Blue Sky Thinking.

Don't you just hate those God-awful expressions, those that certain types might use in order to 'justify' abomination? 'Blue sky thinking,' 'Smash the glass ceiling,' 'Think outside of the box,' 'Low hanging fruit,' 'On the same page,' 'Reinventing the wheel?'

Ultimately- cut through the psychobabble- the pseudo-poetry of these expressions seeks to simplify, thus justify, the unjustifiable. They're using the language of the boardroom, where decisions that will condemn those beyond are invariably these days to be made. Decisions about your health, your home, your pension, your human worth! That empty husk that we all must soon leave behind? What's the expiry date?

Blue sky watching!

Purporting to be 'reason' these decisions are hatched, nurtured, and polished, prior to taking that illusory graceful flight. The dais is prepared, gilded and buffed, shield your face lest its brilliance should strike blind your unworthy eyes! Go on then, just a tiny peep! If you absolutely must!

The spawn may be revered, not so much through rose tinted specs as under the all-familiar red banner headline, as are all such things. Father Christmas is no longer the greatest of lies! The king is dead, long live 'neoliberalism!'

It has come to light- ever more so in recent years- that society is broken. Not merely broken, but absolutely shattered, ground under divisive heel into the dirt! It's hardly a great revelation! Have we kept the receipt, do you think? People have been saying it for an age, 'the extremists,' 'the loony-left,' 'young student protesters'- the implication being that these types've yet to properly grow up. The 'side liners,' society's non-participants, what would they know? 

Yet the 'voice of reason' always prevails, to ensure that such things are kept 'in proper perspective.' It's all very well wanting to make that little protest, but, at the end of the day, 'reason' must surely prevail! Where would we be, if we changed course at the behest of each and every tiny (minority) protest? Exactly! Thank you, Andrew Neil et al! No really, thank you!

££££££££- the unmistakable smell of human flesh?

"Just hear me out! What if... what if we commodified everything! Absolutely everything!" Blue shy thinking! Infirmity, health- NHS 'Business Services Authority,' three words that should strike fear into the heart- the ocean, sport, the Third World, war, art, news, all information, parking, speeding, rainforests, sight, wildlife? Global inc!" Rest assured that a boardroom somewhere will be working '24/7' on 'the blue sky,' those moments that are not yet entirely subordinated to Global Inc, perceived moments of beauty, the weather, the air one breathes, sleep!

When Thatcher started to sell back to us all that was already our's the bargain basement mentality that prevailed blinded us to the monster that lurched in the shadows. And, unseen, it chose to feast, curiously enough upon itself!

"Shares, what are they? I'll have some of those! Bargain!" Approaching four decades later the claws and the teeth are everywhere, they're the cement that holds together Global Inc. Those shares delude us that we stand to gain from further attacks upon the workforce. "Easy Joe, that's your own dad's pension, that is!" "Why not buy your own council house for a knock down price? Slide seamlessly from tenant, to Tory landlord? Invest!" "D'you really think one house is going to be enough? What about infirmity care, for when dad's older?"

"Of course we care about the rainforest, but just look at the sheen on that hardwood staircase! And it says sustainably sourced on the label." Education, health, infirmity, everything must go! The neoliberals have already price tagged everything Greek. It's an international car boot sale. "Have a look! Pick up a bargain! How dare that upstart, Yanis Varoufakis, deface those expensive advertising placards!" 

24/7

Behind the scenes, the boardroom bods are working their socks off to protect the banking sector. If nothing else, it keeps the crooks off the streets, some of them. Deregulate everything! " You monster, for wanting to harm other people's pensions! Have you no conscience?"

"Maybe, if we replaced ten percent of the teachers with non-qualified staff. Just a thought!" "I know it's Johnny's education, but he's doing alright! At the end of the day it's still uncle Harry's investment fund." "Maybe, if you ask nicely, he'll pay for Johnny to go private!" 

Maybe, we'll save the bees, if a boardroom can commodify them in time. Maybe we'll save the butterflies, if we can just commodify their iridescence. Maybe the oceans, maybe the rainforests, maybe the Antarctic! Maybe not! "If you want to help, invest!" 

Everybody who's anybody has an investment in the planet's destruction, so it's a 'win win' really! A million and one reasons why we can never change direction. The Neoliberal revolution! Currently, there's more money to be made in 'noise commodities' than there is in 'peace and quiet commodities,' so unless you can invest in greater 'land commodities' you'll just have to put up with those 'exhaust commodities.' "It's your right to choose though,  freedom of choice!"

It's all looking rosy, at a pixelated 2D level, and if you can stretch that budget, to invest in some '3D technology commodities'... imagine how much better things could appear!  

Better than real life!

And, if you think Greek destitution makes our's look palatable, just wait until TTIP hatches! The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, that almighty * 'Arc across the Atlantic.' "My God, let's be having some of that!" If we're really fortunate, it'll come accompanied by ISDS, the Investor State Dispute Settlement. 

Imagine, a system whereby a corporation might sue a country- secret tribunals, behind closed doors!- for impinging upon its commodity investments. Education, health, water, wildlife, habitat, air, sleep, dreams... or just conceivably nightmares! Progress? When TTIP's discussed in The Commons, do you know what your MP's health investment portfolio looks like?

That quite so many sources might seek to discredit Jeremy Corbyn, Yanis Varoufakis and others of this ilk should serve as more than ample warning that someone has designs upon your 'freedom of choice.' Yvette Cooper may well be a home flipping, welfare bill abstaining, austerity hugging Tory-lite, but hey, she's the Guardian's choice, BBC favoured... "Hell, I kinda like the idea of somebody else doing all the leg work, so's I don't have to. If my newspaper and the TV news both support her..." "Not everything's a conspiracy, Tom!"

If TTIP and ISDS offer so much wonderful clear blue sky, ** why the Hell isn't the BBC all over it? If it's really in our best interests, why is it such a secret? It's a question we should all be asking, not texting about Kim Kardashian's damned arse!

Is it me, or does the dawn look just that little bit more expensive?

The ** link really is essential viewing. An almost empty House of Commons can be witnessed 'debating' the implementation of TTIP and ISDS. It's evident that several of the MPs present had no idea that the EU was trying to covertly rush the implementation through, some MPs didn't even know that these beasts even existed! At least two others had already invested in the privatisation of aspects of the UK's healthcare. Two and a half hours is a long watch, but having TTIP and ISDS foisted upon us unawares makes this commitment pale into insignificance! Filmed upon 16th January this year and of immense significance, Jeremy Corbyn can be witnessed arguing for the removal of both ISDS and TTIP from the UK's statute books, whereas MPs Burnham, Cooper and Kendal are conspicuously absent! 

Sustainable commodification upon a finite planet? You can be absolutely certain that 'we' have a top team of advertising moguls working 24/7, upon a 'reimagining of the end game.'

* This is the dangerous one!

** And this, if not since been removed by the BBC, is the 'oh so soft' alarm bell (91/2 minutes in is a bit of a clincher, as are 44 1/2, and 1 hour 23 minutes.)! Note the turnout!