A nice new conspiracy theory to worry about

Bilderberg is a shadowy annual conference, comprising of about 130 guests who are from the worlds of finance, politics and big business. The very rare times their members have spoken publicly about the content of their meetings, they have refuted being an elite class orchestrating the fate of the planet and its people, just people with very large influence on the world meeting with other people with large influence over the world. The fact that they are so secretive, they dont allow the press to attend, they dont publish statements or attendee lists and that they have extreme security surrounding their annual meeting has lead to the inevitable conspiracy theories. I cant say whether they are evil, innocent, or just a jolly little social club that most of us will not be invited to join. But there are those who accuse them of having the power to install their chosen representatives in positions of power around the world, and indeed of having done so.

Make up your own mind. Further reading below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildeberg

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/series/charlie-skeltons-bilderberg-files

Dancing On The Ceiling, Saving The World One Lentil At A Time and George Bush

Having been traveling for roughly the last year I didnt have access to my (very) old laptop. This means I didnt have all my favourite websites saved in my IE Favourites. Today I spent some time checking out my favourite old music sites, and found alot of musical joy out there, new music and old music I had never heard before, that got me dancing round the kitchen, and yes, even on the ceiling.

So friends I would like to share some links that come highly recomended, if you like good music that is.

http://www.parisdjs.com/index.php/post/Paris-DJs-Soundsystem-Morning-Sunshine







http://sunnybrooklyn.blogspot.com/">http://sunnybrooklyn.blogspot.com/

http://africolombia.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/dirtydiggers

Hope you enjoy.

Currently feeling very full from eating too many chocolate biscuits, Mr Kipling cakes and popcorn. Plus had fish and chips for lunch, beans on toast for brunch and porridge and boiled egg (with pitta bread) for breakfast.

However, I will be going part time (3 days a week) vegetarian this week and may even flirt with one day of hardcore veganism per week. Main reason for this is the environmental impact, not to mention social injustice of rearing animals for human consumption. For more read about a small town in Belgium that is going veggy one day a week (its called Ghent and I went to a trance party there in 1997, complete coincedence) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/may/16/ghent-belgium-vegetarian-town-environment

Oh, and this put a smile on my face too
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2008/aug/12/bushlol?picture=336501045

808 Police State

Yesterday I was waiting for a friend outside Mile End Tube Station. I noticed a police officer outside the station look at me several times during the course of 5, maybe 10 minutes (I was early for my rendezvous). 

The police officer approached me and enquired what I was doing hanging around at the station.

Minding my own business was my response. Why do I need to explain myself to a police officer when I am doing no wrong? 

Where are you from sir, are you British? Were you born in London? 

What this had to do with anything I dont know. Apparently, the officer informed, it is perfectly normal to ask people what they are doing in certain "high risk" areas. 

Why just yesterday she had managed to catch a villain by asking him what he was doing, and it turned out he was a wrong 'un. 1 out of how many? Policing by numbers? 

Now, I have nothing to hide, but I also expect my privacy to be respected. Apparently people are made to feel safe by the police acting in this way, personally, personally I dont feel the need to  report into Big Brother to feel warm and safe from all the nasty problems out there. exactly why do people want to bomb this country? Why do junkies rob old grannies? Is it because society has created these problems, society run by The Government, who then use these problems as reasons for further invading our privacy and civil liberties, slowly making us more dependent on them and used to our liberties being compromised bit by bit?

Slowly civil liberties are being eroded in this country.  CCTV is everywhere (more cameras in the UK than the rest of Western Europe combined), police using kettling techniques to hold innocent protesters against their will (but at least we have the right to demonstrate!), meetings of more than two people in public can be sanctioned by police if they deem it neccesary, we haven't had a right to silence for 15 years now, the present Government has made attempts to introduce trials without jury in certain circumstances. 

Check out The Freedom Bill from the Lib Dems, perhaps time for a change??

http://freedom.libdems.org.uk/

Lazy and Home

P4052532, originally uploaded by stangroomm.

Yes I am bad. I am lazy. Slovenly. Loafish. I haven't updated my blog in ages. I have been "busy" doing other things. Reading. Spanish classes. Travelling. Training. Not much else.
Back home now. In Kenilworth, Warks., England. Looking vaguely for employment of a short term variety. Life back in the economic crisis is actually worse than i thought. Work wise anyway. Im sure there are a tonne of jobs if you want one. And also that you need to work alot harder than before to not even get the same results.
But its nice to be back, with family and friends. Not much changed, although I think I have.

Ok so brief summary of the last few weeks. Popayan (colombia) a very pretty city best known for its Easter Holy Week processions, great if you are a Catholic. San Agustin (Colombia) accesible only via The Road To Hell, a 100km ride from Popayan, that takes 6 hours, the road doesnt deserve to be called a road. You literally crawl along at 15km the whole way because it is basically a collection of holes, held together by some concrete. Anyway, once you get there, its a lovely village next to a very important archeological site, lots of stone carvings of animals, man, manimals etc from pre Christ, ie well old.

A sad farewell to Colombia, I had a great time in a great country, surrounded by great people. The trip home was softened somewhat by a 4 day stay in Rio de Janeiro, one of my favourite cities on the planet Earth. I stayed with Antonio and Patricia, a wonderful couple who like to party and know everyone you need to know in Rio it would seem, anyway, they always seem to show one a good time. Partied pretty hard, in stark contrast to my Puritan behaviour of the last 6 weeks in Colombia (well almost Puritan).

And then the journey home. 10.5 hours flew by, crap food, 5 hours sleep, some TV and a bit of banter past the time away. Luckily arrived back to blue sky and 21 degrees otherwise I may have turned round at T5 and gone home.

Next step is to work out my next step. Most likely, 3 months working in London, save some dosh and then head off again.

Pablos Medellin

To read my thrilling peice of photojournalism on Pablo Escobar, click here

Super Cali Fragalistic Espi-alidocious

P3232507, originally uploaded by stangroomm.

Rainbows over Cali. I am doing Spanish lessons every other day with a geezer called Leandro. Have been training Shaolin Kung Fu in a Martial Arts school, very cool, they train hard too, which I like. Also do alot of Tai Chi there, and they do more of that with the kung fu which is anice touch. The Master of the school is nails without particuarly looking it, always a good sign in Kung Fu. Also training at the hostel with a couple of American guys. One of them, John from NY met a Colombian girl last month and they are now engaged! He moves fast that boy.

Not much else, just enjoying the vibe of the city. There isnt that much to Cali, but it is a nice place to be, nice climate, great people. Went to a tiny little salsa club last night and danced a bit. The Calenos are mad for salsa, the club was full so the crowd spilled over onto the pavement, it was cats and dogs ouside but it didnt stop them from dancing in the rain, salsa crazy these folk.

Viva Californication

P3182469, originally uploaded by stangroomm.

Cali, Colombia, not Cali, California. Dont think I have written anything about Medellin though. I stayed in a super cool hostel called Casa del Sol, a very chilled place, a bit like a chill out party house really, right up my street. Some cool dudes hang out there, had a nice couple of smokes, an Argentinan BBQ or asado as they like to call it, which was delicious and I watched the latest Bond movie on a pirated DVD. I think I must have been slightly under the influence as it was until about half way through that I realised that the language was alternating between English and German, very odd!

Another random thing that happened was this old lady who claimed to be 83 who strode into the hostel, and bear hugged everyone,she claimed that she could squeeze energy out of young people and this was what kept heer so strong, her hand shake would have made Arnie Schwarzanegger wince.

The main reason I was in Medellin was to do the awesome Pablo Escobar tour of Medellin. A 3 and a half hour information packed tour of Pablos Medellin, run by a very cool guy called Nicolas, who basically just comes and picks you up in his little van and drives you round some of the famous Pablo sites of Medellin, like his house, offices, the place where they eventtually tracked him down and killed him and his tomb, all the time talking about what life was actually like in Medellin and Colombia duringg the 90s when Pablo was at war with the Colombian governement. I was really fascinated by it, he was according to Forbes magazine at the time, the 7th richest man on the planet, all of his money totally illegal and a very intelligent businessman, albeit slightly unorthodox in the way he went about doing business. He had a very simple rule, "plata o plomo" , "silver or lead", meaning if you worked for him you got paid, if you didn't you would get a bullet through your skull. Nicolas had first hand experience of Pablos ways, his friend and friends Mum were killed by one of Pablos bombs, planted outside a police station in Medellin.

It is worth noting here, for those of you who havent been to Colombia or Medellin that it is now a beautiful city, very modern with some wonderful architecture and the people went through some very hard times in the 90s which they have put behind them. It seems those times inspired them to rebuild their city and culture, it is a very cool and progressive place, not to mention full of beautiful women.

I have since been in Cali for the last 5 days. Chilling out really, again, found a nice hostel called Iguanas with some good people there, it will be my home until next Saturday when I'm heading to Popayan for the Easter festivities and then San Agustin, an archealogical site of great importance in South America, home to some statues that are pre Colombine. It is in some beautiful countryside and I am going to be camping.

Buena vida indeed but I have just under 4 weeeks to go before I will be home.....so I am starting to think about the future. Will it be London, Ibiza, Barcelona or China?