Sunday, 9 October 2011

billmaher Bill Maher
Is there anything stupider in the whole world than newspaper cartoons of recently dead famous people meeting god in heaven?

Epilepsy as a door between worlds

Polly Borland’s Indescribably Creepy 'Smudge' Photographs

Who’d have thought that a stocking could make a photo look so singularly creepy? London-based photographer Polly Borland’s ongoing series Smudge employs a series of strange costumes and incongruous props to distort the bodies of its subjects, creating images that are both evocative and disconcerting. They’re all the more disturbing as you never see the faces of the people you’re looking at — they’re hidden behind wigs or make-up smeared stockings or Clockwork Orange-style masks. There’s definitely something sexual about the images, but crucially, they’re never explicit — you get the sense that some strange fetish is being implied or evoked, but you’re never quite sure what it is, and maybe that’s for the best. Borland’s work is well known in her native Australia and her adopted home of London, and the first US showing of the photos from Smudge is happening now at Paul Kasmin gallery in NYC. Click through to see some of the images on show.

♪♫ The Flaming Lips - The Spark That Bled (Hollywood Forever Cemetary 6-14-11)

Download 'The Soft Bulletin' Live 5/19/11 in Atlanta (Videos) HERE.
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German General Says NATO Mission Has 'Failed'

Wall Street protesters have little faith in US democracy

Discontent with the state of the US economy has drawn many protesters out to demonstrations in major cities in the United States.
The "Occupy Wall Street" movement that started in New York on September 17 has spread to over 90 other US cities.
As the 24-hour encampment continued in New York City on Friday, there were demonstrations around the country, including in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Austin and Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Washington DC.
Some Republican politicians are criticising the movement.
Republican House Majority leader Eric Cantor called the protesters "growing mobs".
But the protesters are not focused on the US' traditional political system.
"We need to dictate the policy up, not policy being dictated down," Jesse LaGreca, a protester on Wall Street, told Al Jazeera.
"We will be the leaders, and if there's any politicianss who wanna support us in passing policies that we support, then that's the best we to about gaining our support."
Katie Davison, another Wall Street protester, agreed.
"A candidate is sort of the old way of doing things," she told Al Jazeera. "We're looking for a new way of doing things that is more participatory and more meaningful. What that looks like we're still figuring out."
Anthropoligist, writer and protest organiser David Graeber, told Al Jazeera why he thinks young people in the US have reached an especially frustrating point.
In making a demand, you're essentially recognising the authority of the people who are going to carry it out," he said.
"Our message is that the system that we have is broken. It doesn't work. People aren't even discussing the real problems Americans face."

De La Soul Is Dead: Original Samples

De La Soul Is Dead was De La’s second album, released in 1991. Production, just as their first LP, is credited to Prince Paul. We got most of the samples in this set… only missing a few, indicated below. We’ve also included some bonus samples to a couple of ”A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays” remixes.
Download

xenijardin Xeni Jardin

Shorter CNN just now: #OccupyWallStreet is bad cause they're taking up space used by jugglers, street performers, ergo OWS takes away jobs.

Matt Taibbi on SEC covering up Wall Street crimes (Countdown with Keith Olbermann)

The Sharpest Beach Bums You’ll Ever Meet

This IS Class War

M.ElGohary

AJELive AJELive

Reuters: #Saleh says in speech on state TV "I will be leaving power in the coming days". aje.me/lvLnbE

#Yemen

Protest in London marks 10 years of war in Afghanistan

A protest is taking place in central London to mark 10 years of the conflict in Afghanistan.

Musicians, actors, film-makers, artists and MPs are joining protesters for the Anti-war Mass Assembly in Trafalgar Square.
The Stop The War Coalition says it expects a huge turnout. It says opinion polls show most British people want a "speedy withdrawal" of UK forces.
But a BBC correspondent says protest numbers so far are lower than expected.
Ben Ando, in Trafalgar Square, estimated there were 800 to 1,000 people at the event.
Speakers at the event include Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, journalist John Pilger, activist Jemima Khan, singer Billy Bragg, composer Howard Blake, musician Brian Eno, comedian Mark Steel, Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif, head of the Unite union Len McCluskey, actors Simon McBurney and Mark Rylance, and a number of Labour MPs.
Later, ex-soldiers and military families are due to march on Downing Street.
'Bring troops home' A Stop The War spokesman said: "After 10 years of war in Afghanistan, more than 100,000 Nato troops remain and tens of thousands have died.
"The Government claims that the war is contributing to Britain's stability look increasingly hollow.
"Opinion polls suggest the majority of Britons want a speedy withdrawal of British troops, a view recently endorsed by the trade unions.
"Politicians have to get in step with public opinion and announce a date to bring troops home."
Campaigners held a Naming the Dead Ceremony, in which 120 names of British soldiers and Afghan civilians who have died in the 10 years since the war began will be read out.
The same number of balloons will be released, each symbolising the months of the conflict so far.
'Tweet-out' A "Tweet-out" led by Khan will take place, in which those in attendance will use social media to get their message to a wider audience.
At 16:00 BST - the closing stages of the demo - a delegation are due to march on Downing Street to deliver their message to the prime minister that they want the conflict to end as soon as possible.
Our correspondent said it remained to be seen whether the prime minister was at Downing Street or whether he would come out to meet campaigners.
The number of British military deaths in operations in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 382.
@'BBC'
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