Saturday 30 April 2011

Wedding daze

I witnessed it by chance and almost in a daze in an Autobahn services in Austria. Perhaps it was the strong coffee I was drinking? Or maybe the sun shining too brightly through the cafeteria window onto the HD screen? Or the effects of 3 hours at the wheel.

Whatever the cause I was almost as uncomfortable as if I had really been there at Westminster, or nearby, in the crush of infectious hilarity and the madcap open bosomed crowd.

Frantic females yelled frantic remarks: 'Ooh I can't wait to see er dress'. Their offspring poked small flags on sticks into bystanders eyes. Hungover men and couples with flasks of soup bragged how they'd slept on the pavement all night, not thinking that some do so every night. Even in winter.

I didn't manage to see Prince William of Wales' Irish Guards sword. Perhaps he forgot it. Or maybe he thought it wise to leave it at home. No point in provoking a God of love.

I didn't spot the flag of Wales presumably hidden by all the union bunting; you know, the principlaity flag, the flag bearing the dragon; yes the green, white and red flag that one sees fluttering outside all the gates of all the caravan parks and fairgrounds from Barry to Prestatyn and also on the ramparts of the ruined castles. No point in provoking the Londoners.

But it was all very lovely; and as far as royal weddings go it was certainly a major production. In fact it was probably what one might call a success. There will certainly be a couple of highly deserved knighthoods in the offing.

Prince Philip didn't nod off. Paddy Power was offering 6/1 that he would. The Queen was pastel Frühling itself in her subdued yellow suit and hat. Almost a subdued Welsh daffodil yellow, I thought later.

Prince Harry of Wales played his part with soldierly Shakespearian gusto. He should follow brother Edward (also of Wales?) onto the stage of the Globe methinks.

Elton John and Mrs Furnish looked suitably serious, and they were in shot several times.

I didn't see Black Adder. Of the two Rowans I saw only one.

Father Charles of Wales wore the satisfied smile of a victor when they all strolled along the carpet to the cathedral exit and him one step nearer the throne.

The Poet Laureate Ms Duffy of Scotland will surely promulgate an exacting account of the proceedings in which the star will be the slinky white dress of the bride's sylph like sister.

Harry next.


Friday 29 April 2011

SHAKESPEARE'S HAIKU


My thanks to Dominic Rivron at Mousehole (see look-and-see list) for his recent link to my SHAKESPEARE'S HAIKU blog.

I hope to compose many more 17th cent. haiku when the world and my life settles down.

But meanwhile there is much wisdom to be found there. And they are all worthy of study.

.

Thursday 28 April 2011

MOX RHYMES


W I T H C L O C K S

RHYMES WITH POX

RHYMES WITH BOX

RHYMES WITH ___

WARNING

WARNING

WARNING

GAME OVER

GAME OVER

GAME OVeR

TO PLAY AGAIN INSERT MORE MONeY

INSERT PLEASE MORE MONey

TO PLAY MOney INSERT

Money PLEASE PLAY

PLEASE money

PLEA

PLE

PL

p

p

. . .

_ _ _
. . __________________.

THIS MACHINE OUT OF ORDER THIS MACHINE OUT OF ORDER
PLEASE USE NEXT AVAILABLE MACHINE PLEASE USE NEXT AV
LIABLE OUT OF REDOR ESLEAP _________________________
____________________________________________
___________ ___________ _

_____
gw2011

Note:
MOX is a mixture of uranium and plutonium. Plutonium is probably the most deadly substance on the planet.

According to Dr. Helen Caldicott a small 2kilo batch of plutonium evenly distributed would be enough to finish off all of mankind; and I would add - the rest of the world's inhabitants.

Consider for a moment that there are many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tons of plutonium knocking about. Nobody knows how much for sure.

There's no double entry book-keeping when it comes to dodgy substances.

The IAEA, itself an organization soon to be in nuclear meltdown, is currently in the process of revealing to us that its unchallenged competence in this field is not what we were led to believe it was.

During the recent storms in the USA at least 5 nuclear reactors were knocked out and diesel generators had to be brought into service.

Here in Europe there was a radioactive leak on Tuesday in Bulgaria. That doesn't surprise me. Several of these East European monsters are simply disasters waiting to happen. They are not even potential disasters!

What do we hear about these nuclear monsters from the IAEA? The answer as always is precious little or nothing.

The Liquidators

The Liquidators

the invisible
reigns

in the tomb

where the warriors
had to do battle

think of them

doomed

and how they were slain

picture their pain
and remember

the name:

Cher-no-byl
_____
gw2011

The so-called Liquidators were the thousands of men brought in from various parts of Russia and sent into the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to 'clean-up' following the 1986 explosion. Victor Tkatchouk was such a man.

The majority of these Liquidators suffered terrible and painful cancers and died within a few years. In a word, they liquidated themselves as they struggled to deal with the disaster.

Photographs on display at the memorial event I attended (the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl) showed that most of the Liquidators died between 1992 and 1996; in other words within 6 to 10 years of the date of their arrival at the scene of the explosion.

The invisible danger still lurks under the crumbling sarcophagus.

Wednesday 27 April 2011

Gunderson postulates prompt criticality in no. 3

Please click on my Arnie Gunderson link and when you come to the Fairewinds homepage click on 'Fukushima Updates' on the top bar and then view this extremely important video.

Without experts like Gunderson we the laypeople would have to depend for our information on the mainstream media and that, as we have seen, could be fatal.

Why are TEPCO and the Japanese government still playing nuclear cat and mouse with all of us? That is the question that should be on everyone's lips.

--------

Update: There is NOW a 'must view' (approx ) 4min video from Arnie Gunderson on the RT website. Scroll the RT video list and click 'Fukushima - gross miscarriage of...'

--------

A mad poem addressed to my nephews and nieces

The World cheats those who cannot read;
I, happily, have mastered script and pen.

The World cheats those who hold no office;
I am blessed with high official rank.

Often the old have much sickness and pain;
With me, luckily, there is not much wrong.

People when they are old are often burdened with ties;
But I have finished with marriage and giving in marriage.

No changes happen to jar the quiet mind;
No business comes to impair the vigour of my limbs.

Hence it is that now for ten years
Body and soul have rested in hermit peace.

And all the more, in the last lingering years
What I shall need are very few things.

A single rug to warm me through winter;
One meal to last me the whole day.

It does not matter that my house is rather small;
One cannot sleep in more than one room.

It does not matter that I have not many horses;
One cannot ride on two horses at once.

As fortunate as me among the people of the world
Possibly one would find seven out of ten.

As contented as me among a hundred men
Look as you may, you will not find one.

In the affairs of others even fools are wise;
In their own business even sages err.

To no one else would I dare to speak my heart,
So my wild words are addressed to my nephews and nieces.

_____
Po Chü-I (772-846) trans: A Waley

This concludes our all too brief journey through a selection of enchanting Chinese poems translated by the late Arthur Waley who translated many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of them between 1918 and 1946. He was a great servant to poetry. His many books include: The Tale of Genji, Monkey, The Nine Songs, The Analects of Confucius and The Way and Its Power.

Please note that although I have relied on Mr Waley's translations the couplets are my own invention. They make for ease of reading and understanding.

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Fukushima & the need for glasnost

James Corbett a foreign journalist working in Osaka, Japan, reports via RT (see RT link) that only a select group, a group which does not include any foreign or independent journalists, is now allowed to attend the Japanese government's twice daily press briefings about what is going on at Fukushima.

The Japanese government, unlike the Russian government which changed its tack once it realized the Chernobyl cover-up had failed, does not want the full extent of what is happening to get out, says Corbett. He added that radiation in the sea off Fukushima is believed to be approaching world record levels.

There is no reason to doubt James Corbett and others who are saying the same thing. It is therefore clearly time, after weeks of 'talking-down' the problems and evading the truth, and a host of other shenanigans, that the Japanese government stopped treating the rest of us as simpletons.

The Japanese government and others, the WHO and the IAEA for example, must now, without delay, recognize the fact that the worldwide community has a right to know the truth about what is going on at Fukushima because it affects everyone on the planet, and also generations not yet born.

It is time for another dose of glasnost.

Keep it tuned to RT.

Pripyat. Post Restante.


Today, 25 years to the day, the world recalls the Chernobyl nuclear accident. And so to play my part I gathered with a few people in the centre of Vienna. And there I was interviewed by the reporter from the independent TV station Servus.

One of the organizers subsequently told me that the programme Servus Journal would be screened this evening at 18:00 local time. Since my remarks were not in German it is possible they may not be used but nevertheless it was good of Servus to drop by and film some of us.

State run ORF TV did not attend.
. . .

A new 25 minute documentary 'Chernobyl Fallout 25: Pripyat Post Restante' can be viewed via the RT Link. Everyone who can do, not only the people of Japan, should watch it.

Also on RT you may scroll through informative news videos and interviews that you simply won't see on mainstream TV stations. RT journalists know the dangers of the nuclear 'Towers of Babylon' better than most.

RT is, and has been from the time of the Fukushima accident, dedicated to getting the truth out

. . .

Today 25 years after the Chernobyl explosion a French company is constructing a second temporary sarcophagus for the Chernobyl reactor.

The construction, a huge arch, will be completed in 2015 and then pushed along specially built rails into place. It should keep Europe safe from Chernobyl's deadly radiation, for the next 100 years.

There's nothing, apart from good fortune, to prevent the ruins of Chernobyl or another nuclear Tower of Babylon from exploding in the meantime. No expert can guarantee that that won't happen.

It could happen anytime and anyplace in an industry shrouded in secrecy. It could happen today or tomorrow or the next day...

In late-November 2010 at the Slovakian nuclear reactor of Mochovce, by way of example, there was a fire in a generator room. The facts only became public knowledge due to the actions of an anonymous whistleblower and Greenpeace.

Meanwhile work on Mochovce 3+4 goes on...

The Red Woods of Chernobyl*

Walk through the woods
the Red Woods of Chernobyl

Your ten minute walk
could well be your last.

_____
*radiation turned all the trees red, hence the name of the woods.

It is extremely hazardous to one's health to visit the Red Forest** and now, even after 25 years, one cannot stay there for more than 10 minutes.

**Strange Revelation.-
The original name of the Red Forest is Worm Wood (source: Wiki).

Monday 25 April 2011

After lunch

After lunch - one short nap;
On waking up - two cups of tea.

Raising my head, I see the sun's light
Once again slanting to the south-west.

Those who are happy regret the shortness of the day;
Those who are sad tire of the year's sloth.

But those whose hearts are devoid of joy or sadness
Just go on living, regardless of short or long.

______
Po Chü-i (772-846) trans: A Waley

Unholy alliance

On 28th May 1959 the UN's World Health Organization, a body that we all instinctively trusted and believed in, an organization which we thought was dedicated to keeping a watchful eye on issues affecting the health and wellbeing of the world's peoples, reached a little known agreement with another UN body - the International Atomic Energy Agency.

To read more about this unholy WHO-IAEA alliance visit the Helen Caldicott link.

I have placed this new link with the others:
Arnie Gunderson, Fukushima, weather/radiation forecasts, seismic activity etc..

To uncover what's going on in Japan you need to look at trustworthy investigative websites such as 'If You Love This Planet Radio' (link also provided).

At this time in our history the mainstream media is again proving to be unreliable. A large percentage of its output is a mixture of half-truths and analysis of 'approved' facts.

In 10 years time after the usual witnesses have been called to give their evidence and opinion (those who are still alive that is) many thick books of scientific and legal papers will be published. There will be 'measures' put in place 'to make sure it doesn't happen again'.

By then it will be much too late, if it isn't too late already.

Mind how you go.

Saturday 23 April 2011

In sky, two birds

the kestrels

we observed by the beach

they were magpies


_____
gw2011

Wednesday 20 April 2011

The cranes

The western wind has blown but a few days;
Yet the first leaf already flies from the bough.

On the drying paths I walk in my thin shoes;
In the first cold I have donned my quilted coat.

Through shallow ditches the floods are clearing away;
Through sparse bamboos trickles a slanting light.

In the early dusk, down an alley of green moss,
The garden-boy is leading the cranes home.

_____
Po Chü-i (772-846) trans: A Waley