Wednesday 15 December 2010

Wikileaks - Big brother's big brother


UPDATE: Swedish prosecutors have lost their High Court appeal against bail granted to the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

The greatest threat to society is ignorance. I see this posing a massive threat against us regarding data retention directive (DLD in Norwegian), and with freedom of press and freedom of expression regarding Wikileaks and Julian Assange.

On a weekly basis I talk to people who ask me questions regarding both subjects. And I am shocked by their lack of knowledge. Wake up and smell the coffee, sweetheart...the government has been oppressing you since the day you were born.

I don't enjoy destroying their illusions. If people don't start waking up, they will unknowingly ruin my freedom. These people are drones, and waking up to reality is deeply uncomfortable. Democracy is constantly evolving, and if you don't participate it will evolve into something you really don't want it to. Use that freedom of expression to make sure you remain a free human being.

Use it or loose it.

I am growing tired of debating with ignorant people. If I can access the information, then so can you. The government prefer you to stay stupid and ignorant, we see it in the states where the education system has left the country on the break of total destruction. And in Norway education is not prioritized, the politicians want you working, not educated. Work, make them money, stay dumb. If that does not work, they will start censoring the news papers, the radio, they will twist and distort your information claiming it's for your own good. As with data retention.

Mass surveillance is for our own safety. They are doing this to protect us from terrorists, predators, Pirate Bay and other «serious crime». They are creating an enemy, whom we did not fear at all, mind you. This is information you willingly pass on to the next person. Spreading misinformation like a virus. You recognize China as a supressed country, but fail to see the same prosess at work at home. Res publica. Look it up.

Wikileaks is to me the best example of how this prosses works. Wikileaks has revealed serious war crimes, human rights violations, and corruption spread out over a 4 year period. From human rights violations in Guantanamo Bay, corruption in Kenya, opening up church of scientology, corruption on Iceland, the collateral murder video, the Granai airstrike, the Afghan was diaries, not to mention the diplomatic cables that made governments over the world have a total fit. The list goes on.

Now the US are censoring it's newspapers, students are instructed not to read about wikileaks, library of congress are censoring the material, MasterCard, Visa and Paypal refuse to offer their service to Wikileaks, (that was dealt with) hindering you and me to spend our money the way we want to, claiming Wikileaks is engaged in illegal activities. (Paypal lied and you can read all about that here.) (And let's never forget Bradly Manning.) Yet in spite of all this, wikileaks has not been convicted of any crime. Wikileaks is the messanger, and operates as a media organisation in collaberation with important media such as Guardian, Der Spiegel and New York Times. Yet these are not being persecuted for publishing the same material as Wikileaks. Nor has any other media covering the leaks from across the globe. This is freedom of press. We demonize other countires for censoring people such as Salman Rushdie and Liu Xiaobo, yet we prosecute our own freedom fighters. And we still like to believe we are fully democratic in the west.

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks is, as we speak, in solitary confinement. He has not been charged with any crime, he has very restriced rights, he is being watched 24/7. Because 2 Swedish girls accused him of rape. I don't see the personal life of Assange to be relevant, but with all the misconseptions I see it as important to sort some facts out.

Assange had consensual sex with Anna Ardin while living in her flat for a few days. She invited Assange to Stockholm to speak at a seminar hosted by The Brotherhood Movement, and was briefly appointed his press secretary during his visit. Ardin tweeted <--this the same day, and the day after, the alleged rape. (Since deleted) Ardin explains how wonderfull it was to hang out with "the coolest people in the world". Wilèn who attended the seminar, more or less stalked Assange.

This ^tweet, her now only listed tweet, is dated desember 12th 2010: "I'm so sick of everything that's happening, will it never end? Want to tell the theoreticians that "the other one" was equally pushy". I have deep sympathies with genuine rape victims as I know a few, but not with Ardin. If you are worried about STD, you go to the doctor, not the cops. This whole thing was a matter between Ardin and Assange, not for the public eye and certainly not for the cops. If your date don't call you the next day, take it up with your girlfriends, not a lawyer.

Please read more about the details here, here and here and last but not least: here. (Last link is in swedish, please use google translate if needed) The rape charges were dropped the same day, as there were no evidence of rape. Then the charge were changed to «sex by surprise». (In Sweden having consecual sex without condom is apparently rape, not listed here.) Assange offered to come in for questioning while in Sweden, but this was denied. He did stay 1 month longer than planned in order to get the questioning done. Denied. He was told he was free to leave the country. 3 months later he is wanted by the Interpol for questioning in Sweden. (Read Wolf's thoughts on the state pimping feminism here) I agree whole heartedy with Wolf in what Ardin and Wilèn are doing, is a grave insult to rape victims all over the world.

Assange has to this day not been charged with anything, and his lawyer has not been presented with any evidence. He has repeatedly offered to go in for questioning at the embassy in London or via video link, but this has again been denied. Assange gave the british police his contact information as soon as he arrived in England, and he turned him self in. Assange has been granted bail, but that was appealed by the UK authorities (!) And now we have to wait for another 24 hours to know the outcome of that. If he is released on bail, he will be kept in house arrest, he has to report everyday, he has to hand over his pass port and wear a electronic tracker. If he's not released on bail we are looking on months of appealing. What a massive waste of money.

We know the US are doing everything they can to extradite Assange and charge him with espionage, when he in fact wanted to involve the US government. But this request was denied. The US are sending shock waves through free press all over the world: Assange is not the criminal, the governments who committed the war crimes, the corruption, the human rights violations are the criminals. The same people who now want him dead. There has not been a single piece of evidence as to claim Wikileaks has put any lives at risk.

In his own words: "Every time WikiLeaks publishes the truth about abuses committed by US agencies, Australian politicians chant a provably false chorus with the State Department: "You'll risk lives! National security! You'll endanger troops!" Then they say there is nothing of importance in what WikiLeaks publishes. It can't be both. Which is it?"

In fact Assange is just letting you and me know whats really going on, putting his life on the line. Julian Assange is the Robin Hood of the information age. Wikileaks is opening up Governments. And you better be grateful enough to take that information and educate yourself any way you can.

This is historical, this is about internet freedom, and about press freedom. And you have to use these rights to maintain them.

On a brighter note: I want to point out that Wikileaks now have 2.194 mirror sites, and a massive support group across the globe. Assange had 382.o24 votes on Time's "Man of the year" (He didnt win, big surprise), more than 10 people offered large sums of money for his bail. Wikileaks has massive support with the people ( 1.371020 fans on Facebook), and functions as an inspiration for new similar organizations just starting up. Demonstrations has taken place is several countries. People are indeed waking up.

Finally I highly reccomend the Forbes interview for a good look into the mind of Assange and the workings of Wikileaks.

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Operation Payback - Anonymous Message About ACTA Laws, Internet Censorsh...


What happens when the governments of the world tries to take away our freedom? What happens when freedom fighters are being hunted down and arrested? The people fight back. The internet belongs to us. And the hackers are our soldiers. No blood, no killing. This is information war. This is payback time. It's on.

My deepest thanks and all my respect and support goes out to "Operation Payback" that shut down We will support you any way we can.


<-0-> 93 Thank you 93 <-0->

- Support Wikileaks -

From Operation Payback:

"Operation Payback (is a bitch), this is the Internet, we run this. An open message from Anonymous to the governments of the world and their legal leeches regarding the motivation of the cyber protests.

Corrupt governments of the world, we are anonymous. For some time now, voices have been crying out in unison against the new ACTA laws. The gross inadequacies of the new laws being passed internationally have been pointed out repeatedly. Our chief complaint is that such measures would restrict people's access to the internet.

In these modern times access to the internet is fast becoming a basic human right. Just like any other basic human right, we believe that it is wrong to infringe upon it. To threaten to cut people off from the global consciousness as you have is criminal and abhorrent. To move to censor content on the internet based on your own prejudice is at best laughably impossible, at worst, morally reprehensible.

The unjust restrictions you impose on us will meet with disaster and only strengthen our resolve to disobey and rebel against your tyranny. Such actions taken against you, and those you out source your malignant litigation too, are inevitable, unavoidable and unstoppable.

We Are Anonymous,

We Are Legion And Divided By Zero.

We Do Not Forgive Internet Censorship

And We Do Not Forget Free Speech.

We Are Over 9000,

Expect Us!"


Thursday 2 December 2010

Contest


Batcheeba will be giving away 3 CDs. So let's have a little contest. Take a picture you feel fits the title "Those Without Skin", and add it to fan photos on facebook (One photo per person). I will pick 3 winners and send them a copy of "A Collection Of Trails" . The competition will last until Saturday 12/12.

Enjoy.

Friday 5 November 2010

To the American embassy


This is my email to the American Embassy. I suggest you write your own.

My name is-----, and I want to know if my name has been registered by the Surveillance Detection Unit (SDU) in the SIMAS data base. Today Bjørn Erik Thon, the director of data security in Norway, stated in Aftenposten that anyone who has been at a demonstration outside the American embassy, should get in contact and demand answers. So, as a Norwegian citizen who has been part of numerous LEGAL demonstrations, i demand to know if my name has been ILLEGALLY registered by the Surveillance Detection Unit. If so, that is a violation against Norwegian laws and action will be taken.

Regards ----.


Oh BTW. Here's looking at YOU motherfuckers:

Monday 11 October 2010

The sexy underground


Long overdude post on various fetishes people engage in.
I asked my readers months ago to pick a topic out of many. And most answered they would like a general introduction to more common fetishes. Most of these are linked, and I will try to present the various types accordingly. Some are funny and silly, some are darker and more serious.

First I would want to educate all of you, a fetish is not always a sexual activity.
In many cases it's all about playing games or roleplaying. Sometimes the fetish activity involves nothing sexual, until the person is alone a few days later. For others it's very sexual.
What is sexuality? Who has the right to label it, or limit it? This blog post is quite long, even though I try to make each subject as short as possible. If you don't want to read all of it, just skip to the parts that interest you.

Let's start of with furries. Many of you know about this fetish, so I won't go into great detail. There are thousands of sites online dedicated to this, with equally many films, cartoon and pictures. So what is a furry?
As with every fetish there are huge variations, but basically furry fandom is a man or a woman who finds great pleasure, sexually and/or psychologically in dressing up in cute, animal custumes, or more specifically as anthropomorphic animal characters. They walk on two legs and they do talk. Some will play with other furries over a weekend, some have sex (yiff), some live a lifestyle at home with a partner as a furry. Some have sex with furry sexdolls/toys (Plushophiles), some meet up at furry conventions. The furry kink is harmless yet complicated. Most people enjoy dressing up pretending to be someone we are not, or someone we feel like deep inside. Once dressed up, we immediatly become the costume mentally. If you were to dress up as a cop, you would copy a cops mannerizms. We enjoy taking on roles, it's a healthy break from our normal, boring, stressed out self. For a furry it's also about being able to be playful, childlike, talk in a funny voice, play with toys, act cartoonish. Some spend huge amounts of money on making costumes, and there are people who specialize in making custom made custumes that costs thousands. As with everything else, if there is a demand someone will pick up on that and make it into a money machine. Feel like dressing up as a racoon? Then furry fandom is for you.

The darker side of the furry fetish kan be linked to vore.( Latin vorare to "devour") People into vore fantazise about being eaten by animals, or other animals being eaten. Obviously this deals with elements of submission/domination. Some women will fantasize about being some fragile, beautiful animal, like a unicorn, that gets eaten alive by an aggressive pack of wolves. It's fascinating to me to see how complex some people will make their sexual fantasies. For some it's enough to say "please tie me up and spank me", others will play out a whole other universe to be able to get off. People want to be eaten by anything you can possibly imagine: dragons, whales, lions, frogs, snakes or wolves... Anything goes.
To some people national geographic is porn. No, I am being serious. On forums you will find people discussing yesterday's program like it was Caroline Pierce's newly released Bang Bros production. This fetish deals with pain, fear, adrenaline, being helpless or being in control, causing others pain and/or controlling life and death.

The fantasy of being eaten is actually not so uncommon. I once stumbled upon a site (taken down years ago, (this is the archive) named The Big Gulp. Introduction: "If you're a psychology major reading this site because you're writing your thesis about us, please let us know if you figure out why we have this kink: we'd like to know!"
This site was dedicated to the idea of being a tiny man/woman being swallowed/eaten by a normal sized woman/man. The site was filled with fantastic photomanipulations of sexy, flirtatious women dangeling a helpless lille man between her fingers over her open mouth. That was years ago and a google search today will land you hundreds of sites dealing with the same fetish. To most it seems being swallowed whole is the main interest, to others being chewed and digested is the kink itself. As with vore this is a fantazy, it's not something anyone can play out in real life. Psychologically this is very Freudian of course. A man who want's to be eaten by a mother figure: return to mother. Unbirthing is a subgenre to vore, where the person is being eaten by the vagina (Not vagina dentata), and sometimes absorbed by the female body. To men who devouring men (Cock vore), you have the theme of male pregnancy. This deals with the need to feel protected, nurtured by someone you deeply trust, for others it's bondage, as in being restricted inside someone elses body. For others it deals with age regression. It's very complex and multi layered. I guess we could see all of this as a form of psycho drama. (I won't mention necrophilia as I have written about that subject before.)

Ok let's move on.
Crush fetish. I can't write about this fetish without writing a little about Jeff Vilencia. Jeff, as many do, had a kink and he thought he was the only one. He made a film about his fetish and was suprised by the number of people who contacted him because they shared his very spesific fetish. Jeff is well known for his controversial smush!-films. People who are into the crush fetish enjoy to see bugs, slugs, worms or similar being crushed under pretty, large female feet, preferably wearing massive, long spiked heals. Foot fetish being an obvious element.
They fantasize about being under the women's feet, being crushed, and since that is not possible in real life, a bug or similar is a valid substitute. I will mention that Hard Crush involves larger animals such as kittens, frogs and birds. As of today these videos are illegal because this is without a doubt animal cruelity. There was a lenghty legal process banning it, then making it legal and then banning it once again. I won't post pictures of how terrible this fetish can turn. I don't care what you do, as long as it's safe, sane and consensual. Killing kittens is NOT.
Jeff holds lectures about his fetish, and lives without a life partner. At one of these lectures a girl asked him "doesn't it get boring, doing the same thing over and over again? " Jeff answered "does intercourse get boring to you?" Great comeback. For a submissive man to imagine himself as a helpless worm being squashed under mighty female feet, is the ultimate submission. The total destruction. Others prefer being crushed themselves, this is a very layered subject and I will only mention it passingly. In this category you will find face sitting, trampling, being run over by cars and so on. These men (mostly men) actually harden their rib cage over time due to massive pressure and can take alot of weight on their torso. Some want 3 plus size females sitting/standing on them. People hav died from this fetish, some get crushed by cars, tractors or other motorized vehicles. (I have written about asphyxia before.)
It's not all just imagination: I read about one man who saw his friend's mother crushing his turtle by mistake in between the kitchen door when he was a young child. The turtle didn't die, so she stomped it with her high heals as he tried to save it, squashing his finger in the prosess. He now get's his kicks hiding out in football tribunes, sticking his finger out hoping that some random woman will squash his finger as she sits down. He only get's off if the skin splits open. Very painful indeed.

I guess we could continue onto giantessophiles. (also known as macros and gulliverians [if
they fantasize about giant men]). Another HUGE subject with multiple layers. In short this is all about men fantasizing about very tall women. As in VERY tall. Think "Attack of the 50 foot woman". Many of these cheesy films from the 60's are porn to these people, even ads and comercials are sexually interesting. The deal is: very tall women dominating and/or playing out a certain tailored setting. A famous lady in this business is Queen Adrena, former wrestler. You will find a huge gay community into this as well. Really tall men or women, stombing on buildings, or mastubating with bridges. These women are very scary, dominating, overpowering, highly sexual, and there is no way of escaping. Again closely related to BDSM. I will point out that not all dominatrix are tall, some just act tall, building a mini scale city with skyscrapers and planes crashing into buildings. All very low tech, but it works for their customers: Ron. H runs a magazine called Black Giantess filled with his hand made collages. He has sold over 350 copies. He also runs Zena Rules. Zena is a part time Dominatrix specializing in foot fetish. Zena is a real live Godzilla. It all sounds really fucked up, but to them this is normal living.

Let's stay in the subject of growth.
If I tell you that the scene where Violet eats the magic piece of gum in "Charlie and the chocolate factory" and grows to a giant blueberry, is porn to some people, would you be amazed? Well it's true. Thousands have the original film for the sole purpose of masturbation. But not just that scene or that film, ANY film involving unwanted instant growth. It can be the whole person, or just the breasts or other body parts. Some fantasize about being the subject others about being the voyeour. This deals with the overflow of sexuality, the ultimate motherly breast. But also about dominating others
into immobility. Growing and growing...until the pressure tears you apart and you finally blow up is unmistakenly a masochistis fetish. And let me tell you that the amount of money people will spend on their never ending hunt for the ultimate growth is pretty amazing. I know some will spend several thousands on custom made rubber suits that gets inflated by heavy pumps. Others indulge in elaborate drawings where shirts will rip and buttons fly. There is a huge amount of sites with tons of material on this fetish, photo manipulations and drawings for everyone. And let's not forget the written stories with more detailed descriptions than in a modern cook book.

Several fetishes are related to this, such as feeders/feeding/fat admiration. The idea of feeding a woman/man until she/he becomes morbidly obese. (Men: chubby chasers) For some meaning immobile, and dependant on the feeders care. Very controversial. This deals with the overflow of femininity, the whole body being sexual, the feel and texture of the rolls of fat. The main interest is focused on the belly. Women (gainers) will film themselves eating a huge meal, and then messure themselve after. It's those numbers that are so sexual to the feeders. Some of these girls makes a living from their websites with thousands of devoted fans. The belly in the picture belongs to a famous Super sized BBW named Betsy. I'm not talking about a chubby girl, I'm talking women weighing 550 lbs. These large women is seen as godesses to these men. Many in this community are pissed at the constant hassle the get. They claim they can be morbidly obeese and healthy at the same time, and don't want the stigma. Some organizations for overweight people claim this fetish is a form of abuse. That women are being taken advantge of by men who only want to be able to fulfill their sexual fetish. Regardless of the health risk the woman might suffer from. The debate is hot tempered. I personally feel that if you can't walk, you are not healthy. Besides that, what you want to do with your body is nobody's business but your own.

And staying in the growing genre, we have balloon fetish. Mostly gay men, but more and more women, inflate balloons specific to their preferance. Noteable poster boy is Buster who has done so much to get this fetish out there. Some want to blow up the balloon (poppers), some fear the big boom and don't want the balloon to burst, (non poppers). On youtube you will find several films of people blowing up, playing with, sitting on/inside, riding, laying on top off, or otherwize engage in activities with various balloons or other inflatable objects. Just last week I saw this very enthusiastic man riding a huge blow up killer whale in his flat, and after wresteling it for a while, he stabbed it repeatedly with a pocket knife. He seemed very pleased indeed. In Deviant Desires i read about an online debate spanning various forums: Is it sexual harrasement to get the unsuspecting lady at the balloon store to inflate a balloon? Valid question. I love these guys. This deals with fear, control, the smell of rubber and latex. (This is a well known fetish. Latex and rubber has a simillar smell to body odor.) It's indeed very phallic. It's playfull and harmless. We know fear and erection is linked, so it's not such a far stretch. So are you a popper or a non popper?

Moving on to Broken Dolls.
Romain Slocombe is a talented photographer who takes photos of asian girls in plaster and bandages. Japanese "kegadoru" meaning injured doll. This is actually a growing fashion as well, in Japan. I guess maiden's uniforms just don't cut it anymore. The idea is of course the submissive helpless woman. Wearing plaster and bandages will make some men feel very sexually attracted, as they want to protect and take care of the injured woman. Psychologist Yu Yuki thinks the white bandages symbolise virginity. I have a few books on the subject and I have Slocombe's book "City of broken dolls" The photos are quite fascinating, as you see no physical pain in the eyes of these women. They are not screaming, they are calm, looking into the camera with this mystical stare. They seem supernatural in some sense. Out of this world, and indeed very helpless. To me they look almost iconic, like a modern virgin Mary. I find the concept very interesting.

And last but not least pony play. This is also a huge subject. This has nothing to do with zoophilia mind you. These people enjoy pretending to be horses, or to ride people who pretend to be horses. Very big in Great Britain, Germany and the states. Basically a woman will be on all fours and her master/owner will ride on her back. She will be wearing the same gear as a horse would, custom made sadle and all. Even a tail. The owner will use his whip and command her. Massive amounts of training is involved where the master will teach her how to walk, canter, etc. Notable trainer Paul Reed, also the creator of legenday Equus Erotucus Magazine. Or she/he can be upright pulling a cart with her master in it (cart pony), while he gives his commands. The rituals in the stables are also important (grooming). Some play this out during a weekend, while some live the lifestyle 24/7. There are shows were the pony girl/boy and her master will perform (show pony), some like to be "bred" by strange pony boys. All details are layed out in the contract (a written contract is a common thing in the BDSM community). A talented pony girl can carry her master for a long period of time, and have very life like horse manerisms such as body language and horse like sounds. Obviously related to BDSM. It makes sense in some strange way, sitting on someone's back gives you control, you can sense all muscle movement. It's a very intimate form of bondage. It looks very strange and weird to most of us, but this is a fetish for serious and deeply enganged people.

Right.
This was just a very short introduction to a few subjects. If you would like me to write a more detailed blog on one of these, let me know and I will.

And remember: Love all deviants!

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Sverigedemokraterna - Marie-Louise Enderleit


Norwegian blog this time.

Dette må deles, og spres.

Sverigedemokraternas kandidat Marie-Louise Enderleit mener at innvandrere bør stilles opp, skytes i hodet, pakkes i sekker og sendes tilbake der de kom fra.
Det er ikke 15 år siden SD var et naziparti, det er ikke 15 år siden SD var et rasistisk parti.
I går uttalte en av de nye Riksdagen-representantene at man ikke kan være muslim og svensk.
I 2009 husker vel de fleste dette.

Spre linken folkens, og send gjerne Marie-Louise en beskjed på facebook og fortell henne hva du tenker om slike holdninger.

Ellers kan man lese fine uttalelser fra Facebook-gruppen i denne bloggen: "Sverigedemokraterna i riksdagen- Jatakk!".

Marie-Louise Enderleit:
(30 oktober 2009): "Risken är mycket stor dom avlar som kaniner vissa tjänar bra på de tänk ha 10 ungar." og "(21 januari 2010): "Bilden får mig att drömma tillbaka när man gick till skolan med matlådan i handen då bodde vi på landet då hade man aldrig hört talas om invandrare o alla tala samma språk."


Update: Hun har nå limited profile på Facebook, etter at jeg påpekte at å ha åpen profil som SD-politiker ikke akkurat er rocket science....


Wednesday 1 September 2010

Via thulethinks

Nyt Norge threatens legal action against blogger

The Norwegian blogger Christopher Biong is being threatened with a lawsuit by the government financed initiative Nyt Norge (enjoy Norway). The case is a result of Biong's use of Nyt Norge's logo for his adbusting campaign against what he rightfully sees as a distorted campaign.
Using a corporate logo in this fashion is a well established means of political expression, and should be protected by free speech. If you can't use a corporate logo to protest their actions your means of expression are seriously hampered. This is especially true if the corporation is run by the government - and in turn our money.

We should make sure that these pictures recieve the attention they deserve, and that this turns into a public relations blunder for Nyt Norge. I would've never heard of these pictures if they didn't threaten legal action. Smart huh?

So here are the pictures they've got their panties in a bundle over:





Wednesday 11 August 2010

Some self promotion!


After a year in the making, my solo CD is finally released on INNER-X-MUSICK!

For those of you into the darker style of ambient, this is the soundtrack for you.

Buy it here!

If you are new to Batcheeba's musick, have a listen HERE

Wednesday 4 August 2010

You tell me!



What should I write about in the upcomming blog post?

I know most of my readers are hiding in the dark, living a double life, so feel free to write and vote anonymously.

Here are the topics to choose from:

Broken Dolls?
Pony play?
Food play/Splosh/Pie-sexuals?
Crush fetish?
Giantessophiles?
Balloon fetish?

Friday 9 July 2010

New blog for underground musick and art!

Gird and I wanted to give the many amazing artists in the underground a little attention.
In this blog all the things we find interesting will be given a review. Be it musick, art work, books, films....and so on.

Please stop by Kaliglimmer, and come back often.

Contact us if you have something you want us to review.
Please note that the material has to be underground, and that you will be given an honest opinion.

We have no deadlines, we work in our own tempo. This blog has to be combined with jobs, and at times a rather unstable mental health.

We both used to review for the legendary, now late, Heathen Harvest, and have a large network of contacts.
Do enjoy, and feel free to leave comments if you see something you like.
Help us spread the link far and wide.

Thank you.

Gird&Bat

Friday 4 June 2010

MV Mavi Marvara - Sailing sea of blood.


My partner and I sat up that night watching the live streaming from MV Mavi Marmara. We could see the faces of the activist live, as they grew more and more fearful of what was to come.
After spending quite some time watching all these people and closely monitoring the ships' whereabouts via GPS, as well as getting updates via Twitter from people in direct contact with the people on board, we had this unsettling feeling. We are used to seeing horrible videos of people getting shot by police so horrific war crimes are not new to us. My partner and I have friends from parts of the world where oppression and violence is part of daily life. Even though I grew up in Norway and have never seen violence outside the numerous demonstrations we have attended, I certainly know more than most of what is going on in the world around me. Like I have said before my freedom gives me not only the possibility to speak up for those who can't, it actually means I am obligated to do so. And I do, every single day, any way I can.
We watched as this tiny young female journalist had trouble with the technical equipment, while trying to broadcast what was happening. The lights went on and off, and for every time the lights came back on, we saw their faces turning more and more terrified. Up until this point the people had been smiling, giving each other comforting pats on the shoulders, and hugs. I felt rather in awe over their calm and compassion for each other. We never saw anger or weapons. We only saw smiling eyes being filled with fear. Some 700 people from 37 different nations.
And then the live stream got cut off... Seconds before we could se the people on board looking up, turning round, listening and people that saying helicopters were right above the ship.
Then nothing. We tried to get updates from our contacts via Twitter, but there was no news, nobody knew what was happening.
We were so tired, it was just after 02:00 in the morning, CET. We sat discussing if we should wait for another hour, but decided that we should go to bed. There was no news to be found anywhere. We did talk about what the outcome would be, Israeli soldiers boarding the boat most definitely, probably some violence during the takeover and arrest for sure. My partner was more calm because he had been following the boat on the map and the ship was miles away from Israeli waters. The people on the boats were safe, they had pulled back further into international waters so that people could sleep on shifts before morning. I felt assured by this, but still had this unsettling feeling as I was about to fall asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was to check the internet. It took me a few minutes before it really hit me. My partner could tell something was up as he asked me from the bedroom what was happening. People had been killed by Israeli soldiers just minutes after that live stream got cut off. As I was falling asleep, people were brutally killed.
It made me physically ill, more so than ever before and I literally felt like throwing up. I felt really sick. My mind and body was prepared for waking up to headlines about arrests, maybe some violence, but never even anything close to a massacre of unarmed peace activists in international waters.

The rest of that day was spent online, gathering information form our contacts and trying to find out what had happened.
That was not a very easy task as Israeli press was the only one able to tell it's story. But slowly news got out. 9 people had been killed - shot dead. 5 shot in the head, one at very close range (2-14 cm), Most of them shot in the back: "The results revealed that a 60-year-old man, Ibrahim Bilgen, was shot four times in the temple, chest, hip and back. A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who also has US citizenship, was shot five times from less that 45cm, in the face, in the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back. Two other men were shot four times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back, said Yalcin Buyuk, vice-chairman of the council of forensic medicine." The Guardian.
Evidently they were running away seconds before they died...

People from 37 nations were onboard the 6 ships and over 600 people had been brutally arrested. None of these were allowed any contact with their families, lawyers or their embasies. It took 2 days before people were released from Israeli custody and all cell phones, all cameras and all lap tops had been confiscated or thrown overboard by Israeli soldiers. 60 journalists was robbed of their equipment.
The question still remains: Why? If the Israeli soldiers had nothing to hide it seems illogical.

The international community was enraged. Condemning these grave crimes against unarmed activists in international waters. And at the same time the Israeli propaganda machinery was fully operational. Edited videos of activists defending themselves against rapelling Israeli soldiers were posted and shown all over the internet and on every TV station. Soon the pictures came too, the proof of weapons on board: Sticks, metal pipes, kitchen knifes and so on. The Israeli message was clear: the activists attacked first, they were in fact trained terrorists that chose to use sticks and metal pipes to attack trained elite Israeli soldiers, instead of live fire, in order to come across as "more humane". The Israeli solders were so surprised by the brutal force of the attack, they claim they had no idea they would be met by such anger and violence, so they panicked and acted in self defence. Shooting and killing 9 wooden stick bearing activists and wounding some 60 others. First firing rubber bullets, then a couple of minutes after that - live fire. Combined with gas and concussion grenades.

Mavi Marmara was in international waters. Once the Israeli army closed in the first time, Mavi Marmari went even further into international waters, so that people could sleep in shifts.
The ship had been followed by Israeli army for hours, and the people on board were tired, and needed rest.
At 04:00 in the morning, local time, many of the muslim men were gathered for prayer, as is customary. The Israeli army knew that the muslim men would be in prayer at this specific time. And that is why they chose to attack at this specific time. The Israeli army had no intention of boarding the ship in a calm and peaceful manner. They chose to board the ship during night, while men were in prayer and others were sleeping, rapelling down from muffled helicopters, and attacking from all sides in zodiacs. The solders were in full battle gear. This was not meant to be peaceful in any way shape or form.

The Israeli government demanded the ships inspected, unloaded, and the goods delivered via Israeli channels.
The ships' cargo was thoroughly inspected in turkey by neutral institutions, because the activists knew Israeli government would accuse them of carrying weapons and demand an inspection.
Now, some people say that if the ships had no weapons, they had nothing to hide and should willingly oblige the Israeli governments demands for inspections.
The answer to that is no, there is no reason why Israeli government should inspect the already inspected cargo, nor should the cargo be delivered via Israeli channels as Israel would deny cement into Gaza, as they claim it will be used to build tunnels, controlled by the terrorists in Hamas, not homes. Cement is banned in Gaza by Israel.
In the aftermath, Israel did send some of the confiscated aid to Gaza, but like the activists foresaw, Israel withheld 8.000 tons of building material. Hamas refused to allow the humanitarian aid into Gaza until Israeli authorities released all flotilla detainees and allowed building materials.

I want to address the Israeli soldiers' claims that they were scared for their lives and acted in self defence.
Israeli soldiers are known as one of the worlds best. This are not amateurs without training or experience. These are elite navy soldiers, most have seen combat and have years of training and experience on how to deal with violence, stress and chaotic situations. That is their job. Claiming a small group of young men with sticks and metal pipes, justifies killing 9 and wounding 60 more, is nothing short of a disgrace.
It's a lie, it's propaganda and we all know it. These are soldiers trained to react according to their training. They don't panic over wooden stick or metal pipes. They are trained to deal with lethal weapons and dangerous situations. This situation should have been easy to handle.
If that was what they wanted.
Why the Israel army wants to portray themselves as weak, inexperienced pussies is beyond me. But that is the story they are going for: elite soldiers, in full combat gear, with helmets, bulletproof vests, gas and concussion grenades, were scared.

There were no weapons on board besides kitchen knifes, angle grinders, wooden sticks, metal bars, and other supplies you would find on any large vessel.
The Swedish author Henning Mankell told the media his shaving razor was located in his room and confiscated as a weapon.
His shaving razor.

The Israeli government has released a video of activist throwing concussion grenades at them. Norwegian activists told at the press conference that the soldiers threw these grenades onto the ship, and the activists threw them back over board. Bear in mind that these Norwegians just got off the plane and had not seen any pictures, and videos or read any papers. They were in fact very surprised over how much media attention this had gained. Pleasantly surprised, as they now felt secure the massacre would not be left untold.

The israeli government put a close lid on all information. Meaning the names and nationalities of the dead and wounded was not revealed for days.
Leaving families all over the world terrified and feeling helpless. The embassies were refused information as well, causing anger in all the states involved in the peaceful action. 3 Norwegians were on board Mavi Marmara and the day before yesterday they were finally released and could tell us about their horrific ordeal.

At the press conference they were exhausted, as they had been subjected to sleep deprivation, little or no food and water. They had been subjected to brutal treatment, and told the media that the Israeli soldiers had a racist agenda. The people with Palestinian background were badly beaten. They told about Israeli soldiers with laser sights pointing at the head of those who tried to speak. They gave accounts about writing SOS messages in Hebrew on paper notes to the soldiers at the ship, during the boarding, requesting aid for the wounded and dieing. Aid was however refused They spoke about stairs covered in blood, about people being shot in the head right before their eyes and about walking over dead bodies. They told us about long interrogations, about being disoriented not knowing date and time. In short, torture. Norwegian Nidal Hejazi told us about an Irish American who got hit in the back of the head with a night stick, his face immediately covered in blood as he fell to the floor. This was not during the boarding mind you, this was as the activists were getting ready to be deported. He did not join the other activsts on the plane out.
Another got his arm and leg broken and when he screamed, the Israeli soldier actually put his foot into his mouth. At this point Hejazi was in tears and couldn't go on talking about his experience. I can't blame him.

I want to write a little about the psychology behind fear.
I mentioned this in an earlier debate as well. In my line of work there is a lot of violence. I have been to numerous courses instructing me on methods of preventing and handling violence. We have been drilled in these techniques, and I know by heart what to do. I have to, because if I fail I put myself, the other users, and my colleagues at risk. The moment a situation arises, I react instinctively. I know what to do and I do it fast. Usually a situation is over in 5-10 minutes. I am trained on not reacting with the instinctive fear once someone strikes out at me, I am trained to go into the situation and do what has to be done.
And I am no soldier.

Another thing I want to point out is what we call the threat of potential violence. This means that the threath begins before entering my work place, knowing that during my shift I will most likely be hit, yelled at, kicked and sometimes subjected to grave violence. We are trained to deal with this feeling, venting it, and being aware of it. This is very difficult, but I can tell you that the people who don't have my kind of training, feel more fear, react much more violently, the situation lasts much longer, and their reactions are much stronger.So these elite soldiers with years of training could deal with this in an efficient and humane way - if that was their will and intent.
The activists reacted with the same kind of fear and stress as the people I work with who have no training. The activists were quite obviously not trained in handling fear, and they defended themself. That is the psychology of what happened.

Now onto the legal aspects:
Israel has not signed United nations convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS).
While they have not signed not ratified the convention counts as international law as it has achieved 60 ratifications and thereby becomes law for all UN members. This means that Israel was in fact violating international law. (Specifically paragraphs 92, 94 and 96) Ergo making the argument that the Israeli soldiers were attacked false.
The activists were in international water, with no weapons on board. They were attacked by Israeli soldiers. The ones who used wooden sticks and metal bars, acted in _self defence_.
They were not in violation of any international law.

Another argument is that their intent was to break a blockade. While this argument is valid, the blockade is legally questionable and has come under heavy criticism for failing to meet international standards for legal blockade.
In 1909 an attempt was made to regulate the legality of blockades in the London declaration concerning the laws of naval war. How ever the law failed as it did not receive enough signatures to be made international law. Still it has been used and cited as the standard for blockades.
the law states clearly that a blockade needs to provide sufficient medical aid and food for the blockaded area. It also states that in order to intercept anyone breaching the blockade, they must be _actively_ doing so. Proven, or simply stated _intent_ is not enough. However since this law never became international law, blockades are regulated under chapter 7 of the United Nations charter, article 42. Witch states that the legality of a blockade must be founded on the security council. The Israeli blockade fails to met these standards, both according to the 1909 declaration and article 42. In fact the security council has called for the immediate cease of the blockade.

Who were the organisers of the Free Gaza flotilla?
(Free Gaza Movement has been arranging similar actions since 2008.)
Free Gaza Movement in collaboration with several other NGO's such as Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) , the Perdana Global Peace Organization from Malaysia, the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza, and a Swedish and Greek Boat. 6 boats in total.
All with one common goal: To aid the 1.5 million suffering people in Gaza.
The cargo consists of paper for school books, wheel chairs, cement, medication, toys, food, water purifiers and so on.
Not weapons, nor terrorists.

Some claim, particularily the Israeli government, that IHH has links to Al qaeda and islamism. While these links have been present, they are not as strong or developed as one might suspect. After reading a a Danish report on IHH it is evident that the IHH has made some bad judgements in the past, and that for a period during the nineties the organization was in fact infiltrated by terrorist groups. However the organization itself is _not_an islamist group nor engaged in terror activities. Most of the evidence against them is clearly circumstantial and speculative. For instance the fact that IHH has participated in demonstrations against the American invasion of Iraq is counted as islamist behaviour. Many of my friends, including myself, demonstrated against the invasion of Iraq - and we are certainly not islamist.

I strongly want to point out that this action was not a terrorist action. And when people link IHH to a vague and outdated past, they fail to realize that this has nothing to do with Hamas, the Jewish people or politics. This was humanitarian - period.
I also want to state that being opposed to the Israeli government and it's politics, is not the same as being opposed to the Jewish people.
Supporting the suffering Palestinians is not the same as supporting Hamas' politics and bombings. I do however recognise Hamas as the legally elected civilian authority.

I want to state that Mister Obama, Mister Nobel Peace Prize, should be ashamed. I hope his nights are filled with nightmares. So much for "change" and "hope", so much for reaching out an open hand to the muslim world.
Take a long hard look at my open hand, Mister Obama, as I flip you the bird.
You let everyone down, and the great people before you, are turning in their graves.

People:
This was not about religion, politics or ethnicity.
This is about right and wrong.
And the Israeli government has to stop their suppression of the Palestinian people, and lift the blockade.The time has come, and the world is watching. The eyes of the world are on MV Rachel Corrie that got boarded by IDF today.
Named after the young American woman killed by a bulldozer in 2003, attempting to prevent IDF forces from demolishing the home of Palestinian Samir Nasrallah.

I was just told that a jewish ship will sail for Gaza mid July.
What now, Israel?

Free Palestine.Lift the blockade.

Thursday 27 May 2010

Video for Those Without Skin.

Just some self promotion:

Made a new video for my track Those Without Skin.
Feel free to follow this link.

Friday 14 May 2010

Hijab - Unveiling feminism


This blog entry has been in the back of my mind for quite some time.
The need to write down my thoughts has steadily increased side by side with the tabloid media and politicians catering to norwegian right wing interests.
I want you to read these earlier entries as well, to inform you on where I stand in regards of respecting religion and on women's liberation.
This blog will deal with the matter of freedom, and the freedom of choice.

The debate has gone on for years now in Norway: "The oppression of women in the name of Islam"Several countries have banned various forms of Islamic headwear. All in the name of "women's liberation". Women are fined for wearing a burka in public. Women are forbidden from wearing their headwear of choice to school, in the pool, while driving a car, at work.
In the west a liberated woman wears what she wants, whereever she wants. The radical feminists preach that a woman should, by principle, walk down dark alleyways wearing skimpy clothing, to prove her strength and to stand her ground: I, woman, can do anything, go anywhere.
The same feminists argue that women working in the porn industry, prostitutes or strippers, are not liberated. The same feminists argue that the hijab is the very core of female oppression. These radical feminists and the politicians, seem to have this idea that their subjective emotions should be universal.

Feminists are afraid of public sexuality, it's a fear founded in Victorian morals and the protestant view on sin. The hijab is a recognition of female sexuality. Women start to wear a hijab once they hit puberty, marking a sexual awakening. The feminists can't deal with the fact that pornography and hijab are both part of a sexual iconography. Pornography is all about exposing sexuality, and hijab is about not flaunting sexuality, but reserving it for the proper context. Despite their different intentions they are both symbols of sexual self awareness.
The feminists want to de-sexualize the female body, as in : Don't look at my breasts, look at my eyes, respect me. The hijab focuses on and frames the eyes - ergo causing respect.
A woman who wants to cover her body - the very antithesis of the women's liberation movement in the west.

The liberation of women seems to be an idea that all women must work collectively to reach a common goal. Freedom to me is the complete opposite: individual freedom - the right to decide what is right for you and only you. If I were to limit my freedom to a collective sisterhood, I would limit myself way beyond freedom and venture deep inside a restricted world of rules. If I am to accept that the state is the right power to decide what is the definition of freedom, I would willingly and openly be accepting a totalitarian state.

Most of the people so passionate about refusing women their personal freedom, don't understand that their resistance is founded in xenophobia,and in many cases even racism. Many of these people would never accept an islamic woman. No matter how integrated she might be in our society. The islamic woman could have a Ph.D., she could work full time, speak fluent Norwegian, be a 3rd generation immigrant, but as long as she wears a hijab, they want her excluded from society. A woman wearing the hijab, can never be a liberated Norwegian woman. And many of these people would not accept her even if she took off her hijab. She is still a Muslim. She is still different. The veil is actually used as cover up for discrimination.
Reveal yourself.

Norwegian women who are not radical feminists, have a slightly different view on the matter.
Why would a woman _want_ to cover her hair? Western women spend millions on their hair. It's their crown of glory. A dyed, cut, bleached crown of glory. Flowing hair has historically been seen as erotic, and a signal of sexual power. Letting the hair flow freely down the back has been seen as a symbol of the untamed woman such as Lilith and Mary Magdalen, and you can read more about that here.
In films, when the woman is about to engage in sex, we often see her with a sultry look as she unleashes her long hair, shaking her crown of glory, stating: I am ready, I am willing. I am your succubus. There is something dangerous about a sexually liberated woman.
When women cut their hair short in the 1920s as a fashion statement, it was also a liberating act: I, woman, can wear my hair as I please.

When ever the hair fashion change, there is a feminist agenda behind it. Albeit subconsciously. Everything a western woman does and doesn't, is an extension of the woman's liberation movement. Don't you dare try tell a western woman she cant. Because she can, with a vengeance.
So to these women covering up the very symbol of sexual liberation, seems dogmatic. To these women the liberation lies in the revealing of the body. The right to wear short skirts, the right to wear a deep cleavage and at the same time get infuriated at men staring at their breasts. They see sexual liberation as throwing their sex in every ones face, and they are not willing to understand the reactions: How dare you treat me as a sexual object!

And then we have the children. Some politicians go as far as claiming that children wearing the hijab are sexualized by their parents. Reasoning that young children should not be covering up their hair, because they are not sexual beings. These people seem to have the idea that their own western view on sexuality and its symbols are the same all over the world. Parents who dress their children in the hijab, are raising them according to their religion. The veil is the symbol that separated man from God: wearing it is perhaps a liminal state, signifying the difference between the profane and the profound spheres of life. As in the mosaic temple the Jews carried through the desert after leaving Egypt.
Muslim parents are not forcing sexuality onto their children, the western world however is.
Muslim parents, as most parents, want their children to look proper.

When I grew up I was not allowed to wear what I wanted, my parents had strict rules. No short skirts, no bare belly, no tight pants, no deep cleavage. And my neighbours and friends of the family would call my mother and tell her if I wore something that was not acceptable. Most parents want their children to look decent. And most parents gets frustrated and ashamed when their children refuse to do do. I see my mother pulling up my 14 year old niece's neckline when it's too low cut. Muslim parents and western parents are not as different as you might think.
Forcing children is wrong, whether it's forcing them to go to church, or to wear a hijab. That is a whole different subject. Not to be mistaken with love, affection and most importantly: good intentions

The media portrays muslim women wearing a hijab as weak, with scared eyes. Always with a black hijab, eyes pleading for help from the western readers. Never once have I've seen a picture in a Norwegian newspaper of a smiling muslim woman wearing a colorful hijab. Like the ones I do see every day In Oslo. They are beautiful, some are simply stunning. I bought my own hijab last year because I think it looks so pretty. I have not worn it in public, but I've made numerous promises both online and in RL that I will wear the hijab, a burka or a niqab if a ban ever is to be implemented in Norway. And the police, politicians, feminists and racists would have a very hard time explaining why I, a liberated western woman wearing this garment of my own free will, was fined for being out in public. A very hard time indeed.

We in the west have alot to learn about respect. And far too many of us need to learn that today integration has a meaning similar to assimilation.The women's liberation movement, the french revolution, the black power movement all led to the rights we in the west have today.

It never ceases to amaze me how unwilling we are to grant these hard earned rights to newcomers.



Check out this blog for more amazing hijab styles.