This Wheel's On Fire

BP Oil Leak - Ruptured disk allows oil to seep into sea bed?

2010-06-02T10:37:00.002+01:00

If this report turns out to be correct then there are even more serious ramifications for this oil leak in that capping the top of it won't make any difference to it leaking....

"BP PLC has concluded that its "top-kill" attempt last week to seal its broken well in the Gulf of Mexico may have failed due to a ruptured disk inside the well about 1,000 feet below the ocean floor.

The disk, part of the subsea safety infrastructure, may have ruptured during the surge of oil and gas up the well on April 20 that led to the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig,

The ruptured disk may have allowed much of the heavy drilling mud being injected into the well last week to escape into the rock formation outside of the wellbore, people familiar with BP's findings said. As a result, BP was not able to get sufficient pressure to keep the oil and gas at bay."

Thought for The Day #9

2010-05-12T13:39:00.005+01:00

David Cameron is a wanker. You can think it, just don't say it or publicise the fact.

David Cameron says UK military to become 'International Aid organisation'

2010-05-12T10:38:00.002+01:00

David Cameron today announced that the UK armed forces would undergo an amazing radical shake-up and would be turned from an elite fighting force into that of an international humanitarian aid organisation. At a specially arranged press conference inside Downing Street just hours after the announcement of a new coalition with the Liberal Democrats, Cameron told reporters,

"As I was moving into Number 10 I had a personal revelation and it occured to me that what was needed were tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of well trained and hard working people to help rebuild peoples homes, bridges and infrastructure in countries not as well off as ours. With the increased level of natural disasters in the world I have decided to disband the UK armed forces and re-form them as a humanitarian aid organisation."

Mr Cameron went on to outline how the money saved from spending money on missiles, tanks, bombs, weapons and ammunition would be instead ploughed into housing, sanitation and school building projects for those in need across the globe. He also said that he would be looking to alter the role of the S.A.S. from that of a crack fighting unit, to that of an immediate response disaster team.

The Red Cross, Amnesty International and Oxfam all welcomed the move as an unbelievable breakthrough in tackling world poverty, but members of the UK armed forces were outraged at the decision. Head of the British Army, Sir Jock Stirrup told the BBC,

"This is a scandalous decision. This move will see the end of many regiments who have centuries old traditions of killing for Queen and Country. Young men and women join the army to go to war, not put bandages on refugees."

In London the new Defence Minister Liam Fox addressed reports from angry MP's in the by saying that the changes were needed to meet the growing demands of an increasingly globalised world where the poor and destitute were more important than bullets and bombs.

Other officers were more open minded about the transformation with Scotland's most senior Army officer, Lieutenant General Sir Alistair Irwin saying that he was open to new ideas as long as Scottish battalions could still wear the Black Watch's red hackle and play their bagpipes.

Thought for The Day #8

2010-05-12T10:24:00.004+01:00

Thought for the Day #7

2009-04-09T09:14:00.010+01:00

Thought for the Day #6

2009-03-18T15:07:00.001Z

Plasma Dreams

2009-03-11T20:18:00.000Z

Floodlit in the orange glow
Of neon streetlights
And exploding in the burnt out embers
Of wished upon stars
Dreams that didn’t make it
Beyond a passing thought
Are scattered across the skyline
And lost forever
In the background noise
Of broken lives
That stream between the gaps
Where the flickering light
Bleeds into the night
And passes over this idle earth

From The Mouths of Bankers......

2009-03-11T20:02:00.006Z

As spoken by Josiah Stamp, former President of the Bank of England in the 1920's and at the time the second richest man in Britain.

"Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create deposits, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again.However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of Bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create deposits."

Anarchism = Rioting?

2008-12-14T21:11:00.006Z

An interesting read:

We are here/ we are everywhere/ we are an image from the future

If I do not burn

If you do not burn

If we do not burn

How will darkness come to light?

(Nazim Hikmet, “Like Kerem”)

Clenching fear in their teeth the dogs howl: Return to normality – the fools’ feast is over. The philologists of assimilation have already started digging up their cut-sharp caresses: “We are ready to forget, to understand, to exchange the promiscuity of these few days, but now behave or we shall bring over our sociologists, our anthropologists, our psychiatrists! Like good fathers we have tolerated with restraint your emotional eruption – now look at how desks, offices and shop windows gape empty! The time has come for a return, and whoever refuses this holy duty shall be hit hard, shall be sociologised, shall be psychiatrised. An injunction hovers over the city: “Are you at your post?” Democracy, social harmony, national unity and all the other big hearths stinking of death have already stretched out their morbid arms...

Thought for The Day #5

2008-12-14T14:16:00.005Z

"On Monday night, protesters set ablaze the city’s huge Christmas tree, which had only just been installed in the central square. Some of the protesters sang carols as they watched it burn."

Thought For The Day #4

2008-04-02T13:15:00.004+01:00

"The strongest weapon in the police arsenal is not CS gas or plastic bullets, the deployment of which causes some public concern, but effective control of a willing and uncritical press which causes none."

Bless this Child

2008-03-01T21:08:00.004Z

the boy was too young to walk
too young to talk
too young to know the evil that men do
and too young to know the beauty of a breaking sunrise
or an act of kindness.
he sat gingerly and looked around
his eyes glistening with life
in the way only a child's eyes can do.
I smiled and he gurgled back at me
his mother ruffled his hair and wiped his chin
i only hope
he's an improvement on the rest of us.

Life

2008-03-01T20:47:00.006Z

Laying back, staring up at the clear blue summer sky,
Laughing and smiling
the long summer grass,
secretly enclosing your first kiss,
your first touch of female skin,
your first crush, first love,
and your first broken heart.
Then fast forward….

Start taking exams, lectures,
courses you don’t need.
x=y?
'Study Hard'
'Study harder!'
'Do your best', no, 'Do better!'.
Now get a job,
Buy a suit and tie,
the corporate noose hanging around your neck.
Go for an interview.
Be yourself,
If that doesn’t work be someone else,
and if that doesn’t work, lie.
And lie some more.
So find a woman and
make her believe in you.
Tell her lies,
small insignificant white coloured ones.
Drink yourself stupid,
take drugs,
take a risk.
Fuck anything after 10 pints,
blank minds and nights danced away in dark clubs
and darker corners.
Tripping then staggering,
she takes you home,
out of your tree,
out of your mind,
out of love and desperation.
Falling into her arms
falling into bed,
falling inside her,
then falling in love,
Falling for 'The One'.
Eat, drink and think her.
Let her swallow you whole,
every last piece of your soul.
Worship her like you'd worship a God you'd believe in,
like a God you want to believe in.
Then smell her,
touch her,
Remember how she walks,
How she talks,
How she breathes as she lays beside you.
Watch her sleep.
Remember how she touches you and
how you thought it was the truth when you uttered,
'I Love You'.
Stay in, go out,
be together,
joined at the hip.
Forget your friends,
and ignore your family.
Then when you run out of things to say try:
'Will you marry me?'
Twelve months of dresses, churches, paige boys, alter boys,
best men, worst men, flowers, speeches, and a last stag night fuck.
Till death us do part?
'I do'
Lie again.
'I now pronounce you man and wife'
Now buy a house,
a mortgage,
and keep that shitty job you don’t like.
A 40-year prison sentence shuffling papers for some rich prick.
9 while 5,
Eat, sleep, drink and shit.
Find you’ve got nothing left to say to each other and argue.
Need more money?
Get another job,
a better job,
tell more lies,
buy a better suit.
Talk less and argue over money,
Fuck sex.
Work harder, work longer.
Office parties,
Christmas parties,
sex with the girl from accounts.
A ripped shirt,
torn blouse,
lipstick on your collar,
guilt on your lips,
her dress high around stocking clad thighs,
underwear stretched and twisted,
alcohol fuelled sex,
pressed together in desperation.
Then a wave of truth amongst a sea of lies,
'I wanted you to fuck me', she moans.
Now look in her in the eyes and remember your wedding vows,
'I do' ?
Do you fuck.
So fuck her.
get another wife,
another life.
Sleep in late on Sundays,
clean the car,
cut the grass,
read the Sunday papers,
and forget about those
Lying politicians, cheating wives and husbands, Drugs, Wars, Murder One, Murder Two, Prison, Death, Rape, Lies and thanks god for Justice?
Alcoholics, chocoholics, fuckoholics.
Drugged up popstars, moaning soapstars, cheating filmstars.
They’ve got it tough.
Cars, pollution, holes in the o-zone layer, recycle this, recycle that. More death, less marriage. Funerals, divorce, broken homes, broken children, broken lives.
Football scores, scoring with whores, chemicals in the water, homeless people and genetically engineered food.
Take a sip of bottled water while Africa drowns in its own thirst.
Taste good?
Sit back and judge everyone and anyone.
Turn the page.
Car crashes,
Plane crashes,
Train crashes.
Die from cancer, cigarettes, heroin, alcohol, overdoses, Aids, Ebola,
too much vitamin A, vitamin B, too much red meat, not enough red meat, mad cows, dead cows and fat cows.
Too much of this
too much of that.
It all kills you in the end.
Feeling down?
Then go buy a new car, a faster car, a redder car, a better car. A new video, tv, hi-fi, tables & chairs, cookers, computers, irons, washing machines, radios.
It all makes you a better person.
It must be true,
the adverts say so.
Flick the channel over and listen to the politicians:
'Vote for ME not Him!'
'He's the liar!',
'No HE'S the liar'.
Fuck it we're all living one big lie.
Stick your cross in the box,
sit back and watch whilst nothing changes.
The rich get richer,
and the poor scramble over what everyone else has left behind.
Now there's a crime!
Police, Stop!
Want children?
Have children.
Blue eyes, blonde hair, the perfect child.
If you don’t want it, abort it.
What’s life got to do with it?
Bring it up, teach it right from wrong.
Teach it everything you’ve been taught.
Lie to it without realising,
Teach it all your prejudices and
leave the truth behind.
Clothe it,
Feed it,
Mould it,
send it to school.
'Study Hard',
'Study Harder',
'Do your best',
NO!
'Do Better!'
'And don’t do drugs, they’ll kill you'
Hear but don’t listen.
Carry on working until they find no use for you,
now fuck off and die.
Become old and
lose the fire,
lose the fight,
And if it’s possible, care even less.
The government screw you over,
40 years of work so you can sit and waste away.
Rocking chair blues.
Be old,
be bitter.
Sit and mumble, 'What if..', 'If only...' and ‘When I was younger…’
Lose your marbles,
lose your mind.
Be thrown in a home,
a loveless home,
get a visit from a 'loved one'
and forget.
Forget some more,
forget the lies, death, pain, anguish, murder, cheating, deception and then remember....

Laying back staring up at the clear blue summer sky,
Laughing and smiling in the long summer grass,
secretly enclosing your first kiss,
the first touch of female skin,
your first crush, your first love
and your first broken heart.
Then stop.

Forever.

A *cough* optimistic little ditty originally written way back in the foul year of our lord, 2000.

Rich Man's Blues

2008-03-01T19:17:00.008Z

Song lyrics...

I got a twenty room mansion with my own drinks bar
and a private pool with a dozen sports cars
but see my life's all empty and I'm all confused
'cos i don't know why I got these rich man's blues

I own a yacht in Bermuda and a private jet
and I once lost a million in a racehorse bet
I throw expensive parties to dine and shmooze
but I just can't stop these rich man's blues

I drink pink champagne and snort some coke
from a crystal goblet and a fifty pound note
I'm as high as a kite but I ain't got not clues
as to why i've still got these rich man's blues

Now my gal's eighteen and a beauty queen
she ain't got no brains but she sure is keen
to max out my cards on clothes and shoes
maybe this's why I got the rich man's blues?

See I got everything I want but nothing I need
just addicted to spending I can't stop this greed
so I took me a holiday and flew to Santa Cruz
but even that couldn't shake my rich man's blues

When I got back home I found a note on the floor
from the bank sayin' I couldn't spend no more
'cos my card they said had been way over used
'n this they said would end my rich man's blues

So they repossessed my home 'n took back my yacht
and the shirt on my back was all i'd got
then my gal she left when I told her the news
so now im poor but happy without those rich man's blues

Thought For The Day #3

2008-03-01T18:50:00.001Z

Way Out West

2008-02-25T15:32:00.003Z

Song lyrics..

A cowboy came riding from out of the west
with a posse of men and a loaded war chest
thro' valley's then hills and mountain up high
they rode thro' the dusk under a blood coloured sky
now some say he was heading to settle a score
to a gold town ruled over by a no good outlaw
others that the fortune was to be made in this town
was an excuse to cry "Freedom!" and gun people down

Now the towns cruel outlaw ruled with a fist full of steel
with his men hanging traitors with a psychotic zeal
and he forced the people down the rivers and mines
to haul him out gold for just a handful of dimes
both the young and the old, the strong 'n the weak
all beaten by guards and too frightened to speak
and those that broke rank were thrown behind bars
then tortured and buried in the old church graveyard

But the people kept praying for freedom and peace
for the violence to stop and the killing to cease
'cos one day it was said they'd be freed of their chains
by a cowboy who'd come riding from over the plains
he'd give them back their lives and their lost liberty
put a stop to the killing and set them all free
so they carried their faith and lived on in hope
that the outlaw one day'd swing on the end of a rope

Then on a cold autumn morn with rain in the air
the cowboy appeared to answer their prayer
for pinned around town in the fullness of night
'Dead or Alive' posters promised 'n end to their plight
they demanded the outlaw lay down all his guns
and give up his town or spend his life on the run
But the outlaw sent word he'd rather die on his feet
than let some son of a bitch rule over his streets

So the guns they were drawn and the killing began
as the bullets they flew and the people they ran
shot dead in the streets and then out on the plains
their bodies fell limped washed away by the rain
with the last bullet fired and the final breath drawn
a silence descended and the people the mourned
as the church bells rang out a mournful death knell
dead bodies were lifted from the places they fell

And the outlaw he died as he'd lived, by the gun
out of bullets and men he'd turned tail and run
but the cowboy's men went and rode him on down
then hung him on high in the centre of town
so with mission accomplished 'n a glint in his eye
the cowboy aid freedom meant that no more'd die
but as the vicar held mass and buried the dead
their river of gold still ran a blood coloured red

As the killing continued a vengeance was planned
the people sought justice for those killed by his hand
but who they did ask would bring them their freedom 'n peace
as they looked to the elders, the women and priests
then a man did rise up and asked they do as he said
for he promised an end to their bloody rivers of red
for his new laws decreed that no more would die
and with guns locked and loaded they prayed to the sky...

Thought for The Day #2

2008-02-24T20:23:00.003Z

Quote of The Day #2

2008-02-24T20:14:00.002Z

"In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful." - Leo Tolstoy

Consumerism Blues

2008-02-24T19:50:00.007Z

I woke up one morning with a man in my head
he said you drunk too much now get out a bed
so i put on my pants and walked into town
but drunk or not i couldn't see no one around
cos all the streets were empty and the shops bulldozed
the only one standing had a sign that read 'Closed'
so i took a look round and kicked open the door
and strode on it the a department store

Now the isles were empty but the shelves were full
so i took me a trolley and decided to get my fill
I took me some coats and hats 'n socks 'n shoes
just making the most of my consumerism blues
i put my new threads on and dressed from head to toe
all suited and booted but not a place to go
then wearing my sneakers and my retro flares
i took a ride in the lift and went upstairs

First floor stationary and all your kitchen wares
second floor BBQ's and summer garden chairs
i didn't need one but i took one for no good reason
see it was winter outside, right on out of season
third floor TV's and your mobile phones
I tried to call my friends but there was no-one home
so i turned on a tele to catch my favourite show
but i got no picture just some falling snow

fourth floor skirts 'n sexy underwear
i saw me some hold-ups so i took me a pair
thought they'd look good on my girl back home
'fore I remembered that i was all on my own
so i went to the changing tooms to try them on
with some red stilleto's and a lacy thong
i tried to walk but i just couldn't stand
broke a heel, fell over, and hurt my hand

put my sneakers back on 'n took the lift downstairs
all my spending done just trying to ease my cares
but when i got to the till there was no one there
so I passed right on through without a care
and as I pushed my trolley home on up the hill
my goods got heavy and they lost their thrill
so i let go of my trolley and set them loose
'n said goodbye to those consumerism blues

One Eye Blind

2008-02-24T19:25:00.007Z

You've got a strange way of seeing all the killing in your name
and a funny way of ignoring all the murder and the pain
'cos whilst those bombs are falling and you're off a waging war
it's your blind eye that's turning from the dying and the poor

So don't pretend that you can't see whilst you look the other way
as you talk in double standards whilst you're playing god all day
'cos you won't see the dead and buried deep beneath the ground
'cos your blind eye's a turning whilst you kick the truth around

Then claiming faith in Jesus you jumped aboard a ship of fools
saying you fought for freedom but went breaking all his rules
so as you sing for love of country then bow down before the flag
it's your blind eye not seeing all the dead in body bags

And those beliefs you have are phoney when you say to God they're tied
and so are those you're fighting, would JC have taken sides?
So don't waste you're time a preaching all your claims of right 'n wrong
'cos we don't need your false ideals or your party's to belong

You try to preach that freedom falls through bomb filled skies
whilst the 24 hour news don't hear the people as they cry
and tho' you say it like you mean it's just propaganda in our heads
as the TV tells us what to think 'n your thoughts are all they said

But just one look inside the system and it's all to plain to see
that our rulers sit on blood stained thrones just killers running free
so take a look beneath their veil and we'll see their one eye blind
and we'll know the time has come to pull down their grand design

Do we need a flag to define us and show us how to be?
and do we need these politicians to tell us that we're free?
so let's forget our false religions 'n leave behind our nation states
let's remove the puppet masters and end the killing and the rape

See it's time we came together 'n stopped the murder and the pain
yes it's time we came together and removed these ball 'n chains
but we've not time to wait for prophets like Ghandi and Luther King
we've got to stand and speak for peace and let the change begin.

Thought For The Day #1

2007-06-26T19:44:00.001+01:00

The 380

2007-06-24T11:00:00.001+01:00

The homeless man makes the bus shelter
his nomadic home
he sleeps where people would sit
on the peeling green wooden slats

His thick grey beard and dark
bushy eyebrows hide his face
creased and worn by the passing years

His white t-shirt is holier than any church
his jeans faded and torn
shoes worn, marked and scuffed

On the wooden ledge above him
he keeps his store of food
1 loaf of bread
1 apple
1 muffin.

He leaves them there all day
and they are still there when he returns
after all,
who is going to steal from the homeless?

He doesn't sleep there every night
sometimes he sleeps in the shelters
along my bus route
i see him on occasion sprawled out
as the bus pulls up.

I often wonder his name
and what he did before sleeping rough
A banker?
A father?
A builder?

He must gave grown up with friends
family,
laughing and joking
enjoying the summer sun
splashing in the sea
laying on the beach.

Someone must have loved him
but now it appears
like many others he has no one
and it would appear no one
wants him

Originally written, 29th November 2000

Mad?

2007-06-24T10:33:00.000+01:00

In the rain I stood at the bus stop
droplets of water chasing down my head and neck
cars splashed by as across the road he stood.
A velvetine purple coat
cordaroy beige pants
and a pair of battered white shoes.
His hair frizzy brown
dampened only by the persistant splash
splash,
splash,
of raindrops.
He wore a beard, Merlin like
jutting out in bizarre directions,
his blue eyes swivelling inside his head
in a strange majestic fashion.
He stood upright
looking down at his feet
his hands on his hips.
On the ground lay six clear bags
each the size of a house brick
filled with a white substance.
Raising an arm he thrust his index finger
sternly in their direction
wagging it,
furiously.
Cars splashed by and a bus stopped between us
passengers heads turned in his direction.
When it pulled away he was swivelled at the hips
finger and arm pointing down the road.
His voice was intermittently
loud then incoherent
between the passing cars.
A grey man with a red brolley
sauntered toward him
but on seeing him veered away
crossing the road
casting a suspicious glance
over his shoulder.
Merlin bent down and picked up a bag
looked to his left
and held a conversation
with a man
who wasn't there.
He talked calmly at first
then raised his voice.
Shouting, screaming, whaling.
A girl with no brolley but a large
floppy hat walked by
giving him a wide berth
looking straight ahead
as if there was nothing there
but a large hole
ready to fall in to.
Merlin held the bag in front of his eyes
and stared hard at it.
He threw it in the direction
of the man who wasn't there
and it broke next to his feet
the contents clutching the wet pavement.
Merlin pointed at the broken bag
a finger jabbing in its direction
whilst shouting at the man
who still wasn't there.
My bus pulled up and I left them,
arguing.

Originally written, 16th November 2000

Afterglow

2007-06-24T10:27:00.000+01:00

Traces of your afterglow
still mark the places we used to go
I sit in rooms like you're still there
in the flat on that old torn chair
and in the afterglow of day
slivers of light flash back
to Elizabeth Bay.
A long walk then we sit and lay
by the boats and by the shore
I look back and still
I miss you more

Originally written in 2000

'Diaper Bob'

2007-06-24T09:52:00.001+01:00

Jerreee! Jereee!

Flicking through the channels
for something to watch
flicking on to Jerry Springer

Jerry smiles, the audience goes wild
Jerry introduces 'Diaper Bob'
sat in a chair
wearing a nappy
Bob is 35 and has a beer belly
and a dodgy moustache

Like a two year old
with black boots on
with his diaper
the audience goes wild, again

Jerry asks Bob some questions
everyone laughs at Bob
Bob says he doesn't give a shit

After the break we get to see Bob
walking the streets of Chicago
in just his diaper
what a treat.

During the break i'm told to buy
'The Greatest present this Christmas'
-Pocket Sock
it's a pocket, in a sock
Apparently everyone is buying them
it's all the rage
you can even keep your credit card
in your 'pocket sock'
amazing.

Jerry returns to a thunder of applause
and Bob walks the streets of Chicago doing normal things:
buying a paper,
getting his boots shined,
in his diaper
apparently in summer he gets a bad diaper rash
and he wears a tu-tu
pretty in pink.

Back in the studio we get to meet Bob's Mum
she doesn't like Bob wearing diapers
and neither does the audience
"You're sick" screams his Mum
the audience pop collective blood vessels in agreement.

Bob's step-dad Sean likes Bob even less
Bob's step-dad has a long mullet,
almost as bad as wearing a diaper
He punches Bob in the face
SMACK!
two grown men
one in jeans and t-shirt
one in a diaper
rolling round on the studio floor.

Bob's ex-friend Pete comes on to the show
and says he gave Bob a place to stay
but claims he repaid him by waking him up
whilst standing over his bed
in just his diaper
Pete's girlfriend didn't appreciate this either.

After the next break Bob is going to eat....
dog food.
I consider rushing out to buy 'Pocket Sock'
but I want to see Bob chowing down
'Pocket Sock' will have to wait.

Bob tells Jerry he wants to sign his life away
to a dominatrix.
Jerry introduces Mistress Jade.
She walks out on stage with two men
on leather dog leashes
Jerry cracks a joke
the audience laugh
I laugh.

Mistress Jade orders Bob to eat the dog food
like the bitch that he is
Bob crawls on his hands and knees
and eats the dog food
he is one sick puppy.

Bob says he'd do anything for her
and suggests Jerry tries it
Jerry says he's a vegetarian
Everyone laughs
except Bob.

As Bob is about to sign his life away to Mistress Jade
his Mum, step-dad and ex-friend come back on stage
and tear up the contract
Bob is upset
he waves his arms
sticks out his pigeon-chest
shouting and swearing on national tv
eating dog food
wearing a diaper
no wonder he's angry.

It's obvious Bob needs help
so Jerry brings on a psychiatrist called Alan
The audience love Alan,
they chant his name
and pop another collective blood vessel.

Alan says Bob needs re-conditioning
to wear trousers
just like 'normal people'.
Bob throws the trousers away
Alan picks a girl from the audience
she's told to tell Bob how sexy he is,
"You're soooo sexy Bob"
Bob doesn't believe her
She tries again
but Bob is having none of it.

Jerry finishes the show by saying
Bob's ok to wear diapers
as long as he doesn't steal them
and that he should really find out what's wrong

The diapers are probably covering up
a bigger mess than we think.

Originally written in 2000

Fast Train To Nowhere

2007-06-23T15:01:00.000+01:00

Political song lyrics about where the human race is headed...

I was walking thro' the station a headin' for my train
a hummin' Bobby D when the rain came down again
as a voice came over the tannoy telling me "you're late!"
they'd gone and changed the platform so I broke for number 8

On the bottom step a fat controller was standing there
his cheeks puffed out with whistle and flag raised in the air
"Hey man" I said "Don't go! There's somewhere I gotta be"
but he pursed his lips 'n blew shoutin' "From sea to shining sea!"

I had to make a move so I jumped on over mind the gap
leaping down the platform 'n across the cinder track
and as the train it gathered pace but before it pulled away
a small man held out his hand 'n said "Are you coming down my way?"

So I took it, climbed aboard 'n lay panting on the floor
the small man said, "Im Ghandi Id like to welcome you aboard!"
"Oh no" I said "see this ain't right, I didn't want this train
"I need the sixteen forty-five, it's a heading for Ukraine"

He just sat and nodded sagely then smiled like wise men do
this journey he then told me was to a destination sad but true
then he pointed down carriage and I saw the faces of despair
all the world's forgotten people were sat waiting on a prayer

I stood 'n frowned at Ghandi then strode on down the train
there were people dying slowly and others gone insane
and as I passed a preacher man kneelin' down upon the floor
I said "Hey what you doin' what's worth a prayin' for?"

"Child" he said, "Im a man of God, I put my faith in change"
"Man" I said your crazy, "And your clothes are kinda strange"
gettin' up off his knees a recognition passed by his eyes
then he ran away whilst screaming, "The book is full of lies!"

I shrugged and skipped on through right into second class
where spaced-out 60's hippies were all smoking joints of grass
the air was thick and heavy, hung low with purple haze
And I could hear guitars a wailing just like the good ol' days

I asked an old beared man, "hey can I join you in a smoke?"
"Sure," he said "no problem, but you'll have to play some folk"
so he passed me his guitar and I strummed some 60's songs
caused a line of people to walk past saying "ban the bombs"

Steppin' through first class I saw prime ministers and kings
their cups were overflowing held by hands with golden rings
they drank 'n laughed 'n ate like pigs do in their troughs
talkin' about world debt 'n how the money got syphoned off

The people were just pawns they said in a bigger global game
just little cogs inside a wheel for whom they felt no pain
and when the ending came they'd be deep inside their holes
a hiding from the fallout and a billion forgotten souls

I reached the final carriage saw a sign hung on the door
said I couldn't go no further and that this was the law
but ive never been a man to listen to blind authority
so I decided to walk on through and take a look-e-see

And on the other side I saw a steam engine painted red
with a man not burning coal but moneyed notes instead
then from underneath his cloth cap I spied his great big ears
and when I looked upon his face it confirmed my darkest fears

I said "George what are you doing a burnin' all this money
there's people back there dying do you think it's kinda funny?"
he looked a little puzzled then stood and scratched his head
like a monkey eating peanuts when he opened wide and said

"Gotta keep this engine going a straight on down the track
say Im running right out of bills would you pass another sack?"
I said "George it's time to stop and turn this train around
before we all run out of time and you run us all aground"

But he wasn't going to listen - man's too busy burning bills
cos when he wasn't killing people this is how he got his thrills
so I pulled down on the break and stepped back on the ledge
took out the carriage bolt and watched him plunge over the edge.

Quote Of The Day

2007-06-23T14:59:00.001+01:00

"The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same forms of mental pathology does not make these people sane." - Erich Fromm

World Bank says Western Economy to collapse by 2035

2007-06-23T14:57:00.000+01:00

Satire...

A leaked World Bank report suggests that the world economy will face a meltdown in the next 30 years due to the fact that most people in developed western economies will soon have everything they really need. The confidential report prepared by some of the world's most respected economists states,

"The outlook for growth of the world economy over the next 30 years is deeply worrying. It's entirely possible that by 2035 everyone in the western world will have everything they need and will simply stop buying economic goods. In the face of this scenario it is recommended that we look at how to encourage people to keep spending the money they will no longer have any use for."

The report goes on to suggest that in order to keep people spending money, companies may have to adopt a 'Buy one, get one free' approach to marketing and advertising. This is expected to mean for instance that consumers would be able to buy one car and get another absolutely free. The report doesn't state the finer details of what may happen to the disposable income people no longer need, but a World Bank insider who didn't want to be named commented,

"Its believed that people may actually start giving their money away to people who actually have a need for it. We're looking at a scenario where the world's poor will be able to buy many things they couldn't previously afford like food, water and shelter. An additional side effect would be that due to the development of new technology in energy industries, people could burn money to heat their homes and businesses. A former BP executive told one UK newspaper,

"We clearly have to look at the possibility of using money to provide a new form of power generation. Its entirely possible that 'money mountains' will provide and endless supply of paper from which to provide energy. Petroleum could well become a thing of the past."

One industry that is believed will remain unaffected by the development will be the footwear market. One Italian fashion designer commented, "Women will always need more shoes than they can possibly wear, we dont see this as a long term problem."

Agency Blues

2007-06-23T14:51:00.000+01:00

An ode to all those people who work or have worked for those blood sucking, parasitical employment agencies...

I'd been working down the agency
9 while 5
sellin my soul to satan
just to stay alive
but now im being shown the door
its some bureaucratic shit
cos a faceless fuckin cretin's
pulled a cost cuttin' trick

'n they said oh boy wait a while
your rise be on the way
'n they said oh boy just wait a while
one more month n then well pay

but see my money's runnin' low
n' my bills are gettin' high
they said my rise was comin'
but that was just another lie
got the bank upon my back
wantin' pennies that I owe
but im back out in the fields
without a bean to sow

'n they said oh boy wait awhile
then that cretin showed his face
'n they said oh boy just wait a while
he said i'll soon sort out this place

now I got no job to go
so its straight back on the books
been walkin cross the fields
to those Selective fuckin' crooks
so Ill get down on my knees
n pray for heaven sent
just lookin for a low paid job
to pay my god damn rent

'n they said oh boy wait awhile
your rise is on the way
'n they said oh boy just wait a while
hold out just one more day
'n they said oh boy wait a while
your rise is on the way
'n they said oh boy just wait a while
then they told me they wont pay