – and it is a shame that these circumstances have led to this conclusion.

Yours Sincerely,

Carlos H

Good luck with your lives.

underrepresented issues in the media: atrocities committed against Serbia during the war in Yugoslavia

Just over 15 years after its establishment, the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 is next year, set to close its investigations. Also referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) most media attention focussed on the legal proceedings in years past (and indeed, more recently) has concentrated on atrocities committed by (the now deceased) Slobodan Milosevic and those serving the cause of Serbia.  Ask most people of the period in the former Yugoslavia, just after the fall of communism in the early 90’s when the country’s ethnic and national groups were plunged into a bloody and brutal civil war just who the bad guys really were, and most people will tell you that Slobodan Milosevic and his Serbian followers have far more to answer to than any other party involved.  And this has been the worldwide viewpoint – perpetuated by the world media.

Just as the crimes committed by any side during a war are unacceptable, so too is the suppression of the information bringing these crimes into the public eye.  Obviously little has been done to suppress media reports of crimes committed against Bosnians, Croats, Kosovo Albanians and other ethnic groups in the region (hence the general opinion against the Serbs) but little has been done to provide the public with the knowledge needed to form a balanced opinion on this continuously controversial situation.

This week Radovan Karadzic (leader of the Bosnian-Serb army during the Yugoslav war) appealed to the ICTY to have his charges of war crimes and genocide overturned.  While there are a (small) few who dispute the evidence against him, the facts also cannot be argued against.

So here are some facts that are clearly not prevalent enough in the media spectrum, and are practically non-existent to public access:

• The Serbs were blamed for the infamous Sarajevo market massacre. But according to the report leaked out on French TV, Western intelligence knew that it was Muslim operatives who had bombed Bosnian civilians in the marketplace in order to induce NATO involvement. Even international negotiator David Owen, who worked with Cyrus Vance, admitted in his memoir that the NATO powers knew all along that it was a Muslim bomb.
• the FBI sent a team to investigate two of the sites listed in the war-crimes indictment against Slobodan Milosevic, one purportedly containing six victims and the other twenty. The team lugged 107, 000 pounds of equipment into Kosovo to handle what was called the “largest crime scene in the FBI’s forensic history,” but it came up with no reports about mass graves. Not long after, on July 1, the FBI team returned home, oddly with not a word to say about their investigation. 21
• Forensic experts from other NATO countries had similar experiences. A Spanish forensic team, for instance, was told to prepare for at least 2, 000 autopsies, but found only 187 bodies, usually buried in individual graves, and showing no signs of massacre or torture. Most seemed to have been killed by mortar shells and firearms. One Spanish forensic expert, Emilio Perez Puhola, acknowledged that his team did not find one mass grave. He dismissed the widely publicized references about mass graves as being part of the “machinery of war propaganda.”

All of this information is published on leading political analyst, Michael Parenti’s website www.michaelparenti.org.  Parenti has written extensively on the subject of the Yugoslavian war, and has long maintained that U.S. government interest lies in the fact that Yugoslavia would operate better to US needs if it were a cluster of small, weak, dependent, free-market principalities – Yugoslavia being the only country in Eastern Europe that would not dismantle its welfare state and public sector economy, which is strongly against American ideas of globalisation.

This is undoubtedly a massive factor in the media suppression of information relating to atrocities committed against Serbia.  Not only does the media’s interest stem from US self-interest, but the destruction of Yugoslavia in general does as well.  Questions of war crimes must certainly be asked of NATO and those who helped carry out their aerial campaign of destruction?

Either way, no-one can be excused for what they have done – Bosnian, Serb, Croat or otherwise.  Many unbelievable things happened during this bloody conflict, some of them with more personal associations than others.

The aim here isn’t that people should be pointing fingers at Bosnia and Croatia et. al. as well, it is simply that media transparency these days is extremely rare, and that the possibilities of the other side of any story, cannot ever be ignored.  – Especially if we are to pass judgement on a certain group and indeed, its individuals within.

In June of 1993, the UN published a 132-page report outlining some of the atrocities committed against Serbia.  Just how many times it was seen by, and how readily it was made available to the general public (already brainwashed and filled with propaganda) is surely insignificant compared to the amount of times that the media spoke of Serbian atrocities, and the necessity of UN and US intervention.  Surely if information like this was readily available, the overwhelming public opinion on this conflict, would be drastically different?

Entitled “Memorandum on War Crimes and Crimes of Genocide in Eastern Bosnia” the report (which can be downloaded on the website www.emperors-clothes.com) literally lists hundreds of Serbian victims in various Bosnian towns who mostly died from having their “throat cut”  as the “ cause of death lists” .

There is much more evidence pointing to the US’s complicit attitude towards letting this war (and perhaps encouraging it to) continue.  Lord David Owen even documented evidence pointing to the fact that the Clinton administration continuously sabotaged peace accords in the former Yugoslavia between 1992 and 1995.

Above all of this though, is the unparalleled importance that lies in an honest, balanced, unbiased, undoctored, uncompromised and unambiguous portrayal of the facts.  For years, this has clearly not been the case in relation to what happened in the former Yugoslavia.  There are tragic and horrific stories from all sides, which must all be told and absorbed on equal ground.  Without a view to this attitude, we will soon be letting the very governments, agencies and reporters we trust get away with murder themselves, oblivious to the full extent of the carnage being caused.

Carlos Hurworth

essay response: the negative effects of Facebook

For all its ease and intent for providing a means of keeping people connected, and joining people together, Facebook couldn’t have imagined that its conception would spawn one of the biggest worldwide phenomenons that has ever been seen. There’s a lot to be said in support of this, but there are some sad truths involved too, which are largely seeing people losing touch with reality as we know it.

I am sitting on facebook right now, yet again sacrificing some of my time to whatever end it seems to be providing. I’m chatting with a friend, randomly scrolling up and down the page and seeing what people have to say for themselves. Although, i don’t take this stuff too seriously. Yet to some people its almost gospel, blurring the line between how we learn about other people, and how we are fooled by other people.

Everything that we see on Facebook, lingers in the blurred area (shrouded in internet ether) where reality tv could be said to lurk. Fact of the matter is though, reality tv simply isn’t “reality”.

Yes, its participants might be in “real-world” situations, but the knowledge that there are thousands – and more often – millions of people tuning in to see the results and reactions, simply doesn’t yield “real world” results.

I use inverted commas, because thats what reality tv shows claim to represent. While Facebook doesn’t purport to this, its millions of users are surely losing touch with the fact that what you see on Facebook can simply not always be what you get.

Vacuous status updates, photos full of innuendo and purposeful posing surely create an impression of a user that is only skewed by the disreality of it all. But people believe if, people conform to it, and people check and check back to see just how people’s lives are evolving.

What’s more, is the fact that people’s perceptions of how to use Facebook as an actual user posting “information” about themselves (the term “information” can only be loosely used) creates a self-aggrandising, self-important and nihilistic attitude towards life, the people around them, the people with access to what they say and see, and most disturbingly with reality itself.

Technology is clearly advancing humankind, curing sickness, taking us closer to space, improving our standards of living. – But it is also at the same time, deteriorating some aspects of all of this, and too much of reality is at risk of disappearing unless we can detach ourselves from technology more often, and get back to the more authentic aspects of our increasingly digital lives.

Carlos Hurworth

Binge drinking in the UK

Comments by Mike Craik, Association of Chief Police Officer’s national spokesman on licensing in yesterday’s Standard that “the price of alcoholic drinks must be quadrupled” is a blatant shunning of the responsibility from law enforcement agencies in this country.

Raising prices may be one method of limiting the amount of binge drinking that is consuming this country, but there are far greater implications to consider, when taking this path.  If the general population that this hike in prices supposedly impacts, were to actually take notice of the extra cost (and whose to say they would?) clearly the businesses and outlets that prosper from these sales (think about the drain on London nightlife) would also be severely adversely affected.  – Perhaps worse than anyone else?

What’s more, is the simple fact that a country with a tendency to drink will always find a method of satisfying their urges.          -  People still ignore the laws against drinking on public transport, and how rarely do we see them enforced? (Especially in the late hours of reveller’s drunken evenings).

There’s a lot to be said for the lack of discretion and education from those who are selling the alcohol in the first place.  Having worked in bars and clubs in this country, it is more than acceptable (even encouraged) to turn a blind eye to the fact that certain patrons or customers aren’t in need of another drink.  Revenue is the bottom line.  Surely creating more isn’t the solution?

Limiting the opportunities to drink is the key.  Off licenses selling beers at six for five pounds (and less) says “drink more, and save money” as well as the fact that there is no discouragement towards drinking anywhere you like, be it on the street, in the park, outside the supermarket or wherever else you please.

People selling alcohol are scarcely responsible for their actions or even worse, are completely unaware of the consequences of irresponsible service and further to this, have very little incentive to care.   “Happy hours” – with absurd prices and an obvious confusion over what an hour actually is, are clearly policies that the law enforcement bodies need to investigate.  -  Putting a time limit on people’s drinking and effectively saying “drink as much as you can in this time, and you will save money” is nothing but an incentive to binge.

It’s time that laws in relation to drinking were reviewed, rather than using its cost as a scapegoat.

Carlos Hurworth

STOP PRESS! – MICHAEL JACKSON DIES, A VICTIM OF GREED!

As sympathies and condolences for the tragic death of Michael “the king of pop” Jackson flood cyberspace and indeed, any tangible (or intangible) space practically everywhere and anywhere on the earth, an inevitable wake of questions is being left trailing behind the metaphorical bandwagon that everyone has boarded since he passed away.  But for all of the fame and glory, all the influence and funk, all the inspiration, all the record sales and sales records, there is a much darker side to this story – and it all revolves around greed.

Years in the limelight surely gave Jackson a taste for the extreme, lavish lifestyles of those in the celebrity world (the greed of his father and his hand in pushing Jackson towards celebrity is an entire other story) and Jackson’s financial problems have been public knowledge for some time.  His absurdly grandiose ‘Neverland Ranch’ which he called home – complete with fun parks and animal enclosures, amongst other ridiculously unnecessary installations – just one gross misuse of the billions his empire accumulated.  Towards the end of his life, his Neverland Ranch would fall into foreclosure, and he would spend his time being accommodated by his other sickeningly wealthy chums in luxury hotels in Bahrain, Ireland and Germany, to name but a few of his ports of call.  Then pushed to begin clearing his debts – his health already ailing, reports flying around that he was suffering from cancer, as the doubters began to speak up – he was persuaded to announce a 50 date series of shows.

In the aftermath, questions are being asked as to whether it was responsible for the tour promoters to make Jackson carry out the tour.  Speaking out against the accusations against Jackson’s preparedness, Randy Phillips, head of AEG, the company promoting the concerts was quoted as saying that Jackson was “as healthy as can be”, even though days later he was forced to cancel the first four shows, AEG quoting “technical issues”.  Healthy or just healthy enough, the reported £85 million worth of tickets sold for the gigs was surely cause to convince Phillips and AEG that he was making the right choice for corporate greed.  But there’s more.

Reports from family friends in recent media confirmed that Jackson was using prescription drugs to help him deal with the stress of preparing for the shows.  Others close to him compared his frail existence to the heavily-doped lifestyle of Anna-Nicole Smith, who died of a painkillers overdose in 2007.  Brian Oxman, Jackson’s family lawyer further proved his negligence towards Jackson’s prescription drug use, media reports quoting him as saying that he didn’t know what medications Jackson was taking, but reports that he received from within the family were that they were extensive.  He loosely uses the term ‘enabling’ – a psychological term for ‘helping someone to continue their addiction.

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest and most powerful industries in the world.  According to statistics, pharmaceutical companies in the year 2000 recorded profit margins of nearly four times the average of fortune 500 companies – the top 500 companies in the US as ranked by their revenue.  – Massive figures.   What’s more, the majority of this profit is then reinvested in advertising and marketing (to generate more revenue) as opposed to research and development.  Eight out of nine companies reported on the rubins.com website not even investing half as much of their profit in r&d in comparison to projects aimed at further feeding their greedy mouths.

The equation is really quite simple for these corporate giants: convince everyone that their miserable, unfulfilled, mundane, anti-social, unconfident lives will improve by putting synthetic substances in their body – often an unnecessary remedy for a simple problem, that humanity has been dealing with since our existence – and reap the rewards of the patented discoveries that they spend little time on finding out whether its long term effects are causing other ailments, weakness, addiction and far deeper problems.  – What’s to say that an overdependency on these products isn’t weakening our natural immune systems and indeed, our brains?  Anna-Nicole Smith and Michael Jackson are surely a tribute to this statement?

A constant pushing of these drugs into people’s faces may see an entire world of ‘doped up’ people, with America – the only country where direct to consumer advertising of pharmaceutical drugs is legal – strongly leading the way.  John Abramson MD, in his book ‘Overdosed America’ said that “The stage could not have been set more perfectly for prescription drug advertising to become a major force in American medicine. And so it did. In 1991 the drug companies spent a paltry $55 million on advertising drugs directly to consumers. Over the next 11 years, this increased more than 50-fold to over $3 billion in 2003.”  Some might argue that medical research advances are a blessing for humanity, why then is there a distinct problem with allowing these companies to advertise their products, if what they’re really doing is a good thing?  Moreover, why do advances in natural medicine receive virtually no advertising in comparison to their synthetic counterparts? – The answer is simple: Money.  Testing of natural remedies is far more costly (and far more necessary because their dosage isn’t constant or as easily controlled) and once released, they cannot be patented, meaning that the company who discovered them can easily have their product mimicked, thus making it impossible to achieve the unfair and monopolistic market conditions of their rivals in the pharmaceutical market.

Perhaps the most disgusting accusation against the pharmaceuticals companies lies in the very facts as to why the medical community denies the danger of pharmaceutical drugs – dangers which speculative reports say killed MJ, and which were confirmed in causing the sad, empty demise of Anna-Nicole Smith.  In the American Medical Publishing’s ‘Prescription Medicines, Side Effects and Natural Alternatives’ they attribute the drug companies’ unwillingness to report these dangers, to the fact that “drug companies make huge profits from the sale of drugs [and] spend more than $10 billion a year promoting drugs, [spending] next to nothing warning the public about potential risks.”  Worse still “Drug companies also engage in misleading advertising campaigns which make outright false or unrealistic claims, but which convince the vast majority of the public that most or all prescription drugs are not only safe, but the key to better health and a better life.” Clearly a stupefied mass of people buy into this shit, and needlessly contribute to the drug industry’s bottom line.

The doctors (also an integral part of this shameless, money-sucking industry) all do their part too.  “Doctors chronically under-report and even ignore the deaths or adverse reactions to the drugs they prescribe because it is not in their professional self interest to raise public awareness to the danger … and they also profit from the relationships with the big drug companies.” -  Once again, a seemingly insatiable thirst for money is a driving force behind these irresponsible decisions.

Although Michael Jackson’s death is little more than a reminder of the perils of massive worldwide celebrity, couple this with the corporate greed of the world’s medical giants, as the suppliers of those who would freely provide him with his means of protracted euthanasia, and a tragic story takes on an even more sinister side. He was sucked into a life of stardom (via a vortex of the creation of his over-bearing, money-hungry father) full of materialistic possessions and false image. One of the alleged catalysts to his death – a massive run of shows, attempting to pull him out of the depths that his excessive lifestyle plunged him in to – has merely become a parody of his tumultuous career in the spotlight. While his family and his friends blame (amongst other things) the stress of his proposed tour for his passing, the greed of those who were undoubtedly benefitting from, and preying upon his fame and his almost innumerable weaknesses, are much more to blame.  While we speak in support of Jackson’s legacy, we must also fight those who contributed to his ruin.

Carlos Hurworth

What does 2009 hold for emerging economies?

After the doom and gloom of the last half of 2009, economies worldwide were holding their collective, proverbial breath.  And although this year will see the global economy recovering slowly at best, it seems the full extent of economic recession hasn’t yet been totally felt.  While most media attention was focussed on the big banks and financial institutions that were falling ad nauseum attempting, or almost drumming up sympathy for their tragic plight – and whose demise was sending the stockmarket crashing – and we were crying foul over the billions being poured into helping them recover and hopefully averting disaster, much of what the world could do, was merely cling on for the ride.  So how was all of this effecting the economies of the emerging world, and what will it mean for the year ahead?

Growth in the emerging world has undoubtedly slowed.  Many of its economies however, have been enjoying growth far greater than the massive, highly sophisticated economies of its first world counterparts, where dependency means that the effects of the stockmarket crash have also been felt far deeper.  And, according to the economist’s, the world in 2009: forecasting the year ahead report, emerging economies like Malawi, Congo’s Brazzaville and Angola may be thumbing their noses somewhat at the rest of the world, as they enjoy further economic growth – coming in at numbers 4,3 and 2 respectively, in terms of GDP growth worldwide.  China, rounding out the top 5, and Qatar at number 1 point to what some are saying could help developing countries to renew and develop their economies, as well as helping big economies like China’s to have more of a say in world economics.

With an expected GDP growth for 2009 of 8.3%, Malawi – one of the world’s poorest nations – will enjoy another consecutive year of positivity in its economic environment, as well as benefitting from a democratic government that has been drastically increasing living conditions for the past few years.  A surplus of food production also means that the rise in international food prices hasn’t yet affected Malawi, and of its major exports – tobacco, coffee, tea and sugar – their most recent tobacco harvest (sold just before world commodity prices crashed in 2008) brought in a record $465 million.  President Mutharika’s recently started fertilizer program will also ensure that agriculture in Malawi continues to improve.  Congo’s capital Brazzaville, located on the Congo river in the South of the country – at a predicted 8.5% GDP growth – is seeing the gains from promoting growth in the non-oil sector, even though most of its income is from the production of oil, gas and petroleum.  Nonetheless, oil production will increase in 2009 and Congo may only be mildly affected by the global economic crisis.  Add to this, reforms aimed at taking the country out of poverty instigated after civil war in 1997 (even though war in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo is still claiming lives) Congo’s president Sassou Nguesso’s economic reforms, which are still gaining momentum today, hold the country in good stead.  Similarly, Angola – with 9.8% GDP growth – will rely heavily on its sales in the oil and petroleum industry.  As of 2007 though, the country was the biggest supplier of oil to China, as well as being able to boast of being the fastest growing African economy for some time.

While the situation in the developed world may seem dour, emerging markets have in recent times, enjoyed much higher rates of growth – a trend which seems set to continue, especially with the positivity and optimism with which many of its governments are looking into the future.  Among the biggest emerging markets the BRICs group of economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) is showing the way with innovative ideas.  Brazil in particular – with its “Zero hunger” and HIV-AIDS programmes, has seen massive positive changes in its society, its current president Luiz Inàcio Lula da Silva, reporting the halving of the number of poor in the country since he was elected president in 2003, as well as being able to boast of being one of the benchmark nations for alternative and renewable fuel sources.  By also helping to replicate their AIDS (Brazil will open an antiretroviral plant in 2009 to help fight the epidemic in Mozambique) and agricultural initiatives in the rest of Latin America and Africa too, Brazil is showing that emerging nations will soon not only have a role to play on the global stage, but must also remain aware of the benefits of them banding together to assist each other.  Brazil’s Latin American counterparts Cuba, are also looking forward to some positive change in 2009, after economic disaster in 2008 for housing and agriculture, as well as the natural devastation caused by twin hurricanes in the later part of ’08.  A change in the white house may bring a new agreement in trade, and the possible discovery of oil could well establish some economic might in the region.

Needless to say, all are still aware that there are certainly many people who are still struggling, as is the case in the emerging African nations too, and even though much of Africa has been enjoying strong growth for a number of years, poverty levels haven’t yet dropped proportionally, there are still riots and strikes over food and output per capita is still very low – among the world’s lowest in Angola, for example.  Even though it seems that growing African nations won’t be as adversely effected by the global economic crisis – mostly due to their financial infrastructure being less complicated – there is still much to be wary of.  Problems such as self-serving, corrupt governments, poor living conditions and a shortage of skills will remain a burden, as will the lack of investment in areas such as the electricity industry – which will surely hinder development.

As positive as it seems – and there is undoubtedly a lot to look forward to for many of these emerging nations – there are massive changes still waiting to come into effect, and still many problems needing to be ironed out.  Unfortunately too, pledges are often being made, but are too frequently proving impossible to meet.  One example is in Zambia, whose government has promised free basic health-care for all its citizens, but where life expectancy is still amongst the lowest of any nation.  Smart thinking, strong will and advantageous ideas are what is needed in this pivotal time for the developing and emerging world. Nevertheless, 2009 will certainly cause the world to take notice of the emerging African nations (and others the world over).   East Africa’s introduction to the global fibre optic system, as well as a new availability of digital maps of the continent – allowing easily accessible data to help monitor conflict, disease and famine – coupled with their strong economic growth, are just the tip of a collective iceberg for the optimistic few.

Carlos Hurworth

daydreams

the rain falls like mist outside

a bright grey sky washes behind the proud old buildings

when i close my eyes, she reaches over my shoulders and bites my bare chest while i type.

i love the way she smells,

though the way she feels i do love more.

i pause from my writing as she wraps her arms around me,

kiss her beautiful face.

breathe,

a sigh

i melt back into life again…

Carlos Hurworth

Time to shift focus to solutions not problems

President Obama’s keynote speech in Egypt at the beginning of the month, saw him make comment on Israeli settlement in the West Bank, where many are arguing that the continued construction of Israeli settlements are posing barriers to the ongoing struggle for peace in the region.

I myself attended a rather less auspicious occasion on the political calendar at the beginning of the month as well.

An important meeting of a local London organisation and some invited speakers, it aimed to, amongst other things: Promote understanding of issues in the Gaza strip, help secure the human rights and civil liberties of Gaza refugees and support the activities in specific refugee camps in the area.

My particular interest in attending such an event lies purely in an interest to see just what sort of debate is being offered on what always has been a touchy subject. In this particular case (as with many world issues) I am certainly not one to take sides, more so interested in gaining knowledge and mental stimulation. Unfortunately, the meeting failed and succeeded where many have suffered similar fates in the past.

Call it what you will, but I saw what they presented as nothing but propaganda. – Yet again, there was one massively important element missing, and that was the construction of dialogue on a solution. Until the public and its governments around the world can strongly encourage regular, guided and constructive debate on a solution to this sensitive issue, it will continue to be nothing but a tit-for-tat argument, with little progress being made towards peace, and each side pointing fingers and providing evidence as to why their way is the way, or contrarily, how they’ve been oppressed.

Still, my attitude in general was quashed when one of the meeting’s attendants came to whisper in my ear “you’ve got the moustache right, but if you want to support Islam, you need to wear long sleeves.” I half shrugged the remark off, but the other half that was left sitting on my shoulder was a niggling whisper that said he was completely ignorant to the fact that their were two sides in this conflict.

Tarnished by this experience, I then sat as I listened to stories and watched footage intended to build a case for one side, against the other. The fairly sizable group tutted and shook their heads, as though – just for being there – they had some self-righteous claim on awards for compassion.

Unfortunately, until we start talking about the real issues – rather than constantly highlighting the issues to incense, provoke and conjure compassion – both sides continue to suffer for and erase the very things they are fighting for. It’s time to accept the pain, start focusing on viable solutions, and encourage continued dialogue on such things.

Carlos Hurworth

Answer to essay question: Will Iranian protests be silenced by the government and the world community?

While the oppression of pro-Mousavi supporters in Iran by the incumbent hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is clearly unacceptable, western media and supporters of the protesters in the western world must be mindful of the implications of our own involvement, and the information we have access to (which is clearly limited and surely biased) in this undeniably tentative situation.

First and foremost, the sheer scale of the protests – least not, in number – and the unerring duration of them, leaves a government in power with very little choice but to use necessary means to restore public order.  Should this happen anywhere in the world today, any power in control has an obligation to maintain command on the streets – for obvious reasons.  And if the public aren’t standing down on their own volition, other measures must surely be taken.  Unfortunately, in this case, the attempt to dissolve the public’s hostility (and dissipate their hugely disruptive numbers) resulted in some violence against those opposing the government’s re-election.

Although Ahmadinejad’s orders cannot be excused, let’s not forget that the same situation arose in Tiananmen Square 20 years ago, and with far more catastrophic results.

Secondly, while our point of view on the banning of western media and the restriction of photography and other reportage might lead us to think that Ahmadinejad has something to hide, surely there is a case to be argued for the fact that some images and biased points of view – in the hands of pro-Mousavi supporters – will also serve to exacerbate an already volatile situation.

Are the biggest media powers not controlled and owned by those who are against Ahmadinejad? – And while we argue that he is corrupt and unfair, unjust and unscrupulous, unethical and indiscreet, oftentimes, so too (and I refer loosely to the media) are those who have their hands on the wheels of power.  People simply won’t be buying newspapers in the same quantities as they would if they were reporting peaceful protests instead of violent, hostile situations, as they may well have been on the streets of Tehran and its surrounding cities.

There can be no argument that what the pro-Mousavi supporters have done, has surely compromised the Ahmadinejad regime.  Although they may not have achieved exactly what they wanted (an annulment of the result) they have definitely weakened the government’s position, and thrown a ‘cat amongst the pigeons’ within the political parties of both sides.  This is a great result for democracy, freedom of speech and human rights.

Weeks of western media attention on the negative results of the elections in Iran has clearly tainted what should have been heralded as a victory for democracy in the country.  With unseen amounts of voters – male and female – turning out to cast their votes (perhaps reflecting opposition to the government) but at the very least, showing confidence in the possibility of their opinions being heard, there is a lot to be said of the necessity, and then the level of western involvement, especially now that opposition protesters have themselves, clearly weakened the positions of Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.

Carlos Hurworth

a conversation between mutineers

fuck that place man

they’re turning it in to a fucking house full of puppets

its going down

hard

they’re trying to get rid of you man

free thinkers are dangerous

i swear ill never see eye to eye with any fucking piece of shit cunt from that place again

and if i do, its because im spitting in it

with a mouthful of methanol

and a lighted match in my hand

Just started seeing the receptionist, kinda giving me reason to try and stay…

you dont need to stay for her

she exists outside of that place

does she not?

Not really a good basis for motivation in the workplace..

you cant let them get one up on you man

She does….

they’re gonna force you out like they did to me

its all part of a plan

im sure it is

they’ve measured IQs

they’ve worked out the average

Monkey-Man scrapes in at 76 and thats that

they’re gonna force you out like they did me

they knew they didnt have a fucking leg to stand on

why do you think they’re still paying me!

A LOT!

Fuck ‘em, I’m going to live in thailand after christmas, thinking of just getting a good bar job ’till then, saving some money and fucking off.

Are you gatting a month’s pay??

but when you say “fuck em” – you should really FUCK THEM

?

yep

at 11 quid

for 40 hours a week

Nice.

fucking hush money man

they know they’re operating outside the law

but im a loose cannon

im someone with intent

did you see my letter?

read it, two days ago, a man who wears glasses gave me a copy..

uh huh

so

hours after Milo and Kerrigan and Scrooge read it

i was gone

no need to serve notice

they clearly saw a situation that could flare up

so they tried to extinguish it

i told them what i thought of them

No one said a word when I got back for hours, the messenger  had to tell me what happened..

of course not

dude

when Death Becomes Her saw me leaving

she was like

“where are you going!?”

you not finished!

how come you going home now!

Rah-rah!

its 1130!

and im like

um

i just got told to leave

you fuck

no-one had a clue

decisions are being made behind peoples backs man

its politics

and its the politics of a lame piece of shit, with people for appendages

people that eat shit

people that thrive on shit and swallow it whole

people that regurgitate shit

people that fuck shit

Scatt catchers.

thats putting it nicely

that makes it sound like a fetish at least

like there’s something to gain for either party

but this isnt the case

its just a stinking fucking mound of excrement

and everyone is pushing their heads into it

fucking cunts

Might put in for a transfer, just for some fresh air…

yeah sure man

Same fucking company though, is it worth it??

just bite the fucking bullet

liberate yourself from that fucking shit

the company’s reputation is a joke man

the whole industry speaks about it

and its not like its going to improve

i mean

their vision is smeared with shit

i mean

look at the basics

look at the staff they hire

look at the people in charge

FUCKING CHUMPS

they pride themselves on paying low wages

investing minimal time in their staff

encouraging cutting corners to cut costs

they got children like Childstuckinman’sbodystuckinchild’sbody in charge of important areas

not to mention FUCKING DEATH BECOMES HER!

they’ve got fucking drone, dour, sour, ugly, useless fucks like Musical Instrument representing the place at the front of the house

man

a friend of mine is here for 3 months right

she got a job at a cafe

just a café

a nice café

and they made her attend a week of food and wine tasting before she could even start

i mean

that shit is standard for companies with a decent vision

that company is merely becoming a merry-go-round for the shit that floats in on the breeze

and those who stay are simply fashioned into the ideal drones they want there

Robota – thankyousomuchitsnicetoseeyou – Puppetis

prime example number one

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