mejdoul recall

Be Good to Yourself,

We washed the dates

In hepatitis A infected feaces

Yet all you can talk about is that particular Bastard state,

Not your own

Sweetness

Imagining the Superposition of Green Wavefronts

The long-time anti-war leader, psychotherapist and mother just quit the Respect Party. Its a bit sad how it came about, but its coming about isnt my focus for now. The thought of the Birmingham-based Salma Yaqoob joining the Green Party does joyous things to me. I like to speculate and project my political demands onto others, so please forgive and understand any commodifying of humans-as-my-pawns here.

The UK Green Party just elected a new leadership, choosing Australian expat Natalie Bennett as their number 1 and Dudley-based Will Duckworth as deputy leader.  On a purely regional level, there are potential synergies in the midlands. It would also contest the scary neomalthusianism that underpins several flavours of environmentalism (thats you Jonathan Porritt), the technocratic aspects of Brighton's Green-led council (allowed an 80 year old pensioner to be jailed for not paying her council tax) and might broaden the political constituency beyond the over-representation of the white middle classes.

Looking  generationally I feel the politics of Decolonisation, Alterity and Life converging. Silly little NGOs and the governmentalisation of Environment and Diversity arent really helpful in realising these political demands. Hence the image below.

Black Power, Verdant Knuckles

The Superposition of Green Wavefronts

For as long as I've been paying attention, Caroline Lucas has been a principled friend to Muslims, whether on hijab protection or the case of our dear Talha Ahsan, and interesting principled deshi candidates have stood for the party in national elections. I'm thinking of Farid Bakht for Bethnal Green and Bow and Dr Shahrar Ali for Brent. I won't forget Shahrar's rendition of If you Tolerate this then your children will be next at Bush house in protest at the BBC's evilness during the Israeli siege on Gaza.

Firm, committed, educated and of-the-future, a lot of current Green people tend to provoke accusations of over-middleclassedness. However this need not necessarily a fatal flaw.  With the Occupy and other assemblages out there, including folks like Bread and Circuses and Space Hijackers, its not like we are in a time of low inspiration and monoculture.

The Green's political values seem to include: Palestinian Freedom, Climate Justice, Civil Liberties, Deconsumerisations, Welfare, Humans as part of Nature, as well as Deimperialisation at home and abroad. It seems to be a space where we might breathe in our own skins.

But there is something still more tantalisingly nonsecular about planting our political seeds in this trough, and this relates to some of the projects you see linked to on the left. Its about realising the nonsecular political selves that we are and honouring and eco-akhlaq (practical ethics) and creative ideology of Qur'anic readings, into a politics of life.

Salma Yaqoob shifting into a green political space might enable the following to unfold more fully,

• Transformation of our diet and food system to something more just, tayeb and nuronic.
• Rejection of fake Muslim environmental NGOisms
• Rejection of greenwash
• Development of khalqi politics of ummah.
• Derudeboyification.
• Decoloniality
• Farming revolution, revalourisation and localisation of food systems.
• More Trees in and around Masjids, more Masjids in and around Trees.
• Establishment of the politics of Tawhesion
• Rememberance of the Garden
• Rights of Nature laws and ethics
• Surah Zalzalian conciousness

Resources on Our Olympic Times

Dissent has been eloquent and forthcoming from left, right and liberal directions. From the inept private Olympic security firm (G4S) that likes to run detention centres for Palestinian children by the Israeli Apartheid Wall, to the missiles installed on East London Housing, from the brand policing that makes you want to puke to the disturbing sound of the London Mayors stupid voice blathering at you on every mode of public transport, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a huge joke about how superficial we are.


Recommended readings and viewings below:

The Occupied Times interviews the Official ProtestersTM of the Olympic GamesTM

The German Der Speigel lets rip

Seamus Milne examines the lock-down

East Londoners march against missiles in their neighbourhood

Even the Daily Mail does exasperated quite well

Laurie Penny steps up

Simon Jenkins muses over the idea of an Olympic audit

Prof Mike Raco on Privatisation and Depoliticisation

Cassette boy gives us our dear Mayor's welcome to the Olympics

Meanwhile last weekend more than a few Affirmative Action Alibis were carrying the torch for neoliberal crapitalism, the SpaceHijackers were having fun

and Tariq Ramadan was posting his Ramadan Chronicles

A Halal Chicken returns an angry gaze

The halal chicken took her seat
Amongst the Conference of the Birds.
"Such great accomodation,
But my complaint you haven't heard."

I demand a joint action,
For my kith and my kin,
For these Muslims are collecting,
Great barrels of sin.

At two pounds we are valued,
Beak, feathers and all,
Our flesh is devoured,
Rememberance small.

They say that it is lawful, industrial, clean,
Let's wipe them out with their own damned machines.
Our living rights are curtailed in crates and conveyers,
Optimised, efficient, cheap perverted purveyors.

Claiming diminished,
Responsibility,
Believers come to me,
With tales of colonisation and skullduggery.

I bear witness that there is no creature as abominable as mankind.

[New Word] Chickenomics

Is an ideologically imprinted way of 1) looking at the life of birds, 2) feeling the call of your belle and 3) making a monetary purchase.

Some famous chefs had a go at Tescos 3 years ago, as they introduced £1.99 whole chickens, they took a proposal for higher standards to Tescos shareholders  but only got 10% support. Alas no Jamie Oliver effect. Meanwhile, Chicken Cottage HQ in Croydon expects to make a killing in the economic downturn as people look to spend less on eating out.

Much of the internal conversation withing the integrative community tends to be on the stunning/ non stunning issue. Stunning is an inhuman, cowardly and barbaric modern practice, but as Musalmen we should consider the (de)industrialisation of farming.

Chickenomics is multifaculty.

Fat cats, poets, grandmothers and farmers invited.