Consumerism, a modern disease: Stuffed animal beer bottles sell out in hours, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-10737787

A new report by the 'World Development Movement' describes "how the current situation came to pass, the risks of another speculation induced food crisis, and what specifically can be done by policymakers here in the UK as well as in the US and EU to tackle the problem. " Concludes that "reregulating commodity markets is a vital step in tackling hunger and reshaping the global economy to work for the benefit of people rather than profit for the small elite of bankers." Capitalism is not even mentioned once, let alone blamed, still the report makes interesting reading. The question is how can crises, which are systemic and regularly occuring, be overcome through system 'regulation', rather than system change? Download the report at:http://www.wdm.org.uk/sites/default/files/hunger lottery report_6.10.pdf

[video:http://www.14dd5266c70789bdc806364df4586335-gdprlock/watch?v=qOP2V_np2c0&feature=player_embedded 600x400] Animated version of Prof. David Harvey's speech "Crises of Capitalism" at the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures & Commerce, UK  

The Distortion of Hospitality - From Philoxenia to Philochrematia and back In Ancient Greece,  strangers / visitors  (the “xenoi”) were considered sacred (possibly gods undercover) and Philoxenia or ‘loving care towards strangers’ was a duty. This took the form of free hospitality and even gifts to the departing stranger, creating friendship bonds that would bind offsprings as well. Of course there were similar customs in many other regions and civilizations, until the industrial era. Beyond ethics, there were practical reasons for this too, as strangers (tradesmen, explorers, philosophers etc) were rare sources of information, knowledge and wisdom, not to mention that there were very few hotels! The above sounds surreal  considering  what today goes by the name of  ‘tourism industry’, characterized by the luring of clients, who will never engage in any meaningful dialogue with their hosts, to small boxes where they will be offered fake care and attention in exchange...

  The Guardian reports (or advertises?) that the Greek government plans to sell off state-owned land in some well-known resort islands such as Mykonos, and even entire islands, under pressure from the IMF and the EU. It is indeed tragic that our - nominally socialist - government, is enthusiastically (rather than under pressure) following thatcherite, neoliberal policies, which, along with disposing public utilities, facilities (ports, airports, trains, postal services) and public lands, include the dismantling of the social welfare state, the creation of a 'flexible' labour market and more.Otherwise the - usually quiet - sale of small islands is nothing new, some have been in private hands for generations, claimed (arbitrarily) by the descendants of sheperds, monks, fishermen, seamen etc. There are also some who have been bought and resold and are in the hands of Greek shipowners (famously Skorpios, Petalioi, Spetsopoula).The newspapers are of course trying to create provocative headlines...

Anavra (Ανάβρα - 780 m asl, pop 1,000) is a mountain village and municipality on the slopes of mount Othrys, in the middle of peninsular Greece, in Magnesia prefecture near Almyros. (Map). What is so special about it? Occupied by the descendants of nomadic Sarakatsani , it enjoys 0% unemployment at a time of crisis and reactionary IMF-imposed austerity in Greece, and one of the few mountain villages where the population is steadily growing. It produces its own renewable energy with the highest Wind farm in Greece (at 1600 mt) at Alogorahi (“Horse’s Ridge”). It has a latest technology - certified Municipal Slaughter House (which sounds a bit scary but at least the meat is organic and free range although at the detriment of mountain vegetation), some 15,000 goats and sheep and an equal number of cows and swines. Also, a municipal Museum of Stockraising (no suprise there), a municipal (free)...

Piracy in international waters is on the rise in recent years... Latest example in the eastern Med. Against peace activists, solidarity tourists, from over 50 countries. With a still unknown number of victims. In solidarity, follow this link to a Gaza strip guide by a Palestinian NGO working in alternative tourism, and this link by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, to read about all the great sights we cannot currently visit in Gaza, the world’s largest open air prison.

  8 May 2010, San Francisco: a "flashmob" infiltrates the Westin St. Francis hotel and performs an adaptation of a popular song, to draw attention to a boycott called by the hotel workers demanding a fair contract and affordable healthcare. More details about boycotted hotels can be found at: http://www.hotelworkersrising.org/HotelGuide/boycott_list.php

Recently there was a report in the Guardian about Kanellos 'the (Athenian) Protest Dog' intrepid follower of the demonstrators, always taking their side:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2010/may/06/greece-protest?picture=362290874 The truth is that this is Kanellos II, as the legendary one passed away in 2008. They are both named after Kanella meaning Cinammon due to their colour. Looking at old and new pictures, possibly there are more than one Kanellos at any time, and there is also another one called Loukanikos ("Sausage") In the centre of Athens there are many friendly stray dogs, which were neutered and tagged in the run up to the 2004 Olympics (aka the developers 12bn feast). The original organizers plan was to send them to the kennel and then probably "euthanize" them but there were protests and they dropped the plan. Near victims of the same policies that brought their biped fellow citizens to this point, they have a rightful place in...