Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Regulators Reject Proposal That Would Bring Fox-Style News to Canada
As America's middle class battles for its survival on the Wisconsin barricades -- against various Koch Oil surrogates and the corporate toadies at Fox News -- fans of enlightenment, democracy and justice can take comfort from a significant victory north of Wisconsin border. Fox News will not be moving into Canada after all! The reason: Canada regulators announced last week they would reject efforts by Canada's right wing Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, to repeal a law that forbids lying on broadcast news.
Canada's Radio Act requires that "a licenser may not broadcast....any false or misleading news." The provision has kept Fox News and right wing talk radio out of Canada and helped make Canada a model for liberal democracy and freedom. As a result of that law, Canadians enjoy high quality news coverage including the kind of foreign affairs and investigative journalism that flourished in this country before Ronald Reagan abolished the "Fairness Doctrine" in 1987. Political dialogue in Canada is marked by civility, modesty, honesty, collegiality, and idealism that have pretty much disappeared on the U.S. airwaves. When Stephen Harper moved to abolish anti-lying provision of the Radio Act, Canadians rose up to oppose him fearing that their tradition of honest non partisan news would be replaced by the toxic, overtly partisan, biased and dishonest news coverage familiar to American citizens who listen to Fox News and talk radio. Harper's proposal was timed to facilitate the launch of a new right wing network, "Sun TV News" which Canadians call "Fox News North."
Harper, often referred to as "George W. Bush's Mini Me," is known for having mounted a Bush like war on government scientists, data collectors, transparency, and enlightenment in general. He is a wizard of all the familiar tools of demagoguery; false patriotism, bigotry, fear, selfishness and belligerent religiosity.
Harper's attempts to make lying legal on Canadian television is a stark admission that right wing political ideology can only dominate national debate through dishonest propaganda. Since corporate profit-taking is not an attractive vessel for populism, a political party or broadcast network that makes itself the tool of corporate and financial elites must lie to make its agenda popular with the public. In the Unites States, Fox News and talk radio, the sock puppets of billionaires and corporate robber barons have become the masters of propaganda and distortion on the public airwaves. Fox News's notoriously biased and dishonest coverage of the Wisconsin's protests is a prime example of the brand of news coverage Canada has smartly avoided.
Robert F Kennedy Jr @'HuffPo'
Canada's Radio Act requires that "a licenser may not broadcast....any false or misleading news." The provision has kept Fox News and right wing talk radio out of Canada and helped make Canada a model for liberal democracy and freedom. As a result of that law, Canadians enjoy high quality news coverage including the kind of foreign affairs and investigative journalism that flourished in this country before Ronald Reagan abolished the "Fairness Doctrine" in 1987. Political dialogue in Canada is marked by civility, modesty, honesty, collegiality, and idealism that have pretty much disappeared on the U.S. airwaves. When Stephen Harper moved to abolish anti-lying provision of the Radio Act, Canadians rose up to oppose him fearing that their tradition of honest non partisan news would be replaced by the toxic, overtly partisan, biased and dishonest news coverage familiar to American citizens who listen to Fox News and talk radio. Harper's proposal was timed to facilitate the launch of a new right wing network, "Sun TV News" which Canadians call "Fox News North."
Harper, often referred to as "George W. Bush's Mini Me," is known for having mounted a Bush like war on government scientists, data collectors, transparency, and enlightenment in general. He is a wizard of all the familiar tools of demagoguery; false patriotism, bigotry, fear, selfishness and belligerent religiosity.
Harper's attempts to make lying legal on Canadian television is a stark admission that right wing political ideology can only dominate national debate through dishonest propaganda. Since corporate profit-taking is not an attractive vessel for populism, a political party or broadcast network that makes itself the tool of corporate and financial elites must lie to make its agenda popular with the public. In the Unites States, Fox News and talk radio, the sock puppets of billionaires and corporate robber barons have become the masters of propaganda and distortion on the public airwaves. Fox News's notoriously biased and dishonest coverage of the Wisconsin's protests is a prime example of the brand of news coverage Canada has smartly avoided.
Robert F Kennedy Jr @'HuffPo'
ChasLicc Chas Licciardello
Charlie Sheen's been on Twitter for 6 hours and he's already smoked the hash out of all the tags.
You Should Have Stayed At Home
(Photo:TimN - Westgarth 01/03/11)
G20: The Untold Stories
They were the most unlikely of troublemakers. There were thousands of ordinary citizens on the streets at Toronto G20 Summit marching peacefully until the police closed in and shut them down. Many had gone downtown simply to see what was going on, only to find themselves forcibly dragged away by police and locked up for hours in a makeshift detention center without timely access to lawyers or medical treatment.
It's been eight months since the G20 and the iconic images are still with us — burning police cars, rampaging mobs, the massive security presence that according to the official story is all that stood between Canada's largest city and chaos. But that’s not the whole story of Toronto’s G20. Astonishing new images caught on camera are now emerging and they expose a troubling new picture of what happened to hundreds of ordinary citizens caught in the huge police dragnet during those three highly-charged days last June.
Gillian Findlay presents a revealing new street-level perspective of what happened when thousands of police were deployed in downtown Toronto and instructed to do what was necessary to ensure the wall around the G20 Conference Centre was never breached. Exclusive eyewitness video obtained by the fifth estate brings to light startling images captured on cellphones and minicams by the innocent bystanders who found themselves on the wrong side of all that G20 "order." In a rare television interview, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair explains why police took the actions they did.
On this edition of the fifth estate: the summit from the street, and the people who never dreamed it could happen to them. The stories you'll hear will raise questions about what protest means in this country and what the limits to dissent have become.
Watch it
Gaddafi's billionaire children
Saif al-Islam, the suave, western-educated second son of the Libyan dictator, was the best known of the sons.
Seen as the natural successor to his father before the wave of protests across the north African nation, the 38 year old Saif al-Islam presented himself as a reformer. He was welcomed in the West as the acceptable face of the regime, and claims the Duke of York, Peter Mandelson and Tony Blair among his "good friends".
In 1995, he received his degree in architecture and engineering at Tripoli's al-Fateh University, and then went on to obtain a management degree from the International Business School in Vienna before gaining a doctorate at Britain's London School of Economics (LSE).
Presenting himself as a humanitarian ambassador through the charitable body he set up in 1997, the young Gaddafi – whose name means the sword of Islam in Arabic – was at the heart of the complex negotiations over the Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor freed by Libya in July 2007.
His foundation also negotiated the release of Western hostages held by a group of Islamist extremists in the Philippines in 2000 – who had earlier been funded by his father. He is said to have personally negotiated the financial compensation paid by Libya to the families of victims killed in the Lockerbie plane bombing in 1988 and the 1989 bombing of a French airliner.
The shaven headed bachelor, who keeps lions as pets, enjoys sea fishing and has a number of falcons with which he hunts, pledged a £1.5 million through his foundation to his alma mater, the LSE, a donation that in the light of recent events has caused no end of embarrassment to the university.
Saif al-Islam was a regular at London's top night spots. He and his brothers reportedly paid over £600,000 a pop to get Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Usher to sing at their birthday parties.
It is reported that Saif al-Islam owns an £10 million mansion in Hampstead, North London – complete with suede-lined cinema room and swimming pool. The house was bought in 2009 by a holding company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
According to US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks, the Gaddafi children routinely benefited from the Libya's wealth. One cable written by Chris Stevens, a US diplomat in Libya, said it had "become common practice" for government funds to be used to promote companies controlled by Gaddafi's children. He also indicated that their companies have all benefited from "considerable government financing and political backing."
Gaddafi's fifth eldest son, Hannibal, also developed a reputation for things unconnected to his business acumen. In 2001, he attacked three Italian policemen with a fire extinguisher. In September 2004, he was briefly detained in Paris after driving a Porsche at high speed in the wrong direction and through red lights down the Champs-Elysees while intoxicated.
A year later his model wife, Aline Skaf, filed an assault suit against him. And on July 15, 2008, Hannibal and his wife were held for two days and charged with assaulting two maids in a hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. Gaddafi retaliated by arresting Swiss nationals in Libya and suspended oil deliveries to Switzerland.
Rumours have long abounded that state funds were used to further the career of Col Gaddafi's footballing son, Saadi, who despite his limited talent once played for Perugia in the Italian football league. The 37-year old, third son of Gaddafi was planning a new city styled on Vegas in the west of Libya.
Fiona Govan @'The Telegraph'
The shaven headed bachelor, who keeps lions as pets, enjoys sea fishing and has a number of falcons with which he hunts, pledged a £1.5 million through his foundation to his alma mater, the LSE, a donation that in the light of recent events has caused no end of embarrassment to the university.
Saif al-Islam was a regular at London's top night spots. He and his brothers reportedly paid over £600,000 a pop to get Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Usher to sing at their birthday parties.
It is reported that Saif al-Islam owns an £10 million mansion in Hampstead, North London – complete with suede-lined cinema room and swimming pool. The house was bought in 2009 by a holding company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
According to US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks, the Gaddafi children routinely benefited from the Libya's wealth. One cable written by Chris Stevens, a US diplomat in Libya, said it had "become common practice" for government funds to be used to promote companies controlled by Gaddafi's children. He also indicated that their companies have all benefited from "considerable government financing and political backing."
Gaddafi's fifth eldest son, Hannibal, also developed a reputation for things unconnected to his business acumen. In 2001, he attacked three Italian policemen with a fire extinguisher. In September 2004, he was briefly detained in Paris after driving a Porsche at high speed in the wrong direction and through red lights down the Champs-Elysees while intoxicated.
A year later his model wife, Aline Skaf, filed an assault suit against him. And on July 15, 2008, Hannibal and his wife were held for two days and charged with assaulting two maids in a hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. Gaddafi retaliated by arresting Swiss nationals in Libya and suspended oil deliveries to Switzerland.
Rumours have long abounded that state funds were used to further the career of Col Gaddafi's footballing son, Saadi, who despite his limited talent once played for Perugia in the Italian football league. The 37-year old, third son of Gaddafi was planning a new city styled on Vegas in the west of Libya.
Fiona Govan @'The Telegraph'
Printing Thom Yorke's head
User Serratiago has used Blender to convert the original data from the Radiohead video into a set of coordinates that can be printed into a real-life 3D sculpture of Thom Yorke’s head. Since the original data is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license, that means Serriago’s derivative is as well. What’s great about this story is that Serratiago didn’t need to ask Thom Yorke, Radiohead, or anyone for permission to make and distribute his work, as the Creative Commons license had already established it!
So if you own a 3D printer, you can download the data and get started. If you need a 3D printer, you should check out MakerBot, an open source project brought to you by the guys behind Thingiverse.
@'Creative Commons'
Thousands of sadhus - or holy men - have been banned from selling cannabis to festival-goers at an ancient temple in Nepal.
They are gathering at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu to celebrate the Hindu festival of Shivaratri.Sadhus - Hindus who renounce the world around them - traditionally celebrate Shivaratri by smoking cannabis.
But those found selling drugs at the temple this year will face eviction by armed police, temple officials say.
Since last week police have been mingling with the sadhus in plain clothes to identify anyone selling drugs.
About 20 sadhus have already been arrested and have been moved to an area outside the city, officials say.
'Spoilt' The Hindu god Shiva is said to have enjoyed smoking cannabis.
Because of that sadhus - who mostly live in forests, caves and temples - see their use of the drug as receiving a blessing from him.
Thousands of sadhus have travelled from India for the festival - which falls on 2 March this year - and the temple authority has said it does not object to the sadhus smoking cannabis for their own worship.
Despite this, the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) wants to ensure the drug is not sold on the temple premises.
"Over the past few years, the use of drugs has become more widespread and it's also become commercial," PADT Member Secretary Sushil Nahata told the BBC.
"It has spoilt the essence of the festival."
"We heard a lot of rumours that sadhus were selling these drugs. We tried to stop them doing this last year, but weren't able to," said Mr Nahata.
"This year we've started a proper campaign."
The PADT has put together a task force of 25 people, including police and armed police officers, to enforce the ban.
"We have only found limited amounts of hashish in cigarettes so far," Mr Nahata said.
He added: "Any sadhus arrested with large quantities of the drug will be sent to jail."
@'BBC'
Nepalese charas and my cobra chillum - memories *sigh*!
Iran: Security forces break up Tehran protests
Iranian police have fired tear gas to disperse opposition supporters mounting protests in the capital Tehran.
A BBC correspondent in Tehran said large numbers of riot police and militia on motorcycles in the city centre broke up any crowds that formed. The unrest comes a day after websites close to opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi said they had been jailed.
The government has denied this, saying the two men were at home.
The BBC's Mohsen Agsari in Tehran said by early evening the security forces appeared to have full control of the streets.
The Basiji militia were chanting victory slogans, he said.
Earlier, despite the presence of security forces in Tehran's main streets and squares, sporadic gatherings were held close to the main Azadi square, our correspondent said.
Demonstrators chanting "Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein" were immediately attacked by the police.
After night fell, demonstrators made random protests, using the cover of darkness to confuse the security forces, our correspondent adds.
Police blocked the focal point of the demonstrations, Eskandari street, at both ends, sending bikers to disperse the protesters.
Detention denial Both Mr Mousavi and Mr Karroubi have called for demonstrations in Iran in the light of the recent uprisings in Tunisia and in Egypt.
Earlier this month the two men, along with their wives, were detained in their respective homes in Tehran as protests were staged.
Thousands of their supporters took to the streets of Tehran on 14 February, amid clashes with security forces which left two dead.
On Monday one of Mr Karroubi's sons told the BBC Persian service he had been told his father had been "taken by security forces to an unspecified location".
The semi-official news agency Isna quoted state prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei on Monday as saying that Mr Mousavi and Mr Karroubi were not detained.
The two men ran as opposition candidates in the disputed June 2009 presidential election. Mr Mousavi said he was the actual winner and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was only re-elected through a rigged vote.
Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters then took part in marches that were violently broken up by the security forces, including the Basij militia on motorcycles.
@'BBC'
UbuWeb Top Ten for March 2011 Selected by John Zorn
1. Karel Appel - Poeme Barbare
[Appel on UbuWeb Sound]
2. Antonin Artaud - Pour Finir Avec Le Jugement Du Dieu
3. Guy Debord - Situationisten - Tracks 1 - 6
4. Forough Farrokhzhad - Fathe Bagh
[Farrokhzhad on UbuWeb Sound]
5. Howard Finster - Some Of These Days
The Sound Of The Night Howard Finster Got Saved
6. Richard Foreman - Loops From Now That Communism Is Dead My Life Feels Empty
7. Maurice Lemaître - Improvisation Lettriste Pour Danser
[Maurice Lemaître on UbuWeb Sound]
8. Richard Maxfield - Bacchanale (1963)
[Maxfield on UbuWeb Sound]
9. Harry Smith - Interview 1965 Part One And Two
10. Tristan Tzara - L'amiral Cherche Une Maison A Louer
[Tzara on UbuWeb Sound]
Film (In Alphabetical Order)
1. Harry Smith - Heaven And Earth Magic
2. Joseph Cornell - Rose Hobart
3. Jack Smith - Flaming Creatures
4. Hermann Nitsch - Maria Conception Aktion
5. Kenneth Anger - Lucifer Rising
6. Yayoi Kusama - Kusama's Self Obliteration
7. Forough Farrokzhad - The House Is Black
8. Kiki Smith - Jewel
9. Guy Debord - Critique de la séparation
10. John Cage And Raasaan Roland Kirk - Sound??
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist.
ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald
If only Bob Woodward had been willing to criticize Rumsfeld when it mattered: http://is.gd/exEY6r v. http://is.gd/A4Azee
estheraddley esther addley
PS I plead guilty, as a Guardian reporter, to failing #assange's 'masculinity test' http://bit.ly/emGHW6
newsbrooke Heather Brooke
Julian Assange brought wikileaks into the world, it looks like he'll be responsible for its downfall too. Tragic. http://bit.ly/dX5G0Z
Modeselektor + Phon.O present “Tesa“ at WMF, Nov 29th 2009
MODESELEKTOR invited PHON.O to perform as their guest dj for their project called "Tesa". "Tesa" its a special live-performance based on 2 decks with locked grooves(controlled by phon.o)+2 decks with locked grooves and additional records(controlled by Gernot of Modeselektor) routed through a mixer with a bunch of effects(controlled by Szary of Modeselektor).
The performance of "Tesa" was the warmup for ANTI-POP CONSORTIUM at WMF on november 29th in 2009.
The performance of "Tesa" was the warmup for ANTI-POP CONSORTIUM at WMF on november 29th in 2009.
The Who - 8. Rockpalast Nacht 28.-29.März 1981
01 Substitute (2'43'')
02 I Can't Explain (2'20'')
03 Baba O'Reily (5'12'')
04 The Quit One (3'29'')
05 Don't Let Go The Coat (3'46'')
06 Sister Disco (5'11'')
07 You Better You Bet (4'56'')
08 Drowned (5'18'')
09 Behind Blue Eyes (3'26'')
10 Another Tricky Day (5'50'')
11 Pinball Wizard (3'15'')
12 Who Are You (6'23'')
13 5:15 (6'06'')
14 My Generation (3'40'')
15 Won't Get Fooled Again (9'10'')
16 Summertime Blues (3'14'')
17 Twist And Shout (3'12'')
18 See Me, Feel Me
Pete Townshend - g, voc
Roger Daltrey - voc, harm
John Entwistle - b, voc
Kenny Jones - dr
John "Rabbit" Bundrick - keyb, voc
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Hear Five Seconds Of Every #1 Pop Single: 1956 to 1992
The concept and term “Chartsweep” both originated in the late 60s with a syndicated radio show called “The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” I listened to it on WOR-FM in New York and recorded portions of it on an old Wollensack reel-to-reel tape recorder. As you know, the ‘sweep presented segments of every Billboard #1 single starting with “Memories Are Made of This” (Jan 1956). I don’t recall where it stopped, but it was around 1968/69. Six years later I began teaching an American Studies course at the University of Maryland called “Popular Music in American Society.” To provide a setting for each class I dusted off the concept, took it back to January 1950, added a number of songs based on Joel Whitburn’s re-definition of #1 songs, and continued where the original had stopped. I added each new #1 until fall, 1991 when I stopped teaching the course.
Five Seconds Of Every #1 Pop Single Part 1
Five Seconds Of Every #1 Pop Single Part 2
photo: oemebamo
@'Shocklee'
JPBarlow John Perry Barlow
The problem with reality is that there's just too damned much of it to fit in everybody's head.
In 'Free Libya': Hey, Who, Exactly, Is in Charge Here?
Scores of newly minted revolutionary officials — middle-aged volunteers from the city's professional and business classes — have many meetings but appear to make few decisions. They hold press conferences in what used to be a courtroom, while about a dozen opposition spokesmen roam the halls trying to be helpful but often offering conflicting information. Trucks full of eggs and baby formula arrive at the courthouse doors without an apparent system for delivering them to the needy and without clear reports of shortages. And though spirits are high, especially among the young volunteers sporting Che Guevara–style berets, the institutional vibe is more like that of a steering committee of a future liberal-arts college than of a guerrilla movement gearing up for a long fight. "The problem is that we don't have anyone with any political experience whatsoever," says Iman Bugahaighis, a professor of dentistry now acting as an unofficial spokesperson. "We didn't have any institutions other than regime. That was part of Gaddafi's plan: to make everyone loyal only to him."...
Continue reading
Paris Underground
Paris, City of Light, really is a tale of two cities. One of them is above ground, with its beloved Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. That's the city the world sees. And then there's the city very few us will ever see -- an underground Paris, the 'souterrain.' NPR's Jacki Lyden and National Geographic photographer Stephen Alvarez teamed up to see what lies below. (Photographs by Stephen Alvarez/National Geographic)
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange applies to trademark his name
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: following in the footsteps of Sarah Palin. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PAJulian Assange, the embattled WikiLeaks founder fighting extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault, has applied to trademark his name.
The 39-year-old computer hacker – who will shortly be extradited to Sweden to contest the charges unless he wins an appeal on Thursday, 3 March – wants to protect his name for use in "public speaking services" and "entertainment services", it has emerged.
Assange becomes the latest high-profile figure seeking to trademark his name. Sarah Palin, who famously likened Assange to an al-Qaida operative, has applied for similar protection for both herself and her daughter, Bristol Palin.
Assange applied for the trademark on 14 February through his London-based law firm Finers Stephens Innocent. If granted, he will own the trademark to his name for the purposes of "news reporter services", "journalism", "publication of texts other than publicity texts" and "education services".
Assange has long vowed to clear his name of the allegations, which he denies. Earlier this month he said that the charges, made in August last year, had applied a "black box" to his life. "On the outside of that black box has been written the word rape. That box has now, thanks to an open court process, been opened. I hope in the next days you will see that the box is in fact empty."
The combative Australian, described by foes as a terrorist and by friends as a freedom fighter, also looks set to feature as the central subject in a movie about the whistleblowers' site he set up in 2006. Studio executives last month secured the screen rights to the biography of Assange by award-winning Australian writer Andrew Fowler, The Most Dangerous Man in the World.
Josh Halliday @'The Guardian'
Assange applied for the trademark on 14 February through his London-based law firm Finers Stephens Innocent. If granted, he will own the trademark to his name for the purposes of "news reporter services", "journalism", "publication of texts other than publicity texts" and "education services".
Assange has long vowed to clear his name of the allegations, which he denies. Earlier this month he said that the charges, made in August last year, had applied a "black box" to his life. "On the outside of that black box has been written the word rape. That box has now, thanks to an open court process, been opened. I hope in the next days you will see that the box is in fact empty."
The combative Australian, described by foes as a terrorist and by friends as a freedom fighter, also looks set to feature as the central subject in a movie about the whistleblowers' site he set up in 2006. Studio executives last month secured the screen rights to the biography of Assange by award-winning Australian writer Andrew Fowler, The Most Dangerous Man in the World.
Josh Halliday @'The Guardian'
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