lapsedmodernist has written an exquisitely barbed Swiftean parable inspired by the healthcare reform debacle in the USA: it deserves to be an Internet classic: here.

President Obama is an eloquent and statesmanlike speaker, of course, with monument-loads of gravitas. But he's also a writer who captures other people's voices in his books, including a foul-mouthed friend from back in the day. This would be amusing enough were it only in print, but remember than Obama lent his presidential baritone to an audio ( Read more... )

This is the letter that I wrote to my congressman about being stopped within the USA by a border patrol, detained and threatened. PLEASE DISSEMINATE THIS. Copy, make reference and tell people, because this is still new and needs to be challenged before people start accepting it. Many people in the San Juan Islands are angry about this, and I would ( Read more... )

I'm counting on getting a lend of the Big Book after someone else has already read it, so no opinions yet. I find that I don't especially care any more after the last two. Meanwhile, I came home to find the Alastair Campbell diaries sitting beckoningly inside my bedroom door, and _that_ big fat book is truly compelling and addictive, although it's ( Read more... )

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For non-Spanish speakers, the story has now penetrated through to the English part of the BBC.

There were violent clashes in Cochabamba today between urban supporters of the governer and peasant protesters who have been campaigning for his resignation for the last week. Following Monday's events, in which peasant marchers stormed the central plaza and torched the gubernatorial palace, urban resident have organised counter-marches demanding ( Read more... )

I had a tranquil morning in the office writing, had lunch at the stall otuside the door, came to check my mail and stepped into a riot. It was almost fun. For ages there has been pressure on the prefecto (governer) who is a great big rightwing crook, to step down, and the protests have been more frequent lately. Today they had blockaded the main ( Read more... )

FUCK YOU, "PRESIDENT" BUSH!

The last thing I want this afternoon is your smirking pus on my screen.

Just when I was getting annoyed about how, as a feelthy immigrant, I can't vote in national elections*, what do you think this rigid white envelope could be that's just come through my letterbox? Couldn't tell, apart from the big black letters that say,

'PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION 5th MAY 2005

BALLOT PAPER(S) ( Read more... )