Let's try Branding Big Brother and George Osborne

Big Brother is due to return in a few weeks. 

Looking back past Andrew Tate, himself Big Brother Graduate in Narcissistic Villainy, I recall Big Brother as one of the most obnoxious things of its time. That Big Mouth after show and Russel Brand compounded its obnoxiousness to levels that would disappoint most if not all ancestors and teachers of people who walk the earth today. Many made careers and treasure from its shameless amplification of shaytanic whispers, a celebration the very worst of humanity, flipping a critique of surveillance culture 270 degrees, with a corporate festival of lechery, gossip and the reduction of the human to a dull throbbing base. All watched over by machines of graceless consent.  What could go wrong? 

It was very much a product of Blairtime Britain, Drool Britannia, Britannia waves the Rules. The show and entertainment industry gave Russel Brand, a desperately needy person who from a young age demonstrated just how low he he would go for attention and 'fame', a powerful set of relationships and skills with which he could do as he chose. 

As we are being made aware, everywhere. Russel Brand is in the process of having his historic, sexual impunity protection services withdrawn. A combination of formerly consenting sexual partners|rape victims have had the courage|been encouraged to speak up together. Established investigative journalists have followed through|been resourced to research, refine and curate arguments against him in print and broadcast media. 

Commentary on this media event range from empathy and reflection on the enduring harms of rape, and the difficulties stopping it to the predicament of the perpetrator. I wouldn't spend too much energy defending him, beyond say right to fair trial and treatment. that is energy that can be put to greater justice learning.  It is not a problem that he hasn't brought upon himself and a decent man would take responsibility. He doesn't face the same unjust and torturous fate awaiting Julian Assange, and his contributions to geopolitical justice, past and potential, are not so significant that I can see. As far as postBlair Britain is capable, those who really knew and developed this despicable cultural situation, and these kinds of abuse to human dignity should be brought to a special kind of justice. Especially now that the Big Brother franchise is about to be relaunched.

During and after the (first?!) COVID years, as mistrust and frustration at the morality and substance of political, medical and corporate authorities has grown, he has been deeply in the fray, with a youtube channel that has annoyed, entertained and (mis)educated, and till now evaded the hegemonic power of techno liberal jobsworths at the company. Maybe there is some simple envy operating too, but the  ..erm.. ageist optical  and critical lefts seem to lose there sh!t when anyone tries to contest and short circuit their left and alt right audiences online. 

There are plentimaw able truth seekers out there, there will be plentimaw men who fall through their penises and they will have plentimaw victims, and hypocrites too.

Not unrelatedly in allegation of sexual abuse, over the summer, the former British Chancellor George Osborne, aka, the austerity killer was remarried. Current British Museum Director George Osborne's decisions are argued, with data, to have caused the premature deaths of more people than COVID did directly in Britain, perhaps twice as many. If we factor in the excess deaths and human suffering of COVID following and due to austerity, it is a mighty arsehole footprint. On the eve of the occasion somebody who didn't like him very much distributed a disturbing email to his guests. It became widely available if you knew where to look for it. Nobody wrote very much about it, but a spontaneous protest against the couple at the.... church.... was turned into a media spectacle about Just Stop Oil, the climate justice campaign group. JSO did what they could to make what looked like a dead cat strategy work in their favour, but given the identities of the wedding guests, a wide section of the political and media elite, we are entitled to wonder.

What is allowed in to the court of public opinion in the first place. 

Review: Fauzia Khan film | Bangla Season of Drama

Last night [9/11/11] in the nowhere lab, an art studio and venue on Bethnal Green Road, we were treated to the Bangla Season of Drama’s film night. Managed by the good people of The Brady Centre and supported by farsighted community organisation the season is something worthwhile supporting, for all sorts of reasons.


The film night was centred on an autobiographical account of theatrical director and veteran Fauzia Khan I do deform to be deformed, and followed by shorter feature from curator Hamja Ahsan and Drik Gallery’s Chobi Mela. The evening provided a window into a cultural conversations that we see or hear little of on these shores. We have to squint and listen hard for the little that we can witness here, something which should change.

The main feature followed Begum Fauzia over her career of participation in the Bangladesh theatre scene since national formation. Glancing themes of rebellion, roots, collective creative labour and artistic method, the piece depicts the artist’s eye view of her creative processes and self-image. Being this viewer’s first contact with her work, it was difficult to fully grasp at times. I guess a great deal is lost in translational steps. For example, I found the subtitler’s conflation of the Catholic concept of confession and the Islamic concept of tawba a bit silly. Fauzia Khan sure has an awesome singing voice and is someone I will be paying attention to. It was the clear vocal training and lyricism that appealed to me, if not the roles and scenarios played out on stage.

Next, as a here-and-now interlude, a collection of short films from OtherAsias  Hamja Ahsan were shown. The first places a Brick Lane restaurant tout in St Martin’s Art College, much to that institution’s bemusement. The second and third ran two Bangladeshi narratives on Morrisey’s warped worldview down Brick Lane.

In both directions, from the deeply insulted post colonial man in a lunghi and futwa brandishing a sugar cane travelling from banglatown to dickhead town, a Bengali on a platform, to the third generation Asian uberfans heading the other way with no coherent narrative other than badly expressed adulation.

To round up, a video presentation of Drik Gallery’s fifth Chobi Mela in 2010 rammed the point home that there is very good news from Bangladesh, even if it is a little too donor sponsored. Shahidul Alam, the founder of Drik is an activist and photographer of international reknown. The Chobi Mela is a unique expressive event that moves both the socially-engaged international photography community and the national community. The feature again took the position of fly-on-the-rather-interesting-wall and explored the personalities, intentions and social interactions of the festival as it unfolded in the streets, galleries and community centres of Dhaka.

Bangladesh has a great deal of creativity circulating around, and the theatre season is a good initiative to connect those of us formed in the UK to cultural production in our ancestral lands. Yes there are different ideologies and often problematic donor and national politics running through it, but I am sure we can all appreciate the confidence, beauty and inspiration value of it and learn.

This was the second in a string of theatre-based events that will take place over the next month. It is important if we are to collectively move beyond chicken shop and hip hop, with both local and Bangladeshi playwrights and actors featured.

For a the programme of events see the Tower Hamlets Arts page 

At the World Social Forum in Dakar

Have been in Senegal for about a week in the run up to the Social Forum. Incerdible place, wish you were here with us. Sufi, Social, Musical, Majical. Check this, a few nights ago I heard a band called Nuru Kane, Bai Fall  Gnawa featuring Kora AND Oud. The kora sounded like light from heaven pouring out of a rip in the sky. This land's characters have made and continue to make, great contributions to Islamic and general culture. Even the boaba trees look like they could walk up to you and give you a good old frisking! bellebellebelle.

Today was the first 'business' day of the forum and participants have come from all over. Corporate NGOs (have already bumped into CRAP) and internationalist thinktanks do feature but by far its not the NGO fair that I feared. The theme for the day was Africa and Diasporas, well reflected in the sessions and conversations that we had as well as the questions im off to lala land with.

TrustAfrica's "Culture as Weapon" was chaired/interpreted and signed with states(wo)manly awesomeness. Dr Abduoulwaye Niange especially impressed. HE'S got a DOCTORATE IN BREAK DANCE! Needless to say the political and social value of hiphop is not under estimated in the content of urban culture in this country. The discussions ranged and searched and are only beginning to sink in at the moment (Art in politics, challenges of amateur/professionalism, the culture of cooperation and conditionality, social media, BS culture, financing, relations with power/state..). To top it off, arather jubilant tunisian bromrade played us out with an oud powered song.

Following a yasser poulet lunch, conversations with a mouritian teacher, a senegerman environmental worker and a good old fashioned brain-squeeze of an autonomous artist couple we made it to the Liberation Theology run session on Borders/immigration and the right to free movement. There have been several Caravan trips here, from Bamako and other African places. These intervention/protest acts have been highlighting how Europe is outsourcing its border control to north african regimes, and how much of west africa's regional unity is paper-based and not backed up by tarmac and political-administrative enablement.

The Campus mosque is a really happy place too. Dropped the mandatorys and proceeded in the direction of some cafe touba (spicy coffee). But not before experiencing some heavy heavy Tijani (?) dhikr from one of the student halls.

Ended the night watching a Malian musical-theatrical troupe perform a fantastic production on migrant experience.

Follow the World Social Forum here.

New word : BlogSlip

This is an important term for Our knowledge culture. BlogSlip is a habit enabled by the onset of the Internet, whereby the voice of the fool is drawn further into prominence than is necessary. An important characteristic of BlogSlip is in the empowerment of flawed ideas and bitter thinking

I can BlogSlip when drawn into commenting upon that I shouldn't really get into, because the 'others' ears are filled with lead and/or I really don't have any special knowledge on the matter. BlogSlip also explains BS in the press. The UK Guardians entire 'Comment is Free' section is full of BlogSlip.

In the age where the electronically endowed and righteously indignant collide through the facilities of Web 2.0 as well as the corporate media, there is the strange idea that having an opinion, or carrying an opinion on everything is desirable, a sign of not being apathetic.

This poor attitude can only lead to trouble and gunah, for the one who really believes in Accountability.

Beware.