I think its about time that we share the fun that this society offers us.
I have an idea to create a facebook page or better still a website which anyone can contribute to with ideas for educational pranks.
I have loads of ideas for this and I am convinced that once I get the ball rolling, others will also have many.
Many of these ideas will be 'prank' calls but educational in purpose. Anyone can add o his pool of ideas and anyone can put them into practise and we would then encourage people to record what they do and put them up on youtube or soundcloud if its just audio perhaps.
Please let me know if you want to get involved.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
camerons irony
http://mobile.salon.com/politics/war_room/2011/08/10/david_cameron_riot_condemnation_bullingdon_club_irony/index.html
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Ego and the Unrest (AKA riots)
So I spent some time in Camden town speaking to Police officers and young people. And I have been thinking about the violence and in particular I have been thinking about my thinking about the violence.
I spent time with a friend of the family who is a criminal lawyer (read that as you choose!) She said that she was in court today and that the Majistrates had been given instructions to refuse bail to anyone arrested at the unrest including those with no previous, of good character and where there is no evidence. I was furious and said so. My wife then did what she so often does. Disagreed with me. I watched myself start to get angry and then began to laugh at myself. I told her that I really appreciate it when she does that because it trains me to notice my attachments to my beliefs. My experience is that attachment to any beliefs causes me suffering so why bother ? Instead I can just remind myself of my new mantra given to me by someone I met this week - the mantra is 'I dont know'
I spent time with a friend of the family who is a criminal lawyer (read that as you choose!) She said that she was in court today and that the Majistrates had been given instructions to refuse bail to anyone arrested at the unrest including those with no previous, of good character and where there is no evidence. I was furious and said so. My wife then did what she so often does. Disagreed with me. I watched myself start to get angry and then began to laugh at myself. I told her that I really appreciate it when she does that because it trains me to notice my attachments to my beliefs. My experience is that attachment to any beliefs causes me suffering so why bother ? Instead I can just remind myself of my new mantra given to me by someone I met this week - the mantra is 'I dont know'
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Charlie's 911 u-turn part 2 (part 1 is on youtube!)
Reading some of the comments on my last video about Charlie’s u-turn has led me to think that perhaps I should stick to what I do best – performing with my megaphone and signs and interviewing/interacting with random people.
But I just felt I wanted one more stab at this subject.
I have been accused of various things here, Self indulgence, having a big ego and missing the point of peoples’ questions.
I am indeed self-indulgent. I am not sure if that is a crime but if it is, I plead guilty. I also do have an ego. Actually, I am not really sure if there is such a thing. Its just a word trying to describe a concept. But if it does exist I sure have one. And there seem to be various schools of thought as to how to relate to this concept in others and myself. Some say get rid of it completely. Others say embrace it.
With regards to the final point about my missing the point, I think that comment is also accurate. People were asking my thoughts about Charlie, not because they worship my every word but simply because they think that because I was in partnership so to speak with Charlie, perhaps I have some information which would explain his change of mind which they find difficult to understand.
I think I did miss the point. This is because I am very sensitive to the whole guru worship thing. It is really the last thing that I want because it seems to me that it is not healthy for anyone involved.
I must say that since I have been doing this, the overwhelming majority of people that recognise me and come up to me on the streets do not do so with some sense of being star struck but instead they just seem happy to meet me and often express that the films touched them or inspired them to do something etc. I do feel very uncomfortable when people ask to have a photo with me and I often attempt to discourage them. So this fear affects the way I perceive things which should explain the previous video to some extent.
I actually don’t know Charlie that well. I am not even sure I know anyone well enough to explain how their mind works. Most importantly, I don't even know how my own mind works so I simply do not understand his change of mind. The films we made together did not mention 911 to my knowledge so perhaps its really none of business.
Even though I don’t know him, I do have experience of being in the limelight and it has some very big downsides for me. If I could do what I do in disguise like the anti terrorist, I would. It really messes with the mind. I have all these people adoring me or adoring the IMAGE they have of me in their mind, others hate me (eg the police bike video in which people wished I would die in an accident) and people accusing me of all sorts of other things – being patronising, condescending etc. Its enough to drive anyone crazy in a mad world to start with. I can only imagine what Charlie is going through right now and it can't be pleasant. People sit behind their keyboards in the safety of their homes and fire off vindictive comments, most if not all of which are projections and don't seem to be aware that there is a human being on the receiving end just trying to make head or tail of things.
When I notice myself attacking someone, if I have enough awareness to catch myself in the act, I notice almost always that I am 'being' what I despise. Not the most healthy way of being.
But I just felt I wanted one more stab at this subject.
I have been accused of various things here, Self indulgence, having a big ego and missing the point of peoples’ questions.
I am indeed self-indulgent. I am not sure if that is a crime but if it is, I plead guilty. I also do have an ego. Actually, I am not really sure if there is such a thing. Its just a word trying to describe a concept. But if it does exist I sure have one. And there seem to be various schools of thought as to how to relate to this concept in others and myself. Some say get rid of it completely. Others say embrace it.
With regards to the final point about my missing the point, I think that comment is also accurate. People were asking my thoughts about Charlie, not because they worship my every word but simply because they think that because I was in partnership so to speak with Charlie, perhaps I have some information which would explain his change of mind which they find difficult to understand.
I think I did miss the point. This is because I am very sensitive to the whole guru worship thing. It is really the last thing that I want because it seems to me that it is not healthy for anyone involved.
I must say that since I have been doing this, the overwhelming majority of people that recognise me and come up to me on the streets do not do so with some sense of being star struck but instead they just seem happy to meet me and often express that the films touched them or inspired them to do something etc. I do feel very uncomfortable when people ask to have a photo with me and I often attempt to discourage them. So this fear affects the way I perceive things which should explain the previous video to some extent.
I actually don’t know Charlie that well. I am not even sure I know anyone well enough to explain how their mind works. Most importantly, I don't even know how my own mind works so I simply do not understand his change of mind. The films we made together did not mention 911 to my knowledge so perhaps its really none of business.
Even though I don’t know him, I do have experience of being in the limelight and it has some very big downsides for me. If I could do what I do in disguise like the anti terrorist, I would. It really messes with the mind. I have all these people adoring me or adoring the IMAGE they have of me in their mind, others hate me (eg the police bike video in which people wished I would die in an accident) and people accusing me of all sorts of other things – being patronising, condescending etc. Its enough to drive anyone crazy in a mad world to start with. I can only imagine what Charlie is going through right now and it can't be pleasant. People sit behind their keyboards in the safety of their homes and fire off vindictive comments, most if not all of which are projections and don't seem to be aware that there is a human being on the receiving end just trying to make head or tail of things.
When I notice myself attacking someone, if I have enough awareness to catch myself in the act, I notice almost always that I am 'being' what I despise. Not the most healthy way of being.
Monday, April 04, 2011
The Bike Incident
Now where on earth do I begin ? Do I even begin ?
Firstly, my intuition tells me that defending myself is not the best idea for reasons obvious to some.
This short film has obviously stirred up a hornets nest and there are so many angles from which to look. There's the psychological angle - mine,the PCs and the commentators, the legal angle, spiritual angle (related to 'freedom') and philosophical angle and probably many others
Before I begin, I actually want to apologise to PC Stout. At first, I gave the film to a film editor I know to blank out his face and number but I then allowed myself to be persuaded to put it up with him on it. I do regret that now. Although in a way, I think I embarrass myself as much as he embarrasses himself.
The psychological
I had a great co-counselling session with a friend on Friday and his observation was along the transactional analysis model. He said it was a classic case of PC Stout being the critical parent and myself the rebellious child. This mean that neither of us were free but stuck in our roles. I apologise therefore for being difficult. I dont apologise for answering questions, even difficult ones, but my tone was not loving and compassionate and for that I apologise. I do agree with the comments who say he was just doing his job. The problem is, what exactly is his job and how has he been trained to do it ?
The Law
One of the primary motives for putting up the film was to help us all question our understanding of the law, what it is, how it operates and how it is being 'policed' This is how one commentator put it...
The police and their civillian colleagues believe in a primary school style law.
They are the teachers and you are the pupil.
But once you are a big boy, with your big boy pants on, you're an adult.
Teachers can't tell adults what to do, only ask.
This school style law is optional, but works well on the consenting.
This world is full of every type, some love to be dominated and punished.
They have every right to love it and every right to defend it.
Dan has his big boy pants on, thats all.
The opening gambit of PC Stout which is of course common, was 'Do you know why I have stopped you ?' For me, the problem with that question is that (a) it is designed to trap me into self incrimination. It is also very condescending - surely one would never speak like that to a friend or an equal. It sets up this conversation whereby I am the naughty boy and he is the grown up telling me off.
I then tell him my lawyer advises me to be silent. If I were more skilled, I could have simply shut up at that point. I think that would have been powerful.
He then keeps on asking self incriminating questions like 'Why shouldn't I give you a ticket ?' etc
I ask if I am obliged to answer that. I then make a crucial point which I only learned very recently. I do not have to take the paperwork. I never have to accept anything from them. He doesn't know this which is why he answers 'of course you do' to my question.
I then quiz him about getting my details. He doesn't seem to really know the law about this and I quiz him more. I did not decline to give my details. i just kept on asking questions. Remember , the whole clip is only 4.5 mins long !! He often avoids answering my questions and again quite typically keeps on repeating his. He then changes the whole thing to a 'request' which is quite clever because anyone can request anything they like from anyone else. I could have requested he takes his clothes off if I wanted to ! I am aware of that trick so I ask if its a request or an order.
Eventually he gets so angry he lunges for the camera and I intuitively leave the scene in fear of my cameras health and my own. Had he not done that, I would have supplied my details and left him to put this through the system. To the best of my knowledge, he would have found it hard to nail me because it was his word against mine which is not enough to prove anything. Or maybe he would have and I would have had to pay a fine.
This leads me to the precautionary principle. And to the psychology of some of the vicious comments.
Firstly, here is a comment from someone...
The PP (which fits into the Hegelian Dialectic) has been so drummed into everyone's brains we don't even notice.
watch?v=ZnjACrJmMeA
The PP says that Danny should be locked up anyway for *nearly* causing mass murder with his cycling terror and subsequent OJ style evasion of justice. Yet no mention of the ACTUAL mass murder and justice evasion happening right now all over the real world!!
Real atrocities are downplayed while threats of terror are overblown.
I would like to ask any of the commentators who said things like 'I hope he gets killed on the road !' or other crazy and nasty things....
have you ever....
(a) driven whilst on a mobile ?
(b) TEXTED whilst driving ?
(c) been through a red light driving ON PURPOSE
Surely, these things are far more dangerous than going through a red light on a bike (in my case allegedly) - I wonder why you are so angry ? could it be projected anger when you know yhou do things far worse ?
And do any of you eat meat ? If so, i could argue that you are party to the killing of billions of animals, often living in terrible conditions and you the audacity to judge me for going ALLEGEDLY running a red light when nobody is claiming I have harmed a living soul ?
And if you people out there are such fans of the law and its being upheld, how about this (this applies especially to police officers)
take a look at this government webpage
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/section/1
Print it out and read it on the toilet (then wipe your backside with it) but before you do, read it carefully especially the definition of terrorism. You will see that the British army's actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya seem clearly to fall under the Uk Governments own definition of terrorism. In this case, if any of you pay tax or know anybody else who does, and you havent reported them to the police, you are committing an offense (see part III terrorism propert - duty of disclosure)
Now compare the actual killing and maiming of thousands perhaps millions of people with the POTENTIAL hurting of another with a bike running a red light ! See what you are missing folks ! Its all so very clever.
The Spiritual
This to me is a big one - all words are just pointers. To me this points to many things and nothing including freedom. We seem to be losing our freedoms and being set upon by a police FORCE. Why is it called a force ? As I begun to rock the boat a bit, I noticed that many police officers were no longer acting as peace officers but instead seemed to be acting against me. As mentioned bove, it is very common for Police officers to talk down to us like naughty school children. This is part of a whole culture of bullying. (see http://www.youtube.com/user/stefbot#p/search/4/_KxUkRdjD3k)
TBC...
Firstly, my intuition tells me that defending myself is not the best idea for reasons obvious to some.
This short film has obviously stirred up a hornets nest and there are so many angles from which to look. There's the psychological angle - mine,the PCs and the commentators, the legal angle, spiritual angle (related to 'freedom') and philosophical angle and probably many others
Before I begin, I actually want to apologise to PC Stout. At first, I gave the film to a film editor I know to blank out his face and number but I then allowed myself to be persuaded to put it up with him on it. I do regret that now. Although in a way, I think I embarrass myself as much as he embarrasses himself.
The psychological
I had a great co-counselling session with a friend on Friday and his observation was along the transactional analysis model. He said it was a classic case of PC Stout being the critical parent and myself the rebellious child. This mean that neither of us were free but stuck in our roles. I apologise therefore for being difficult. I dont apologise for answering questions, even difficult ones, but my tone was not loving and compassionate and for that I apologise. I do agree with the comments who say he was just doing his job. The problem is, what exactly is his job and how has he been trained to do it ?
The Law
One of the primary motives for putting up the film was to help us all question our understanding of the law, what it is, how it operates and how it is being 'policed' This is how one commentator put it...
The police and their civillian colleagues believe in a primary school style law.
They are the teachers and you are the pupil.
But once you are a big boy, with your big boy pants on, you're an adult.
Teachers can't tell adults what to do, only ask.
This school style law is optional, but works well on the consenting.
This world is full of every type, some love to be dominated and punished.
They have every right to love it and every right to defend it.
Dan has his big boy pants on, thats all.
The opening gambit of PC Stout which is of course common, was 'Do you know why I have stopped you ?' For me, the problem with that question is that (a) it is designed to trap me into self incrimination. It is also very condescending - surely one would never speak like that to a friend or an equal. It sets up this conversation whereby I am the naughty boy and he is the grown up telling me off.
I then tell him my lawyer advises me to be silent. If I were more skilled, I could have simply shut up at that point. I think that would have been powerful.
He then keeps on asking self incriminating questions like 'Why shouldn't I give you a ticket ?' etc
I ask if I am obliged to answer that. I then make a crucial point which I only learned very recently. I do not have to take the paperwork. I never have to accept anything from them. He doesn't know this which is why he answers 'of course you do' to my question.
I then quiz him about getting my details. He doesn't seem to really know the law about this and I quiz him more. I did not decline to give my details. i just kept on asking questions. Remember , the whole clip is only 4.5 mins long !! He often avoids answering my questions and again quite typically keeps on repeating his. He then changes the whole thing to a 'request' which is quite clever because anyone can request anything they like from anyone else. I could have requested he takes his clothes off if I wanted to ! I am aware of that trick so I ask if its a request or an order.
Eventually he gets so angry he lunges for the camera and I intuitively leave the scene in fear of my cameras health and my own. Had he not done that, I would have supplied my details and left him to put this through the system. To the best of my knowledge, he would have found it hard to nail me because it was his word against mine which is not enough to prove anything. Or maybe he would have and I would have had to pay a fine.
This leads me to the precautionary principle. And to the psychology of some of the vicious comments.
Firstly, here is a comment from someone...
The PP (which fits into the Hegelian Dialectic) has been so drummed into everyone's brains we don't even notice.
watch?v=ZnjACrJmMeA
The PP says that Danny should be locked up anyway for *nearly* causing mass murder with his cycling terror and subsequent OJ style evasion of justice. Yet no mention of the ACTUAL mass murder and justice evasion happening right now all over the real world!!
Real atrocities are downplayed while threats of terror are overblown.
I would like to ask any of the commentators who said things like 'I hope he gets killed on the road !' or other crazy and nasty things....
have you ever....
(a) driven whilst on a mobile ?
(b) TEXTED whilst driving ?
(c) been through a red light driving ON PURPOSE
Surely, these things are far more dangerous than going through a red light on a bike (in my case allegedly) - I wonder why you are so angry ? could it be projected anger when you know yhou do things far worse ?
And do any of you eat meat ? If so, i could argue that you are party to the killing of billions of animals, often living in terrible conditions and you the audacity to judge me for going ALLEGEDLY running a red light when nobody is claiming I have harmed a living soul ?
And if you people out there are such fans of the law and its being upheld, how about this (this applies especially to police officers)
take a look at this government webpage
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/section/1
Print it out and read it on the toilet (then wipe your backside with it) but before you do, read it carefully especially the definition of terrorism. You will see that the British army's actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya seem clearly to fall under the Uk Governments own definition of terrorism. In this case, if any of you pay tax or know anybody else who does, and you havent reported them to the police, you are committing an offense (see part III terrorism propert - duty of disclosure)
Now compare the actual killing and maiming of thousands perhaps millions of people with the POTENTIAL hurting of another with a bike running a red light ! See what you are missing folks ! Its all so very clever.
The Spiritual
This to me is a big one - all words are just pointers. To me this points to many things and nothing including freedom. We seem to be losing our freedoms and being set upon by a police FORCE. Why is it called a force ? As I begun to rock the boat a bit, I noticed that many police officers were no longer acting as peace officers but instead seemed to be acting against me. As mentioned bove, it is very common for Police officers to talk down to us like naughty school children. This is part of a whole culture of bullying. (see http://www.youtube.com/user/stefbot#p/search/4/_KxUkRdjD3k)
TBC...
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Police Bike Video - responses
Because youtube only allow a few words in the comments section, I thought I would create a page here with some of the messages i have received, many of them supportive and deep, sensitive and highly intelligent.
I start off with a couple of the typical angry ones comments...
Danny you are clearly the sort of prick who gets off on acting like a small child who knows he's done wrong. Your behavior here is appalling and you come across as an irritating tool. The cop is sadly unable to keep his cool but your rantings would have been enough to have to push anyone over the edge. I can imagine one day you will get smart with the wrong person and end up battered in a ditch. Good luck.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone that thinks this cyclist is a douchebag is a copper? No, many of us watch cyclists act like idiots all the time, and just hate pushy ones that think they can break the law (run a red light) and not have to deal with the consequences of breaking that law. Simply put, this cyclist proved to EVERYONE how much of a douchebag he is as both a rider and a human being.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny, I suspect the harsh judgements against you have a lot to do with a completely DIFFERENT kind of law you are breaking. That of male/ patriarchal socialized behaviour.
You are actually challenging the very patriarchal basis of society - of civilization - as perfectly represented by the policeman!
You are doing this by opening *yourself* to more 'feminine' traits such as communication, negotiation, compromise, reconciliation, common sense, compassion/ empathy, fluidity, passion...
I think a lot of the attacks are from men who feel threatened by the idea of embracing such 'feminine' (actually just balanced) values, so they defend/ justify patriarchy by regurgitating their indoctrination.
One comment connects Danny's attitude/ philosophy with 'murder' and 'the release of rapists' (Freud would love this!). On this bloke's channel are videos of himself driving recklessly through the countryside in a penis - I mean in a sports car!
It seems those who are still stuck in this patriarchal mindset are getting v. defensive about this HUGE shift towards a more expansive consciousness where female energy is more elevated again (ie balanced) and male energy is less dominant (again, balanced).
Their reaction can be seen in these comments and in the police state/ NWO etc all of which labels anyone who is widening their world view as criminals, anti social, terrorists etc
people need to let go :)
watch?v=e4vPyClAHqs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny
As I mentioned in the comment section, I have been in a terrible traffic-accident with my child, and I am disabled because of it.
My leg may cure for 90-95 % but that will take years.
My child (8 at that time) had 'only' a bump on his head, but he was very moved by everything.
This has given me a different perspective on many things in our current society.
The woman that hit us, had to stop.
She made a terrible mistake and hit the gaspedal instead of the break, and she hit us so hard we landed 25 m further.
I have done a lot of soulsearching on everything.
The one thing that is crystal clear to me, is what I mentioned in my reactions:
Our society is like a pressure-cooker.
This woman made a mistake, she did not commit a crime, but was treated as a criminal.
Your video has given me a lot of stuff to feel and think about.
It helps me to let go.
And yes, I was a bit confused you would be able to run a red light, and then not look at your own choice to do so.
You left out that part.
Now you have mentioned not remembering the red light in your second video, it all becomes more clear and human.
I can relate to that:
I have crossed streets and discovered a few times:
oh sh*t, that was a red light.
In my opinion, that is the stress-vibe of traffic and our sick system that forces people to suppress so much, it makes peoples awareness woolly.
I think that you touch a very sensitive topic with your video.
I am not superwoman, so I am not able to have a perfectly clear vision in traffic all the time:
I am woolly sometimes.
I am stressed sometimes.
And I do my best to not let that get to a level where it gets dangerous, I rather walk when I am aware that I feel woolly.
But I am not 100% certain I will never cause an accident myself.
Most people would prefer that nobody can bring them in danger in traffic.
That is what you have touched:
That deep fear.
In the bashing I saw you and PC Stout getting punished for that terrible fear:
I have to participate in traffic, but I cannot rely on the choices others make.
And others don't trust me.
Many laws make criminals of people who make mistakes.
Nobody wants to be a criminal.
Nobody wants to make a mistake.
Forgiving and understanding is very rare in the public opinion, it does not get in the news when something like that happens.
Most people don't think it is possible.
They just want to defend their lives, and punish the ones that threaten that.
So you have touched a red button I think.
Danny,
I hope you un-confuse very smoothly, and that you make a beautiful experience out of it.
Love!
I start off with a couple of the typical angry ones comments...
Danny you are clearly the sort of prick who gets off on acting like a small child who knows he's done wrong. Your behavior here is appalling and you come across as an irritating tool. The cop is sadly unable to keep his cool but your rantings would have been enough to have to push anyone over the edge. I can imagine one day you will get smart with the wrong person and end up battered in a ditch. Good luck.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone that thinks this cyclist is a douchebag is a copper? No, many of us watch cyclists act like idiots all the time, and just hate pushy ones that think they can break the law (run a red light) and not have to deal with the consequences of breaking that law. Simply put, this cyclist proved to EVERYONE how much of a douchebag he is as both a rider and a human being.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny, I suspect the harsh judgements against you have a lot to do with a completely DIFFERENT kind of law you are breaking. That of male/ patriarchal socialized behaviour.
You are actually challenging the very patriarchal basis of society - of civilization - as perfectly represented by the policeman!
You are doing this by opening *yourself* to more 'feminine' traits such as communication, negotiation, compromise, reconciliation, common sense, compassion/ empathy, fluidity, passion...
I think a lot of the attacks are from men who feel threatened by the idea of embracing such 'feminine' (actually just balanced) values, so they defend/ justify patriarchy by regurgitating their indoctrination.
One comment connects Danny's attitude/ philosophy with 'murder' and 'the release of rapists' (Freud would love this!). On this bloke's channel are videos of himself driving recklessly through the countryside in a penis - I mean in a sports car!
It seems those who are still stuck in this patriarchal mindset are getting v. defensive about this HUGE shift towards a more expansive consciousness where female energy is more elevated again (ie balanced) and male energy is less dominant (again, balanced).
Their reaction can be seen in these comments and in the police state/ NWO etc all of which labels anyone who is widening their world view as criminals, anti social, terrorists etc
people need to let go :)
watch?v=e4vPyClAHqs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny
As I mentioned in the comment section, I have been in a terrible traffic-accident with my child, and I am disabled because of it.
My leg may cure for 90-95 % but that will take years.
My child (8 at that time) had 'only' a bump on his head, but he was very moved by everything.
This has given me a different perspective on many things in our current society.
The woman that hit us, had to stop.
She made a terrible mistake and hit the gaspedal instead of the break, and she hit us so hard we landed 25 m further.
I have done a lot of soulsearching on everything.
The one thing that is crystal clear to me, is what I mentioned in my reactions:
Our society is like a pressure-cooker.
This woman made a mistake, she did not commit a crime, but was treated as a criminal.
Your video has given me a lot of stuff to feel and think about.
It helps me to let go.
And yes, I was a bit confused you would be able to run a red light, and then not look at your own choice to do so.
You left out that part.
Now you have mentioned not remembering the red light in your second video, it all becomes more clear and human.
I can relate to that:
I have crossed streets and discovered a few times:
oh sh*t, that was a red light.
In my opinion, that is the stress-vibe of traffic and our sick system that forces people to suppress so much, it makes peoples awareness woolly.
I think that you touch a very sensitive topic with your video.
I am not superwoman, so I am not able to have a perfectly clear vision in traffic all the time:
I am woolly sometimes.
I am stressed sometimes.
And I do my best to not let that get to a level where it gets dangerous, I rather walk when I am aware that I feel woolly.
But I am not 100% certain I will never cause an accident myself.
Most people would prefer that nobody can bring them in danger in traffic.
That is what you have touched:
That deep fear.
In the bashing I saw you and PC Stout getting punished for that terrible fear:
I have to participate in traffic, but I cannot rely on the choices others make.
And others don't trust me.
Many laws make criminals of people who make mistakes.
Nobody wants to be a criminal.
Nobody wants to make a mistake.
Forgiving and understanding is very rare in the public opinion, it does not get in the news when something like that happens.
Most people don't think it is possible.
They just want to defend their lives, and punish the ones that threaten that.
So you have touched a red button I think.
Danny,
I hope you un-confuse very smoothly, and that you make a beautiful experience out of it.
Love!
Letters I receive
I thought it woud be useful to compile some of the messages I get of support for what I do. I may include the odd abusive one as well for the sake of balance. NOt decided on that one yet. I received this one on FB today. It is amongst hundreds I have received over the years of similar tone and content...
Dear Danny
I trundled upon you through your police camera action video. Firstly great video and its a shame that you feel threatened in such a way that you cant show the video any more.
Through that video for one reason or another i looked at your other videos. Especially the everything is ok stuff. I love them and the way that you get folk thinking.
I feel like i have snapped out of a long deep sleep. Something deep inside me has changed. My Ideas on Authority, life, why are we here, understanding.... have all changed in just a few days since i saw that police camera action video. Its not just that video but the Everything is ok thing that's got me asking questions...
Through your videos I've been introduced to Charlies stuff and find his videos inspiring. Also I've found the wearechange.org videos inspiring.
I cant sleep at night because i have lots of questions and cant find answers... your fault i must add :-)
Anyway I feel I owed it to you to tell you how much you have woken me and that i owe you a big man hug.
Best Regards,
Darren
Hi Danny,
I understand that you are busy, and please don't feel obligated to answer my message. I am not trying to stroke your ego, nor do I expect you to take this to heart, or guide me in any way, but I feel that I have to tell you something.
My name is Allister Douglas. I am a 20 year old, non-religious Canadian, and I am on a self-propelled journey to enlightenment, and happiness. I have a dark mind, I experience little emotion, and I have lived life fairly unhappily. Lately I've felt the need to change it.
I have learned a lot in the past year or so about a lot of things including myself, human life, ego, where we all stand in the big picture, and much more. I know I am young, but I have learned more in that year than ever before.
I have noticed that you pour a lot of emotion into your day, and it strikes me that you truly care about the people around you. I find this amazing because most men that I know are hard as stone and don't let emotion get to them ( including myself. ) I would like to say that I admire your sensitivity, as it is not the average sensitivity. Your sensitivity equals pure strength in my evaluation.
Besides your strengths, I have learned a lot from you by watching some of your videos. I have learned things that cannot be taught, nor can they be explained. I have not only learned by your words, but also your actions. Your personality has slightly shifted my way of seeing, and in my opinion it was in a positive direction.
I feel drawn to you probably because we share a lot of the same opinions that you express in your videos. There are many things I would like to ask you, but you don't strike me as the type of person that would push your opinion, or share your deep inner thoughts with a stranger, so I will continue on my journey as I am, and not limit myself to your image.
If I saw you in the street I would walk up to you and shake your hand politely and transfer all of my appreciation from my eyes to yours without words, and walk away, but since I will never meet you, I want to thank you now.
Thank you for being you, and teaching me unknowingly. Thank you for your intelligence, and inner beauty. Thank you for allowing me to detect beauty, thank you for your strength and bravery, thank you for pouring your heart out to happiness journeymen like myself, and thanks for reading my selfish expression.
Have a wonderful life Mr. 'Shine'. You are an inspiration.
Sincerely,
Allister
Dear Danny
I trundled upon you through your police camera action video. Firstly great video and its a shame that you feel threatened in such a way that you cant show the video any more.
Through that video for one reason or another i looked at your other videos. Especially the everything is ok stuff. I love them and the way that you get folk thinking.
I feel like i have snapped out of a long deep sleep. Something deep inside me has changed. My Ideas on Authority, life, why are we here, understanding.... have all changed in just a few days since i saw that police camera action video. Its not just that video but the Everything is ok thing that's got me asking questions...
Through your videos I've been introduced to Charlies stuff and find his videos inspiring. Also I've found the wearechange.org videos inspiring.
I cant sleep at night because i have lots of questions and cant find answers... your fault i must add :-)
Anyway I feel I owed it to you to tell you how much you have woken me and that i owe you a big man hug.
Best Regards,
Darren
Hi Danny,
I understand that you are busy, and please don't feel obligated to answer my message. I am not trying to stroke your ego, nor do I expect you to take this to heart, or guide me in any way, but I feel that I have to tell you something.
My name is Allister Douglas. I am a 20 year old, non-religious Canadian, and I am on a self-propelled journey to enlightenment, and happiness. I have a dark mind, I experience little emotion, and I have lived life fairly unhappily. Lately I've felt the need to change it.
I have learned a lot in the past year or so about a lot of things including myself, human life, ego, where we all stand in the big picture, and much more. I know I am young, but I have learned more in that year than ever before.
I have noticed that you pour a lot of emotion into your day, and it strikes me that you truly care about the people around you. I find this amazing because most men that I know are hard as stone and don't let emotion get to them ( including myself. ) I would like to say that I admire your sensitivity, as it is not the average sensitivity. Your sensitivity equals pure strength in my evaluation.
Besides your strengths, I have learned a lot from you by watching some of your videos. I have learned things that cannot be taught, nor can they be explained. I have not only learned by your words, but also your actions. Your personality has slightly shifted my way of seeing, and in my opinion it was in a positive direction.
I feel drawn to you probably because we share a lot of the same opinions that you express in your videos. There are many things I would like to ask you, but you don't strike me as the type of person that would push your opinion, or share your deep inner thoughts with a stranger, so I will continue on my journey as I am, and not limit myself to your image.
If I saw you in the street I would walk up to you and shake your hand politely and transfer all of my appreciation from my eyes to yours without words, and walk away, but since I will never meet you, I want to thank you now.
Thank you for being you, and teaching me unknowingly. Thank you for your intelligence, and inner beauty. Thank you for allowing me to detect beauty, thank you for your strength and bravery, thank you for pouring your heart out to happiness journeymen like myself, and thanks for reading my selfish expression.
Have a wonderful life Mr. 'Shine'. You are an inspiration.
Sincerely,
Allister
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Advice for action
Every so often I am asked for advice as to how to start doing similar actions to what I do on the streets of wherever.
I am not really into giving advice. Perhaps I prefer to call them tips or ideas.
Firstly I would choose something that you really enjoy doing. Now you may not know if you would enjoy something unless you try it at least once but you will probably know when you try it.
If using a megaphone doesn't attract you then there are many other things you can do. i spent 3 years just standing still on busy streets or places with my 'everything is ok' sign. You are more than welcome to copy this or anything or get your own sign idea. You could use it as an opportunity to meditate. I often took a step ladder with me . It sticks out more.
You can up the ante by going inside places like restaurants or art galleries with the sign and see what happens.
If you dont even fancy that, why not create some interesting leaflets to give out. If you want to help people think for themselves then fill the leaflet with questions rather than statements. Perhaps here in the comments people could suggest ideas for the type of questions that might be interesting for people to contemplate.
You could of course also just try with megaphone.
Wherever you go and whatever you do its always good to take a camera with and also print out of the law regarding filming.
If you choose to go straight for the megaphone, its best to do it together with at least one other so he/she can do the filming and also so that if the police come, you can support each other.
So regarding the police, I have a far less antagonistic approach than I used t. in fact if there is a copper in the vicinity, i often will go up to him/her and INFORM (not ask) them what I am just about to do. they really like it when you do that. Otherwise do some research regarding giving details etc and watch the anti terrorist about asking questions. Be the master by always asking questions, however its very tough at the beginign as they are quite sly without even knowing it.
Hope that helps
Have fun
Danny
I am not really into giving advice. Perhaps I prefer to call them tips or ideas.
Firstly I would choose something that you really enjoy doing. Now you may not know if you would enjoy something unless you try it at least once but you will probably know when you try it.
If using a megaphone doesn't attract you then there are many other things you can do. i spent 3 years just standing still on busy streets or places with my 'everything is ok' sign. You are more than welcome to copy this or anything or get your own sign idea. You could use it as an opportunity to meditate. I often took a step ladder with me . It sticks out more.
You can up the ante by going inside places like restaurants or art galleries with the sign and see what happens.
If you dont even fancy that, why not create some interesting leaflets to give out. If you want to help people think for themselves then fill the leaflet with questions rather than statements. Perhaps here in the comments people could suggest ideas for the type of questions that might be interesting for people to contemplate.
You could of course also just try with megaphone.
Wherever you go and whatever you do its always good to take a camera with and also print out of the law regarding filming.
If you choose to go straight for the megaphone, its best to do it together with at least one other so he/she can do the filming and also so that if the police come, you can support each other.
So regarding the police, I have a far less antagonistic approach than I used t. in fact if there is a copper in the vicinity, i often will go up to him/her and INFORM (not ask) them what I am just about to do. they really like it when you do that. Otherwise do some research regarding giving details etc and watch the anti terrorist about asking questions. Be the master by always asking questions, however its very tough at the beginign as they are quite sly without even knowing it.
Hope that helps
Have fun
Danny
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Letter from a brave man in court
Hello Readers (said in a pretentious manner)
I just received a fascinating message form a youtube viewer and I wanted to put it out there.
Many of you will have heard about the 'freeman' or sovereignty movement around the world. I kn ew about it before my court case but didn't feel I knew enough and understood enough to be able to withstand the onslaught of the (il)legal system. who aint just going to let a few clever guys ruin their game without a fight.
I think that anyone who is brave enough to take the system on I am sure those who have would agree that you must first and foremost completely know and understand your stuff. The way to test it in my experience si to go to courts as often as you can and test it out on lawyers and barristers and even clercs by just catching them here and there, tell them that you are going to court for something or that a friend is and that you are going to say this and that. You will then experience a taste of what it will be like in court. Finally, if you want to try it our perhaps its best to do it on something like council tax for which the punishment is simply paying the bill ! Its a good way of practicing
Anyway, here is the letter he sent which you can also use. I would be fascinated to hear form any barristers or lawyers who read this. I suspect I know what they will say.
From Rick...
In Georgina Ontario Canada, I was charged with driving without a Valid drivers license, in-valid plates, un-registared vehicle, and "Obstruction of Police" (a criminal charge with a max. 2 year sentence attached to it) I was arrested violently for protesting the removal of my personal property by pointing a camera at these arresting officers and forced to stay in a cold jail cell over-night and into the next day. My prescription sunglasses were stepped on and destroyed as were some other personal affects and my camera damaged. No restitution has been offered by the York Regional Police to date and am not expecting it anytime soon. I had been awaiting the opportunity to challenge this fraudulent de-facto court system and criminal Police organization for 3 years and decided to do just that by defending myself and did. Here is the outcome.
On Oct 19th, while in the court room, and after not rising for "her worship" and submitting to their (the courts) jurisdiction that way, the court clerk yelled at me and called for the police. I calmly walked out of the court and sat just outside on a bench, watching as the police came swarming. 10 officers all together I believe is what there were in total. Once they finally exhausted all of their top notch investigative skills and found that I was the guy who didn't "Rise" for "her worship", ( it was comical watching them looking up and down the halls for me) they attempted to intimidate me with threats of arrest to which I replied with " if you touch me, you will be charged with assault under the common law, I have not consented to your jurisdiction" They didn't touch me but continued their techniques of intimidation which continued to fail. When the older Police officer, senior member I guess, came to me and informed me that I would be going back into the court room and would rise when my name was called, I replied with " are you trying to force me to commit perjury?" He replied with "absolutely not" Changing his method of technique, he stated that I would "behave myself" as well as a bunch of other commands, ending his tirade with "do you understand" to which I replied with "No I do not understand" he then proceeded to go through it all again asking at the end again if I " understood?" I again replied with " No, I do not stand under your jurisdiction" - game over.
They called the NAME of the trust again while I was being detained and threatened by the policy enforcers. When the NAME didn't appear in the court room, the judge issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the NAME. When the policy enforcers asked me my name, I replied with " I go by Dad, son, bro, and Rick among others" and handed the birth certificate to them stating that " this is what you are looking for" and that they had "No claim of jurisdiction over me the human being"
After all of that, I went back into the court to remain in honor and settle the issue with the TRUST/ the NAME. They had me surrounded by 7 policy enforcers in yet another attempt to intimidate me into submission to their jurisdiction. I should also add that they had by now cleared the courtroom and had my guests, and members of the public, leave the court room. I was left alone to deal with this without the benefit of witnesses. It failed and they remanded the case to another courtroom with another judge. Meanwhile, keeping in mind the whole time, the crown council, a very confident and cocky women for the previous cases, was quite visibly nervous in dealing with me and was fumbling over her words, even referring to the birth cert that I offered into the court, as a "drivers license" from the province of New Brunswick. I corrected her promptly and she stood corrected in front of the court. This woman would not face me directly in either courtroom on either day.
My case was then remanded to another court and another day as the older lady judge didn't know how or want to deal with me. My case was set for Nov 10th 2010. When the NAME was called, I came into the court room and stood just behind the bar. When told to approach, I stated " I am fine here, I choose not to cross the bar" They said they needed me to because they "could not hear me" I replied with " That's ok, I can speak up, I have a loud voice" That was that. I was then asked if I the NAME (first and last names) and I replied with, " I am the Agent for the capitalized name and I claim common law jurisdiction" like I had done during the previous court appearance on Oct 19th. They didn't want to hear that and asked me a couple more times if I was the NAME (first and last names) and I again repeated " I am the Agent for the capitalized name and I claim common law jurisdiction" The judge reacted as if he was annoyed and asked me to sit down and he would deal with me later. I didn't sit down and gathered my stuff up and went back outside the court room and sat down on a bench awaiting the NAME to be called once again. I short while later, we see the older police constable that was giving me such a hard time, and by the way, he was taking down notes about me, including what I was wearing and staring at me while doing it before the appearance in court. He along with a few others made a bee-line for a small office outside the court. I watched them as I sat outside the court go into that room and after about 5 mins, they came out of that room, went back into court and very soon after that The NAME was called again.
When it was all said and done, the NAME was called ( I was seated once again outside on a bench) and they attempted one last time to trick me into accepting the TRUST as me, the flesh and blood human being and failed. The legal aid attorney came to me and asked if was going to be hiring a lawyer, I replied with " No..?" She then asked "will you be applying for legal aid?" ( Begging for legal aid ) and I again said " No..?" That was it, they gave up and the floor was then handed over to the "other" crown council, one who could deal with what had to be done, where he went on to explain to the court ( or rather, save face) that although the charges were legitimate, they felt that the case should have been held in a lower community court and that even though the criminal charge of " Obstruction of Police" was a valid charge, after their looking into of the case, they were "withdrawing the charges" Judge says to me, the flesh and blood human being "you are free to go" to which I replied " while looking at the people seated next to me " of course I am..thank you"
It is important to note that I did win and that weren't going to admit to the entire court room of seated pawns that I was right and they were playing a game that I had a full knowledge of and this is why they addressed the court the way they did, by stating "that they felt the charges were legit" etc..
It so important for people to hold their ground. I was so very nervous before going in and leading up to the day, but once I was in the court room and began standing my ground, a calm came over me, both times. I encourage everyone reading this to do your homework, it isn't hard to do. I am not an academic, I am a musician, but have a tenacity and a spirit that will never let me down and never has. I work hard at it and you can to. If people learn and spread this knowledge everywhere to all they come into contact with, you will be doing more for your future and the future of your children than any and every soldier did in any war, for this is what will bring about freedom and peace for all men on earth.
I wish I could help everybody out there in need and by writing up this transcript of what went down and how I handled it, I hope to do just that. Help.
Do your homework but keep my transcript close at hand. Refer to it. When you have your own success, please do the same. My heart goes out to those who have been accosted and treated awful by this heartless system. I understand your pain and your fear of it. Use your fear and find strength in my words to take on this battle. If you can't, then don't and don't worry about it. There will be other ways to contribute to this battle for human dignity.
Rick
I just received a fascinating message form a youtube viewer and I wanted to put it out there.
Many of you will have heard about the 'freeman' or sovereignty movement around the world. I kn ew about it before my court case but didn't feel I knew enough and understood enough to be able to withstand the onslaught of the (il)legal system. who aint just going to let a few clever guys ruin their game without a fight.
I think that anyone who is brave enough to take the system on I am sure those who have would agree that you must first and foremost completely know and understand your stuff. The way to test it in my experience si to go to courts as often as you can and test it out on lawyers and barristers and even clercs by just catching them here and there, tell them that you are going to court for something or that a friend is and that you are going to say this and that. You will then experience a taste of what it will be like in court. Finally, if you want to try it our perhaps its best to do it on something like council tax for which the punishment is simply paying the bill ! Its a good way of practicing
Anyway, here is the letter he sent which you can also use. I would be fascinated to hear form any barristers or lawyers who read this. I suspect I know what they will say.
From Rick...
In Georgina Ontario Canada, I was charged with driving without a Valid drivers license, in-valid plates, un-registared vehicle, and "Obstruction of Police" (a criminal charge with a max. 2 year sentence attached to it) I was arrested violently for protesting the removal of my personal property by pointing a camera at these arresting officers and forced to stay in a cold jail cell over-night and into the next day. My prescription sunglasses were stepped on and destroyed as were some other personal affects and my camera damaged. No restitution has been offered by the York Regional Police to date and am not expecting it anytime soon. I had been awaiting the opportunity to challenge this fraudulent de-facto court system and criminal Police organization for 3 years and decided to do just that by defending myself and did. Here is the outcome.
On Oct 19th, while in the court room, and after not rising for "her worship" and submitting to their (the courts) jurisdiction that way, the court clerk yelled at me and called for the police. I calmly walked out of the court and sat just outside on a bench, watching as the police came swarming. 10 officers all together I believe is what there were in total. Once they finally exhausted all of their top notch investigative skills and found that I was the guy who didn't "Rise" for "her worship", ( it was comical watching them looking up and down the halls for me) they attempted to intimidate me with threats of arrest to which I replied with " if you touch me, you will be charged with assault under the common law, I have not consented to your jurisdiction" They didn't touch me but continued their techniques of intimidation which continued to fail. When the older Police officer, senior member I guess, came to me and informed me that I would be going back into the court room and would rise when my name was called, I replied with " are you trying to force me to commit perjury?" He replied with "absolutely not" Changing his method of technique, he stated that I would "behave myself" as well as a bunch of other commands, ending his tirade with "do you understand" to which I replied with "No I do not understand" he then proceeded to go through it all again asking at the end again if I " understood?" I again replied with " No, I do not stand under your jurisdiction" - game over.
They called the NAME of the trust again while I was being detained and threatened by the policy enforcers. When the NAME didn't appear in the court room, the judge issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the NAME. When the policy enforcers asked me my name, I replied with " I go by Dad, son, bro, and Rick among others" and handed the birth certificate to them stating that " this is what you are looking for" and that they had "No claim of jurisdiction over me the human being"
After all of that, I went back into the court to remain in honor and settle the issue with the TRUST/ the NAME. They had me surrounded by 7 policy enforcers in yet another attempt to intimidate me into submission to their jurisdiction. I should also add that they had by now cleared the courtroom and had my guests, and members of the public, leave the court room. I was left alone to deal with this without the benefit of witnesses. It failed and they remanded the case to another courtroom with another judge. Meanwhile, keeping in mind the whole time, the crown council, a very confident and cocky women for the previous cases, was quite visibly nervous in dealing with me and was fumbling over her words, even referring to the birth cert that I offered into the court, as a "drivers license" from the province of New Brunswick. I corrected her promptly and she stood corrected in front of the court. This woman would not face me directly in either courtroom on either day.
My case was then remanded to another court and another day as the older lady judge didn't know how or want to deal with me. My case was set for Nov 10th 2010. When the NAME was called, I came into the court room and stood just behind the bar. When told to approach, I stated " I am fine here, I choose not to cross the bar" They said they needed me to because they "could not hear me" I replied with " That's ok, I can speak up, I have a loud voice" That was that. I was then asked if I the NAME (first and last names) and I replied with, " I am the Agent for the capitalized name and I claim common law jurisdiction" like I had done during the previous court appearance on Oct 19th. They didn't want to hear that and asked me a couple more times if I was the NAME (first and last names) and I again repeated " I am the Agent for the capitalized name and I claim common law jurisdiction" The judge reacted as if he was annoyed and asked me to sit down and he would deal with me later. I didn't sit down and gathered my stuff up and went back outside the court room and sat down on a bench awaiting the NAME to be called once again. I short while later, we see the older police constable that was giving me such a hard time, and by the way, he was taking down notes about me, including what I was wearing and staring at me while doing it before the appearance in court. He along with a few others made a bee-line for a small office outside the court. I watched them as I sat outside the court go into that room and after about 5 mins, they came out of that room, went back into court and very soon after that The NAME was called again.
When it was all said and done, the NAME was called ( I was seated once again outside on a bench) and they attempted one last time to trick me into accepting the TRUST as me, the flesh and blood human being and failed. The legal aid attorney came to me and asked if was going to be hiring a lawyer, I replied with " No..?" She then asked "will you be applying for legal aid?" ( Begging for legal aid ) and I again said " No..?" That was it, they gave up and the floor was then handed over to the "other" crown council, one who could deal with what had to be done, where he went on to explain to the court ( or rather, save face) that although the charges were legitimate, they felt that the case should have been held in a lower community court and that even though the criminal charge of " Obstruction of Police" was a valid charge, after their looking into of the case, they were "withdrawing the charges" Judge says to me, the flesh and blood human being "you are free to go" to which I replied " while looking at the people seated next to me " of course I am..thank you"
It is important to note that I did win and that weren't going to admit to the entire court room of seated pawns that I was right and they were playing a game that I had a full knowledge of and this is why they addressed the court the way they did, by stating "that they felt the charges were legit" etc..
It so important for people to hold their ground. I was so very nervous before going in and leading up to the day, but once I was in the court room and began standing my ground, a calm came over me, both times. I encourage everyone reading this to do your homework, it isn't hard to do. I am not an academic, I am a musician, but have a tenacity and a spirit that will never let me down and never has. I work hard at it and you can to. If people learn and spread this knowledge everywhere to all they come into contact with, you will be doing more for your future and the future of your children than any and every soldier did in any war, for this is what will bring about freedom and peace for all men on earth.
I wish I could help everybody out there in need and by writing up this transcript of what went down and how I handled it, I hope to do just that. Help.
Do your homework but keep my transcript close at hand. Refer to it. When you have your own success, please do the same. My heart goes out to those who have been accosted and treated awful by this heartless system. I understand your pain and your fear of it. Use your fear and find strength in my words to take on this battle. If you can't, then don't and don't worry about it. There will be other ways to contribute to this battle for human dignity.
Rick
Saturday, January 29, 2011
A letter to our leaders and to ourselves
I was going to send this letter to the Chief Rabbi of England but on second thoughts, I realise that such leaders are often chosen because they dont like to rock the boat. So I am publishing it here. Feel free to spread it if you want to...
In the past few years I have been involved in a rather unusual type of activity on the streets (mainly of London) which has led me to meet many 'activists' These activists care deeply about the direction humanity is being led and campaign as best they can about Ecology, environment, pollution, war, inequality between rich and poor. education, helping the homeless and poor etc etc.
Because I have been filming this and posting on youtube, and the films have become quite popular amongst a certain type of people (not that there are 'type' of people) I continue to meet people who call themselves 'activists' wherever I go.
Whilst in Israel last week I met one of the most interesting 'activists' I have ever met and what he told me was very very disturbing and sadly fits with what I have learned and experienced over the past 2 years.
There are people all over the world who are very concerned about all the above issues. The type of people are of course very mixed. I have in particular come across many people who themselves have very little in the way of material possessions. They have deep spiritual yearnings part of which is to free themselves from what they see as the bondage of modern society (forcing people to do work they often hate doing in order to make money to buy things that in the most part they dont really need - a society which is driven by a soulless machine which is bombarding us with subliminal and overt messages that deliberately cause us to be unsatisfied and to buy buy buy to fill the gap.) They are often people who try and live healthy lives, eating as healthily as they can, etc and have really good intentions to help improve this world. They often end up getting harassed by police, investigated by secret services, taken to court (and often cases dropped) infiltrated by private investigators or police etc.
The problem is that there are huge vested interests in keeping all the above things going. There are vested interest in keeping war going - Israel is apparently the third largest exporter of weapons and arms - I wonder how Israelis and their supporters feel about that ? There are vested interest in people eating unhealthy foods - Big food companies and then big pharmaceuticals companies who come in and 'pick up the pieces' when people get sick. There are vested interests in people using lots of fossil fuel - Oil companies etc; there are vested interests in terrorism continuing - security industry and Government megalomaniacs who seek to control us more and more. There are vested interests in widening the gap between rich and poor, vested interests in controlling education.
The clever and twisted aspect of all this is that these interests, who have resources of Billions to play with, are controlling the information too. They set up organisations which look on the outside like fabulous groups out to help us. But what happens is they actually end up being fronts out there to make sure that business interests are not interfered with. And through their 'foundations' (many of which end up being fronts for tax evasion) control which charities get what money.
This guy I met in Israel, has been threatened, taken to court , his girlfriends stepfather found hanging mysteriously in his apartment with unexplained blood and the police not wanting to investigate. And if you met this guy, you would see that he is in some sense a modern day saint - risking his life for the sake of the underprivileged.
Why am I writing to you ? Well I am aware that I need to take responsibility for what I can do in relation to everything, However, you are in a position of influence. Although you write books about these things, I rarely see you come out and expose the ROOT of the problem in the media. The root surely being that this system we are living in, a capitalist consumerist society, is leading us down a road of such intense destruction, that its difficult to see a way out. And yet almost nobody is crying out against the system and against the super rich elites because those people have everyone in their pockets. Nobody is revealing and exposing the deep corruption that is at the root of almost all of our problems ? Nobody is openly asking 'Who are the people benefitting from war, pollution, inequality ? Who benefits from the Israel Palestine conflict ? I must say its ingenious on the part of the vested interests. They are more than happy with two sides fighting it out against each other - right and left, religious and irreligious, capitalists and socialists etc - whilst they get on with their business of making more money and gaining more control ! My brother-in-law works for a multi billionaire in Israel. As far as I am concerned the man is sick. He has more money than he could spend in a lifetime yet he is addicted to getting more and more and more. He has a private jet, a large yacht companies all over the world yet he is stressed out all the time about his money and continuing to accrue more and more. This is nothing short of sick and yet nobody is talking about it because they dare not. And he is nothing compared to the few families that are trillionaires.
How long do you think we can go on living like this ?
Let me give you a classic example of this which is close to home. My wife runs a fabulous charity called GIFT. It works on a small budget and distributes bread and food to poor families in London. (it does other great work including encouraging young people to volunteer to help young families , visit old age homes etc) The bread is saved from being thrown away as is a lorry load of fresh vegetables which it receives every fortnight. At first sight it seems like a great work. But if you look a bit deeper you see that this work does not oppose vested interests in that it doesn't get out to the public the HUGE waste that vested interest PURPOSELY impose and create to protect themselves. Every year billions of pounds worth of food is thrown away. In the school in which my children attend they are NOT ALLOWED to keep any of the food left over from lunch so they throw it every day. Now although people know this to some extent, the system cleverly keeps the information from being flooded into their minds. Instead they are fed a daily does of terrorism and murder in the news because that is exactly what suits big business. If people were reminded every day of the sick waste that is going on and more importantly who is benefitting form this waste, they would demand an end to it. So you see how big business has its tentacles everywhere. And nobody is saying anything. Why are there not groups here and in Israel who's purpose is to expose on a daily basis the huge waste that Corporations are forcing upon us ? In other words, nobody is asking 'who is benefitting form the poor being poor and from the criminal waste ?'
I dont know if you have come across this man http://www.derrickjensen.org/ but I urge you to read some of his material - for example his book Endgame. And once you have read it, tell me what you think our young kids are going to experience by the time they reaches our age ?
Regards
Danny Shine
In the past few years I have been involved in a rather unusual type of activity on the streets (mainly of London) which has led me to meet many 'activists' These activists care deeply about the direction humanity is being led and campaign as best they can about Ecology, environment, pollution, war, inequality between rich and poor. education, helping the homeless and poor etc etc.
Because I have been filming this and posting on youtube, and the films have become quite popular amongst a certain type of people (not that there are 'type' of people) I continue to meet people who call themselves 'activists' wherever I go.
Whilst in Israel last week I met one of the most interesting 'activists' I have ever met and what he told me was very very disturbing and sadly fits with what I have learned and experienced over the past 2 years.
There are people all over the world who are very concerned about all the above issues. The type of people are of course very mixed. I have in particular come across many people who themselves have very little in the way of material possessions. They have deep spiritual yearnings part of which is to free themselves from what they see as the bondage of modern society (forcing people to do work they often hate doing in order to make money to buy things that in the most part they dont really need - a society which is driven by a soulless machine which is bombarding us with subliminal and overt messages that deliberately cause us to be unsatisfied and to buy buy buy to fill the gap.) They are often people who try and live healthy lives, eating as healthily as they can, etc and have really good intentions to help improve this world. They often end up getting harassed by police, investigated by secret services, taken to court (and often cases dropped) infiltrated by private investigators or police etc.
The problem is that there are huge vested interests in keeping all the above things going. There are vested interest in keeping war going - Israel is apparently the third largest exporter of weapons and arms - I wonder how Israelis and their supporters feel about that ? There are vested interest in people eating unhealthy foods - Big food companies and then big pharmaceuticals companies who come in and 'pick up the pieces' when people get sick. There are vested interests in people using lots of fossil fuel - Oil companies etc; there are vested interests in terrorism continuing - security industry and Government megalomaniacs who seek to control us more and more. There are vested interests in widening the gap between rich and poor, vested interests in controlling education.
The clever and twisted aspect of all this is that these interests, who have resources of Billions to play with, are controlling the information too. They set up organisations which look on the outside like fabulous groups out to help us. But what happens is they actually end up being fronts out there to make sure that business interests are not interfered with. And through their 'foundations' (many of which end up being fronts for tax evasion) control which charities get what money.
This guy I met in Israel, has been threatened, taken to court , his girlfriends stepfather found hanging mysteriously in his apartment with unexplained blood and the police not wanting to investigate. And if you met this guy, you would see that he is in some sense a modern day saint - risking his life for the sake of the underprivileged.
Why am I writing to you ? Well I am aware that I need to take responsibility for what I can do in relation to everything, However, you are in a position of influence. Although you write books about these things, I rarely see you come out and expose the ROOT of the problem in the media. The root surely being that this system we are living in, a capitalist consumerist society, is leading us down a road of such intense destruction, that its difficult to see a way out. And yet almost nobody is crying out against the system and against the super rich elites because those people have everyone in their pockets. Nobody is revealing and exposing the deep corruption that is at the root of almost all of our problems ? Nobody is openly asking 'Who are the people benefitting from war, pollution, inequality ? Who benefits from the Israel Palestine conflict ? I must say its ingenious on the part of the vested interests. They are more than happy with two sides fighting it out against each other - right and left, religious and irreligious, capitalists and socialists etc - whilst they get on with their business of making more money and gaining more control ! My brother-in-law works for a multi billionaire in Israel. As far as I am concerned the man is sick. He has more money than he could spend in a lifetime yet he is addicted to getting more and more and more. He has a private jet, a large yacht companies all over the world yet he is stressed out all the time about his money and continuing to accrue more and more. This is nothing short of sick and yet nobody is talking about it because they dare not. And he is nothing compared to the few families that are trillionaires.
How long do you think we can go on living like this ?
Let me give you a classic example of this which is close to home. My wife runs a fabulous charity called GIFT. It works on a small budget and distributes bread and food to poor families in London. (it does other great work including encouraging young people to volunteer to help young families , visit old age homes etc) The bread is saved from being thrown away as is a lorry load of fresh vegetables which it receives every fortnight. At first sight it seems like a great work. But if you look a bit deeper you see that this work does not oppose vested interests in that it doesn't get out to the public the HUGE waste that vested interest PURPOSELY impose and create to protect themselves. Every year billions of pounds worth of food is thrown away. In the school in which my children attend they are NOT ALLOWED to keep any of the food left over from lunch so they throw it every day. Now although people know this to some extent, the system cleverly keeps the information from being flooded into their minds. Instead they are fed a daily does of terrorism and murder in the news because that is exactly what suits big business. If people were reminded every day of the sick waste that is going on and more importantly who is benefitting form this waste, they would demand an end to it. So you see how big business has its tentacles everywhere. And nobody is saying anything. Why are there not groups here and in Israel who's purpose is to expose on a daily basis the huge waste that Corporations are forcing upon us ? In other words, nobody is asking 'who is benefitting form the poor being poor and from the criminal waste ?'
I dont know if you have come across this man http://www.derrickjensen.org/ but I urge you to read some of his material - for example his book Endgame. And once you have read it, tell me what you think our young kids are going to experience by the time they reaches our age ?
Regards
Danny Shine
Thursday, January 20, 2011
real democracy ?
Wanna do something interesting and useful ?
I met 2 separate people in Israel who were talking about a fascinating new political party they want to set up. The party would be called something like the direct internet party. The idea would be to set up a party with no agenda whatsoever. Anyone who votes for this party would then have a vote for each policy the party would put forward in the parliament (of their country) and this is how all decisions would be made. Its true democracy.
This idea is very interesting especially when you speak about it to poklitical animals. just see what they say.
Now in Israel, such a party could get seats because they have proportional representation but they have other hurdles to ensure that democracy is really demockery. Like the thousands of dollars it costs to set up a party. Or like the problem of infiltration of any good idea by the secret services.
I think it would be interesting to start to develop such parties all around the world, even if they dont get into power. It will send shivers down the spines of the elite I think but I maybe wrong (I usually am)
It could be that this is already happening like it is in israel but i couldn't find much action on google. I am suggesting that a few people set something like this up in each country rather than just speak about it.
Comments ?
I met 2 separate people in Israel who were talking about a fascinating new political party they want to set up. The party would be called something like the direct internet party. The idea would be to set up a party with no agenda whatsoever. Anyone who votes for this party would then have a vote for each policy the party would put forward in the parliament (of their country) and this is how all decisions would be made. Its true democracy.
This idea is very interesting especially when you speak about it to poklitical animals. just see what they say.
Now in Israel, such a party could get seats because they have proportional representation but they have other hurdles to ensure that democracy is really demockery. Like the thousands of dollars it costs to set up a party. Or like the problem of infiltration of any good idea by the secret services.
I think it would be interesting to start to develop such parties all around the world, even if they dont get into power. It will send shivers down the spines of the elite I think but I maybe wrong (I usually am)
It could be that this is already happening like it is in israel but i couldn't find much action on google. I am suggesting that a few people set something like this up in each country rather than just speak about it.
Comments ?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
everything is ok in Israel
I have been spenbding the last couple of days in Israel with my Everything is Ok sign (this one also has a translation into Hebrew) MOst of it hasnt been filmed because I didnt have anyone with me to film it so I thought I write about the memorabl;e moments.
After 5 minutes near a shopping mall, in typical Israeli style, a midfdle aged guy comes up to me with a marker pen, telling me how to enhance my sign and actually added an exclamation mark after the everything si ok ! He wanted to add an acronym 'BSD' which means with the help of God but i just drew the line htere and told him to get his own sign. I like holding the sign 'upside down' here because so many people tell me to turn it around. Oh the one hand they are trying to help ands on the other they cant handle things that dont look right.
Yesterday, somehting happened that never happens in the UK except at protests. There were 2 male and 3 female polivce officers hanging around where I was standing and they were loving it. One fo them even filmed the whole thing on her phone !
A guy comes up to me and says 'Everything is NOT ok. I have a headache!' to which the police officer replied 'Thats good. If you have a headache, that means you have a head !
People kept telling me to turn it around and even came up to me and forced me to do so. A street cleaner came passed and asked me what was written. i asked if he could read and he said no so I told him what the sign said. He said 'Thats a ridiculous sign and came up to me and tried to snatch it out of my hand claiming that it was his job to put it in the garbage!
A couple of guys in the 60s came up to me as I was holding it upside down. they were Yemenite Jews. In Yemen when they were kids, they were so poor that they could only afford one book so they sat around the table and learned to read upside down so these guys were perfectly fine with the sign that way. One of them wanted to try it out himself so he took the sign and stood there. I got my megaphone out and anjnounced in Ivroit that if there were any psychologists in the area they should make themselves known because this crazy guy didnt think the sign was upside down.
Another guy came up to me saying everything is not ok for him. His 17 year old son is depressed and suicidal and the next son down has been thrown out of school and they cant get him back into school. It was of course moving toi was hear his story after 1 minute of knowing him. Another woman started talking to me and after a few minutes asked if I was married. Turns out she had just divorced and was desperate to get married and was hoping I was available !
I then headed to the stricly religious area called mea Shearim in Jeruslam. Crowds of ultra orthodox jews started huddling around and asking me what I was doing. One of the kids then interrogated me to check if I was a religious jew. I asked him why he was asking and he replied 'if you are not religious you are not allowed to stand here!' I checked this out with his elders who just laughed !
After 5 minutes near a shopping mall, in typical Israeli style, a midfdle aged guy comes up to me with a marker pen, telling me how to enhance my sign and actually added an exclamation mark after the everything si ok ! He wanted to add an acronym 'BSD' which means with the help of God but i just drew the line htere and told him to get his own sign. I like holding the sign 'upside down' here because so many people tell me to turn it around. Oh the one hand they are trying to help ands on the other they cant handle things that dont look right.
Yesterday, somehting happened that never happens in the UK except at protests. There were 2 male and 3 female polivce officers hanging around where I was standing and they were loving it. One fo them even filmed the whole thing on her phone !
A guy comes up to me and says 'Everything is NOT ok. I have a headache!' to which the police officer replied 'Thats good. If you have a headache, that means you have a head !
People kept telling me to turn it around and even came up to me and forced me to do so. A street cleaner came passed and asked me what was written. i asked if he could read and he said no so I told him what the sign said. He said 'Thats a ridiculous sign and came up to me and tried to snatch it out of my hand claiming that it was his job to put it in the garbage!
A couple of guys in the 60s came up to me as I was holding it upside down. they were Yemenite Jews. In Yemen when they were kids, they were so poor that they could only afford one book so they sat around the table and learned to read upside down so these guys were perfectly fine with the sign that way. One of them wanted to try it out himself so he took the sign and stood there. I got my megaphone out and anjnounced in Ivroit that if there were any psychologists in the area they should make themselves known because this crazy guy didnt think the sign was upside down.
Another guy came up to me saying everything is not ok for him. His 17 year old son is depressed and suicidal and the next son down has been thrown out of school and they cant get him back into school. It was of course moving toi was hear his story after 1 minute of knowing him. Another woman started talking to me and after a few minutes asked if I was married. Turns out she had just divorced and was desperate to get married and was hoping I was available !
I then headed to the stricly religious area called mea Shearim in Jeruslam. Crowds of ultra orthodox jews started huddling around and asking me what I was doing. One of the kids then interrogated me to check if I was a religious jew. I asked him why he was asking and he replied 'if you are not religious you are not allowed to stand here!' I checked this out with his elders who just laughed !
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Full Body Scanners !
This is a=written by an American soldier...
As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan, I witnessed the following:
When we were on our way back from Afghanistan, we flew out of Baghram Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards. Our first stop was Shannon, Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to stop at Indianapolis, Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the Indiana National Guard. That's where the stupid started.
First, everyone was forced to get off the plane-even though the plane wasn't refuelling again. All 330 people got off that plane, rather than let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a male/female latrine.
It's probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons. Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of course, the weapons weren't loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo
well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs.
The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it reinspected. Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a
one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area, the TSA decided not to reinspect our Cargo-just to inspect us again:
Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected, reinspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever. So we lined up to go through security AGAIN.
This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols.
So we're in line, going through one at a time. One of our soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that they're going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this:
TSA Guy: You can't take those on the plane.
Soldier: What? I've had them since we left country.
TSA Guy: You're not supposed to have them.
Soldier: Why?
TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.
Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I'm allowed to take it on.
TSA Guy: Yeah but you can't use it to take over the plane. You don't have bullets.
Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?
TSA Guy: [awkward silence]
Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get out of here. I'll buy you a new set(hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security).
To top it off, the TSA demanded we all be swabbed for "explosive residue" detection. Everyone failed, (go figure, we just came home from a war zone), because we tested positive for "Gun Powder Residue". Who is hiring these people?
This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine guns - but nothing that could have been used as a weapon.
Can someone please tell me What happened to OUR country while we were gone?
Sgt. Mad Dog Tracy
As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan, I witnessed the following:
When we were on our way back from Afghanistan, we flew out of Baghram Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards. Our first stop was Shannon, Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to stop at Indianapolis, Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the Indiana National Guard. That's where the stupid started.
First, everyone was forced to get off the plane-even though the plane wasn't refuelling again. All 330 people got off that plane, rather than let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a male/female latrine.
It's probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons. Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of course, the weapons weren't loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo
well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs.
The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it reinspected. Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a
one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area, the TSA decided not to reinspect our Cargo-just to inspect us again:
Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected, reinspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever. So we lined up to go through security AGAIN.
This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols.
So we're in line, going through one at a time. One of our soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that they're going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this:
TSA Guy: You can't take those on the plane.
Soldier: What? I've had them since we left country.
TSA Guy: You're not supposed to have them.
Soldier: Why?
TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.
Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I'm allowed to take it on.
TSA Guy: Yeah but you can't use it to take over the plane. You don't have bullets.
Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?
TSA Guy: [awkward silence]
Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get out of here. I'll buy you a new set(hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security).
To top it off, the TSA demanded we all be swabbed for "explosive residue" detection. Everyone failed, (go figure, we just came home from a war zone), because we tested positive for "Gun Powder Residue". Who is hiring these people?
This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine guns - but nothing that could have been used as a weapon.
Can someone please tell me What happened to OUR country while we were gone?
Sgt. Mad Dog Tracy
Free Range Humans
I dont know if its 'permitted' to include someone elses writings in a blog but the next 2 articles are not mine
many years ago, my partner at the time berated me for buying "caged eggs" in a supermarket.
It had never really occurred to me before to consider under what conditions the hens might be living who were donating the eggs I was purchasing.
After being "reprimanded" by my partner for contributing to animal cruelty, I researched the process of "battery hen" eggs and was shocked and revolted to the point where I am happy to say I have never knowingly purchased "caged eggs" again.
A few years ago, in a bid to be more eco-friendly I started my own veggie garden and obtained a couple of chicks from a local pet store, who grew into lovely fat black hens who free-range in the yard, devour the insects that live in the veggies and provide healthy free eggs for my family. At one point, I was offered the opportunity to provide a home for a "battery hen" or a "caged hen" by a person who "knew someone" who "knew someone" and so on.. who needed homes for hens that had been "rescued". Remembering what I had learned about battery hens I was happy to offer my home for as long as required.
The creature that was delivered to my home had more resemblance to a "chicken nugget" than it did to a living breathing hen. There was no apparent life in this poor creature, barely any movement, almost no feathers to speak of and those that remained fell out like rotting hair when I first touched her. She look for all the world like one of those comedic squeaky "rubber chicken" toys you see in the stores.
I was so disheartened I couldn't stop crying. I laid this poor little girl down on the ground and my other girls immediately ran over to inspect her. Instead of the territorial pecking I was expecting, they acted as though they were witnessing a concentration-camp survivor. There seemed to be an air of shock and disbelief, of fear even, as though they didnt recognise this creature as one of their own, which, in a way, she wasn't.
After a long while of disbelieving inspection, poking and odd noises from my girls, they both settled down next to this poor half-dead creature and began to have a dirt bath, with her in the middle. During this entire event, my new little survivor had her eyes tightly closed, huddled in on herself and seemingly terrified - agoraphobic? It was probably the first time she'd ever seen the sky, grass or other creatures with real feathers and flesh on them. After a while, my girls got bored and wandered away to forage, leaving the new hen lying in the dirt on her own.
Slowly, slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around her. She then stretched out her wings and lay them on the ground as though hugging the earth for the first time, which it probably was. She lay like that for an hour or so, I thought she had actually died, but then suddenly folded wings and sat up, showing the first signs of real life.
After that she went mad in a frenzy of dirt bathing and started to hobble around and nibble at the grass. Watching this hen come to life over time was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. She's a mum now, and protects her chicks more strenuously, has more personality and seems to be more vivacious and life-loving than my other girls. I put this down to the fact that she never knew what she was missing until she had the opportunity to find out, and it now means more to her than to the others, who were born to it and never underwent the privations that she did.
Recently, I realised I am also a "battery hen" stuck in a cage made for me at my birth, where I seem to have no choice but to be shaped and contained by it, being fed what they want me to ingest, participating in the huge production line that is my current life, until I am too old to contribute and therefore useless and may look forward only to the mercy of death.
In realising this I have realised that I do not want this life, I have not chosen it, but rather had it chosen for me by the "society" that I am a part of. I am no longer a willing participant in this "society" where I cannot even close my bank account as I will then not be able to earn an income, as my employer does not offer "cash" as a payment method, where I cannot live in any kind of legal dwelling as I must have a legal identity, job and bank account in order to be on a tenancy agreement and pay my rent to keep a room over my children's heads and food in their mouths, where I am controlled by rules and regulations I don't fully understand at every turn and am not offered any alternative to these "choices" that I have been forced into - which negates the very definition of "choice". Even worse is the realisation that I have brought my own offspring into this same situation before ever realising what it really is that we are living/existing/imprisoned in.
How then, does a battery hen escape the cage? I wish to wake up from this nightmare and start my life.
Jules
many years ago, my partner at the time berated me for buying "caged eggs" in a supermarket.
It had never really occurred to me before to consider under what conditions the hens might be living who were donating the eggs I was purchasing.
After being "reprimanded" by my partner for contributing to animal cruelty, I researched the process of "battery hen" eggs and was shocked and revolted to the point where I am happy to say I have never knowingly purchased "caged eggs" again.
A few years ago, in a bid to be more eco-friendly I started my own veggie garden and obtained a couple of chicks from a local pet store, who grew into lovely fat black hens who free-range in the yard, devour the insects that live in the veggies and provide healthy free eggs for my family. At one point, I was offered the opportunity to provide a home for a "battery hen" or a "caged hen" by a person who "knew someone" who "knew someone" and so on.. who needed homes for hens that had been "rescued". Remembering what I had learned about battery hens I was happy to offer my home for as long as required.
The creature that was delivered to my home had more resemblance to a "chicken nugget" than it did to a living breathing hen. There was no apparent life in this poor creature, barely any movement, almost no feathers to speak of and those that remained fell out like rotting hair when I first touched her. She look for all the world like one of those comedic squeaky "rubber chicken" toys you see in the stores.
I was so disheartened I couldn't stop crying. I laid this poor little girl down on the ground and my other girls immediately ran over to inspect her. Instead of the territorial pecking I was expecting, they acted as though they were witnessing a concentration-camp survivor. There seemed to be an air of shock and disbelief, of fear even, as though they didnt recognise this creature as one of their own, which, in a way, she wasn't.
After a long while of disbelieving inspection, poking and odd noises from my girls, they both settled down next to this poor half-dead creature and began to have a dirt bath, with her in the middle. During this entire event, my new little survivor had her eyes tightly closed, huddled in on herself and seemingly terrified - agoraphobic? It was probably the first time she'd ever seen the sky, grass or other creatures with real feathers and flesh on them. After a while, my girls got bored and wandered away to forage, leaving the new hen lying in the dirt on her own.
Slowly, slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around her. She then stretched out her wings and lay them on the ground as though hugging the earth for the first time, which it probably was. She lay like that for an hour or so, I thought she had actually died, but then suddenly folded wings and sat up, showing the first signs of real life.
After that she went mad in a frenzy of dirt bathing and started to hobble around and nibble at the grass. Watching this hen come to life over time was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. She's a mum now, and protects her chicks more strenuously, has more personality and seems to be more vivacious and life-loving than my other girls. I put this down to the fact that she never knew what she was missing until she had the opportunity to find out, and it now means more to her than to the others, who were born to it and never underwent the privations that she did.
Recently, I realised I am also a "battery hen" stuck in a cage made for me at my birth, where I seem to have no choice but to be shaped and contained by it, being fed what they want me to ingest, participating in the huge production line that is my current life, until I am too old to contribute and therefore useless and may look forward only to the mercy of death.
In realising this I have realised that I do not want this life, I have not chosen it, but rather had it chosen for me by the "society" that I am a part of. I am no longer a willing participant in this "society" where I cannot even close my bank account as I will then not be able to earn an income, as my employer does not offer "cash" as a payment method, where I cannot live in any kind of legal dwelling as I must have a legal identity, job and bank account in order to be on a tenancy agreement and pay my rent to keep a room over my children's heads and food in their mouths, where I am controlled by rules and regulations I don't fully understand at every turn and am not offered any alternative to these "choices" that I have been forced into - which negates the very definition of "choice". Even worse is the realisation that I have brought my own offspring into this same situation before ever realising what it really is that we are living/existing/imprisoned in.
How then, does a battery hen escape the cage? I wish to wake up from this nightmare and start my life.
Jules
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