Friday, 3 December 2010

WikiLeaks - The Musical

[A playground, Australia, mid-1980s. Two girls are gossiping.]

SALLY
You know who I love?
That band Men at Work.
Did you hear the scandal
With Annie and Dirk?
They were caught making out
By a school clerk

LISA
Someone told me. I think it was Lou.
They were over by the football ground
They were naked; she was making a sound
Like a hot and bothered kangaroo.

SALLY
I also heard that Mr. Nantz
Was driving his car without any pants

LISA
He's the one
With the red Impala?
He has tufts of hair
Just like a koala

[JULIAN ASSANGE approaches.]

SALLY
Uh oh, it's Julian
He's a little bit strange
Let's lower our voices
As he comes into range

LISA
I agree with you
This is not for his ears
We can start talking normal
When he disappears

[SALLY and LISA start to whisper.]

JULIAN ASSANGE
What are you guys
Talking about?

LISA
It's none of your business
Don't stick in your snout

JULIAN ASSANGE
But whispering is impolite
It's cliquish, mean, and just not right.
Your secrecy is a kind of slap.

LISA
You should tell someone who gives a crap

JULIAN ASSANGE
I don't like how this is going
My curiosity is growing
Come on, tell me. Really, tell!
To not know is a kind of hell

[SALLY and LISA whisper more and then leave, giggling.]

JULIAN ASSANGE
I'll get you!
I'll get you!
Don't believe me?
I'll bet you!
There will be retribution!
There will be tit for tat!
There will be revolution
I will see to that!

[Enraged and frustrated, JULIAN ASSANGE becomes a hacker. He devotes himself to the unchecked distribution of all information.]

JULIAN ASSANGE
I'll dub myself Mendax
It means "noble liar."
I'll remake myself as a
High-tech town crier
When people attempt
To hide information
I will be the one
To compel revelation

[After two decades moving between the hacking subculture and academia, JULIAN ASSANGE founds WikiLeaks, a website devoted to challenging secrecy regulations by releasing documents.]

JULIAN ASSANGE
To radically shift regime behavior
We must accept a new kind of savior
How can any authority control what we see
When all information wants to be free?

[At first, JULIAN ASSANGE uses WikiLeaks for good, exposing assassinations in Kenya.]

JULIAN ASSANGE
Witness how I used my network
To interfere with Kenyan wetwork.
It's hard to grasp this type of power
I liken it to Bentham's tower
He called it the panopticon
It acted as a check upon
All who thought they were being observed
This is what we have long deserved.

[One day JULIAN ASSANGE is contacted by BRADLEY MANNING.]

BRADLEY MANNING
Hello, I am Bradley Manning
I work in intelligence
I know you by your reputation
And frankly, sir, I have the sense
That my position in the army
Grants me special access to
Secret information that I
Think that I might leak to you.

JULIAN ASSANGE
What's your name, now? Manning? Bradley?
Tell me more; I'll listen, gladly...

TIME's Julian Assange Interview

Full Transcript

Audio

Download

WikiLeaks cables: Berlusconi 'profited from secret deals' with Putin

Jeremy Scahill: WikiLeaks Cables Confirm Secret U.S. War Ops in Pakistan

HERE

Abuse of libel laws and a sacking: The gagging of public health experts in France

Waking Up From the Pill

Hallucinogens as Medicine

Sandy Lundahl, a 50-year-old health educator, reported to the behavioral biology research center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine one spring morning in 2004. She had volunteered to become a subject in one of the first studies of hallucinogenic drugs in the U.S. in more than three decades. She completed questionnaires, chatted with the two monitors who would be with her throughout the eight hours ahead, and settled herself in the comfortable, living-room-like space where the session would take place. She then swallowed two blue capsules and reclined on a couch. To help her relax and focus inward, she donned eyeshades and headphones, through which a program of specially selected classical music played.

The capsules contained a high dose of psilocybin, the principal constituent of “magic” mushrooms, which, like LSD and mescaline, produces changes in mood and perception yet only very rarely actual hallucinations. At the end of the session, when the psilocybin effects had dissipated, Lundahl, who had never before taken a hallucinogen, completed more questionnaires. Her responses indicated that during the time spent in the session room she had gone through a profound mystical-like experience similar to those reported by spiritual seekers in many cultures and across the ages—one characterized by a sense of interconnectedness with all people and things, accompanied by the feeling of transcending time and space, and of sacredness and joy.

@'Scientific American'

DOH!

Patti Smith and Jonathan Lethem in Conversation

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has few places to hide

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had a reputation for being suspicious and paranoid even before everyone was out to get him.

Everyone, in this case, is the US - where government lawyers are hoping to prosecute on espionage charges - and the European Union, where he is wanted for questioning about an allegation of rape.

As of Tuesday, Mr Assange has also been liable to arrest in any of the 188 member countries of Interpol - from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe - in connection with the Swedish case.

Last seen in London, he is widely assumed to be in the UK now, though remaining continuously on the move.

If he appeared in public, British police would be obliged to arrest him under a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Swedish authorities - though it's not clear that anyone is going to go out of their way to find him.

"If there is no indication that the accused is in a particular region, you won't expect a police force to investigate," said a spokesman for the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

So, supposing Mr Assange is still in the UK, and he lies low, he may be able to avoid arrest. In spring, however, his six-month visa will run out, creating additional problems for him...

Continue reading

Stephen Mulvey @'BBC'

Joe Lieberman emulates Chinese dictators

&

Listening America?

Can't wait for Blatter to really fall...

Bacteria first species observed to use arsenic-laced DNA backbone

markgfh Mono Lake: arsenic. Fifa: arses.

HA!

davidhepworth RT @rob_fitzpatrick: Perhaps echo and the bunnymen can cheer us up with one of their football songs. Spare Us The Qatar. #besticandosorry

More people have tweeted about the corrupt Qatar 2022 win than there are people in Qatar!

via

Grateful Dead: 30 days of the Dead (Archive)

The music of The Grateful Dead is meant to be shared and enjoyed by everyone. That's why we created the 30 Days of Dead. We at Dead.net realize that it was sometimes a little tougher than it should have been for you to download the music (especially that first week - sorry!), so we thought it only right that we give everyone a second chance to get every minute of the music. It's the kind thing to do.

Until the evening of December 8, 2010, we will keep this page and all of the links to the music live so that everyone has the chance to get and enjoy all of the songs. Just click on the song title to download the song.

NB: Most of these are previously unissued SBD recordings.


1	New Speedway Boogie	09.20.1970	Fillmore East	23.6 MB
2	Dark Star	06.05.1969	Fillmore West	49.7 MB
3	Althea	03.14.1981	Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT	20.6 MB
4	Playin' in the Band	05.13.1973	Iowa St. Fairgrounds, Des Moines, IA	68.3 MB
5	Easy Wind A	01.16.1970	Springer's Inn, Portland, OR	23.1 MB
6	Sugaree	10.13.1980	Warfield	24.1 MB
7	He's Gone A	03.26.1987	Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT	30.3 MB
8	Estimated Prophet	10.07.1980	Warfield	28.8 MB
9	China Cat Rider	02.01.1970	The Warehouse, New Orleans, LA	28.3 MB
10	Cream Puff War	03.18.1967	Winterland	14.3 MB
11	St. Stephen	10.15.1983	Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT	18.04 MB
12	The Music Never Stopped	04.24.1978	Horton Field House, Illinois St. U.	20.3 MB
13	Truckin'	05.30.1971	Winterland	19.4 MB
14	New MinglewoodBlues	12.26.1970	Legion Stadium, El Monte, CA	12.5 MB
15	Sailor/Saint	10.25.1980	Radio City Music Hall, NY, NY	30.4 MB
16	New Potato Caboose	08.04.1967	O'Keefe Toronto, ON	15.6MB
17	Cold Rain & Snow	12.28.1970	Legion Stadium, El Monte, CA	15.3 MB
18	So Many Roads	03.28.1993	Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY	16.9 MB
19	Sugar Magnolia	02.24.1971	Capitol Theater, Port Chester, NY	13.3 MB
20	Alligator	08.05.1967	O'Keefe Toronto, ON	25.6 MB
21	Cassidy -> Don't Ease Me In	08.31.1983	Silva Hall, Eugene, OR	22.5 MB
22	Tennessee Jed > Let it Grow	10.23.1989	Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC	49.8 MB
23	Dupree's Diamond Blues	01.25.1969	Venuee: Avalon Ballroom, SF	9.4 MB
24	Help->Slipknot!->Franklins	05.05.1991	Venu: Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA	58.2 MB
25	My Brother Esau	04.14.1984	Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA	13.4 MB
26	Shakedown Street	04.06.1982	Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA	30.5 MB
27	Mason's Children	01.10.1970	Golden Hall, San Diego, CA	10.9 MB
28	Let it Grow	07.16.1990	Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY	27.3 MB
29	Uncle John's Band	02.11.1970	Fillmore East, NY	13.0 MB
30	Sugar Magnolia	6.4.1978	UCSB Stadium, Santa Barbara	19.2 MB

@'Dead.net'

British Foreign Office's guidance for travelling to Qatar.

It is a punishable offence to drink alcohol or be drunk in public. Offenders may incur a prison sentence or deportation. Alcohol is, however, available at licensed hotel restaurants and bars, and expatriates living in Qatar can obtain alcohol on a permit system. You should not carry alcohol with you, including in your car (except to take it on the day of collection from the warehouse to your home).
You should dress modestly when in public, including whilst driving. Women should cover their shoulders and avoid wearing short skirts. You should behave courteously at all times. Any intimacy in public between men and women (including between teenagers) can lead to arrest. Homosexual behaviour is illegal in Qatar.

More good advice here

The Votes

2018 FIFA World Cup™

Round 1: England 2(!) votes, Netherlands/Belgium 4 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 9 votes

(as no absolute majority was reached, the candidate with least amount of votes, England, was eliminated)

Round 2: Netherlands/Belgium 2 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 13 votes (Russia obtained an absolute majority)

2022 FIFA World Cup™

Round 1: Australia 1 vote, Japan 3 votes, Korea Republic 4 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 3 votes (Australia eliminated)

Round 2: Japan 2 votes, Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 10 votes and USA 5 votes (Japan eliminated)

Round 3: Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 6 votes (Korea Republic eliminated)

Round 4: Qatar 14 votes and USA 8 votes (Qatar obtained an absolute mayority)

That means England spent 15 million pounds for one vote (the other coming from the FA president)

Football's Coming Home!

Football WM 2018/2022

Host 2018: Russia (!)
Host 2022: Qatar (!!!)

sponsored by Gazprom & petrodollars
what a corrupt bunch of bastards!!

Thursday, 2 December 2010

Assange loses Sweden appeal

HA!

HERE

The 10 failures of Nick Clegg on tuition fees

50 Greatest Merseyside Albums

We asked. And you voted. Over 2000 of you. Thank you. Liverpool.com presents our 50 Greatest Merseyside Albums of all time. As voted for by you... and with an introduction by Paul Du Noyer, author of Liverpool - Wondrous Place:

In a logical world we would see a chart topped by ten Beatle albums. With Atomic Kitten at Number 11. But this is not a logical world - this is Liverpool. So what we get, instead, is something much more interesting. Mere commercial success is not very important here. What Liverpool seems to like are its local mavericks and its lost legends. It definitely prefers acts who have stayed in the city. Those who were lured to that faraway nest of vipers, that London, are often forgotten. Something to ponder, all you young Wombats and Rascals...

"Still not enough room for acts lesser cities could only dream of..."

The trouble with Scousers, people tell me, is that you think you're God's gift to music. To which I reply: Well, let's look at the evidence, shall we? Here is a chart of fifty albums and there's still not enough room for acts that lesser cities could only dream of producing. A few omissions that spring to mind: Pete Burns' Dead Or Alive, Ian Broudie's Lightning Seeds, Billy Fury, Cilla Black, The Christians, the aforesaid Atomic Kitten, China Crisis, George Melly, The Scaffold, Space, A Flock Of Seagulls, It's Immaterial and Gerry & The Pacemakers.

"This is not a list of Easy Listening..."

More surprising than the overlooked oldies, though, are the missing modern acts. Where are The Wombats and The Rascals? And no Ladytron? Or Candi Payne? But as for what is here, few could really complain. Your Beatle choices follow the music critics' consensus, with Revolver riding high. Lennon's stark solo album, Plastic Ono Band, is a much hipper option than the more predictable Imagine, which does not feature. Macca's Band On The Run seems about right, and George's All Things Must Pass is definitely on the money. Elvis Costello's brooding Blood And Chocolate does well - this is not a list of Easy Listening. Pete Wylie of Wah!, Michael Head (Pale Fountains, Shack and The Strands), Edgar Jones (The Stairs and The Joneses), Ian McNabb (solo and Icicle Works) and Ian Prowse (Pele and Amsterdam) all show our loyalty to locally-based talent.

You see, Ringo? If only you'd come back to the Dingle you could have been a contender. But you're nowhere, man. Peace and Love...

1. The La's, The La's
(Go! Discs, 1990)
2. The Beatles, Revolver
(Parlophone, 1966)
3. Echo & The Bunnymen, Ocean Rain
(Korova, 1984)
4. Michael Head, The Magical World of the Strands
(Megaphone, 1998)
5. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's ...
(Parlophone, 1967)
=5. The Coral, The Coral
(Deltasonic, 2002)
7. The Beatles, Abbey Road
(Parlophone, 1969)
8. Shack, Waterpistol
(Marina, 1995)
9. The Beatles, The Beatles (White Album)
(Parlophone, 1968)
10. Teardrop Explodes, Kilimanjaro
(Fontana, 1980)
11. Elvis Costello, Blood & Chocolate
(Demon, 1986)
12. Deaf School, 2nd Honeymoon
(Warner Bros, 1976)
13. Shack, HMS Fable
(London, 1999)
14. Amsterdam, Arm In Arm
(CIA/Universal, 2008)
=14. Ian McNabb, Merseybeast
(This Way Up, 1996)
16. Echo & The Bunnymen, Heaven Up Here
(Korova, 1981)
17. Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Welcome to the Pleasuredome
(ZTT/Island, 1984)
=17. Cast, All Change
(Polydor, 1995)
=17. Echo & The Bunnymen, Crocodiles
(Korova, 1980)
=17. The Stands, All Years Leaving
(Echo, 2004)
21. The Real People, What's On The Outside
(Columbia, 1996)
22. Pete Wylie & The Mighty WAH!, Songs of Strength & Heartbreak
(Castle/When!, 2000)
=22. The Zutons, Who Killed The Zutons?
(Deltasonic, 2004)
=22. The Coral, Magic & Medicine
(Deltasonic, 2003)
25. The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night
(Parlophone, 1964)
26. Pale Fountains, Pacific Street
(Virgin, 1984)
27. Pele, Fireworks
(Polydor, 1991)
28. Half Man Half Biscuit, Back in the DHSS
(Probe Plus, 1985)
29. Ian McNabb, Head Like A Rock
(This Way Up, 1994)
30. Gomez, Bring It On
(Hut, 1998)
31. The Icicle Works, The Small Price of A Bicycle
(Beggars Banquet, 1985)
32. John Lennon, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
(Apple/EMI, 1970)
=32. The Beatles, Please Please Me
(Parlophone, 1963)
=32. The Zutons, Tired of Hanging Around
(Deltasonic, 2006)
=32. The Coral, Roots & Echoes
(Deltasonic, 2007)
36. The Beatles, Let It Be
(Parlophone, 1970)
37. Shack, Here's Tom With the Weather
(North Country, 2003)
38. The Icicle Works, The Icicle Works
(Beggars Banquet, 1984)
39. Wings, Band on the Run
(Apple/EMI, 1973)
40. WAH!, Nah=Pooh! - The Art of Bluff
(Eternal/WEA, 1981)
41. OMD, Architecture & Morality
(Virgin, 1981)
42. Hot Club de Paris, Drop It 'til It Pops
(Moshi Moshi, 2006)
43. The Beatles, Help!
(Parlophone, 1965)
44. The Wild Swans, Bringing Home The Ashes
(Sire/Reprise, 1988)
45. The Stairs, Mexican R'n'B
(Go! Discs, 1992)
46. George Harrison, All Things Must Pass
(Apple/EMI, 1970)
47. The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour
(Parlophone, 1967)
48. Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True
(Stiff, 1977)
49. The Farm, Spartacus
(Sire, 1991)
50. Edgar Jones & The Jones', Soothing Music for Stray Cats
(Viper, 2005)

@'Liverpool.com'

(Thanx Stan!)

NME Top 75 Albums Of 2010

30 Klaxons – Surfing The Void
29 No Age – Everything In Between
28 New Young Pony Club – The Optimist
27 Best Coast – Crazy For You
26 Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin
25 Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo
24 Vampire Weekend – Contra
23 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
22 Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
21 Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid
20 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
19 MGMT – Congratulations
18 Warpaint – The Fool
17 Factory Floor – Untitled
16 Grinderman – Grinderman 2
15 Yeasayer – Odd Blood
14 The Fall – Your Future, Our Clutter
13 Gayngs – Relayted
12 Caribou – Swim
11 The National – High Violet
10 The Drums – The Drums
09 Liars – Sisterworld
08 Salem – King Night
07 Zola Jesus – Stridulum II
06 Foals – Total Life Forever
05 Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
04 LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
03 Beach House – Teen Dream
02 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
01 These New Puritans – Hidden

# 31 - 75 here

Homeland Security Admits That It's The Private Police Force Of The Entertainment Industry

Paraphilia # 10

Contains an interview with Michael Gira amongst many other goodies!

HERE

The State of The Music Industry & the Delegitimization of Artists

Part I: Music Purchases and Net Revenue For Artists Are Up, Gross Revenue for Labels is Down

Upcoming chapters:

Part II: The Impact of DMCA Streams and why they should be considered

Part III: How a skewed perspective delegitimizes artists

Part IV: The Growth Phase is Over? Improved Label Margins.

Part V: When Good Laws Turn Bad

Part VI: The Hills are alive…..

Did you hear? The success artists are having doesn't count. The music industry is over. Fewer albums are selling; revenue is down; the music being released is “crap”; everyone just steals music; the subscription services didn't take off; the RIAA is suing music fans; there are huge layoffs at the major labels; artists sell no music and make no money….it's a broken record.

The problem is, most of this is simply not true. Even worse, this perspective delegitimizes and hurts artists and the music industry. There is a lot “right” going on.

Based on what we have been hearing, most have no idea that music purchases are up over 50% from 2006 to 2009...

Jeff Price @'tunecore'

Assange's Sweden case: The lawyers speak up

Noam Chomsky: WikiLeaks Cables Reveal "Profound Hatred for Democracy on the Part of Our Political Leadership"

HERE

Murun Buchstansangur

(Thanx Leisa!)

Julian Assange on 'conspiracies'

HERE

Sharing is NOT always caring...

Missing the point of WikiLeaks

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on WikiLeaks

First of all, I would say unlike the Pentagon Papers, one of the things that is important, I think, in all of these releases, whether it’s Afghanistan, Iraq or the releases this week, is the lack of any significant difference between what the U.S. government says publicly and what these things show privately, whereas the Pentagon Papers showed that many in the government were not only lying to the American people, they were lying to themselves.

But let me – let me just offer some perspective as somebody who’s been at this a long time. Every other government in the world knows the United States government leaks like a sieve, and it has for a long time. And I dragged this up the other day when I was looking at some of these prospective releases. And this is a quote from John Adams: “How can a government go on, publishing all of their negotiations with foreign nations, I know not. To me, it appears as dangerous and pernicious as it is novel.”

When we went to real congressional oversight of intelligence in the mid-’70s, there was a broad view that no other foreign intelligence service would ever share information with us again if we were going to share it all with the Congress. Those fears all proved unfounded.

Now, I’ve heard the impact of these releases on our foreign policy described as a meltdown, as a game-changer, and so on. I think – I think those descriptions are fairly significantly overwrought. The fact is, governments deal with the United States because it’s in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us, and not because they believe we can keep secrets.

Many governments – some governments deal with us because they fear us, some because they respect us, most because they need us. We are still essentially, as has been said before, the indispensable nation. So other nations will continue to deal with us. They will continue to work with us. We will continue to share sensitive information with one another. Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest.

Full transcript

HERE

(Thanx Son#1!)