Donald wept through the proceedings. His tears soaked through the canvas that cloaked his twisted face and they stained his orange jumpsuit where with such rare distinction he once displayed the evidence of his outstanding contributions to the maintenance of a kingdom come. But those days are gone. He's nothing more than a number on a docket thick with shareholders, engineers, PR firms, politicians: war profiteers. "How the fuck did I end up here? This just isn't fair. Ain't no place for a millionaire." He searches for the words to stop this table in mid-turn, like "We are but old men," and "We only did what we were told," but the laughter from the gallery drowns out these vestiges of a profession's oldest defense.
"The court will direct the record to reflect compliments from the bench. You, sir, are Central Casting's crowning achievement. And for your outstanding performance in a comedic role, I'd like to dedicate the findings of the jury to the dead. But how can one man ever repay a debt so appalling? Can't gouge 10,000 eyes from a single head, so I think we should observe a sentence that will serve to satisfy both a sense of function and poetry. So you will spend the rest of your days drenched in sweat, with your face drawn in a rictus of terror as you remove another buried land mine fuse. Meanwhile, 100 yards back behind the sandbags, a legless foreman pulls the trigger on a red megaphone. Squelching feedback. Drunken laughter. Broken English. His dead daughter's picture..."
Time and tide, no one can anticipate the inevitable waves of change.
~Propagandhi, "Iteration"
If there is indeed a God (there isn't) true war criminals - the likes of Donald Rumsfeld and his nihilistic-money-making ilk - would have been prosecuted like the above song envisages years ago. With that in mind, it's up to us to usher in the inevitable waves of change in our own communities and countries. Daily the citizens of the world are subjected to carefully scripted abuses and atrocities in the name of Globalisation and American Capitalism. The Captains of Industry ensure that millions of column inches every morning are filled in support of their greed.
Rupert Murdoch said that yesterday was "the most humbling day" of his life. It's probably the only humble day the man (and I use that term loosely; he's more like affluent pond scum) has ever experienced. If we can truly make the Murdochs eat humble pie at the end of this sordid phone hacking affair - bring down the sick global media monopoly that has allowed Murdoch to buy puppets in parliaments around the world - it bodes well for open-minded, free-thinking citizens of the West. Take heart from the Arab Spring. Don't mistake the lowest-common-denominator shit-streaks that pass for articles in Newscorp papers for the truth. Don't get all of your information from the 6 o'clock news. Don't place your faith in the men and women at the top to do what is right for everybody. They have already been softened up by 30 years of rampant, unregulated neo-liberal free market capitalist propaganda and they refuse to see the writing on the wall for this failed system. It is up to us to be catalysts for real change.
We played a fun gig on Saturday night at Tzar/Teazar bar here in our hometown, Rotorua. A small but enthusiastic crowd, a couple of free shots and the best sound we've so far created. Thanks to the brave souls who came along!
Our next show is the "Will Play For Food" gig on the 29th of July at Tzar/Teazar again. You'll get to see us play, and also be treated to the heavy tunes of Hundred Acre Woods and the acoustic punk of Myth of Democracy (Matt Billington from 5th Threat and Cheap For a Reason). An eclectic night of music to be sure, but for a very good cause. Entry will be by can of food or a koha with all proceeds going to the local Salvation Army. So rummage through your cupboards for any canned food that you don't need and bring whatever you can spare down to the gig. It's been a pretty shitty winter here in Rotorua so far, and with food prices, unemployment and inflation skyrocketing under the blind eyes of a National led government there are people really struggling to make it through to the warmer months. Let's help out those who need helping and have a damned good time while we're at it! Hopefully we'll see your face there.
Keep on laughing. Tell jokes. Seek out knowledge. Try not to be a cunt too much. I'll do the same!
~Mitch.
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