Sean @ Paganarchy

When John Denver first sang Shanghai Breezes, and I quote:

And the moon and the stars are the same ones you see

it's the same old sun up in the sky

And your voice in my ear is like heaven to me

like the breezes here in old Shanghai

he must have been staying on the outskirts of town. It is sad to say that because of the constant smog, there are no visible stars and I can't see the moon either. On Sunday, when she was full, there was not a speck of lunar love above this city due to the constant blanket of grey. I have come down with a nasty lurgy which is really quite sad as it really is dilapidating to the point that I can't muster the energy to get out there and explore during my spare time. gutted.

Well the good news is that my local area (west shanghai) is really wonderfully friendly, with loads of delicious food places and smiley people. I have learnt kung fu, and about 8 other chinese words.

My throat feels like some uber-domme (lady pinque?) has stuffed a handful of vacuum cleaner dust down it! congested and full of grey matter. I hope it'll clear out pretty smartly! My free time here is really limited what with a heavy work schedule.

Hopefully my lungs and throat will be clear tomorrow, just like the breezes here in old shanghai.

xx Sean

The controversial legislation banning "extreme porn" will become law on May 9th, but there is still time to stop it. This law would stop me and my lover taking photos or films of ourselves in some of our favourite erotic positions - with a prison sentence of up to THREE years for possession of said photos. This new legislation makes no difference between consenting adults filming the BDSM fun, and actual acts of violence which is already illegal.

But there is movement and a growing wave of people opposing this thought-crime legislation. MPs and Lords are being lobbied and I urge you all to write to your MP to help put some sense back into this thing.

Full info on the Backlash UK website.

Watch Deborah Hyde from Backlash speak out the new legislation on youtube:

I'm really surprised to see something like this in the Jerusalem Post:

The Palestinian Authority is planning to mark Israel's 60th anniversary by calling on all Palestinians living abroad to converge on Israel by land, sea and air.

The plan, drawn by Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Fatah operative and Deputy Minister for Prisoners' Affairs in the Palestinian Authority, states that the Palestinians have decided to implement United Nations Resolution 194 regarding the refugees.

Article 11 of the resolution, which was passed in December 1948, says that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible."

The initiative is the first of its kind and is clearly aimed at embarrassing Israel during the anniversary celebrations by highlighting the issue of the "right of return" for the refugees.

I'm sure this will be embarrassing for the Zionist movement. It's turn the old Zionist call of the "Right of Return" to Israel on its head. And why wouldn't the Palestinians also have the right to live in the land where they grew up eh?

The rest of the article is over on the Jerusalem Post.

Sean

I find it fascinating how different groups can get their estimates so drastically differently depending on their political affiliation:

"The Stop the War coalition, which organised the event, along with CND and the British Muslim Initiative, estimated that around 100,000 participated in London. The Metropolitan Police estimated about 2,000-3,000 took part."

from http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2020933,00.html

Chicago resident Malachi Ritscher last week wrote his own obituary, then set fire to himself causing his own death by fatal burns.

Reading through his blog (which includes his obituary) is a pretty intense experience. His action was a protest against the Iraq war and more generally "for the mayhem and turmoil caused by my country".

Malachi says of his own country, the United States "To the rest of the world we are cowards - demanding Iraq to disarm, and after they comply, we attack with remote-control high-tech video-game weapons. And then lie about our reasons for invading. We the people bear complete responsibility for all that will follow, and it won't be pretty."

It's tragic that so many people are so full of turmoil at the state of the world that they feel the only way they can express themselves is via their own deaths. It's tragic that no media has given this much attention so I feel the need to help Malachi have his story heard.