1985 Singles # 39 Billy Idol
1 hour ago
Friday, 1 January 2010
Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters Speaks Out in Support of Gaza Freedom March, Blasts Israeli-Egyptian “Siege” of Gaza
In a Democracy Now!exclusive interview, British musician Roger Waters of the iconic rock band Pink Floyd speaks out about the Gaza Freedom March. “I actually would be very interested to hear what the President of the United States has to say about this nonviolent, democratic demonstration of ordinary people from forty-two countries all over the world,” says Waters. “They feel solidarity with their brothers and sisters, other human beings who are living in conditions that none of us would stand for, for a single second, in any of our countries.”
Well, Roger Waters is also a supporter of the Gaza Freedom March and an outspoken critic of Israel’s separation wall with the West Bank and the underground wall Egypt’s building with Gaza that Ali Abunimah was just talking about.
Democracy Now!’s Miguel Nogueira spoke with Roger Waters this weekend and asked him about Gaza.
- ROGER WATERS: We implore the Egyptian government to allow this peaceful, nonviolent protest at the siege of this country to proceed. I have a feeling they will. This again points to the power, or the potential power, of this demonstration. I think the Egyptian government may find that if they deny this due process of the rights of human beings to peacefully protest when they see a crime being committed, then they will find themselves on very dangerous shifting sands and put into a very difficult position themselves. So this again speaks to the fact that the organizing committee of the Freedom March on Gaza have already achieved—even before they start, they’ve achieved, to some extent, their aim, because this is becoming big news around the world, and it will become bigger and bigger news. And if, as we all hope, they actually make it across the border and they meet with Palestinians, I think it’s hard to imagine what an amazing surge of hope that could engender in the hearts of the Palestinian people who actually meet with them and get to talk to people from the outside, and so on and so forth, and for them to understand that we have not forgotten them. We saw a year ago, when the Israelis invaded and razed Gaza practically to the ground, although I know what happened there, as well as it is possible, because I pay attention, most of the media in the US and in the UK really played it down. Otherwise, if they hadn’t played it down, it seems impossible that the uprising of shock and horror at what was done to the Palestinians in Gaza a year ago would have entirely demanded that the US government and the UK government take action and impose some kind of sanctions on the Israelis, or something, or at least say something, deplore the action, or do something. What actually happened, of course, is that when the Goldstone report came out, they sort of went, “Oh, well, maybe this guy is a bit strange, and we don’t”—you know? There is a huge and unfathomable tendency to want this problem to go away. And this is too difficult for us to deal with, and it would mean us actually confronting our Israeli allies. I actually would be very interested to hear what the President of the United States has to say about this nonviolent, democratic demonstration of ordinary people from forty-two countries all over the world marching into a very uncomfortable place because they feel solidarity with their brothers and sisters, other human beings who are living in conditions that none of us would stand for, for a single second, in any of our countries. So I hope Barack Obama will respond to this, and I hope he makes a statement about it. And I hope he will come out and support this march. And I hope he will come out and say, “Listen, this siege of this country is illegal, and we must support—we must support the law. We must support the rights that human beings have under the law.”
ز آنمیر حسین موسوی: بیانیه شماره ۱۷ موسوی به مناسبت وقایع عاشورا و روزهای پس
Mir Hossein Mousavi has issued his first statement after Sunday’s Ashura demonstrations. Criticizing the brutal confrontation of the Government’s forces with the mourning nation of Iran, Mousavi offers a five-stage resolution.
Mousavi’s stages are 1) the acceptance by the administration, the Parliament. and the judiciary of direct responsibility for recent events, 2) a transparent law for elections that can create public trust, 3) release of political prisoners restoring their dignity and honour, 4) recognition of the freedom of press and media, and 5) confirmation of the people’s right of legal demonstrations.
Without singling out the martyrdom of his nephew on Ashura, Mousavi reiterates that he has no fear of becoming a martyr in the people’s quest for their legitimate religious and political demands. He declares that any order for the execution, murder, or imprisonment of Mousavi, Mehdi Karoubi Mousavi, or other prominent reformists will not solve Iran’s problems.
We watch to see if Tehran’s Friday Prayers, led by Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, bring a significant show of support for the regime to follow Wednesday’s rally. Meanwhile Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli has issued a statement on the events of Ashura, expressing his sorrow and concern over violence involving police against protesters. Javadi-Amoli said it was essential that while those who were breaking the law were dealt with, while those were demonstrating peacefully should not
be treated justly.
Afghan suicide bomber invited onto base
The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a remote outpost in southeastern Afghanistan had been invited onto the base and had not been searched, two former U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
A former senior intelligence official says the man was being courted as an informant and that it was the first time he had been brought inside the camp. An experienced CIA debriefer came from Kabul for the meeting, suggesting that the purpose was to gain intelligence, the official said.
The former intelligence official and another former official with knowledge of the attack spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The CIA would not confirm the details, and said it was still gathering evidence on the incident.
"It's far too early to draw conclusions about something that happened just yesterday," said spokesman George Little.
A separate U.S. official suggested the bomber may have set off the explosives as he was about to be searched.
The bombing on Wednesday dealt a blow to the tight-knit spy agency. Among those killed was the chief of the CIA post, whom former officials identified as a mother of three. Six more agency personnel were wounded in what was considered the most lethal attack for the CIA since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001 and possibly even since the 1983 embassy bombing in Beirut.
It also was the single deadliest attack for Americans in Afghanistan since eight soldiers were killed in an insurgent attack on a base in the east on Oct. 3...
Rising UK alcohol addiction costs 'could cripple the NHS'
The cost of treating the growing number of people drinking heavily threatens to cripple NHS hospitals, warn experts.If the trend continues the burden will be unsustainable, the Royal College of Physicians and NHS Confederation say.
With a quarter of England's population consuming hazardous amounts, alcohol addiction already costs the NHS more than £2.7 billion a year.
Services need work together to avert a crisis, with the emphasis on prevention, they say in a joint report.
Currently, most of the money is being spent on hospital and ambulance services.
 |  This burden is no longer sustainable  Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians |
Increasing out-of-hospital provision could be more cost effective, it says.
This would include GPs screening and counselling their patients on alcohol misuse.
Trials suggest that brief advice from a GP, or practice nurse, leads to one in eight people reducing their drinking to within sensible levels.
This, says the report, compares well with smoking cessation, where only one in 20 change their behaviour.
Changing the way alcohol-related services are delivered could save hospitals 1,000 bed days and Primary Care Trusts up to £650,000 a year, experts estimate.
Breaking point
Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: "The nation's growing addiction to alcohol is putting an immense strain on health services, especially in hospitals, costing the NHS over £2.7 billion each year."
And this sum has doubled in under five years.
"This burden is no longer sustainable," he said.
"The role of the NHS should not just be about treating the consequences of alcohol related-harm but also about active prevention, early intervention, and working in partnership with services in local communities to raise awareness of alcohol-related harm."
Steve Barnett, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "We hope this report helps to outline the scale of the problems facing the NHS and acts as a warning that if we carry on drinking in the way that we are currently, the bar bill will be paid in worse health and a health system struggling to cope."
A Department of Health spokesperson welcomed the report: "We agree the level of alcohol-related hospital admissions, crime, and deaths are still unacceptable.
"We are now seeing a real will by the NHS for change and improvement in alcohol services.
"Two thirds of PCTs have adopted reducing alcohol-related hospital admissions as a local priority for the first time.
"The department is providing Primary Care Trusts with the support, tools and incentives to deliver alcohol services in their own areas effectively according to local needs."
(Thanx Michael)
LOL!
(Click to enlarge)
They say that Google is yr friend but...
They say that Google is yr friend but...
Hope you had luck!
Not that I condone such behaviour y'unnerstand, but you are free to do whatever you want with yr nostrils!
Not that I condone such behaviour y'unnerstand, but you are free to do whatever you want with yr nostrils!
The changing concept of design
There are few places oozing tradition like Oxford’s Randolph Hotel. During the TEDGlobal conference you would pass the restaurant where tea sandwiches are served on ornate étagères and enter a thickly carpeted room full of shelves filled with the works of progressive thinkers. The local bookshop had set up a satellite store for the event. Right there against the wall, a futuristic gadget was on display in a fancy jewel case. It looked like a military-grade USB stick made of brushed metal. A friendly gentleman from Boston explained that this was the Genome Key, made by his company, Knome. For a handsome fee, they would decipher your complete genome and deliver it on this small stick. Your biological present stored for a “gentech” future.
The Genome Key had all the markings of a great design object: the metallic sheen, the shiny box, the futuristic lines. But it wasn’t the look that made the Genome Key such a great example of intriguing design. It was the system surrounding and supporting this storage device; the aesthetic allure was just an afterthought. The Genome Key can record one’s complete genome, not just the part that is usable today. This avoids making it a soon-to-be-obsolete technology. Also, all of your genetic data is exclusively stored on this device only, so customers don’t have to worry that their most intimate information will be hacked from an institution’s database. The Genome Key, albeit far from a mass consumer product, embodied the new role of design that had become evident during the TED talks.
It has always been hard to explain what effect TED has on global trends. Each conference can be something like a high-voltage engine that gives ideas a velocity that propels them into the public mind with the impact of a Tesla Roadster on the shoulder of a clogged freeway. People take notice. Revolutionary ideas about design might not have originated at TED, but they did get the necessary exposure to gain further thrust.
Seismic shifts in thinking never happen as suddenly as an earthquake. The first tremors can be felt years or even decades before. As usual, a few threads materialized at this year’s TEDGlobal conference under the topic “The Substance of Things Not Seen.” None exemplified the essence of TED better than the paradigmatic shift in thinking about design.
This change of perspective might not be perceived as such a seismic shift in the design world itself, a world that has never been monolithic. Still, ask most people about design, and they will tell you that it belongs in the realm of aesthetics. And who could blame them for having this perception? Even basic texts, from Martin Heidegger to Walter Benjamin to Theodor Adorno, say the same thing: Art and design will change how the world looks, not how the world is.
There are exceptions. In 1980, at the "Forum Design"“ exhibition in the Austrian city of Linz, the Swiss art historian and sociologist Lucius Burckhart introduced his essay “Design is Invisible.” He didn’t accept design as an art form. He explained how design can only function if put in the context of a real-life situation. A city. An intersection. A workplace. Burckhart wasn’t just ahead of his time. He embodied the zeitgeist of the day. In 1980, design had just started to make inroads into general society. Chain stores such as IKEA and Habitat introduced design to the suburban home. Later, magazines such as Wallpaper turned the refined knowledge of design experts into mass-market values, just as Julia Child transformed the elitist art of French cooking into an everyday skill.
What design seemed to never lose, despite its populist efforts — from Bauhaus to Design Within Reach — was the stigma of being either a luxury or a means of seduction by industries trying to sell electronic gadgets or housewares. Marx’s essay on commodity fetishism kept the public’s perception of design hostage. This ideological struggle is as apparent as ever in the fight over the future of New York’s Ground Zero between the architects Daniel Libeskind and David Childs. Libeskind had an artistic vision with symbolist grandeur. Childs just wanted to make the site a working part of the city.
What had been a contradiction in New York has become a new way of thinking that unites two formerly antagonistic ways of viewing design. What has emerged at TED conferences through the years is a vision of design that does not limit itself to the parameters of form and function. Design has become the engine of innovation, giving mere ideas shape and substance. It has evolved into the highest form of communication, turning ideas into solutions. In fact, giving the TED Prize to the architect Cameron Sinclair in 2006 was a milestone event. Here was a young man with a vision of creating a network for open-source architecture to solve problems in emergency situations such as disasters and wars.
The work Sinclair has done with Architecture for Humanity has eased the suffering of thousands in the areas affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami, in the hurricane zone of Katrina, and in refugee centers around the world. He still embodies what many of this year’s TEDGlobal speakers put forth in Oxford. Ross Lovegrove defined his design as inspired by evolution. Janine Benyus discussed biomimicry, a theory of design in which man-made objects imitate the lessons of nature. Mathieu Lehanneur told us he had been designing this way without ever having heard about Benyus’ concepts.
Design has become a way of finding solutions. Aesthetics is just a part of this process. Maybe in a few decades we will look back at TEDGlobal and remember that shiny stick next to the bookshelves. For future generations, the Genome Key might very well become for the genetic age what the Walkman was for today’s digital age: the forefather of a revolution of omnipresent information permeating every part of our lives.
Don't you wish you had been there?
Four nights of the best the post punk world had to offer in 1979 in the bowels of the London YMCA in Tottenham Court Road. Never had been there for a gig before nor again. It was a great place to watch bands though.
The unannounced band on the first night was Echo and the Bunnymen, still with 'Echo' (their drum machine). It was one of the first gigs that they and The Teardrop Explodes had played in London. I got given a mixing desk tape of both band's performance, very unfortunately long since gone.
Joy Division? Well another powerful performance, they truly were an amazing live band and while the records are brilliant, live it was something else completely, much more visceral and raw obviously without any of Martin Hannett's studio trickery.
'Autosuggestion' (Live @YMCA)Rema Rema were enjoyable, with Marco Pirroni on guitar and I fell in love with Max the drummer (who later released the single 'I Confess' as Dorothy on Industrial Records).
Cabaret Voltaire's performance can be heard on their 'Live At The YMCA' album. (EDIT: It was another performance at the YMCA)
Though to be honest it doesn't give justice to their sound as it was recorded on a boogie box.
What can you say about Throbbing Gristle that hasn't been said before? Well again the performance has been released (as part of the TG24 box set) but unfortunately it omits the dubbed/fucked up version of the Village People's 'YMCA' that led into their performance and featured some amusing dance poses by Genesis but the highlight for me was that night's version of the 'Chat Up' at least that is what has stayed all these years in my memory banks
Of the other bands that played Scritti Politti were as usual superb, so different to the entity that they became, this was spikey/angular music influenced by the spaces of dub and joined by Pee Wee Pasqual (AKA Ian Penman) on sax.
Lastly Mark Perry from the Good Missionaries really pissed me off that night by smashing his guitar at the end of their set. 'We Destroy All Rock'nRoll'? Nah, just an empty cliche Mark!
Lastly Mark Perry from the Good Missionaries really pissed me off that night by smashing his guitar at the end of their set. 'We Destroy All Rock'nRoll'? Nah, just an empty cliche Mark!
The promoters 'Final Solution' (!) went on to become the promoters of choice in London for that whole post punk crew and as I sold tickets from record shops that I worked at (Bonaparte in KingsX and then Kentish Town's Honky Tonk) it meant that I could get into all the gigs for free!
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(Which I guess is the reason I couldn't remember anything about The Monochrome Set)
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