Bentley with license plates “BUY ART” (February 5th)

Ronald Coles the 64 year old Australian influential art dealer and gallery owner has been arrested and charged with 87 counts of theft and fraud offences. Coles was seen as a model of success, a jet setter driving a Bentley with license plates “BUY ART”, is alleged to have defrauded 43 clients of their superannuation savings. Under Australian Superannuation Laws, clients are not permitted to retain their art purchases in their homes, instead leaving them with Coles for storage. Coles allegedly in turn on-sold the art works. The Gallery went into bankruptcy in 2009 and Coles disappeared into hiding. Police seized over 400 works from various properties and discovered many were fakes, allegedly painted by Coles. Coles was discovered after his disappearance working as a taxi cab driver, and is in custody pending the posting of his $AU100,000 bail. Coles offering little remorse claims that he is the victim in the scam that potentially places the Australian art industry in disrespect with potential investors.

Inspired by Jeremy Eccles http://ow.ly/8Jmox image source Brock Perks http://ow.ly/8JmZv

Well-cast for role of fall guy and scapegoat (February 4th)

Chase Madar the US lawyer and author of ‘The Passion of Bradley Manning’ has released an article on Aljazeera stating “The bodycount that resulted from Pfc Manning’s leaks have amounted to zero thus far, while his accusers stand bloody.” Madar states, “Knowledge may indeed have its risks, but how many civilian deaths can actually be traced to the WikiLeaks’ revelations? How many military deaths? To the best of anyone’s knowledge, not a single one. …the “grave risks” involved in the publication of the War Logs and of those State Department documents have been wildly exaggerated. Embarrassment, yes. A look inside two grim wars and the workings of imperial diplomacy, yes. Blood, no. The civilian carnage caused by our rush to war … is not speculative or theoretical but all-too real. And yet no one anywhere has been held to much account… Only one individual, it seems, will pay, even if he actually spilled none of the blood. Our foreign policy elites seem to think Bradley Manning is well-cast for the role of fall guy and scapegoat. This is an injustice. …someday Pfc Manning will be honoured.

Inspired by image Chase Madar http://ow.ly/8Jm6I source Muhammad Ahmad http://ow.ly/8Jm4R

Museums of art are our new churches (February 3rd)

Alain de Botton the 42 year old Swiss philosopher and television presenter in the UK who established a new educational enterprise in London called “The School of Life”, has released an article in the Guardian referencing the recent saying that “museums of art are our new churches”. de Botton implies that “…in a secularising world, art has replaced religion as a touchstone of our reverence and devotion.” And if so, “It’s an intriguing idea, part of the broader ambition that culture should replace scripture, but in practice art museums often abdicate much of their potential to function as new churches (places of consolation, meaning, sanctuary, redemption) through the way they handle the collections entrusted to them… The challenge is to rewrite the agendas for our art museums so that collections can begin to serve the needs of psychology as effectively as, for centuries, they served those of theology… Only then would museums be able to claim that they had properly fulfilled the excellent but as yet elusive ambition of in part becoming substitutes for churches in a rapidly secularising society.

Inspired by Alain de Botton http://ow.ly/8JloO image source VeracityVoice http://ow.ly/8Jlxr

Many people applauded our youthful idealism (February 2nd)

Peter Albert David Singer the 65 year old Australian philosopher and professor of Bioethics specializing in applied ethics has released an article on Aljazeera applauding the ending of battery cages in Europe for the keeping of fowls. Singer likened the achievement to the Arab Spring, stating “The end of the battery cage in Europe is a less dramatic development than the Arab Spring, but, like that popular uprising, it began with a small group of thoughtful and committed people… In the early 1970s, when the modern animal liberation movement began, no major organisation was campaigning against the battery cage… It took a concerted effort… to stir the RSPCA from its complacency towards the battery cage and other forms of intensive animal rearing… hens kept in cages so small… hens could never walk around freely, or lay eggs in a nest… Many people applauded our youthful idealism, but told us that we had no hope of ever changing a major industry. They were wrong… On the first day of 2012, keeping hens in such cages became illegal.”

Inspired by Peter Singer http://ow.ly/8JkSu image source Joel Travis Sage http://ow.ly/8JkVW

Either very rich, very poor, or in trouble with IRS (February 1st)

Donna Brazile the 52 year old US professor and political analyst published several tweets following the 2012 State of the Union address by President Barak Obama stating “Republicans can’t seem to accomplish anything, yet they are able to prevent virtually everything from happening” and comically following up with “If you pay fewer taxes than Mitt Romney, you are either very rich, very poor, or in a whole lot of trouble with the IRS”. Brazile is renowned for her weekly contributions to CNN tv’s The Situation Room, and contributions to NPR’s Political Corner. Brazile directed the Al Gore presidential campaign in 2000, and briefly served as the interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2011. Brazile developed an interest in politics at the age of nine, helping to elect a City Council candidate who had promised to build a playground; the candidate won and ignited her lifelong passion for political progress.

Inspired by Donna Brazile on Twitter image source Ron Aira http://ow.ly/8JkIr

Enrichment of the French cultural inheritance (January 31st)

Will Barnet the 100 year old US artist renowned for his dream like figurative human and animal paintings and watercolors depicting daily life, has been honored by being named a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by French authorities. Barnet’s body of works including drawings and prints are recognized worldwide for his original style. Barnet is a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has been the recipient of numerous awards including being the first Artist’s Lifetime Achievement Award Medal given by the National Academy of Design. The French government’s guidelines for being named a Chevalier state the recipient must respect French civil law, and must have ’significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance’, although foreign persons can be admitted into the Order. Barnet had been honored earlier by the French National Academy Museum with an exhibition of his works.

Inspired by Judith H. Dobrzynski http://ow.ly/8Jk9x image source Amy Zimmer http://ow.ly/8Jk67

At the extreme end of the scale (January 30th)

Kim Dotcom known as Kim Tim Jim Vestor the 38 year old German-Finnish computer programmer and IT businessman and founder of Megupload has been denied bail following his arrest in New Zealand. Megauplad an international, multi-language hosting website based in Hong Kong, is accused by US authorities of copyright infringement and money-laundering. Dotcom faces an extradition hearing to the US and authorities have successfully argued that he is an extreme flight risk and may re-offend. Dotcom’s legal defense argued that he posed no threat of absconding and denies any criminal wrongdoing, stating his passports had been seized, his assets frozen and was cooperating with authorities. The prosecution alleges he is “at the extreme end of the scale” having access to other funds and had multiple identities along with a history of flight from criminal proceedings. Dotcom has been remanded in custody until late February when the US Justice Department’s extradition application will be heard by the court.

Inspired by Matt Burns http://ow.ly/8JjoR image source Technoded http://ow.ly/8Jj28

Exploited same loophole used by Richy Richs (January 29th)

Clifford D “Cliff” Schecter the 30 year old US political writer with a reputation as a pugnacious proponent of progressive politics and policies, has published an article reviewing the political satire of the Stephen Colbert SuperPAC. In the article Schecter writes “Political satire … has played an important role in shaping political thought throughout the ages… That is why what Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are doing with their “Super PAC“… a public service at this point in our country’s democratic experiment… running ads… through Colbert’s Super PAC, Americans For A Better Tomorrow-Tomorrow, using every device possible – short of playing flash-card memory games… to show how unbelievably absurd our whole system has become… They have exploited the very same loophole used by Richy Richs - such as the infamous clean-air hating Koch Brothers…  to give large and unregulated sums of money, or speech, to candidates… as Colbert himself said: “With your help – and with possibly the help of some outside group that I am not coordinating with – we can explore taking this country back.”

Inspired by Cliff Schecter http://ow.ly/8BPvR image source http://ow.ly/8BPBV

King Eric now President Eric (January 28th)

Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona the 45 year old French former international footballer and current film actor affectionately nicknamed “King Eric”, has declared he will be a candidate in the 2012 French presidential election. Cantona has written to the mayors throughout France to gain the 500 signatures required to campaign for election, with his primary aim to give social housing a priority in the campaign, with support to homeless charities. Cantona had previously in 2010 called for a social revolution with a run on the major retail banks, encouraging bank customers to withdraw their funds in protest at the global financial crisis. Cantona’s call was labeled irresponsible and misguided, and his call was not taken up after condemnation from politicians and bankers due to the potentially disastrous outcomes if pursued. In the letter to the French mayors, Cantona stated he is “a citizen very much aware of our times” and he needed to speak out “at a time when our country faces difficult choices”.

Inspired by France 24 http://ow.ly/8BOYG image source Georges Biard http://ow.ly/8BP53

Prepared and more in tune with the numbers (January 27th)

Jacob “Jack” J. Lew the 56 year old US Director of the White House Management and Budget recently was appointed the White House Chief of Staff after the resignation of William ‘Bill’ Daley. In an article published by Luke Johnson, Johnson describes how “As the White House’s budget director, Lew has received praise for working with Republicans, even from one of Obama’s harshest critics, “No one was more prepared and more in tune with the numbers than Jack Lew,” said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) … “He was always very polite and respectful in his tone and someone who I can tell is very committed to his principles.” Lew also previously served as Deputy Director and then Director of Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton Administration from 1995 to 2001. “…in 2008, he served as chief operating officer of Citigroup Alternative Investments, investing in a hedge fund that bet on the housing market to collapse… From 2009 to 2010, Lewworked for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as deputy secretary for management and resources.”

Inspired by Luke Johnson http://ow.ly/8BOsQ image source http://ow.ly/8BORz