Saturday, 18 February 2012
Billy Bragg: Jingoism is no answer to England's ebbing power
Jingoism is a particularly British strain of belligerent nationalism. It comes decked not only in the Union Jack, but with a long trail of imperial relics meant to signify that we are still a world power. You could hear it in David Cameron's speech in Edinburgh on Thursday, when he invoked Britain's seat on the UN security council and prominent position in Nato. It's there when his back-benchers liken the European Union to the Third Reich. And we saw it last week in images of the gunboat that we have hastily dispatched to defend the Falklands.
Now that Cameron appears to have ruled out the status quo by promising greater devolution to the Scots if they vote no to independence, we're likely to hear more about how great Britain is in the days to come. For jingo is the default reaction of the English ruling class when they feel their interests are under threat. Unsure about our true position in a changing world, they hold onto the Union Jack like a comfort blanket, wrapping themselves in it to enhance their sense of importance.
While the Scots seem confident about their future, a Little Englander mentality is in danger of taking hold south of the border, in which every external challenge is perceived as a threat. This attitude can already be detected in the search for a new manager for our national football team. The media are calling for an Englishman, but shouldn't we be demanding the best man for the job, wherever he's from?
Our overblown sporting expectations are a hangover from an imperial past in which we not only ruled the world, but also taught everyone how to play soccer, rugger, cricket and tennis. We English have never been able to shake off the feeling that, having invented all these games, we should be the world champions, hence our continual disappointment with our miserable performances in Test matches, World Cups and Wimbledon.
More dangerously, our imperial instincts remain so strong that we are often to be found in the front rank of any military intervention, willing to deploy our troops into situations where even the genuine superpowers are reluctant to tread. "By Jingo" was the refrain of a music-hall song that was taken up as the rallying cry for those spoiling for war with Russia in 1878. That same aggressive clamour could be heard in the spurious justifications for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
If the ultimate outcome of the Greek crisis is a greater integration among eurozone members, then Britain will find itself isolated in Europe while at the same time debating whether or not it wishes to remain a united kingdom. The English will be caught in a double bind, with the future of Britain being decided in Edinburgh, while the future of Europe is debated in Brussels.
The rattling of the old jingoistic sword is a sure sign that the English ruling class feels its power ebbing away, torn between a European super-state, the aspirations of the Celtic fringe and demographic changes within England itself. Whether the English can awake from their long dream of empire and use this opportunity to renew their sense of identity remains to be seen.
Unless and until we throw off our imperial pretensions and begin to relate to our neighbours as equals, joining with them in creating new networks of active devolution and shared sovereignty, we English are in danger of becoming an insular people, jealously guarding the right to make our own laws while increasingly unable to control our destiny.
Via
Now that Cameron appears to have ruled out the status quo by promising greater devolution to the Scots if they vote no to independence, we're likely to hear more about how great Britain is in the days to come. For jingo is the default reaction of the English ruling class when they feel their interests are under threat. Unsure about our true position in a changing world, they hold onto the Union Jack like a comfort blanket, wrapping themselves in it to enhance their sense of importance.
While the Scots seem confident about their future, a Little Englander mentality is in danger of taking hold south of the border, in which every external challenge is perceived as a threat. This attitude can already be detected in the search for a new manager for our national football team. The media are calling for an Englishman, but shouldn't we be demanding the best man for the job, wherever he's from?
Our overblown sporting expectations are a hangover from an imperial past in which we not only ruled the world, but also taught everyone how to play soccer, rugger, cricket and tennis. We English have never been able to shake off the feeling that, having invented all these games, we should be the world champions, hence our continual disappointment with our miserable performances in Test matches, World Cups and Wimbledon.
More dangerously, our imperial instincts remain so strong that we are often to be found in the front rank of any military intervention, willing to deploy our troops into situations where even the genuine superpowers are reluctant to tread. "By Jingo" was the refrain of a music-hall song that was taken up as the rallying cry for those spoiling for war with Russia in 1878. That same aggressive clamour could be heard in the spurious justifications for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
If the ultimate outcome of the Greek crisis is a greater integration among eurozone members, then Britain will find itself isolated in Europe while at the same time debating whether or not it wishes to remain a united kingdom. The English will be caught in a double bind, with the future of Britain being decided in Edinburgh, while the future of Europe is debated in Brussels.
The rattling of the old jingoistic sword is a sure sign that the English ruling class feels its power ebbing away, torn between a European super-state, the aspirations of the Celtic fringe and demographic changes within England itself. Whether the English can awake from their long dream of empire and use this opportunity to renew their sense of identity remains to be seen.
Unless and until we throw off our imperial pretensions and begin to relate to our neighbours as equals, joining with them in creating new networks of active devolution and shared sovereignty, we English are in danger of becoming an insular people, jealously guarding the right to make our own laws while increasingly unable to control our destiny.
Via
Peter Tosh: Stepping Razor Red X
Originally issued as a home video in 1994, the Peter Tosh biography Stepping Razor Red X was finally reissued on DVD in 2002. Tosh narrates the majority of the hour-and-a-half-long documentary himself utilizing cassettes that the famed reggae artist recorded between 1983 and 1987 in hopes of one day issuing an autobiography called Red X (its title came from the fact that whenever Tosh saw his name on an official document a red X was next to it).
(Thanx SJX!)
(Thanx SJX!)
Murdoch on The Sun
Dear Colleagues:'Ethical'???
I've worked alongside you for 43 years to build The Sun into one of the world's finest papers. It is a part of me and is one of our proudest achievements. The Sun occupies a unique and important position within News Corporation.
I have immense respect for our heritage, your exceptional journalism and, above all, you, the talented women and men who work tirelessly every day to ensure our readers have access to such a trusted news source. I believe this newsroom is full of great journalists and I remain grateful for your superb work and for the stories you uncover to inform and protect the public. None more so than over the last three weeks.
My continuing respect makes this situation a source of great pain for me, as I know it is for each of you.
We will obey the law. Illegal activities simply cannot and will not be tolerated – at any of our publications. Our Board of Directors, our management team and I take these issues very seriously.
Our independently chaired Management & Standards Committee, which operates outside of News International, has been instructed to cooperate with the police. We will turn over every piece of evidence we find -- not just because we are obligated to but because it is the right thing to do.
We are doing everything we can to assist those who were arrested -- all suspensions are hereby lifted until or whether charged and they are welcome to return to work. News Corporation will cover their legal expenses. Everyone is innocent unless proven otherwise.
I made a commitment last summer that I would do everything I could to get to the bottom of our problems and make this Company an example to Fleet Street of ethical journalism. We will continue to ensure that all appropriate steps are taken to protect legitimate journalistic privilege and sources, which I know are essential for all of you to do your jobs. But we cannot protect people who have paid public officials.
I am confident we can live by these commitments and still produce great journalism.
We will build on The Sun's proud heritage by launching The Sun on Sunday very soon. Our duty is to expand one of the world's most widely read newspapers and reach even more people than ever before.
Having a winning paper is the best answer to our critics.
I am even more determined to see The Sun continue to fight for its readers and its beliefs. I am staying with you all, in London, for the next several weeks to give you my unwavering support.
I am confident we will get through this together and emerge stronger.
Thank you,
Rupert Murdoch
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Bon Iver at AIR Studios (4AD/Jagjaguwar Session)
4AD and Jagjaguwar have collaborated on a live session that captures a truly unique Bon Iver performance, featuring Justin Vernon and Sean Carey. On recent tours fans will have become accustomed to seeing Vernon flanked by an eleven-piece band, with the swell in numbers lending a grandiose element to even his most delicate songs. Sidestepping expectations, the idea Vernon presented for this session was to provide a wildly different experience.
Recorded in AIR Studio's Lyndurst Hall - a building that was originally a church and missionary school designed in 1880 by the great Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse (designer of the Natural History Museum) - Vernon was joined only by Carey, with the pair positioning themselves opposite one another at two grand pianos. Although neither Justin nor Sean's first instrument is piano, they were able to remodel the songs in a way that showcases their complimentary vocals and, perhaps more strikingly, a seemingly effortless ability to experiment with form and structure.
As such, fans are treated to jaw-dropping interpretations of several songs from both the new album and the 'Blood Bank' EP, as well as a cover of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me". And interpretation is an apt word, as these songs are artfully abstracted from their original incarnations. Rather than layer the sound as on 'Bon Iver, Bon Iver', the focus is on paring back, in part evoking the minimalist approach of contemporary classical music, while remaining true enough to the source material to retain those elements characteristic of Bon Iver.
As on "Babys" and "Hinnom, TX", Vernon's trademark falsetto is positioned centre stage, framed by subtle and unexpected instrumental flourishes that render the performance simultaneously weighty and airless. It's quite an achievement that songs so widely-known and loved in their recorded form are able gain in emotional impact, and stands as testament to Bon Iver's singular talent.
1. Hinnom, TX
2. Wash.
3. I Can't Make You Love Me
4. Babys
5. Beth/Rest
Director: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Recording & Mixing: Jake Jackson with Brian Joseph
Recorded in London at AIR Studios, October 16, 2011
Via
Recorded in AIR Studio's Lyndurst Hall - a building that was originally a church and missionary school designed in 1880 by the great Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse (designer of the Natural History Museum) - Vernon was joined only by Carey, with the pair positioning themselves opposite one another at two grand pianos. Although neither Justin nor Sean's first instrument is piano, they were able to remodel the songs in a way that showcases their complimentary vocals and, perhaps more strikingly, a seemingly effortless ability to experiment with form and structure.
As such, fans are treated to jaw-dropping interpretations of several songs from both the new album and the 'Blood Bank' EP, as well as a cover of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me". And interpretation is an apt word, as these songs are artfully abstracted from their original incarnations. Rather than layer the sound as on 'Bon Iver, Bon Iver', the focus is on paring back, in part evoking the minimalist approach of contemporary classical music, while remaining true enough to the source material to retain those elements characteristic of Bon Iver.
As on "Babys" and "Hinnom, TX", Vernon's trademark falsetto is positioned centre stage, framed by subtle and unexpected instrumental flourishes that render the performance simultaneously weighty and airless. It's quite an achievement that songs so widely-known and loved in their recorded form are able gain in emotional impact, and stands as testament to Bon Iver's singular talent.
1. Hinnom, TX
2. Wash.
3. I Can't Make You Love Me
4. Babys
5. Beth/Rest
Director: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Recording & Mixing: Jake Jackson with Brian Joseph
Recorded in London at AIR Studios, October 16, 2011
Via
♪♫ Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug (Todd Terje Disco Dub)
Created and edited by Ferry Gouw
Additional sequences generated by Anna Boberg
Out now on Beatport:
http://www.beatport.com/release/love-is-the-drug-todd-terje-disco-dub/863889
And Deluxe Vinyl:
http://www.vfeditions.com/product/view/47
Video uploaded on Bryan Ferry's youtube channel on 15.02.2012
via
Friday, 17 February 2012
Secret documents lift lid on WWII mutiny by US troops in north Queensland
African American engineers unit of the US Army on parade during WWII
An Australian historian has uncovered hidden documents which reveal that African American troops used machine guns to attack their white officers in a siege on a US base in north Queensland in 1942.
Information about the Townsville mutiny has never been released to the public.But the story began to come to light when James Cook University's Ray Holyoak first began researching why US congressman Lyndon B Johnson visited Townsville for three days back in 1942.
What he discovered was evidence detailing one of the biggest uprisings within the US military.
"For 70 years there's been a rumour in Townsville that there was a mutiny among African-American servicemen. In the last year and a half I've found the primary documentation evidence that that did occur in 1942," Mr Holyoak told AM.
During World War II, Townsville was a crucial base for campaigns into the Pacific, including the Battle of the Coral Sea.
About 600 African-American troops were brought to the city to help build airfields.
Mr Holyoak says these troops, from the 96th Battalion, US Army Corps of Engineers, were stationed at a base on the city's western outskirts known as Kelso.
This was the site for a large-scale siege lasting eight hours, which was sparked by racial taunts and violence.
"After some serial abuse by two white US officers, there was several ringleaders and they decided to machine gun the tents of the white officers," Mr Holyoak said.
He has uncovered several documents hidden in the archives of the Queensland Police and Townsville Brigade detailing what happened that night.
According to the findings, the soldiers took to the machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons and fired into tents where their white counterparts were drinking.
More than 700 rounds were fired.
At least one person was killed and dozens severely injured, and Australian troops were called in to roadblock the rioters.
Mr Holyoak also discovered a report written by Robert Sherrod, a US journalist who was embedded with the troops.
It never made it to the press, but was handed to Lyndon B Johnson at a Townsville hotel and eventually filed away into the National Archives and Records Administration.
"I think at the time, it was certainly suppressed. Both the Australian and the US government would not have wanted the details of this coming out. The racial policies at the time really discluded [sic] people of colour," Mr Holyoak says.
Both the Australian Defence Department and the Australian War Memorial say it could take months to research the incident, and say they have no details readily available for public release.
But Townsville historian Dr Dorothy Gibson-Wilde says the findings validate 70-year-old rumours.
"Anytime it was raised, people usually sort of said, 'Oh you know, no that can't be true. Nobody's heard about that', and in fact it must have been kept pretty quiet from the rest of the town," she said.
Mr Holyoak will spend the next two years researching the sentences handed out to both the officers and the mutineers involved, and why the information has been kept secret for so long.
Josh Bavas @'ABC'
Audio: WWII mutiny uncovered by Qld historian (AM)
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