About

Freelance writer. Bad poet. Based in São Paulo. More.

Entries in globalisation (3)

Monday
Mar162015

Charivari Time.

Being a brief discourse upon the practice of SONICK PROTEST otherwise known as ROUGH MUSIC, PANELAÇO or CHIVARI, that was latterly revived in the PORTUGUESE COLONIES of BRAZIL born of a most UNGODLY CONTUMELY against their DULY APPOINTED MASTERS, accompanied by sundry philosophical disquisitions upon that most heathen abomination, DEMOCRACY.

Click to read more ...

Tuesday
Jan202015

The Perfect Indictment of Capitalism.

From the closing scenes of The Constant Gardener (the movie):  

So who has got away with murder? Not, of course, the British government. They merely covered up, as one does, the offensive corpses. Though not literally. That was done by person or persons unknown. So who has committed murder? Not, of course, the highly respectable firm of KDH Pharmaceutical, which has enjoyed record profits this quarter, and has now licensed ZimbaMed of Harare, to continue testing Dypraxa in Africa. No, there are no murders in Africa. Only regrettable deaths. And from those deaths we derive the benefits of civilization, benefits we can afford so easily... because those lives were bought so cheaply.

Friday
Oct042013

The Lottery.

Growing up insulated by the bubble of first-world economics, in which consumer demand has dictated supplier behaviours for decades, I never considered that there could be places, indeed whole countries, where people might be relatively as well off as me, but unable to buy nice clothes or goods because the economy simply didn't make them available at that price. Moreover, all the people running those businesses and banks, who can afford the quality goods that are beyond the reach of the middle classes, and who are well aware of the disparity, must think they can get away with flogging this crap because the general population won't do anything about it. Yeah, go on, just chuck some patriotic nonsense at them, some TV shows, some sex, some alcohol for the adults and sugar for the kids, and depend on them remaining ignorant of the fact that they could be enjoying a better quality of life if they had just been born in another part of the world.