Big Brother is watching EU!

I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY.

It was a bright cold day in April . . . Thus begins 1984 Orwell's prophetic vision, published in 1949, of the world as it is rapidly becoming.

Tomorrow, appropriately the 1st April, the Republic of Austria will join the growing band of EU states implementing the EU's Data Retention Laws. I believe this leaves only the EU nations of Germany, Rumania and the Czech Republic as currently non-compliant.

In 24 of the EU's 27 states, details of every individual's emails, phone calls, sms text messages and other electronic communications, presumably posts to this blog included, will be kept on computers at the Ministry of Truth for periods of at least 6 months and this is regardless of whether the citizen is a potential trouble maker like Orwell's hero Winston Smith or a veritable saint and a member of the Party or even of the Inner Party.

An announced War on Terror, originally known as The Crusades by US President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair, swiftly followed the 9/11 attack on the USA. The War on Terror quickly achieved its first objective which was to create an atmos-fear necessary to set in place new and overriding rules for the smooth running and surveillance of a Super State by means of its Thought Police.

In Orwell's novel the Super States keep the threat of the next crisis, normally a potential war, fluctuating between amber and red alert. Appropriate films are shown: . . . a ship full of refugees being bombed somewhere in the Mediterranean . . . a helicopter with a camera in its nose . . .

In his Afterword to 1984 Erich Fromm warns: . . . that unless the course of history changes, men all over the world will become soulless automatons, and will not even be aware of it . . . it would be most unfortunate if the reader smugly interpreted 1984 as another description of Stalinist barbarism, and if he does not see that it means us, too.

New Martian Poetry and a book tip.

Much thanks to Gordon Mason at Catapult to Mars for publishing several of my previously unpublished poems and for choosing me as the red planet's current Poet of the Month.*

The 2012 Poet-in-Residence trophy (see right) is hereby awarded to Gordon in gratitude and in recognition of this valuable service to fourth planet poetry.

On Earth the Nobel Prize for Literature was recently won by Tomas Transtörmer, a fine poet whose expanded New Collected Poems (translated by Robin Fulton) is due to be published by Bloodaxe Books next month, i.e. April 2012.

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*A Martian year of 686 days, has 24 months.

Library books: Nothing Twice - Wislawa Szymborska, 1 Dead in Attic - Chris Rose, The Master of Petersburg - J M Coetzee

Before the War

There will be be slightly camouflaged

rumours of war

and denials

Armchair G'nerals

will appear in the fog

Politically speaking

papers of peace may be waved

(and then waived)

The weapon of surprise will be honed on the side

awe and shock

shock and awe

After the War

Will there be many survivors?

Will they find something of interest in the dust of our civilization?

Will they decipher our hidden messages

correctly?

Perhaps one day

they

'll figure out

why

we did

those things that we do

haiku clearances

the trees in the parks

with shadows and companions

felled, outstretched

(Un)occupied

old patterns

in everyday objects

in occupied streets

encrypted

and cushioned

in concrete

when vulgarity beats

in the hearts

in their shirts

"look up

and taste

our rich air!

"but

don't

overstay

"the underpass

exit

is under your ass"

The Occupy Movement began on Wall Street when those who had lost their homes and their jobs, and those who had no prospects, found themselves (to put it in the terms of the photo-poem) unable to sit comfortably with the infamous banksters-bail-out. To add insult to injury some of the banksters appeared parading on a balcony armed with flutes of champagne. Several of the banksters proceeded to shower the protesters with abuse and insults. This is the theme of the poem.