Björk trusts pirates will crack Biophilia

Björk has responded to criticism of her decision to only release her new Biophilia app on Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPad touch devices by admitting she trusts software pirates will expand its availability.
“I’m not supposed to say this, probably,” she told Drowned in Sound, “but I’m trusting that the pirates out there won’t tie their hands behind their back.”
She added that compatibility was an issue her app designers had been made aware of:

“That’s why we really made sure when we wrote all the programs that they will transfer to other systems. I mean, I don’t totally understand technologically what it is that makes that possible.”

Asked if she thought there was a discord between the project’s proclaimed ‘punk values’ and Apple’s proprietary devices, she said:

“Yeah, for sure, there’s definitely another polarity there, a conflict. The only solution for me was to somehow be some sort of a ‘Kofi Annan’ and try and make these two worlds speak to each other.”

She said that she fully expects the new software to become more widely available and end up on less expensive operating systems and devices:

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve been in Africa in the last few years, and Indonesia. There are people there who have cardboard houses but they have mobile phones. Everybody’s texting. It’s just a question of time before touch screens are cheap.”

Biophilia is a multi-media project comprising a studio album and an app featuring a game for each of the 10 new tracks, as well as a new website, custom-made musical instruments, live performances, and educational workshops. Björk collaborated on the project with app developers, scientists, writers, inventors, musicians, and instrument makers and believes that alongside her new music she has created a unique way of learning about science, nature and musicology.
Kevin E.G. Perry @'Drowned In Sound'

American Blogger Praises Oslo Shooter

The Oslo Syndrome

EDL leader demanded debate on killing David Cameron and archbishop

A rare photograph of Alan Lake, who said it would be ‘great to see liberals executed or tortured’
A senior member of the English Defence League, who founded a far-right website carrying articles by bloggers closely monitored by the Norwegian gunman Anders Behring Breivik, published an online essay discussing the execution and torture of the UK's political and religious leaders.
On 23 May 2010, Alan Lake posted on his 4 Freedoms website an article outlining his belief that "in 20 or 30 years the UK will start to fragment into Islamic enclaves". He went on: "It's time we decide... who we will force in the Islamic enclaves (and who we will execute if they sneak out.) By forcing these liberal twits into those enclaves, we will be sending them to their death at worst, and at best they and their families will be subjected to all the depredations, persecution and abuse that non-Muslims worldwide currently 'enjoy' in countries like Pakistan... It will be great to see them executed or tortured to death."
Lake urged visitors to the site to contribute the names of people who should be sent to the Islamic enclaves and made three of his own suggestions. He suggested that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, should be a candidate on the grounds that he "approves of the creation and use of sharia courts". David Cameron, he explained, should be included in the discussion "to help refine our criteria about who deserves to die at the hands of the Muslim overlords". He also included Nick Clegg on the grounds that he is "such an angelic and pure person that he upholds various 'human rights' issues more important than plebeian matters of public safety".
Soon after his posting, Lake removed the references to execution and torture. "I took it back after one day," he said. "I said, 'This doesn't help.' I'm not perfect, I will make mistakes. But the fundamental point of that piece is correct. I am holding people responsible for the consequences of their actions."
In interviews outlining the EDL's philosophy, Lake describes himself as its"events director". He has admitted to loaning the EDL equipment, but denied claims he bankrolls the organisation.
Users of the 4 Freedoms site have posted articles by a far-right blogger known as Fjordman who was extensively cited by Breivik in the 1,500-page manifesto he issued shortly after the mass killings. On a separate far right website, Gates of Vienna, Breivik is believed to have posted a tribute to Fjordman , under the internet pseudonym "year2183".
"Keep up the good work mate," Breivik writes in response to a Fjordman posting. "You are a true hero of Europe, although most ppl [people] won't realise this for a very long time."
Last week Lake issued a statement saying he did not know Breivik and had never met him: "I categorically condemn his actions, which have also killed friends of a friend of mine – one in Oslo and two on Utøya island." But Lake said he would continue his support for the EDL. "England is the only country that has anything like the EDL, a large grassroots movement that is raising issues that you are not supposed to raise," he said. "They reopen the debate."
Lake has spoken at far-right rallies in Sweden and on Norwegian television, where he has warned that Europe is in danger of becoming an Islamic state. Responding to a march by Muslims in Britain calling for the imposition of sharia law, Lake told the Norwegian channel 2 Nyhetene: "They are seeking the overthrow of the state. As far as I am concerned, I'll be happy to execute people like that."
Some of his comments have alarmed even those close to the EDL. Paul Ray, a right-wing Christian blogger, who founded the EDL in 2006 and who has denied being Breivik's mentor, said: "As things have gone on, it's become apparent how extreme [Lake's] views are. This is a guy directing an extreme far-right movement in the UK."
Ray said Lake played an important role in linking the EDL to influential far-right communities online. "The anti-jihad movement isn't your mainstream press, it's all online [far-right] blogs and websites and Lake has been able to keep them on board. They [Tommy Robinson, the EDL's leader] know that without this online presence they won't have any support."
Fjordman has condemned the killings in Norway and in an online posting said he would not be responding to calls for interviews. The EDL has also condemned Breivik's actions.
Jamie Doward, Vicus Burger and James Burton @'The Guardian'

'Chelse Hotel' closes to guests

A Last Night Among the Spirits at the Chelsea Hotel

The man who couldn't stop drawing

Drawing began to take over Jon Sarkin's life. Pictures poured from his fingers, spilling out of some deep place. Photograph: Webb Chappell
Jon Sarkin and Hank Turgeon had battled all afternoon on the Cape Ann golf course, Massachusetts. The time was about 3pm, Thursday 20 October 1988, and the two friends had cut out of work early, Sarkin from his chiropractic office, Turgeon from his carpentry. A slight breeze rippled as Sarkin bent down, reached inside his golf bag and fished around for a tee. As he pulled out his hand, he experienced a hideous dizzying sensation, as if his brain had suddenly twisted.
A part of his head seemed to unhinge, to split apart and rush away. I'm 35 years old and I'm going to die, he said to himself.
"Is anything wrong?" Turgeon asked.
Sarkin hesitated, trying to get his bearings.
What could he say? That he felt as if his brain had just broken in half? Sarkin took a few deep breaths, teed up his ball and swung from his heels.
He felt queasy, and as he walked towards the fairway he tried not to move his head. What he did not know was that somewhere deep in his brain a single blood vessel had shifted ever so slightly and the movement, as minuscule as it was, had caused a cataclysmic response in one of his cranial nerves.
"Do you mind if we quit?" he said.
"Sure," Turgeon answered.
When Sarkin walked in the door, his wife, Kim, knew immediately something wasn't right. "What's wrong, Jon?" she asked, balancing their nine-month-old baby boy on her hip.
"I don't know what happened," he said. "I just know everything is different and it's not ever going to be the same..."

Continue reading

Amy Ellis Nutt @'The Guardian'

Norwegian attacks stem from a new ideological hate

Lockerbie: The Pan Am bomber

When the Libyan intelligence operative Abdel Baset al-Megrahi eventually dies of the prostate cancer that so controversially won him his freedom from a Scottish prison, his death will trigger headlines around the world. But few tears will be shed for the only man ever found guilty of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 -- until 9/11, the most lethal terrorist attack ever on American civilians. Certainly not by the American families, who felt shock and revulsion at al-Megrahi's release. Nor by American politicians, infuriated at the long list of British and Scottish officials who have refused to testify before a Senate committee investigating possible backroom deals involving Scottish and British officials, British commercial interests and the Libyan government. Yet by the accounts of those who knew him best, the convicted man himself will go to his grave insisting he was innocent of the murder of the 270 passengers, crew and residents, who perished at Lockerbie in Scotland, that December night. Drawing exclusively on a previously confidential, legal report, The Pan Am Bomber reveals the evidence that would have been presented in al-Megrahi's stillborn appeal against his conviction. Our investigation is backed up by 97 gigabytes of official documents, whistleblower testimony and photographic evidence - all of which will explain why and how al-Megrahi's conviction was fatally flawed. It reveals how the chain of evidence used to convict al-Megrahi was broken and, in at least one crucial instance, tampered with. It also shows why it was in the interest of all of the parties (except the convicted man himself) to make sure that the appeal was never heard.

2011 APRA Music Awards - Paul Kelly

10 million illegal drug users have hepatitis C

Tax Cut Memories

Examining the British far right

Via

Krautrock - The Rebirth Of Germany

Music therapy may help depression

Music therapy can be used to improve treatment of depression, at least in the short term, say researchers in Finland.

The technique used non-verbal communication to help patients express their emotions.
A study on 79 people, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, showed a greater improvement than in patients receiving standard therapy.
British experts said music may engage people in ways that words cannot.
Music therapists are used, including by the NHS, to help children who struggle to communicate. Playing instruments and singing with a trained music therapist is supposed to help children express themselves.
Initial improvement In this study, all patients with depression recieved the standard practice of counselling and appropriate medication. Thirty three of them were also given 20 sessions with a trained music therapist, which involved things such as drumming.
After three months, patients recieving music therapy showed a greater improvement in scores of anxiety and depression than the other set of patients.
However, there was no statistical improvement after six months.
Professor Christian Gold, from the University of Jyväskylä, said: "Our trial has shown that music therapy, when added to standard care helps people to improve their levels of depression and anxiety."
"Music therapy has specific qualities that allow people to express themselves and interact in a non-verbal way - even in situations when they cannot find the words to describe their inner experiences.
Dr Mike Crawford, who specialises in mental health services at Imperial College London, said in a journal editorial: "The results suggest that it can improve the mood and general functioning of people with depression.
"Music-making is social, pleasurable and meaningful. It has been argued that music making engages people in ways that words may simply not be able to."
@'BBC'