AGITPROP
by Kalahari Surfers
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Digital Album
Immediate download of 17-track album in your choice of high-quality MP3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
( NB there are 3 Free Tracks available here) whole album download includes digital revolutionary artworks lyric sheet and another free full length track
"the State Banquet" plus a copies of Mao's Little Red Book and Qaddafi's Little Green BookBuy Now $10 USD or more
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rare chinese and soviet propaganda posters
Includes immediate download of 17-track album in your choice of high-quality MP3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.Sold Out
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Brother Leader
05:46
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Hostile Takeover
04:27
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Close To Tears
04:12
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The Last Tourist
03:41
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Wings of a Stingray *
05:29
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Black Southeaster
05:24
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Without Slipping
04:00
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Hide The Electricity
05:12
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The Curse Of The Birds
04:10
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The Actual Size
04:38
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Carolines Circle
04:21
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about
This album has been an attempt to integrate my earlier more political songwriting work with my dub inspired electronica of the 90’s and 2000’s. Its taken me a little over a year to complete these songs, most of which were written on the train traveling to and from the city of Cape Town where I compose at Milestone Studios. Inspiration and feelings coming straight from the mess of governance that has been precipitated by the palace coup of the communist Trojan Horses within our democratically elected government.
We used to joke in the 80’s about Comrade Dollar ( a well moneyed “communist” with expensive tastes) only to see this emerging well beyond anyone’s imagination.
I feel great unease for the future when I read in the ruling parties online magazine phrases like:
“The Ideological Third Force”, “this anti-majoritarian agenda” , “expose the liberal offensive” , “Cadre deployment and redeployment” .these are
terms which belong to another era …an era which I have eluded to with my choice of Soviet title and which I think we would do well to move away from. Of course, we can feel blessed that we didn't tread the Maoist path of Zimbabwe but that's another story.
Many of the tunes are personal vignettes from my book of dreams or life shaking experiences that have found their way into songs, which, as in real life, bump up against the political...but , in my opinion, everything is political.
"you may notice some technical inadequacies in some of my performances, a hesitant beat here, a dodgy note there ,these are, of course, entirely deliberate and reproduced as evidence of my almost painful sincerity." Robert Wyatt" Robert Wyatt
Warrick Sony
___________________________
"The leaders will now enjoy the champagne, and of course they do so on your behalf through their lips." Deputy President Kgalema Mothlanthle at the party's 100 year celebration
_____________________________
Interview with Lloyd Gedye - Mail&Gaurdian:
mg.co.za/article/2012-05-25-warwick-sony-surfing-the-zeitgeist
We used to joke in the 80’s about Comrade Dollar ( a well moneyed “communist” with expensive tastes) only to see this emerging well beyond anyone’s imagination.
I feel great unease for the future when I read in the ruling parties online magazine phrases like:
“The Ideological Third Force”, “this anti-majoritarian agenda” , “expose the liberal offensive” , “Cadre deployment and redeployment” .these are
terms which belong to another era …an era which I have eluded to with my choice of Soviet title and which I think we would do well to move away from. Of course, we can feel blessed that we didn't tread the Maoist path of Zimbabwe but that's another story.
Many of the tunes are personal vignettes from my book of dreams or life shaking experiences that have found their way into songs, which, as in real life, bump up against the political...but , in my opinion, everything is political.
"you may notice some technical inadequacies in some of my performances, a hesitant beat here, a dodgy note there ,these are, of course, entirely deliberate and reproduced as evidence of my almost painful sincerity." Robert Wyatt" Robert Wyatt
Warrick Sony
___________________________
"The leaders will now enjoy the champagne, and of course they do so on your behalf through their lips." Deputy President Kgalema Mothlanthle at the party's 100 year celebration
_____________________________
Interview with Lloyd Gedye - Mail&Gaurdian:
mg.co.za/article/2012-05-25-warwick-sony-surfing-the-zeitgeist
credits
released 01 May 2012
Agitprop ( from Russian: агитпроп) is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message.
The term originated in Soviet Russia (the future USSR), as a shortened form of отдел агитации и пропаганды (otdel agitatsii i propagandy), i.e., Department for Agitation and Propaganda, which was part of the Central and regional committees of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The department was later renamed Ideological Department.
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recorded and produced at Milestone Studios Cape Town South Africa www.milestones.co.za
* "Wings of a Stingray" was recorded live at
the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival 2012
www.ctemf.com
__________________________________
BIG THANKS TO :
Murray Anderson
Milestone Studios
Lin Biao
Graham Merrill
Peng De-huai
Juliana Venter
Qu Qiubai
Nic Paton
Aleksandr Zasyadko
Michele Rowe
Dmitry Chernomyrdin,
Sarah Jane Mary Hills
Umhlanga Roxx
Washington Spears
_____________________
YouTube links to songs on (and off) the album:
Four Pests_ www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3CwBxbf_yY
I'm Ready to Go_ www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g9T-8kEQSo
Blue Light Brigade _ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExZN3ZYHIOA
Dr. Basson_ www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNnEMCq7fTI
Agitprop ( from Russian: агитпроп) is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message.
The term originated in Soviet Russia (the future USSR), as a shortened form of отдел агитации и пропаганды (otdel agitatsii i propagandy), i.e., Department for Agitation and Propaganda, which was part of the Central and regional committees of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The department was later renamed Ideological Department.
-------------------------------------------
recorded and produced at Milestone Studios Cape Town South Africa www.milestones.co.za
* "Wings of a Stingray" was recorded live at
the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival 2012
www.ctemf.com
__________________________________
BIG THANKS TO :
Murray Anderson
Milestone Studios
Lin Biao
Graham Merrill
Peng De-huai
Juliana Venter
Qu Qiubai
Nic Paton
Aleksandr Zasyadko
Michele Rowe
Dmitry Chernomyrdin,
Sarah Jane Mary Hills
Umhlanga Roxx
Washington Spears
_____________________
YouTube links to songs on (and off) the album:
Four Pests_ www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3CwBxbf_yY
I'm Ready to Go_ www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g9T-8kEQSo
Blue Light Brigade _ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExZN3ZYHIOA
Dr. Basson_ www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNnEMCq7fTI
tags
license
all rights reserved
feeds
feeds for about
Kalahari Surfers are based in
Cape Town South Africa
at this studio:
www.milestones.co.za
good biographical info here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalahari_Surfers
discography
-
May 2012 -
Apr 2012 -
Mar 2012 -
Feb 2010 -
Jul 2007 -
Dec 2005 -
Jan 2003 -
Apr 2002 -
Dec 1999 -
Jun 1991 -
Nov 1989 -
Nov 1988 -
Dec 1985 -
Dec 1984 -
Oct 1981
contact / help
For help with downloads, click here.
For all other inquiries, including help with merch, click here.
Redeem download codes here.
- Track Name: Ambush Street
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Ambush Street ( W.Sony )
I understand we carry the can for the
government man with his head in the sand
We pushed him up the hill
with his fingers in the till
the Sunday morning paper trail
he tried to kill
the toxic spill
but failed
and was nailed
but was he black mailed?
The ministers wife
sits for life in Lamborghini seats and suits
she controls the mining rights
while he controls the the human rights
Tender irregularities
with a mistress
Make the headlines overnight
with a deal for the broadcast rights
Disturbing the peace
Disturbing the police
it’s hard to beat the Jo’burg heat
when knocking down doors in ambush street
we are discreet in Jo’burg heat
when breaking the law in ambush street
Disturbing the peace
Disturbing the police
One morning I walk past the
suburban dog on Highland Road
he looks at me and barks and
reconnects with the electric fence
lights come on in upstairs rooms
I move along and feel as if I
have committed some sort of a crime
a crime - in time - we will all
be victims of crime
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
p&c_free_state_music_publishing - Track Name: Human Wrongs (Chernobyl 25th Anniversary)
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Human Wrongs (Chernobyl 25th Anniversary) W.Sony
Radiation is good for you
The soldiers joked
At the roadblock
Chewing on bread
Made from
Ukrainian wheat
Facing the sun
Warm rays
As they pose
For a photograph
She’s another the tourist
Fine powdered dust
On the piano
On the children’s toys
In the ground water
In the stillness of the lake
ch------
To be a human right
Or to be a human wrong
We move into the light
And then we are gone
And the charges against them
will not be withdrawn
Wormwood
they believe
all the green grass was burned
and the trees turned red
in the prophesy
of the fallen star
from the heavens
a great mountain of fire
burns like a lantern
on the rivers and the sea
and the angel says
“woe to the inhabiters of the earth”
To be a human right
Or to be a human wrong
We move into the light
And then we are gone
And the Charges Against them
will not be withdrawn
Her camera comes loose
Falls down the stairs
Where the families had rushed
No time to pack
Orders to leave
and the soldiers never smiled
at the roadblocks wearing gas masks
a third part of the sun
was covered by the clouds
----------//----------- - Track Name: Brother Leader
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BROTHER LEADER ( W.Sony )
----------------------------------
I think I’m going to hang onto power
For 49 years 6 months and 3 hours
Got an army and a desert full of oil
A handful of friends that pretend to be loyal
Fought my brother in a civil war
Sent him away to a distant shore
Like Romulus and Remus
There’s nothing between us
We keep it in the family
They’re pulling me down
Burning bridges through the telephone
Lost support when I searched their homes
Took the TV and the Mercedes Benz
Now they’re marching in the street with their friends
Killed my brother in a civil war
Sent his children to a distant shore
Like Romulus and Remus
There’s nothing between us
We keep it in the family
But they’re pulling me down
------//------
Vocals: Juliana Venter
Zouk & Bass Clarinet: Nic Paton
Drums : Washington Spears
p&c_free_state_music_publishing - Track Name: The Lost Soul of Dr. Basson
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The Lost Soul of Dr Basson ( W.Sony )
------------------------------------------
Whats going on
with Dr Basson
I heard his soul had gone
Decided to move on
Left his body
like a prisoner
Thrown from a plane
Into clouds of cocaine
Ecstacy and Chemical rain
The condemned soul
wonders through the hallways
knocking on every door
trying to find a way out
looking through the files
playing back the dreams of 1983
Barbara with wire on her teeth
Says she can’t forget him
repaired her broken heart
as her marriage fell apart
the soul searching man
suspended from his post
threw bones in an empty home
the surgeon Generals friend
The condemned soul
wonders through the hallways
knocking on every door
trying to find a way out
looking through the files
playing back the dreams of 1983
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
____________
notes: Dr Wouter Basson has been one of the most tricky characters to emerge from the Apartheid sewer . A cardiologist and former head of the country's secret chemical and biological warfare project, Project Coast, he has managed to evade prosecution for a wide range of attacks,murders and assassinations against members of anti-apartheid movements. In 1982, Basson is alleged to have arranged the killing of 200 SWAPO prisoners. Basson also conducted innumerable ethically questionable experiments vis-a-vis possible applications of psychedelic drugs as incapacitants or agents for biological warfare and through a number of front companies was allegedly involved with genetic engineering and the development of
chemical and biological pathogens. He faced 67 charges, including drug possession, drug trafficking, fraud, embezzlement, theft, 229 murders and conspiracy to murder. After a 30 month trial was outrageously granted amnesty and continues to practice heart surgery in Cape Town today.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wouter_Basson - Track Name: Che Geuvara & the Voodoo Boys
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Che Guevara and the Voodoo Boys ( W.Sony )
________________________
they're wearing
a crown of vine leaves
an eagles claw
tail of buffalo makes them invisible
powerful magic
protects them from
snakes and lightning
bullets to water
Che Guevara and the Voodoo Boys
Drunken Kabila for a moment stands poised
Waiting for the River
to take him away
they're wearing Rosary beads and a shower hose
dirty feathers
a mongoose skin
they spit on rocks
to make them explode
eat your heart out then reload
Che Guevara and the Voodoo Boys
Drunken Kabila for a moment stands poised
Waiting for the River
to take him away
______________________________ - Track Name: Hostile Takeover
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Hostile Take Over ( W.Sony )
I’m trapped between the Devil and the deep blue sea
And Its a long long road to eternity
Heaven can wait behind security gates
I’ll take a short cut through purgatory
It’s getting late
Twenty five past two
In the afternoon
and the heat beats down
So move over I’m coming through
In my Landrover
You’d better move over
this is a hostile take over
-:-:-
Ten thousand pension funds have gone down the drain
while I backwash my pool in the pouring rain
My partner’s on a plane
Heading for the Ukraine
He took my wife
And my Kruger gold chain
-:-:-
Twenty five past two
In the afternoon
Its not too late
So move over I’m coming through
In my Landrover
You’d better move over
this is a hostile take over
look left
look right
hopes fade
Fade for Finding Survivors
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
p&c_free_state_music_publishing - Track Name: Close To Tears
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Close to Tears ( W.Sony )
__________________________
Crocodile bones ’ n scales ‘n teeth
Dried up river bed
Burn’t sticks ‘n sundried bricks
Yellow eye in a cloudless sky
You can see the heat gauge
moving up into the red
And I’m close to tears
It hasn’t rained for years
Close to tears
Feeling the years since we last lived
here
Last night I dreamt I was drifting
Down a slowly moving river
The banks were built up mountains
Of scrap metal from the war
Children playing in a rusted armoured car
I wake up in a sweat
and you are lying against the wall
Close to tears
I know there are things we need to talk about
Feeling the years since we last lived
Here
Close to tears can’t understand these metaphors
close to tears and the little mouths open wide
to swallow his future ambition
----------//-----------
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
Juliana Venter - backing vocals
Mhlanga Roxx - bass guitar
Die Wors Broers - percussion - Track Name: The Last Tourist
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The Last Tourist( W.Sony )
------------------------------
Trackers dream
of vehicles
migrating to the south
through swamps and
double bedrooms
overlooking
a river mouth
How to survive
the flood plains
predator becomes prey
viewing hides
the waterholes
armed guards will lead the way
_
Horns clash
Shadow play
comfortably submerged
The last tourist disappears
beneath the dust
Trampled by the herd
Faint signs of their presence
a rumour of a kill
Champagne breakfast pangolin
experience the thrill
Sunset over nothingness
the subtle hues that change
We’ll pick you up at 3 o clock and
Take you to the driving range
_
Horns clash
Shadow play
comfortably submerged
The last tourist disappears
beneath the dust
Trampled by the herd
---//---
Julianna Venter sang backing vocals - Track Name: Wings of a Stingray *
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Wings of a Stingray (Warrick Sony)
--------------------
wing tips touch the water
flying ducks to the slaughter
bird flu across the lake
across the ocean they hesitate
here's to our feathered friends
who're losing out on dividends
Lets eat in Town
beneath my eiderdown
Foie gras pâté
wings of a stingray
bang your plate for Chairman Mao
keep the sparrows in the air for now
keep them flying till they drop
protect your country and your crop
cough into your gloves
then shake
the outstretched hand
of every delegate
Lets eat in Town
beneath my eiderdown
Foie gras pâté
wings of a stingray - Track Name: Black Southeaster
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Black South Easter (Warrick Sony)
Little children playing in the street
Make believe criminals shooting at police
You can feel the morning heat
as it beats down on childhood dreams
Broken sleep
Corrugated iron won’t protect them from the storm
Won’t protect them from extended families
When the Black Southeaster blows everyone who lives here knows
It’s going to take the town by storm
Everything we need will be free
Houses food electricity
A land of happiness and sun
Who cares where the money's coming from
Corrugated iron won’t protect you from the storm
Won’t protect you from extended families
When the Black Southeaster blows everyone who lives here knows
It’s going to take the town by storm
She was an little late for work
Waited half an hour for the train to come
She thinks of families and friends
Left behind to the armies of the north
Corrugated iron won’t protect them from the storm
Won’t protect them from extended families
When the Black Southeaster blows everyone who lives here knows
It’s going to take the town by storm
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
Vocals: Juliana Venter
Zouk: Nick Paton
___________________________________
p&c_free_state_music_publishing - Track Name: Hide The Electricity
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__________________________
Hide the Electricity( W.Sony )
----------------------------------
I’m standing on top and now I’m below
the world looks the same
the South is too slow
got to pick up the pace
to push things through
we’re working all day
but there’s too much to do
leave me a message and
I’ll get back...I’ll get back to you
Ch : I am the equator
with a world between gears
I’ll hide the electricity
for a thousand years
I have seen your boys
loved their simplicity
keep them from noise
hide the electricity
it’ll burn them up
the race to infinity
we hurtle through space
imagined divinity
we’re spinning together
but we’re worlds apart
some left behind
never get to the start
ch
Ill clear out the ocean
‘n set the fishes free
let calmness descend
for eternity
move the clouds away
let me see your land
everything's gone
its buried in the sand
----------------------
p&c_free_state_music_publishing - Track Name: The Curse Of The Birds
-
--------------------------
The Curse of the Birds
(words by Nadia Davids for the Baxter production “Cissie”)
------------------------
The wind is black
The sea is grey
The colours gone
The houses sway
The trees grow crooked
The churches sigh
We all march to the beat of goodbye.
This is a place of so many shades
Faces I love
Brown baby haze
Can’t think of when the law was more crazed
But something’s happening
in the legal maze
I didn’t see the yellow machine
I didn’t know that houses could scream
What would you have done?
The lady with the words.
Who could have stopped
the curse of the birds?
One day we’ll speak of you but not today
One day we’ll know your name
What will we say?
One day your voice/ your
coat/ /your shape/your words
Will all be familiar
But for now You’re stranger than fiction
Are you a stranger in fiction?
I didn’t know that houses could scream
I didn’t know that land could weep
What would you have done?
The lady with the words.
Who could have stopped
the curse of the birds?
The steps are gone and the voices are quiet
the earth is loud in the midst of silence
the curse of the birds?
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
backing vocals: Sarah Jane Mary Hills - Track Name: The Actual Size
-
______________________
Actual Size ( W.Sony )
_____________________
The actual size of the burden of love
Relates to our powers above
The actual size of the shadows we cast
Are only measured in days gone past
Soft light burns morning dew
I see you reflected in the swimming pool
Standing near the lemon tree
Scattering seeds
like years flowing
Tears growing
in the corners of your eyes
its been a shock surprise
we realize
here comes the rain
I want to hold you like superglue
And learn to love you the way you want me to
Protect you from the mountain of debt
By chanting words from ancient Tibet
Morning glory chokes
the Argentinian
exotic tree
Humming birds
suck nectar
through the purple flowers
tiny stamen
Pollination (we are told )
is difficult when days are cold
Slam the gate on interest rates
We’ll grow our own
And replicate
The love we had before
The actual size of ………..
Basket case in tireless haste
I face the queue and automate
In pastures green
in pictures pasted perfectly
on plastic cartons
Motorcades of parent bodies
move across my field of vision
Amber light I take the gap
and dash across the parking lot
To see you sitting with the sun in your hair
_____________________________________
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
backing vocals: Sarah Jane Mary Hills
p&c_free_state_music_publishing - Track Name: Carolines Circle
-
Caroline’s Circle ( W.Sony )
_________________________
The circle above her head is
made of painted light
it begins and never ends,
her friends descend then comprehend her
drawings in the sand
she takes a candle in her hand
melts wax into the thread
puts rice upon your head
instead of
Oil of Saint John
We met her on a summers eve
When the nine oaken spindles
Made a revolution from the east
Caroline’s Circle joining hands reaching out to us
She understands
The stones are painted white
And blackened sticks are laid in rows
New fire is made with leaves of maize
and bells are gently rung
The food is placed in tiny boats
and carried to the shore
Hymns are sung to the setting sun
and our troubles float away
With the
Oil of Saint John
We met her on a summers eve
When the nine oaken spindles
Made a revolution from the east
Caroline’s Circle joining hands reaching out to us
She understands
_________________________
p&c_free_state_music_publishing - Track Name: Blue Light Brigade
-
-------------------------------------------
Blue Light Brigade (Festival of Fights) ( W.Sony )
-------------------------------------------
lyric:
Blue light Brigade
not another cavalcade
to knock you off your bike
as they jump a red light
or beat you to the ground
like a dog
to the sound
of the sirens
and the violence
unleashed
when you express your outrage
_______
Found sound:
crowd singing “dubula ibhunu” ( kill the boers / farmers )
leader ANC Youth League singing the same
TV presenter: what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
Youth League spokesman: fuck you man (shoot to kill)
say again (shoot to kill)
I said fuck you (shoot to kill)
what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
fuck off ok …what is your problem (shoot to kill)
what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
I've got no problem I just want to speak with…
aaah fuck you (shoot to kill)
fuck off_____
Blue light Brigade
not another cavalcade
to knock you off your bike
as they jump a red light
or beat you to the ground
like a dog
to the sound
of the sirens
and the violence
unleashed
when you express your outrage
TV presenter: what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
Youth League spokesman: fuck you man (shoot to kill)
say again (shoot to kill)
I said fuck you (shoot to kill)
what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
fuck off ok …what is your problem (shoot to kill)
what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
I've got no problem I just want to speak with…
aaah fuck you (shoot to kill)
fuck off
(shoot to kill…killer)
mshini wami (bring me my machine gun) sung by the countries President
dubula ibhunu (kill the farmers ) sung by a crowd
dubula ibhunu (kill the boers/farmers )
the sirens
and the violence
unleashed
when you express your outrage of
the sirens
and the violence
unleashed
when you express your outrage of etc
________________________________
