In memory of the thousands of men & women executed by the Islamic regime of Iran in the 1980's and the hundreds of young people who were killed during the uprising by the Iranian people in June 2009.
The Museum of Animal Perspectives sticks cameras on the heads of animals and uploads the resulting videos to Flickr. I'm fond of the armadillocam, but wolfcam and cowcam are pretty cool too. Ooh! Pigcam! Goatcam! Cow licking own rearcam!
Andrew Sullivan describes Chris Wallace's interview with the devil reincarnate as like "a teenage girl interviewing the Jonas brothers'! HA!
So the latest picture up at my new fave site 'People of Walmart' has this youtube channel on the back of the denim jacket.- - - -
- - - -
MYTH:
The Democratic health care reform proposal will not let you choose your own doctor.
FACT:
You will have a wider-than-ever range of doctors to choose from! In order to accommodate 45 million new patients, the plan expands the definition of "doctor" from "medically licensed professional" to now also include:
• Morning radio DJs who have adopted the moniker
• Televised bullies (Phil, Laura)
• PhDs in any field, and "All But Dissertation" PhD candidates. Trust us, you will have no problem getting an appointment to see these master procrastinators.
• Soda creators (Pepper, Brown*)
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MYTH:
Obamacare™ will ration life-saving medicine away from the elderly and disabled via "Death Panels."
FACT:
While nothing can replicate the current mercy-driven system of rationing via "Private Insurer Form Letter," the new proposal certainly does not consign end-of-life decisions to panels of faceless bureaucrats. Rather, they are taken up by exciting, glamorous "Celebrity Death Panels"™ (C-List minimum).
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MYTH:
People in Britain are deeply unhappy with their socialized medicine system, which ours will become.
FACT:
People in Britain are deeply unhappy with everything. It is their only source of happiness.
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MYTH:
Universal health care will transform the United States into another Cuba/Canada/France/Venezuela/The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
FACT:
A common misconception! It will, in fact, transform us into a Jamaica/Costa Rica/Amsterdam/Chad.
- - - -
MYTH:
If you do it standing up, you'll have a boy.
FACT:
The BHO-HMO offers full coverage for pre-, neo- and post-natal care, without regard to procreative positioning.^
- - - -
MYTH:
Athena emerged, fully grown, from the skull of Zeus.
FACT:
Despite being King of the Gods and Lord of Thunder™, Zeus was denied medical coverage by private insurers due to being classed with a "Priapistic condition." This painfully constant state of male "preparedness" could only be tamed by nonstop anonymous intercourse. Frankly, it's a wonder Athena is the only creature to emerge from his body.
- - - -
MYTH:
FACT:
Totally.
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- - -
"It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.
When Larry David approached Jerry Seinfeld about the "Seinfeld" cast reuniting on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" this season, one thing the revered comic did not say was "whatever."
"The idea of working with Larry was just too overwhelmingly appealing to me, and ['Curb'] is such a great show," Seinfeld told Entertainment Weekly. "There was a little part of me that said, 'Do we really want to tamper?' . . . But to hell with it. How much damage can you really do?"
Fellow alums of the long-running NBC sitcom, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus signed on immediately, EW reports in its coming cover story.
But Michael Richards was still sensitive to public exposure after the 2006 incident when he let loose with racial slurs during a stand-up set at L.A.'s Laugh Factory.
"It was kind of like I had open-heart surgery," he says. "I'm kind of grateful that I blew it because it let me step into another place with myself and the world around me."
Ultimately, he was game.
"I just knew we'd get the job done. If we're all in place, it's going to happen."
Seinfeld says: "It was kind of nice to soothe him a bit, and bring him back to the place that he always felt so good in."
The story line starts in episode 3, airing Sun. Oct. 4 at 9 p.m., and is sprinkled over five of season's 10 episodes. Larry recruits the cast for a "Seinfeld" reunion as the actors play versions of themselves preparing for the reunion show.
David's only disclosure?
"Larry attempts to get Cheryl back, and the 'Seinfeld' reunion figures prominently in that."
On "Curb," the cast gives David heat for a finale that many fans hated. The real David says: "I realize that many people had problems with [the finale], but I thought it was good. I thought I made one mistake: I wouldn't have them being so cavalier when they saw the initial mugging. I would have them be more cowardly than cavalier."
Producers hunted down the sets for Seinfeld's apartment and the Monk coffee shop. Both had to be spit and polished. New fixtures, like a refrigerator, were added since the old one was missing as was Seinfeld's front door.
But the familiar environment helped the cast get in the mood. The first scene they shot had them trying on their old characters.
"Just before we shot that scene, I said to Jerry and Julia, 'I don't know if I can be George. I haven't tried him on for awhile, ' " says Alexander.
"And it was freaky how it just came right back out."
Phillip Garrido, the man suspected of abducting Jaycee Lee Dugard and keeping her prisoner for 18 years, believes that he has God-given powers to speak in an "unearthly" language used by angels.
The London-based dubstep label Hyperdub is now old enough to get into kindergarten. Over the past five years, Hyperdub has put out records by a hell of a lot of that genre's greatest artists, including Burial, Kode9, Joker, Zomby, Darkstar. And the forthcoming 2xCD comp 5: 5 Years of Hyperdub will collect both new and/or classic material from all of them, plus tracks from kindred sprits such as Mala, Martyn, and Flying Lotus. And yes, to answer your question, that means a new Burial song. It's called "Fostercare". Get ready. (That's the 5 album cover above.)
5 is due October 19 in the UK and the very next day in the U.S. This summer and fall, Hyperdub is putting out a series of 12" singles featuring new material from many of Hyperdub's artists. The first disc of 5 will collect all those tracks, with some bonus jams. The second disc, meanwhile, will function as a sort of greatest-hits, collecting older joints like Burial's "Distant Lights", Joker's "Digidesign", and Kode9 and the Spaceape's remix of the Specials' "Ghost Town". Tracklist below.
"War with Iraq before a genuine attempt at inspection and disarmament, or without genuine international support -- could swell the ranks of Al Qaeda sympathizers and trigger an escalation in terrorist acts."
If Cheech & Chong were here, they’d grab a bong and celebrate. Argentina’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that it is unconstitutional to punish adults for consuming marijuana as long as doing so doesn’t put anyone else at risk.
As the court itself recognized, its decision “implies legalizing the drug.”
But for anyone hoping this would turn Buenos Aires into a kind of Amsterdam 2.0, that’s not going to happen. The court limited the scope of its ruling to low-level private consumption.
That means you shouldn’t expect to see Marijuana Shops popping up alongside regular coffee joints. Anyone interested in buying pot will still have to go underground to do so.
Technically, only Congress can legalize the consumption of drugs, per se, but the court’s move is significant. It strikes down part of an earlier law that arguably allowed for penalties against personal use. Congress could follow the court’s lead and pass legislation formally legalizing personal consumption.
The court also called on the government to crack down on narco-trafficking and implement programs to prevent people, especially kids, from becoming addicted to drugs.
The court based its ruling on three factors:
1) According to the constitution, “each adult is sovereign when it comes to making free decisions about the style of life he or she wants to pursue, without the state intervening…” (Article 19 of the Constitution.)
2) “You can’t penalize private conduct that doesn’t hurt third parties.”
3) Private conduct is “licit,” except when it constitutes a concrete danger or causes damage to goods or the rights of others.
In other words, keep it to yourself, and if nobody and nothing gets hurt or damaged, you’re legal.
Legal scholars and supreme court justices (individually) have long maintained that the personal consumption of drugs (even cocaine) is legal under Argentina’s constitution.
Courts have frequently ruled against attempts to penalize personal possession. Despite this, law enforcement officials in various parts of the country have at times arrested and persecuted individuals for the personal use and transportation of drugs.
Argentina is not a major drug producer or exporter. But in recent years the country has become a key gateway for the transportation and triangulation of drugs produced in elsewhere in Latin America for export to the US and Europe. Drug enforcement officials say that most days at least one flight out of Ezeiza contains a drug smuggler.
Link: A summary of the Court’s ruling (from the court itself, in Spanish)
Link: Slightly Outdated World Marijuana Legality Map
Link: “Up In Smoke” Cheech & Chong Trailer
Link: Marijuana Dictionary
The Kennedy brothers have left an enduring legacy in the annals of American politics and historyVeteran US Senator Edward Kennedy, the brother of former President John F Kennedy, has died at 77, after a long battle with a brain tumour.
He became a Democratic Massachusetts senator in 1962, replacing his brother when he resigned to become president, and was re-elected seven times.
Senator Kennedy was a dominant force in US politics for almost 50 years.
ON THE PASSING OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY
Blue Heron Farm
Chilmark, Massachusetts
I wanted to say a few words this morning about the passing of an extraordinary leader, Senator Edward Kennedy.
Over the past several years, I've had the honor to call Teddy a colleague, a counselor, and a friend. And even though we have known this day was coming for some time now, we awaited it with no small amount of dread.
Since Teddy's diagnosis last year, we've seen the courage with which he battled his illness. And while these months have no doubt been difficult for him, they've also let him hear from people in every corner of our nation and from around the world just how much he meant to all of us. His fight has given us the opportunity we were denied when his brothers John and Robert were taken from us: the blessing of time to say thank you -- and goodbye.
The outpouring of love, gratitude, and fond memories to which we've all borne witness is a testament to the way this singular figure in American history touched so many lives. His ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives -- in seniors who know new dignity, in families that know new opportunity, in children who know education's promise, and in all who can pursue their dream in an America that is more equal and more just -- including myself.
The Kennedy name is synonymous with the Democratic Party. And at times, Ted was the target of partisan campaign attacks. But in the United States Senate, I can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle. His seriousness of purpose was perpetually matched by humility, warmth, and good cheer. He could passionately battle others and do so peerlessly on the Senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet still maintain warm friendships across party lines.
And that's one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy.
His extraordinary life on this earth has come to an end. And the extraordinary good that he did lives on. For his family, he was a guardian. For America, he was the defender of a dream.
UK Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling has likened some cities in the Britain to inner-city Baltimore as portrayed in cult TV series The Wire.
US singer Chris Brown has been sentenced to 180 days' community labour and five years' probation for assaulting pop star Rihanna.
Click to enlarge
Tests have revealed Caster Semenya's testosterone level to be three times higher than those normally expected in a female sample.
After joining The Specials for 'You're Wondering Now' & 'Ghost Town' then as the 'NME' reports on her appearance with Pete Doherty:"The initial stumble on stage induced cheers from the crowd, camera-phones flaring up to capture the appearance on wobble-vision. A few words in the Babyshambler's ear, a bit of a smooch, then off. And that was that – a bit of a bonus. Until 'Time For Heroes', near the end of the show, when she ambled back on in a bit of a state, plonking herself down on Adam Ficek's drum riser, seemingly oblivious to the surely eardrum-stretching thump-thump going on a foot to her right. Then up again, hugging Pete and pawing at him, urging him to play a guitar solo. "Guitar solo!" she exclaimed. He didn't play a guitar solo, eventually clasping his palm over her gob to muffle her then ship her off stage. She looked pretty pissed, but then again, the rest of us were too. I guess the difference is if we YouTube search our own names the morning after we don't get the privilege of reliving it over 90 different angles. Thank the lord for small mercies. A festival moment! At V!"
Image and Trailer via The Agitator
If you find torture porn on family programming disgusting, please contact Discovery Viewer Relations or write via snail mail to:
Discovery Communications
1 Discovery Place
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Or tweet @tlc_pr
Via 'Mutate!'
Dean Turner (right), bass player with Magic Dirt has passed away following a battle with lung cancer.
President Obama had not even taken office before supporters were etching his likeness onto Mount Rushmore as another Abraham Lincoln or the second coming of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The first-ever video advertisement will be published in a traditional paper magazine in September.
The video-in-print ads will appear in select copies of the US show business title Entertainment Weekly.
@ 'BBC'
(Thanx Kathie)
Label: Arista
Photo by Joe LewitRon Peno will perform with Black Cab at the launch of their third album Call Signs at the Esplanade Hotel in Melbourne on August 29. The legendary Died Pretty frontman, who lends his considerable pipes to album track ‘Ghost Anthems’, recently appeared with Black Cab (sans hat) at the Northcote Social Club in July.
Out now through Sydney label Laughing Outlaw, Call Signs is loosely inspired by the state-sponsored climate of fear that pervaded East Germany in the 1970s. “We’d read a book by Anna Funder called Stasiland that really captured the mentality of living at a time when around 50 percent of East Germans contributed intelligence information, often about their neighbours,” explained singer Andrew Coates in a recent interview with M+N. “There was so much distrust and paranoia and it really interested us.” The album was produced by Woody Annison who worked on Black Cab's debut Altamont Diary.
Supports from The Sand Pebbles and Sun Blindness.
BLACK CAB LAUNCH ‘CALL SIGNS’
Saturday, August 29
The Gershwin Room, Esplanade Hotel, Melbourne, VIC
Mona says: "See you all there."
Well, the first thing I want to say is…”Mandate my ass!”
Because it seems as though we’ve been convinced that 26% of the registered voters, not even 26% of the American people, but 26% of the registered voters form a mandate – or a landslide. 21% voted for Skippy and 3, 4% voted for somebody else who might have been running.
But, oh yeah, I remember. In this year that we have now declared the year from Shogun to Reagan, I remember what I said about Reagan…meant it. Acted like an actor…Hollyweird. Acted like a liberal. Acted like General Franco when he acted like governor of California, then he acted like a republican. Then he acted like somebody was going to vote for him for president. And now we act like 26% of the registered voters is actually a mandate. We’re all actors in this I suppose.
What has happened is that in the last 20 years, America has changed from a producer to a consumer. And all consumers know that when the producer names the tune…the consumer has got to dance. That’s the way it is. We used to be a producer – very inflexible at that, and now we are consumers and, finding it difficult to understand. Natural resources and minerals will change your world. The Arabs used to be in the 3rd World. They have bought the 2nd World and put a firm down payment on the 1st one. Controlling your resources we’ll control your world. This country has been surprised by the way the world looks now. They don’t know if they want to be Matt Dillon or Bob Dylan. They don’t know if they want to be diplomats or continue the same policy – of nuclear nightmare diplomacy. John Foster Dulles ain’t nothing but the name of an airport now.
The idea concerns the fact that this country wants nostalgia. They want to go back as far as they can – even if it’s only as far as last week. Not to face now or tomorrow, but to face backwards. And yesterday was the day of our cinema heroes riding to the rescue at the last possible moment. The day of the man in the white hat or the man on the white horse – or the man who always came to save America at the last moment – someone always came to save America at the last moment – especially in “B” movies. And when America found itself having a hard time facing the future, they looked for people like John Wayne. But since John Wayne was no longer available, they settled for Ronald Reagan – and it has placed us in a situation that we can only look at – like a “B” movie.
Come with us back to those inglorious days when heroes weren’t zeros. Before fair was square. When the cavalry came straight away and all-American men were like Hemingway to the days of the wondrous “B” movie. The producer underwritten by all the millionaires necessary will be Casper “The Defensive” Weinberger – no more animated choice is available. The director will be Attila the Haig, running around frantically declaring himself in control and in charge. The ultimate realization of the inmates taking over at the asylum. The screenplay will be adapted from the book called “Voodoo Economics” by George “Papa Doc” Bush. Music by the “Village People” the very military “Macho Man.”
“Company!!!”
“Macho, macho man!”
“ Two-three-four.”
“ He likes to be – well, you get the point.”
“Huuut! Your left! Your left! Your left…right, left, right, left, right…!”
A theme song for saber-rallying and selling wars door-to-door. Remember, we’re looking for the closest thing we can find to John Wayne. Clichés abound like kangaroos – courtesy of some spaced out Marlin Perkins, a Reagan contemporary. Clichés like, “itchy trigger finger” and “tall in the saddle” and “riding off or on into the sunset.” Clichés like, “Get off of my planet by sundown!” More so than clichés like, “he died with his boots on.” Marine tough the man is. Bogart tough the man is. Cagney tough the man is. Hollywood tough the man is. Cheap stick tough. And Bonzo’s substantial. The ultimate in synthetic selling: A Madison Avenue masterpiece – a miracle – a cotton-candy politician…Presto! Macho!
Put your orders in America. And quick as Kodak your leaders duplicate with the accent being on the nukes – cause all of a sudden we have fallen prey to selective amnesia – remembering what we want to remember and forgetting what we choose to forget. All of a sudden, the man who called for a blood bath on our college campuses is supposed to be Dudley “God-damn” Do-Right?
“You go give them liberals hell Ronnie.” That was the mandate. To the new “Captain Bly” on the new ship of fools. It was doubtlessly based on his chameleon performance of the past – as a liberal democrat – as the head of the Studio Actor’s Guild. When other celluloid saviors were cringing in terror from McCarthy – Ron stood tall. It goes all the way back from Hollywood to hillbilly. From liberal to libelous, from “Bonzo” to Birch idol…born again. Civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights…it’s all wrong. Call in the cavalry to disrupt this perception of freedom gone wild. God damn it…first one wants freedom, then the whole damn world wants freedom.
Nostalgia, that’s what we want…the good ol’ days…when we gave’em hell. When the buck stopped somewhere and you could still buy something with it. To a time when movies were in black and white – and so was everything else. Even if we go back to the campaign trail, before six-gun Ron shot off his face and developed hoof-in-mouth. Before the free press went down before full-court press. And were reluctant to review the menu because they knew the only thing available was – Crow.
Lon Chaney, our man of a thousand faces – no match for Ron. Doug Henning does the make-up – special effects from Grecian Formula 16 and Crazy Glue. Transportation furnished by the David Rockefeller of Remote Control Company. Their slogan is, “Why wait for 1984? You can panic now…and avoid the rush.”
So much for the good news…
As Wall Street goes, so goes the nation. And here’s a look at the closing numbers – racism’s up, human rights are down, peace is shaky, war items are hot – the House claims all ties. Jobs are down, money is scarce – and common sense is at an all-time low on heavy trading. Movies were looking better than ever and now no one is looking because, we’re starring in a “B” movie. And we would rather had John Wayne…we would rather had John Wayne.
“You don’t need to be in no hurry.
You ain’t never really got to worry.
And you don’t need to check on how you feel.
Just keep repeating that none of this is real.
And if you’re sensing, that something’s wrong,
Well just remember, that it won’t be too long
Before the director cuts the scene…yea.”
“This ain’t really your life,
Ain’t really your life,
Ain’t really ain’t nothing but a movie.”
“This ain’t really your life,
Ain’t really your life,
Ain’t really ain’t nothing but a movie...”
Musicka Mystica Maxima festival presented by Ordo Templi Orientis U.S.A. at Santos Party House, New York, NY.Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.Two nights of musick made by practicing magicians or practicing musicians whose work celebrates the magical lifestyle, as well a public performance of ceremonial magic ritual.
This collaboration is a single on Dj Spooky’s next album “The Secret Song” that will be out in October, 2009.
Azadi (The New Complexity) is a song based on a very old poem by Rumi, one of the poet laureates of Iran’s ancient tradition of poetry. The word Azadi itself simply means Freedom.
Here is the original poem translated into English
SHOW ME YOUR FACE
i crave
flowers and gardens
open your lips
i crave
the taste of honey
come out from
behind the clouds
i desire a sunny face
your voice echoed
saying “leave me alone”
i wish to hear your voice
again saying “leave me alone”
i swear this city without you
is a prison
i am dying to get out
to roam in deserts and mountains
i am tired of
flimsy friends and
submissive companions
i am blue hearing
nagging voices and meek cries
i desire loud music
drunken parties and
wild dances
one hand holding
a cup of wine
one hand caressing your hair
then dancing in orbital circle
that is what i yearn for
i can sing better than any nightingale
but because of
this city’s freaks
i seal my lips
while my heart weeps
yesterday the wisest man
holding a lit lantern
in daylight
was searching around town saying
i am tired of
all these beast and brutes
i seek
a true human
we have all looked
for one but
no one could be found
they said
yes he replied
but my search is
for the one
who cannot be found
The Twilight books have turned a generation of adult women away from People magazine and on to books, word books! The only problem is, this phenomenon comes with a sense of smugness among readers who consider themselves intellectuals because they often finish a book within a weekend or even a day.
Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean is arguing that there can be no meaningful overhaul of the health care system without a public option for coverage. [...]Dean discussed the situation on NBC's "Today" show amid indications the Obama administration is backing away from its insistence on a public option in the face of vocal opposition. Referring to the public health option, the former Vermont governor said, "You can't really do health care reform without it."
@ 'Yahoo'
Anti-war activists protested Monday at the University of California, Berkeley to call for the firing of a law professor who co-wrote legal memos that critics say were used to justify the torture of suspected terrorists. Campus police arrested at least four people who refused to leave the university's law school building. The demonstrators said John Yoo should be dismissed, disbarred and prosecuted for war crimes for his work as a Bush administration attorney from 2001 to 2003, when he helped craft legal theories for waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques.
Here.
Funk legend Sly Stone is living on the dole, according to a new film, staying in cheap hotels and campervans. A forthcoming documentary by Willem Alkema alleges that Stone was betrayed by manager Jerry Goldstein, cutting off access to his royalties.
If you are going to use a former prime minister to highlight cultural and social differences between Australia and the U.S. pick carefully. On Friday night delegates to the annual American - Australian Leadership Dialogue in Melbourne were taken to the MCG for a match; as a bonus, AFL boss Andrew Demetriou organised for them to go out on the ground at half time for a photo. After the match a participant by the name of Bob Hawke was headed for the team bus when a car came by, its young driver calling out "Hawkie, you're a bloody legend." Came the reply "Well if I am such a bloody legend, why don't you give me a lift back to my pub?" Moments later the erstwhile PM rode off into the dark with perfect strangers. As one US participant noted, "That could never happen in America."
I have just put the first two Ducks Deluxe albums up at 'Pathways'.
Tie-dye and peace symbols were everywhere at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on Saturday, and many of the people wearing them were pointing at a grassy hillside and saying, “When I was here in 1969. ...”
Via 'Bits&Bites' & '▷ Φ ◁ @ Flickr'
In May 2005, Michael Yon took a picture of U.S. Army Major Mark Bieger cradling an Iraqi girl, named Farah, wounded by shrapnel from a car bomb. Major Bieger tried to bring the girl to an American hospital to receive treatment, but she died on the helicopter ride. Yon wrote shortly after taking the picture that it "provoked a flood of messages and heartfelt responses from caring people around the world".Archaeologists in Orkney have uncovered a massive Stone Age cathedral. It is the first structure of its kind ever to be found in Britain. The cathedral has lain hidden beneath a thin layer of soil for thousands of years. Pictures taken from above the site have revealed the size of the structure, which had walls 65 feet long and five foot thick. Nick Card from the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology says it is a discovery of huge importance. He added: "The size of it would suggest it was the Neolithic cathedral of its day.
"It's the symmetry you see in the architecture, the beauty of the stone work. It would not only have impressed the people who saw it, it would have put them in awe of the structure."
Orkney is already renowned for its Stone Age architecture. But the team working on the island believe this new discovery would have been even more important in its day than many of the island's other sites, and would have stood at the heart of Stone Age Orkney. Archaeologist Antonia Thomas said:
"It's absolutely amazing. I mean this is for myself and the other archaeologists why we are in the profession. This site is really just the best place we could be. You really have to suspend your disbelief sometimes. Almost every 10 minutes someone pops up and they've found something amazing. The artefacts on the site are amazing too. It's just spectacular."
Video @ 'STV'
The terror ‘threat’ is everywhere, the unseen creature that strikes the unsuspecting. While it would demand a minimal economy of effort to strike at an Australian army barrack, exaggeration is very much the norm in the lingua franca of anti-terrorism. As history professor Binoy Kampmark notes, “An entire apparatus in coping with terrorists employs methods of fear and surveillance while offering the disclaimer: we are doing it to protect you while watching you.”Australia, the earth’s largest island continent, has had those customary fears associated with the nation still believing in notions of virgo intacta. Immigrations regulations are strict; intruders by leaky boats and unreliable rafts are treated with suspicion. Terrorist attacks are few and far between in a country that urbanized so rapidly it stifled the urge to revolt. Apart from the Hilton bombings in 1978, Australia has proven fairly immune from the phenomenon of political terrorism.
In the previous years, that sense of security has been disturbed. A plot to blow up spectators at sporting events in Australia was foiled and seven men imprisoned after final hearings were held last year. The case was, however, marred by inconsistencies and a questionable performance by the prosecution. The desperation at getting a conviction was palpable.
A few weeks ago, Australians were treated to boasts of Terror Foiled. It was claimed that suicide bombers associated with the Somali group Al-Shabaab had not succeeded in consummating their plans to storm the Holsworthy Army Barracks, a base in Sydney’s southwest, with the intent of killing numerous soldiers with assault weapons.
With a certain condescending note, Time wrote about how, on August 4, Australians ‘quickly began to learn the pronunciation of the Somali terrorist group’s name.’ Four hundred police in a joint federal and state operation had moved across Melbourne, raiding nineteen properties. Four men were arrested that day, followed by another four the next. The men are of Lebanese and Somali background.
An unhealthy, psychic state has been unearthed in these revelations: a desire, almost a wish, that Australian sites would prove worthy as genuine terrorist targets. There is a hierarchy in the west on the worthy and unworthy in the terrorist game. A condition of terror envy has taken root. ‘There is,’ a grave Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd argued, ‘an enduring threat of terrorism at home here in Australia as well as overseas.’
In the ‘age of terror’, the hypothetical terrorist event has become the premier showcase, the determining issue on policy.
For the ill-directed and confused figures beavering away at Canberra’s Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Australia remained, to quote one of its supposed experts Carl Ungerer, ‘a gold medal target for Al Qaeda’ begging the question as to when it attained that prestigious award.
In short, the terror ‘threat’ is everywhere, the unseen creature that strikes the unsuspecting. While it would demand a minimal economy of effort to strike at Holsworthy base, exaggeration is very much the norm in the lingua franca of anti-terrorism. A Somali-based terrorist organization intent on imposing Shari’a rule in Somalia proper does not look like a particularly strong, yet alone credible enemy for a country on the other side of the earth. Throw in an Al Qaeda link though, and you seem to rise in the ladder of terror envy.
Even Somali voices have weighed into the debate. A Somali leader, the Islamic scholar Dr. Herse Hilole, claims he made murmurings about the likelihood of an attack a few years ago. ‘My suspicion was that young Somali Muslims could be or may be used in the future to carry [out] some terrorist activities in Australia’ (ABC News, Aug 4).
The Eritrean chairman of the Melbourne-based African Think Tank, Berhan Ahmed, has been toying with the idea Australia’s failed assimilation program would pose threats to its local security. 16,000 Somalis have found refuge in Australia, fleeing the ravages of civil war. But teething problems with integration remain. Housing complexes and tenements have become breeding grounds for disaffection. Un-employment is chronic. The options are stark: the embrace of charismatic religious figures or ruinous drugs.
We are left with the recurring hypothetical event, an occurrence unrealised, all the more potent for that fact. In the ‘age of terror’, the hypothetical terrorist event has become the premier showcase, the determining issue on policy. ‘Potentially this would have been, if it had been able to be carried out, the most serious terrorist attack on Australian soil,’ claims Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Tony Negus. An entire anti-terror system is based on invoking terror, measured by ’states’ of emergency, alarm and concern. An entire apparatus in coping with terrorists employs methods of fear and surveillance while offering the disclaimer: we are doing it to protect you while watching you.
Links and evidence remain sketchy in these revelations. What was in the news as carnival fanfare has now died down, leaving the shadowy business to interrogators and trial lawyers. In a society that is currently functioning on the idea of a permanent war in times of permanent peace, we are left less clear than ever what role the Somali organization truly has in Australia. It is not a situation the authorities are necessarily keen to dispel. Public confusion, not to mention ignorance, persists in remaining the handiest of state assets.
Note: Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com. The above article was posted at Counterpunch.org.
Hackers are now using Twitter to send coded update messages to computers they’ve previously infected with rogue code, according to a report from net-monitoring firm Arbor Networks.
“I’m here to save the unborn – after they come out of the vagina, they can go fuck themselves.”
Four men with the U.S. firm once known as Blackwater are said to be under investigation in the deaths of two Afghans. A U.S. report found serious fault with private security firms in Afghanistan.
The water was FREEZING!
He may be presiding over two wars and facing a terror threat at home and abroad, but you'd hardly know it from listening to President Barack Obama speak.
Obama has uttered more than a half-million words in public since taking office Jan. 20 - and a POLITICO analysis of nearly every word in this vast
Story @ 'BBC' here.
