What Country Is This?

This is description of the lack of protection in a country which was recently downgraded by the Privacy International Organization from being considered an "extensive surveillace society" to the most repressive classification, an "endemnic surveillance society".
These are some of the repressive conditions found in this country:

• No right to privacy in constitution, though search and seizure protections exist in 4th Amendment; case law on government searches has considered new technology
• No comprehensive privacy law, many sectoral laws; though tort of privacy
• FTC continues to give inadequate attention to privacy issues, though issued self-regulating privacy guidelines on advertising in 2007
• State-level data breach legislation has proven to be useful in identifying faults in security
• REAL-ID and biometric identification programs continue to spread without adequate oversight, research, and funding structures
• Extensive data-sharing programs across federal government and with private sector
• Spreading use of CCTV
• Congress approved presidential program of spying on foreign communications over U.S. networks, e.g. Gmail, Hotmail, etc.; and now considering immunity for telephone companies, while government claims secrecy, thus barring any legal action
• No data retention law as yet, but equally no data protection law
• World leading in border surveillance, mandating trans-border data flows
• Weak protections of financial and medical privacy; plans spread for 'rings of steel' around cities to monitor movements of individuals
• Democratic safeguards tend to be strong but new Congress and political dynamics show that immigration and terrorism continue to leave politicians scared and without principle
• Lack of action on data breach legislation on the federal level while REAL-ID is still compelled upon states has shown that states can make informed decisions

• Recent news regarding FBI biometric database raises particular concerns as this could lead to the largest database of biometrics around the world that is not protected by strong privacy law

The country being described has just entered into a class along with China, Russia, Great Britain and Indonesia yet the popular notion among the citizens is that they are the most free nation on earth.

Of course from the language of the above points, it's easy to deduce that the country I am referring to is The United States. From the information available on The Privacy International Organization website, it is easy to see how tragically and how fast personal freedoms and the right to privacy in America has been systematically dismantled.

This is a fascinating and chilling report which rates 47 countries on a number of points and makes some pretty interesting conclusions. It looks like the countries which have survived and recovered from repressive totalitarianism are the least repressive.
Who would have ever thought Greece would be rated the least repressive and surveillance free countries in Europe?

More Holiday Cheer

Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday..

The clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section.

The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities.

Any perceived encroachment on one group's turf can touch off vicious feuds.

On Thursday, dozens of priests and cleaners were scrubbing the church ahead of the Armenian and Orthodox Christmas, celebrated in early January. Thousands of tourists visited the church this week for Christmas celebrations.

But the clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section, touching off a scuffle between about 50 Greek Orthodox and 30 Armenians.
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Palestinian police, armed with batons and shields, quickly formed a human cordon to separate the two sides so the cleaning could continue, then ordered an Associated Press photographer out of the church.

Four people, some with blood running from their faces, were slightly wounded.

TAZUNIS

I have been asked by a few fellow bloggers to try to show how America is percieved in France. It's too easy to to look at editorialists and academic writers to disssect the opinions. You have to go deeper, to the real thinkers, the brilliant young minds of the poets and the rappers, just as in America, to really get a grounds eye view of the shockwaves in American culture you have to go to the streets!
(United States=Etats-Unis=TAZUNIS!)
This is a brilliant rap by the artist Djama. It was sent to me by the minister of anti-propaganda from Torapomova, the relentless anti-sarko blog.
I have tried to provide a translation:

1st verse
Very crazy and a stroke of genius
I love Sioux and then also apaches
What we speak not it is not the Italy
You know what I like in the states ?
Leonard Peltier and public enemy
The new orleans and sauls williams also
The Comanche and then mississipi
Soul jazz and rock also(...)

Chorus
Find a reasonable look at Bush is egal to found gold
In the seine, Aouch !
I love "les etats" the states TA
I love "les etats" the states TA
and even i like the idea of the united states
young pepople and young dumbs
We from the old continent we telling you :
we gonna take care of you because we love the states
and m & n &n &m &n &m"

2nd verse
I like the united states
I have something else to do
But this is a beautiful enemy
Microphone in the ocean, it is practical
Sub sailors atomic under the pole is practical
Satellites that receives fax mail is pratical
don't mix : colin powell donald rumsfeld petroleum pinochet panama oil heil
Ok for Tom sawyer and also star wars
Good for basketball
Ok for graffiti
Remark
Nike brand
Have to be "fucked"
You ve got nikes ? you wil stay my friend
But the next time keep your money and likes united states
No need to push us again it this time to "stop"
Global anarchy stop
International Police stop this time
steals massacre without valid reason :stop
Shoot first then ask questions stop
never look at and escape quick
Oh damn I love united states
Paris is not NY at all
NY is not so funny indeed you know
in the usa's eyes same fog you know
The power got his same demons you know
everywere we can see them with their flag
patriots until death !"""

We hope you enjoy the flight,
the tempature outside is hot :p
take a look !

Good Immigrant/Bad Immigrant?

I just read that Tom Tancredo, our most rabid anti immigrationist and most specifically the loudest anti illegal Mexican voice has just endorsed Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney, in his across the board, trying to be everything to every Republican has done his part to pander to the illegal Mexican immigration hysteria being milked for votes.
Here's some very interesting history......
Mitt Romneys father, George, who went on to become the two term Republican governor of Michigan in the 1960's was born in Mexico and was an illegal immigrant to boot!
George was born in Chihuahua, Mexico in 1907, the son of Gaskell Romney and Anna Amelia Pratt. The Romneys had lived in Mexico since 1884, when Miles Park Romney moved the family there from Utah.
Miles Romney was a Morman polygamist who realized that as Utah approached State Hood, the United States Government would not tolerate thte Mormon Polygamist communities there. The 1882 Edmunds Act stripped polygamists of their rights of US citizenship, denying them the riught to vote, serve on juries or hold office.
Like today's immigration raids, polygamists were hunted down and arrested. They were asked to leave the country or risk jail.
Miles chose to renounce his US Citizenship and move to Mexico with his multiple wives and children. At that time, many Mormons were leaving the American territory to establish Mormon colonies near the border. The Mexican government also had laws declaring polygamy illegal and the Mormon polygamists were coming into Mexico in direct violation of Mexican immigrattion law.
Utah became a state in 1895 and as part of it's conditions for Statehood, it passed a state constitution forbidding polygamy.
The Romneys stayed in Mexico and there are still descendants of the original line living there. Gaskell and Anna Romney left in 1912 , at the hieght of the Mexican Revolution, when the rebels menanced the Mormon settlements. Their Relative, Junius Romney was able to negotiate a safe passage for many of the Mormons who wanted to leave, including Gaskell, Anna and their infant son, George.
They entered the United States illegally as citizens of nebulous status of Mexico with no formalities or border searches and ended up settling in New Mexico.
For an illegal Mexican immigrant, George did pretty well for himself. He rose up through the hierarchy at GM and entered politics and became a very successful governor of Michigan and led the state through some it's most traumatic years.
Perhaps the family history gave George some of the personal tools and morality that guided him through the dark days of the Detroit Race Riots. He embraced the principle of Dr. Martin Luther King and as his last political gesture, opposed Richard Nixon for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1968, publically breaking with the Party to oppose the Vietnam War.
Perhaps it's more than just Tom Tancredo who needs to be reminded of the Romney family history.

The Last Miracles of Zappadan 2007!

Ahem, tonight is the last night of the festival of Zappadan and we have had a miracle!
The appearance of two incredible archival appearances of Frank and the Mothers. The first, above is not exactly an appearance, but a 1966 live club recording of the piece that evolved into Plastic People on the Absolutely Free Record. The music starts about 1 and a half minutes into the recording, you have to listen to Frank ask people to move their cars so they don't get towed and push the clubs rancid hamburgers.
Then we have:



Our second miracle of the evening. A video of a live appearance from 1967 at the Village Gate in New York. The Mothers perform Suzy Creamcheese from the We're Only In It For The Money album and then they , uhh.....perform.
A few minutes of disciplined anarchy that could never occur on stage again!
Today is Franks birthday, Happy Birthday Frank!
This stuff, for me is better than fire works!

ZAPPA/BEEFHEART

On the almost last day of Zappadan, I am posting a video, not of Frank Zappa, but Franks teenage friend, Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart. This is a rather brilliant live performance of 2 songs, Electricity and Sure Nuff and Yes I Do! Performed on the Beach at Cannes. Dan was and is a painter and tried to do the same thing wiith music..

Frank and Don hung out together at Dons house and listened to Rythmn and Blues and Blues for which they both had a passion. Living in the suburban wilderness of the desert outside of Los Angeles in the early 50's must have had a real effect on the collective esthetic that evolved.

I saw an interview with Zappa in which he talks of hanging out listening to music eating the left overs from Don's fathers bakery delivery truck...pineapple buns.
There is evidence of the early collaborations between them. On "The Lost Episodes" CD, there is a piece recorded on a school tape recorder wiith Frank, his brother, Bob and Don performing a spontaneous composition called Lost In A Whirlpool. You can hear the amazing preaged well seasoned Beefheart larnyx creating it's ageless ancient howl even at 16!

There is another performance called Tiger Roach from a few years later recorded at Franks legendary Studio Z in Cucamonga. Another piece with Frank playing guitar with the Trout Mask Replica version of the Magic Band called Alley Cat is on the record.
There are 2 spoken word pieces, I'm A Band Leader and the story of the Grand Wazoo.
They seem to be from the period of the Mothers/Beefheart touring band which resulted in the brilliant Bongo Fury record. Of course, there is Franks second solo record, Hot Rats which contained the classic Beefheart/Zappa collaboration, Willy The Pimp.

Frank produced Beefhearts most notorious record, Trout Mask Replica and released it on his own label in 1969, a year that must have been a high water mark for sheer eccentricity in American culture, thanks to the efforts of Mr. Zappa. He also produced records for Alice Cooper, Wildman Fischer and Grand Funk Railroad around the same time.

Frank Zappa and Don Van Vliet, both great American original artists who exerted a major influence on the music of today, pop and classical all over the world.
Why were these guys so great?
They both followed their own uncompromising vision and created their own esthetic that others can only build on.
Sure nuff and Electricity are both from the 1966 Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band record, Safe As Milk.

Independance Day!!

"We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five state area that encompasses our country are free to join in!"
This was a statement made today by Indian activist, Russell Means at a press confernence in Washington, DC to reporters and a delegation from the Bolivian Embassy.

This was after a delegation of Lakota Nation leaders delivered a message to the State Department on Monday announcing that they were unilaterily withdrawing from all treaties made with the United States over the last 150 years.

They visited the Bolivian, Chilean, South African and Venezualan Embassies and plan to start an over seas mission to establish formal ties with foreign countries.
The Lakota Indian Nation encompasses portions of Five States: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming. The new country will issue it's own passports and drivers licenses. Living there would be tax free, providing residents renounce their US Citizenship.

Means said,"The treaties are merely worthless words on worthless paper. they have been repeatedly violated over and over again in order to steal from our culture, our land and our ability to maintain our way of life."

"Withdrawing from the United States was entirely legal" he said, "This is in accordance to the laws of the United States, specifically article six of the Constitution. Article Six states that treaties are part of the supreme law of the land."
"It is also within the laws on treaties passed at the Vienna Convention and approved by the USA and the rest of the international community in 1980. We are legally within our rights to be free and independant."

There have been 33 treaties with the Lakotas. They are the last tribe who were officially at war with Ameica. They are the tribe of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull..
Now these proud people have been reduced to an oppressed society whose males have one of the shortest life expectancies in the world...44 years average.

Lakota teen suicides are 150 times above the national average and the infant mortality rate is 5 times more than the rest of America. Unemployemnt is rife..

Phyllis Young, a spokes person for the tribe said, "Our people want to live, not just survive and crawl and be mascots..
We are not trying to embarrass the United States. We are here to continue the struggle for our children and grandchildren," she said, predicting the battle would not be won in her lifetime.

Before You Were Probably Born!

Just in case you were wondering about the "Pop Music" that your parents were listening to before you were born, this clip sums it up. You see, Led Zepplin are rather recent history and they were just a very good cover band. These guys, The Beatnix wrote most of the great music of the 70's and the 80's during the early 60's. It took great cover bands like Toto, Led Zepplin and latter day Pink Floyd to rediscover and reinterpret the zany pop energy of the Beatnix and bring their great songs to a deserving public.
Unfortunately, The Beatnix disappeared mysteriously one night after a meeting with their record company and were never able to collect any of the millions of dollars of royalties that are mounting up in a numbered off shore bank account in the Cayman Islands set up by their manager Maury Silverfish.

Deaprtment of Paranoid Hysteria

Click on this to enlarge it. This is a real flyer and it's posted on the City of Chicago website. While some of the precautions seem like common sense, you might send the entire city into a mindless hysterical terrorist magenta alert by asking the wrong person for directions to a public restroom!

Valerie

As the vile foaming broth of Zappadan whips itself up into a frenzy of excitement...you can feel it, can't you?...I want to take a moment to dedicate a clip to Valerie. You know who you are!
There are only 3 days left to this years wild celebration and we have to grab the gusto and go with it!
Valerie was originally released on 1968's Cruisin With Rueben and The Jets.

A Special Holiday Message From The Vice President of The United States, Dick Cheney

Errr, it's that special time of the year again...lots of down time for employers, but then again, American Public has to have time to shop! Err, So, Me and Mrs. Cheney would like to wish all Americans of whatever uuhhhh, persuasion uhhh....a very special holiday greeting.
You know, errr, it takes a hell of a lot oil to light Americas Christmas Trees. That's why we are in Iraq, well uhhh, errr...part of the reason. Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, in their war against your security also were part of the Global War on Christmas.
Nothing would make them happier than to see the Christmas lights of America go dark!
Liberals and Democrats who scoff at the war on Christmas are actually putting out, one light bulb at a time, the Christmas lights of hope in the Malls and homes of America! errrr......
And remember, here's one of Lynn Cheneys helpful household hints!
The next time a Liberal Tree Hugging Islamofascist ecologist weirdo starts ragging about so called "Global Warming", just remind them that global warming will go a long way towards cutting down on those rising heating bills. Then you can tell them them go fuck themselves! Grrrrrr.........

Live At The Filmore East

1971 and covered with grunge....welly, welly, welllll...who is this cute couple up on stage making a little guest appearance with Frank Zappa and the Mothers?
HAPPY ZAPPADAN! JOYEUX FETE! HOOPLA! OINK! OINK!

O'Reilly's Oratorio

Yes, I know it's still officially Zappadan, but sometimes there is something that is just to good to be ignored. So tonight, here on thebrainpolice, I am bringing some high culture... well, actually what do you think?
These are excerpts from Igor Kellers Opera, Mackris vs, O'Reilly based on the actual transcripts of the Bill O'Reilly sexual harrasment case brought by his staffer, Andrea Mackris.
It contains all of the memorable moments from the original complaints and paranoid rants, clumsy sexual innuendos, the Falefel fantasy and more in a concert legnth baroque oratorio, in the style of an updated Handel's Messiah for a 28 piece chamber orchestra, 26 voice chorus and 3 soloists.
An oratorio for the 21st century.
Listener discretion! This gets a little creepy, Barb? are you out there? Barb?

Made In Denmark

The dust is settling in Bali. They are cleaning up the room where the United Nations Climate Change Conference was held. Nothing really happened, except once again, the two biggest sources of Greenhouse gas emissions proved that they are incapable of doing anything positive. The biggest, The United States proved again that nothing will happen until there is a regime change. Both countries are using the others behaviour as an excuse for doing nothing.

Al Gore spoke and expressed his shame and got called a traitor back home. A traitor to whom?

The United States is hosting it's own Climate Change Conference early next year, which looks to be boycotted already because of the bull headed attempts by the Bush Administration to systematically manipulate any real research done in America.
That seems to be the gist of a Congressional Report to be released on Monday..
The report, prepared by the Democrats after a 16 month investigation states:

"The Bush Administration has engaged in a systematic effort to manipulate climate change science and mislead policy makers and the public about the dangers of global warming."
The report contains allegations going back to 2002 and demonstrates a systematic pattern of conduct.

Of course the Republicans are saying that it is pure politics and trying to shout over the facts the way the administration did when it was publically rebuked for its efforts to sabotage the Bali Conference.

Across the USA, more than 700 mayors, representing 75 million of Americans , have pledge to do what the administration is incapable of...Support the Kyoto Protocols!
What does the Bush Administration hope to accomplish by its negative subversive stance? Little by little, faster and faster, the logic for their action, supposedly favoring the American economy and business is crumbling.

Already, the state of Texas has become the worlds greatest supplier of wind generated power. In the Northwest section of the state which suffers from dryness and wind, a climate which has become more hostile to the traditional cotton industry in recent years, thousands of acres of wind generators have sprouted up..
But who is reaping the benefits of this booming energy source of the future?
Who has the technology and expertise to manufacture and install these systems?

Denmark.

KING KONG

1968, live at the BBC, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention take it away with the snappy little ditty King Kong!

Sarkozy le Grand?

"Il ne reste pas un momente tranquile; il sent autour de lui avec effroi
la solitude et les tenebres; ceux qui ont peur la nuit chantent,
lui il se remue.
Il fait rage, il touche a tout, il court apres les projets;
ne pouvant creer, il decrete; il cherche a donner le change sur
la nullite; ce mouvement perpetuel; mais helas!
Cette roue tourne a vide."

Victor Hugo

France reeled in collective embarassment yesterday evening as the
tiny hyper president ran after and grabbed Angela Merkle's arm
after the signing of the new
EU Treaty in Lisbon and shouted in English, "Honeymoon? Honeymoon?"
Angela shrank in disgust and looked into the camera and coldly said, in English,
"We only cooperate!"
Meanwhile, Kahdafy is destroying the lawn at the Palais de l'Elysee and
it is suddenly dawning on the country that instead of a president,
country is being run by a very embarrassing hyperactive appliance salesman.

I'm Not There

If you've been wondering about the Todd Haynes film, I'm Not Here, please take my advice and go see it immediately...Today, we drove to Brive la Gaillarde to see it in the little Rex Cinema. I am still recovering from my encounter with a gastero intestinal virus and burped all through the showing, fortunately we were the only people in the theater.
I have been a fan of Todd Haynes since his now banned early film, The Karen Carpenter Story. A bizarre history of 70's soft rock icon Karen Carpenter's death from anorexia as told by a child using Barbie and Ken Dolls. The film was banned by the Mattel Toy Corporation for copy write infringement. I guess they could never get over the fact that the child told the story by whittling away at the Barbie doll with a pen knife.
Since then Haynes found audience acceptance with mvies like Velvet Goldmine and more recently, the brilliant Far From Paradise. In each movie he was able to depict the eras he used in his stories with emotional imagery that went beyond mere styling. He had the look, the feel, the iconic images down to the last detail. Color, lighting and frame shots did as much to tell his stories as the narrative line..
In I'm Not There, he goes beyond any attempt of literal story telling. He presents a multidimensional biography of Bob Dylan played by 6 different actors. He interweaves archival footage with reconstructed imagined footage, fact with sheer hallucinatory fantasy. Imaginary characters who play different aspects of the artist.
Of note is the actress Cate Blanchette who plays Dylan or the character "Jude" during the Highway 61/Blonde on Blonde period. She nails him, a performance that could only have been achieved by actually living inside the skin of the character.
The young Dylan is a character named Woody played by a young black actor named Marcus Carl Franklin. Another brilliant performance. The scenes of the young Woody playing and a particularly great performance with Richie Havens are hair raisingly great! I have to mention the composite feminine relationship aspect of the film embodied in the character that Charlotte Gainsbourg, Miss Gainsbourg is the daughter of the legendary Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin and is a powerful actress and somehow morphs between the mysterious Suze Rotolo and Dylans first wife continuously. She really evokes the look of Suze.
This film in its Felliniesque leaps into poetic fantasy could tell you a lot about Bob Dylan but if you know anything about Bob Dylan, you will learn nothing new, in fact as far as facts go, you will learn nothing.. That is the sheer success of this film. It is a painting, a poem, it's a piece of art about another artist. If I was Bob Dylan, I would approve!

THE JAR IS UNDER THE BED!

There we have it, 1968 in Paris, layers of grungy distortion, a very bad video, but a great documentary of a legendary ensemble!
This piece is Sleeping In A Jar which was released on the Uncle Meat Double Album. The soundtrack for the movie that was made but never finished. There are snippets of Uncle Meat footage lurking here on YouTube.
I also believe that the performance segues inot an adaptation of Octavia by Edgar Varese. This is the stuff I have been looking for, real footage of the Mothers before 1969. There must be stuff hiding out there, lurking in closets. Get out and find it fast before the video tape disintegrates!
Now I will surrender to my virus who I have named Bennie.

A Teeny Tiny Little Virus

This is a picture of your common garden variety gastro-intestinal virus. Every year around this time, there are maps of the danger zones for all of France. The Dordogne always seems to be a hot orange danger zone every year.
Ten years of living here and I seem to have always lucked out.
....Uhhhh...not this year. There is a storm raging outside and a storm raging in my stomach. Keep away, if you know what's good for you! Maybe I will be more coherent later, Glabba blghhh kpphlyzzz............Must find Zappadan post for tonight!