you've been rick-rolled

Like the Summer Olympics and Leap Years, America is gearing up for their presidential campaigns and elections, and already with the first state primaries to nominate party candidates (only two parties of consequence) with the best chance of unseating the incumbent. 

Nothing is inherently bad or wrong with either ideology and statement of priorities in preserving the union, but these political workshops, civic engagement that has atrophied to a highly polarizing social-hour, grow stranger and more extravagant each election-cycle. It is striking how one does not vote for or run on a platform, but instead for personalities and dogmas--holding court (with courtiers and jesters of all sorts), genuine dialogue, debate and coalition-building are foregone to preach what a narrow majority of the voting-class wants to hear. I suppose politicians have earned that negative reputation and there is adequate (and disheartening) precedence to confirm all the talk of corruption and back-peddling, when hope was brought down on appeal (by that same vanishing margin) to more of the same disappointment and disenfranchisement and even a few such bold affronts against personal liberties, that had they been proposed under the last US regime, Bush would have been laughed out of office. Once achieved the designation of elect, the voter seems to be alienated from the whole political process, with representatives beholden to lobbyists even more than their chosen base or pet-projects.

Outreach and inclusiveness are usually the first campaign promises to wither but the incivility seems to have started before word-one: this once every-four-years event, though perpetual and non-stop for the wrong reasons for many, is not just to govern a 51, 49, 99 or 1% American and just sail through to re-election. The antics and outrage may make matters seem to the contrary and elements of democracy may be held hostage by corporate interests, but the outcome is important. Every government can face straits and gridlock and sometimes better intentions are sacrificed to squabbling but working together is the only way to affect real progress. Cooperation, to a degree, allows one to see the bigger picture, and from that vista it might be hard to know where to begin, but at minimum, government could strive towards making the young people of America not heir to a terrible financial crisis of the older generation's making: youth unemployment stands at nearly 30% in the USA with bleak prospects of improving, since overall conditions are forcing people to defer retirement longer and longer, and to try to gain a toe-hold in the jobs market people, younger and older, have sought higher education and outstanding student loan debt has surpassed credit card debt. People ought not to shirk their obligations (we're better than bailed-out corporations) but, just like some workers are putting off retirement, young people are deferring setting up hearth and home or even committing to a relationship. Something could be done to achieve meaningful savings that would be a bootstrap, not just for the young but all of society. This sort of arrested-development, for one, for a generation does not ascribe to party lines and is not a perennial outcome befitting for any vote.

tiki lounge or the long now

From the outstanding science desk of Boing Boing, the editor refers the curious and eschatological alike to this definitive series of questions and answers from archeologist John Hoopes for Psychology Today on the 2012 Phenomenon. As the editor concedes, if this detailed treatment on the history, scholarship and day-keeping of the ancient Mesoamerican peoples, the Zeitgeist, event-marketing, the architecture of modern computers, pseudoscience and appeal to fill a spiritual vacuum cannot debunk, disenchant or otherwise unstick one's fear over the end of the world, then probably nothing short of Christmas Day 2012 will.

I also like how Hoopes does not totally dismiss and dash the predictions of the Maya (a designation that is an over-simplification in itself, like the kitsch of Tiki culture) and the cult that’s formed around it, grasping the enormity of such cycles within cycles and articulating the mathematics for it as well as a keener sense for the procession of the heavens is certainly impressive, and from a sociological stand point could signal positive change, however, it is an insult to the Mayan peoples and to ourselves to burden artifact with prophesies of own making.

¡achtung!

H and I are finding an unlimited stream of documentaries on Justin.tv and the latest saga that we are engrossed with is the history of submarine warfare during WWII, endearingly produced by the Royal Spain Marine.

There's a lot of in depth knowledge presented in the series, that makes good use of a wealth of historic footage--clips are never repeated nor the soundtrack of incidental music which is always different too. The documentary has a charming A/V class feel to it sometimes (translated from Spanish to English, then dubbed in German), but certainly not in quality of in scholarship. Although we have watched a lot of programs on this theme and been to the U-Boot yards and docks along the Atlantic, it never really registered to me that submarines were taking advantage of more than a niche in the battlefield. The documentary took the time to people the culture of the submariners and impress what a really big piece of the war that front was, and not the planes and rockets that garner more attention. Similarly, WWI some contend that the Empires fell for the want of horses. One of the most significant denouements of the war was perpetrated by sloppy manufacturing of torpedos, which led to a reversal of power and untold lives and supplies not lost. The Italian war-time navy even produced little one-man vehicles that zipped around the Mediterranean like under water Vespas. One architect of the Kriegsmarine's submarine campaign, Otto Kretschmer, surrendered and was taken as a prisoner-of-war to Canada. Afterwards, he joined the German civil naval forces and rose to the admiralty of the NATO navy. Like the German engineers who became darlings of the American space agency during the Space Race, many apparently could transition into such careers. The components of peace and war are quite complex affairs to unravel.

specie

The rampant and entrenched fear of euroblivion for the common currency and for Europe's economic and political future relevance seems to me rife with dishonest and expedient bursts of fright. The currency union, many skeptics and hand-wringers argue, was conceived with errors, primarily citing that the push for economic integration without political alignment was too naive.
On the surface, that is a compelling argument but maybe that also smacks a bit of sophistry: Greece and Spain may not have the same tax regime and collecting mechanisms as Germany or France, nor perhaps the exact same philosophy when it comes to maintaining social programs, but I think that peace, cooperation, and willingness to participate in the EU parliament and abide by those rules does suggest a good degree of coming together politically. Differences that are not mutually exclusive, even in the context of the shared euro, and there is no politics or policies incompatible with the whole of the community. And granted financial inequalities glossed over made it possible for some nations to secure more and more cheap credit, but all that virtual money is created in a vacuum, betting on making good on outrageous debts, without the backing of property or manpower hours behind it—on both sides. Now these ledgers threaten a renewed stripping of that varnish, moves to create inequalities artificially and enhance competition. I am sure there was greed all around and not all players had the purest of intentions, but the goal of the EU was not this inversion. The fear that is visited on the economies and governments of Europe is not only a diversion-tactic and is going to spur the change that will safeguard these ideals, but rather help vouchsafe the lenders and usurers who've exhausted the opportunities elsewhere. Responsibility, fairness and stability are not fast-moving commodities.

never brought to mind or party likes it's the year 1932

François the head is certainly ready to party. Daily Mail writer Dominick Sandbrooke presents an interesting, though rather bleak and depressing, article paralleling the political and economic framework of the year to come with that dark period eighty years ago.

The analysis is not a condemnation or pronoun-cement of doom but does offer some stark similarities in mood and faith that are in turn some stark warnings. Though I think when there is profit to be made from social anxieties and fearful portrayals it is hard to escape corporate and media traps, the world, I think, will not go down the same path. There has been an embarrassment (embarrassment as a unit of measure, like the cup of kindness that we all share as well) of disappointment and discouragement, but rather than bringing the world to the brink of chaos, maybe positive things will come of this frustration--a backlash that steamrolls injustice, avarice and gentrification. Predictions are notoriously difficult to make, and perhaps now that Mr. Sandbrooke has put his reporting out there, though he never posed it as anything more than a question, a possibility, maybe he has jinxed it, our future guarded from all cheerless best-guesses. We can resist the influence-peddlers and propagandists and make this coming year a bright one, though hope and pride both humble before the lessons of history.

siss boom bah!

Around here, people are really keen on heralding the new year with explosive volleys of private fireworks displays, and H and I are looking forward to doing the same at midnight. It is a wild and lawless moment in the year, but it does not happen completely in a regulatory vacuum as the noisy and colourful celebrations might suggest. Like the officious vestments of the Carnival Kings and Queens, there is an agency that oversees the safe and orderly execution of these neighbourhood rallies, the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und prüfung (kurz BAM). Despite the wide and potent variety of Silvester fireworks available at any grocery store, there is still a market for smuggling in even bigger and more powerful (and unsafe) explosives from eastern Europe. The BAM, under its new safety campaign "Kein Boom! ohne BAM!" (No boom without BAM!), has intercepted some particularly dangerous sounding cargo: rockets that shoot up to forty metres in the sky with a battery to power the second stage, which can launch the fireworks another forty metres.

Aside from the risk it could pose at such heights to aircraft, apparently the second-stage ignition is unreliable and as likely to fire off the rocket another forty metres horizontally or straight back into the ground. Though such revelry is tolerated only at New Year’s, maybe the practice ought to be expanded, as a way to keep the middle-distance of the sky free of the coming aerial drone race, when corporations and law-enforcement, encouraged by drone-manufacturers, get in on the patrolling, and there are traffic-control drones, meter-maid drones, news reporter drones, ambulance-chasing drones, etc. I hope such patrols don’t come with the new year,  but maybe the booms, bangs and bams can chase away those bad portents too. In the meantime, we’ll celebrate and have some fun. Happy New Year! PfRC wünscht allen ein besonders frohes neues Jahr und guten Rutsch!

like disco lemonade

This is just a personal reflection, but I thought it was significant, driving home and listening to the radio, that I did not include any accom-plishments in the arts in the PfRC year-end revue. I wanted to remember the talents that have passed on, artists, innovators and visionaries whose departure has left the world poorer--like Amy Winehouse, Steve Jobs, Loriot, Andy Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor and Václav Havel and dozens of others, separately and I did see a bunch of enjoyable movies this past year and heard some contemporary music that was good, funny and clever--although, more often than not, it was the classics, as with the music in the car on the way home from work, a solid block of cult hits from the 80s and 90s between Christmas and New Year’s with some refreshingly choice and nostalgic songs--I had not heard Ryan Paris’ bouncy Dolce Vita in years and years or even Marcy Playground from when I was in college (and I know that reference dates me, as it does for those whom lived through more exciting times). I would not condemn everything modern as forgettable and unoriginal, as some do, but it was strange that nothing registered. It is just maybe indicative of the age that talent is retiring and that many new works are inspired by and derivative of the past, the memorable, resounding and catchy mostly created and polished by a thousand anonymous talents with know-how, heart or a trust.

year end fall-in or out with the old

It's hard to believe that Aught-Twelve is nearly upon us. 2011 was a wild ride globally and 2012 surely is successor to the these upheavals and redefined envelopes of comfort, with a few cushions for the more jarring happenstances, and will undoubtedly have surprising and serendipitous developments of its own.
The archivists and historians are tasked with giving a thoughtful and complete recollection of the year’s file, and here are a few events (by no means complete or exhaustive) that I thought were particularly noteworthy, from the vantage point of the calendar:

January – The revolutionary movement that would become known as the "Arab Spring" began in earnest with escalating civil unrest in Tunisia that lead to the abdication of the country’s long-time ruler. The movement grew and more tyrants were toppled—including Egypt and Libya, like the cavalcade of caricatures from Phil Collins' Land of Confusion music-video, making deposits, regional and elsewhere nervous—on either extreme, either charitable or more prone to crack-down on insurrection, and squarely saddling the freedom fighters with the responsibilities of democratic governance.

February – Suriname becomes the first country to formally recognize the state of Palestine, which is later in the year admitted as a member of UNESCO, causing the US to withhold its dues to the UN fund in protest. The Wikileaks diplomatic cables dump alleged accomplice, Bradley Manning, was found to have been held in solitary confinement for over seven months at the time, without being charged or provided with the opportunity to seek counsel--a development that was roundly criticized. IBM’s artificial intelligence Watson competed on the American quiz show Jeopardy! against some of the game’s top human contestants.

March – Japan's north east is decimated by a strong tsunami, driven by an equally strong and devastating earthquake. Damage and disruptions subsequently led to partial melt-downs of coastal nuclear reactor units. Sympathy and hysteria spread all over the world, and fears of radioactive poisoning and for the security of power-plants in general cause many people to reevaluate their nuclear programmes. Germany, as a result, brought many reactors off-line immediately and will execute a complete moratorium within the next two decades.

April – A monstrous storm system battered extensive parts of the US south and mid-west—all as part of the year that seemingly broke the weather, extensive flooding follows. The American military is deployed to the border with Mexico, partially in response to increased incidents of gang violence seeping into the US. NATO forces aid Libyan rebels in overthrowing Qaddhafi, cornering him and supporters to a few strongholds.

May – A team of US Special Forces locate and kill Osama bin Laden in a compound in Pakistan. The US dollar continues to lose value against global currencies as the repercussions of the burst housing market are still being realized. The EU, amid ongoing financial coming-clean and protests against austerity measures from Spain, Greece and Italy, approved a prophylactic bailout loan for Portugal, to staunch the panic. Drought conditions not seen in two decades cause widespread famine throughout Africa.  Queen Elizabeth II makes the first official visit of the monarchy to the Republic of Ireland since independence was declared. The latest in a series of predicted raptures did not occur.

June – Tension grows stemming from street protests in the UK, Spain and Greece over proposed economic austerity measures, including cuts in social services and raising the retirement age, meant to balance national budgets. Hundreds of extrasolar planets are being discovered, piquing the imagination and broadening scientific horizons. Unemployment and stagnant business growth continue to haunt the United States, as insults are swapped as aspirants are preparing for the presidential election session.

July – NASA and the US government retire the Space Shuttle programme, hoping that, laissez faire, private industry will close the science chasm that has left Russia and ESA scrambling to service. Norway was visited by a horrific domestic terrorist attack. There were bouts of courage and bravery in this tragedy, which was not perpetrated by the usual suspects, religious radicals that fit the profile of our stereotypes, but rather by a lone individual trying to punctuate his conservative and xenophobic ideas. Europe’s lurching towards more socially conservative platforms became a much discussed topic, in response to the earlier best-seller status of a tract assaulting integration by Thilo Sarrazin, the pronouncement by Angela Merkel herself that "multi-culti" has failed, and the killing spree by a band of neo-nazis that went under the radar and all but unnoticed for months among other emerging trends.

October – The UN announced that the world’s population has just surpassed seven billion people. Credit rating agencies continue their reign of terror, nudging markets this way and that with their verdicts on credit-worthiness. Italian Wikipedia shuts down in response to proposed changes in national copyright and fair-use laws that would severely curtail how the site could operate—prescient of a similar maneuver later in the US to denude the internet. The UK is gently sidling away from EU participation over fear-mongering of German overlordship, and this creep will express itself later with more heated exchanges and a repairing towards nationalism and protectionism.

November – Greece and Italy get new leadership over failed stewardship of their economies. Before resigning, Silvio Berlusconi releases a record album of himself crooning love songs. Thousands of students descend on London, angered over tuition hikes. Other Britons shudder over the first steps in privatization of public health care schemes. Police in New York forcibly clear Occupy Wall Street protesters after months of rallies, but the movement has spread to urban-centres world wide. Doctors and engineers develop a 3-D bone scaffold printer to help patients with broken bones in emergency situations.

December – After more than eight years of conflict, spilt blood and squandered treasure to no clear end, America quietly withdrew its last remaining troops (though their presence will be subsumed by a huge, enduring diplomatic corps and army of rent-a-cops) from Iraq, without fanfare or too much arrogance but also without lessons learnt. Under the toxic advisement of figures like Curveball, dissidents to tell the US government what it wanted to hear and Hussein exaggerating his complement of arms to appear tough in a tough neighbourhood, and general designs for empire, the coalition splintered and American spent its borrowed capital, and now is attempting to stare down the Iranians in the same way. Given all the past manipulation that the regimes of Iran have undergone at the hands of American and British interference and that there is no conclusive evidence that the country is on a war-footing, possibly just talk and posteuring, it seems like maybe 2012 will also have some re-runs.