Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises...

ALERT: a public display of patriotism is about to take place. Shield your eyes, wee and impressionable folk.

The Olympics opening ceremony inspired me to clarify how I really feel about my own country. Having suffered from a case of wanderlust from a tender age, I have never felt a true sense of patriotism. Nevertheless, reading back over my thread of tweets from Friday evening I was appalled to find I’d morphed into a monstrous drooling, brainwashed CHAUVINIST*: quips such as “Urghhh america does NOT rule the waves I tell you! #rule Britannia” can be found lurking amongst my more defiant messages of outrage at the MET’s Critical Mass arrests.

I have been apprehensive about the future effect of London 2012, not least; the financial burden it might unleash – Greece is living proof that an economic boost is not guaranteed. But for what it’s worth, Danny Boyle and London 2012 have undoubtedly managed to ‘inspire a generation’: not solely in sport (my own bum will forever remain comfortably glued to this sofa) but in remembering that we’ve all got a part to play. Symbolic of this, were Boyle’s use of ordinary citizens rather than expert dancers and actors, and his granting of the cauldron lighting honour to this generation’s most promising athletes.

Danny Boyle did Britain bloody proud, especially those of us sitting smugly in the left-wing spectrum: I was pleased to see the glorification of the NHS, the CND, multiculturalism, the industrial revolution, the suffragettes, the evolution of social media, and London’s hip-hop scene. Everything I personally hold close to my red, white and blue core was showcased to the world. It made me shamelessly proud of my country and the British people. In a nutshell, Boyle artfully presented the humorous and eccentric face of modern London that is so different to the traditional image of monarchy, bowler hats and tea. I salute him.

My contempt for the British political system was also given a well-deserved slap. Whilst our politicians are, for the most part, total slimeballs (ironically exemplified during the ceremony by Aidan Burley, MP for Cannock Chase, with his insensitive tweet: "Thank God the athletes have arrived! Now we can move on from leftie multi-cultural crap...") it was a fairly poignant moment when I was prompted by a fellow tweeter to “try counting up how many of these countries are actively killing their own citizens right now”. Indeed, the “bigger picture” question for me that evening was: what is the weight of a biased electoral system in comparison to the daily, brutal massacre of hundreds of innocent men, women and children?

My mum was convinced Kenneth Branagh was Bradley Wiggins...Can't blame her really

This moment just ROCKED.

*Readers: if this confuses you, familiarise yourself with the original meaning of this word... i implore you


© Francesca Ebel D-504 blog

ATTENTION COMRADES

ATTENTION: During the next few months of doom (also known as, A levels) I shall be offline - it may be sometime until I update the blog. Until then - stay active comrades! I salute you!

PS. Monsieur Flanby is president-elect. Shucks...

The Red Flag of bleu marine

France: the contemporary cradle of revolution, philosophy, literature, wine, garlic and cheese.  Despite its short distance from the white cliffs of Dover, French culture and society is so unlike our own. It may surprise you to know that the Parisian superstar, Serge Gainsbourg, on his first visit to London described England as “the most exotic place on earth”. In my opinion, however, it is the politics of modern France which make the country so interesting.

 The French are not ashamed of their revolutionary tradition. Extremism and radical ideology flourishes across the political spectrum with parties such as ‘The Worker’s Struggle’ (Lutte Ouvrière) ‘The New Anticapitalist Party’ (Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste) ‘The Pirate Party’ (Parti Pirate) ‘Hunt, Fish, Nature Traditions’ (Chasse, Pêche, Nature Traditions) ‘Arise the Republic’ (Debout la République) ‘National Centre of Independents and Peasants’ (Centre National des Indépendants et Paysans) and ‘The National Front’ (Le Front National/FN). The latter has been compared to our own British National Party, an extreme right party notorious for its xenophobic, racist policies – sadly it is our only “mainstream” extremist party (the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain has never got the respect it so deserves). As a nation we zealously reject Nick Griffin and his “insane, offensive ideals” – so why just 21 miles across the channel, did Marine Le Pen (leader of the FN) win almost 20% of the first round’s votes*? That’s almost 10 million citizens.

 Why do such a high proportion of the French population vote for Le Pen when she proposes the expulsion of illegal immigrants, the reinstitution of the death penalty and the exit from the EU? With France’s unemployment rate at 10% it is understandable why workers in the industrial northern regions have supported Le Pen’s measures to put ‘French citizens’ first. I don't think it is too bold to suggest that certain islamaphobic sensibilities were inflamed during the tragic Merah affair last month when 7 people, including 3 children, were shot dead. Surprisingly, The Guardian recently revealed that 18-24 year olds also rally and canvas for Marine: the party is, in fact, fundamentally anti-establishment. The French have grown sick of Sarkozy’s ‘bling-bling’ image (his rise in salary, expensive dinners and supermodel wife) – in this time of crisis and austerity they want radical change and they want it now. Similar ideological patterns are springing up across Europe: the Swiss have demanded the abolition of minarets; the Dutch parliament is partly-ruled by Geert Wilders and his far-right Party for Freedom; even the trial of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian serial killer, with his salute that conjures up images of Nazi Germany (see below) highlights the stronger presence of extreme right politics on the continent.

 The thing that really strikes me is that in Britain, the economic situation is the same – yet where is our rise of the extreme right? The answer to this lies in our established, pragmatic, past, specifically, 1688 - the year of the Glorious Revolution. But perhaps that story will have to wait for another day… 

* for those unfamilar with the French electoral system, the two winners won around 28% (Hollande) and 26% (Sarkozy)



© Francesca Ebel D-504 blog

No Putin No Cry

(article written for school blog 4th March 2012)

It’s 19:50 and outside the Hampshire countryside is quiet, dark skies revealing the twinkle of the odd star. Tomorrow, I will get up and go to lessons - follow the daily routine. Who knows – maybe I’ll rebel against the norm and decide to cross to the ‘cold’ side at lunch, despite the allure of the beef Lasagne… That’ll be the extent of my insurgency. Meanwhile, it’s 23:50 in Moscow. The snow continues to fall mutely on an animated Red Square. The exit-polls of today’s presidential election are currently signalling the lead of Vladimir Putin, who’s gained a majority of 63.3%. Putin didn’t even bother campaigning he was so sure of his inevitable return to the Kremlin. Infact, as I write this, not all the ballots have been tallied – yet he stands on a pre-built stage victoriously addressing a crowd of his supporters… wait for it… CRYING at the words “Glory to Russia!”. This ex-KGB officer, with his black-belt in Judo and impeccably smooth pectoral muscles, actually shed a tear. He’s human?! The Russian twitterati for one are in shock: “I. Can’t. Believe. Putin. “Cried”” (@MiriamElder); “No Putin No Cry” (@JuliaIoffe); “Teary-eyed #Putin addressing 110,000 crowd in central Moscow” (@RT_com).  When the Muscovites wake up tomorrow to start their daily business, it will not be a typical day. It will be the first day of the second (and even longer) era of Putinism. But this one looks as if it’s going to be fundamentally different. The European editor of The Economist, John Peet, has pointed to the importance of the growing white ribbon protest movement: it will be interesting to see how the Russian authorities choose to counter-act this wave of disturbances and to what extent they might loosen Putin’s grasp on Russia. Unlike, the Ukrainian Orange Revolution of 2004 these demonstrations do not (yet) follow a single leader – their aim is not to usurp but to reform. Already the protesters and pioneers of the Russian blogosphere have announced their intention to take to the streets tomorrow to condemn the “fraud and corruption” of today’s elections. Indeed, there were many reports of “carousel voting” – buses allegedly transported pro-Putin punters from one polling station to another in order to register multiple votes. I spent today watching the progress of the election (yes, I have a life) through the system of webcams that had been set up to prove to the world and “those who wanted Russia destroyed” (according to Putin) just how ‘free and fair’ the elections were. This is one of the images I stumbled upon…

Casual electoral behaviour? Even more amusing was the image of Chechnyan soldiers (or was it rebels?) turning up at the booths, machine guns slung over the shoulders. I am by no means suggesting that Britain is politically superior: whilst Russia is almost shamelessly corrupt, we can’t claim to know half of what goes on behind the closed doors of Downing Street and – to be honest – I’d rather we were more blatantly undemocratic instead of being continually fed this ‘fig-leaf democracy’ claptrap. It will be interesting to watch Russia’s political landscape under Putin… Reporters are already questioning whether Moscow will witness its own Russian Spring…

(photos: via @MiriamElder)

© Francesca Ebel D-504 blog

Russian Elections 2012: The end is nigh... Or is it just the beginning?

This Sunday, the world will watch as the Russian Federation democratically elects its successive Head of State. Each citizen has the right to a single vote. Every ballot paper is sorted by independent and uncorrupted officials. The results are transparent, proportional and fundamentally egalitarian.

… Or so the story would go if Vladimir Putin really had been assassinated back in January. When a friend scampered up to me on Monday morning excitedly jabbering that the FSB had foiled an “attempted assassination plot” against Putin I thought she was joking. Having studied the French Revolution last year, I was instantly reminded of a similarly authoritarian character: Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1804, it was announced to the French that their precious First Consul had discovered an assassination attempt on his life. The apparent perpetrator was the Duke d’Enghien, who was swiftly executed. On December 2^nd 1804 at Notre Dame Chapel, Napoleon was declared Emperor Napoleon the First, gaining absolute power and control over his nation and the flourishing French Empire. This tactic is a timeless trick that has been used by rulers throughout History to unite and gauge the support of their realm. And guess what? It’s fool-proof.

But can you really keep a straight face at the Russian government’s allegations? Putin’s d’Enghien is an unsuspecting Chechnyan rebel who publically aired his guilty conscience on Russia Today – the state-controlled TV channel. Well, I guess if I’d tried to kill the future President of Russia (oh excuse me, is it too bold of me to jump the gun?) I would definitely broadcast my humiliating failure; putting my friends, family and country in critical danger – because that would be the normal thing to do right? It baffles me that the authorities have only just this week, seven days before the entirety of the Russian franchise are to make their presidential choice, announced this supposed conspiracy… surely if it had happened in January they should’ve proclaimed it there and then? It must have been all that paperwork…

The fishiness doesn’t end there. UK based exiles and renowned OPPONENTS OF PUTIN, Boris Berezovsky and Akhmed Zakayev, were revealed on Wednesday as being responsible for the killing of Anna Politkovskaya – the Russian human rights activist, journalist and OPPONENT OF PUTIN who was shot inside her apartment building in 2006 (it should be noted, on Vladimir Putin’s birthday). Look at those capitalised words very carefully… “My enemy’s enemy is my friend”…

I honestly can’t decide whether I support the courage of the white ribbon protesters or the advantages of Putin’s leadership… I’ve spent the last week parading about in a t-shirt bestowed on me by a friendly passing Russian activist which proclaims: “Vladimir Vladimirovich can fuck off”. But do I actually subscribe to this statement? I won’t pretend that I’m a little apprehensive about publicising my views on Putin – I know little about the internal workings of Russia; I have no idea about the realities of living in a politically suppressed state; I am only a young, western onlooker that records what she observes (and I want to impress this upon any Russian- based readers). However, it does seem that Russia is resigned to its fate. There is little hope for a dramatic and unexpected twist in Sunday’s results: whilst Russia’s governmental system echoes that of the Soviet-era with its domination of the siloviki (over 70% of Russian governmental officials derive from the secret intelligence service); the oil business, the power of the oligarchs and Russia’s own instrinsic corruption (referred to today in The Week as having the same features as that of the ‘gangsta’ tradition) will continue to shape the country’s hopes for a real democracy. Is it possible that Russia just doesn’t suit democracy? Although my head is with the reality of what is inevitably going to be a deeply flawed election, my heart is with the young people of Russia this weekend.

Recent demonstrations include those of the ‘human chain’ and 'Pussy Riot' (an all-female punk rock band): the recent uprisings have a symbolised a shift in Russia’s attitude (at least in the metropolitan areas) towards Putinism and the state of Russia’s democracy – tens of thousands of protestsers have braved the fiercely cold weather and even fiercer authorites in their struggle for “a true democracy”.

© Francesca Ebel D-504 blog