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The seven soldiers read the papers and mail
But the news, it doesn't change.
Swinging about through creepers,
Parachutes caught on steeples
Heroes are born, but heroes die.
Just a few days, a little practice and some holiday pay,
We're all sure you'll make the grade.
Mother of God, if you care,
We're on a train to nowhere
Please put a cross upon our eyes.
Take me - I'm nearly ready, you can take me
To the raincoat in the sky.
Take me - my little pastry mother take me
There's a pie shop in the sky.
Mother Whale Eyeless
Brian Eno
best viewed not with IE, though I'm not sure why.
formerly "fifteen foot italian shoe" and "keoha pint."
READING:
Bringers of the Dawn by Barbara Marciniak
RECENT VIEWING:
Spy Game
Mulholland Drive
The Man Who Wasn't There
The Group
The Skulls
Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film
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But she doesn't know where Leni is. She turns a full circle before she realizes that she's already
lost her driver and guide. And she panics just a little, starts to move through the crowd for the
sidewalk, but it's like fighting an ocean wave whose undertow keeps growing. She's moving against
the flow of the crowd, smacking into a fireman, a mummy, a vaguely biblical character with a braying
sheep lodged up on his shoulders, bent around the neck. She turns and tries to move for the opposite
sidewalk, jumps out of the way as one of those huge, old-fashioned unicycles comes rolling too fast
in her direction, the pedaler honking a red rubber sqeeze horn over and over.
How could Leni leave her like this? She searches for a familiar face but she's pummeled with a
nonstop rush of rubber masks and veil-hidden eyes. It's like a cargo truck full of stage makeup exploded
moments before she arrived here. People are rouged or pancaked into caricatures, into mutants, into distant
relations of what's recognizably human.
from The Skin Palace by Jack O'Connell
Music Linx
DJ Martian (comprehensive music news)
Echoes Archive
Star's End
Cascone/oval/Scanner ++Londonsets at the Tate Modern (streams)
3RRR ++Melbourne
Hyperreal ++San Jose
Retro Cocktail Hour ++Lawrence KS
Radio Valve ++Boulder
force inc. ++Frankfurt
töshöklabs ++New York
ML/Thine Eyes ++Seattle
Sara Ayers ++Albany NY -- also at mp3.com
Björk remixes
FlapperMusic
no type ++Montreal
Sigur Rós ++Reykjavik
Nepalese hits ++Kathmandu
epitonic
cd-rw.org
::::k..I...L.l..R..a.D..i...O:::: ++L.A.(esp. Chill 12-2AM Sat.)
Radio
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Kettel - "Days for Bennet"
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Tennis - "Civic Halo"
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Stars of the Lid - "Taphead"
Windsor for the Derby - "The Egg"
Underworld - "Deep Arch"
Brian Eno - "Becalmed"
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Saturday, April 20, 2002
Death threats and harassment organized by right-wing Zionist thugs and abetted by the political establishment and the media have forced the family of an American humanitarian worker in the Middle East who spoke out against the Israeli military onslaught in the West Bank to flee New York City. This along with the pro-Israeli demonstrators booing Paul Wolfowitz (that peacenik who wants to nuke Iraq) when he expressed mild sympathy for the Palestinians last week makes me wonder how fascist far-right fundamentalist conservatives in Israel and the US are going to be allowed to get this time.Telephone and emailed death threats began deluging the home of the humanitarian worker?s parents, Doreen and Stuart Shapiro, in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn. Some callers promised that they would suffer a ?fiery death.?
Posters went up in the Brooklyn neighborhood urging passersby to call a phone number that carried a recorded message describing Adam Shapiro as a traitor and comparing him to John Walker Lindh, the young American man who was captured during the US massacre of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan and now faces trial on charges of conspiracy and aiding terrorism. The recording also provided an address, which it gave as the home of the Shapiro family.
Right-wing Zionist factions from the Jewish Defense League to Betar denounced Shapiro in demonstrations, while a web site of one of the groups gave out personal information about family members, urging action against them.
The intensity of the calls for violence compelled Shapiro?s parents, both New York City public school teachers, to flee the city, while his brother, Noah, a Manhattan attorney, is under constant police guard. [link via U]
Hilarious satire of new Thatcher book Statecraft in the Guardian.First and foremost, you cannot trust any foreigners apart from the Americans. Take Communism away from the Russians and the Eastern Bloc countries and you're left with a bunch of gangsters and freeloaders. The Chinese think they're superior and the Middle East is full of people who dress oddly and don't go to church.
Only the Americans have moral right. This is because they speak English, are devout Christians and are very, very big. Anything they chose to do on the global stage is not only defensible, but desirable. Look at their actions in Vietnam and Nicaragua. If America demands that Saddam Hussein should go, Iraq and the rest of the world should respect that. If everyone took heed of this there would be no more wars.
"Our policy of drug prohibition is harming our children"
Pot advocate? Nope -- John Gray, a former prosecutor and judge in California. Facing a deeply skeptical audience, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrator Asa Hutchinson defended America's "war on drugs" Wednesday, saying prosecution and interdiction efforts had contributed to significant declines in drug use.
After Hutchinson's remarks at a Rice University drug conference, a succession of experts from health institutions, activist groups and even the criminal justice system disputed virtually everything he said. [U]
Conn Hallinan called the Venezuelan coup back in December.U.S. hostility to Venezuela's efforts to overcome its lack of development has helped add that country to the South American "arc of instability" that runs from Caracas in the north to Buenos Aires in the south, and includes Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. Failed neoliberal economic policies, coupled with corruption and authoritarianism, have made the region a powder keg, as recent events in Argentina demonstrate. And the Bush administration's antidote? Matches, incendiary statements, and dark armies moving in the night.
[...]
In a Dec. 10 article in the Chicago bi-weekly In These Times, [John Marshall And Christian Parenti] give "the other side" that the U.S. media always go on about but rarely present: The attempts by the Venezuelan government to diversify its economy, turn over idle land to landless peasants, encourage the growth of co-ops based on the highly successful Hungarian model, increase health spending fourfold, and provide drugs for 30 to 40 percent below cost. But the alleviation of poverty is not on Washington's radar screen these days. Instead, U.S. development loans have been frozen, and the State Department's specialist on Latin America, Peter Romero, has accused the Chavez government of supporting terrorism in Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador. These days that is almost a declaration of war and certainly a green light to any anti-Chavez forces considering a military coup. [via U]
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush cooks the reading score books, minorities left behind. A closer look at the fourth-grade reading scores Bush cited in his State of the State address in January shows that -- when everyone who took the test is included -- 50 percent of black students and 41 percent of Hispanic students scored at the lowest level last year.
That compares with 19 percent of white fourth-graders at the lowest reading level.
Minority activists, educators and even some state legislators say the findings underscore a problem that has been largely ignored: Too many black and Hispanic children are failing in school, despite the state's pledge that every student will succeed.
"No child left behind? None, except for the minorities," said Shirley Johnson, with the Florida National Association for the Advance"No child left behind? None, except for the minorities," said Shirley Johnson, with the Florida National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Last week, Bush's office defended his claim of improved minority achievement in reading, saying the numbers he cited were the most accurate available.
"There is a lot of work to do," said John Winn, deputy education secretary. "The governor did not claim victory. He said there was progress." Jeez, and he handled that there election thingie a few years ago so well. . .
[via U]
Cases Dropped Against 100 People in New Jersey Who Claimed They Were Racially Profiled
"It appears they opted to dismiss cases rather than release additional and more damaging discovery," defense attorney William Buckman said.
The documents included training materials relating to a program that taught motel clerks how to identify drug couriers, he said. Defense lawyers also wanted records from state police supervisors, including a letter to former Gov. Jim Florio that reportedly detailed racial profiling a decade before it was officially admitted.
[link]
Anthrax Patients' Ailments Linger. [Bradley] Perkins [the top anthrax expert at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] said memory loss and fatigue could be results of the infection. Anthrax produces toxins, "and some could have impact on nerve tissues," he said. It is also possible that survivors are experiencing some form of post-traumatic stress syndrome, he added.
Until the outbreak last year, inhalational anthrax was almost always fatal. Consequently, little is known about the experience of survivors or whether the infection has long-term effects.
Ecstasy studies claiming nerve/brain damage may be politically motivated and just plain wrong. [nd]
Parents buy padded bras and thongs for their nine-year olds and put them in beauty pageants (a la Jon Benet Ramsey) or set up suggestive websites, and then are shocked when child porn rings are exposed.
Welcome to The Age of Disconnect.
[bra link from nd]
Just in case you die before your pound of flesh is extracted. . . WalMart and other corporations routinely take out secret life insurance policies on the lives of their low-level employees and collect thousands of dollars when they die. The families never know the policies are in place and typically receive none of the money. [nd]
Friday, April 19, 2002
Argentine economy verges on collapse.
Canadians pretty pissed off at perceived American indifference to friendly fire deaths.Though professional soldiers know there is a high risk of dying in rehearsal exercises, the disturbing possibility that U.S. troops just might be too trigger happy certainly crossed some minds.
"I'm not very impressed, let's put it that way," said Shane Dusenbury, a former member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, which makes up the bulk of the battle group in Afghanistan.
Mr. Dusenbury, who called the killings "fratricide," noted there had been a spate of similar accidents by U.S. troops during previous military missions.
[...]
"If this guy was some kind of slack-jawed half-wit behind the wheel of a F-16, we need to find that out.
"And if the firing procedures are so flawed that you can drop a bomb on a training area, we need to address that."
Veterans and military experts were quick, however, to characterize the bombing as an inevitable consequence of war.
Scientist outspoken on environmental issues in the UN ousted by ExxonMobil.
With birth rates diving and death rates skyrocketing, Russia could lose half its population by 2050. Right now there are a million less people every year. Part of the reason is the lack of any official immigration policy, part is due to post-imperial stress and the struggling economy.
Could this happen elsewhere?
The Nerve Net list for Brian Eno fans posted an item about a collaboration between Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno, "I Thought," which I find is on Ferry's new Frantic album out in the US on the 29th. I found it on audiogalaxy and it stopped me cold. I don't follow music like I used to, and don't listen to much pop or rock anymore. But this track just takes off. A perfect example of how a simple popsong, the right collaborators and studio money can create something that would have been dreck into something sublime.
Both Ferry & Eno tend towards the arch in their lyrics, but the music and vibe here shifts the track into a tranquil, giddy affirmation, alchemically transcending pain, loss and cynicism through the sheer joy of making nuanced soulful art in the form of a popsong. Like the poster on NerveNet said, this is what Roxy Music might've sounded like had Eno stayed on the band, 20 years down the road. That wouldn't have worked for several reasons, all well-known to fans. But "I Thought" makes you wish it could have, in some parallel dimension. I THOUGHT
I thought - you'd be my streetcar named desire
my way - my taste of wine
I thought - you'd be that flame within the fire
one dream that just won?t die
all night - looking for new love
impossible true love - nothing at all
looking for new gods - looking for new blood
looking for you
I thought - I'd find you walking in the rain
just like a wayward child
I thought - I'd find you calling out my name
so foolish is my pride
all night - looking for new love
impossible true love - nothing at all
looking for new ways - looking for strange blood
looking for you
I thought - I'd be your streetcar named desire
your man - the one you seek
I thought - I'd take you deep within myself
subtitles when we speak
hold on - the flower says reach out
the thunder says no shout is greater than mine
listen and hold on - till the day fades out
smothered in gold [lyrics from Roxy Music Central]
President George W. Bush on Thursday defended the much-criticized Middle East mission of his secretary of state, Colin Powell, saying that Israel was meeting a timetable to withdraw from disputed Palestinian territories. He also praised Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as "a man of peace." [link] There were also unsubstantiated reports that the (P)resident's voice appeared to be coming from between his buttocks and that his leash seemed tighter and shorter.
Thursday, April 18, 2002
The Senate begins to find its balls.As the White House continues to resist calls for Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to testify formally before Congress, Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) has urged his Democratic colleagues not to participate in informal briefings offered by the administration.
[...]
Byrd dismissed the administration's offer to hold informal briefings as nothing more than a "fig leaf" to help circumvent Senate rules that have existed since 1816.
"This is the tried and true method of soliciting information," Byrd said of the committee process. "We have these hearings and they are in the open where the American people can hear what is being said." [link via Drudge]
Antibiotic-resistant strep spreads in Pittsburgh. Overuse of commonly prescribed macrolide antibiotics (e.g., erythromycin & azithromycin) is probably the reason, and other antibiotics worked. But the trend is clear -- use 'em less or resistant strains will appear.
Search referrals.
decapitated russian soldier download
foot slave
teletubbie sky background picture
"death to smoochy sounds"
+argentine +night +google +army
Marxist criticism of "Oh, Oh" Hathaway
pICTURES OF PEOPLE WITH THE bUBONIC plague
henry blodget piece of shit email
+platypus +bifurcated
freehand emasculation
brian eno flashcards
BRITNEY SPEARS IMPACT ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE RATES
keep spraying them chemtrails it makes my dick hard!
wardrobe charmed as seen
"guess? Inc." social responsibility
+brain +shoe
annalee salaries for officers in the navy
botox jack nicholson
what kind of crime rate does Lawrence KS have & also are the people friendly?
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
The DoD's Northern Command will take effect in October. This will be the first time the military will play a role in domestic law enforcement since the Civil War. In a way the official end of the Cold War. Hopefully not the beginning of something worse.
Heiligenschein from the window of an airplane. A rare and beautiful phenomenon.
April 22-28 is TV Turn-Off Week.
A good idea I probably won't take up. Outside of videos, I watch around 10 hours a week on average lately. Can't watch TV news at all since 9/11. But I live in a culture-free zone too.
Excuses excuses.
"This is a solution that meets the needs of all involved"
Coal plant buys town it doused in sulfuric smoke last year. Name of the village: Cheshire, Ohio.The company's facility in Cheshire is the state's largest coal-burning power plant. AEP installed a $175 million pollution control system last year to help the plant comply with a federal mandate that the Midwest cut nitrogen oxide emissions drifting into the Northeast.
However, chemicals from the system created a blue acid haze that fell on Cheshire more than a dozen times in June, July and August.
The plumes often appeared on hot, humid days when weather conditions pushed exhaust from the plant's 830-foot smokestacks down into the village instead of dispersing it into the atmosphere. The exhaust turned blue as it fell, and the clouds disappeared within about an hour.
Residents reported burning eyes, headaches, sore throats and white-colored burns on their lips, tongues and insides of their mouths. Earlier this year, a federal report said the sulfuric clouds were not life-threatening but were harmful to those with asthma.
C. Thi Nguyen's quietly passionate appreciation of gaiwan tea drinking. But you have to buy good tea for it to be worth it -- though it's still only a buck a cup tops.
These articles are from the L.A. Times, so the stores mentioned are in L.A. But there's lots of Dragonwell available online.
A magnetic pole-reversal -- which used to be the sole province of the "New Age Nut," is now a near-future possibility according to scientists.
Nice remembrance of seminal SF writer Damon Knight by Cory on boingboing. With links to Patrick Neilsen Hayden's longer tribute.
I remember reading several of Knight's stories, novels and the anthologies he edited when I was a teen. Can't imagine SF without him.
R.I.P. Mr Knight.
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
All my life people have just put up with the "way things are" in the working world. And things just got worse. With the Enron debacle, will there finally be a change in the employer/employee relationship? Layoffs were a constant in bad economic times; new in the nineties was their coming in good times. Indeed, some people argued, they were the cause of the good times. Companies had learned they could cut their way to profitability and a rising stock price. CEOs who mastered this punishing economics earned nicknames like "Neutron Jack" and "Chainsaw Al." Since much of their compensation came in the form of stock options, CEOs personally profited from downsizing. The more people the CEOs fired, the higher the stock price rose, and the more money the CEOs made. The Wall Street Journal found that the size of the pensions of many CEOs were directly tied to cuts they made in employee pensions. Peter Drucker called this vested interest in despoiling employees an "unforgivable social crime" on the part of America's management class. "The days of corporate loyalty are gone," an AT&T executive said in a statement; employees had to think of themselves as self-employed. In his book Corporate Executions, the management consultant Alan Downs got to the brutal core of the new class war: "Employees are interchangeable parts that can be plugged in wherever and whenever they are needed. They are disposable as well. When the immediate demand for their services has subsided, they can be discarded." [link] Only if things get even worse and people demand change. I don't see this being a hot-button issue for lizardboy and the ringwraiths, or the cowering legislature.
Music Mafia pins declining sales on Evil Communist Terrorist File-Sharers."I think it's a very convenient scapegoat, but in reality is cause of decline in sales is more complex," said Aram Sinnreich, an analyst at Jupiter Media Metrix. "The least statistically relevant factor is file sharing because there's very good empirical evidence to show that file sharing alone without CD burner has a salutary effect on CD sales." Fifth Columnist!!
Suspicion of US compliance (at least) in the Venezuelan coup attampt last week is growing.The Venezuelan President, anxious to restore a veneer of stability, has played down suggestions that Washington was involved. Asked if the US might have been involved in the coup, he said: "The root is here."
But his officials are investigating reports that a US-registered private plane was ready to fly him into exile from La Orchila, a Caribbean island retreat for the presidency, where Mr Chavez was being held. .
But the affair has made the US look stupid. Washington, even as it trumpets support for democracy and human rights, stands accused of conniving at the overthrow of a democratically elected leader in its own hemispheric backyard.
Doubly embarrassing, the US was almost alone in not denouncing the coup. Several other governments, led by Mexico, condemned it and refused to recognise an interim government installed by the military.
The fear now is that other restless generals in Central and South America may interpret the Bush administration's response to the Venezuelan crisis as a tacit green light for other coups to get rid of troublesome civilian leaders.
[link] Just another Strike for Freedom.
UFO contact in Chile?
Chavez is back "in power."
Wonder what's really happening in Venezuela?
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