Tuesday 19 October 2010
Excerpts from George W. Bush's upcoming memoir
@'Vanity Fair'
Regarding world maps and an enemy...
“Concentrate on these blue areas,” I told my generals, “because whoever it is has got America surrounded.”
(Thanx Doug!)
Regarding world maps and an enemy...
“Concentrate on these blue areas,” I told my generals, “because whoever it is has got America surrounded.”
(Thanx Doug!)
Monday 18 October 2010
Girlz With Gunz #131 (Freedom from The Land of the Free!)
Earlier today my first ever GWG (Hazel Dooney) had her account with Facebook suspended due to censorship...this is art NOT porn and please America keep yr bigoted morals to yourself...
http://hazeldooney.com
http://hazeldooney.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/dooneystudio
http://youtube.com/dooneytv
http://au.linkedin.com/in/hazeldooney
http://hazeldooney.com
http://hazeldooney.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/dooneystudio
http://youtube.com/dooneytv
http://au.linkedin.com/in/hazeldooney
This is the photo that caused the outrage
As Hazel says:
It was only a matter of time before Facebook suspended my account. The content of nearly all my paintings and photographs are proscribed by their 'Terms of Use'. The photograph that finally provoked them to do it is now being offered as a signed, numbered print, image size 4" x 2.66" on 6" x 4" matt paper, in a limited... edition of 750. I've titled it, not surprisingly, 'Banned'. The price is just $US/$A 20.00 including postage anywhere in the world. Email for further details at link below:
Kanye West's Banned Album Cover
“Banned in the USA!!! They don’t want me chilling on the couch with my phoenix! In the 70s album covers had actual nudity… It’s so funny that people forget that… Everything has been so commercialized now.”
That's Consequence of Sound gutterperves...
Following the Money - Wall Street and the Criminalization of Immigrants
Over the past four years roughly a million immigrants have been incarcerated in dangerous detention facilities in our taxpayer-financed private prison system. A growing number of news reports and investigations confirm that for many of the people funneled into this system, it is a living nightmare. Children were abused, women were raped, and men died from lack of basic medical attention.
These facilities are run by two Wall Street-backed companies that actively promote the criminalization and incarceration of immigrants in the United States -the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and the GEO Group.
The T. Don Hutto immigrant detention facility in Taylor, Texas provides a now well-known example of the abuses that take place within private prisons for immigrants. Beginning in May 2006,the Don Hutto prison was used to house children and their parents who were on a path to deportation. Reports began to surface of widespread abusive treatment of immigrant children by staff of Corrections Corporation of America. An ACLU lawsuit filed on the basis of documented cases of abuse finally led to the closing of the Don Hutto facility for housing families in 2008. After the children were excluded, the Don Hutto only held women detainees. But the abuses continued. Evidence has surfaced that a number of women were sexually abused over the past two years in Don Hutto by CCA staff. Sexual abuse, including rape, has been documented in several detention centers.
The other large private prison corporation contracted by the federal government to run immigrant prisons is the GEO Group. The GEO detention facilities have also racked up many reports and complaints of abusive treatment of immigrant detainees and corrupt staff practices that violate the basic human rights of prisoners. Last month we spoke with the sibling of a detainee in a GEO-run facility who was denied basic medical attention for lack of funds to pay. The detainee’s family had to raise funds to get their relative medical attention in the facility from GEO. Other GEO detainees have died from a lack of medical attention.
Another relative of a GEO detainee told us that prisoners who avoid getting on the wrong side of GEO guards could aspire, at most, to a job in the prison that pays 17 cents an hour for doing office work.
GEO recently agreed to pay restitution for its employees’ physical abuse of prisoners who were strip searched in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, and New Mexico. In another case, GEO was ordered to pay $40 million in the wrongful death of a prisoner in its custody in Raymondville, Texas. GEO has also been sued by seven children who were sexually assaulted by a guard while being held in a GEO facility.
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), based in Nashville, Tennessee, and the GEO Group, a global corporation based in Boca Raton, Florida are the nation’s two largest prison companies. They run highly integrated operations to design, build, finance and operate prisons. GEO rakes in $1.17 billion in annual revenue, and CCA tops that at $1.69 billion. Together these companies are principal moving forces in the behind-the-scenes organization of the current wave of anti-immigrant legislative efforts, which, if successful, would dramatically increase the number of immigrant prisoners in over 20 states.
Following the Money
GEO CEO, George Zoley, was a Bush “Pioneer” who bundled more than $100,000 in contributions for the Bush-Cheney campaigns in 2000 and 2004. In October 2003, GEO was successful in securing the contract to run the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba...
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Peter Cervantes-Gautschi @'Counterpunch'
Sunday 17 October 2010
French to bankroll music-buying
French people aged 12-25 are to be encouraged to buy music via a state-subsidised scheme.
The plan attempts to get young people into the habit of buying music rather than stealing it by file-sharing.
The scheme will revolve around pre-paid cards that have a face value of 50 euros (£43) but which will only cost 25 euros when bought.
The French government will pay the other half of the cost when a card is used to buy music on a download site.
The French government estimates that the two-year scheme will cost it about 25 million euros (£22m) if it reaches its target of selling one million cards. Consumers will be limited to one card each per year.
Restrictions will also apply to music download sites that sign up to accept the cards. They will be asked to cut the price of downloads, extend subscription periods and contribute towards the marketing campaign for the cards.
Individual sites will only be allowed to receive a maximum of 5m euros from the scheme.
The European Commission has approved the French plan saying it would not be anti-competitive.
"The scheme will contribute to preserving pluralism and cultural diversity in the online music industry," said EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia in a statement.
France has been among the nations taking the most extreme actions against those suspected of sharing music illegally.
It has enacted the so-called Hadopi law which will result in suspension of net access for those who ignore three warnings about illegally sharing copyrighted material.
Not every French ISP is complying with the law. Free has said it will not be sending out letters that tell people they have been spotted illegally sharing files.
UP#13 Demdike Stare's Unsounded Podcast
bbc radiophonic workshop - horror sequence 3
suum cuique - entropy
demdike stare - untitled concrete 1
the caretaker - deleted scenes
demdike stare - Untitled Concrete 2
edgar froese - epsilon in malaysian pale
clifford jordan quartet - john coltrane (loop)
la vampires vs zola jesus - searching
demons - untitled lathe
demdike stare - east india trading co
jazzfinger - orange sauce
suum cuique - even in death (loop)
suum cuique - entropy
demdike stare - untitled concrete 1
the caretaker - deleted scenes
demdike stare - Untitled Concrete 2
edgar froese - epsilon in malaysian pale
clifford jordan quartet - john coltrane (loop)
la vampires vs zola jesus - searching
demons - untitled lathe
demdike stare - east india trading co
jazzfinger - orange sauce
suum cuique - even in death (loop)
Johnny_Marr Why does every new Indie Rock song on the radio sound so blazingly over-confident ? As if the world has been saved with every verse.
Saturday 16 October 2010
Birds, trees - and drillers: Miners shatter the 'tree change' tranquility
Western Downs Alliance Action Group co-founder Michael Bretherick.
Contaminated waste (driller's mud) allegedly from coal seam gas exploration on the Western Downs between Tara and Chinchilla.
A waterhole contaminated with heavy oil slick - allegedly from coal seam gas exploration on the Western Downs between Tara and Chinchilla. Michael Bretherick and his family moved to Tara, about 400 kilometres west of Brisbane,four years ago for a tree change.
He said the mining company, BG Group – owners of QGC – moved into the area about 18 months ago and has been drilling night and day for coal-seam gas.
Coal-seam gas extraction requires the removal of large volumes of water from coal seams to release trapped gases.
He cited a litany of grievances against the company, including allegations of constant noise, adverse health impacts for humans and farm stock, potential damage and contamination of aquifers, polluted dams, and contaminated water in tanks.
“Our dreams have been turned into nightmares. I’m 64 and I came here to retire but because of the mining we want to leave but there’s no way anyone would want to buy here so we can’t sell,’’ he said.
Mr Bretherick said his youngest children, aged 7 and 9, had rashes and nosebleeds after playing near a dam. ‘‘A calf fell into the dam and only lived a couple of minutes; its skin peeled off,’’ he said.
Once the mining started, neighbour was pitted against neighbour, marriages have split, businesses have closed and many locals are suffering health problems including depression, he said.
Mr Bretherick helped set up the website Tarablockies.com and runs the Western Downs Alliance set up to fight the miners.
“They want to put gas wells 750metres apart, including compressors, through properties and we just won’t have it. We’ll either lock them in or we’ll lock them out,” he said.
Environmentalist Dayne Pratzky of Chinchilla said small groups around the country were joining forces to fight large-scale mining. He said 22 groups from Queensland, NSW and Victoria comprising thousands of members would have much more ‘‘clout’’ than isolated protesters.
‘‘The government has allowed the mining companies to have free rein for whatever they wanted to do because of the royalties they receive but this new group will be a force to be reckoned with,’’ he said.
The government insists it is striking the right balance between environmental sustainability and economic growth and is monitoring the mining.
A QGC spokesman said the company operated within an extensive code of conduct and regulations set by the state government.
He said QGC took precautions to minimise noise and to ensure water supplies were not impacted.
Kate Dennehy @'Sydney Morning Herald'
Thursday 14 October 2010
Hemp homes are cutting edge of green building
Hemp is turning a new leaf. The plant fiber, used to make the sails that took Christopher Columbus' ships to the New World, is now a building material.
In Asheville, N.C., a home built with thick hemp walls was completed this summer and two more are in the works.
The hemp home was built for $133 per square foot, not including land and excavation costs, at the top of a mountain.
Dozens of hemp homes have been built in Europe in the past two decades, but they're new to the United States, says David Madera, co-founder of Hemp Technologies, a company that supplied the mixture of ground-up hemp stalks, lime and water.
The industrial hemp is imported because it cannot be grown legally in this country — it comes from the same plant as marijuana.
Its new use reflects an increasing effort to make U.S. homes not only energy-efficient but also healthier. Madera and other proponents say hemp-filled walls are non-toxic, mildew-resistant, pest-free and flame-resistant.
"There is a growing interest in less toxic building materials, says Peter Ashley, director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control.
"The potential health benefits are significant," he says, citing a recent study of a Seattle public housing complex that saw residents' health improve after their homes got a green makeover.
The U.S. government has not taken a "systemic approach" to studying chemicals in homes and instead addresses problems such as asbestos, lead, arsenic and formaldehyde only after people get sick, says Rebecca Morley, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, a private research group.
She says green building so far has focused mostly on the environment, not the health of the people inside.
Ashley agrees that federal attention has been "sporadic", but says an interagency group began meeting last year to tackle the issue more broadly. He says HUD is funding more research on the health and environmental benefits of eco-friendly homes.
Some green-rating programs, such as the one run by the private U.S. Green Building Council, give points for indoor air quality.
"We are taking the next step in green-building, " says Anthony Brenner, a home designer with PUSH design, who created Asheville's first hemp home. "We're trying to develop a system that's more health based."
Brenner says he's been searching for non-toxic materials because he wants to build a home for his 9-year-old daughter, Bailey, who has a rare genetic disorder that makes her extremely sensitive to chemicals. "We have to keep her away from anything synthetic," he says, or she'll have seizures...
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Tuesday 12 October 2010
NaomiAKlein YES, I've seen Banksy's Simpsons thing. It's brilliant. Still, can't help but despair at capitalism's ability to absorb all critiques
♪♫ Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand
Duck Sauce, the eminent producer duo comprised of A-Trak and Armand Van Helden, are primed to drop their second official single, “Barbra Streisand” on October 12th. If 3 million YouTube views of last year’s debut “aNYway” are any indicator, the official release of “Barbra Streisand” will be met with rabid anticipation as fan-recorded bootlegs have fueled blog excitement all summer.
An Open Letter to Barack Obama from Paul Krassner
Dear President Obama,
It seems that the theme emanating from the White House is “Eat, Pray, Be Disappointed.” And yet, whenever I do feel disappointed, I always realize that the alternative was John McCain, with Sarah Palin just one Halloween “Boo!” away from the presidency, and then I always feel a sense of relief.
Actually, you’ve kept one big campaign promise – to send more troops to Afghanistan – so I guess we can’t fault you for that. In fact, according to Bob Woodward in Obama’s Wars, all you want to do now is get out of Afghanistan. Well, why don’t you just do what Osama bin Laden did; cross over to Pakistan. Since we bribe Pakistan to be our ally, you’d think they would never consider harboring bin Laden, though they reek with empathy when our outsourced drones drop those bombs.
Also, during the campaign you said you believe that the legality of same-sex marriage should be decided by the states, but that you personally think marriage should be between a man and a woman. Which is exactly the position that caused Miss USA, Carrie Prejean, to have her crown revoked.
And another thing. You promised to end the raids on medical marijuana dispensaries, but they haven’t stopped. Here’s how I understand Washington. America’s puritanical political process serves as a buffer between the status quo and the force of evolution. For instance, in order to get Republican votes for the children’s healthcare bill, Democrats agreed to fund $28 million to their abstinence-only program.
And, during your own campaign, you admitted, in the context of health care reform, that the multinational insurance conglomeration is so firmly entrenched that you would be unable to dispense with it. So there would have to be compromises.
Now, what with the compromises made to help passage of Prop. 19, amnesty becomes the single-payer system of marijuana reform, and growing your own pot becomes the public option. Meanwhile, as long as any government can arbitrarily decide which drugs are legal and which drugs are illegal, then anyone serving time for a nonviolent drug offense is a political prisoner.
In his new book, Bob Woodward writes about Colin Powell’s status as an adviser to you. Referring to his previous book, Plan of Attack, the New York Times then reported that “Secretary of State Colin Powell disputed Woodward’s account….He said that he had an excellent relationship with Vice President Dick Cheney, and that he did not recall referring to officials at the Pentagon loyal to Cheney as the ‘Gestapo office.’”
Who among us would be unable to recall uttering such an epithet? Powell later apologized for it. He has also changed his mind about gays in the military. In my capacity as a stand-up satirist, I used to conduct an imaginary dialogue with Powell.
“General Powell, you’re the first African-American to be head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and you come from the tradition of a military family. So you know that blacks were once segregated in the Army because the other soldiers might feel uncomfortable if blacks slept in the same barracks. And now that’s what they say about gays, that other soldiers might feel uncomfortable about gays sleeping in the same barracks.”
“Well, you have to understand, we never told anybody we were black.”
And, Mr. President, that was the forerunner of the same “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that you promised to rescind, only you haven’t been acting like a Commander-in-Chief. All you have to do is sign such a directive. Those who serve in the military are trained to follow orders. If they can follow orders to kill fellow humans, they can certainly follow orders to treat openly gay service people with total equality.
Not only is the current guideline counterproductive, but also this display of trickle-down immorality must, on some level of consciousness, serve as a contributing factor to enabling the anti-gay bullying and torturing of innocent victims. I know, you don’t want to take a chance that retracting the policy would interfere with your re-election. You’ve made the point that you don’t want Mitt Romney to win in 2012 and turn around all the good things you’ve accomplished.
Incidentally, Romney had wanted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, yet, in 1994, when he was running for the Senate, he came out in favor of choice for women. However, free-lance journalist Suzan Mazur revealed that he admitted to Mormon feminist Judith Dushku that “the Brethren” in Salt Lake City told him he could take a pro-choice position, and that in fact he probably had to in order to win in a liberal state like Massachusetts. Pandering trumps religious belief.
If gays and lesbians have waited this long for basic fairness, they might as well just wait for the next election. If you win, then would you kindly do immediately what you believe is right, constitutionally and in your heart, and end this injustice? The ultimate irony is that gays in the military are fighting and being maimed and dying unnecessarily, all supposedly to protect the freedom that their own country is denying them.
Sincerely,
Paul Krassner
Munich Oktoberfest - Lost Property Dept.
"...a leather whip, a live rabbit, a tuba, a ship in a bottle, 1,450
items of clothing, 770 identity cards, 420 wallets, 366 keys, 330 bags
and 320 pairs of glasses, 90 cameras and 90 items of jewellery and
watches.
A total of 37 children were also lost. "
items of clothing, 770 identity cards, 420 wallets, 366 keys, 330 bags
and 320 pairs of glasses, 90 cameras and 90 items of jewellery and
watches.
A total of 37 children were also lost. "
Monday 11 October 2010
JPBarlow This country has been largely in Republican control since 1982. Do you REALLY blame this mess on 22 months of Obama?
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