A-Trak Blows My Mind

From this:


To this:


And he is still rockin it:

Fuck Raymond Pettibon & Wikipedia

Notorious artist Raymond Pettibone raises and trains dogs for fighting like a total scumbag.

I think this is something folks ought to know about the man's character. So I added it to his wikipedia profile with a cited source.
Within hours, it was removed and I was given this message:

"Although everyone is welcome to contribute to Wikipedia, at least one of your recent edits, such as the one you made to Raymond Pettibon, did not appear to be constructive and has been reverted or removed."

While I find the info very constructive and neutrally presented, someone apparently did not.

Defending Tila Tequila?

I am probably the last person I would expect to rush to the defense of Tila Tequila. Pretty much everything about her is sad and disgusting. However...

Nearly seven years ago Tila Tequila and her then-boyfriend filmed themselves having sex. Her ex is now threatening to release this sex tape against Tequila’s will. Tequila went to court to get an injunction against the tape’s release, but the judge denied her request, arguing that “Tila exploits her sexuality” anyway.

Tequila’s exploitation of her own sexuality (or, more accurately, her sex appeal), apparently, gives everyone else the right to exploit her sexuality, too. This is what it means to live in a society in which women are second-class citizens, specifically, the “sex class.” Women’s bodies are public property. Women are supposed to display them in public for men’s pleasure.

The Lost Dogs

Michael Vick might be winning over America with his football skills and our collective short memories but don't forget what a sadistic fuck he is.



"Expanding on his Sports Illustrated cover story, Gorant (Fanatic) offers a chilling investigation into Michael Vick' s dog-fighting operation and the men and women who brought him to justice and rehabilitated the rescued dogs. Gorant outlines the rise of Bad Newz Kennels, describing in sometimes painful detail the abuse, torture, and execution of the animals--particularly disturbing is an episode in which Vick and a friend swing a failed fighting dog over their heads like a jump rope and kill it by repeatedly slamming it into the ground--and tracing the rescue of dozens of pit bulls seized from Vick' s property. Gorant outlines the efforts to save these animals from euthanasia, challenging the negative public perceptions of pit bulls and reporting back on the status of dogs like Sox (now a certified therapy dog), Zippy (adopted by a family of five), and Iggy (still shy but growing comfortable with his adopted circle of friends). At a time when Vick has returned to professional football and much of the public outcry about Bad Newz Kennels has been forgotten, this book provides a stark reminder about the horror and prevalence of dog fighting."

Intellect as Evasion

Mel at BroadSnark offers an insightful critique of (Jay Smooth's) liberal anti- anti-intellectualism.

I understand why people are critical of the anti-intellectualism displayed by right wing populists who seem so disdainful of reading books, processing facts, or critical thinking of any kind. But it amazes me when otherwise observant people can’t see that anti-intellectualism is reactionary. It is a reaction to the idea that there is a small cadre of elites who are uniquely able to make important decisions on behalf of all of us.

There is no essential difference between supporting a ruling class based on blue-blood birth or ivy league degrees – it’s usually one and the same anyway.

The Christine O’Donnell commercial Smooth refers to is focused on morality, not intelligence. She is saying that she will “do what you would do” in the context of not being a corrupt politician. Now I have no doubt in my mind that she will be just as corrupt as the rest, but why not confront the issue of morality and corruption directly? How does being an intellectual make someone more moral? Is intellect the only thing of value in life?

For people who supposedly do a lot of critical thinking and evidence-based decision making, those who think like Smooth offer no proof that these supposedly smarter, more moral people are good leaders. In fact, they seem completely blind to all evidence to the contrary. Bill Clinton was smart and totally fucked us over. Carl Rove is smart. So is Paul Wolfowitz. I hear Stalin was smart.

The intellectual hierarchy implicit in this way of thinking bugs me, but I think what bugs me even more is the abdication of responsibility. In one part of the video, Smooth talks about how he wants to vote for someone who actually knows about stuff he doesn’t. I realize that none of us can know everything, but that also includes politicians. That’s (presumably) why they hold hearings and listen to people with expertise.

It reminds me of a blog comment that really irked me some time back. The commenter was responding to the idea of anarchism.

I have literally no interest in doing much of the day to day running of a city myself, nor do I want to be at the mercy of “might makes right” types. I am happy to cede some powers to government to have them do those things for me.

So basically, the commenter wanted to be able to sit on their ass watching Top Chef without having to trouble themselves with the boring details of life. And if their ability to do that is only won by giving power to people who will use it to enrich their friends, bomb children in Afghanistan, or put millions of poor people in jail? Fuck em.

How selfish is that?

One of the reasons we constantly get screwed is that people think they can remain ignorant of policy and process. They think they can leave the tedious stuff to others. If we actually want any justice in the world, we need to take the time to learn boring shit. We can’t just sit around in our underwear eating family-sized boxes of cereal, at least not all the time. Maybe if we all got off our asses and did something we would find out that we are more capable than we have been led to believe.

American politics continue to shift to the right

44% of likely voters say the Democratic Party is "more dominated by its extreme elements"

Hipsters and the Commodity of Cool

Marcus Dowling at Mishka wrote a great piece on hipsterism's move from subculture to mainstream commodification.

Thoughts on Ballin’ Ass Hipsters and the Commodity of Cool


It’s been going strong for a decade now and with all things we’ll soon need to bury it and start a new with whatever will replace it. But not before we crown a few victors as they move on to their next life as celebrities which is around where we’re at now in it’s lifespan. We’ve seen a slow embrace by popular culture of hipsterdom, from M.I.A. winning Grammies to Electro becoming the reigning sound of ClearChannel radio.

In their pursuit of the brass ring most of the artists successfully crossing over have very openly used aggressive marketing concepts, licensing, advanced promotional theories and financial partnerships (large and small) on their road to success. Does any of this sully the caliber of their creative output? Should it or shouldn’t it? If it does, why so? If the end result (the music) is still of original and excellent, does how it gets out there even matter? Interesting questions.

Zionist Endgame: Genocidal "Population Exchange"

Israeli forces have been conducting large scale national drills preparing for a possible "population exchange." This is done in case any agreement is reached that would trigger Israel to forcibly relocate Palestinian populations.

In such an event, a large detention camp for Palestinian citizens will be constructed and all illegal aliens will be released from prisons to make room for Palestinians.

It calls to mind the bloody partitioning of India/Pakistan (but A LOT more one-sided.)

Accused Oakland, CA Shooter: Glenn Beck 'Blew My Mind'

Byron Williams is charged with allegedly opening fire on police on Interstate 580 in Oakland, California, while on his way to "start a revolution" by attacking members of the ACLU and the Tides Foundation. He notes is inspiration by saying that Glenn Beck "blew my mind."


"Beck would never say anything about a conspiracy, would never advocate violence, he'll never do anything like, of this nature, but he'll give you every ounce of evidence that you could possibly need."

William W. 'Bill' Norton: True Hero

The action-movie specialist's best-known script was 'The Scalphunters,' starring Burt Lancaster. But the former Communist later rededicated himself to leftist ideals and smuggled arms for rebels in Northern Ireland.

Now I would like to see his films:

"The Scalphunters" (1968)
"Sam Whiskey" (1969)
"White Lightning" (1973)
"Gator" (1976)
"I Dismember Mama" (1972)
"Big Bad Mama" (1974)

Public Option Was Secretly Nixed Early in Health Care Debate

uh, I called it back in August 09


"They wanted to keep those stakeholders in the room and this was the price some thought they had to pay."

White America Has Lost Its Mind

"Race was always a tough one for white people to deal with, but now the backflips some people are doing over it requires a scorecard."

The Relationship between "indie rock" and racial barriers

There is undoubtedly a segregation and veiled racism in the British indie music business dating back to punk's interruption.

In America, unfortunately, white rock has always been considered as art, and black music as commerce. The early US punk musicians, however, were more genuinely rebellious than the Brits and were distinguished by multiracial bands such as the Gories and the Rollins Band. Their skill standard was much higher than the determinedly amateur Brits. Also, these players were not blinkered in their tastes – the seminal MC5 lionised Sun Ra and Coltrane, giants that the British punks had never even heard of.

The British punks were sadly characterised by flirtations with swastikas and the BNP, and the odious pronouncements of such sages as Sid Vicious – all this was swept under the carpet by a British press keen to promote the music.

But all music has multi-ethnic origins, and these genes sustain it. To deny these ethnic streams' existence is to create brittle and lifeless music, which seems to me where Morrissey is at.

US citizen was murdered by Israeli commandos

US citizen Furkan Dogan was murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.

How many US citizens will Israel get to murder and/or injure before the USA cares?

Christine O’Donnell Is Dangerous

As funny as O'Donnell is, don't forget how dangerous she is!

- O’Donnell excused gay bashing as ‘kids being kids.’
Asked about disparaging comments children had made about a gay peer, O’Donnell dismissed it, saying, “It’s kids being kids, that’s it.” [Hannity & Colmes, 7/19/00]

- O’Donnell believes women do not enjoy sex, using it only as a means to love.
“Women play sex to get love. Men play love to get sex.” [Fox News, 8/2/03]

- O’Donnell doesn’t understand why gays get ‘upset’ when called ‘deviant.’
Asked if she could “understand why gays might be upset?” by someone calling homosexuality a “deviant sexual orientation,” O’Donnell replied, “Absolutely not. I cannot understand.” [Hannity & Colmes, 6/26/00]

- O’Donnell believes the proper role of a woman is to ’submit’ to her husband.
[CNN, 6/11/98]

The Huffington Post Is Sexist

Americans Hate Vegetables and Love Being Unhealthy

Only 26 percent of the nation’s adults eat vegetables three or more times a day. (And no, that does not include French fries.)

The amount of vegetables Americans eat is less than half of what public health officials had hoped.

Sales of convenience vegetables, like packages of cut broccoli designed to go right into the microwave, are growing.

Platini threatens to annul Israel's membership of UEFA

The president of the European Union of Football Associations (UAFA), Michel Platini, has threatened to annul Israel's membership to the union because of the restrictions it imposes on Palestinian football players.

Joseph S. Blatter, President of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), expressed his strong displeasure with Israeli practices and its restrictions on Palestinian players.

Why the fuck is Israel even in UEFA?! Check the fuckin map! Israel is not in Europe.

Correlation Between Religion & Poverty

A correlation between poverty and religiosity



Poor People Need “God” 2 distract them from having crappy lives

Religiosity is highly correlated to poverty. Richer countries in general are less religious.

No surprise that atheists know more about religion.

In Defense of Rick Sanchez

Taken from The Minority Militant

First of all, when was it ever wrong to call someone a "bigot" (look up the dictionary meaning) and say they are out of touch with working class people? That may not have been the brightest thing Rick Sanchez said, nor was it the appropriate response, but can't he speak his mind and make an honest inference? Secondly, why does a man get fired because he courageously says that Jews like Jon Stewart, the same people that own the mainstream media, are not minorities?

Is it wrong to say that an upper middle class guy with roots like Jon Stewart doesn't understand the plight of working people? No, absolutely not. There was nothing that Sanchez said that warranted a firing from CNN. When someone says that Blacks dominate sports, or Asians own dry cleaners and nail salons, would that be a solid reason to reprimand him, no less take his job away?

We have guys like O'Reilly and Beck spewing all kinds of hate to uneducated tea baggers on the right, and the pseudo-liberal, Jewish-run mass media, with thin to limited skin, fires someone like Sanchez because he said something that was brutally honest. Sure the guy might not look like a Cuban because he's mostly of European/Spaniard ancestry, but he speaks for working class people who grew up in ghettos and run-down inner-city urban areas that come from blue collar roots.

I'm not a fan of Sanchez, and I know he's far from perfect. We all are in our own ways.

Are Jews minorities? Ummm....No. You can't have it both ways. You can't claim to be an oppressed minority then turn the other cheek and benefit from White Privilege. What happened in the past (pre-WWII/WWII) was one of mankind's worst atrocities and should never, without an inkling of a doubt, ever be repeated so long as civilization shall flourish. That card is played-out. This political correctness mantra has engulfed the over-sensitive, over-analytical, monkey-see-monkey-do, progressive media to the point where there is no healthy discourse. No wonder those on the right are tea bagging.

But when it comes to making fun of Asians on TV/media/film, you executives (yes, mostly Jews) turn a blind eye to it while nodding your shoulders trying to figure out the harm in it. This is hypocrisy at best, the same kind of free speech you consistently point to in the bill of rights when you need to make an argument on slanted cable TV "news." Not only is it intellectually dishonest, it's morally incomprehensible.

And you wonder why shit never gets done in Washington? It's because we have big distractions like these that take our attention away from Wall Street as they buy up the entire congress of these undemocratic states and rob us of our livelihood. Talk about a knee-jerk society, making HUGE, impulsive decisions based on tabloid news and unreliable 24/7 polls.

Forced Fun At Work

(This is a subject I am forced to deal with daily at my office job.)

Compulsory fun is nearly always cringe-making.

The problem is that as soon as fun becomes part of a corporate strategy it ceases to be fun and becomes its opposite—at best an empty shell and at worst a tiresome imposition.

Behind the “fun” façade there often lurks some crude management thinking: a desire to brand the company as better than its rivals, or a plan to boost productivity through team-building.

The Poor Get Poorer

USA Income Gap Widens

Who benefits from the Bush Tax Cuts?
(Hint: not you)

ACTUAL VS. ESTIMATED U.S. WEALTH DISTRIBUTION:

Gitmo

This photo has been so used, re-used, changed, and de-fanged, I think it is important that we look at the original.
This is what they do when they catch you and they do it in our name and with our money.

Blue Scholars x John Coyne x Oakland x The xx

I just don't get sick of this sick beat. Blue Scholars put it to far better use than The xx.

Republican Pledge To America

The Republican Party is pledging to uphold the mythology of the rugged individualist White settler.

In this mythology, the cowboy is a white man. He is a crusty frontiersman taming the west and paving the way for civilization. He is the good guy fighting the dangerous Indian. He is free and independent. He is in charge of his own destiny.

Bill Ayers denied emeritus status at UIC

Wait. I thought that the liberal elite socialist cabal ruled higher education and won't let creationist rightwingers run shit?

Making us work for free

"The distressing part is that in reality these companies actually employ hundreds of millions of people, particularly young and otherwise un or underemployed superusers. People that work for them day in and day out for free: finding, sifting, sorting, connecting, building, etc.

Let's take Facebook as an example. Currently it's valued at ~$25 billion by the market. However, it could be argued that ~100,000 superusers out of 500 million part time users, are the reason that Facebook is valuable. They generate the core network that is the backbone of the tool. Their devoted use, high levels of connectivity, and loyalty forms the engine that grows Facebook, year in and year out. They are the materials, labor, and product of Facebook's assembly line. Yet they aren't paid for their effort. They aren't generating wealth for themselves or their families."

Very similar to what CrimethInc recently pointed out.

Hunters in Oregon Shooting Down Google's Fibers

Gunmen have been playing target practice with the insulators on Google's electricity distribution poles. It's so problematic Google's moving their fibers underground.

What if they were less "bored hunters" and more saboteurs?

"anarcho-capitalism" is impossible, duh

accumulation and concentration of capital is impossible under anarchism

the cost of protecting property rises dramatically as the amount of property owned increases, without a state.