the brain police

2012-01-28T10:59:00.000+01:00

this might be of some assistance

2012-01-27T23:52:00.001+01:00

A Battle Of Ideas, Not Sound Bytes

2012-01-27T22:57:00.004+01:00

l'image de la semaine

This image appeared in last weeks Le Nouvelle Observateur, one of France's most prominent popular cultural and political magazines. The image of course referred to the loss of an "A" in the nations Standard & Poor's credit rating. The allusion is very clear to the sunken Italian luxury cruise ship, Costa Concordia and the floundering presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy.

What was most interesting about this image and what made it all the more powerful was the sub text. The day after the disaster, The UMP Party Minister of Defense, Gerard Lonquet made the unfortunate attack on Francois Hollande, the Socialist Presidential Candidate by comparing him to the Captain of the Costa Concordia. It was a totally inappropriate and embarrassing attack by an undisciplined "sniper" trying to smear Hollande.

Basically, the Socialists have been out of power since Mitterande. There was a cohabitation with Lionel Jospin during the Chirac years, but the bluster at the helm of the french economy for almost a decade now has been solely the Conservative ever drifting more right UMP Government.

Wisely, the Socialists never even acknowledged the comment. The UMP pretended like it never happened. The normally verbosely belicose Lonquet has been strangely silent. In fact the only reference I have seen in the French press to the remark was this very powerful image which I feel was directly inspired by Lonquet. But, the methods that Sarkozy used against Segolene Royal five years ago which were inspired by the American Republican Party attack tactics have gotten old fast here. There still are many political parties that cover the full range of the political spectrum. The UMP has wasted a lot of time and energy in trying to woo the extreme right and in the process has only empowered them. Meanwhile, the Left has really regrouped and has learned a lot from the cyber organization of the American Left. The biggest difference is that though lobbying has a role in the political process, the actual funding of campaigns is strictly regulated. The media time is strictly monitored. Ads are banned. Only the far right clandestinely puts up their hate filled illegal posters in discreet locations, usually under the same railroad underpasses out in the country or shopping cart shelters in budget food market parking lots.

There is a lot of debate, but nothing to do with the sideshow circus of the media debates now playing as the most painful reality television series ever on American TV. There is no audience.

Last night was the kick off. Francois Hollande was on France2 for 2 and a half hours from about 8:30 to 11 pm. That's Prime Time folks and it was the highest viewed program. Hollande was grilled by political reporters, foreign affair and economic experts on the platform he had unveiled for the Socialist Presidential campaign. Then he debated Alain Juppe, the present Minister of Foreign Affairs and ex Prime mInister under Chirac who is still presently Mayor of Bordeaux. Juppe is considered the intellectual of the party, but he tried to make the debate into a personal assault on Hollande accusing him of arrogance and trying to exploit Hollandes perceived weaknesses rather than the actual issues.

Holland, for much of his public life has had the image of a slightly chubby joker. He always has been a highly intelligent deadly debater and you would think that his recent past might be a handicap. He was the companion of Segolene Royal, the candidate in the last election. I have to admire Hollande, in the last 2 years, he physically transformed himself and is looking very hard and fit these days. He has a new girlfriend who is a very glamorous, intelligent journalist with her own popular program on the M6 Network. He was totally focused and used his wit and sarcasm to its fullest advantage last night. Today, even his critics are looking at him with new eyes and talking about his armor plating. He went into the debate with some very positive polling numbers, If the Second Tour of the election was held today, he would have won it with 60% to Sarkozy's 40%. The new numbers haven't been released yet. The election will be in May. This is not a painfully drawn out process like in America. There is an air of despair on the Right.

My thoughts last night as I watched the program was how could this ever go down in America? A battle of ideas and complicated concepts having to be argued and explained in detail, rather than tasty amphetamine flavored testosterone coated jingo filled sound bytes for an attention deficit afflicted audience who would rather see Chaz Bono Dancin With The Stars........?

The Republicans Normalization Of Racism

2012-01-27T22:00:00.000+01:00

This is really disgusting, but vital and educational compilation by ThinkProgress that is a very succinct expose of the "normalizing" of racist and racially-coded language during this desperately pandering Republican primary season. It was not so long ago that the chairman of the Republican National Committee apologized for his party's history of "trying to benefit politically from racial polarization," and told the NAACP, "I am here today as the Republican Chairman to tell you we were wrong." Such leadership cannot be found now.

Newt Gingrich may be the new master of race politics with his efforts to label Barack Obama the "food-stamp president" and his generous offer to lecture African-Americans at the NAACP on why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps. We know that Mr. Gingrich's claims of being a "historian" for Freddie and Fannie are a strain, but would it be that hard for him to check the history of NAACP's leadership on developing and demanding groundbreaking job creation policies? (Or to note that more food stamp recipients are white than any other race or ethnicity?) But why would a historian let facts get in the way of historical racial prejudice?

This compilation was made by ThinkProgress' Jeff Spross and I felt compelled to share it with you.

The True Funk Fatha...

2012-01-27T14:22:00.004+01:00

The Jimmy Castor Bunch takes us back, way back, all the way back to 1972

with the protofunk power of

Troglodyte!

Light Field (In Consonance)

2012-01-26T22:46:00.001+01:00

An Orchestral piece by the American composer Glenn Branca from the early 1980's.

Glenn writes large, loud guitar based symphonic music that is best heard live, because so much of what he does realies on acoustic phenomena that is almost impossible to actually record, let alone reproduce, but this piece echoes the actual brilliance.

2012-01-26T21:20:00.003+01:00

This is for my friend Mudrake. Check out his blog and his ongoing discussion

about religion and society.

Street Poster From the May, 1968 Student/Worker Demonstrations in Paris

2012-01-26T14:09:00.004+01:00

Your Daily Duchamp

2012-01-26T10:12:00.001+01:00

Glitter Bomb In Sewage Treatment Plant?

2012-01-25T17:46:00.000+01:00

If the title wasn't on the video, what would you think you were looking at?

This is a fissioning corium releasing mega gamma rays...it is also FISSIONING hundreds of radioisotopes of the alpha and beta kind...strong and weak ones...toxic to mammals...they recombine with water to form oxides and hydrogen bonds...those white streaks could be gas bubbles rising to the surface...whisked by the air, traveling through the cracked containment and gases like cesium can morph to solids, plutonium travels in an oxide molecule like a hot air balloon!!!

This is not a metaphorical view inside a nuclear reactor. This is for real-real.

This month, the good folks at TEPCO sent a remote-controlled endoscope and thermometer into the containment vessel of Fukishima's crippled reactor #2, hoping to learn something about the level of cooling water, the state of the fuel rods, and the temperature in the reactor. The view is obscured by steam, the effects of radiation, and (are you sitting down) actual goddam gamma rays just whizzing by. According to the PBS Frontline blog, those are the little streaks and flashes that you see in this video.

The probe revealed corroded piping and dripping humidity, but did not reveal the water’s surface level, which TEPCO had expected to be as high as four meters. The containment vessel was flooded with seawater during the reactor meltdown when other attempts to cool it failed. Current water levels inside the reactor remain unknown.

The probe’s thermometer function proved more revealing; it recorded the interior temperature at 44.7 degrees centigrade (112 degrees Farenheit), demonstrating that the unit’s own thermometer, thought to be off by as many as 20 degrees, is still functioning accurately.

It ain't over...by a long shot.

Anyone Remember This Dude?

2012-01-24T22:52:00.002+01:00

November 16, 1995

2012-01-24T21:22:00.003+01:00

don't you dare interrupt, his serene royal majesty, queen mittens

2012-01-23T14:26:00.001+01:00

when is you ungrateful peasants gonna buy ME a damn yacht? I be buyin this damn election wit my dime, it's my time, so fuck y'all!
You know, I was being rather polite here, I could have called him Adolph Mittler...
In fact, I could so easily go there....if he decides to pick Santorum as his vice presidential running mate...we would have the first real Republican Corporate AXIS ticket...
The Mittler/Santorini Axis of EVIL.....

KIKI

2012-01-23T10:21:00.004+01:00

Kiki of Montparnasse

Queen of 1920s Parisian bohemia, in Emak Bakia (akaLeave Me Alone, 1926, dir. Man Ray) (film online here)

Forever's A Long Time

2012-01-22T22:16:00.004+01:00

Okay, this was Don Was's 1997 movie...a collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola.

Forever's A Long Time

A soundtrack with a conceptual band, The Orquestra Was, featuring Herbie Hancock, Merle Travis, Kris Kristopherson,Wayne Kramer and Sweet Pea Atkinson among others as well as Don playing bass among other things. Songs by Hank Williams that are somehow transmogrified inot R&B and Jazz... Avery hard movie to explain, but for me it is so close to the surface of my unconscious feelings about Detroit...the imaginary no mans land that extended between Cass and Second Avenues where somehow Detroit Soul and Country and Western culture fucked, fought and interbred. Too bad the quality is so lousy...I have this on the original cd, but I can't play the video on my computer.

Knocked Down

2012-01-22T21:47:00.002+01:00

As a humble apology to Don and Dave was and all the other was (not was)'s for my audacious insolent proposition of their piece, I Blew Up The United States as Mittens new campaign song, I am posting this version of Knocked Down from a performance at Montreaux around 1990. The piece was originally released on Born To Laugh At Tornadoes and this is almost an accoustic version of the original.

Ladies and Gentlemen, one of Americas greatest small orchestras ever, Was(notwas). I always loved this song.

Mitt Blew Up The United States

2012-01-22T21:24:00.001+01:00

Today on CNN, Republican strategist, Alex Castellanos advised how Mittens could parley his tough guy CEO role into a winning strategy in next weeks Florida Primary:

CASTELLANOS: There's more to it than that you know. We don't know what a president will be faced with. You want somebody in that chair who can handle big things. Newt Gingrich got attacked. He demonstrated tremendous strength. Mitt Romney, next time somebody accuses him of closing down a steel mill should say “Yeah, I'm that guy and you know what? I'd do it again. I'd hate to do it... I'd hate to do it, it would hurt, but somebody needs to go to Washington and I think I can replace most of these buildings in here with like three good web sites.”

We've got to change this country dramatically . He's that kind of guy. He does transformational things.

I don't know about anyone else but the kind of “transformation” that Castellanos is talking about here is not exactly the kind most Americans think is good for our country. If shutting down steel mills, outsourcing jobs to China, raiding pension funds, slashing wages, busting unions and lining your pocket while doing it is something he thinks Romney ought to be bragging about, I just wonder what anyone is smoking that would ever hire this guy.

If he really believes it's good advice that Romney should be playing the tough guy when it comes to shutting down industries in America and putting people out of work during his time at Bain Capital, someone's overpaying him to manage their political campaign if he can actually find work other than being an overpaid right-wing hack at CNN (or sadly a guest on Meet the Gregory a.k.a. Karl Rove's dance partner as well) these days. Perhaps this is just the song Mittens needs for his campaign to get America moving and groovin...apologies to the Was Bros, but hey if Mittens takes my advice, the royalties? just sayin....I Blew Up The United States, was(notwas) live 2007...added bonus, Pusherman from Superfly by Curtis Mayfield....Sweetpea Atkinson!

2012-01-22T18:48:00.000+01:00

actually, I had to change my original version...
NEWT 20012 AMERICA MAH BITCH NOW!
but, I knew if you wanted to print it out and sport it on your
Chevy's bumper, you might have a problem.

KIM DOTCOM

2012-01-22T18:29:00.001+01:00

I'm in Europe and enjoy an internet connection much faster than most Americans and have profited from a very competitive Internet market. I get ADSL, Internet Telephone and a TV hookup for about 25 US Dollars a month. Believe it or not, there are a few providers out there who want to sell me cheaper service. More so, I live in an extremely rural location....we are in the hinterlands as far as Digital TV is concerned...my digital signal has to compete with the strange interference waves generated by the DC cow electrical wire security systems which I self administer electro shock therapy to myself with occasionally. So, internet is my link to the rest of the world. I go to the big city to see movies, but I have discovered the joy of streaming films. I don't do it often, but there are so many possibilities. I watched the new J Edgar film a few weeks ago and then realized that it hadn't even been released here in France yet.
Yes, I have a few moral reservations about the strict morality of viewing films free on line. I have many friends involved in the film industry. I worked on the fringes of the legitimate film industry for many years...But, I believe in the future and the evolution of internet technology and the entertainment industry. One hand washes the other.
I totally support internet freedom. I followed the MegaUpload case from its inception in the USA. After the defeat of the SOPA/PIPA legislation due to the massive education of the public and the active participation by most of the internet last week, it was very interesting to see the US Justice Department take down of MegaUpload.
Putting aside whether Megaupload is truly dangerous and a pirate haven or not, it didn't cause the global economic collapse. Yet it was shut down last week, while the barons of Wall Street remain unscathed.

Megaupload had nothing to do with the ugly unemployment numbers that are likely to stick around for years. It had nothing to do with families being thrown out of their homes. It had nothing to do with retirement accounts being slashed in half. It had nothing to do with the rapidly increasing divide between the middle class and the super-rich. It had nothing to do a lousy economy that is going to hang around for many more years. How is it possible that the feds can organize a global program to hunt down the owners of a Web site and shut it down (protecting the 1%) when they can't even be bothered to prosecute Wall Street for ruining the economy (again protecting the 1%)?

Outside of the movie and music industry, few give a damn about Megaupload - but everyone still cares a lot about the crisis that Wall Street brought down on our heads and pocketbooks. We also continue to be upset that Wall Street bonuses - even though they are being reduced - will still be considerably more than most Americans can expect to get for years to come. Even people working in industries with similar experience and backgrounds don't make the crazy money that is still being offered on Wall Street. As a rough analogy, since antipiracy crusaders are fond of equating filesharing with shoplifting: suppose the CEO of Wal-Mart came to Congress demanding a $50 million program to deploy FBI agents to frisk suspicious-looking teens in towns near Wal-Marts. A lawmaker might, without for one instant doubting that shoplifiting is a bad thing, question whether this is really the optimal use of federal law enforcement resources. The CEO indignantly points out that shoplifting kills one million adorable towheaded orphans each year. The proof is right here in this study by the Wal-Mart Institute for Anti-Shoplifting Studies. The study sources this dramatic claim to a newspaper article, which quotes the CEO of Wal-Mart asserting (on the basis of private data you can't see) that shoplifting kills hundreds of orphans annually.

It was also very interesting to see the immediate action by Anonymous in taking our the US Department of Justice and the RIAA websites. As far as I am concerned, the action by Anonymous was the equivalent of a playful warning shot over the bow of a little schooner. The real message was, you fuck with us, you enact PIPA/SOPA, you take out the internet and rebuild it, and a few months later you'll have to it again and again. You cannot afford to fuck with us.
But MegaUploads had to go. They were a real time criminal enterprise and living too large. They weren't just selling movies illegally, they were laundering money on a massive scale.
There are plenty of players in the no-questions-asked online storage game: HulkShare, MediaFire, YouSendIt. They're all staples of web sharing—and they're all still up and running today. Partly because they're smaller than Megaupload, partly because they're smarter, but mostly because they're don't operate like sloppy drug kingpins.

The Justice Department's whopping 72-page indictment against Megaupload—or as it's tellingly referred to in the document, the "Mega Conspiracy"—illuminates a cavalier operation of opulence, carelessness, and tons of money. The Mega Conspiracy crew—which spanned continents, and was lead by flamboyant fatboy millionaire conman Kim Dotcom—was openly, wittingly rich off of copyrighted music. They were flagrant about their intentions to squeeze cash out of Simpsons episodes and 50 Cent albums, rewarding their most piracy-pushing users, laundering money through the site, and spending the cash in the most conspicuous ways imaginable.

And the feds have records of all of it.

Of all the brushes that painted a giant target on Megaupload's back, the most obvious one is size. Megaupload ain't no misnomer; the megasite consumed a staggering 4 percent of all traffic on the internet with 50 million daily visitors. There were other places to throw the dart, but Megaupload was a glowing bullseye the size of a dinner plate, they earned millions on their own through ad revenue, and allegedly cost copyright owners an estimated $500 million (the MPAA reportedly provided highly inflated financial damage estimates to the DoJ in advance of the crackdown). The Mega Conspiracy was too good for its own good.

The sheer volume alone was enough to attract the attention of the Justice Department's Intellectual Property Task Force; from there, it wasn't hard for the feds to start getting very suspicious, very quickly. Because Megaupload wasn't just big; it was brazen. The site didn't have blinking text that said SHARE YOUR PIRATED STUFF HERE, but the motive was clear. According to the indictment, the site wanted good pirated gems uploaded and spread far and wide. The document goes on to state that Mega knew it had infringing videos and songs on its servers, and wanted it downloaded as much as possible for maximum ad money. So they bribed users to do it for them, says the indictment:

The Mega Conspiracy did provide financial incentives for premium users to post links on linking sites through the "Uploader Rewards" program, which ensured widespread distribution of Megaupload.com links throughout the Internet and an inventory of popular content on the MegaConspiracy's computer servers.

The rewards took the form of premium account upgrades, which allowing for faster downloads, or in some cases, straight cash.

The sprawling indictment goes on to describe cash that was spread around Megaupload's international presence, with million dollar transfers flying between Hong Kong, Virginia, and Georgia, courtesy of a coding team that spanned US, Europe, and New Zealand. Some of this money went back into beefing up Megaupload, or was paid out to its super users. The Mega money bin also served as a handy way to launder money, the feds claim:

Members of the Enterprise and their associates committed money laundering, attempted to commit money laundering, and conspired to commit money laundering to facilitate and expand the Enterprise's criminal operations.

Pretty cut and dry. And on top of all that, plenty of the dough was just pocketed: in 2010 alone, Kim Dotcom, the site's Dr. Robotnik-meets-Larry Flynt founder, hauled in $42 million. His taste for women, expensive things, and surfeit is well documented. Last fall, while attempting to bribe New Zealand into residency and a $30 million mansion, he bought a $500,000 fireworks show for the city of Auckland. Just because he could. In the Feds' eyes, he was a known crook who lived too large. And if you're itching for a piracy conviction, why go after boring Jimmy HulkShare when you can hit the guy laundering money around the planet and buying his own fireworks shows?

Bottom line...good for every one. This proved that we don't need nop steenkin PIPA or SOPA to police the internet. We do a pretty good job of it ourselves and if governments think they can regulate the internet by trying to control it, we 'll just build a bigger and better one.

Ha Haaaa

2012-01-22T10:12:00.000+01:00

Gingrich wins in South Carolina. Perhaps, now we're gonna see the real Mitt!

I am presently writing a musical version of the Republican Primary Race to be directed by Lars Von Trier.

INTERMISSION

2012-01-21T23:21:00.001+01:00

2012-01-21T22:57:00.002+01:00

Burroughs

You Made Me Love You

2012-01-21T15:19:00.004+01:00

Jimmy dropped out of the 8th grade sometime around 1915 to become a ragtime pianist in New York City. "You Made Me Love You" was written by James Monaco and Joseph McCarthy and first popularly recorded by Al Jolson in 1913. Judy Garland would famously record a version in 1937, and the song has since become a part of the Great American Songbook. Jimmy Durante recorded this instrumental version in the mid-1960's. I suppose I felt compelled to post this because, I remember my dad playing his version of this and he truly was a self taught rag style pianist among many other things.

Austerity Defined

2012-01-21T10:29:00.002+01:00

On Friday, The IMF issued a warning about the economic and social risks of austerity programs. Why has it taken so long for economic "experts" like Christine Lagarde of the IMF, The World Bank's Robert Zoellick and other global economic institutions to recognize the need to alter the idea that forcing austerity on their citizens could somehow stimulate the economy?
The heads of these agencies have issued a statement warning of the consequences of of the present trend to find a simple solution to a complex problem that would put the onus of economic recovery on the 99% while protecting and promoting the fortunes of the very rich.

"The world faces significant and urgent challenges that weigh heavily on prospects for future growth and on the cohesion of our societies," said the statement by the global issues group of the World Economic Forum. It was published ahead of the forum's annual meeting in Davos next week, amid concerns that 2012 will see the global economy flirt with recession as a result of the eurozone crisis. "Our shared objective is the strengthening of growth, employment and the quality of life in every part of the world," said the statement. "But entering 2012, we worry about: decelerating global growth and rising uncertainty; high unemployment, especially youth unemployment, with all its negative economic and social consequences; potential resort to inward-looking protectionist policies."

Merriam-Webster named "austerity" the "Word of the Year" for 2010. But like the monster from a 1950's science-fiction movie, it just keeps on growing. This week alone the name was invoked in government houses from Athens to Lagos.

What is this creature called "austerity," and why does it still hold so much power? If you've got three minutes, let's get started. Let me try to define it in less than 800 words.

1. What is it?

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines "austerity" as "when a government has a deliberate policy of trying to reduce the amount of money it spends."

Wikipedia calls it "a policy of deficit-cutting, lower spending, and a reduction in the amount of benefits and public services provided," adding that it's "sometimes coupled with increases in taxes to pay back creditors to reduce debt."

Got that? Austerity backers want government to spend less on benefits and public services, and to pay back its creditors more quickly. Higher taxes aren't part of the plan and they're strictly optional.

2. What's austerity supposed to accomplish?

Austerity advocates don't just see lower deficits and reduced debt as tools to promote long-term economic health. They consider them ends in themselves - sometimes even as moral values.

Many austerity advocates see government spending as inherently evil. That goes for all government spending, including police, teachers, nurses, and firefighters.

Sure, some of them will admit there can be necessary evils or useful evils - usually weapons procurement or law enforcement. But spending is always evil.

Other people aren't philosophically opposed to government spending, but have been convinced that it has become unaffordable today.

3. What's the theory behind austerity economics?

To answer that, it's important to understand that the economics profession has been systematically taken over by well-funded conservative academics. They've created elaborate theoretical constructs to prove that government spending is economically destructive.

These include theories like 'Barro-Ricardo equivalence,' which says people won't spend money when they know their government's incurring debts they'll have to pay someday. Conservative economists like Robert Barro insist this is true even in times of widespread unemployement, like now, and argue against stimulus spending to create jobs.

Oddly, they find this theory more compelling than the idea that people aren't spending money because they don't have jobs.

Then there's supply-side economics, which argues that the best way to grow the economy is by cutting taxes. That means smaller government. Supply-siders also rely on the "Laffer curve," which says people will stop investing, producing, and creating jobs if taxes are too high.

Austerity advocates also argue that international markets will lose confidence in governments if they don't curb spending and will charge them higher interest. So they even push cuts in Social Security, which doesn't even add to the deficit, because macroeconomists consider it 'government spending.'

4. Do these theories make sense?

Economists argue about this kind of thing ferociously, but we can look at the record and reach some common-sense conclusions about whether these theories are right or wrong:

Barro-Ricardo Equivalence: Wrong. To affect demand, government spending would have to be much higher than it is today.

Supply-Side Economics: Ridiculously wrong. We've had lower taxes and less regulation for more than a decade. Where are the jobs?

Laffer Curve: Also wrong. This country had a 70% tax rate or higher for top earners and the economy was doing much better than it is today. At 98% or higher, as the top rates once were in Great Britain, this could be a legitimate concern.

But now? Nah.

5. Does austerity work?

A resounding no. That's the conclusion reached in this paper from the International Monetary Fund. (The IMF was once the world's leading enforcer of austerity measures.)

And here are some clips from last week's headlines:

Austerity Reigns Over Euro Zone as Crisis Deepens, New York Times: " Europe's leaders braced their nations for a turbulent year, with their beleaguered economies facing a threat on two fronts: widening deficits that force more borrowing but increasing austerity measures that put growth further out of reach."

Euro-Zone Manufacturing Activity Falls for Fifth Month, Wall Street Journal: " Manufacturing activity in the euro zone declined for the fifth straight month in December, although less sharply than earlier in the fourth quarter, according to a survey of purchasing managers released Monday. The survey is consistent with other indicators of recent activity, and together the numbers suggest the euro-zone economy contracted during the final three months of the year."

Merkel, Sarkozy stress growth a priority in eurozone crisis, call for quick Greek accord, Washinggton Post: "The German and French leaders stressed Monday that boosting economic growth in the 17-nation eurozone is a priority, a recognition that the focus on austerity cuts is unlikely to get Europe out of its debt crisis. Some analysts fear excessive austerity measures will take a heavy toll on weakening economic growth and push the eurozone into recession this year, in turn hindering the region's deficit-cutting efforts.

Austerity's been a disaster for Great Britain and Europe, yet leaders are demanding more of the same - there, and here. They're ignoring the approaches that have worked in the past, as in the Great Depression: Invest in short-term growth, put people back to work, and then address long-term deficit issues once the economy's back on its feet.

6. Why do people still push austerity?

Some do it because they're still under the influence of economists indoctrinated in that profession's conservative intellectual orthodoxy.

It's also in many politicians' interests to promote austerity, since wealthy and powerful people like the idea of lowering their own taxes.

One thing's for sure: They're not doing it because they're looking at the facts.

I wrote this in an attempt to educate myself. You and I probably realize now that we understood more than we realized. In fact, we were never the problem.

The real problem with austerity economics is that there's less there than meets the eye.

That hasn't stopped leaders all over the world from insisting that it's the solution to the very problems it has caused, and to other problems which it didn't cause but has made even worse. They're trying to impose even more of it on the global population

2012-01-20T23:52:00.003+01:00

I only wish my brother, George was here....

Reactionary Tango

2012-01-20T23:06:00.001+01:00

I apologize for not posting more lately. I have been involved in a big project helping a friend and we are working against the weather out doors putting plastic on a huge greenhouse complex'

The Music is Reactionary Tango by the Carla Bley Band live at the Jazz Jamboree

Warsaw Poland, Oct. 24, 1981. The piece was composed and arranged by Carla Bley.

Carla Bley - Piano & Organ

Steve Swallow - Bass
Arturo O'Farrell - Piano & Organ
D.Sharpe - Drums
Earl Mackintyre - Tuba
Gary Valente - Trombone
Vicent Chancey - French Horn
Tony Degrady - Tenor Sax
Steve Slagle - Soprano Sax
Michael Mantler - Trumpet

2012-01-20T13:51:00.002+01:00

Edward Gorey

2012-01-19T21:25:00.002+01:00

The written, but especially the graphic work of Edward Gorey was so influential on me as an artist when I was younger. I learned a lot from his gothic stark pen and ink work and have always been thankful for the profound warp he gave to my concept of what could be considered "humorous".

In 1974, some of my very favorite musicians in the world recorded a collaborative effort with Mr. Gorey.

The recording was called The Hapless Child. The compositions were by Michael Mantler and the musicians were the inscrutable Robert Wyatt on vocals, Mantlers wife at the time, Carla Bley, who as I have mentioned many times on this blog, I have an unrequited love for...I've met her a few times and have always been reduced to a stuttering adolescent in her presence. The bassist is Carla's present husband, Steve Swallow and the drummer is one of the greatest percussionists of the later 20th century, Jack deJohnette. The guitarist is one of my very favorite instrumentalists, who profoundly influenced me and my concepts of guitar technique as a musician, Terje Rypdal. This piece, The Insect God was from the recording.

The following set of gif images is from a recent Simpsons episode which I saw here in France then tracked down. They tell a short story in the Gorey style and pay profound homage to the master.

2012-01-19T21:14:00.001+01:00

2012-01-18T23:02:00.002+01:00

clueless in gaza

2012-01-18T14:20:00.004+01:00

The English language version of Wikipedia (along with several other websites) went dark today in protest of SOPA and PIPA. This in turn has resulted in quite a few freakouts on Twitter that are being thoughtfully collected by Nick Quarantoon @herpderpedia.

2012-01-18T13:30:00.004+01:00

The Scream from Sebastian Cosor on Vimeo.

“I was walking along a path with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red – I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.”
Edvard Munch, 1893

2012-01-17T21:24:00.001+01:00

check out the welcome bar at the top of the page..
STOP PIPA & SOPA

Unite and Demonstrate Web Solidarity Today, January 18, 2012!

Citizens United...the musical

2012-01-17T21:07:00.004+01:00

http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/citizens-united-2012

January 21 is the second anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, "Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission," and advocates on both sides of the corporate-personhood issue are organizing to make their voices heard. Pro-democracy organizations like Move to Amend are protesting the decision with rallies at 100 Federal Court Houses, including the Supreme Court, on Friday Jan. 20. Meanwhile, United 4 the People is organizing protests at symbolic corporate locations around the U.S. on Saturday Jan. 21 and participants in various Occupy movements are converging on the US Capitol on Tuesday Jan. 17, all to voice opposition to unlimited and anonymous money influencing our political process in favor of The 1 Percent.

But now there is a new organization fighting for the rights of The 1 Percent, and those who personally identify with them. They call themselves the Corporate-Person American Movement, and they are determined not to let the American people have the last word on whether money should equal speech, or whether corporate entities should have the power to purchase election results and lucrative legislation.

Corporate Person American Will Rice is gearing up for a big 2nd Anniversary of the Citizens United decision, which established corporate personhood and gave him a new identity. He recorded a new, intimate song to properly serenade his most beloved Supreme Court precedent.

"I've always wanted to be an oppressed minority of some kind," Rice said. "Being a white male born into inherited wealth, this dream of mine kept evading me. But that was before the Supreme Court stepped in to protect the rights of corporate persons to spend money on our elections. I realized then that my life's work would be, not only declare myself a Corporate-Person American, but also to fight for full citizenship rights for corporations, including the right to marry and the right to vote."

The fledgling organization has grown rapidly in the past 2 years as populist movements that advocate for the interests of the super-wealthy came into fashion. Brian Wang, who became a Corporate-Person American a year ago, shared that he's been getting "second looks from the ladies" since making the switch.

“The corporation is a true Frankenstein’s monster, an artificial person run amok, responsible only to its own soulless self.”

Velkom To der Frei Typical Demokraticsh Style Republicanian Debate!

2012-01-17T17:41:00.000+01:00

Velcomin To Der Repubicanian Party...dis essen a simple summation, all uf vhat you is needing to know from last nachts free and open demokratisch style debate in Nordz Carolina or vhat haf you... Danke, don't efen try to antagonize or dizagree with the official ezpecially zeelected audience, or they vill hurt you...badly.

If you need more, here is de entire intellecktual style exchange zimplified for you into a very easy to chigest 100 sekonds, so vee dunt hurt your leetle brainz out.....

You know, der vas too much talkink in der debate...eviciency! Dis ess vhat ess vrong mit Amerika today!
Vhy ess der so many ideas? Vhy zo much wasted time? Vhy zo many idiots standink around chust talking? Vhy are zey standink talking? Vhy are zey lookink de vay dey look? Actink der vay dey act? Show us your papers! Vunce veee knew how to get stuffs done der right way! Don't Talk! Chust Listen! Right Newt?

de gut old vashioned, evvizient vay instead of the sissy democratizsche
debate... der newt talks, you vill lizten!

and now a word from our sponsor:
“The corporation is a true Frankenstein’s monster, an artificial person run amok, responsible only to its own soulless self.”

2012-01-17T10:15:00.001+01:00

2012-01-16T09:23:00.001+01:00

"That ain't no Kraut name is it?...He changed it when he became a citizen. Used to be
Merkwurdigeliebe."
Doctor Strangelove or How Learned to Stop Worrying
and Love the Bomb (1964)

This Is A Newsaper, Alright?

2012-01-15T18:22:00.001+01:00

Yes, I realize that the statement above might be a little over the edge, but mainstream news has always needed watchdogs. The role of media as a source for political opinion presented in the guise of news, purported factual reporting has never been so transparent. Propaganda has always existed. As we have seen in the rise of fascism in other countries, control of the media and messaging has always been part of the method. The rise of independent reporting, the fact that we are all capable of finding raw facts on the internet and interpreting them ourselves makes us all to some extent capable of being experts. It makes the role of a professional editorial expert all the more difficult. That's why, earlier this week, when I saw this piece in the NY Times, I felt as if I was about to read a satire, but it wasn't:

The piece, by the Times Public Editor, Aurthur S. Brisbane was focusing in particular on statements by Mitt Romney and how he plays loosely with the concept of what is the truth in his statements and press releases about himself and the Obama Administration, but,obviously any paper, but most especially the New York Times, has little value to society if it knowingly prints lies — or if it fails to do the minimal investigative reporting and fact-checking needed to determine if a statement by a newsmaker or, say, a global warming denier, is false.

The most pathetic aspect of this question, "Should The Times Be A Truth Vigilante?" is that Brisbane felt compelled by some psychic, un namable force to even ask it in the first place. Here we are in the second decade of the 21st century and a dweeb self appointed expert is asking us if the biggest "expert" self appointed news organization on the planet should be concernbed with the it's responsibility to report the "TRUTH". And here we are, dealing with FOX News and a multitude of editorially compromised 24 hour corporate News Outlets spewing their corporate sponsored versions of what they want us to believe? I would only direct your very limited attention span to the Clear Channel and the very direct link to their owners, Bain Capitol. You know the Romney/Bain Capitol thing...Clear Channel/Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck thing?

I would only like to point out that there is a 10% of the mainstream press which we can trust and count on, but they heroically put their asses on the line and get maimed, imprisoned and killed to give us the truth and I will say without any shame, that Arthur S. Brisbane has desecrated their legacy and their dedicated work just by asking his lame little question.....

Beware Of The Hound

2012-01-14T23:55:00.003+01:00

Thas rite, we gonna be doin it for you all nite....Ever boddy knows the Hound!

That Lovable Lil' Newt

2012-01-14T13:36:00.002+01:00

You gotta love Newt Gingrich...a Republican so obnoxious on a historic scale that he is incapable of recognizing the hideous stench of his own asshole. It takes a special kind of serial loser to do that. Newt Gingrich unveiled yesterday what has to be one of the sillier ads of the campaign, accusing Mitt Romney of—quelle horreur!—speaking French! Yes, Mitt Romney speaks French, albeit a rather stiff, strange and badly pronounced version (and believe me I know badly pronounced French when I hear it...I have the bruises on my shins from my wife kicking me under the table at dinner parties to prove it) of a person reading a teleprompter, owing to his time as a Posh Mormon missionary, living in a particularly luxurious Hotel Particulier in Paris in the late 1960s. Now I don't know what languages Newt studied in school, but interestingly enough, his Ph.D. thesis is on "Belgian Education Policy in the Congo: 1945-1960." You can read Gingrich's thesis here, but I'll just highlight some of the citations:

Jean-Jacques Servan-Schrieber, Le Défi Americain, (Paris: Denoël, 1967), p. 115.

Jean Stengers, Belgique et Congo; L'élaboration de la Charte Coloniale, (Bruxelles: La Renaissance du Livre, 1963), p. 9.

Marcel Nihoul, L'Annexion au Congo et l'avenir belge, (Brussels, N.P., 1901), pp. 5, 13.

Those are just three citations plucked at random—there are many more where that came from. I would also note that Newt Gingrich got his Ph.D. at Tulane University in New Orleans, and that Gingrich's thesis supervisor was Pierre-Henri Laurent—a Belgian immigrant, distinguished academic, and native French speaker.

Given that it appears Newt Gingrich has more than a passing familiarity with the French language, it sure seems like this odd indictment of his opponent is just another link in the bizarrely perverse circular firing squad that the Republican Candidate's 2012 Campaign has degenerated into. You Go Guys......

2012-01-14T10:41:00.004+01:00

In the context of the brutal, fear driven compassionless society we have allowed ourselves to become,
there is a final context for this act in which we are all responsible, all guilty. A 19-year-old Marine has a very hard time reconciling the fact that it’s okay to waterboard a live Taliban fighter but not okay to urinate on a dead one.

2012-01-13T23:27:00.002+01:00

2012-01-13T17:43:00.005+01:00

I couldn't resist posting this. Ernie Kovacs ad for Ford from 1955. Personally, I think that the high point of American automotive design occurred in 1954 with the Kaiser Manhattan and Packard Carribean....

ERNIE

2012-01-13T17:22:00.001+01:00

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Ernie Kovacs. I always say that if there was one person I would rather have been, it would have been Mr. Kovacs. He got to smoke cigars and drink cognac on television and he was married to Edie Adams....but, of course, this was the man who single handedly forced his vision of what comedy and technology could be down our gagging gullets. Avisionary genius, a true mad man, my hero, Ernie Kovacs.

Les restes

2012-01-12T23:29:00.002+01:00

A short new piece by the Montreal surrealist artist/fim maker, Alex Fatta.

I have become a great admirer of his work. He really doesn't release much info about himself, on his YouTube page is only this quote from Giorgio di Chiroco:

Given the focus of increasingly materialistic and pragmatic approach taken by our civilization, it is ironic to think now in a state of society where men live only for the pleasures of the mind will not be allowed to claim its place in the sun. The writer, the dreamer, the thinker, the poet, the metaphysician, the observer, the interrogator puzzle become anachronistic charactersdestined to disappear from the earth's surface.

2012-01-11T09:21:00.002+01:00

"I regard belief as a form of brain damage."
Robert Anton Wilson

The Romney Doctrine

2012-01-10T23:53:00.001+01:00

To not mince words, flat out, let me say that Mitt Romney is a liar. He has been constantly referred to a flip flopper on almost every position he has ever taken. His ability to change depending on his latest focus groups finding is legendary. He releases ads that are blatant lies and when called on it defends lying as perfectly reasonable political tactic. Yes, it is the medias responsibility to call him on his lies, but perhaps we have gotten so cynically used to Romney that it just isn't interesting news anymore.
But why does Mitt Romney feel so confident about blatantly lying? Why does he feel morally justified in his ability to say or do what ever it takes to gain political power?
Mitt has created a mythos about himself built on falsehoods. He lies about his childhood, his business background and education and for example, his Mormon missionary work in the backwoods of France. He spoke for years about his life of poverty in Paris, living in an unheated hovel, spreading the message of mormonism to the uneducated French savages. Of course, the reality was that he was living in a Hotel Particular which was owned by the Mormons and then sold to the United Arab Emirates as a palatial embassy. This was what he did instead of going to Vietnam in the late 60's.
I believe that Romneys systematic lying is a rationalized part of his ethos. It is the result of a sociopathic theosophy called Mormonism.
I realize that religious freedom is an important and touchy subject. How can we talk about a particular religion and it's faults with out seeming to be biased and prejudiced. But how can we talk about the Mormons when they are so guarded about letting us know what they actually believe? The Mormons have a saying about their guarded attitude about revealing the potentially more shocking doctrines in their theology. It is the concept of "Milk before meat"which requires that specific, hard-hitting questions be met with deliberately obfuscating answers. Also, much of what Mormons consider "meat" is actually "milk". That God was not always God, and may potentially have scores of wives with whom he has marital relations to make spirit babies, fundamentally, radically affects the way a non-Mormon (or recently converted Mormon) views God. Under pressure to address such embarrassing things, Mormons will also give the impression that their religious hierarchy has or doesn't have an "official" position when the contrary is true. For example, when prompted to address the historical teachings by Mormon leaders that God the Father had physical sex with Mary to impregnate her, Mormons will give the impression (or even explicitly state) that the official position of the Church states that the conception was completely supernatural and absolutely involved no sexual contact. When challenged with the fact that the Mormon hierarchy takes no position on whether God the Father once horrifically sinned in a past mortal probation, some Mormons will give the impression that it is doctrinal that the Father only experienced one mortal probation, and that it was completely of the pattern of the probation of Jesus Christ here on this planet. When challenged with the historic Mormon idea that men may become "gods" in the fullest sense of deity, some Mormons claim that the idea is only speculative and shouldn't be discussed, "because it doesn't pertain to our salvation", when on the contrary the doctrine has been repeatedly and forthrightly affirmed even in recent Church-published literature. This is referred to as "Lying For The Lord".
I will not pretend to have sympathy or empathy for the mormon mind set. The system of rationalization that has evolved since the 1830's with Joseph Smith, who I consider a psychopathic sociopath that was a precursor of a charismatic cult leader like David Koresh in Waco, Texas, allowed Smith to rationalize his use of religion as a means of establishing sexual domination over a group of women in upstate New York.
The mythology evolved and grew as the cult migrated from one location across America until it finally found a place to flourish under the theo fascism of Brigham Young in Utah.
It is the system of rationalization that allows Mormons to lie about what they belief in to convert members that has permeated and corrupted them. I believe that Mitt Romney has a dualistic mind that allows him to lie with ease and rationalize that he is lying for the lord. That is why he can never be allowed to be president of the United States. You should read the real history of Mormonism, from it's roots in Upstate New York, to Beaver Island in Lake Michigan where they antagonized the Irish fishing community by trying to recruit the women and were massacred and driven off the island in 1856. I won't even begin to go into the more sci aspects of Mormon theology, they sure aren't. Am I trying to insinuate that Mitt Romney would create a religious catastrophe because of his beliefs? No, not exactly, but I do believe that we will never know who Mitt Romney is or what he is really capable of if he is elected. This is the Romney Doctrine, Lying For The Lord, Lying For Mitt.

2012-01-10T18:13:00.004+01:00

“Some people are bullfighters, some people are politicians. I’m a photographer.”

Blow-Up (1966)

Basta Mafia

2012-01-09T23:12:00.002+01:00

Back in 2006, I wasted an evening in tranfixed in horror watching the Eurovision Song Contest. I have a strange fascination with popular culture. But as usual, there is always one band that rises above the rest, unfortunately, they always lose. In 2006, the band was Moldavia's Zdob si Zdub, playing a unique mixture of hip hop and metal full of Eastern European melodies and instruments. The song was Bunica Bata Toba and featured an old woman playing a Moldavan drum. The title translates to "Grannie plays the drums".

Then again, in the 2011 Eurovision contest, again Zdob si Zdub represented Moldavia playing a piece, So Lucky, from their latest Asphalt Tango release, Basta Mafia, which will be released in the USA on January 27th. It was the high point of the Eurovision program, but of course, even though they made a strong showing, they lost. I became very interested in Zdob si Zdub and I have to admit, they are now one of my favorite bands. They started out in the mid 90's and seem to tour constantly. I love Balkan horn bands and they do it mixed with electronica and metal. They mix Moldavan culture, politics and humor effortlessly. In fact that is one of the things I like best about them, their humor and how it translates into style and performance. I could go on about the band and try to describe them, but their music speaks for itself.

I already have Basta Mafia on my computer....

2012-01-09T00:38:00.001+01:00

But That Was Way Back Then

2012-01-09T00:02:00.001+01:00

Perhaps we should talk about Fascism. The Italian version that used the ancient Roman symbol of a sheaf of wheat stalks bound together to form the shaft of an axe. The ideology that Rick Santorum touts as what his grandfather escaped from when he emigrated to America in 1925. The Party and movement founded by Benito Mussolini. Born in 1883, he was a troubled and violent child; at eleven he stabbed a fellow student and was expelled. He was raised a socialist and spent his early life a union laborer. He railed against the king, the church, the government; and was opposed to war, conscription, and to censorship. Early on he demonstrated a high aptitude for journalism, and when he was 26 he started both a family with his girlfriend and a Socialist newspaper, La Lotta di Classe.
Journalism not only gave Mussolini the power to make up stories, but the means to spread his own mythology. He was quoted as saying: “The thing I learned as a journalist is you can make people believe almost anything.” He would write about non existent things, and people would believe them, and thus he utilized the media to influence the population.
Does This sound familiar? A mythomaniac using a media outlet to seize power? A media outlet constantly being fact checked and found to be lying?

Mussolini was initially opposed to Italy entering World War I, but after a few months he broke from La Lotta di Classe and started a new newspaper, Il Popolo de Italia then went to fight in the war.

In 1917 a grenade launcher exploded near Mussolini, leaving forty fragments in his body. He called the explosion the most beautiful moment in my life, and incorporated the experience into his own mythology.

By 1919 Italy was in chaos, on the brink of civil war. Unemployment was rampant, strikes were called, and the Italian middle classes began to fear the spectre of communism. Mussolini exploited those fears, with promises to fight communism, restore law and order, and reduce unemployment.

Sound familiar? Conservatives using the specter of Communism or labeling any opponent as Socialist as a method of fear mongering and influencing elections?

Mussolini’s dream was to restore the Roman Empire, and he regarded himself as a modern Julius Caesar. On March 23, 1919 Mussolini formed the Fascist party, which he promoted as a sane alternative to the red menace of communism, and which established itself with violence, as he simultaneously formed a private squad of hundreds of men dressed in black shirts and armed with guns and knives who fought against the fascist opposition—liberals, catholics and socialists.

In 1922, when Mussolini was 39, at a fascist party convention the decision was made to go forward with a plan to overthrow the government. The black shirted fascists took up arms and marched to Rome with the plan to force the king to dismiss the government and make Mussolini prime minister. The king was afraid, and before any violence had occurred, made Mussolini Italy’s 27th prime minister. Yet Mussolini rewrote the truth through the power of the press, and told the nation he’d come to power through a violent takeover.

In 1925 Mussolini abolished all political parties excepting the Fascists, making Italy a totalitarian state. Opposition was made illegal by law. The only political party was the Fascists, and membership was mandatory. You could not teach in school, be a civil servant or government employee unless you carried the card of the fascist party.

Sound familiar? We are now witnessing a fascist government rise in Hungary by creating a permanent majority and this is what is happening now in America with the Citizens United Supreme Court Ruling and the Conservative Putsch to restrict voting rights.

In 1925, Mussolini decreed: “the government demands that the schools be inspired by the ideals of fascism.” From childhood they were indoctrinated at school, and from the age of four were given toy guns and black shirts. The indoctrination was ordered by the fascist state to instill deeply patriotic feelings in the children.

Home schooling, corporate controlled Charter Schools? Destroy the Public education system? Texas permits its schools to rewrite text books with false history and blatant lies.

Mussolini also created a repressive police state to enforce fascism. There were widespread fascist police, and very little escaped their notice.

In today’s fascist America right wing militia domestic terrorist attacks, including many murders, are now almost a daily occurrence. And surely you’ve noticed exuberant policemen with their truncheons and their jugs of pepper spray--which the Fascist Propaganda Outlet calls a simple food product-and which they’ve been wielding against innocent protestors with reckless abandon.

Mussolini was politically savvy enough to know that he had to work with the Catholics, and the church was looking to make a deal. The church had lost control of the Vatican since around 1870. In 1929 Mussolini and the Vatican signed the Latin Pact, which ceded to the church virtually everything it sought. The pope gained control of the Vatican City, and received one and three quarter billion lira in compensation for losses, mostly through government bonds. Through their control of that quantity of government bonds, the Catholic church was effectively funding the fascist state. Pope Pius XI actually went so far as to proclaim that Mussolini “was that man whom divine Providence had allowed him to meet."

The Conservative program exploits christianity for money and power and trolls the churches for its members. Right wing christianity is as fundamentalist and rigid as the Taliban. Atheists are smeared as an anti social threat.

Mussolini used the Italian newspapers to justify Italy’s military campaigns with rumors and lies, and their alliance with Germany in World War II that led to Mussolini’s downfall and execution, and the end of fascism.

Maybe way back in 1925 Rick Santorum's grandfather escaped Mussolini's Fascist Italy, but 85 years later, Rick has come full circle and is trying to recreate an American version.

2012-01-08T16:31:00.001+01:00

okay, that's it, my last kim jong-il gif...it was fun while it lasted...but, sniff, sob, the end of an era

2012-01-07T21:42:00.003+01:00

The Hungarian Way

2012-01-06T23:36:00.000+01:00

This morning, Speaker Pro Tempore Jeff Denham, under orders from Speaker Boehner, refused to allow Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn to speak on the floor and call for the payroll tax cut conference committee to get to work.

For the second time in 2 weeks, the Speaker cut the CSpan feed from the House of Representatives in an attempt to stifle any unseemly appearance of dissidence and inconvenient democratic expression.

The Broken Mirror

2012-01-06T22:41:00.000+01:00

An interesting, in the horrible Chinese sense, and frightening opportunity for reflection and self criticism is unfolding in Central Europe now. We are seeing what happens, in fast forward, when an authoritarian right wing conservative government uses the leverage of economic fear and nationalistic xenophobia powered by a politically controlled media organization. The country in question is Hungary. They've basically been taken over by a radical gang that has changed the laws — and the Constitution — using legal means, to be sure, to that the gang in power will never lose power or be challenged by any other part of the government.
You can read about the latest developments here from Kim Lane Scheppele, via Paul Krugman.
This matters because this is what a "constitutional coup" looks like. This is particularly relevant to Michigan and Ohio.

On New Year’s Day, the new Hungarian constitution became law. The Hungarian parliament has been preparing for this event by passing a blizzard of “cardinal” – or super-majority – laws, changing the shape of virtually every political institution in Hungary and making the guarantee of constitutional rights less secure. In the last two weeks alone, the parliament has enacted so many new laws that it has been almost impossible to keep up. And to top it off, there was also a huge new omnibus constitutional amendment – an amendment to the new constitution even before it went into effect. By one commentator’s count, the Fidesz government has enacted 359 new laws since it came to power 18 months ago.

All of the laws connected to the new constitutional structure kicked into action yesterday if they hadn’t already taken effect. As a result, with the new year, Hungarians began living in a new constitutional order. In this new order, all of the escape hatches that would permit reentry into a constitutional democracy have been bolted shut. If constitutions are supposed to guarantee checks on political power and ensure the rights of citizens, this is an unconstitutional constitution.

The report makes fascinating reading. Scheppele starts with changes to the banking laws which guarantee control of the central bank by the political process.

There are also changes to the tax structure, in particular, the institution of a flat tax. Flat Tax, where have we heard this recently? As the author notes: "Prime Minister Orbán has been very dependent on a group of wealthy Hungarians to support his media operations and his political party" and this will guarantee them freedom from progressive taxation. In other words, the powerful become even more powerful and elite in this system. The Hungarian people who elected them were manipulated into believing that they were electing a conservative christian nationalistic protectionist system that would save the economy.
Also, if you read the Schepple piece, you will understand how the new laws that have been enacted are a sort time bomb. The government is poised to trigger a mechanism to seize the banks. It isn't being done at the present time, because doing so would violate the European Union Financial agreements that Hungary adheres to as a member of the EU, but the Hungarian Government seems to be counting on and is ready to profit from the collapse of the EU. This of course has already caused big problems in the European EU Banking system which Hungary is a part of. It is seen as a sort of cynical sabotage by the Hungarians.

(Side note: It really helps to have something like a pocket-Murdock operation, a well-funded propaganda service disguised as "media." Berlusconi benefited hugely from self-owned media but this is what FOX and the sensationalist conservative media is attempting to become in America)

"All of the escape hatches have been bolted shut."
It's fascinating to see what that involves.
The escape hatches in America involve an informed and enabled electorate. The manipulation and limiting of access to the electoral system by the Conservative Republicans in America is one way they are trying to insure that they control all means of access to power and making sure they stay in power once they are elected. The escape hatches in America involve a free and independent legal system. Both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have made powerful anti law statements in the last week placing themselves and their idea of executive power above the realm of legal jurisdiction.
All of the conservative candidates have made a campaign habit of expressing contempt for court decisions they don't agree with and expressing how they would deal with judges who didn't toe their party line.

By the way, guess what happens when constitutional means of democratic redress are removed? Stalinism — a smothered state in which everyone hunkers down and watches his/her back; chaotic rebellion — where angry people play with the tumbrels a while; or that fun Brown Shirts era in Germany. We are already seeing the direct results of authoritarian rule elected with the assistance of the media and a compromised electoral system in America. The threat of economic catastrophe has already enabled States like Michigan, Florida and Ohio to elect State governments that have destroyed constitutional law and enacted laws and regulations that will take years to undo in the courts. The Citizens United Ruling by a corrupt faction of the United States Supreme Court has already pushed the levers for the destruction of American Constitutional safeguards. Hungary gives us an unique opportunity to see in fast forward the results of an unbridled compromised and corrupt authoritarian conservative regime when it is let loose.

LA Orange

2012-01-06T19:04:00.005+01:00

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office has offered Occupy protesters a get-out-of-jail card: all they need to do to skip their court dates is pay $355 for private "free speech lessons" where they will be taught a highly selective version of Constitutional law that holds that the First Amendment doesn't include the kind of protest they enjoy.

It's like they combined traffic school with Maoist "self-criticism sessions" from the Cultural Revolution to make something worse than both combined.

As a civil rights attorney working with some of the approximately 350 protesters who have been arrested in recent weeks noted, the offer is nothing short of "patronizing."
However, it's much more than that. It's a disgusting and cynical way to alleviate the strain on city courts by having protesters pay for an unofficial guilty plea.
In short, the city is offering protesters the chance to purchase courses in which they will learn about the free speech LAPD officers stripped from them.
Apparently, in L.A., you can pay to learn about the free speech you don't actually have.

L.A. Tells Arrested OWS Protesters They Can Pay for "Free Speech" Classes to Avoid Court

2012-01-06T14:21:00.001+01:00

just pish yersel....

2012-01-05T22:04:00.001+01:00

Learning a new language...lesson 1

2012-01-05T17:43:00.001+01:00

Mirror, Mirror on the wall
Will you catch me if I fall?

EEEYEWWW! What A Flip Floppin Mess!

2012-01-05T15:51:00.000+01:00

eeeyewww!

But, why not Santorum? So far Rick Santorum has been little more than a source of frothy amusement in the GOP nomination race. But is he really any worse or any more ridiculous than the other anti-Romney candidates were?

Just consider for a moment just how low the bar is set. We have discovered that neither adultery (Gingrich and allegedly Cain) nor serial sexual harassment (again, allegedly Cain) is a disqualification by itself, it takes both to force a candidate out of the race. This is an electorate that cheers when a candidate boasts of the number of people he has executed. Santorum has said plenty of really stupid stuff and even more really incredibly stupid stuff ,but I haven't heard any Republican repudiating any of it. We won't even discuss his regressively idiotic deficit tax plan, but you can read about it here!

Santorum is a hate-monger. But Gingrich and Paul have both pandered to the same prejudices. Mitt Romney spends so much time pandering that no one, even his staff doesn't know where he stands day to day on any issue.

None of the commentators I have read think that Santorum is likely to beat Obama. But at this point Romney does not look a lot better. Republicans don't seem to think any better of him than Democrats.

Santorum would deliver social conservatives to the polls in November. Santorum knows how to pander and flip flop as well as well as Romney. He's even learning how to do the patented Gingrich, "I know what you think you heard me say, but that's not what I said" trick. He would not be as a catastrophic nominee as Paul or Gingrich would be. That might be enough for the GOP to pick him. If the establishment can't get their candidate of choice, Santorum is the least worst alternative. This may be the reason that George Will and Rupert Murdoch have been talking him up. This could get really messy, fast.

2012-01-05T11:03:00.003+01:00

Bob: I do know what my songs are about.
Interviewer: And what’s that?
Bob: Oh, some are about four minutes. Some are about five. And some, believe it or not, are about eleven or twelve.

-New York, 1966

Carry Me Back To Those Old Dark Ages

2012-01-04T23:20:00.001+01:00

Forget about the concept of Textual Constitutional Originalism touted by Tea Brain Purists, Republican Legislators in New Hampshire are proposing a bill that would require all legislation to be based on the 1215 English document, The Magna Carta.
House Bill 1580 is the product of such a brainstorming session this summer between three freshman House Republicans: Bob Kingsbury of Laconia, Tim Twombly of Nashua and Lucien Vita of Middleton. The eyebrow-raiser, set to be introduced when the Legislature reconvenes next month, requires legislation to find its origin in an English document crafted in 1215.

“All members of the general court proposing bills and resolutions addressing individual rights or liberties shall include a direct quote from the Magna Carta which sets forth the article from which the individual right or liberty is derived,” is the bill’s one sentence.

The Magna Carta is indisputably an important historical document, with ideas about liberty that inspired America’s founders. But as the Concord Monitor points out, the substance of the document is fixated on the tedium of feudal times, and has little if any relevance to modern American life.

New Hampshire lawmakers might have trouble applying passages like “We shall straightway return the son of Llewelin and all the Welsh hostages,” or “If anyone who has borrowed a sum of money from Jews dies before the debt has been repaid, his heir shall pay no interest on the debt for so long as he remains under age.”

One of the bill’s sponsors admitted that he wasn’t terribly familiar with the actual text, and mainly saw the measure as an homage. New Hampshire Democratic Party spokesman Ray Buckley said he was “mostly speechless” when he heard about the bill. “I appreciate all the hard work the Republican legislators are putting into the effort to make them look like extremists,” he said. “Saves us the trouble.”

Conservatives have long prided themselves on being constitutional “purists” who want to strip government down to the basic form they say was laid out in the country’s founding document. But requiring textual justification from another country’s founding document, which has no legal history or authority in the U.S., is a curious extension of that principle.

As the country’s focus shifts from the Iowa caucus to the more influential New Hampshire primary, it’s worth noting that the state’s Republicans apparently aren’t just trying to repeal the 20th century “welfare state,” or even the 20th century, but the modern era entirely.

Some American Humor

2012-01-04T22:05:00.000+01:00

I should just let this piece speak for itself, but what's lamer than lame? In fact, I found this highly enlightening in understanding how scammers make money off of those phony penis enlargement spam emails or bogus viagra ads. Lamer than this and you deserve to be given a rusty shovel and made to dig a hole out back of the barn so you can just jump in...

Some German Humor

2012-01-04T20:56:00.000+01:00

Sarkozy, le majordome soumis de Merkel dans un... par Nouvelobs

This was shown on German Television on Dec. 31, 2011. Yes, it's translated into French for you, but perhaps we should keep it that way...

2012-01-04T17:13:00.002+01:00

2012-01-03T23:17:00.002+01:00

2012-01-03T22:23:00.000+01:00

Adam Curtis's short film about Murdoch from Charlie Brooker's 2011 Wipe.

Who'll Be The Next In Line (for heartbreak)

2012-01-03T22:00:00.008+01:00

I thought this was an appropriate piece of music here for the soundtrack (The Kinks, 1965) of the Iowa Dysfunctional Republican Caucus type of Function thing...You know, the Democrats are having their Iowa Caucus tonight, but well, it isn't part of the reality TV series y'all are tuned to.

So let's look at the history of the Republican candidates and the running joke that there actually is a choice. Hmm, in tonights, episode, Newt, the lying liar calls Mittens a lying liar but since Newt seems to have accepted that he's gonna be a losing loser, he will support Mittens's lying lies or something like that...Maybe this really is "must see" TV!

The Republicans don't so much pick a candidate as anoint a sacred cow. In 68, it was Nixon, the former Eisenhower VP. In 76, it was the accidental president, Gerald Ford. When Ford ran against Carter in 76, Reagan was the runner up for the nomination. So, The Sacred Ronnie was the anointed one in 80.... His VP of course was George The First...Of course, Dole lost in 96, but the Son of Bush appeared in 2000. His rival was Mighty McCain, who became the crotchety ol' loser to Obama in 2008. McCains main rival in 2008 for the Republican nomination is the one revealed in the prophecies, Mittens. Yeah, we've heard it all anyway, Huntman makes too much sense and Paul doesn't make any sense...and how old is Ron Paul? Isn't he like 100 by now?
btw, the word is that Mittens spent over 4 million bucks for his "barely eked by" in Iowa.
How much do you think he's gonna blow before the real election?
You know, Perry spent almost as much and still is claiming he's gonna pull this one out of his ass, but then so is Michelle.
And they say dreams can't be bought....

You'd think that the press would have figured this out by now. The methods may change, but the game remains the same. On TV, however, nothing ever changes: the nomination will be treated like a plebiscite overseen by Gallup. The winner in Iowa will wear the crown once enjoyed by Pat Robertson, who claims that god told him who the winner will be, but it's a secret! The citizenry will be stupider than it had been the day before. All hail Mittens, anoint that sucker with the sacred Mazola and get him face down, buns up in a manger!

And now, as an added attraction, my very favorite Ray Davies composition of all time. My theme song since 1966: I'm Not Like Everybody Else!

2012-01-03T17:49:00.001+01:00

Yves Tanguy (French, 1900 - 1955).
Photomaton self-portrait, circa 1928.
“When the Photomaton arrived on the Champs Élysées in Paris in 1928 it provided the perfect vehicle to make this celebral happening a visual reality. This fascinating machine, invented by Anabol Josepho in 1925, produced an automatic strip of images without the intervention of an operator. Fuelled by photographic chemicals, it spat out a silver gelatin stream of images to the eagerly waiting sitter and provided almost instantaneous results.”

The Queens New Year Message For 2012

2012-01-03T10:32:00.001+01:00

Amateur Paleontology 2

2012-01-02T15:15:00.006+01:00

This is the second of a series of audio/visual presentations of scholarly research which probably gave Mr. Gingrinch much of the needed inspiration in the revision of his profound intellectual meanderings on global warming. If anything, this movie proves that it was way hotter 1,000,000 years ago than it is now! In fact, this film, 1,000,000 Years BC does a lot to disprove and negate the entire theory of Human Evolution. I mean, just look at these cave babes. Then, I ask, consider your typical feminine type fauna trudging down the aisles of the local WalMart engaged in the daily struggle of hunting and gathering their Cheetos and Pringles for their modern American suburban family type unit. I rest my case.

2012-01-01T23:02:00.001+01:00

oh my gawd, santorum is surging in iowa....

Rupert Murdoch

@rupertmurdoch

Good to see santorum surging in Iowa. Regardless of policies, all debates showed principles, consistency and humility like no other.

Amateur Paleontology

2012-01-01T22:51:00.002+01:00

I think that this might have been some of Newts' amateur paleontological source material .
He may not be a real paleontologist, but he plays one on TV. At a town hall in Atlantic, Iowa, Saturday afternoon, Gingrich gave an unusual reason for his present denial of man-made global warming. “I’m an amateur paleontologist,” Gingrich said. “I spend a lot of time looking at the Earth’s temperature for a very long time. I’m a lot harder to convince than just looking at a computer model.” Professional paleontologists, who have spent a lot more time than Gingrich looking at the Earth’s temperature, are convinced. “Few credible scientists now doubt that humans have influenced the documented rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution,” the American Quarternary Society wrote in 2006.

But for some strange reason, Politico seems to think that this somehow signifies that Newt has finally figured out how to "stay on message."

A Mere 20 Years

2011-12-31T17:12:00.001+01:00

resolutions

2011-12-31T16:30:00.000+01:00

Woody Guthrie's 1942 New Years Resolution list....

Fromage

2011-12-31T10:48:00.000+01:00

This is a promo for...cheese...currently on French network TV. I laughed, I cried...pretty brilliant!

Every year, l'Association Fromage et Terroirs publishes a pretty nifty kitschy pin up girl type calendar.

You can buy it from them on line. I ordered one.

The Man With A Rubber Head

2011-12-31T10:19:00.000+01:00

A short fim by Georges Melies, 1901 which might serve as a public service message for us all this evening.

anti paulista talking points here for free!

2011-12-30T17:17:00.001+01:00

Anyone that still thinks that a progressive vote for Paul is a legitimate vote under any circumstances doesn't know what the word progressive means. Anyone that thinks that Paul "understands the Constitution" and defends it either hasn't read the Constitution or doesn't know how to read.

2011-12-29T14:01:00.002+01:00

Pomp And Circumcision

2011-12-28T17:59:00.001+01:00

Viv Stanshall, a man, for which which the term eccentric was only a lame sobriquet.

This is dadaism on a truly truly heroic, epic scale, a virtual assault on the fortress of reason.
Be realistic. Ask for the Impossible!

Meanwhile Back In Pyongyang

2011-12-27T22:26:00.002+01:00

The The Freedom To Get Out Of My Face / The Naive Brutality Of Libertarianism

2011-12-27T22:20:00.006+01:00

I have not been surprised by any of the quotes that have recently come to light from

Ron Paul's racist newsletters. And, yes, no matter what Paul says,
he knew about the articles and in fact is on the record defending the
language and the articles back when they were written. I have
learned from experience that if you talk to a hardcore

Paul supporter for a reasonable length of time, these sorts of ideas
are more likely than not to come up.

I often think that libertarianism - at least, its modern American version -

is not really about increasing liberty or freedom as an average person would

define those terms. An ideal libertarian society would leave the vast majority

of people feeling profoundly constrained in many ways. This is because the freedom

of the individual can be curtailed not only by the government, but by a large variety

of intermediate powers like work bosses, neighborhood associations, self-organized

ethnic movements, organized religions, tough violent men, or social conventions.

In a society such as ours, where the government maintains a nominal monopoly on

the use of physical violence, there is plenty of room for people to be oppressed by such

intermediate powers, or local bullies.
The modern American libertarian ideology does not deal with the issue of local bullies.

In the world envisioned by Nozick, Hayek, Rand, and other referenced "thinkers" of the

movement, there are only two levels to society - the government (the "big bully") and the

individual. If your freedom is not being taken away by the biggest bully that exists, your

freedom is not being taken away at all.

In a perfect libertarian world, it is therefore possible for rich people to buy all the

beaches and charge admission fees to whomever they want (or simply ban anyone they choose).

In a libertarian world, a self-organized cartel of white people can, under certain conditions, get together and effectively prohibit black people from being able to go out to dinner in

their own city. In a libertarian world, a corporate boss can use the threat of

unemployment to force you into accepting unsafe working conditions. In other words,

the local bullies are free to revoke the freedoms of individuals, using methods more subtle

than overt violent coercion.

Such a world wouldn't feel incredibly free to the people in it. Sure, you could get

together with friends and pool your money to buy a little patch of beach.

Sure, you could move to a less racist city. Sure, you could quit and find another job.

But doing any of these things requires paying large transaction costs. As a result

you would feel much less free.

The "theorists" of libertarianism obviously understood the principle that freedoms

are often mutually exclusive - that my freedom to punch you in the face curtails quite a

number of your freedoms. For this reason, they endorsed "minarchy," or a government

whose only role is to protect people from violence and protect property rights. But they

didn't extend the principle to covertly violent, semi-violent, or nonviolent forms of coercion.

Not surprisingly, this gigantic loophole has made modern American libertarianism

the favorite philosophy of a vast array of local bullies, who want to keep the big bully

(government) off their backs so they can bully to their hearts' content. The curtailment

of government legitimacy, in the name of "liberty," allows abusive bosses to abuse

workers, racists to curtail opportunities for minorities,polluters to pollute without cost,

religious groups to make religious minorities feel excluded, etc. In theory, libertarianism

is about the freedom of the individual, but in practice it is often about the freedom of

local bullies to bully. It's a "don't tattle to the teacher" ideology.

Therefore I see no real conflict between Ron Paul's libertarianism and his

support for the agenda of racists. It's just part and parcel of the whole

movement. Not necessarily the movement as it was conceived, but the

movement as it in fact exists.

LIke Tears In Rain

2011-12-26T23:08:00.001+01:00

As close as slick Hollywood sci fi got to real art. Of course it took the mind of Phillip K. Dick to give us the framework, but you have to give the actors credit here. Rutger Hauer improvised the line Tears In The Rain Line...it wasn't in the script.

2011-12-24T18:00:00.000+01:00

i will always be your favoritest little christmas elf...now what floor asshole? skee hee hee heeee!

2011-12-24T13:17:00.000+01:00

2011-12-23T17:49:00.001+01:00

2011-12-22T21:56:00.001+01:00

The Twelve Lies Of Christmas

2011-12-22T21:10:00.002+01:00

(Sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas")

On the first day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Obama's born in another country.

On the second day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the third day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the fourth day of Christmas

Republicans told me

We don't torture

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the fifth day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Tax cuts more revenues bring

We don't torture

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the sixth day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Half the people no taxes paying

Tax cuts more revenues bring

We don't torture

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the seventh day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Government Reagan was trimming

Half the people no taxes paying

Tax cuts more revenues bring

We don't torture

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the eighth day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Wall Street's not bilking

Government Reagan was trimming

Half the people no taxes paying

Tax cuts more revenues bring

We don't torture

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the ninth day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Medicare they're enhancing

Wall Street's not bilking

Government Reagan was trimming

Half the people no taxes paying

Tax cuts more revenues bring

We don't torture

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the tenth day of Christmas

Republicans told me

WMD Saddam's a-keeping

Medicare they're enhancing

Wall Street's not bilking

Government Reagan was trimming

Half the people no taxes paying

Tax cuts more revenues bring

We don't torture

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the eleventh day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Your guns Obama's swiping

WMD Saddam's a-keeping

Medicare they're enhancing

Wall Street's not bilking

Government Reagan was trimming

Half the people no taxes paying

Tax cuts more revenues bring

We don't torture

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country

On the twelfth day of Christmas

Republicans told me

Government takeover of health care's coming

Your guns Obama's swiping

WMD Saddam's a-keeping

Medicare they're enhancing

Wall Street's not bilking

Government Reagan was trimming

Half the people no taxes paying

Tax cuts more revenues bring

We don't torture

Thank the one percent

Gay marriage is like box turtle love and

Obama's born in another country.

The Next Flash In The Pan

2011-12-21T15:12:00.000+01:00

The Ron Paul Thingie, as defined by his own words

excuse me, please, allow me a few minutes of anarchy, if you would be so kind....

2011-12-21T15:00:00.005+01:00

dare to be incoherent!
click on the images to view at a larger size.
click on the player to allow me to abuse your little brainz...

Hairy Chests Destroy America....

2011-12-21T09:53:00.000+01:00

"NEWT GINGRICH" â a Bad Lip Reading Soundbite - watch more funny videos

Well, yes, I did say that this shit was getting old, but then there is a flash of true undeniable sheer and utter fuckin' genius!

G Spot Tornado

2011-12-21T00:03:00.000+01:00

Here we are, the next to the last day of Zappadan...the Eve of the 17th day...Time for the traditional ritual dance of the G Spot Tornado....

This of course is from the legendary Yellow Shark Concerts performed in Frankfort, Germany in 1992 by The Ensemble Modern. The music was composed, arranged and conducted for the most part by Frank. There were some performances he did not conduct due to his failing health at the time. This though, G Spot Tornado was conducted by Frank. The composition first appeared on his Solo Kurtzweiler Sampling Synthesizer Grammy winning recording Jazz From Hell. He wrote it as a theoretical exercise to attempt to compose a piece of music that would be beyond the ability of a human ensemble to actually play.

When he first spoke with the musicians of the Ensemble Modern, they expressed their desire to attempt to play it, so he created orchestral charts and, Voila...

It Was A Real Bull Market A few Weeks Ago, But Now?

2011-12-20T18:40:00.002+01:00

I don’t know much about Conservatives except for my certifiable Orange County Brother in Law, but Republicans should be relieved.

So much for the Gingrich juggernaut . . .
via intrade betting....

The Fracking Fakts About The Fracking Frackers

2011-12-19T23:12:00.002+01:00

Well, fracking is a dirty business, no matter how you try to frame it. Now I'm getting sleazy ads on my gmail page telling me how to get in on the ground floor of the investment game that is gonna make me a bundle. You know if they have sunk that low in the marketing strategy, it's like Newt Gingrich's presidential chances...it was a real bull market a few weeks ago, but now?
But the deals have been made and the machines are in motion and the frack now pay later racket is in full swing in America.
You know what fracking is, I'm sure. Basically, it is a technique of gas extraction used in layers of sandstone or limesttone, but more commonly now in rock layers such as shale reservoirs that contain hydrocarbine resources, such as oil and natural gas, trapped in the layers. Fracking fluid is a usually a slurry of water and other chemicals. Chemical additives used in fracturing fluids typically make up less than 2% by weight of the total fluid. Over the life of a typical well, this may amount to 100,000 gallons of chemical additives. They are biocides, surfactants, adjusting viscosity, and emulsifiers. Many are used in household products such as cosmetics, lotions, soaps, detergents, furniture polishes, floor waxes, and paints. Some are also used in food products. A list of the chemicals that have been used was published in a U.S. House of Representatives Report. Some of the chemicals pose no known health hazards, some others are known carcinogens, some are toxic, some are neurotoxins. For example: benzene (causes cancer, bone marrow failure), lead (damages the nervous system and causes brain disorders), ethylene glycol (antifreeze, causes death), methanol (highly toxic), boric acid (kidney damage, death), 2-butoxyethanol (causes hemolysis).
The fracking fluid is forced injected into well bores and the pressure fractures the rock layers and the results are an amount of gas or oil which is recovered, but in the case of gas, much escapes and contributes to the Greenhouse emissions the fracking gas recovery methods are supposed to help eliminate.
Fracking is a short term profit making process which causes long term ecological damage. Some of the problems are increase in radioactivity in rivers where the waste water is dumped. This was found in the Monongahela River in Pennsylvania and there is not consistent monitoring being done so we do not know the full extent of this problem.
Groundwater and well contamination is being documented as an ongoing problem. See this recent AP News Article and this one in The Virginian documenting the pollution of wells and ground water in Wyoming. The waste water contains the toxic chemicals used in fracking and the hydrocarbons migrate to wells.
Recently, the evidence has become undeniable that Fracking is the source of earth tremors. In a recent Cuadrilla Resources industry report, they admit that fracking has caused magnitude 3 earthquakes in England. I think it's safe to assume that by the time an energy company is admitting problems, it's generally much worse than they admit.But a recent Cornell University report is absolutely damning in its assessment to the long term environmental damage caused by fracking. There bottom line is:

We should not proceed to view shale gas as a 'transitional fuel' to be used over the next few decades to replace other fossil fuels, but rather work harder to move towards truly green renewable fuels as quickly as possible, such as wind and solar."

I am compelled to write this piece after hearing from my buddy who lives in South Western Pennsylvania, smack dab on top of the Marcellus Shale Formation. A shelf of shale that runs from central New York State through Appalachia. This is the prime area of Fracking exploitation in the Eastern USA. My friend has a small rural property which has been his home for many years. He relies on well water. Many of his neighbors have much larger properties so he seems to have been the last one to have been contacted by the Williams Resources Co. who offered him $2500.00 an acre for the mineral rights and the rights to frack under his property. He was told that it didn't matter, because all of his neighbors have signed already. The fracking contract gives the developers the rights to build roads and pipelines through his property. Already there is a history of shady workmanship and intimidation in the region. Here's a NY Times article from last week documenting the fight of South Fayette residents against the State's Republican Government Fracking Free for All Give Away...and the article documents the night mare the residents are facing.

I would like to ask any readers with knowledge of dealing with this reality if they have any ideas I can pass on to my buddy. He is getting his groundwater tested at his own expense so he can use that as evidence if he has to in the future. To lean more, try to see the movie by Josh Fox, Gasland the Movie. It is available on YouTube...I posted part one above.

My buddy hasn't signed anything yet and he thinks the landsman, the guy representing Williams (Rick) has given up on him after the guy said, "I can't believe you are not interested in this." My buddy told him,

"Rick would you pimp out your kids to a ped for 2500 bucks?"

Frank Meets The Velvet Revolution

2011-12-18T23:38:00.002+01:00

In 1989, Vaclav Havel became president of the new Czech Republic in the wake of the Velvet Revolution which brought down the Communist Government..

Havel, a dissident playwright who was jailed under the Communist Rule for his work and activism was a long time fan of Frank Zappa who was one of the heroes of the Czech Avant Garde and counter culture. He was referred to as one of the most influential composer and artists and his recordings were smuggled into the country. In 1990, he invited Frank to Prague and actually appointed him "Special Ambassador of Trade, Culture and Tourism" much to the disgruntlement of U.S. Secretary of State, James Baker, who declared, "You can do business with the United States or you can do business with Frank Zappa." This of course did not get in the way of Vaclev and Zappa's friendship and Frank did a lot to help the Czech tourist industry and helped the Czechs understand the concept of credit cards.

This was part of an interview Zappa did in Prague in 1990.

Havel remained a fan of Zappa's up to the end. Havel died today at age 75 on the 12th Day of Zappadan 2011.
Zappadan bonus! Hungry Freaks Daddy, the song Frank mentions in the interview recorded in 1965:

Sodade

2011-12-17T21:06:00.002+01:00

Live performance by Cesaria Evora of Sodade in Paris, 2010.

Cesaria was one of the truly great world musicians. This is the sound of Cape Verde.

She died today at age 70....
After I wrote this, my friend, Brian sent this anecdote. He is a producer who worked with Cesaria in the early 90's:

"She was wonderful.

I remember meeting her in Paris in 1990 or 1991. She loved singing but hated people looking at her. She much preferred being background music for people in bars while they were drinking. The idea that she was supposed to "perform" or put on some sort of show confused and annoyed her. She liked to just sit in a comfortable chair with a glass of scotch by her side and sing with the lights turned down.

I once tried to talk to her about Ella Fitzgerald, whom she adored, and she shrugged off any talk of music, just wanted to talk about her new refrigerator. She was enthralled by the idea that she could make ice at home. That she could put water in and ice would come out. This seemed to be worth a thousand Ella Fitzgeralds."

Bradley Manning Had Secrets

2011-12-16T23:50:00.004+01:00

Bradley Manning Had Secrets from Animate Projects on Vimeo.

Nineteen months after being arrested, the trial for the Wikileaks information provider finally began on Friday. Manning is facing 22 charges, including “unauthorized release of half a million reports and cables” and “aiding the enemy.”

If convicted of the latter charge, Manning could face even the death penalty, despite the U.S. government indicating that no one has been injured from the leaks or that the leaks were classified as top secret.

Actually, he did our soldiers a world of good. Time served is plenty enough time. Scooter Libby served no time and he betrayed a CIA agent. That caused real harm. Dick Cheney — no time. Karl Rove — no time. It’s time to free Bradley Manning

2011-12-16T18:22:00.000+01:00

just askin...

2011-12-16T16:00:00.001+01:00

ahh..tobor, is that uhhh...like, robot backwards? cool!
I'm thinking of legally changing my name to TOBOR!

RIP HITCH

2011-12-16T13:36:00.010+01:00

Chistopher Hitchens died yesterday at age 62.

In this historic event, Stephen Fry and other friends of Christopher Hitchens came together to celebrate the life and work of this great writer, iconoclast and debater. Fry was joined on stage at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall by Richard Dawkins and the two discussed Hitch's unflinching commitment to the truth. Hollywood actor Sean Penn was beamed in from LA by Google+ and, between cigarette puffs, read from Hitch's acclaimed work, The Trial of Henry Kissinger. Five friends of Hitch spoke via satellite in New York: satirist Christopher Buckley and editor Lewis Lapham mused on Hitch's prowess as a journalist. 'Like a pot of gold', said Lapham. Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie and James Fenton delighted the audience with stories of Hitchens as a young man. Rushdie drew roars of laughter when he recounted a word game invented by Amis and Hitchens where the word 'love' is replaced with 'hysterical sex'. Particular favourites included Hysterical Sex in the Time of Cholera and Hysterical Sex Is All You Need.

Watching the event with Hitch at his bedside in Texas, Hitch's wife Carol and novelist Ian McEwan provided an email commentary. 'His Rolls Royce mind is still purring beautifully', typed McEwan.

An update: only hours after his death, this pathetic religious paranoiac inflated gasbag bastard, who has the fucking nerve to claime that Hitchens was his "friend" tries to capitalize on his death and only furthers to prove the truth in the adage,"Religion is the final refuge of a scoundrel" Fuck you Bill Bennett....You moron fucking hypocrite! This is the same jerk who resigned in disgrace as Secretary of Education under Reagan because of gambing and alcoholism, this jackass is bragging about his drinking bouts with his buddy, Chris...while thumping his empty head with his un opened and obviously un read bible.....and even more ranting! Just about every media kkkristian blowhard weighed in with their pathetic paranoid last word of Hitchens death. Rick Warren, quite predictable who also referred to Hitchens as his "friend" sayting much the same as Bennet, but the bigges gaping anal orifice of the bunch, so far was Right Wingnut Kristo fascist, Bryan Fischer who said, "Hitchens is in hell now because god loves him"...bottom line...it took a great man, a grand mind to garner so much comment from those who he intellectually bested while he was alive. Look, kkkristians die all the time, every day and really, I couldn't give a fuck!

“Take the risk of thinking for yourself, much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way.”

Christopher Hitchens