The Shermerlution Continues

 

See here for essential background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/01/shermer-woos-up.html.

Since Michael Shermer's last woo-opathic outburst, his Twitter feed is becoming more and more interesting. A few days ago he Tweeted the above photo and quote. The old lady he is with is Dame Jane Goodall DBE, a famous biologist and conservationist who has spent over sixty-five years studying chimpanzees in the wild and is considered the world's leading expert on that species. I remember seeing her documentaries on TV when I was a child. She is also open-minded about supernatural and spiritual phenomena. She is quoted thus: "My next great adventure, aged ninety, is going to be dying. There's either nothing or something. If there's nothing there's nothing, that's it. If there's something I can't think of a greater adventure than finding out what it is." (She has since enjoyed her ninety-first birthday, on the third of this month.) Michael added: "Right there with you Jane!" Source: https://x.com/michaelshermer/status/1916145966761259058. This is an unbelievable thing for a skepper to say. The correct skeptic commentary on Ms Goodall's words would be something like: "Jane is an elderly lady and is therefore faced by the prospect of her own mortality. Like many people, she is exhibiting a deeply engrained psychological defence mechanism that we have evolved over tens of thousands of years, since we became self-aware and able to imagine the future, to provide false comfort in the glare of that terrible reality... etc" Michael Shermer has just violated that creed. This is a major change in his perspective. To begin with he will have to be stripped of his MBA.

 
The responses have once again been scathing. As I have long predicted, the skeptic congregation are not taking kindly to Michael Shermer's heresy. Here is an example: "Since the only ones believing there is something also believe in made-up fictions like gods and heavens and hells and tooth fairies, it's safe to assume there’s nothing. Thank you for coming to my Ded Talk." However, I'm pleased to say there are far more supportive comments than there were before when I reported on him last time. Clearly Michael is attracting a new community of followers who are keen to monitor his changing outlook on life in a positive way. As I said, we woo-woos need to be there for him when the skeptic axe really falls. We must be forgiving and welcoming. Good luck, Michael!
See here for more background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2021/08/skeptics-portal.html.

And: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2023/06/afterlife-portal.html.

VRG Dies

 

It has been reported that Virginia Roberts-Giuffre has died. She supposedly took her own life, although so far there has been no coroner's report. Her family have my deepest condolences. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql67qk0dd3o. She has been described as an "anti-abuse campaigner" which I think is a bit too generous, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2022/02/prince-andrew-off-hook.html. Despite this, now is not the time to dwell on her failures. It is possible she was planning a new offensive against Epstein's network. The reason I say this is because of a mysterious prelude to her demise. Last month she posted a photo of herself in a hospital near her Australian home with a badly bruised face. She claimed her car had been hit by a bus. This had apparently led to kidney failure and she was taken to an emergency renal ward. She added chillingly: "they've given me four days to live." At the time I replied: "A 'bus' eh?" Source: https://x.com/Porterhood/status/1906743807334347250. Then a few days later she was discharged after making a full recovery. Now what has happened? Has she shot herself... twice... in the back of the head? Was she struck by a falling gargoyle while swimming off Beachy Head? The skeptics will say this is a coincidence, like they always do. It's a tragic fact that more and more people are committing suicide in today's world. However, this Jenga pile of coincidences is getting pretty tall and precarious. It seems that the right people always seem to die or kill themselves at a convenient moment for certain people. Epstein himself is the obvious example. Virginia herself said several times that she was not feeling suicidal. This reminds me of Diana's letter to Paul Burrell, that the royals were planning to kill her in a fake road traffic accident. Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby the day before he was charged. Robin Cook, Blair's foreign secretary was about to testify at the Chilcot Inquiry when he suffered a heart attack while taking a country walk. Are these really all just coincidences? Western Australia Police are not treating Virginia Giuffre's death as suspicious... I bet they're not!
See here for background: https://benemlynjones.substack.com/p/jeffrey-epstein-mini-portal.

Told You So!... AGAIN!

 

The British government has announced that it is in the advanced stages of approving an experiment in atmospheric aerosol solar radiation management. The ARIA- "Advanced Research and Invention Agency" has a fifty million pound budget to carry out a small scale test in an outdoor local area. The leader of the project, Professor Mark Symes, has reassured the public that the test will be a hundred percent reversible and only harmless substances will be used. Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14638689/Experiments-dim-SUN-curb-global-warming.html. This concept is not new and I recall an episode of Tomorrow's World on TV with a segment on it. This was when I was a child sometime in the 1980's. Since then the chemtrail phenomenon has been one of the biggest subjects in the entire history of the Conspiraphere, see the background links below. I think the official line from government on this matter is going to be: "We waited fifty whole years and didn't do any secret operations first because that's immoral! And we have way too much respect for the people to lie to you! Those who alerted you to those strange white lines in the sky are a bunch of loonies!... You do believe us, don't you?" The last few years have been an endless line-up of vindications for we, the conspiracy theorists. We are literally the new normal. It's annoying yet predictable that these acceptances are rarely accompanied by apologies. As Albert Einstein said when he talked about the stages of truth; they end with, "I thought of it first!" Still, at least we tin foil hatters are basically getting what we want at last. When all is said and done, there are much bigger and much nastier secrets waiting in the wings to take their place on the public stage. When some of those are revealed for all to see, nobody will apologize because everybody will be weeping in the streets.
See here for background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2022/02/chemtrails-portal.html.
And: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2021/11/climate-change-portal.html.

Tesco Butlerian Jihad 3- Voices

 

See here for essential background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/04/tesco-butlerian-jihad-update.html.
On yesterday's visit to the same grocer the till was manned, but it was with somebody I had not seen before; a young African man. I made basic functional conversation with him, but he smiled at me in an embarrassed way, as if he couldn't understand me. I wonder if he was the same person who ignored me in the first article of this series. I suspect he couldn't speak much English, if any. Is it racist to ask whether he is therefore unsuitable for that job?... I don't care, quite frankly. As the receipt came off the printer a robotic voice emerged from the till: "Thank you for shopping at Tesco. Have a nice day." I joked with him: "You're voice changed just then." I said to the person behind me in the queue: "Did you hear? His voice changed!" The cashier once again grinned shyly in confusion. He clearly failed to comprehend my words, but my tone and facial expression must have revealed that I was being amiable and humourous. Today I returned to the store and one of the regular human cash till staff was back. This time when the receipt came out the robotic voice once again uttered the mandatory recording, but at a much lower volume. I joked with the familiar cashier and told him about my visit yesterday: "I don't know why they can't just let you speak for yourself." It is obvious that the robot voice is there to make even using the human tills a more "self-service-like" experience. This is to condition us to the point where we all have to use the auto-checkouts and pay without cash. Clearly the human cashier does not have the option to switch off the fake voice, but he or she can turn it down. That's some comfort I suppose. The African who served me yesterday might have deliberately turned it up because of his lack of English. He can't speak to the customers, so this machine means he doesn't have to. I'm sure Tesco's are contemplating whether all their new recruits should not speak English as a qualification to acclimatize the shopper the brave new world in which human contact and communication are forbidden memories.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2023/12/auto-checkouts-are-off.html.
And: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/01/tales-from-cashless-island.html.

OSA Woes

 

See here for essential background: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2025/04/bitchute-banned.html.
And: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/04/gab-banned.html.
The reaction from those affected by the Online Safety Act 2023 has varied and some people have taken it very badly. Predictably one of those hit the hardest has been Millennial Woes, real name Colin Robertson. If you Google his name your first hit will be Hate Not Hope's profile on him, which is another sign of increasing internet control. It is actually a gross misrepresentation of him, as are other mainstream pages about him. Colin suffered fifteen minutes of infamy when he was doxed to the BBC, Scottish Daily Record and other mainstream media journals who turned him into an international pariah. What they didn't take into account, or care about, was that Colin is a recovering psychiatric patient and suffers from terrible anxiety problems. He says he felt suicidal during that period and if the worst had happened I would have considered his persecutors no better than murderers. Colin has always had a very melancholy perspective on life and tends to black pill every situation. Whenever the threat of internet censorship loomed in the past, such as him being banned from Twitter (Elon has reinstated him) or YouTube, he fell into near seizures of worry and anguish. Every since he began posting on social media back in 2013 he called this practice "the Great Shuttening". His article on the OSA is as morose and defeatist as I expected it to be. Source: https://millennialwoes.substack.com/p/at-ofcoms-pleasure.

I can't really say anything about this article's content in terms of commentary; it is factually accurate. He makes many of the same points that I do, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/03/online-safety-act-goes-live.html. What it does, however, is include no good news at all. It is a twenty-two hundred word lament. As I've said, I expected this from Millennial Woes; he really lives up to his name. A lot of the comments underneath the article have noted the same thing. (I can't comment myself because I'm not a paid subscriber. I'd like to be, but can't afford any more, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/03/im-why-files-supporter.html.) It has not occurred to Woes that the OSA could be seen as a hopeful sign... seriously! It is a symptom of desperation. It is so audacious and so obviously has a hidden motive behind a pathetically transparent pretext that I don't see how it will be sustainable in the long term. Woes also has no faith at all in the alt-techies ability to circumvent the law or even find practical ways to bypass the national filter. This is in a world in which other nations which have introduced similar filters in the past, such as Australia and China, have so many internet users able to see through it that the practice becomes essentially pointless. Woes does not believe that Elon Musk or President Trump can be trusted to do the right thing, even though they have both surpassed everybody's previous expectations of them. They both vehemently oppose the UK's contempt for free speech and there's even talk of Trump awarding Britain tariff relief if Starmer cools it. Turning that deal down for the sake of his own personal repulsion for free speech is going to be hard to justify to parliament. Woes probably has not noticed what I have, that the world is changing rapidly for the better and Britain is actually a mere holdout for a dwindling globalist tyranny, a "woke North Korea" to quote Morgoth, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/01/fall-back-to-keep.html. Things seem particularly bad inside Britain because her people are essentially hostages, trapped in the Illuminati's last stand, their traditional island stronghold. It cannot last forever. The situation is like a pot of boiling water. Even after you have switched off the hob the water doesn't suddenly become cold. If you put your hand into it straight after, it will get scalded; as surely as if you had done it when the flame was on. It takes time for that water to cool down. I may be accused of being the opposite of Woes, excessively white pilled. I know the backslappers will be having a field day over this article! However, I consider myself quite a cautious and rational person. I am not saying that there are any guarantees at this point, only that there is reason not to be pessimistic. I'll change my mind if new information warrants it. What would make Millennial Woes feel more encouraged? I'm not sure, maybe a personal visit from an angel?... Seriously though, I pity him. It can't be very pleasant to see life as he does and I hope he finds a better viewpoint.
See here for background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2021/08/political-correctness-portal.html.
And: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2021/01/donald-trump-portal.html.

Ben Emlyn-Jones and The Crafty Nihilist 6

 

I have been featured on a livestream by The Crafty Nihilist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHqQn5NIVxQ.

I only appear in the last ten minutes, but the video is about the Anthony Peake book launch, see: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2025/04/anthony-peake-book-launch-2025.html, and a new live show by David Icke.

See here for my previous appearance on the Crafty Nihilist's channel: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/03/ben-emlyn-jones-and-crafty-nihilist-5.html.

Ben Emlyn-Jones on the Paranormal Peep Show 28

 

I have been on the Paranormal Peep Show again. This programme features an interview with Stephen Sakellarios, a man with detailed and vivid past-life memories.
See here for the audio version: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/paranormal-peep-show-i-co-wrote-a-christmas-carol-in-my-previous-life-stephen-sakellerios--65592835.
And here for the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_DngFZE9A.
See here for my previous appearance on the Paranormal Peep Show: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/02/ben-emlyn-jones-on-paranormal-peep-show.html.

A Woman Is...

 

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the definition of the word "woman" in Scotland will be based on biological sex. This identity is binary; one is either a man or woman and one cannot change one's mind because of a personal decision. Source: https://supremecourt.uk/uploads/uksc_2024_0042_judgment_aea6c48cee.pdf. This is an incredibly controversial issue, probably the most controversial one in the Western world today; in fact it's the new racism. A lot of people have asked me what I think about this, but to be honest I couldn't give a damn. Like the Israel vs Palestine situation, this is an issue over which everybody is expected to pick a side, but I have not. Before anybody hurls a massive false guilt-trip on me, I agree with a lot of what the campaigners say. For instance, people who just say "I'm female" should not be sent to women's prisons. Trans critics should have the right to free speech protected by lawful force if necessary. What bothers me is the attitude to this issue many people have who really should know better. Sargon of Akkad, real name Carl Benjamin, has made a video praising the judgement, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbufgVbQaNY. This is not the first time he has planted his flag on the TERF's' soil, in fact he has collaborated a few times with Posie Parker, for example see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMAJivZtmeE. Posie Parker, real name Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, has become the figurehead of the "adult human female" movement and is up on the pedestal of heroine status for far many others than her original supporters. She is lauded by the dissident right, people like Sargon. The praise she is lavished with is unbelievable. Charlie Veitch went to the recent Labour Party conference and attended her protest. There he called her a "lovely human being... strong woman culture!" Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGC6g7JHUi0. JK Rowling, Graham Linnehan, Julie Bindel and other "gender critics" have enjoyed almost as much reverence from the anti-wokists.

I don't think this holiday romance between the dissident right and the TERF's is going to end well. How it came about in the first place still baffles me. As I've said previously, there was a time when Sargon had what I think was a much healthier attitude to this dispute, as I wrote here: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2022/04/is-sargon-walking-into-trap.html. Why did he change? Why has he somehow forgotten what the F stands for in TERF? As for Posie Parker, I actually agree with a lot of what she says, especially her points related to children; but I don't think she is a very pleasant person. I get bad vibes off her, to use a popular expression. She strikes me as somebody who is really not very intelligent. I suspect that she would not be very sympathetic to Claire Rae Randall, see: https://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.com/2022/12/programme-487-podcast-claire-rae-randall.html; in fact I doubt she could even comprehend Claire's arguments. At some point in the future this coalition of convenience is going to break down and the battle lines will return to their historical and very simple formation of feminists versus white men. However when that happens it will do so very rapidly, and Sargon and other dis-right TERF-fans will suddenly find themselves trapped behind enemy lines, giving away vital intelligence. By being chummy with the TERF's now they are making themselves, and by extension the rest of us, more vulnerable in the continuing long-term culture war.
See here for background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2021/08/political-correctness-portal.html.

Gab Banned

 

See here for essential background: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2025/04/bitchute-banned.html.
I have predicted that Bitchute was only going to be the first in a series of victims once the Online "Safety" Act started biting. I wondered which rebel would be disappeared next. Not the one I would have bet; it's Gab. The reason why I didn't think Gab would be an easy target is because of Andrew Torba's defiant retort to the UK government that I describe in the background link above. On Wednesday night I tried to access Gab.com and was greeted with a special page just like Bitchute's that has a picture of a Union Jack. It begins: "ATTENTION: UK Visitor Detected. The following notice applies specifically to users accessing from the United Kingdom.". It goes on: "Access Restricted by Provider. After receiving yet another demand from the UK's speech police, Ofcom, Gab has made the decision to block the entire United Kingdom from accessing our website. This latest email from Ofcom ordered us to disclose information about our users and operations. We know where this leads, compelled censorship and British citizens thrown in jail for 'hate speech.' We refuse to comply with this tyranny. Gab is an American company with zero presence in the UK. Ofcom's demands have no legal force here. To enforce anything in the United States, they'd need to go through a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty request or letters rogatory. No US court is going to enforce a foreign censorship regime. The First Amendment forbids it. Ofcom will likely try to make an example of us anyway. That's because the UK's Online Safety Act isn't about protecting children. It's about suppressing dissent. They're welcome to try. The idea that a British regulator can pressure a US company that's IP-blocking the entire UK is as farcical as it is futile. If anything, it proves our point, censorship doesn't work. It only reveals the truth about the censors. We proudly join platforms like Bitchute in boycotting the United Kingdom. American companies should follow suit. The power of the UK's parliament ends where the First Amendment begins. The only way to vote against the tyranny of the UK's present regime is to walk away from it, refuse to comply, and take refuge under the impervious shelter of the First Amendment. The UK's rulers want their people kept in the dark. Let them see how long the public tolerates it as their internet vanishes, one website at a time. This domain has been blocked for UK visitors." Source: https://uk.gab.com.

This is a very different message from Bitchute, despite them saying that they "proudly join platforms like Bitchute". Bitchute stated that they regretted making this decision and did so only because they felt compelled by the OSA's restrictions. They have made special allowances for British users so we can continue to create content within the dictates of the Act. Gab, however, are declaring a call to turn their back willingly on Britain out of a sense of righteous indignation. I can't see how that will help matters; it is kind of what the Starmer regime actually wants. I agree with Gab's sentiments, but I think this is a tactical error. It could be that this is just a temporary measure and there will be developments. Perhaps Andrew is playing some kind of 4D chess. I hope Gab can become accessible again because I do use it regularly. I'm not as involved in it as I was Bitchute, but I enjoy some of its material, have interacted with other users and have had conversations with them; as well as sharing links to all my publications. I know sometimes Gab is subjected to illegal activities, incitement to commit hate crimes etc; but doesn't this happen on all websites? Like Bitchute, as far as I can see they take their legal obligation seriously to remove such matter and report it. I think Andrew's heart is in the right place so I feel confident that he will end up doing the right thing eventually.
See here for background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2021/08/political-correctness-portal.html.

Brian Clare Dies

 

I'm sorry to report that Brian Clare has died. Brian was a survivor of the state "childcare" system and experienced abuse during his early life in orphanages. He was a dedicated campaigner to expose the truth and save future children from the suffering he endured. He was featured many times on HPANWO Radio. If you'd like to make a funeral donation here is the page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/brian-clare. See here for a tribute HPANWO Show for Brian: (coming soon).

Is China Searching for MH370?

 

See here for essential background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/03/malaysia-has-not-signed.html.
Armada 7806 has abandoned the MH370 search. Ocean Infinity have pledged to continue the quest to find the missing airliner no matter what, but right now that means after the southern winter, November at the earliest. However, almost as soon as Armada headed home to Singapore something very strange happened. Another ship approached the area, a ship that looks remarkably similar to Armada; it's illustrated above. It left Wellington, New Zealand on the 23rd of March and arrived at the seventh arc on the 7th of April. It is currently very close to where the OI vessel was searching. The ship is Chinese and called 探索一号 "Tan Suo Yi Hao"; which translates as "Explorer Number One". As you can see she is similar in design to Armada 7806 which means her purpose is also similar. The difference is she's a lot bigger and probably better equipped. According to her registry she does have AUV's and the ability to launch them; as well as a manned submersible. Her destination is currently listed as Sanya, a port in China, although she's clearly in no rush to get there. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YoTLRighlI. What is that ship doing there? Could there be any other purpose than the obvious? It looks like China has decided to begin its own search for MH370. Beijing has said nothing about doing their own search so far, but there's no reason why they shouldn't. Nobody needs anybody's permission to try. The search area is not private property or in anybody's territorial waters. If you have the ability and equipment, you could head there and have a go yourself. Assuming this is an unacknowledged attempt by China to find the lost aircraft then it stands as good as chance as any we've seen so far. Chinese submersibles, ROV's and AUV's hold the world records for depth, endurance and other capabilities.

What will happen if they succeed? As far as we're aware Malaysia knows nothing about this operation and has not offered China any money to do it. Obviously, deals could have been done in secret or perhaps Beijing hope Malaysia will give them a generous post-hoc tip out of the goodness of their heart in the massive publicity celebration following success. 153 of the 239 people on board MH370 were Chinese citizens and there have been massive protests in China by the relatives and their supporters. It takes a lot to induce the Chinese to carry out street protests because the government takes a very hard line against them; like in Tiananmen Square. The inevitable question is whether this means China is aware of the alternative ideas related to MH370; the distinct possibility that MH370 is not in the Indian Ocean at all. Back in 2014 they published a satellite photograph of what was said at the time to be plane wreckage in the Gulf of Thailand. This was before the theory that the plane crashed soon after it vanished was discounted in favour of the suicidal pilot flying south theory that prevails today; except by alternative MH37-tologists like Jeff Wise, Florence de Changy and Ashton Forbes. Source: https://time.com/22542/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-images-vanished-jet/. Ashton Forbes commented that he thought this was actually a photo of the orbs "zapping" the plane. It was China's way of telling the United States "We know what you did!" Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTFyGNA9qtY. You might wonder why I am taking so much interest in the Indian Ocean searches when I'm fairly sure the plane did not crash there. The simple answer is, in case I'm wrong. The Indian Ocean suicide hypothesis needs to be explored and eliminated. I expect the Chinese government feels the same way.
See here for background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2024/05/mh370-portal.html.

Powergen Bob

 

See here for essential background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/03/scary-tv-ad.html.
Some TV adverts are memorable for reasons other than the macabre and sinister. In the early 2000's Powergen ran a series of ads that I have never forgotten and have been searching for online. "Mystic Bob" was loveable middle-aged hippie was played by Simon Day who is best known for his comedy programmes, especially The Fast Show. He also played a hospital porter in Holby City and I'll be saying more about that soon on the HPWA, see links column. Bob is a spiritual New Age preacher who both amuses and bemuses his colleagues as they travel around working in their white van. He has a dog called Gandalf who only appears in one of the ads. His tagline is "positive energy from Powergen". The initial film in the campaign is forty-one seconds long and can be seen here: https://adsspot.me/media/tv-commercials/powergen-bob-energy-saving-plan-c1ba18dbebb6; sorry, but this is the best quality copy I know of. When Powergen earned the sponsorship on ITV's weather reports a series of shorter ones were made. They are on YouTube, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP4kQ819gWQ and: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQlhq0FUSNY and: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgn67I-svzU. The Powergen Bob adverts were so funny and sweet that I used to look forward to the ad breaks in case one of them appeared. They used to cheer me up... Those were in the days when I actually watched television. I identified with that character quite distinctly. I saw myself in him and I still do. Powergen changed its name to E.ON UK when it was acquired by the German energy multinational and then the Bob adverts were dropped in favour of some new far more conventional and boring ones. Apparently I was not the only one to write in and complain about the loss of "Mystic Bob", see: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/adwatch-powergen-mystic-bob/461896. I think they should have given Bob a series or even a movie. TV ads have been adapted into films before, such as Rowan Atkinson's Johnny English trilogy; they were a James Bond spoof based on a long ad campaign by Barclaycard, for example see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Yn6vPZrGU. Things on TV that make me happy are sometimes found in places as unexpected as those which make me feel scared. The amount of skill and artwork needed to make an impression does exist in the commercial milieu. Is there an equivalent of the Oscars for adverts? If so then I have a nomination for the best horror and the best feel-good comedy.

The World After Amazon

 

I've come across a literary project called The World After Amazon. I found it via Cory Doctorow whose book I recently reviewed, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-masque-of-red-death.html. It brings together thirteen employees or ex-employees of Amazon who have written short stories. In this way they can express themselves in a manner they otherwise never could. Amazon is truly the mega-corporation of mega-corporations. It dominates the retail world like no other organization in history. Like many giant corporate multinationals it often recruits the poorest people it can find and pays them the lowest wages possible. Because of this, I was not surprised to find that all the stories have a futuristic dystopian setting and rather grim themes such as societal collapse, anti-humanism, cyberpunk technocracy and ecocide. As always, futuristic fiction describes the present more than it predicts the actual future. Some of the authors are anonymous, presumably because they might face repercussions at work as a result of their involvement in the project which has an irreverent policy towards Amazon, to say the least. All the entries in the anthology are worth reading, but I think the best by far is Thalia in Albios by Cory Gluck. It is about a young woman called Thalia who lives in a post-apocalyptic city which consists of shanty towns of poverty in which there are little pockets of opulence, gated communities where the wealthy live in seclusion. Thalia works as a maid for one of the rich households and her employer is an older woman called Linda who lives in a mansion with her family. She is a very two-faced person who treats Thalia either with kindness or cruelty dispending on her mood. Sometimes she reprimands Thalia for damages and messes caused by her children that are not Thalia's fault. This story, and some of the others, are very revealing about what it is like to be a low status citizen in a harsh and conformist world; something that really spoke to my heart, being a former hospital porter. (Have I mentioned that before? Maybe once or twice perhaps.) The anthology is available as a free ebook or audio-book, see: https://afteramazon.world. However, you can buy a paperback copy if you prefer. Ironically, this can also be purchased on Amazon.
See here for more background: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2023/12/leave-world-behind-review.html.
And: https://hpanwo-bb.blogspot.com/2024/05/everything-for-everyone-piw-in-fiction.html.
And: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2024/02/doomsday-bunkers.html.

Based Keanu

 

The actor Keanu Reeves has just turned sixty years old. It seems hard to believe and is perhaps another sign that the predicted "reverse quickening" has not yet appeared, see: https://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.com/2014/02/programme-78-podcast-2012-redux.html. I remember him well as a young actor in teen flicks like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Parenthood. He did graduate to more mature cinema as he aged and eventually starred in his definitive adult role, Neo in the Matrix series. Now officially elderly, the actor has featured in a short documentary that has astounded me. It reveals a lot of details about his personal life and the history of the Matrix movies that is almost as dramatic as the films themselves. He was born in the Middle East to Canadian parents and when he was three years old they divorced; his father left his life and made no effort to contact him. Keanu only met him again at the age of thirteen. After that, the two hardly ever saw each other again. Sadly the tragedies of his life did not end there. His only child was stillborn at eight months and shortly afterwards his wife was killed in a car crash. Emotional pain on that scale might be why he became a very shy eccentric person. Unlike many Hollywood stars he does not live the playboy lifestyle and instead spends most of his time working for charities and collecting motorcycles. However, he has done a few interviews where he talks candidly about his observations on life, and this includes the profound mystical ideas at the heart of the Wachowskis' famous franchise. The documentary explains, partly through Keanu's testimony that the films were a labour of love for both the creators and himself, but they were also a monumental struggle; and this reveals a lot to me. I always sensed there was something missing from them; not so much in the original, but definitely with the first two sequels. (I have not seen Resurrections, the most recent.) It turns out that the project was almost cancelled. Keanu and the rest of the cast and crew donated funds to keep it going and they were locked in a constant battle with the studio over content. The cast and Wachowskis wanted to centre the story on its renowned spiritual themes, but the studio wanted an action movie. This would explain why the first two sequels feel so watered down. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJbjkw-jwgA.

There is no doubt that Keanu Reeves is what is commonly known as based. This is probably both a cause and effect of his Neo role. Even before The Matrix, however, he showed symptoms of outside-the-box thinking. As long ago as 1993 he took on the eponymous role in Bernado Bertolucci's fabulous Little Buddha. This was criticized as bad casting, but I think Reeves plays the part with extraordinary gusto and charisma. You can see he is genuinely interested in the life and ideas of Prince Siddhartha. (The director's cut is currently on YouTube; the age of this upload suggests it is authorized, hence I don't mind sharing it, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UR1C_Z8swU.) As for the Wachowskis, their subsequent film Cloud Atlas, which I also adore, allowed them to express many of the ideas that they wanted to put into The Matrix, but were forbidden from doing so, see: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2013/07/cloud-atlas.html. Keanu has also appeared in one scene on Ancient Apocalypse, Graham Hancock's latest series, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzh7r9MKTew. He has futhermore written a book, co-authored by a writer I'm very familiar with, China Miéville, see: https://hpanwo-bb.blogspot.com/2023/12/piw-in-fiction.html and: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-city-and-city-by-china-mieville.html. This is another sign that he is both intelligent and radical in his mentality. Keanu Reeves sits forever in my childhood memory as this scruffy haired teenager breathlessly delivering lines in Californian surfer slang, but this just goes to show you should never underestimate anybody. The most conformist and mundane exterior can sometimes conceal the beating heart of a true maverick and prophet.

Tesco Butlerian Jihad Update

 

See here for essential background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2024/03/tesco-butlerian-jihad-continues.html.
The Tesco Butlerian Jihad has reached a crucial turning point and I'm pleased to say humanity has won a significant triumph over the machines. I went to the same branch of Tesco and this time the four human tills were all unmanned. People were sadly trooping obediently into the auto-checkouts so I decided to set a good example. I parked my trolley in front of the human tills and waited. Good job I never chose a basket. After a while a few people joined me and a queue of about five shoppers began to form. I eventually managed to wave to one of the assistants in the auto area. I didn't make a big deal and I never put on an irritated tone. It would be tempting to Karen out at that point, but I kept my cool. I just asked her politely: "Could somebody come and open one of these tills please." She acknowledged me and walked off. I wondered if she had understood me, unlike two of her colleagues in the past, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2023/04/whose-street-my-street.html. No, this time somebody appeared within two minutes, a cheerful old lady. She took her place behind the cash register and invited us to come and pay. She was very nice and friendly. "You want to pay with cash, do you?" she asked rhetorically. I asked: "Where are Beverley and Lemoncini?" These are the two staff members who most often man the cash tills. She told me they were away that day. I asked this question primarily because I wanted to make the point that because I am a cashie who refuses to use the computer checkouts I actually talk to the people who serve me, and I've have even learned their names and have conversations with them. Just for five minutes or so every visit, but it's still enough to develop a basic relationship. This is what the auto-till sheeple are missing out on. They're turning their back on human interaction to save a few minutes before they rush back to their pod or work cublicle. I thanked the old lady who served me and told her that I would always refuse to use the AI card machines. I hope the message is passed along that Tesco should always keep somebody on one of the manned checkouts. So I went in, bought my groceries and left without once dealing with anybody other than a human being. So the machines lose! I don't care how many seconds you give me to comply.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2023/12/auto-checkouts-are-off.html.
And: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2025/01/tales-from-cashless-island.html.

If You Can't Beat 'em Ban 'em!

 

Breaking news! France has just done the unthinkable, yet inevitable. It has made a political prisoner out one of its most senior and longest sitting statespeople. No, this is not an April fool joke. Marine Le Pen, many times presidential candidate and leader of the biggest party in the French parliament, has been convicted of embezzlement of EU funds which for politicians is a bit like slapping somebody with a speeding fine at the French Grand Prix. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0ylgjew1xo. Like Boris Johnson, her prosecution was selective and has an underlying political motive, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2022/07/why-did-boris-fail.html. The same goes for Donald Trump, see: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2023/04/trump-in-court-livestream.html. I predicted this would happen after the elections last year. It left the country with a terrible political crisis and I said back then that they would put it on hold until the Paris Olympics were over; and then all hell would break loose, and it did, see: https://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.com/2024/12/third-rail-radio-programme-194.html. Where they failed with Trump they have succeeded with Le Pen. She has been sentenced to four years in prison with two suspended. So far she has not yet been locked up, pending an appeal; but she is banned from standing in elections for public office for five years, and that is probably the objective of the prosecution. What will happen now? Ironically, like with Trump, her martyrdom will probably add to her popularity. At the same time we must remember that France is a very different kind of political society to Britain. The French do not stop for tea and play games of cricket; they have revolutions instead. France is naturally a very unstable nation. In the background links I describe other aspects that might give clues to what the next outcome might be once the dust settles from this bombshell. Time will tell how this crisis will develop.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2022/04/french-election-2022-first-round.html.
And: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2021/05/a-warning-from-france_25.html.