Friday, 3 February 2012

The Story of a Suicide

Ultra Violence

Wednesday's lethal soccer riots in the Suez Canal town of Port Said, which left more than 73 spectators and security personnel dead, marks a watershed moment in Egypt after the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak. This tragedy is not simply a story of a match gone horribly awry: It will have important and wide-ranging political ramifications, further isolate militant, highly politicized, violence-prone fan groups, single out the police for renewed criticism, and strengthen calls for the imposition of law and order.
Initial reports said the violence erupted during a match between storied Cairo club Al Ahly, Egypt's most popular team, and Premier League team Al Masry, with only a minimal number of security forces in the stadium. While Wednesday's deadly incident constitutes the worst soccer-related violence in an Egyptian stadium in the country's history, it is not the first time that militant fan groups - or "ultras," modeled on similar groups in Italy and Serbia - have invaded the pitch. The incident is but one of a series of violent events involving soccer fans since Mubarak's fall...
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Via
(Thanx Dave!)

OZ

(Thanx Erik!)

Combatting caste

Sweeping shit: this woman in Gujarat is one of India’s 800,000 toilet cleaners. Stan Thekaekara
‘In the rainy season,’ the woman began, ‘it is really bad. Water mixes with the shit and when we carry it (on our heads) it drips from the baskets, on to our clothes, our bodies, our faces. When I return home I find it difficult to eat food sometimes. The smell never gets out of my clothes, my hair. But this is our fate. To feed my children I have no option but to do this work.’
Narayanamma began cleaning human excrement at 13. She is now 35. The stench is nauseating, overpowering. First, she sweeps the shit into piles. Then, using two flat pieces of tin, she scoops it up and drops it into a bamboo basket which she carries to a spot where a tractor will arrive to pick it up. No gloves. No water to wash with. She hitches up her sari tightly so that it does not trail on the ground or touch the shit. Still, it is almost impossible to go through a whole day’s work without some of it inadvertently getting onto her clothes and person.
After 20-odd years of cleaning toilets, Narayanamma clings to a dignity which is markedly at variance with the work she does. She is dressed neatly, immaculately clean. Jasmine adorns her oiled and well-groomed hair...
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...and you think your life is shit!

(Thanx David!)

♪♫ Steve Earle - Rich Man's War

Image

Baxter Dury @ La Maroquinerie Paris 18.12.2011

1. Francesca's party
2. Isabel
3. Claire
4. Leak at the disco
5. Trellic
6. Babies
7. Hotel in Brixton
8. Impro
9. The Sun
10. Cocaine man
11. Love in the garden (Encore)
12. Oscar Brown (Encore)

Baxter Dury is the son of British singer Ian Dury