Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Revolutionary Communism on MTV

Ya, what?!

As part of MTV's election year coverage, they did a piece on "revolutionary change." I don't trust MTV worth shit but I must admit that for them to even air the possibility of revolutionary change (and communism) is pretty wild.
One more thing- The piece only features The Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (RCP). The RCP is a fuckin joke! (Check out Kasama for some serious critique of RCP.)



(thanx Jose)

Monday, September 29, 2008

Fascism is hip again in Europe

The Austrian neo-fascist right emerged from a general election as a contender to be the strongest political force in the country.
Heinz Christian Strache, the leader of the Freedom party, wants a new government ministry created to manage the deportation of immigrants, wound up his campaign at the weekend by calling Muslim women who wear the burqa "female ninjas".
_____

After AC Milan's win in the Milan derby this weekend, their goalkeeper, Christian Abbiati, said,
"I am not ashamed to proclaim my political beliefs. I share [the] ideals of fascism, such as the fatherland and the values of the Catholic religion."

AC Milan's owner, right-wing fuck Silvio Berlusconi, must be happy to have Abbiati on the squad.



(thanx Pranjal)

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Baader Meinhof Complex Trailer



"Tasteless action movie"?

give back the brains



(thanx Jose)

Historical Failure of Anarchism


Kasama recently re-posted 'The Historical Failure of Anarchism' by Christopher Day (originally published by Love & Rage 1996).
I strongly strongly encourage anyone considering themselves an anarchist to read this! It provides a very constructive historical breakdown of anarchist attempts at transforming societies and gives some direction towards a potentially bright future.

some quotes to entice you with:

...revolutionaries have a responsibility to have a plausible plan for making revolution... the anarchist movement offers people who want to make revolution very little in the way of a coherent plan of action.

Instead it takes a historical experience that ended in a crushing defeat, makes excuses for that defeat and offers the faithful reassuring platitudes that, all evidence to the contrary, the one true path of anarchism is vindicated by the experience.

The anarchist movement is filled with people who are less interested in overthrowing the existing oppressive social order than with washing their hands of it. This concern with ensuring the passage of ones soul to anarchist heaven can range from the obsessive efforts to purify ones personal habits to the sectarian refusal to join any group or organization that shows any sign of being a product of this society.

The proletariat should not be viewed as a monolithic entity represented by a single party (a la the various currents of Marxism) but rather as a contested body whose unity is contingent on the freedom of its different parts to fight for their interests within it.

There is a crying need for the development of a new body of revolutionary theory that breaks decisively with the dogmatism and political shallowness of anarchism as well as with the authoritarian essence of marxism.

_____

I welcome any comments on the writing. I encourage us all to read and analyze the piece and then come together to discuss and build.

_____

SAMCRO

FX has a new series entitled Sons Of Anarchy.

The name caught my attention. When I found out that it was a drama about a motorcycle gang (loosely based on Hamlet), I was less than enthused with the choice of 'anarchy' in the title. However, I do have an interest in outlaws and have been following the show.
This past week's episode, "Patch Over" actually name-dropped Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and featured a quote of Emma Goldman's describing the meaning of anarchy (and insinuating the original intention of the club).
Very interesting.

Andy Taylor: Wild Boy


As a youngster, I worshipped Duran Duran. By age 9, this English pop group had captivated my attention. I had one entire bedroom wall dedicated to the band and I would carry pictures of Simon Le Bon to the hairstylist, asking for the same cut.

Andy Taylor was always my favorite. I am not sure why. I think it might have been to do with him generally being the unpopular member. Picking John woulda been too easy. It might also have been my ability to pick up on him seemingly being more of a rocker than the other guys.

Andy just published an autobiography, Wild Boy. He is the 1st member of Duran Duran to publish his memoirs. I leapt at the chance to read about the band I idolized as a little kid. All in all, I quite enjoyed the book. It tracked Andy's whole life and was an easy read.

It was surprising to learn that 6 months after forming, the band already had an album out with hit singles. The band loved their cocaine (except Nick Rhodes) but weren't into groupies at the height of their popularity. Andy quit the band early on (1986) after realizing it just wasn't fun. When the original line up reformed around 2001, it took them 3 years to even put their album together. Nick seemed to be a controlling asshole. Andy again left when it became unproductive and not fun. His analysis of Duran Duran's work post-reforming was very interesting. He seems to share the same thoughts I had- Timbaland? Timberlake?!

It is very interesting to gain some insight as an adult into a band I worshipped as a naive kid in 1984.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

United Nations (+Baader Brains, MTV, MySpace, Ceremony)

Dead Time Pacifies satellite HC recently discovered a dialogue was continued off-site for a post of mine.
United Nations commented that "it raised some very helpful questions.
1. Where does the line blur between influence and co-opting? Is it based on intent, the so-called Intentional Fallacy? Is the line crossed at the point at which a project generates income? Does it matter what the money is then used for? ie-- is there a difference between using the money for political interest or 'paying the bills' or say drugs?
2. Who decides what is valid and what isn't? Is there a burden of responsibility placed on the audience as well as the artist?
3. What part does identity politics play in all of this? Should they play a part? If a record is produced by Jello Biafra or Hannah Montana is there a difference if they are identical records?
We are not ready to attempt an answer to these questions just yet but we're very proud to help bring them to the center of the discussion."

To which, 82 Beats CC replied, "DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THESE TRICKY BLOGS.
MUSIC SUCKS FUCKIN ASS TODAY!!...fuck the YANKEES......and RED SOX.......and WHAT?!!"
______

A Baader Brains agent then issued this related statement:

"In the colonial imaginary, the settler consumes the embodied subaltern and at times, it re-appropriates the Other.
One settler, one bullet. Time is clicking..."
-Silent Slippers, The Young Tiger Free Organization.
_____

I guess stores are refusing to carry UN's album due to cover art.

However, they are big on MySpace:
"We got a message from MySpace. ... We were one of the bands on the front page, but so was Snoop Dogg and this hot R&B chick, and they told us not only were we the most listened-to band that week but that the second one behind us had only half as many listens. I think it was 186,000 listens in the first 12 hours. So, for me, it's a little weird. I don't know what I was expecting would happen with this band, but it wasn't this."
Geoff Rickly went on to give props to Cursed and Ceremony on MTV.com!

Friday, September 26, 2008

How come we aren't too big to fail?

Every number was going up except the one on our paycheck, social security check, or social services voucher. When capitalism was strong and healthy - a couple of weeks ago - we were in a perpetual state of sticker shock: at the gas station, at the supermarket, every time the credit card bill or the tax bill or the rent or the car payment came around.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG are too big to be allowed to fail. What about the 37 million of us living in official poverty, the 46 million with no health insurance, the 2 ½ million in prison, the 3 ½ million homeless - how come we aren't too big to fail? Capitalism has already failed most of us; now that it's failing the capitalists, suddenly it's a crisis.

They are telling us we should be very scared because capitalism is in danger of disintegrating. Might we be forgiven if just for a second we are tempted to say, "Bring it on!"


-Naomi Jaffe



(thanx Harjit)

Thursday, September 25, 2008

"our entire economy is in danger"

The above quote is from George Bush. He continued, "Without immediate action..., America could slip..." blah blah.
All the politicians, pundits, and sheep agree: Something MUST be done!
Of course only one something is EVER suggested: bailing out the rich! It is offered as the only choice and no one even bats an eye.

Why not bail out everyone else?
And they call it a rescue plan. Puh-leez!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Rise Against + pipe bombs


Wow.
I am a little surprised something like this made it on TV. And it is on TV- heavy rotation on an MTV network.
The premise is hip looking young people (who the viewer is obviously supposed to identify with) planting pipe bombs all over what looks like a business/financial district and then watching as the city goes up in explosions. It doesn't provide any explicit ideology or vision and unprincipled destruction of a city isn't probably going to further progressive struggle. It does show property destruction as a valid option.
I believe the 'disclaimer' at the beginning of the video is very telling. It is a quote attributed to JFK, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable" This not only allows Rise Against to appear to not condone pipe bombs but it also validates violence as a means of struggle for the oppressed.

Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin

aka Hundreds of Billions of Dollars

The Center for Strategic Anarchy, in cooperation with the CrimethInc. Free Marketeers posted an amazing description of the current economic crisis we find ourselves in.
I highly encourage everyone to read it!
As they say, "every situation, even the most predictable, presents unique opportunities. We present this analysis in the interest of deriving strategic advantages from our enemies' temporary imbalance."

This crisis is the bankers and the rich's fault. Make no mistake about it.
Now our government is going to bail them out! Just as if some benevolent big brother paid off all your credit card debt or student loans just to be nice.
The cost of this bailout is $1.7 trillion, or $12, 200 for every US Taxpayer.

The CrimethInc. report does have its shortcomings. I think some of their suggestions display the shortcomings of so much anarchist thought compared to socialism. We should make the most of this bad situation to stop it from hurting those it will hurt the most and to stop it from happening again (and again and again). It may not be enough to just encourage one another to engage in mutual aid (which we should be doing anyway).

We need a plan. We need to look to economic "systems" which do not perpetuate this violent cycle of crisis after crisis at the peoples' expense!

Afterall, the industry of disaster capitalism feeds upon waiting for its wealthy banking cousin to falter.

This is not our fault. Fuck paying for it!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Ceremony: Taking Over The World

I know Aussies don't frequent my blog (apparently shady Slovakians do though- I see you!) but I think this warrants a post.
My boys in Ceremony are touring Australia. When was the last time you heard of a US HC band going to Australia?!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Don't Worry. It Is Still Working.

An economic crisis is afoot.
Mr. Marx explained long ago that this is a natural part of capitalism.

I have been trying to 1)grasp what is going on in terms that are not alienating financial mumbo jumbo 2)analyze the situation through the eyeglasses of a progressive politic.

To talk realistically about the issues raised by this crisis is also to talk about class, and particularly the impact on working class people. You can't understand why those who gain most from the system suffer least when it fails, while those who gain least suffer most unless you at least mention the fact that there is such a thing as highly concentrated class power in the society.

One of the best articles I found on the topic is Banking Crisis: Capitalism has proven Karl Marx right again.

I encourage us all to gain an understanding of what is going on, critique it with our own values and reject the simplistic version fed to us as if this all made sense, and then move forward with others to dismantle the stranglehold this financial empire has on the world.
Afterall, our government which is supposed to represent the people's interests just bailed out the private sector.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

fun with Battle Of Seattle

more Battle In Seattle...


Tonite at the NY opening of Battle In Seattle, filmmaker Stuart Townsend and actress Charlize Theron did a Q&A and were confronted by anarchists.
Apparently there was plenty of drama. More info to follow.

(thanx Francis)

t(i)nc


new song
Nov. 08 = USA tour

Sir Ben Kingsley "Minor Threat"

odd

Sir Ben Kingsley STOMPS into the shoes of Minor Threat's Ian MacKaye from Mean Magazine on Vimeo.

Interesting note: Someone at work played this for me. He doesn't know I am sXe. Another dude walks up and asks if that is a Sex Pistols song. We inform him it is Minor Threat. He laughs and says its funny how Minor Threat said they were sXe and it was just a scam. I inquired further and he told me Minor Threat were never actually sXe. Uhm OK. Dude went on to say how awesome Fugazi were, "They are like the modern day Primus!"

Rose McGowan + IRA

Rose McGowan said she would have joined the Irish Republican Army had she lived in Belfast during the Troubles. She said she could understand why people turned to violence during that time in Northern Ireland.

Flex on Kels

I was never a big Funkmaster Flex fan, but I am now.
I sure hope he catches Kes in real life.

Battle In Seattle film crit

Dear all,

I'm sending you all some links below about the film "Battle in Seattle" which opens tomorrow.

The first link is Amy Goodman's show ("Democracy Now") this morning with Stuart Townsend, the writer and director of the film and David Solnit, a "key organizer of the anti-WTO protests." Check it out for yourself. According to David on this show, "everyone in the movement is pleased to see [the film] out." I don't know who he has talked to but, from what I can see in the trailer about the film, it beyond fucking sucks, its a reactionary film...to say nothing about the representation of anarchism, anarchists, and anarchist politics in the film (for example, see comments by one of the main actors, Charlize Theron on the Daily Show last night).

Any ways, at least Amy Goodman mentioned the edited book that AK Press is putting out later this year (edited by David and Rebecca Solnit).

cheers, Jose Palafox

see: www.realbattleinseattle.org

read: An Anarchist review of Battle In Seattle

(I welcome all reviews/critiques of this film. I have not seen it yet but am very curious. -shane)

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

oh Kels!

Do you like teenage girls?
R. Kelly: When you say teenage, how old are we talking?


I died when I heard the above quote! I died!
The entire interview is nuts.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Palin battles demons

Pingping

I don't care what anyone says, you just cannot go wrong with a fucking Mongolian dwarf.



(thanx Mel)

Post-Invasion: "Embrace Change"

Monday, September 15, 2008

Hipster (Rap)



"The word hipster may have outlived its usefulness"
Jay Smooth is the man.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

War Is Declared On Us

It is no secret that the US government is out to crush any resistance against its empire and/or capital.

The "RNC Welcoming Committee" organized and executed some seriously well-planned action at this year's Republican National Conference.
The had been infiltrated by the pigs for a year or so. This led to the pigs rounding up suspected "leaders" (some in advance of any action/crime).
_____

David Guy McKay, 22, and Bradley Neil Crowder, 23 are locked up, without bail, accused in a plot to use molotov cocktails also to disrupt the Republican Convention.
Now the pigs are trying to link these two to a fire that destroyed a Governor's Mansion.
_____

Kevin Tucker is still being harassed by a Federal Grand Jury.
Kevin has stated he has no information on the incidents under investigation. As such a prominent writer/speaker amongst the anti-civilization movement, he is simply being targeted to waste his time/energy/money.
_____

In Michigan, Marie Mason accepted a (non-snitching) plea bargain.
She was arrested on information supplied by her ex-husband, Frank Ambrose, who, unbeknownst to her, was working as a Government snitch! What a fuckin scumbag!
_____

It is important that we keep on our toes and stay aware.
The ELF/ALF/anti-civ movements could seriously use some principle so that this snitching stops.


(thank you Anarchist News!)

Congratulations Ross

Seriously stand up dude, Ross Farrar,of Ceremony got engaged.
Congratulations!

Ceremony returned from tour last night and killed it at Gilman.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Envy Design

The drummer for Japanese superstars Envy does interior design. Check it out:
http://www.kanade-craft.com
Next time you need an interior in Japan done up proper, hit Kanade up.

9/11

"Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor..."
-Dick Cheney
-Jeb Bush
-Donald Rumsfeld
-Paul Wolfowitz
1997

_____

The US government has always told us that Osama bin Laden was the "mastermind" behind the 9/11/2001 attacks. Now they are slowly easing revisionism into the picture since they have not publicly caught/killed bin Laden.
The White House now conveniently claims "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was the mastermind of 9/11, and he’s sitting in jail right now."

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Thursday's Statement

The band Thursday released a statement. A manifesto perhaps. The topics they touch upon, I have found myself discussing/debating/arguing with friends and acquaintances many many times. It is worth our attention. -shane

There is a vacuum in the center of our music culture. Whatever the genre — metal, punk hardcore, dance, pop or rock — the trend remains the same: leave your beliefs at the door. Our 21st Century promise seems to be that of a society in the advanced stages of decadence and social apathy. Not only has our music been stripped of any message that it might have had, but it’s now packaged as being “beyond message” — irreproachable in its indifference.

In the recent past, bands as diverse as Fugazi, Megadeath, Pearl Jam and Ministry all had songs that raised questions about political corruption, social inequity, personal responsibility and artistic freedom. Today, we see artists more concerned with friend requests on MySpace or wanting to “shake it” than with the problems of our lives. This isn’t to say that there’s not a place for celebration, joy, silliness and fun in pop music. That would be a frightening vision in its own right. We just have to ask ourselves, if we’re not facing the big issues then who are we leaving them to? Politicians? Lobbyists? Maybe it’s time to quit f—ing around and wake up.

Where did it all go so wrong? Although there seems be be a cavernous gulf between the glory days of Dischord Records to the vapid careerism of today’s mall-centric punk and nu-hair-metal, the transformation took place in less than 25 five years. Were we all tired of being earnest? Was sincerity unflattering? Was a compassionate world merely a naive dream or is it something that we killed with in-fighting and ego-stroking?

It’s quite possible that the dialectic of our progressive music movement was responsible for its own demise. The conversations in ‘zines and at shows resembled the discourse of a University debate rather than the concerned talks at a town meeting. People were discussing the politics of language instead of volunteering at soup kitchens. Arguments over patriarchy and masculinity took precedence over starting women’s outreach centers. The intellectual one-upsmanship became a rhetorical nightmare; many young kids came to shows energized and ready to start making a change and left feeling drained and humiliated. In short, we liked to talk about the revolution more than we worked for it.

Our own philosophies have been used against us. Canadian ’70s media theorist Marshall McLuhan once famously contended: “At the empirical level of consciousness, the medium is the message, whereas at the intelligent and rational levels of consciousness, the content is the message.” As a counterculture, the underground punk movement simplified this message to “the medium is the message” or “the music is the message” and adopted it to mean that the message and music were one and the same and wholly indivisible. It seems obvious now that the shortened version isn’t the same. It’s missing an essential word: content.

Various groups, including The Nation of Ulysses and Refused made a study of the aesthetic of revolution, and so did many underground artists such as Sheperd Fairey and Banksy. These artists explored the links between advertising, propagandizing, evangelism and philosophy. As a subtle and complex exploration of art, commerce and humanity these artists were very successful. Unfortunately, this may have been an important turning point in our culture — the point at which the image replaced the message.

In the years since, we’ve been given bands that retain the sound and image of our counterculture but forget the politics and leave out the distasteful bits of reality. If Milemarker and Q and Not U put some dance into modern punk, it wasn’t so that they would be replicated sans-politics by third rate impostors being blasted in every Urban Outfitters or American Apparel. There has been a domino effect: Political punk gets more accessible, accessible punk gets less political, punk becomes completely apolitical and irrelevant. The tiger has been declawed and we’re all wasting time in our twenties pretending not to care about anything but ourselves.

Recently, the magazine Adbusters, published an article railing against “hipster culture,” saying, “We’ve reached a point in our civilization where counterculture has mutated into a self-obsessed aesthetic vacuum. So while hipsterdom is the end product of all prior countercultures, it’s been stripped of its subversion and originality.” While this may be true, we need to investigate how we got to this point. We have to face facts. We have let the “hipsters” down. By not presenting a counterculture movement worth caring about, we’ve railroaded them into a subculture of not caring. We need to reach out to our DJ friends and organize events that are socially conscious. We need to inject a sense of urgency into all our mediums of expression. It’s not like all hope is lost. Le Tigre has made feminism danceable. Verse put out, in the form of a record called Aggression, a political protest you can feel, not just think about. Darkest Hour and Lamb of God are continually blasting a message into the headphones of metal lovers around the world. And everywhere in the world, kids are starting bands in their basements and they are pissed off.

We have been attacked repeatedly as a generation and as a demographic. We have been derided because of our looks and attitude. At the end of the Adbusters article, the writer, Douglas Haddow, tellingly concludes, “I take a look at one of the girls wearing a bright pink keffiyah and carrying a Polaroid camera and think, ‘If only we carried rocks instead of cameras, we’d look like revolutionaries.’ But instead we ignore the weapons that lie at our feet –oblivious to our own impending demise.”

Pretty glum. He writes something so insidious here, it’s easy to miss: “…if only we’d carry rocks… we’d look like revolutionaries…” Maybe looking like revolutionaries isn’t enough anymore. We have to start thinking like revolutionaries. The only sane response to criticism is activism. Let’s get active.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

ANTM: ego/enlightenment of Tyra


I have watched America's Next Top Model faithfully since my former roommate introduced it to me (thank you xaprilx). It is always one of those horrible shows that I can't stop watching. I love that.

Some of the most uncomfortable moments happen in regards to race. Egomaniacal Tyra Banks blatantly uses the show as a vehicle to let us all know how enlightened she is. With race, sexuality, and gender coming up so frequently and in such random ways, it leaves me feeling it is, in large part, due to the coaxing of producers and editing. So, as Tyra attempts to create some dialogue on race (and sexuality/gender or any number of socially relevant issues) in an industry based on shallow objectification, we end up with 19 year old girls talking out their asses to get screen time while Tyra and her Jays employ as many big words and stereotypes as they seemingly can.

In this new Cycle 11, I felt like the show let on Isis (a transgender) so that Tyra could throw out "gay lesbian bisexual transgender" as many times as possible and earn some kind of solidarity points. (Not that Isis isn't as capable of posing and being thin as any of the other girls.)
(The scariest part was when the hater from South Carolina said that "he/she's" get killed where she is from and that isn't a matter of being closed minded- just traditional!)


Tyra awards the vegan lesbian with moving on to the next round with the jewel that being true to her beliefs got her through. I am sure the modeling industry is all about substance over style, huh?

Cycle 11 isn't the 1st season with an Asian contestant but everytime that girl, Sheena, comes on screen, she is accompanied by some racist comment from fellow contestants or the hosts. She is called "Oriental", "Korean Princess", told she moves like a "geisha" and then insecently compared to Kimora Lee (who is a different ethnicity and has nothing in common with her other than being tall, skinny, and part Asian).


The whole show is just chilly (thank you Dustin). Tyra is trying to promote some sort of kinder, gentler, progressive world of fake modeling. However, it just ends up promoting fucked up notions of race and unhealthy body image under the cloak of enlightened Liberalism.

Check out FourFour for a lot more coverage on this trainwreck.

Energy: The new old AFI?

What you know about this band from MA, Energy?

They are the hype of the blogosphere and they are on BridgeNine Records.
I checked 'em out and they are riding the AFI train harder than any band I have seen lately.
Now I ain't hating on Energy and I certainly ain't hating on AFI... just odd to me...

Too Hot Not To Share

New Common

UMC Teaser from kwest on Vimeo.
wow, mathematics!

Office Slang, yo

It amazes me the extent to which the White corporate types in my office appropriate with great frequency hip hop slang.

I shoulda known.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Reunion Rumors: Get Up Kids

OK, so they are only internet rumors thus far, why report it?
1)Most of these reunion rumors turn out to be true
2)The Get Up Kids might be one of my favorite bands from the 90's
3)"Don't you know, That we love reunion shows.
This is not a swan song: But it goes..."

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Because I Couldn't Put It Better...

Torture In St. Paul

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Generations

I have always been very critical of North American anarchism for its lack of viewing struggle as longterm/protracted and acting accordingly.
Perhaps it is the punk nihilism or the White lack-of-community that permeates anarchists but most contemporary anarchist threads seem more intent on either destroying now or waiting for collapse with little acknowledgement that the struggle could, and probably will, last several lifetimes.

One facet of this is manifest in the seemingly overwhelming desire for anarchists to not have children or to even advocate zero births... As if that was a realistic form of struggle- or, as the case may be, defeat that humanity supposedly deserves.

An interesting article on generations and generational struggle has been posted at anarchistnews.org

RNC: terrorism and inspiration

Whether or not we are seeing it in the media's talk about the RNC and their darling Christian soldier, a lot of resistance has been going on at and around the RNC this week.
This is all very relevent and I don't want too much time to pass before we turn our attention to our folks fighting and how we can aid them.

Twitter is being used by anarchists to coordinate and thwart the police.

The pigs are making arrests and investigating anarchists. They are being held on suspicion- They were not caught on the streets.

The "RNC 8" have been charged with "Conspiracy To Riot In Furtherence of Terrorism"!
_____

In Pittsburgh, multiple squads of anarchists attacked banks and corporate businesses.
Preemptive repression will not go uncontested.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Jerry Reed


March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008

Ol' Smokey's got them ears on and he's hot on your trail.
He aint gonna rest 'til you're in jail.
So you got to dodge 'im and you got to duck 'im,
you got to keep that diesel truckin'.
Just put that hammer down and give it hell.

Good Weekend in Football

This past weekend was an almost all around great weekend in football if you ask me.

Arsenal beat Newcastle and sent Keegan packing.
The highlight of the game was when scumbag Joey Barton took the pitch after his release from prison.
Crowd reception:

Joey's douchebag late tackle on Samir Nasri:

Nasri got some right-on retaliation when he clipped Barton and almost got away with it.
_____

Take a look at the MLS Western Division standings.
San Jose ain't at the bottom! Quite impressive for an expansion team. SJ sits only 2 goals back from supposed "super club" LA Galaxy! haha
_____

Robinho has been whining for Chelsea to buy him from Real Madrid.
Suddenly, The Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment agrees to purchase Manchester City... and buys Robinho!
Then promising to make City the world's biggest club, The Dubai group announces plans to try and get Torres, Fabregas, and C. Ronaldo!!

_____

Jimmy Bullard of Fulham even got named to the England squad for the first time at age 29.

_____

It coulda been a perfect football weekend except Celtic fell to Rangers.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Hipster

Adbusters recently published Douglas Haddow's amazingly accurate article on 'hipsters'.
If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and do it now!

It describes a youth subculture that "mirrors the doomed shallowness of mainstream society."
"Less a subculture, the hipster is a consumer group – using their capital to purchase empty authenticity and rebellion... In the end, hipsters are sold what they think they invent and are spoon-fed their pre-packaged cultural livelihood."

Christian Lorentzen said it right, "they must be buried for cool to be reborn.”

Kevin Tucker: subpoenaed by the FBI

Kevin Tucker, anarcho-primitivist, announced that he has been served a subpoena by the FBI to appear in front of a grand jury in Erie, PA on September 9.

No further information appears to be available on this grand jury but the FBI records 6 instances of "domestic terrorism" -- one of which involved nothing more than spray-painted graffiti -- alleged to be the work of the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, in Pennsylvania in 2002.
Kevin, who used to live in PA, states, "They [the FBI] contacted me 6 months ago to 'question me about the ELF and ALF'."

_____

Recently APOC and myself charged Kevin with racism. It is important to note that this discord and critique should not hamper our support of Kevin as he is hassled by the Feds.
Surely, we all know how COINTELPRO fostered hostilities amongst groups that could have otherwise forged alliances.
Hell, all of the anonymous threats I received purporting to defend Kevin could have been planted by Feds.

PETA: still lame

A while back, I criticized PETA for their imperialistic/racist stunt offering to pay the US government for advertising on its border wall.
I wrote to PETA telling them why their action was offensive and calling on them to analyze their internal racism which has had the tendency to pop up.
Well, I got a form letter from PETA explaining to me that they must imply shock to grab peoples' attention. No mention of racism. No analysis of their action. Certainly no promise of investigating the organization's racism.

A tactic such as PETA's was not principled. Principle is the key difference between right and wrong with "shock."
Is ANYTHING acceptable for one's end goal? Well, perhaps ALMOST ANYTHING is but what if the tactic runs counter not to a specific goal but a broader goal? These struggles are connected and I don't mean that to be vegan, one must be anti-sexist or something. However, PETA wouldn't want to be an explicit White supremacist organization in order to get everyone vegan.
Offering support to one's enemy (as defined by general broad goals or hopes) is undisciplined. Of course, if PETA does not view USA and/or the border fence as an "enemy" then THAT is a topic for criticism because that makes them racist/imperialists (if they are ok with being a racist/imperialist organization, then it isn't worth the critique as much as labelling them as the enemy).

Free Music = Crime

I am a big proponent of downloading music for free.

The first California resident, Kevin "Skwerl" Cogill, has been charged under an anti-piracy law that makes it a felony to distribute a copyrighted work on computer networks before its release. Cogill faces up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Just because he posted unreleased Guns N Roses songs on a blog!