Thursday, 29 October 2009

Massive Attack/Portishead - Rising Son & Glory Box

Fever Ray - When I Grow Up

Car bomb in crowded Pakistan market kills 105

Suspected militants exploded a car bomb in a market crowded with women and children Wednesday, killing 105 people and turning shops selling wedding dresses, toys and jewelry into a mass of burning debris and bodies.

The attack in the northwestern city of Peshawar was Pakistan's deadliest since 2007 and came as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the country to offer support for its fight against a strengthening al-Qaida and Taliban-led insurgency based along the Afghan border.

Clinton was three hours' drive away in the capital meeting Pakistani government leaders when the bomb went off in Peshawar. Her trip was not announced in advance in Pakistan for security reasons.

The bomb was directed squarely at civilians, unlike many previous blasts that have targeted security forces or government or Western interests. While no one claimed responsibility, the bomb appeared aimed at undercutting public and political support for an ongoing army offensive against militants close to the frontier and showing that the government was unable to keep its people safe.

@'AP'

Why a tight market for drugs may be contributing to recent violence in Rio

All of Brazil’s big cities have a vigorous market in illegal drugs. If surveys of drug use are to be believed, consumption of cocaine, crack and cannabis per head in Rio de Janeiro is near the median when compared with other state capitals. So why is the city that has just won the 2016 Olympics so prone to paroxysms of drug violence, as seen on the weekend of October 17th-18th, in which about 25 people were killed (including three policemen), ten buses were set on fire and a police helicopter was shot down?
@'The Economist'

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

"Helpmaboab!"

New computer & Google Wave...
My head is

EXPLODING!!!

Opium and Afghanistan



(Thanx for the link Fifi)

Troops already outnumber Taliban 12-1 in Afghanistan

There are already more than 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan working with 200,000 Afghan security forces and police. It adds up to a 12-1 numerical advantage over Taliban rebels, but it hasn't led to anything close to victory.

Now, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan is asking for tens of thousands more troops to stem the escalating insurgency, raising the question of how many more troops it would take to succeed.

The commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, says the extra forces are needed to implement a new strategy that focuses on protecting civilians and depriving the militants of popular support in a country where tribal militias may be Taliban today and farmers tomorrow.

The White House said Tuesday that President Barack Obama has nearly finished gathering information and advice on how to proceed in Afghanistan, where bombings killed eight more American troops. With October now the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the war, many experts question the need for more troops.

"The U.S. and its allies already have ample numbers and firepower to annihilate the Taliban, if only the Taliban would cooperate by standing still and allowing us to bomb them to smithereens," said Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations and history at Boston University, and one-time platoon leader in Vietnam.

"But the insurgents are conducting the war in ways that do not play to (allied) strengths."

@'AP'

Date-rape drink spiking 'an urban legend'

Widespread spiking of drinks with date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol and GHB is an "urban legend" fuelled by young women unwilling to accept they have simply consumed too much alcohol, academics believe.
A study of more than 200 students revealed many wrongly blamed the effects of a "bad night out" on date-rape drugs, when they had just drunk excessively.

Many are in "active denial" that drinking large amounts of alcohol can leave them "incoherent and incapacitated", the Kent University researchers concluded.
@'Telegraph'

However, as George Pitcher quite rightly points out here it is rapists that rape NOT alcohol!

Brother of Afghan President Is on C.I.A. Payroll

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country's booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former American officials.
The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, and those financial ties and the agency's close working relationship with him raise significant questions about America's war strategy, which is currently under review at the White House.
@'NY Times'

Smoking # 37

Icon

"(Women) are not just there to be admired, they are there to be enjoyed."--Ellen Von Unwerth

Three girls, one boy; "Action!"

Ellen von Unwerth, Pajama Party, 1995. 16"x20", gelatin silver print

Meanwhile over at (son of)...


Tracklisting:
1. Theme
2. Low Life
3. Annalisa
4. Religion
5. Public Image
6. Belsen Was A Gas
7. Attack
8. Problems
9. Public Image (encore)
10. Annalisa (encore)

Vocals - John Lydon
Guitar - Keith Levene
Bass - Jah Wobble
Drums - Jim Walker

Much like the Belgium show this tape is a must have for its historical value if nothing else. The band play a similar set with two major differences. One being the omission of the PiL song 'The Cowboy Song' and the addition of the Pistols song 'Problems'. Now I can understand why they played 'Belsen' to a degree since there was question to its authorship, but 'Problems' is clearly a Pistols song and it even sounds like Wobble wasn't that familiar with it on the tape. This would be the last time they would play it of course. The tape as a whole is a pretty good sounding audience recording with some minor static all throughout, but nothing too obtrusive. This being the second gig the band played, and one of the three that feature the true original band make it noteworthy.

NB
This is taken from the original bootleg cassette. The bootleg LP version of the gig 'Recorded in Paris When No One Was Looking' has slightly poorer sound quality, and does not feature the 2nd encores of 'Public Image' & 'Annalisa'. 'Religion' has also been transposed from between the first versions of 'Annalisa' & 'Public Image', to after 'Problems'.

HERE

The Grateful Dead - Hard To Handle

Pigpen belts it out during this 1970 concert in Canada from 'Festival Express'
Best YouToob comment from cassidy3268:
"...at 2:13 Jerry steps into the engine,at 2:38,,he's home..2:59 circling the planets...3:21...??? 4:01,,the look on his face is precious ...5:01..coming back to earth.... F#$%.....!!!!!!"
(Thanx SirMick)

Embrace the darkness with Fever Ray for this very special Halloween-themed RA podcast.


Tracklist
01. Neil Young - Guitar Solo 1
02. Yo La Tengo - Everyday
03. Journey To Ixtlan - Corpse On The Mesa
04. Jad & David Fair - Nosferatu
05. Zola Jesus - Devil Take You
06. Bruce Haack - Mean Old Devil
07. Krause - Duo Canopolis
08. Burial Hex - Will To Chapel
09. Suicide - Ghost Rider
10. Amadou & Miriam - Ja Pense À Toi
11. Shackleton - Death Is Not Final
12. Entombed - Night Of The Vampire
13. Maddalena Fagandini - Interval Signals
14. Burundi: Musiques Traditionnelles - Chant Avec Cithare

Karin Dreijer Andersson is one of the most enigmatic figures in electronic music. The driving force behind Fever Ray and one-half of brother/sister team The Knife, she's been responsible for some of the most beguiling music of the past half-decade. It's music that's often frightening—whether she intends it to be or not—because of the way she twists, masks and terrorizes her own voice, a haunting one-of-a-kind sound that has quickly become a trademark. "It is interesting what you find scary, and especially within music," says Andersson.

And that's the major reason why we asked Andersson to put together a very special RA podcast in advance of Halloween, featuring tracks that could soundtrack the season. Some are obvious (Shackleton, Burial Hex), some less so (Bruce Haack, Amadou & Miriam) and some take on a new resonance because of the context (Neil Young, Krause Duo). But as Andersson herself puts it, "I think the eclectic and wide range of music makes it more dynamic and more intense. The tracks affects each other, they get even more mean." We think that once you get done listening to this mixtape-like selection from Andersson and the rest of the Fever Ray touring group, you'll no doubt agree.

Get it
HERE