Work is pretty flat out this week, especially since I’m only working four days because I’m going to Melbourne on Friday. So, guess there isn’t much time to post, except for this gem I found yesterday reading a book on the insanity of capitalism, Economics of the Madhouse by Chris Harman. I was ironically reading the chapter on alienation at work yesterday and was struck by a chilling quote from Karl Marx (italicized below) and sourced the manuscript it came from, Estranged Labour in 1844. I’ve included the whole paragraph below:

Firstly, the fact that labour is external to the worker – i.e., does not belong to his essential being; that he, therefore, does not confirm himself in his work, but denies himself, feels miserable and not happy, does not develop free mental and physical energy, but mortifies his flesh and ruins his mind. Hence, the worker feels himself only when he is not working; when he is working, he does not feel himself. He is at home when he is not working, and not at home when he is working. His labour is, therefore, not voluntary but forced, it is forced labour. It is, therefore, not the satisfaction of a need but a mere means to satisfy needs outside itself. Its alien character is clearly demonstrated by the fact that as soon as no physical or other compulsion exists, it is shunned like the plague. External labour, labour in which man alienates himself, is a labour of self-sacrifice, of mortification. Finally, the external character of labour for the worker is demonstrated by the fact that it belongs not to him but to another, and that in it he belongs not to himself but to another. Just as in religion the spontaneous activity of the human imagination, the human brain, and the human heart, detaches itself from the individual and reappears as the alien activity of a god or of a devil, so the activity of the worker is not his own spontaneous activity. It belongs to another, it is a loss of his self.

Technorati Tags: work, alienation, Marx, exploitation, capitalism

What a May Day. Ten years after May Day celebrations were also a celebration of the victory of the wharfies of the MUA after the Howard government tried to smash their union, the union movement have had another victory where Labor MPs revolted to overturn Iemma’s plan to privatise electricity. Thousands of unionists and workers rallied outside the conference in quite an inspiring rally.

This post is being written from my new Toshiba Satellite laptop and the photo was taken from my new Sony Cyber-shot camera. On Thursday, I was robbed and my laptop full of photos, writing and music was stolen as well as my Olympus SP550UZ. I salvaged the music, had the more important writing backed up and may salvage some photos. But it’s all pretty fucked

Technorati Tags: May Day, labor conference, Iemma, Costa, unions, protest

How many is too many? - National - smh.com.au

Another solider is killed. Sinking in yet? The media’s been pretty gross on it, naturally. The papers are filled with nationalist bullshit talking about him being a hero and saving lives, blah blah blah. At least the article above kind of moderately criticises it. It accepts the fake logic of the ‘War on Terror’ but says it can’t be won. Even military figures have come out saying it can’t be won.

But two more important sources of criticism are mentioned. Of course, the majority of the greater population are opposed to the war. This latest death will most certainly continue that trend. The other source, is from the secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, Brian Boyd, saying, “it’s got nothing to do with defending Australia”. The growth of an anti-war movement is dependent on more of these comments from the union movement, which judging from the WorkChoices rallies, has the power to mobilise a lot of people.

So with the majority of people opposed, what does Rudd say? Suck it up. There’s more to come, he reckons. He’s positioned himself as side by side with the world’s most hated man, George Bush, as totally committed to the war in Afghanistan, despite other countries backing away. He’s using the apology, and 2020 talkfest etc. to give him some breathing room whilst he backs imperialism in the region to the hilt.

His other comment was really a ‘foot in the mouth’ one. He said, “The history of Afghanistan is one which is not only bloody but one which has consistently resisted foreign troop activity.” No shit. He basically admitted that Afghanistan has a bloody history of Imperialism where foreign occupiers, like himself, have meddled in the country and always been resisted. If only he’d take that as a cue to get the fuck out.

N.B. To the stoned right-wing troll whose comments I deleted, tough shit. No one will take you seriously. You write like you’re self-obsessed and all knowing. Get over your ego. I couldn’t care less what you think because you’re gutless. You can’t use a real name, email or URL and you hide your right-wing criticisms under vague attacks on my writing style and other apolitical shit. You do this because you don’t have a leg to stand on. That is all.

Technorati Tags: Afghanistan, war on terror, Rudd, Jason Marks

Bosses’ power to check email, smh.com.au

Mondays are always shit. They’re especially shit when compared to big weekends, like this last one for me. But to read that Rudd is going to give more power to bosses to look at worker’s emails really rubs salt into the wound. This is just another attack on workers, making them less secure and even more under the thumb of their boss. And of course, the excuse they use is national security.

It feels like the boss can basically own and have access to every aspect of your life between the hours of 9am to 5pm, and in some cases, beyond that. There is no personal privacy. In some software companies, coding work workers do in their own time belongs to the boss! You’re not human but a machine in this system.

This attack is also a way of cutting off ways of communicating between workers without the boss knowing. This makes union organising much harder, which is clearly more of a reason for doing this than under the name of the War on Terror. The War on Terror and national security has become the magic word for getting away with anything. Howard used it all the time but not even that could save his sorry ass last election.

Rudd’s been the subject of the wet dreams of every international leader or journalist for the last couple of months. What made Howard unpopular can a lot of the time be allowed under Rudd, but this could be something that really pushes worker’s buttons. It’s a real indication that Rudd is on the side of the bosses’.

Technorati Tags: email, Rudd, civil liberties, privacy, War on Terror, cyber-security

Rudd voices concerns on Tibet - World - smh.com.au

Before I went to lunch today, I was in the process of writing a weighty post explaining my position on the Chinese crackdown in Tibet as well as the response of Australia, The United States and other Western countries to the whole turmoil. Except, some application froze and fucked with my computer and in the process of trying to recover that, I closed the webpage with my blog post in it and now it’s lost. I can’t really be bothered trying to replicate that post, so I’ll start again.

The riots and protests by Tibetans calling for independence need to be unconditionally supported by anyone who wants to see a world without oppression and imperialist dominance. The violent reaction by the Chinese state is to be condemned and highlights yet another example of how China is not in anyway Socialist, as it is arch-opposite of a socialist world that is fully democratic.

Rudd’s approach to China is a balancing act between supporting China’s right to trample on Tibet’s right to independence because the Australian economy is married to China’s, as well as making gestures that are nothing by hypocrtical crocodile tears against China’s human rights abuses because ordinary people will not stand for it and also, Austalia is in a contradictory position because although the two economies are married, they are also competing as China is rising to challenge for world superpower status.

Western intervention in the region will not be done in the interest of Tibetans, but in the interests of Western powers in attempts to stave of the rise of China as a competitor. We only have to look at current occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan that are painted as fights for freedom, to see that these powers are far from benevolent.

Though, we can be sure that actions by ordinary people, such as the sabotaging of the Olympic relay in Paris, can be seen as genuine actions in opposition to the grave abuse of human rights by the Chinese state. We stand side-by-side with Chinese workers and the people in Tibet in resisting the agenda of the Chinese government as well as the agendas of our governments at home.

Technorati Tags: China, Tibet, Rudd, human rights, Olympics

I guess this post will be similar to a post I wrote maybe last month or something when I first felt the muse coming back, except I was writing that one at work and this one’s at home. I’m trying to write it before it hits midnight for no reason why. My head’s awash with thoughts again, but like I said in that post, I can’t express them here. Actually, I’m not quite sure I can express them anywhere or to anyone. I don’t even know what I’m really thinking myself.

I guess I’m writing for the sake of writing again. I wrote a poem tonight. It felt therapeutic, like I needed to get some thoughts out. I think I’ll do it again. I haven’t written poetry in fucking ages. I won’t publish it though. I guess that was a mistake publishing my poetry last time. It’s kind of personal shit that shouldn’t really be revealed to the world. Perhaps I’ll post this one anonymously on some poetry forum.

I watched The Butterfly Effect for the first time in a while tonight, as well. That movie fucks with your head, and considering the weird mood I’m in at the moment, it probably wasn’t a good idea. So yeah, not sure what gems of wisdom I’ve revealed in this post, not sure who’s reading it, but leave a comment or something. Some human contact would be nice.

Technorati Tags: musing, rants, midnight, The Butterfly Effect

Gay shooting: student’s slaying sparks outcry, smh.com.au

This latest and very brutal story of violence against a gay man really fucking disturbs me. It’s been on my mind since I read it yesterday. And given the amount of horrible shit I rant about on here, and my acute awareness that homophobia still exists, it shouldn’t surprise me. It’s just fucking enraging that this still goes on.

Larry King, a middle-school student in the U.S., used to go to school out and proud of his sexuality and is fucking brave for doing it. I can only remember how repressed and scared homosexual kids in my grade were and how much courage it took for them to come out, let alone be so open about it. Well, some fucking homophobic piece of shit in his computer class walked into class one day and shot Larry. Killed for being gay.

And to make it more enraging, the way the police are dealing with it, is disgusting and of course, expected. They’re being evasive about whether or not it’s a hate crame, as if it isn’t obvious. They’re trying to cloud over discrimination in society that they of course up hold. They’d rather the media just shut up about homophobic violence because they don’t want to confront it themselves.

As much as we can say gays and lesbians have equality before the law, which really they don’t, stories like this highlight the fact that capitalism is still ideologically feeding off homophobia, sucking the lift out of ordinary people for what? Who they choose to fuck.

Technorati Tags: Larry King, homophobia, GBLT, police, violence

Kovco ‘mistakes’ don’t add up, inquest told, smh.com.au

The inquest into the death of Private Jack Kovco, the first Australian soldier killed in Iraq, is in shambles. They can’t work it out, or more accurately, they don’t want to work it out. How two men can be in the same tent as him when he was killed and not be able to explain anything is beyond me.

It’s pretty clear that the powers that be are putting up all kinds of smoke and mirrors to hide something, and we only need to look at the rest of situation in Iraq to see why they need to. The whole war is in shambles. They’re losing. They’re not wanted there. They’re not doing any rebuilding. Infrastructure like water and electricity might as well not exist. The 4,000th troop just died. Their puppet government’s strings are clearly visible and is horribly unpopular. They’ve had to buy off the resistance to hold them off in the meantime. They’re fucked.

And I’m not legal expert and I probably haven’t heard all the evidence, but it seems kind of likely that he killed himself. No accident, not messing around, not someone else, but deliberate. And the other statistic that shows how fucked the situation in Iraq is proves it. Something like 25,000 Iraq servicepersons or Veterans have commited suicide. So you only have to look at the odds to see how likely it is.

It’s the whole experience of Iraq. Soliders, who are ordinary people, are fighting a war not in there interest, but in the interest of those that rule them. They have to do fucked up things and live with it for the rest of there lives. We’ve been in Iraq for five years and Afghanistan for seven, it’s about time it ended.

Technorati Tags: Kovco, Iraq, war, suicide, soldiers, mental health

This is my first post in a couple of weeks. I haven’t really had the urge to write until now as I’ve been caught up with other things. Or more like the things I have wanted to say haven’t been for public domain. I tried to write this post at work today, but couldn’t as I was torn between wad to divulge and what to keep to myself.

Well I spent a few days in Melbourne from Thursday to Sunday morning and it did things to me that writing for therapy can’t. I’ve been feeling a lot better and been on a high that only work manages to dim and only for the hours I’m lifeless chained to my desk and I’m free again there after.

Sure, after two weeks of feeling good and not needing my muse for therapy, my muse has come back and I’ve got the itch to write. Problem is I’m so busy with everything else and just having fun that the times I feel like writing aren’t available to me. Complicated, I know.

So I guess this post says little but confirms I’m still around and haven’t in fact fallen of the writing wagon as quickly as I’ve jumped back on it.

Technorati Tags: writing, inspiration, therapy

I finally wrote something. Not sure if it’s any good but it’s a concept that’s floated around my head at work over the last week or two. This piece of flash was done for the latest Absolute Write Flash Fiction carnival.

I popped two more Panadol despite if it’d been less than three hours or whatever. It wouldn’t relieve this sense of being boxed in but it would lift a bit of the pressure that hung over my head since I walked into work this morning.

“It says, I quit.”

Technorati Tags: fiction, boss, writing, flash fiction, Absolute Write

I’m not going to link to it. I just can’t. But take a look at the front page of today’s weekend Sydney Morning Herald. The headline is “After the slaughter, sickening jubilation” and two photos, one of Israeli schoolboys morning the death of a couple of a their friends and in the other Palestinians celebrating. When you look at the events in Palestine over the last couple of days, you have to ask the question, out of all the events, why the fuck does this make the front page?

For days Israel has been bombing the shit out of Gaza killing hundreds of civilians. This has been relegated to fine print in the depths of the Herald. Despite it being the most pressing issue in the world at the moment, those hundred or so dead Palestinians didn’t make the front page. Because they’re Arab. Arab lives don’t matter to the Herald. This clear bias is totally outraging. I was visibly overcome with anger when I saw the front page this morning.

More so because I had written on here and on the FLBU blog about the bias in the media over the issue, sweeping the Palestinian deaths under the carpet like it was nothing more than an insect problem being exterminated. That’s how the Israeli government sees it. And more so again because I even went to the length to write a letter to the Herald over this very issue, as well as how they deny that Hamas is the legitimate government of the Palestinian people.

The Herald are doing this because the interests of Western Capitalism are bound up with having Israel, a Western backed state keeping their foot in the Middle East. It’s about making sure if the Middle East do anything that doesn’t sit with the U.S., there will be repurcussions. So, for the fat cat media mogul heading the Herald, James Packer, his profits are put in a better position when Palestinians are killed.

Technorati Tags: Palestine, Israel, media, bias

I’m kind of encouraged by my consistency in both writing and reading lately, even if fiction writing hasn’t entered the equation just yet. It’s slowly bringing my muse back and fighting off the opposing forces of work being so damned boring, uninspiring and devoid of humanity and even the concept of humans as humans rather than machines or tools.

Haruki Murakami is quickly becoming one of my favourite writers. There’s this consistency to his style that is highly addictive. Like I’ve said in other reviews of his books, he has this ability to draw you straight into his world, to make you feel like your dreaming with a writing style that is so out-there, you know it just flows rather than trying to be clever.

So, what is After Dark about? In the true spirit of postmodernist literature, I couldn’t tell you. The story takes place over one night and involves two sisters. One is sleeping and one can’t sleep. I guess you’d have to read it to make complete sense of it, but maybe like me, you’ll finish and its meaning will still elude you, if it has a meaning at all. In a practical sense, I usually don’t like novels with no meaning or some up themselves that they would rather not reveal it to the reader, but with Murakami it seems like it doesn’t matter. It’s the writing that hooks you in and is worthy of praise.

Technorati Tags: Murakami, After Dark, fiction, Japanese, review

ei: Gaza deaths surpass 100; hundreds injured

I’m under no allusion that my blog, and maybe not even outstanding blogs like Electronic Intifada (linked above) will do much to change what’s going on, but it’s a shame and by no means surprising that it seems this blog and EI are saying more about Palestine then the mainstream media care to.

In the latest round of air and ground assaults on civilian targets, it’s seen more than 100 people killed and even the UN has condemned it. Violence and discrimination has become an all too familiar daily reality for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, but this latest assault is a step up from that.

Compare the account in EI to the account in the Herald. The Herald describes the hundreds of deaths in such a cold and clinical way, like rattling off footy scores rather than living beings losing their lives. And then they describe the one or two Israeli deaths like they mean so much more. This is the same racism that Israel uses to justify existing on stolen land, that their lives are worth more than the lives of an Arab.

And then of course, the Herald really prefers to focus on the dealings between the officials - the U.S., Israel, Fatah and Hamas. It really makes you sick when they portray the U.S. as this peaceful and unbiased mediator when they donate so much fucking money and arms to Israel that is used to bomb the shit out of Palestinians.

And they keep telling bullshit about Hamas taking over Gaza when they were actually democratically elected by the people of Palestine over Fatah, who have gone against the will of the people in favour of doing deals that suit their own position in society.

It’s pretty clear that the “international community” and other such bullshit are only interested in dealing with the Palestinian issue in a way that suits their own profit-making interests and for the U.S., Australia and other western imperialists, this means supporting Israel to maintain a foothold in the Middle East. From this, it’s pretty clear that whole system of capitalism needs to be gotten rid of, including the state of Israel, in order for real peace to be achieved.

Technorati Tags: Palestine, Israel, Gaza, Abbas, Olmert, Fatah, Hamas

I really loved this movie. Juno is a quirky comedy about an unplanned teenage pregnancy. Accompanied by an awesome soundtrack, Juno involves some very strong and unique characters and a very real script that stands out as something off the path of the traditional “perfect” Hollywood feature films.

Ellen Page really stands out as unique and strong character. I’d be hesitant to call her geeky, but it’s one of the only words I can think of. She really creates an atmosphere of the movie as alternative and not quite normal. You really like her for her honesty and how real she is. I can see some of my friends in her.

Teenage pregnancy movies can often fall into the trap of being moralistic and either tragic or all too perfect. Juno doesn’t really pull any punches and comes across as real. Her life isn’t painted as something turned into a tragedy but rather something to deal with and get past. It’s been categorised as a comedy and for the most part, is fucking funny but it’s also fairly serious and true in the themes it explores. Oh, and there’s no “family is sacred” shit that seems to permeate so much film these days.

Technorati Tags: Juno, Ellen Page, movie, review

The writing bug is still coming on, but it hasn’t really bitten yet. I can feel it nibbling at the edges of something big. At least, I hope so. I mean, I’m reading more, feeling the need to participate in writer’s forums and my head is whirling around at a million miles an hour sometimes. I missed that.

Also, I bought a new bed about a month ago and it’s brought back dreaming which I’d barely noticed missing. I suppose work fucks with you in that regard.

Anyway, I wrote like two short paragraphs in an attempt to get a flash piece going today at work. I have the idea in my head, brought on by one of those rushes of ideas that I haven’t had in a long run. It fizzled out because I was trying not to get caught bludging.

I’ve been thinking my outlook on writing has changed a bit as I’m coming back to it this time around. I mean, looking through previous blog posts, there were periods where I freaked out about not writing, or having writer’s block.

This latest period of not writing wasn’t like that at all. I’ve been bound up with just enjoying life and it didn’t occur to me that I wasn’t writing. I wasn’t thinking about my ‘career’ as a writer. And coming back to writing now, I’m not thinking about my ‘career’ again either.

To be honest, the desire to be published isn’t there anymore. I don’t much care if my writing isn’t revealed to the whole world on the shelves of your local Borders. I still want to be read, and gain recognition, but perhaps only from those around me. I get much more of a thrill from a close friend saying they enjoyed my story, than some random - whether their intent skews their comments or not.

Writing at the moment is very much for therapy and the enjoyment of the act rather than the status. I think writer’s blogging about their ‘journeys’ as ‘aspiring’ writers is very much a dangerous slope. You can build yourself up and create this reputation that you cannot fulfil. And then you forget about enjoying writing for the act itself.

I can feel like I’m coming back to the naïve enjoyment again.

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, inspiration, ideas

Went to a protest today where more than 10,000 workers went on strike to protest against the NSW Labor government’s plan to privatise the state’s electricity system. They’re pretty clear that this will mean job cuts, wage cuts, attacks on unions, prise rises, less maintainence and generally crap services. This is because they went to make as much profit as possible.

It’s been good to watch Iemma with his back against the wall lately with this and the corruption stuff. He and Costa have said they’re not backing down. I’m sure they’ll have no choice when there’s no workers working to power their lavish lifestyles.

Technorati Tags: Labor, NSW, privatisation, unions, protest, strike

Taunts forced gay officer out, smh.com.au

To those who believe the myth that the police aren’t homophobic, this story is a case in point. This gay police officer was effectively forced out of the police force due to constant homophobic harassment by his colleagues and superiors. He’s a victim of his own naive belief that the police force can play a good role towards the gay and lesbian community with such things as the gay and lesbian liaison officers, which he was aspiring to become.

But the fact is the whole institution of the police force is designed to maintain oppression against queers. This isn’t an old idea that has been defeated. Due to the unpopularity of homophobia and the struggles for queer liberation, they have been forced to not be so open about it, but the fact remains that homophobia still is rampant within the police force, even in its veiled forms.

That is why it’s such an insult for the police to have a float in the Mardi Gras, especially considering the whole history of the event which first took place 30 years ago. The gay and lesbian community and its supporters marched on Oxford Street in defiance of the police. The police then arrested gays and lesbians for asserting their right to march. So the history of the Mardi Gras is about standing up for queer rights in the face of police violence. Allowing the police to march is covering up this history and the continued problem of homophobia perpetrated by the police force in the here and now.

Technorati Tags: police, GBLT, homophobia, gay, lesbian, queer, mardi gras

Skipping meals to pay rent, smh.com.au

Headlines like this don’t really surprise me anymore. They’re almost a daily occurance. Once again some report has come out saying that working families are finding it harder to make ends meet as the economy quakes in its boots. The pressure is pushing down on us. Rent is rising. Interest rates are rising. The general cost of living is rising.

And then Rudd tells us we can’t ask for a wage rise for the sake of “the country.” Meanwhile, who’s making the extra money if companies are getting more for their goods and not paying workers anymore for producing it?

There was definitely no surprise when after Rudd asked executives to take a wage-freeze, they effectively told him to get fucked. They’re not sacrificing the high life. Make workers starve for it instead, is what they say. And it’s not like Rudd can do anything it about it. It’s pretty clear who really calls the shots in capitalism. It’s the capitalists. Not the government serving them. You can’t legislate fairness under capitalism. You need to force it.

So, whilst the economy is quaking in its boots, workers can cut them off at the knees by going on strike and showing who really should be calling the shots - the people that produce everything in society and should get a lot more than what they’re getting now.

Technorati Tags: capitalism, recession, economy, workers, wage freeze, corporations, rental crisis

Castro declares his reign at an end - World - smh.com.au

I’ve still got this overwhelming temptation to write, but unfortunately most of it is stuff that’s not suitable to reveal on this blog. Still no ‘real’ writing yet, but I can feel it building up.

But Castro’s decision to step-down as leader of Cuba after freaking ages and pass power onto his brother (how democratic?!) gives me an in to talk about Castro, Cuba and the media because both sides, Castro, Cuba, and parts of the Stalinised Left versus the Western ruling classes, corporate media, and the Right both are really telling the same lie - that Cuba is one of the last surving ‘Communist’ countries and Castro is some great revolutionary leader. This is pure fiction coming out ruins of Stalin’s attack on genuine socialism.

Any criticism by genuine Marxists again so-called Communist states such as Cuba, China, Vietnam, Venusuala, the Soviet Union under Stalin, are often attacked by Stalinised socialist groups as playing into the hands of the Americans and other capitalist countries wishing to crush these regimes and what they assert to be socialism. But as Paul D’Amato puts it in his excellent article, ‘Cuba: Image and reality,’…

Cold War propagandists did not invent the horrors of Stalin’s Russia—though they took full advantage of them to try and discredit genuine socialism for their own reasons. And just as cynically, the rulers of Russia pointed to the horrors of capitalist society in order to justify their rule. But there really was a gulag.

I actually think that it is the genuine socialists that should be on the attack. It’s the Stalinists that are, in a sense, playing into the hands of the ruling class that fear real socialism by defending these State-Capitalist regimes and parading them as socialist. It distorts the truth of genuine Marxism which is for workers being liberated by their own hands and not that of some peasant army, and for genuine workers control and not some bureaucratic state that claims to represent workers using psuedo-Marxist rhetoric.

Technorati Tags: Castro, Cuba, Socialism, Stalinism

It’s Monday and work is fairly boring. Once again, I have another five days of wage slavery ahead of me and lately I’ve had this sudden temptation to write, not fiction at the moment, but I can see that coming. I enjoyed writing those last two posts - on my bosses’ time and am meaning to find the time to really get into this Murakami book, After Dark to wet my appetite for fiction again.

So, this blog post is essentially about nothing. I don’t know if anyone is reading, but comments would be nice, just to know that those of you that I have come to know over the years are still around even though in the rush of a great second half of 2007, I have somewhat neglected you. I am essentially blogging because I need to feel the enjoyment of writing again and my mind is awash with thoughts, even if I can’t express them here.

Part of the shift back to this desire to blog is a shift in my real life. For the privacy of myself and the people around me, I can’t, nor would want to, mention the details but the high of 2007 has crashed. Most of the elements that made the last half of 2007 are still there, except for one thing, and so I shouldn’t really be feeling that bad, but I am. And that’s all I’ll really say.

Years ago, starting this blog was almost a kind of egocentric adventure, as I was obsessed with projecting myself as some aspiring writing and socialist prodigy. I probably would’ve just told you the whole story back then, but I’ve grown up in this regard and now am only interested in publically expressing thoughts on writing and politics - and the occasional photo.

So, yep, let me know if you’re still around and I’ll guess I’ll be filling the web with some of my crap a little bit more often, once again.