Meltdown .... A PowerPoint presentation

Peter Challen has sent me an interesting PowerPoint presentation entitled 'Meltdown' about the next phase of the Global Financial crash, originally prepared and circulated by Dr Mike Haywood. Let me know if you'd like a copy and I'll forward it to you.

In summary, the presentation argues that ...
The debt mountain, peak oil, population growth, resource depletion, population growth, the pension time bomb and climate change are all interconnected. Remember, only 3 dozen economists correctly predicted the 2008 global financial crisis, out of a profession of 20,000 members. Not one of the World politicians and Central Bankers saw the crisis coming, but all of them claim to know the remedy.
Meltdown did not occur in October 2008, but we were within 4 hours of it happening. It has only been deferred. The reasons for the 2008 crash have not gone away. The US housing market is still in freefall and US and European Banks are becoming increasingly insolvent, although they won't admit it. Economic growth will be stifled by rising oil prices. The bailouts are not working. World Politicians, Bankers and Economists are trying to maintain the status quo but they are losing control. Fundamentally, the real systemic causes of the crisis are rarely discussed with transparency and have not been addressed. Fractional Reserve Banking and universal public ignorance of banking practices are the cause of all our global problems.

The collapse will happen within the next couple of years. The Eurozone or USA will most probably be the epicentre. The interconnectivity of the financial system means we will all be affected. What happens next after the collapse is impossible to predict. History is replete with examples but not on a Global scale. Massive political unrest will prevail. There will be a rise in popularity of extreme left and right political parties.
Peter recommends them as a valuable set of slides, graphs and summaries that might usefully be viewed before the Moving Planet day seminar at St James Piccadilly on September 24 see http://www.st-james-piccadilly.org/.

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Regina Spektor - Fidelity.

Rochester: Art Gallery & Cathedral

Detail of Lucy Brown's 'Limbo' Installation in 'Thread Bare'

Detail of Lucy Brown's 'Limbo' installation in 'Thread Bare'

Rochester Cathedral (exterior)

Sergei Fyodorov's fresco

Madonna and Child with Bobbie Cox's 'Meetings' tapestry

One of Jacqui Frost's 'Rites of Passage' series

Rochester Cathedral

Textiles were the primary media on offer on a visit today to Rochester's Art Gallery and Cathedral.

Thread Bare at the Rochester Art Gallery brings together the work of Craig Fisher, Lucy Brown, Joanne Haywood and Judith Dwyer, who use textiles to explore the human condition, gender-related concerns, relationships between past and present and narratives constructed around personal and cultural identity. Contradictions and ambiguities abound in each artist's work. Craig Fisher's soft, sculptural installations question representations of violence and macho stereotypes whilst Lucy Brown explores the complex issue of female identity, reworking vintage garments into abstracted, figurative forms.

The Craft Case at the Gallery presents a diverse programme of small to medium-scale, high-quality, contemporary applied arts in two bespoke showcases. During Thread Bare the Craft Case features Judith Dwyer's unsettling 'Dangerous Dolls and Dogs' created from luxury fabric and recycled objects, and Joanne Haywood's eclectic jewellery, which draws on the conflict of opposites for dramatic effect.

Rites of Passage by Jacqui Frost at Rochester Cathedral is part of a series of Cathedral Exhibitions which aims to provide exhibitions in textiles that will enhance the experience of everyone who sees them. The art work tells a story which may be in picture, word or sound format. Each of the exhibitions is put together using a Bible theme and aims to be contemporary and accessible to all. The challenge is to tell each person a little bit more about God and also by way of a Christian Enquiry Agency freepost reply card to invite a response, particularly from those who do not know Christ as their Saviour. Each theme is put on a series of up to 10 screens, the whole work is commissioned by the Deo Gloria Trust and then loaned to the various partner Cathedrals for a given period. The finished screens are hung on specially designed stands that fit into and with the architecture and style of the Cathedral.

Also at Rochester Cathedral to mark the new millennium and to celebrate the 1,400 years of Christian worship, pilgrimage and prayer on the site, the Russian iconographer, Sergei Fyodorov, completed the painting of the first real fresco in an English cathedral for 800 years in 2004 and this is now on view to the public.

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World Party - Put The Message In A Box.