Boundless Edition 2

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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHTS

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Cont ent s - 3 ....... Arkbound Opport unit ies - 4 ....... News: COP21 Tal ks - 6 ....... The Need f or Media Ref orm

This second edition of Boundless features a range of articles, investigations, features, interviews and artistic pieces.

Copies are available from approved homeless and unemployed distributors for 0.99p (enabling them to make 50p of each sale), as well as selected venues.

If you have already brought this magazine from one of our distributors, thank you! If you would like to become a distributor yourself, email boundless@arkbound.com In this edition we have also trialled a number of smaller brochures with a QR code that allows you to access the full magazine freely online via a mobile device.

- 7 ....... Cycl ing in Brist ol Our Vision

- 8 ....... Local Int erview With Judith Elliott - 9 ....... Communit y Spot l ight Bristol Bike Project Homeless story - 10 ...... The Gal l ery Art, creative writing, poetry, quotes - 17 ...... Communit y Spot l ight Incredible Edible - 18 ...... Views f rom Af ar South Africa - 20 ...... Lessons t o Learn?

- 21 ...... The Soapbox The Liberal Democrats Readers' letters - 23 ...... Invest igat ive Spot l ight s The dark web Economic growth Scam spotlight - 29 ...... Book reviews - 30 ...... Game page

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Edited by Steve Jackley, Neil Tyldesley and Kate Bishop. Cover image by Andrea Furlan.

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are being formed with journalists and editors across the world so that they can share material, ideas and insights. By providing more effective coverage of environmental and socially linked issues, the network is helping to address the driving issues behind climate change. We are also developing the network through the city twinnings initiative, helping to Arkound is a publishing social enterprise founded in early 2015 as a Princes' Trust startup. Based in Bristol, we provide a range of services to aspiring authors, journalists and artists. Arkbound aims to promote community development, social inclusion, sustainability and artistic talent.

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worl d For further information visit: Arkbound is developing an expanding international network of journalists and editors and is a member of the Earth Journalism Network and Climate News Network. Partnerships

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COP21Cl i m at e Tal k s In Decem ber 2015 cou n tr ies acr oss th e wor l d cam e togeth er to discu ss ways to com bat cl im ate ch an ge.

Th is h istor ic even t h el d in Par is fol l ows on fr om tal k s in ear l ier year s th at go back to th e fir st Un ited Nation s Fr am ewor k Con ven tion on Cl im ate Ch an ge (UNFCC) in 1992. Th e aim ? To con sol idate action s th at wil l pr even t gl obal war m in g fr om r isin g above 2 degr ees Cel siu s ? widel y r egar ded by scien tists as th e th r esh ol d wh er e fu r th er r ises wou l d r esu l t in ir r ever sibl e cl im ate ch an ge.

Th e tal k s sou gh t to cr eate a bin din g an d u n iver sal agr eem en t th at wou l d fin al l y r ever se th e tr en d of in cr easin g car bon em ission s. M u ch wou l d depen d on th e two gian ts of Nor th Am er ica an d Ch in a, wh ose em ission s dwar f oth er n ation s an d, in th e case of Ch in a, h ave dou bl ed over a 10 year per iod. Th e Par is tal k s h ad to over com e an im passe th at h ad al ways ar isen in oth er n egotiation s: wh y sh ou l d devel opin g n ation s, su ch as Ch in a, tak e on th e econ om ic bu r den of cu ttin g th eir em ission s wh en th e devel oped n ation s, l ik e th e US, h ad n o su ch bar r ier s du r in g th eir in du str ial isation er a? In sh or t, it was an ar gu m en t th at r equ ir ed th e devel oped n ation s to pr ovide r ecom pen se to th e devel opin g on es in or der to l im it th eir em ission s ? som eth in g th at m an y wer e sim pl y n ot wil l in g to do.

Th in gs ch an ged after a m eetin g with th e US an d Ch in ese pr esiden ts in Novem ber 2014. Both l eader s, wh eth er con vin ced by m ou n tin g scien tific eviden ce or pu bl ic pr essu r e, fin al l y agr eed to l im it car bon em ission s. Th e stage was set for fu r th er cooper ation between oth er n ation s, m an y of wh om h ad tak en th e pr eviou s US-Ch in a position as a r eason to do n oth in g.

Despite bein g set in th e after m ath of sh ock in g ter r or ist attack s, th e Par is tal k s m an aged to ach ieve wh at al l oth er tal k s h ad fail ed to do: a con sen su s by al l

par ticipatin g cou n tr ies to r edu ce car bon em ission s ?as soon as possibl e?. W h at th is m ean s in pr actice is h ar d to say. Su ch a com m itm en t car r ies n o pen al ties if it is n ot fu l fil l ed, n or ar e th er e an y l egal en for cem en t m ech an ism s for m ak in g it tr u l y bin din g. It is an agr eem en t th at r ests on an in dividu al cou n tr y?s wil l in gn ess an d capacity to act.

Su ch u n cer tain ty l ed m an y to con dem n th e tal k s as too weak . M or eover ,for al l th at was discu ssed, n oth in g was m en tion ed abou t ser iou s issu es th at con tr ibu te to cl im ate ch an ge ? fr om m eat con su m ption to fr ack in g.

Nor was th e (u n )accou n tabil ity of th e m u l tin ation al car bon -in vestin g cor por ation s given m u ch atten tion .

Bu t per h aps m ost distu r bin g was th e u n pr ovok ed h ou se ar r est of r espectabl e cl im ate activists, al on g with occasion s wh er e u n der cover pol ice su dden l y pou n ced u pon peopl e wh o wer e peacefu l l y dem on str atin g again st th e spon sor sh ip of m ajor oil com pan ies. On e wom an sh ou ted back to cam er as as sh e was dr agged away: "these com panies ar e destr oying our planet. They ar e continuing to em it car bon em issions, then pr etending as if they ar e doing som ething about it."

'police suddenly pounced upon people who wer e peacefully dem onstr ating against the sponsor ship of m ajor oil com panies.'

Stil l , th e COP21 Par is tal k s wer e a step for war d. Th ey en capsu l ated th e desir e of n ation s to wor k togeth er on a com m on issu e, al beit on e so l ar ge th at con cr ete steps to tack l e it h ave n ever r eal l y been decided u pon .

On l y fu tu r e gen er ation s can l ook back at th ese tal k s an d ju dge wh eth er th ey wer e a su ccess? . or a fail u r e.

Th e Br i st ol Par t

Fr en ch Pr esiden t Fr an รงois H ol l an de at th e open in g of th e even t h igh l igh tin g Fr an ce's com m itm en t to cl im ate ch an ge.

M ayor Geor ge Fer gu son join ed with oth er cities acr oss th e wor l d in pl edgin g car bon n eu tr al ity by 2050, som eth in g th at wou l d see Br istol r edu ce its car bon em ission s by 40% befor e 2020 ? with l ar ger r edu ction s th er eafter. As th e fir st Eu r opean Gr een Capital , Br istol was in a good position to l au n ch su ch an am bitiou s tar get. H owever ,al on gside th e city?s 'gr een ' im age ar e discr epan cies th at ar e h ar d to r econ cil e: fr om th e con tin u ed pr esen ce of

tr affic-in du ced air pol l u tion to th e spr ayin g of car cin ogen ic pesticides acr oss Br istol ?s par k s. If su stain abil ity is to becom e m or e th an r h etor ic, su ch th in gs ar e in u r gen t n eed of bein g addr essed.

Dou bl e St an d ar d s Th e COP21 tal k s m ay be r egar ded as an ou tstan din g exam pl e of differ en t n ation s u n itin g to pu r su e a com m on aim ; of each par ticipan t bein g tr u e to th eir pu bl ic pr ocl am ation of r edu cin g car bon em ission s.

Yet, with in ju st a few week s, th e UK issu ed a fl u r r y of fr ack in g l icen ses th at wil l pave th e way to fu r th er r el ian ce on n on -r en ewabl e en er gy.

M ean wh il e, in th e US, th e Repu bl ican dom in ated H ou se of Repr esen tatives appr oved a Bil l th at wou l d bl ock tr ade deal s fr om bein g u sed to cu t gr een h ou se gas em ission s. If th is wer en 't en ou gh , a l eak ed Tr an satl an tic Tr ade an d In vestm en t Par tn er sh ip ('TTIP') docu m en t h as r eveal ed th at even th e EU is n ot wil l in g to com pr om ise tr ade in th e pu r su it of r edu ced car bon em ission s. Ir ish M EP M att Car th y com m en ted: "I t is evident that tr ade and cor por ate pr ofits ar e the pr ior ities on their agenda and that we sim ply cannot tr ust what they tell us.?

(W idel y r egar ded as a back -door tak eover by cor por ate in ter ests, th e TTIP tr eaty itsel f h as been th e su bject of gr owin g con tr over sy: see adjacen t).

'within just a few weeks, the UK issued a flurry of fracking licenses that will pave the way to further reliance on non-renewable energy' On e th in g is cer tain : for as l on g as tr ade an d 'econ om ic gr owth ' ar e pr ior itised above al l el se, th er e can be n o r eal pr ogr ess towar ds com batin g cl im ate ch an ge. It is goin g to r equ ir e som e ver y r ich an d power fu l peopl e to sacr ifice pr ofits for th e sak e of fu tu r e gen er ation s. An d for m an y,it seem s, th at is sim pl y ask in g too m u ch ...

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W h at i s TTI P? Tou ted as a tr eaty to str en gth en tr ade between Am er ica an d Eu r ope, TTIP n egotiation s h ave been m ostl y k ept secr et. Tr ade bar r ier s between Am er ica an d Eu r ope ar e al r eady am on g th e l owest in th e wor l d, so TTIP wou l d focu s u pon over com in g n ation al r egu l ation s an d str en gth en in g in tel l ectu al pr oper ty l aws. Bu t th e tr eaty cou l d al so over r ide n ation al l aws design ed to pr otect peopl e, com m u n ities an d th e en vir on m en t.

"These so-called 'partnerships' are in fact vehicles by which US corporations make themselves immune to the sovereign laws of foreign countries in which they do business."

Dr Pau l Rober ts, for m er Assistan t Secr etar y of th e US Secr etar y,n otes: "These so-called 'par tner ships' ar e in fact vehicles by which US cor por ations m ake them selves im m une to the sover eign laws of for eign countr ies in which they do business. For exam ple, if M onsanto wants to sell GM O seeds in Fr ance or US cor por ations wish to sell genetically-m odified foods in Fr ance, and Fr ance enfor ces its laws against GM Os, the Tr ansatlantic Tr ade Par tner ship allows Fr ance to be sued in jur isdictions outside the cour ts of Fr ance for "r estr aint of tr ade." I n other wor ds, pr eventing the entr y into Fr ance of a pr ohibited pr oduct constitutes r estr aint of tr ade."

In th e UK, Tr ade M in ister Lor d Livin gston e h as stated th at th e Gover n m en t h as n o pl an s to excl u de th e NH S, or an y oth er pu bl ic ser vice, fr om TTIP ? som eth in g wh ich cou l d pave th e way to ou tr igh t an d u n stoppabl e pr ivatisation .

6

THE NEED FOR

M EDI A

REFORM 'The Press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and social being.'

Thomas Jefferson The UK has one of the most concentrated media ownerships in the world, with only three corporations controlling 70% of newspaper circulation. Such a situation, coupled with poor media regulation, has seen a wholesale disregard of the best principles for which journalism was created: to inform, educate and unify... not to mislead, misdirect and divide. This sorrowful state of affairs has resulted in mainstream newspapers publishing blatantly false and inflammatory stories, with senior reporters even being implicated in criminal activity. No wonder, then, that thousands are calling for a better, more diverse and accountable Press. The much-awaited Leveson Report noted how "there has been a recklessness in prioritising sensational stories, almost irrespective of the harm the stories may cause and the rights of those who would be affected."

Lord Leveson added that there had also been: 'significant and reckless disregard for accuracy'. However, the recommendations for an independent and voluntary body, together with tougher sanctions and penalties against Press abuse, were not followed through by PM David Cameron.

The result? Continued poor regulation and lack of plurality in British media. Just a few months ago, The Sun launched a startling headline that proclaimed: '1 in 5 Brit Muslims' have sympathy for jihadis'. Not only was this in the wake of worsening Islamophobia, it was also a blatant distortion of findings by public opinion poll Survation. As a News Corp newspaper, owned by the billionaire Murdoch empire, such reporting is perhaps not surprising. But, when News Corp bosses held over 10 meetings with key government officials in just three months during 2015, a line must surely be drawn. When the owners of mass media have such close, secretive connections with central Government it can only be described as a direct threat to democracy. The Sun and other Murdoch puppet-papers are not the only culprits. Alongside them sit the likes of ostensibly more 'civilised' newspapers like The Telegraph, owned by two reclusive

billionaire twins who have been implicated in serious tax evasion and even bullying the hapless residents of Sark, a small British Channel Island. Just what, one has to ask, is going on?

It is perhaps inevitable that the interests of 'the owners' are directly reflected by what their publications say. Most recently, The M edia Refor m Coalition has documented how there has been a concerted campaign by mainstream media outlets to undermine the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Unlike other party leaders, Corbyn has stood out for his left wing politics, with stated intentions to crack down on tax evasion and break up corporate domination of the media. Is it any wonder, then, that these same tax evaders and domineering corporations go out of their way to attack him? Should we be surprised when the same outlets cleverly compliment and elevate those things that would boost their owners' inflated profits ? such as The Evening Standard's praise of City deregulation? Or when queries are raised over the validity of human-induced climate change, like in The Daily Mail, as the paper enlarges its appeal to sponsoring oil barons?

There was a time when the printed word was sacred; when writing itself was a means of higher enlightenment. No longer. Thanks to rags like The Sun, journalism has become a by-word for spin and greed.

We're not all the same, though. A new model of community, ethical journalism is spreading. Media cooperatives are setting themselves against corporate-owned newspapers. Organisations are giving local people and communities the resources and support to start their own, accountable media outlets. The move from mass print to digital, from centralised syndicated news to social media networks, is growing.

Maybe we will see a return to proper journalism. Maybe, just maybe, it can regain the purposes and reputation it once had. We can only hope.... and do our best to help.

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Bristol is often referred to as the cycling capital of the UK and has become the country's very first 'Cycling City'. There are a network of cycling paths throughout the region, as well as an enormous number of bike shops and associated services. But, for people who live in Bristol, what is it really like to get around by bike? And how can Bristol's existing appeal to cyclists be improved?

7 'Infrastructure is by far and away the most common concern of cyclists', Rob told Boundless. Like many other cyclists, Rob sees reallocation of road space from motor traffic to segregated cycle paths as a good infrastructural solution, as well as giving cyclists priority when a cycle path crosses a road. This would also tackle the perception of cycling being more dangerous than driving ? something which, as things stand, is arguably the case. However, such changes are never going to be easy.

'The car lobby is powerful,' Rob says, 'and the culture in the UK seems to be that we have a god-given right to drive our single-occupancy cars anywhere.... with anything that makes this even slightly less convenient being a gross infringement of some inalienable right. As long as that view persists, it is hard to see any government taking cycling provision very seriously.'

Rob highlights how cycling can provide a convenient, affordable and environmentally-sustainable means of getting around. 'I've survived 38 years without ever owning a car (and no, nobody else in my household has one either) and cannot see any need for one as long as I live in an urban area. And most importantly of all, cycling is enormous fun. It's good for the soul, even on a miserable day. I never, ever feel worse for riding my bike. I hope that over time more people will come to share that opinion, but I think we need a huge leap forward in infrastructure provision in order to encourage people to try riding a bike for day-to-day transport.'

Traf f ic, t raf f ic, t raf f ic For anyone in the city during the 'rush hour' periods it may feel as if they have teleported to London. Rows of vehicles stand in gridlock, exhaust fumes adding to a sometimes visible pollution. Exhausted curses mix with angry horns as people edge their way forward.

Scarcely a day passes when there isn't a crash, road closure, or traffic related incident.

Things are worsening. Although all major cities have traffic problems, the rate of traffic increase in Bristol has been up to three times the national average. Cars are still being used for around 40% -45% of journeys under 2km, with traffic being the main source of toxic pollution. Yet, as observed by Bristol City Council, if people stopped using their car for just one in ten journeys there would be 10% less road traffic.

The Cycl ing Sol ut ion People can reclaim the roads ? not via four wheels but by two. Back in 1991, a group of ordinary citizens stood up to confront increasing air pollution and traffic by blockading the M32 with bicycles. Today that same group, the Bristol Cycling Campaign, works with local Government and other organisations to encourage more people to cycle. Their vision is to make Bristol a 'top Liveable City' ? drawing attention to how cycling can reduce traffic and pollution as well as improve people's health. Continued investment has seen greater numbers of people leave their cars and get on bikes. The Bristol Bike Strategy sets out a commitment to keep investing ÂŁ16 per head of population per year to deliver cycle improvements. The period 2001-2011 saw a whopping 100% increase in journeys to work by bike ? a trend that the Strategy aims to build upon.

Punct ures f or Pot Hol es For all the millions invested towards cycling in Bristol, there remain serious problems. Perhaps no person is better qualified to draw attention to these than Rob Wall, life-time cyclist and founder of Roll for the Soul Cafe.

The Road Ahead The infrastructural problems mentioned by Rob are of course only part of the cycling equation. Cyclists regularly report being abused by other road users, even pedestrians. One man we spoke to mentioned being deliberately 'hit in the face by a folded cardboard box' as he cycled past a builder's van. Unnecessary, aggressive horn beeping and curb-cramping happens every day. Grafitti scrawled over a closed road sign in one part of Bristol osbtinately proclaims 'Pedestrians are better than all cyclists'.

At the same time, motorists and pedestrians alike can easily pay testimony to incidents of cyclists riding through red lights, illegally using pavements, and making the roads more dangerous through careless manoeuvres. 'They think the Highway Code doesn't apply to them,' one irate motorist told Boundless.

Nonetheless, with seriously escalating traffic in Bristol ? coupled with the problems surrounding it ? cycling represents one of the best, if not the only, solutions. We should all learn to enjoy it, having confidence that our peddling is helping both planet and people. In the words of John F Kennedy:'Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.'

Join the conversation by tweeting us @ark bounduk

8

LOCAL INTERVIEW

Wa lking from Bristol to Lond on

Despite the inevitable rain and cold, Judith and Deasy finished their walk at London Bridge feeling rejuvenated. 'I felt I had acquired an inner stillness, yet at the same time I felt hyper-energetic ? like a runner just before a race. When you walk you discover a different connection and knowing, helping you understand places in a different way... allowing you to appreciate what you are given and to be with Earth.'

Before completing their walk, Judith and Deasy encountered the unexpected, coming across special places such as a Peace Pagoda built by Buddhist monks in Battersea. They also crossed paths with many people, who shared the same environmental concerns. 'At one point near South Bank (London) someone had done artwork of elephants in the sand, to help raise awareness of how these animals are endangered and being exploited'. With elephant populations having declined as much as 75% since 2001, their plight is illustrative of many other wild species driven closer to extinction by the short-sighted demands of an invariably wealthy minority.

Judith Elliott talks to Boundless about her epic trek In September 2015, Judith Elliott and her friend Deasy Banford started on a 3-week journey from Bristol to London. It would see them both challenged, inspired, and irreversibly changed. What began as an idea to raise awareness on environmental issues would evolve into a life-time turning point, sending these two walkers in new directions.

'There are two directions mankind can take,' Judith said. 'One is built upon greed, sloth, fear and competitiveness; where we have a need to possess and control; to feel safe and comfortable, in the process destroying the environment and sacrificing connections with nature.

But in the opposite direction humans can cooperate, realise interdependence, and actually increase biodiversity. They can plant trees and nurture species, leading to mutual gains and reinforcing natural rhythms, transforming barren artificial landscapes to rich havens.'

In many ways their trek was inspired by the Suffragette's Group, which saw twelve women walk from Cornwall to London. But, instead of seeking to strengthen a campaign against social injustice, Judith and Deasy sought to make a gesture against what has arguably become a modern equivalent: the place of climate change in politics. 'I couldn't help but notice how, in the General Election, environmental issues were simply not on the agenda', Judith says, 'or at least they were not given much priority'.

The walk took Judith and Deasy along old drove roads to some of Britain's ancient sites, such as the 4,000 year-old Stanton Drew and Avebury Stone Circles. 'We saw it more in terms of a pilgrimage than a race, giving us a chance to re-connect with nature.' This is not the first time that Judith has undertaken long walks in the wild; indeed, she reveals a remarkable background that embodies the pastoral ideal.

At 32 years-old she built a wooden house in Pembrokeshire, surrounded by fields and a stream, where she managed without electricity. It was perhaps this experience that allowed her to better understand certain natural rhythms and the lasting impacts of human activity on nature.

'Life is precious. It has a quality of animation, of beauty, that cannot be replicated artificially. But we are wrecking the planet with the illusion that it can be repaired or even that there's somewhere else.

Money is placed before the essential things we need for survival.'

Judith's words came shortly before the COP21 Paris talks, covered on page 4-5, which sought to consolidate international cooperation on climate change. Yet the fact that humanity has only a short time frame in which to act and make changes ? one of the strongest points of those talks ? was something that nearly all politicians avoided.

Before the walk, Judith and Deasy almost felt powerless in what they could do, seeing the scale of destruction and loss across the world.

This erosion of agency and unwillingness to make lifestyle changes is a sentiment that many others share. We may still drive short distances to work, or buy food imported from a different hemisphere, even though we know the consequences. Such embedded social patterns, reinforced by 'the system', are hard to change. But they are still choices. Judith and Deasy's walk showed them that people are open to another way; that even sharing individual insights can build up to cumulative change. And more walks are on the cards....

For centuries, if not millennia, people have walked for physical and mental health. It is an opportunity to be surrounded by the natural world, to discover hidden places, even just to think without pressure or distraction. As a Native American Indian saying observes: 'A man?s heart away from nature becomes hard; lack of respect for growing, living things soon leads to a lack of respect for humans too.'* Interview by Steve J * Attributed to Luther Standing Bear, mid 1800s

9

COM M UNITY SPOTLIGH T

Homelessness Awareness Week

By Nathan from Emmaus

Women & Trans Ni ght Th e Br istol Bik e Pr oject is a wel l -establ ish ed or gan isation , r en own for th eir gr eat ser vices in th eir city. Som e wou l d say th at th ey en com pass exactl y wh at it is to be Br istol ian (as a l ove for bik es is al m ost m an dator y in Br istol - th ou gh , as we saw on page 7, for som e it is m or e of a l ove/ h ate r el ation sh ip!). H owever ,wh at m an y m igh t n ot k n ow abou t th e Br istol Bik e Pr oject is th at th ey r u n a wor k sh op for wom en an d tr an sgen der peopl e. ?I t?s about finding space wher e wom en feel com for table to speak, to expr ess them selves, wor k together , and the m utual suppor t needed to challenge the oppr ession that wom en exper ience" BBP n ote.

Th e wor k sh op en cou r ages peopl e to be th em sel ves, in an en vir on m en t th ey can feel com for tabl e doin g so. H istor ical l y,it is possibl e to obser ve h ow th e k n owl edge of m ech an ics - su ch as bik e r epair s - h as been gen der ed an d segr egated, wh ich is an oth er th in g th e Pr oject is h el pin g to addr ess.

Th e Br istol Bik e Pr oject h as com e a l on g way sin ce it was r u n fr om a back gar den in St Pau l 's. Today,fr om its base beh in d H am il ton H ou se on City Road, it r efu r bish es h u n dr eds of u n wan ted bik es an d h el ps m an y of Br istol 's m ost disadvan taged gr ou ps. Th e pr oject en abl es peopl e to own a bik e, wh o m ay n ot oth er wise be abl e to affor d on e, wh il st r ecycl in g th ose th at ar e th r own away. Th r ou gh th is sch em e, m an y h ave been abl e to fin d wor k , gain gr eater m obil ity,an d l ear n n ew sk il l s. It is su r el y in itiatives l ik e th is th at m ak e th e city su ch a gr eat pl ace to l ive.

If you ar e in ter ested in atten din g th e W om en an d Tr an s Nigh t wor k sh op, get down to th e Br istol Bik e Pr oject at H am il ton H ou se on City Road (BS2 8TN) on M on days fr om 6pm to 9pm .

Spanners, bumps, and a bit of elbow grease! Working on bikes at BBP.

To fin d ou t m or e, visit th eir website at: www.th ebr istol bik epr oject.or g

Bristol Homelessness Awareness Week is from 20th-26th February. The opening starts at New Street, which is setting up a gallery with art by homeless people.

Throughout the week there will be a series of events, includng a sale at Emmaus Bristol, with the main event starting on Wednesday 24th in the Bear Pit. The week will conclude on the 26th of February with a Mass Sleep Out at Pip and Jays Church, where over 200 people are expected to attend.

Nathan's Story Nathan was homeless for 6 months in late 2014. 'It happened without warning', he says, 'I lost my partner, job and accommodation.' At the time he was living in a tiny village, where very little support was available. After coming to Bristol, he slept on the streets or occasionally in a night shelter.

'The hardest thing was being treated as a second class citizen even though I was always clean and well dressed. I saw the very worst of people but also the very best as there are some who want to help.' Eventually Nathan met someone from Emmaus Bristol and he succeeded in joining their community, where he now contributes as a worker in their social enterprise. He recently went out to Calais to help refugees and is taking a central part in organising Homelessness Awareness Week.

Nathan's story shows how easily someone can become homeless, but also how it is possible to regain a place in society, using the experience to help others. www.justgiving.com/ NathanSleepOUt2016

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The Ga l l e r y WRITING

This splash of colour by Oliver Needs shows how art can be used to communicate energy. Oliver, who has Dyslexia, went on to graduate in Fine Art.

ART

POETRY

Embrodiery by Cecilia Montague, who won 2nd Prize in the 2015 Arkbound Competition (best visual art category).

Bristol street artist John D'oh, often compared to Banksy, says his art is "like marmite: you usually either love it or hate it." Some of John's artwork was featured in the Trinity Centre, Old Market.

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The Pookah's Birthday - A Pixie's Tale

by Rachel Henderson Rachel describes herself as a 'Casan self-taught artist - a Celt with flair that cares.' She has written an intriguing tale that accompanies the above pictures, part of which we have shown below.

One glor ious sunny mor ning, the Pixies wer e singing and dancing and collecting var ious wild f lower s f or the Pooka?s Bir thday Par ty, which they wer e or ganising f or him. The Pooka (Natur e?s Spir it) was the

Pixies f avour ite cat. He was a ver y special cat - always happy and helpf ul - and car r ied the Pixies on his back on long jour neys.

Little did the Pixies know that the Slur ker in the Sloe was watching and listening to them. Af ter a while he came up with a devilish plan, kidnap the Pooka on his bir thday and spoil ever ything. He slur ked away to look f or a big sack to put the Pooka in. Oh, to kidnap the Pooka on his special day, what menacing miser y this would cause! A misshaped kind of a smile came over his f ace.

The Pooka had just ar isen f r om a lovely sleep, dr eaming about what a wonder f ul day he would have on his special day. What have the Pixies organised for me, he wonder ed with excitement. He gave a stupendous str etch and, with conf ident str ides, made his way towar ds the Fair y Ring, wher e the Pixies would be.

Now, the Fair y Ring was a magical place - a lar ge r ing of Toadstools wher e all the Pixies and animals gather ed at special times: bir thdays, f estivals and magical dates. This place was sur r ounded by Witch Hazel Tr ees whose leaves whisper ed in the wind, sometimes f alling gently onto the bluebells below. A ver y special place f or wishing...

You can read the rest of Rachel's tale here:

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Beeping Jeeps and Meditating Monkeys

By Mel Ciavucco

I stood at the foot of the bridge. The bridge. The bridge of doom as I?d started calling it. It was called Lakshman Jhula, a huge suspension bridge over the sacred river Ganges connecting two parts of the Indian town, Rishikesh. The bridge looked as if it could have been plucked from a modern city and plonked amongst the colourful temples, often said to look like tiered wedding cakes, lining the hillsides. I could see where I needed to be, where my yoga class would be held, on the other side of the bridge. So near yet so far. The bridge, my nemesis with all its hurdles, lay before me. It was said to be a ?pedestrianised?bridge, not wide enough for jeeps or cars, which was great in theory as it left more room for the hordes of tourists crossing it every day. But I?d learnt that many terms are used loosely in India, and in this case ?pedestrianised?was no exception.

I?d expected Rishikesh, with its unofficial label of ?yoga capital of the world?, to be a chilled out place. I couldn?t have been more wrong.

That morning I?d woken up to the same noise I heard every morning beeping jeeps. Long, irritated, loud beeps from impatient taxi drivers, ferrying tourists around in a constant cycle, all day long. Dragging myself out of bed had taken even more effort than usual. I?d still not really recovered from the last dose of food poisoning, and to be honest I wasn?t sure I knew what a normal bowel movement was anymore. I?d opened the door to my small balcony, it sounds flash but it was hardly a place I could sit and relax, and looked down at the road below. A driver was encouraging a crowd of Indian tourists to pile into the back of his jeep. I swear there must have already been ten people in there, but they seemed to somehow find more space and they all crammed in. Some people had even started climbing onto the roof of the jeep. A fairly average day in the central hub of Rishikesh.

I took a deep breath and looked up at the heaving bridge before me. I needed water before I could tackle it. Behind me was a local convenience store I?d been to several times before. The same man was always working there, a cheerful Indian man with a big red bindi on his forehead, who I?d started privately referring to as Mr Boombastic. ?Ah, good morning!?he said as I approached. ?You want fantastic, boombastic water??

He passed me an ice cold bottle of water and I pressed it against my face, feeling the cool relief on my sticky forehead. I handed Mr Boombastic the money. ?Mmm, Mr Lover Lover, mmmm. Fantastic boombastic! Anything is possible.?

I left the shop with a smile on my face, as I always did. I was ready to tackle the bridge.

If I stood still too long the touts would soon notice me, so I hurried on to the bridge to avoid being offered yet another tourist map. At the very start of the bridge was my first hurdle, a group of Indian holidaymakers posing for photographs. They were surrounding a white couple, the woman wearing shorts. Shorts! No wonder they wanted to photograph her. I was glad I?d stuck to my long trousers and baggy tops, I just didn?t want the hassle. Quite a crowd was forming behind me, and I wasn?t even properly on the bridge yet.

Some people started pushing past as the family took it in turns to be

in the pictures and take the pictures, whilst I, being English, used my awkward-trying-to-be-polite queuing skills. But my second hurdle was about to break down the first one; a motorbike. I heard the beeping first, he was getting a little too horn-happy. The family shuffled out of the way and accepted defeat as the motorcyclist edged off the bridge. It was only then I saw that the motorbike had three people and a baby on it, plus bags, and of course nobody was wearing a helmet. It wasn?t the first time I?d seen such a thing.

Back on the bridge, the family had disbanded and the motorbike was off the bridge. A surge of us started making our way across, not even half way yet, and then? hurdle number three. The Cow. I?d found cows in India to have a rather annoying air of self-importance. They especially loved to lie down in inconvenient places, like entrances to shops, or in the middle of the road, or? in the middle of a pedestrianised motorbike-clad tourist-filled bridge such as this. We all squeezed past, some of the Indian people gently petting its head.

The cow just shook them off as if to say ?Bugger off, don?t you know I?m sacred??I continued to squeeze past some stressed out American tourists who had tried to stop and take pictures of the view, then past Indian tourists who had stopped in the middle to bless the holy Ganges and then throw their litter in it. It should probably be called the holy liquid disposal system, the amount of crap that gets put in there. The very first thing I saw when I arrived in Rishikesh was a dead body being lowered down to the water. Supposedly, bathing in the holy Ganges is meant to be good for you, though I doubt it. The only thing you might get is hepatitis, or if you?re lucky just a bit of hypothermia. It?s bloody cold.

I was nearly there, most of the way across the bridge, and I could see the sign in the entrance to my yoga class. But then, there were monkeys. There were two kinds of monkeys in Rishikesh, the big furry grey chilled-out ones, and the little mischievous ones. The big grey ones watched the world go by calmly, sitting still as if meditating, like they knew something us silly humans had yet to figure out about existence. The small ones seemed to want two things, food or entertainment. They?d often freaked people out in my rooftop yoga class by trying to jump on them whilst they were in Downward Dog. The monkeys sat on the bars on the bridge near the end, like gatekeepers for the other side. My pace was really slow now, and I shuffled to keep moving but the people in front of me were nearly at a standstill. The people behind me were getting too close. I felt hot breath on the back of my head and could smell sweat.

The day was heating up fast. The monkeys watched us all. I wondered if they found it funny, all that space to climb up and down and swing about, when us humans all took baby steps in one direction set on getting to our destination. There was yet another motorbike trying to get on the bridge in front of me. The crowd heaved and pushed both ways, eventually breaking past each other and I was carried along in the bustle. Finally reaching the end of the bridge as the crowd poured off, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I hurried on up the stairs to my yoga class, thankful it was over for another morning. I?d have to do it all again in an hour?s time after my class, but that was then. I?d crossed the bridge multiple times a day, and for those five minutes of chaos, I got an hour of peace. I stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down at the bridge. The big grey gatekeeping monkeys still sat at the end, barely moving. I turned and carried on to my class smiling to myself, knowing they?d still be there, watching all the chaos and taking it all in, on my return.

Mel is a member of Stokes Croft Writers ? an eclectic bunch of fiction writers trying to take over the world. They run a bi-monthly storytelling night called Talking Tales in Stokes Croft, Bristol. For more information check out www.stokescroftwriters.com

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Pi eces by W i n d m i l l H i l l Ar t i st s W in dm il l H il l City far m , based in Bedm in ster ,h as a sm al l sh op r u n by a gr ou p of 19 Br istol based ar tists. Eva Th ygh oj, on e of th e gr ou p, says: ?W e ar e lucky to have som e ver y talented ar tists, who cr eate beautiful handm ade clothes, paintings, jeweller y, cer am ics, textiles, Bee pr oducts and candles.? Th e gr ou p is cu r r en tl y open to n ew m em ber s an d can be con tacted via th efar m giftsh op@ googl em ail .com

Adver tise with Ar k bou n d

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These pictures are by Jasmine Surreal, who describes herself as a 'Surrealist artist and member of the Stuckist movement.' Much of Jasmine's work gets rejected by galleries for being 'too unusual', but we are pleased to be including her in this edition of Boundless.

Jasmine also succeeded in winning a runner-up prize in Arkbound's 2015 Competition (best visual art category).

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'S T E ER O P RN Herd CO

A Prophecy

By Benjamin Rawl When the Earth is split by man- made borders

By Anna Mace

And every country, ocean and shore is mapped;

Just before the singing started,

When no uncharted lands remain,

I noticed the way your ring,

Or f inal f rontiers to wander;

hugged the slimness of your finger as you spoke, denting the flush of grace

When roads outnumber rivers

here, like you were tracing maps

And cities outnumber mount s

or diagrams with bright, just in the turn of wrist.

Then the ground will groan

Fingernails reflecting ghosts, black,

And the skies will tremble -

white, all I could see were the details,

Only the stars, or annihilation,

reminding me of slide and sweep

Will be our legacy.

of my bow on violin, and how it used to draw a tear.

The Bluebells And despite the choir?s beat to death and god, the rolled up paper on the

By Diane Abott

Cr umbling slowly in a wor ld Which will always be r e-made.

side roared threat on rain-soaked

Under swir ling patter ns of sunlight,

Fr om emer ald tower to emer ald tower

leaders,

Shining thr ough the canopy of tr ees,

Leaped the squir r els and bir ds

A sea of violet blossoms bloomed:

And oft, with playful pose uplifted,

A dancing host of bells washed blue,

They seemed to fr eeze in time

Emer ging fr om bubbling whir lpools

And thr ust upon one's beating hear t

Of differ ent-shaded gr eens,

A living ener gy sublime.

claiming foreign fiends coding messages with PS4s sprayed messages with bullets, spelling out plans in Super Mario makers coins, how dare they?

Kill this harmony?

Calling fiercely to gather allies; fruit flies, like a banana.

Bowing in the buzzing air With the life of pollen seeking bees Bur sting for th, r eaching up, In and out of sunr ays.

To see the for est spr ead With pur ple r obes of r oyalty Finer than the dr aper y Of any King or Queen;

Tonight, this is my sanctuary,

injustice,

Fr eshly a br eeze blows thr ough the wood

The bluebells pledged, thr ough the gr een,

sacred harp remind me

Car r ying spr ing-time scents

To God unending loyalty -

how fragile voices can break.

As spar se leaves of last autumn

Br inging colour , magic, life,

And hold, on. Still,

Twir l in patches of shade,

To live in memor y eter nal.

whilst the scrawling wind screams

how does the scale of life measure in the shapenotes of crescent moons against the light? The texture I can feel to the tips of my fingers, in my bones, eyelashes, resting inbetween the silence and each note.

Towards the end of last year, a series of events were held at the cloistered remains of Temple Church ? normally closed to the public. Despite persistent rain, numerous artists, musicians and writers came from across the UK and internationally to share their work with Bristol people. The poem, 'Herd', by Anna Mace was inspired by one performance. Anna was resident poet for the National Trust last summer and her manuscript was recently shortlisted for The Melita Hume Poetry Prize 2015.

16 Fancy some cheese?

Drawing by Ella Trudgeon , a young artist living in Bristol.

These models by polymer clay artist Nadia Michaux made us all want a nibble!

'The Landscaper'

'Urban Surge'

Mae Aguinaldo snapped this image of a traditional dancer when in Manila (The Phillipines)

Illustration by Sara Levingston, who is studying art in Bristol

3 QUOTES In every edition w e look at three quotes by a historic figure. Today w e introduce: M artin Luther King.

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think cr itically. I ntelligence plus

VENDORS NEEDED

char acter - that is the goal of tr ue education."

"Dar kness cannot dr ive out dar kness; only light can do that.

H ate cannot dr ive out hate; only love can do that."

"W e m ust lear n to live together as br other s or per ish together as fools."

EARN MONEY FROM DISTRIBUTING THIS MAGAZINE RECEIVE ONGOING SUPPORT AND FRESH OPPORTUNITIES

COM M UNITY SPOTLIGH T

Sara Venn t al ks about

Incredible Edible Bristol

Incredible Edible Bristol began in January 2014, founded by Sara Venn. The idea came from another initiative in West Yorkshire which combined community, education and enterprise. Although it is primarily about food, community is also very important to Incredible Edible. Not to mention living in a world where we are only ever 3 days from a food crisis! Our food beds are available to all to take food from, opening up an entirely new way of thinking, where sharing and resilience takes priority. There's not much more local than a bed of food outside a block of flats or in a busy city centre.

But it also creates conversation about local food systems, inspires young people, and includes businesses in the conversation by opening up sponsorship opportunities.

We have over 25 spaces across Bristol and are always looking to support more people to create more.

How have you helped the local community?

Incredible Edible Bristol aims to work with communities of people to create more exciting growing and productive spaces in the city.

We do this by primarily linking in with local groups and supporting them to bring to fruition the ideas that they have around a piece of land. It is usually land that has been lost, left to go to weed and poorly maintained. Often it is being used for anti-social things, rather than as a space for people to enjoy, so our aim is to regenerate an area as well as allow people to grow their own food. All of this creates networks of gardens that are all growing food and communicating with each other across the city. Through common goals and ideals, we hope this will build social cohesion as well as beautiful spaces.

Social inclusion is a difficult topic "There are some very in a city that has 91 spoken powerful and honest languages. It is also hard in a city conversations to be had that has such overwhelming over a spade and a packet differences in terms of wealth. of seeds that would be Part of what we hope to be uncomfortable working on is creating spaces that are equally accessible, so that all elsewhere!" of those different communities can work together. The power of gardening is that everyone wears their old clothes and we all just get digging and planting. There are some very powerful and honest conversations to be had over a spade and a packet of seeds that would be uncomfortable elsewhere! Our approach is always "bottom up": we support groups to create spaces rather than go in and make them, only to expect communities to maintain the spaces

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without any follow-on support. With that in mind, we are mindful that there is a long way to go.

Incredible Edible has lots of projects coming up. The Urban Growing Trail will continue to be expanded, as will all the other community gardens we are working with. Our schools programme is about to be relaunched, which offers a step-by-step guide on how to grow your garden as well as forums and resources that will help teachers to grow with their pupils.

What obstacles have you faced, and how do you overcome them?

We face obstacles all the time and part of what we do is to make changes by working out how we can circumnavigate these obstacles.

Funding is one problem we have to overcome, but there are lots of ways we are exploring so that this doesn't become overwhelming. In a few areas we have come up against real fear of change from a few residents, who have attempted to spoil projects for others. Then there is an ongoing issue with local government, at certain levels, not really being open to change or working with communities.

However, we have found approaching things with a positive angle, listening to people and making sure we think outside the box, generally means we come up with a solution. Making sure we document what we have been doing and using that as proof of positive change is a powerful tool, as is, in some cases, just being cheeky and doing things!

A

M EA T Y ISSU E

BBC science library photoooo

According to research by the Royal Chatham House Institute, the livestock sector produces about 15% of global greenhouse gases. In addition, meat consumption is linked to deforestation and significantly greater land use compared to vegetarian diets. In industrialized countries, the average person is eating twice as much meat as is deemed healthy by experts.

3 FOOD FACTS -

Brit ain import s 40% of it s t ot al f ood consumpt ion, which is rising.

Gl obal l y, 30% of f ood produce is wast ed.

Over one bil l ion peopl e in t he worl d st il l go hungry and every year 2.3 mil l ion chil dren die f rom t he ef f ect s of mal nut rit ion.

(Statistics from Global Food Security and The International Development Committee)

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VIEW S FROM AFAR Ever y issu e Bou n dl ess tak es you on a jou r n ey to som ewh er e ar ou n d th e wor l d. Th ese pictu r es wer e tak en by Natan ya El s in Sou th Afr ica. 26 year -ol d Natan ya h as been tak in g ph otogr aph s sin ce 2008. Sh e tel l s Bou n dl ess: '"Photogr aphy is not a job for m e, it?s m y Passion!"

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SOUTH AFRICA FACTS -

There are more than 2,000 shipwrecks, dating back at least 500 years, off the South African coast. More than one of these, including the Waratah, simply vanished without a trace.

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South Africa has the oldest meteor scar in the world, just across the Vaal River near Parys, called the Vredefort Dome. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The only street in the world to house two Nobel Peace prizewinners is in Soweto. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both have houses on Vilakazi Street in Soweto.

'They tried to remove me but I decided to stay! My final riddle to you is: I am tall when I am young and short when I am old. What am I??

(The Riddler has kindly provided an answer on p. 31)

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L esson s t o L ear n ?

Dini Jiang takes a critical look at attempts to compare the Chinese and British education systems

Are British pupils ?lazier?than their Chinese counterparts? Is it down to the differences in culture? Or is the UK education system at fault? There has been a heated debate on these questions after the BBC documentary ?Are Our Kids Tough Enough?, broadcast in September 2015. It featured five Chinese teachers who were sent to a Hampshire school to see whether pupils taught by them would do better. As it turned out, these pupils did indeed outperform their peers ? in some areas, by quite a significant margin.

Many parents in the UK take exception to the rise of exams and a target-driven culture in schools, but Chinese schools have also been critiqued as ?testing factories?that focus too heavily on exams. On the other hand, others would argue that proper use of this method should be encouraged further. Clearly, given the BBC documentary, there are merits in the Chinese system we could learn from. Nonetheless, there are several reasons why trying to make a comparison between both systems - with a view to improving one - can be misleading.

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-

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First of all, the educational systems between England and China need to be understood within their own unique cultural and social context. Whilst the UK system has some focus on achieving the well-being of students, the Chinese system has been exam-focused ever since the Tang Dynasty. Memorisation and rote learning are heavily emphasised in a Confucian culture like China. Taking academic exams has been regarded as an effective way of selecting talents across the country in different fields.

Generally, teachers in the UK have an expectation that students could become ?independent learners?, whilst those in China are largely driven by the exam-oriented educational system for higher student learning outcomes. Large class sizes, with 50 students being the average in China, have made it hard to develop an individualized approach. Teachers have had little option but to ?teach to the test?.

In the Chinese context, educational inequality was exacerbated due to unequal public funding and concerns over social stability. Schools in many rural areas lack sufficient teaching resources and adequate teacher training. Around 80% of county education bureau heads think that a gap exists between the educational resources in their regions and the curriculum reform requirements.

Importantly, we should try to understand why countries are so keen to be involved in the comparisons of different educational systems internationally, particularly when it comes to global league tables. The key question is what the moral purpose of education is: just a social investment that prepares human resources for contributing to economic growth? Or a facilitator for the all-round development of students?

BBC6

M USIC FRI NGE

By Gary Thompson It is now 25 years since Fresh 4's Wishing on a Star changed t he Brist ol music l andscape and inf l uenced generat ionS of art ist s.

Co-produced by f el l ow Brist ol pioneers Smit h and Might y, Wishing on a Star was t he f irst exposure many peopl e out side of Brist ol got t o see of t he unique f usion of heavy bass l ines, hip hop beat s, soul f ul vocal s and new t akes on t he cl assics. In t he f ol l owing decade, Suv Krust and Fl ynn woul d go on t o f ind great er success as pioneers and mainst ays of Brist ol 's hugel y successf ul drum and bass scene, writ ing new chapt ers t hat overshadowed t heir earl ier success.

Wishing on a Star l yrics I' m w ishing on a st ar To f ollow w her e y ou ar e I' m w ishing on a d r eam To f ollow w hat it means A nd I w ish on all t he r ainbow s t hat I see I w ish on all t he p eop le w e' ve ever been

If only using the findings of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), we would notice that Shanghai-China had the highest scores in mathematics, with other East Asian economies ranking on top. However, these international comparisons have been criticised by "The key question is what the many educationists. In particular, data generated moral purpose of education is: from large-scale surveys is just a social investment that helping to legitimise numerical prepares human resources for benchmarking: the focus is on contributing to economic growth? numbers and outcomes, rather Or a facilitator for the all-round than qualitative changes.

development of students?"

Lastly, it is crucial to emphasise how bodies such as the World Bank have played an important role in the international community by bringing values of marketisation and cost-effectiveness to education. It remains for policy makers to consider the issues associated with education access, quality and equity within differing political, economic and cultural contexts.

A nd I' m hop ing on all t he d ay s t o come and d ay s t o g o A nd I' m hop ing on d ay s of loving y ou so[ ...]

The Year of the Monkey is upon us The Chinese New Year, starting from 8th February 2016, is characterised by one of 12 animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac. Unfortunately, the monkey is considered to be one of the most unluckiest. But those born in this year are also thought to be innovative, curious and mischievous!

Th e Soap box 'Let the people decide.' - Per icl es of Ath en s Every issue, Boundless invites one of the country?s political parties to make a contribution. In this issue, Kay Barnard of the Liberal Democrat Party writes about Housing ,people and the environment. We recognise this is such a broad subject that it will also be carried on into the next edition.

Br istol City Cou n cil itsel f bu il t n ew h ou ses over th e 21 past fou r year s? Th e an swer is absol u tel y n ot; on l y a h an dfu l h as been com pl eted. M or eover ,th e gover n m en t pr oposal s to for ce H ou sin g Association s to sel l th eir pr oper ty at a big discou n t to ten an ts wil l add an oth er str ain to an al r eady str essed h ou sin g m ar k et.

Th is is an exam pl e of pol itical dogm a over com in g com m on sen se.

Br istol h as a th r ivin g econ om y bu t th at isn ?t sh ar ed even l y acr oss th e city. It h as som e of th e wor st var iation s in l ife-span in th e cou n tr y. Accor din g to Pu bl ic H eal th En gl an d, m en in Stok e Bish op l ive on aver age n in e year s l on ger th an th ose in th e poor er par ts of th e city. Th e city n eeds a com pr eh en sive appr oach to widen in g job oppor tu n ities for you n g peopl e, par ticu l ar l y en cou r agin g sm al l bu sin esses to tak e on ju n ior staff.

Sin ce th er e is n ow a sh or tage of sk il l ed con str u ction wor k er s, th is cou l d h el p th e h ou sin g back l og.

W h at m ak es a gr eat city? A th r ivin g l ocal econ om y,a good pu bl ic tr an spor t system , su stain abl e h ou sin g, h eal th an d weal th sh ar ed acr oss th e city with n o isl an ds of depr ivation , excel l en t edu cation for al l , l ots to do an d see? Br istol scor es h igh on m an y of th ose topics bu t cer tain l y fail s on som e.

H ou sin g is expen sive h er e an d th at appl ies to both pu r ch ase an d r en tin g. Pr essu r e on th e h ou sin g stock par tl y com es fr om ou r su ccess as a city. It seem s th at, qu ite r igh tl y,m an y peopl e fr om ou tside th e city see it as an in ter estin g pl ace to l ive an d wor k . If you ar e m ovin g fr om th e Lon don ar ea, h ou sin g h er e l ook s affor dabl e, bu t on l y by th e stan dar ds of th e h u gel y expen sive pr oper ty in Lon don . For l ocal peopl e, th e r ise in pr ices in th e past fou r year s h as m ade fin din g accom m odation difficu l t.

H om el essn ess an d "Gover nm ent pr oposals to h ou sin g waitin g l ists for ce H ousing Associations in th e city ar e h igh to sell their pr oper ty at a big an d r isin g. Th e discount to tenants will add pr obl em is m ade wor se by th e another str ain to an alr eady expan din g n u m ber of str essed housing m ar ket. stu den ts in th e city.

This is an exam ple of Th e two u n iver sities political dogm a over com ing ar e com m ission in g com m on sense. " n ew bl ock s of stu den t fl ats, bu t I am pl an n in g on m eetin g th e two Vice-Ch an cel l or s to m ak e su r e th at th eir su ccess doesn ?t com e at th e expen se of h ou sin g for l ocal Br istol ian s.

Th e city h as com pl etel y fail ed to bu il d n ew affor dabl e h ou sin g in th e past few year s. Pl an n in g con dition s over th e n u m ber of affor dabl e pr oper ties pr ovided in n ew devel opm en ts ar e often bypassed. Th e pr oper ty devel oper s wil l ar gu e th at th eir devel opm en ts wil l n ot m ak e a pr ofit if th ey ar e obl iged to in cl u de affor dabl e accom m odation . Bu t given th at pr ices for n ew fl ats an d h ou ses in Br istol ar e sh ootin g u p, th e pr ofit m ar gin s m u st be th er e. Som e devel oper s con tr ibu te m on ey to th e cou n cil coffer s, su pposedl y to m itigate th is, bu t h as

Of cou r se, expen sive h ou sin g is in tr in sical l y l in k ed to Br istol ?s oth er big pr obl em : h ow to get r ou n d th e city.

M an y ar e for ced to bu y or r en t ch eaper h ou sin g on th e ou tsk ir ts of th e city an d th at m ean s com m u tin g in to wor k . Br istol is n ot an isl an d. Sol vin g th is pr obl em wil l n eed cooper ation with th e su r r ou n din g cou n cil s of Nor th Som er set, Sou th Gl ou cester sh ir e an d Bath an d Nor th East Som er set. I?ve seen th e qu eu es at th e M 5 W eston -su per -M ar e ju n ction at r u sh h ou r ? al l th ose peopl e dr ivin g to an d fr om wor k h er e. Negotiation s with th e oth er cou n cil s h ave to be accel er ated. It is a gam e of give an d tak e. Th ey wil l n eed in cen tives to h el p Br istol an d we in th e city h ave to r ecogn ise th at. So wh at ar e we offer in g an d wh at wou l d th ey wan t in r etu r n ? Fin din g an swer s to th is is u r gen t an d can on l y be sol ved by n egotiation an d cooper ation , dr iven by im agin ation an d vision .

Pu bl ic tr an spor t in Br istol is fin al l y star tin g to im pr ove bu t fr om wh at a l ow base! Th e bu ses ar e sl ow, in fr equ en t an d u n r el iabl e. I k n ow becau se I u se th e bu ses a l ot.

W h y ou r bu s r ou tes r u n r igh t acr oss th e city is beyon d m e. Su r el y we wou l d be better off with bu ses th at r u n to th e cen tr e an d back r ath er th an gettin g sn ar l ed u p in tr affic jam s. A pr oper con tr act for bu s ser vices is th e way for war d an d I wil l dem an d th ese power s fr om gover n m en t.

Dr ivin g a car ar ou n d Br istol is n o fu n an d is cer tain l y bad for peopl e?s own h eal th an d th at of fel l ow Br istol ian s.

Th e cen tr e of th e city acts as a bowl an d on cal m days th e

22

air pol l u tion br each es gu idel in es on em ission s fr om diesel exh au st fu m es. Th at affects h eal th , with abou t 200 peopl e a year dyin g fr om th e effects of air pol l u tion .

W al k in g bu sy str eets is n ot pl easan t. I h ate th e wal k to an d fr om Tem pl e M eads station .

Th e r oads ar e bu sy,n oisy an d sm el l y. I?m su r e it tak es days off m y l ife ever y tim e I wal k th er e.

Gettin g acr oss th e city fr om Sou th to Nor th , or vice ver sa, peopl e often h ave n o option bu t to dr ive acr oss th e cen tr al ar ea. Th at?s down to ou r Victor ian in fr astr u ctu r e, ou r r iver ,an d th e h il l s. Th e r ail system is in adequ ate an d n ew station bu il din g sh ou l d be speeded u p. FOSBR ar e doin g a gr eat job in h igh l igh tin g th e n etwor k ?s poten tial an d deser ve ou r su ppor t. Th ey n eed su ppor t fr om a m ayor with vision .

W h at abou t cycl in g? W el l , I am adm ittedl y n ot al on e in avoidin g cycl in g in th e city becau se of th e oth er r oad u ser s. A you n g wom an in Bish opston h as seen qu ite a few cycl ists k n ock ed off th eir bik es on th e Gl ou cester Road an d tol d m e sh e won ?t cycl e an d wh o can bl am e h er ? Im pr ovin g th ese difficu l t issu es n eeds l eader sh ip bu t it al so n eeds th e h el p of Br istol ian s too. An in fl exibl e appr oach is com pl etel y wr on g. Listen in g to wh at l ocal s say is vital for ch an ges to wor k wel l an d th at is wh at I wou l d do as Liber al Dem ocr at M ayor for al l of Br istol .

Editorial note: The Bristol Mayoral Election is on 5th May 2016. If you have not already done so, you can register to vote at: www.bristol.gov.uk/voting-elections/register-to-vote

Boundless is politically neutral but believes that a vibrant democracy requires active political participation. We are open to contributions from all political parties, working on a ?Rainbow?rotation system (Red for Labour, Orange for Liberal Democrat, etc.). We ask Parties to write about pressing social or environmental problems and how they would address them, rather than attribute blame to one another.

In the next edition we will be asking the Green Party to write on the same theme.

All comments to: editorial@arkbound.com

REA DERS' LETTERS At Boundless we love hearing your views and aim to publish as many as possible, irrespective of what is aired (unless, of course, it is blatantly offensive - which so far we have not once seen!). A selection of reader's correspondence from the first edition is published below.

Boundar y Changes Leave Me Fuming

Voter Apathy I r ead your ar ticle by the Labour Par ty with inter est. The pr oblem with voter apathy is people put their tr ust in par ties, including Labour , only for them to br eak their pr omises. Just look at the Blair gover nment. Or Camer on?s for that matter . Is ther e any Par ty that will stick to its manifesto? If so, I will vote for them ? pr ovided the manifesto makes sense!!

Ed Guvney

In Helen Godwin-Tiege's ar ticle she mentioned the Tor ies plans to change constituency boundar ies. This is going to r esult in the LOSS of 50 MPs ? so our 'r epr esentatives' go fr om 650 to 600. On top of this, the Tor ies ar e estimated to GAIN 20 MPs, with all other par ties (save the SNP) losing. Since 1922 ther e has been ar ound 650 MPs. The UK population in 1922 was 44 million. Today it is over 62 million. Rather than r educing our MPs, they should be INCREASED. This is a dir ect assault on our r epr esentative democr acy and yet people ar e sitting by and letting it happen. The whole thing makes me sick.

Jim Fielding

Boundless Feedback As a Br istol ar tist I found the ar twor k in your magazine inter esting and it is good that you ar e featur ing new ar tists but the gr aphics in some par ts could be better . However in other ways I was impr essed by the magazine, the editor ial is good and r elevant with good subjects, especially the one on pr isons.

David Sheen [ Editorial note: I n this edition we have upgraded the graphics and have an improved layout. But if you can spot any areas that could be further improved in this edition, please let us know.]

----------------------------------------------------------------I enjoyed r eading Boundless and think you've made an excellent star t to your aims. Not easy to have a positive appr oach to some issues, but I think you have achieved this.

Sue Howar d

'This vehicle is a health hazar d' Regar ding air pollution mentioned in your magazine br iefly: it's all ver y well putting health war nings on cigar ette packets, but how about putting them on car s too? Instead of painting them in pr etty colour s and making them look nice, each manufactur er should be for ced to place a non-r emovable sign/sticker that declar es each vehicle as a hazar d to peoples health, as well as the dr iver s.

M. Duncan [ Editorial note: Perhaps mention could also be made of carbon emissions... and if they are zero or below a certain threshold the sticker you suggest doesn't need to apply?]

The Dar k Web 'The inter net is the fir st thing that hum anity has built that hum anity doesn't under stand, the lar gest exper im ent in anar chy that we have ever had.'

- Er ic Sch m idt

Th e web su r r ou n ds u s. It in ou r h om es, ou r wor k pl aces, ou r com m u n ities. In cities acr oss th e wor l d it con n ects

23

I NTERNET PRI VACY Ar t O'Ca t ha i n fr om t he Open Ri ght s Gr oup i nt r oduces wa ys t o i m pr ove your onli ne secur i t y.

Th an k s to sm ar tph on es an d social m edia, it's n ever been easier to com m u n icate on l in e. It's al so n ever been easier to r eveal too m u ch abou t you r sel f. If you 'r e wor r ied abou t you r pr ivacy,or th at of you r fr ien ds an d fam il y, h er e ar e som e tips for h ow to defen d you r sel f.

bil l ion s of com pu ter s an d m obil e devices ? an in visibl e yet al m ost in escapabl e web of in for m ation th at tr an scen ds both tim e an d space. Som e h ave cal l ed it th e gr eatest ou tcom e of h u m an in ven tion ? th e ver y pin n acl e of a n ew tel ecom m u n ication s age. Oth er s h ave n ot been so k in d, seein g it m or e as yet an oth er tech n ol ogical in ter fer en ce th at separ ates u s fr om n atu r e as wel l as fr om on e an oth er. H owever we ch ose to r egar d it, th e in ter n et?s pr esen ce is gr owin g. M or e of u s sh op on l in e th an ever befor e, wh il st wh ol e n ew cu r r en cies an d social m ovem en ts ar e bein g bor n an d str en gth en ed on th e web.

Per h aps in evitabl y,cor por ation s an d gover n m en ts h ave th er efor e fu n n el l ed im m en se r esou r ces in to expan din g th eir digital pr esen ce, in cl u din g by fin din g in gen u ou s ways to m on itor ou r in ter n et activity. For each website cl ick , for ever y typed sear ch en gin e ph r ase, in for m ation is gath er ed. In cr easin gl y,in dividu al pr ivacy is h ar der to m ain tain . Al on gside th is tr en d, cr im in al s ar e ever seek in g to expl oit weak n esses in web secu r ity th at can essen tial l y pu t an yon e at r isk .

Yet ben eath th e web pages we su r f is an u n der -l ayer wh er e an yth in g goes. Th is so-cal l ed ?dar k web?con tain s ser vices an d in for m ation th at you won ?t fin d r an k ed on Googl e. H er e n ew dr u g m ar k ets th at r ival th e in fam ou s ?Sil k Road?stan d beside for u m s for r evol u tion an d even assassin ation . On e m igh t be m istak en , th er efor e, for th in k in g th e dar k web is a pl ace to avoid. In tr u th , th ese ar e bu t a sin gl e aspect of a m u l ti-faceted com m u n ity ? wh er e u n der cover jou r n al ists can safety com m u n icate with wh istl e bl ower s an d civil cam paign er s can speak ou t fr eel y with ou t fear.

In th is edition of Bou n dl ess, Ar k bou n d expl or es aspects of th e dar k web th at go m ostl y u n r epor ted, r eveal in g h ow peopl e can u se it to r egain th e pr ivacy th at th e in ter n et on ce offer ed. Bu t be war n ed: th is jou r n ey to th e dar k side is n ot for th e fein t h ear ted!

Who's af t er y ou?

Cyber-bullying and trolling are an increasing problem. In so-called 'doxxing' attacks, people's personal information (medical records, bank details, emails, etc.) is posted publicly.

In the worst cases, hoax calls are made to armed police, who arrive in full force at the bewildered victim's house.

Thankfully this is still very rare, but you can take easy steps now to reduce the risk.

Advertisers are also after your data, but they only want to sell you things. Much of what happens on the internet is funded by advertising: for example, Google offers many of its products with the expectation that the users will tolerate adverts. But you can still reduce the amount of information that is collected about you, and make it harder for your browsing history to be tracked.

In 2013, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the NSA and GCHQ's mass phone and internet surveillance programs to the world. This sparked uproar in the USA, whose written constitution is meant to prevent that kind of thing. Unfortunately reaction in the UK has been more muted, despite plenty of historical evidence that the Government can, and will, abuse such powers.

24

Who has y our back ?

It's n ot al l doom an d gl oom ! Lu ck il y for u s, m an y tech

com pan ies ar e wak in g u p to th e dem an d for pr ivacy,an d ar e in cr easin g secu r ity for ever yon e by defau l t. For exam pl e: -

-

-

-

Sin ce 2013, Googl e h ave star ted en cr yptin g al l th eir sear ch r esu l ts, u n dou btedl y cau sin g con ster n ation for th e spook s.

Appl e u pdated th e iPh on e's softwar e to pr even t com pan ies fr om ph ysical l y tr ack in g you u sin g you r ph on e's wifi sign al .

M icr osoft ar e in cou r t, figh tin g th e US gover n m en t's dem an d for access to cu stom er data in cou n tr ies ou tside its ju r isdiction .

W in dows PCs an d Appl e M acs n ow en cr ypt data stor ed on th em by defau l t.

passwor d for you r oth er accou n ts). Tr y n ot to r eu se secr et qu estion s: th is is h ow Sar ah Pal in 's em ail was h ack ed. Usin g differ en t u ser n am es m ak es it h ar der for tr ol l s to fol l ow you ar ou n d an d l ets you m an age you r ou twar d per son a. You can al so u se you r br owser 's in cogn ito m ode, bu t be awar e it can n ot stop al l tr ack in g.

Peopl e som etim es for get th at Twitter is a pu bl ic n etwor k , so don 't post ph otos or m essages th at r eveal per son al in for m ation . It h as been k n own for bu r gl ar s to m on itor al l social n etwor k s for eviden ce th at peopl e ar e on h ol iday,an d th en tar get th eir h ou ses.

A n ew Bil l is cu r r en tl y passin g th r ou gh Par l iam en t, th e I n v est i gat or y Pow er s Bi l l , wh ich wil l str en gth en th e Gover n m en t's power s to: -

-

Recor d ever yon e's in ter n et h istor y,wh eth er su spected of a cr im e or n ot.

H ack in to devices, en m asse, to spy on peopl e.

Use war r an ts to for ce in dividu al s an d com pan ies to h el p th em with su r veil l an ce (by pu ttin g in 'back door s' in th eir own pr odu cts an d ser vices).

Jail an yon e wh o r efu ses to cooper ate.

Jail an yon e wh o r eveal s th e existen ce of su ch war r an ts.

It is an im por tan t Bil l , sin ce al l sides on th e debate agr ee th at th e cu r r en t l aw is fr agm en ted an d u n cl ear. Now is a gr eat oppor tu n ity to em ail or wr ite to you r M P,expr essin g you r con cer n s abou t or din ar y citizen s' pr ivacy.

What can I do t o i mpr ov e my pr i v acy ?

It's best to star t with th e basics of good in ter n et h ygien e: 1.

In stal l you r oper atin g system 's u pdates wh en it ask s you to.

2. Don 't open su spiciou s attach m en ts to em ail s.

3. Don 't cl ick on l in k s in em ail s fr om you r ban k or Paypal : type th e ban k 's addr ess in to you r br owser bar in stead.

4. Keep you r an tivir u s softwar e u p-to-date.

Gen er al l y,you ar e safer fr om m al war e an d vir u ses wh en u sin g a r ecen t ph on e or tabl et th an a W in dows PC - bear th is in m in d if you h ave a fr ien d or r el ative wh o's in exper ien ced with com pu ter s.

Use differ en t u ser n am es for differ en t web sites, an d n ever r e-u se you r em ail passwor d on oth er sites (u su al l y, if som eon e h ack s you r em ail accou n t, th ey can r eset you r

But I 'm r eal l y par anoi d!

Non e of th at wil l be adequ ate if you h ave str on g pr ivacy con cer n s, su ch as pr otectin g jou r n al istic sou r ces or wh istl ebl ower s. It h as been sh own th at th e pol ice h ave m isu sed th eir power s to access ph on e cal l r ecor ds, in ten ded for cou n ter -ter r or ism or ser iou s cr im e, to spy on jou r n al ists wh o wer e in vestigatin g th em for m iscon du ct. If you su spect som eth in g l ik e th is m igh t be a pr obl em , you m u st r esor t to m or e ol d-fash ion ed cl oak -an d-dagger tactics - su ch as cal l in g fr om a payph on e. You r l ocation can stil l be tr ack ed fr om you r m obil e ph on e, so l eave th at at h om e if you m eet in per son .

It's qu ite easy to u se TOR, a system th at l ets you br owse th e web in r el ative an on ym ity. Edwar d Sn owden u sed PGP en cr yption for h is com m u n ication s with jou r n al ists, bu t both par ties n eed to u n der stan d it. Bear in m in d th at in th e UK, you can in th eor y be pr osecu ted for fail in g to pr ovide passwor ds to en cr ypted data, al th ou gh th is is r ar e: th e pol ice n eed to pr ove th at you do in fact k n ow th e passwor d.

Th e Open Righ ts Gr ou p cam paign s on issu es of pr ivacy an d su r veil l an ce, with r egu l ar m eetu ps n ation al l y an d a l ocal gr ou p in Br istol an d Bath . M or e detail s ar e avail abl e at: w w w .op en r i gh t sgr ou p .or g

WHAT IS

?

TOR ('Th e On ion Rou ter ') en abl es an on ym ou s web

TH E M ATRIX

25

A ?Dar k Web? Per s pect i v e

br owsin g. It wor k s by dir ectin g in ter n et tr affic th r ou gh a wor l dwide n etwor k of m u l tipl e l ayer s (h en ce th e 'on ion ' n am e) to con ceal a u ser 's l ocation an d web u sage.

TOR m ak es it m or e difficu l t for in ter n et activity to be tr aced back to th e u ser ,wh ich en abl es pr otection of pr ivacy an d im pr oves th e abil ity to con du ct con fiden tial com m u n ication . Star ted in 2002, th e or igin al tech n ol ogy beh in d TOR was actu al l y devel oped by th e US Navy an d focu sed on pr otectin g in ter n et u ser s' pr ivacy fr om cor por ation s r ath er th an gover n m en ts.

This investigative ar ticle by Geor ge Agim ani won Fir st Pr ize in the Annual Ar kbound Com petition ('Best Ar ticle' categor y) for 20 15 The M atr ix tr il ogy depicts a post-apocal yptic wor l d wh er e h u m an s h ave been su bju gated by an advan ced m ach in e in tel l igen ce, wh ich h as cr eated an el abor ate com pu ter sim u l ation (?th e M atr ix?) wh er e peopl e?s con sciou sn ess is tr apped. Th ose in th e M atr ix th in k it is th e r eal wor l d, wh en r eal l y th eir bodies ar e bein g u sed as power sou r ces. Som e h ave m an aged to l eave th e M atr ix an d cr eate a r esistan ce society,wh ich attem pts to fr ee th ose tr apped by th e m ach in es.

M ost peopl e h ave seen th e th r ee fil m s, so I won ?t go in to fu r th er detail s. Bu t th e pl ot tou ch es u pon a gr eater ph il osoph ical an d sociol ogical issu e: h ow do we k n ow th e wor l d ar ou n d u s is ?r eal ?? An d to wh at exten t ar e we fr ee in dividu al s, abl e to act in depen den tl y fr om society?

H ow TOR wor ks: exam ple of a TOR networ k

In 2015, TOR u ser s wer e in excess of 7 m il l ion an d th e ser vice is becom in g in cr easin gl y popu l ar. Of cou r se, th e cl oak of an on ym ity pr ovided by TOR m ak es it attr active for cr im in al activities, as epitom ised by th e l ik es of Sil k Road (an d su bsequ en t dar k n et 'm ar k ets'). Bu t, al th ou gh often depicted in a n egative l igh t, TOR is l egal to u se an d is a vital tool for in vestigative jou r n al ists (it is su ggested as stan dar d pr actice by Repor ter s W ith ou t Bor der s), th ose wh o wish to r egain on l in e an on ym ity,an d victim s of str ict cen sor sh ip (in cl u din g r esiden ts of Ch in a an d Ru ssia).

'Deep web' pages can on l y be accessed via a TOR br owser an d ar e iden tified th r ou gh th eir '.on ion ' tag in th e URL. For m or e in for m ation an d to down l oad TOR, visit: www.t or pr oject .or g

Di d y ou k n ow t h at y ou can al so an on y m ou sl y con t act Bou n d l ess f or secu r e t i p of f s an d d i scl osu r e t h r ou gh TOR? boundless@sigaint.org (through Tor, boundless@sigaintevyh2rzvw.onion) Please establish initial communication first before sending sensitive data via PGP/ SecureDrop.

Com pu ter s an d th e in ter n et h ave in m an y ways su ppl an ted tr adition al m eth ods of com m u n ication an d in deed cr eated a n ew social str ata wh er e peopl e in ter act in stan tan eou sl y acr oss th e wor l d. Ever advan cin g, th e m ach in es we h ave cr eated ar e dictatin g h ow we l ive. Th ey m ay in deed be appr oach in g a poin t wh er e th ey acqu ir e a for m of con sciou sn ess th at m atch es, or excel s, ou r own . Am idst th e m iasm a of n ew tech n ol ogies, th er e ar e fr on tier s th at ar e ever bein g pu sh ed, wh er e on l y a few peopl e ven tu r e. Th e so-cal l ed ?dar k web?is on e of th ese. H er e in tr epid jou r n al ists m ove al on gside IT wizar ds, ou tl aws an d cr im in al s. Vigil an te h ack er s, r esistin g th e en cr oach m en t of state secu r ity,figh t to u n cover th e l atest cor por ate scan dal an d Gover n m en t secr ets. En vir on m en tal activists, apopl ectic with a gl obal ised capital ist econ om y th at is destr oyin g ecol ogies, fin d ways to or gan ise.

In th is ?dar k web?, som e peopl e h ave expr essed a vision of con tem por ar y society th at r el ates to The M atr ix, bu t in an en tir el y differ en t way. Th e dar k web por tal s speak of on e pr eval en t accou n t, wr itten by an an on ym ou s per son or gr ou p, th at both sh ock s an d in spir es. I h ave su m m ar ised th is accou n t bel ow [n ext page], wh ich is edited an d con den sed to m ak e it accessibl e to a wider au dien ce.

26

[The matrix is] the machinery of society that exists solely to perpetuate itself, its influence, and its power independent of any human need. It insulates us from each other and ourselves through deception, and essentially transforms us into servile engines of economic and political output (power). The machines that live off this power are institutions: large corporations, governments, schools, religious institutions, and even non-profit orgs.

Every institution will reach a point in its existence where its primary function becomes self-preservation and perpetuation, instead of serving human need. At this point it becomes a machine of the Matrix. For example, when they become machines, governments cease to serve people and instead seek to extend their power over them; corporations prioritize increasing shareholder value over producing quality products or otherwise serving the public good; schools view students as a means and not an end; religious organizations equate membership with salvation (and actively oppose other teachings and even independent practice); and non-profits and charities spend more budget on fundraising activity than on their original focus. Inevitably all large institutions eventually become machines. They become too big for Humanity.

The Matrix is fascist, the Matrix is deceptive, and the Matrix is bureaucracy. The Matrix is essentially the rule of the institution over the individual and, in it, the rights of the individual are subordinate to the rights of the institution.

Individuals have to believe (or at least not actively oppose the idea) that large corporations have the right to protect their profits above all else, and thus dictate policy and law. They have to believe that this law is just, moral, and seemingly based upon reason. Or they have to feel unaffected by the law on an individual level. They have to accept the program, and be satisfied with the rewards given for doing so. They have to do their jobs, pay their taxes, and be content with their salary (at least to the point where their salary and the stability it provides are appealing enough to deter risking leaving the Matrix). Rejecting these beliefs is the first step in resisting the Matrix.

To persist, the Matrix requires control, and in democratic societies it maintains this control by filtering people's view of reality through corporate-owned mass media and television. In essence, the Matrix requires a form of thought control, but not in the science fiction sense. Instead, it achieves an effective enough manner of thought control by manufacturing consent.

The large majority of the public has to "buy in". They have to believe that the news media give them an accurate picture of the world. And by and large, they do believe this. Everything the general public knows about the world, they know through the Matrix. The symbols and images the Matrix presents to them have become more real than reality itself. Hence the popularity of the ungodly abomination that is Reality TV. Last, and most assuredly not least, the Matrix seeks to identify and know its members at all times, in a misguided attempt to maintain control. It demands total surrender of your privacy. It is by breaking this last property of the Matrix that we come to truly free ourselves from it; to create economies, communication, and culture independent of its control.

THE NI GHT Suprabha Seshan explores how sacred the night can be ? and how civilization has sought to banish it.

I remember the night a tiger leapt away f rom our path, leaving his body?s recent press on the grass; the smell of him. We could hear a rustle, and knew that he was close, very close. We were walking down a slope in a grassland, single f ile, st umbling in the dark. No moonlight, only the st ars.

I remember the many night s of elephant runs, t he snapping gunshot sounds of their f oraging in the bamboo clumps.

I am energised when they are around, alert , nimble, able to draw on dif f erent st rengths in my body. The calls of the wood owl and the brown f ish owl; the loris, the crickets and the f rogs, the night jars and the f rogmouths, the slow slide of the cat snakes and wolf snakes; the poise of keelbacks hunting, the shrews and rat s scurrying, the dancing sidestep of scorpions and t he yapping geckos; the gleaming dance of leaves lit by night light: they all sharpen my senses and body as they enliven the f orest where we all reside. * A f riend of mine lived with the Nambiqwara tribe in Brazil f or f ive years. He became intimat e with their cult ure. He tells me that the Nambiqwara are deeply respected by all the other tribes in the Amazon. At intert ribal gatherings the Nambiqwara are invit ed to perf orm special rit uals. Trance st at es are induced wit h music alone, and even without.

It is widely known that rhyt hms at particular intensities can lead to altered st at es of perception, t hat dif f erent peoples around t he world have used drumming to understand the subt ler qualit ies of the real world. It is known that drumming at night is especially conducive to this. In the monsoon, as a million drops of rain f all on a million leaves; when a thousand f rogs merge their balloonings and tinklings with the thrumming of cicadas; as darkness f alls, as the clouds run slow over the hill, as t he gloaming turns to night ; if you are alone: beware. You might lose your way, as well as your sense of who you are.

In nature, in a connected lif e, awareness f lows bet ween creat ures.

It is not contained in a single organ or body. It is everywhere. Night walks f acilit ate this expansion particularly well. If you drop the shell you incarcerate yourself in, if the drummings of the f orest get through your conditioned responses, then you experience what everyone else in the f orest already knows.

T his is only a sm all extract of the piece

by Suprabha: the full ar ticle can be read on http://arkbound.com /ar ticles/.

Suprabha lives at the Gur ukula Bot anical Sanctuary in K erala, I ndia, working as an educator and restoration ecologist.

GROWTH No Matter The Costs

con tin u es. In deed, it is pu r por ted as a n ecessity.

27 Let's ju st pau se a m om en t an d ask wh o r eal l y ben efits fr om th is system ? Is it ever yday fam il ies an d com m u n ities? Or th ose wh o al r eady h ave a l ar ge stak e in th e fin an cial weal th th e system gen er ates?

Not al l n ation s ar e th e sam e, h owever. Th e Un ited Nation s u ses an al ter n ative m easu r e of gr owth cal l ed 'H u m an Devel opm en t In dex' (H DI). Th is in cor por ates edu cation al , social an d h eal th factor s to deter m in e h ow peopl e l ive. It is a better m easu r e of pr osper ity th an GDP,bu t m ost gover n m en ts r ar el y even m en tion H DI. In fact, wer e a W ester n pol itician so m u ch as to u tter dou bt in th e pu r su it of u n l im ited gr owth an d GDP it wou l d pr actical l y spel l th e en d of th eir pol itical car eer. No m atter th at th e ver y con cept of su ch gr owth is sim pl y u n su stain bl e, or th at r isin g GDP does n ot au tom atical l y equ ate to m or e jobs, better com m u n ities, an d in cr eased in dividu al pr osper ity.

Th e M on ey M an t r a I n t hi s cr i t i ca l a r t i cle, Sheer a n Codey looks a t wha t 'econom i c gr owt h' a nd ca pi t a li sm r ea lly ent a i ls for people a nd pla net M or e or l ess ever y day we ar e bom bar ded with a statistic th at r efer s to GDP ('Gr oss Dom estic Pr odu ct'), u su al l y al on gside som e m ar k et in dex. W e ar e tol d of a 0.01% ch an ge in th e sam e ter m s as an en vir on m en tal cr isis or m ass l oss of jobs, as if som eh ow th e pu r pose of society is to im pr ove su ch figu r es.

Bu dgets ar e sh aped by th em , we ar e tol d. Th e fate of m il l ion s is depen den t on th ese econ om ic m easu r es, it is said. Bu t wh at exactl y is econ om ic gr owth , an d h ow did it becom e su ch an im por tan t pol itical pr ior ity?

Fir st of al l , th er e ar e m an y ways to m easu r e an econ om y. GDP,in itsel f, h as n o con cer n for social devel opm en t or in dividu al pr osper ity. It is based sol el y u pon con su m ption an d pr odu ction .

In sh or t, th e m or e goods an d ser vices a cou n tr y pr odu ces, th e gr eater its GDP. Of cou r se, gr eater con su m ption an d pr odu ction al so in cu r s m or e bu r den s on th e en vir on m en t, togeth er with h igh er car bon em ission s. Al r eady,h u m an ity h as exceeded th e Ear th 's capacity to su stain ou r r esou r ce u se an d waste pr odu ction an d if we con tin u e al on g a 'bu sin ess as u su al ' tr ajector y we wil l n eed two Ear th s by 2025 to be su stain abl e.

Th is dan ger ou s ecol ogical debt er odes th e pl an et's capacity to su stain l ife, as vital r esou r ces ar e exh au sted an d en tir e ecol ogies ar e destr oyed.

Un der th e cu r r en t econ om ic m odel pr opou n ded by capital ism , th er e is n o accou n tin g for an y n egative en vir on m en tal or in deed social r eper cu ssion s. En tir e com m u n ities can be im pover ish ed, n atu r e devastated, bu t if it r esu l ts in gr eater pr odu ction / con su m ption th en GDP wil l r ise. On e on l y h as to con sider th e bu r geon in g econ om ies today ? wh er e, despite cl aim s of r edu ced pover ty,th er e is escal atin g in equ al ity, wr en ch in g social disl ocation , an d u n ch eck ed en vir on m en tal h ar m .

Despite al l th is, GDP con tin u es to defin e th e econ om ic pol icies of n ear l y al l wor l d gover n m en ts. Th ey in var iabl y pu r su e it in th e con viction th at gr owth can be u n l im ited ? th at, som eh ow, pr odu ction is disassociated fr om dim in ish in g r esou r ces. Even th ou gh cu r r en t con su m ption l evel s in th em sel ves th r eaten th e Ear th 's capacity to su ppor t l ife, th e em ph asis on gr owth

Al on gside th e pu r su it of u n l im ited econ om ic gr owth is a qu est for accu m u l atin g m on ey. Th e two m odel s ar e essen tial l y in separ abl e aspects of th e sam e socio-econ om ic system : capital ism for sh or t. M on ey ? th e m ater ial ist god of th e m oder n wor l d ? is an el abor ate tr ick cr eated to en sl ave u s to wor k , pr odu ce an d con su m e. Cr eated fr om n oth in g, it r epr esen ts th e in ter -l oan fin an ce of ban k s an d gover n m en ts. 97% is digital , m ostl y con ju r ed fr om ban k l oan s, th e r est fr om pr in tin g.

Th e power of m on ey is its abil ity to con al l of u s to bel ieve th at th e val u e of a m eal , a h ou se, a h ospital , you n am e it, can be m easu r ed by bits of paper or digits on a com pu ter scr een . Th e ver y r ich ear n m on ey ju st by sittin g on it, as th e in ter est pil es u p an d easy in vestm en t gam es pl ay ou t. Th e ver y poor ear n it th r ou gh sh eer deter m in ation , h ar d wor k an d ? if th ey ar e r eal l y u n l u ck y ? th r ou gh th e wh im s of an ever -er odin g ?wel far e state?.

Yes, m on ey is per h aps th e gr eatest m agician ?s 'M oney will continue tr ick ever pl ayed in to r ule our lives for as h u m an h istor y. Yet long as we have a need to th r ou gh its per vasiven ess peopl e possess and contr ol, l ive or die, com m u n ities ar e su ppor ted or r ather than shar e and segr egated, an d ?econ om ies?th r ive or coexist.' dwin dl e.

M on ey wil l con tin u e to r u l e ou r l ives for as l on g as we h ave a n eed to possess an d con tr ol , r ath er th an sh ar e an d coexist. It wil l for ever sh ape ou r destin ies for as l on g as we ar e u n its of th e system , br ick s in an ever -sl an tin g wal l wh er e m ost weal th is h oar ded in accessibl y at th e ver y top.

To escape th e ch ain s of m on ey en tail s r em ovin g ou r sel ves fr om wh at con tem por ar y society h as becom e. Th is does n ot n ecessar il y m ean becom in g h er m its, seek in g ou t som e r em ote cor n er of th e wor l d th at h as m an aged to avoid th e ten tacl es of capital ism . It can al so be ach ieved th r ou gh com m u n al , su stain abl e l ivin g. Acr oss th e wor l d th er e ar e exam pl es of th is ? fr om l an d su bsisten ce com m u n es to in n er -city col l ectives.

Th eir econ om ies ar e based u pon an oth er for m of val u e, on e u pon wh ich h u m an s h ave r el ied u pon for th ou san ds of year s.

H er e ?weal th ?is m easu r ed n ot by discs of cr u de m etal or wads of paper bu t by sk il l s, abil ities, cu l tu r e an d n atu r al assets.

28

SCAM SPOTLIGH T In every edition Boundless will try to help you avoid getting caught out by a scam, rogue trader, or otherwise losing your money through corporate malfeasance. In this issue we look at Onl ine Weal t h Market s.

The Company: Online Wealth Markets promises you money by working at home, using an ?online kit?. The company has managed to discretely promote itself through separate websites, including those that purport themselves to be independent news and review sources.

The Scam: Online scamming is a burgeoning market, so greater

Ch an ge: N ow or N ev er Som etim es we becom e so accu stom ed to capital ism th at it is h ar d to en visage h ow an al ter n ative is even possibl e. For som e it is sim pl y u n im agin abl e ? a m ir age as il l u sor y as th e m on ey th ey swear by. Th ose wh o do com for tabl y wel l in th e system wil l dism iss an y al ter n ative as a poin tl ess distr action or del u ded qu est. Yet, gr adu al l y,m an y oth er s ar e awak en in g to th e gr owin g n eed to fin d a gen u in el y differ en t econ om ic m odel . Rapidl y gr owin g in equ al ity,cou pl ed with widespr ead en vir on m en tal destr u ction an d l oom in g gl obal ch al l en ges, ar e r eveal in g ju st h ow u n su stain abl e an d u n ju st th e pr esen t system is. Th e al ter n ative r equ ir es givin g u p m an y of th e com for ts an d pl easu r es we h ave been doped with , bu t n ot doin g so wil l l eave fu tu r e gen er ation s with n oth in g at al l .

W e h ave l et th e wor l d gr ow sick with ou r pol l u tion , appetites an d waste. So far ,th e sick n ess is n ot ter m in al .

'W hen you take Bu t if we car r y on th is away cr itical r esour ces, way,r eck l essl y pu m pin g ou t car bon em ission s, clim ate stability and the wipin g ou t species an d elem ents that sustain devastatin g ecosystem s, life then ever ything ? th en th e wor l d wil l be u n abl e to r ecover. H er including our sick n ess wil l wor sen to socio-econom ic system th e poin t wh er e l ife - star ts to cr um ble.' acr oss th e gl obe per ish es - h u m an ity in cl u ded.

Yet th e death th r oes of capital ism appear to h ave star ted. For al l its power ,it stil l r ests u pon an en vir on m en tal fou n dation .

W h en you tak e away cr itical r esou r ces, cl im ate stabil ity an d th e el em en ts th at su stain l ife th en ever yth in g ? in cl u din g ou r socio-econ om ic system - star ts to cr u m bl e. For al l th e m on ey in th e wor l d, n oth in g can r epl ace th e n atu r al assets by wh ich civil ization s h ave r isen an d fal l en . H owever ,th e r isk is th at we al l ow capital ism to tak e th e wor l d with it.

A ch oice l ies befor e u s: do we k eep goin g as we ar e, tr u stin g in a system th at h as gr an ted l on g l astin g el em en ts of peace an d com for t? Or sh al l we stan d u n ited togeth er ,r eady to cr eate a n ew destin y of oppor tu n ity for th e m an y r ath er th an th e few?

effort is being made to attract people through clever promotion.

One website even presented a ?breaking news interview?with a Bristol resident who described how he managed to ?escape the recession?and ?make about £5600-£6720 a month working from home?, complete with a picture of his monthly cheque. Elsewhere, Online Wealth Markets has managed to worm its way onto recruitment websites.

Once directed to the Online Wealth Markets site you will be presented with a simple, attractive registration process. There are "limited spaces" available, you are told. What is more, there is a five minute countdown for you to enter your details. Such tools are designed to create a sense of urgency. The site asks for your name, email address and telephone number. Pretty basic stuff, right?

Wrong. Even with this data, Online Wealth Markets has just made its first bit of money from you ? selling it off to third parties who may just ring you up or add a bit more spam to your inbox.

Next step is the payment page. They ask for £4.95 up-front before providing any information about what the ?job? entails. Cleverly phrased reassurances are given, but Online Wealth Markets also has another trick up its sleeve. When going to leave the website a pop-up box suddenly appears that says you can get a ?special discount?that makes the price for signing up actually £1.95!

Coupled with the timer, the whole thing is designed to get impulse buys.

What happens if you sign up? It turns out that Online Wealth Markets is a ?binary trading software?? something where you speculate on the price of a given asset, whether it will fall or rise, over a short time span. Essentially it?s like a two-way bet. Get it right and you could win a percentage of what you bet; get it wrong and you?ve lost everything. Online Wealth Markets requires you to sign up with ?Banc de Binary?and, through them, they make commission on your every future transaction. The minimum deposit for Banc de Binary is £250.

Evidence and Compensation: Binary trading software like that touted by Online Wealth Markets is sadly quite prevalent. Whilst theoretically people can make money from it ? and a few people do ? the same applies to gambling. It has been shown how, even if you ?win?50% of the time, you will still lose money given the imbalanced winning v losing pay out. It goes without saying that people have lost thousands in that enduring human dream of fast, easy money that scammers across the years tap into. For Online Wealth Markets, it is however possible to request a refund from the broker, or failing that request one from your credit card company or bank.

ED: There are so many scams out there that we struggled picking one!

After the Apple Models expose, which resulted in a flurry of emails to the investigator asking for her help, please be aware that the Boundless team cannot take up legal cases on your behalf.

29

Book Rev i ew s

M oirae is a dark tale; a negative fable; an adventure tale, or maybe a dystopia for someone. In short, it keeps you captivated and everyone is free to name his/her perception according to what they extract from the reading. In fact, from the beginning itself, the book pictures different landscapes for every reader. Written in an experimental narrative style ? stream of consciousness, this book reminds me of the narrative to T he Light H ouse by Virginia Woolf. M ehreen has created a powerful ?dream reality?and tried to tell what can happen in a world where there is no justice; where corruption is everywhere (rings a bell, anyone?). In such a world, what can survive?

T his unique book contains a multitude of writing tips based on real-life experience. All the advice shows the reader how to write and successfully publish a short story. Christopher Fielden uses his own short stories as case studies to illustrate how the different tips were put into practice to achieve publishing success.

All the short stories used as examples in this book have been published through short story competitions, on websites or in magazines, proving that the tips and advice really work.

Some of the publishers, magazine editors and competition judges Chris has worked with have been kind enough to contribute - giving useful advice that can further help a budding author.

T his book gives a fascinating account of time spent in American prisons, together with the author?s actual path into crime. We learn about his motivation and also get some understanding of what might go through a bank robber?s head ? although it seems this is no ordinary bank robber. ?From university student to internationally wanted criminal?pretty much sums it up ? and apparently the guy attended lectures with bank loot in his rucksack! Some pretty good themes of social contemplation and redemption run through the book, though on occasions these can come across as too deep for what would otherwise be a whirlwind read. But overall an interesting and entertaining book.

T H E CLASSICS: 'Of Mice and Men'

NEWSFLASH

N eil Tyldesley t akes a look at his favour ite school classic

2016 marks the first year of the Zooker Award.

O f M ice and M en is a well-known classic, and with valid reason. It is a great tribute to literature. Set during the 'Great Depression', the book is about a man called George and his childlike, kind-hearted friend Lennie. T hey find work in a ranch after being on the run from their old job because Lennie got them in deep trouble, and it seems that in this book he may get in trouble again...

To find out more, visit: arkbound.com/zooker-award

T he book is great, not only because of its excellent use of description, but because Steinbeck shows how Lennie is better than the other characters as he doesn't share the common prejudices of the time. T hrough his eyes, the world is a simpler, magical place, offering insights from which we all could learn.

Want to get your book featured in Boundless? N o problem! Contact boundless@arkbound.com Arkbound Publishing is also now sponsoring talented authors from disadvantaged groups and welcomes new enquiries. If you are interested in publishing through us, visit www.arkbound.com. Before posting any manuscript, please send a covering letter, synopsis and SAE to: Arkbound, Backfields H ouse, U pper York Street, Bristol BS2 8WF (or editorial@arkbound.com)

30

G A M E S

EA SY

M EDIU M

H A RD

IM PO SSIBLE?!

"In the Classr oom" Acr oss: 1. The instr uctor who leads the class.

3. A per son who goes to school in or der to lear n.

5. An er asable wr iting utensil.

7. This small machine is used to solve math pr oblems.

8. You can go to the libr ar y to find a _____ to r ead.

9. You put your books in one of these and car r y it on your shoulder s.

10 .A wr iting utensil that uses ink.

Looking for the answers to the last games page? Errr... the dog ate them!

11. Your classr oom might have a ______ so you can access the Inter net .

14. A powder y wr iting utensil that wor ks best on a blackboar d.

15. If you make a mistake in your wr iting, you can fix it with an _________.

Down: 2. Assignments you wor k on outside of the classr oom.

4. A blank book you can wr ite in.

6. A ________ is filled with color ful ink and is usually used for dr awing pictur es.

It can also be used to wr ite on a "white boar d," not a chalkboar d!

12. This machine uses ink to pr int documents.

13. A flat sheet to wr ite upon.

31

COM PETI TI ONS

BEST SHORT STORY

BEST ARTICLE

BEST VISUAL ART

For this entry we invite people to write a short story about something that has inspired them, or will inspire other people.

Across the world, communities are being encouraged to be more sustainable. But what exactly is ?sustainability?? Can you find an outstanding example of a project that truly encompasses this term? Where people have made a drastic transition, in the face of great odds?

Technology surrounds us; indeed, for some, it is a part of us. It is often thought that technology and nature sit in opposition; that, as technology develops, the natural world becomes more distant. But this is not necessarily the case.

If so, we want to hear about it! For this ?Best Article?, category, you are asked to write an investigative report into a project or initiative that relates to the above. There is no restrictions in terms of location: it can be anywhere in the world.

But the project or initiative you are writing about must have taken place (or still developing) in the last 3 years.

For this category we are looking for a piece of visual art that shows how technology and nature can be parts of the same thing, with the promotion of one not excluding the other.

What is inspiration? What sort of things do we expect it to lead on to? You will be the judge of this. We are looking for a piece that stands out, that grabs the reader?s attention, even if perhaps it may touch upon some uncomfortable areas.

Because the theme for this category is so broad, word count is also more flexible.

All entries between 500-2000 words will be considered.

Painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, embroidery and other forms of visual art will be considered.

Submission All submissions should be sent to competitions@arkbound.com or by post to Competitions, Arkbound, Backfields House, Upper York Street, Bristol BS2 8WF before 5th September 2016. Each submission must be accompanied by an entry fee of £2.50 (per entry for all categories), made payable to Arkbound. We accept cheques, bank transfer and postal orders. Please accompany each entry with a note of your name, contact details, categories you are entering, and title(s) of your entries. All entries will be judged by a panel of three independent judges and the winners will be announced on DECEMBER 10th 2016.

Prizes For each category the prizes will be : 1st Prize ? £100, with a feature in Boundless magazine 2nd Prize ? £50, with a feature on the website and possibly Boundless (space permitting) 3rd Prize ? £25 Each category will also have 3 runner-up places, each of which will receive £5. All prizes, including runner-ups, will be accompanied by a special embossed certificate. Unique to the ?Best Short Story?category, we will also be offering first and second prize winners the opportunity to be published in an anthology.

Sponsored ent ries Arkbound will fully sponsor ONE entry for disadvantaged people (generally this encompasses disability, unemployment, homelessness or serious hardship, though it can extend to other factors). The same applies for people who are referred by charitable organisations.

COVER COMPETITION Got an idea for the next cover of Boundless? Send it to us and if selected you will win £30 - plus prime mention on the second page!

The Riddler's answer is: A candle!