Wednesday, July 09, 2003
The Multitude!
Empire What Hardt and Negri call an "Empire" is the successor of 19th-century imperialism. Best exemplified by British and French colonial domination, imperialism was characterized by territorial domination over certain societies, mostly in Africa and Asia. The European national state organized this form of exploitation, and Europe acted as a cultural, political, and economic metropolis orbited by distant colonies. The British Empire, for example, had to establish rigid boundaries between itself and the French Empire in order to ensure its competitive economic advantage over the latter, and white Londoners had to be differentiated from colonial subjects to justify the massive flow of profits from the periphery (Johannesburg, Hong Kong) to the center. Imperialism functioned by producing limits. Traditional imperialism, however, did not survive World War II. What arose from its ruins was Empire, a new system of domination that no longer separated "inside" (ruling country) and "outside" (colony). Empire aspired to "globality"--a world with no boundaries, a world in which First and Third Worlds are inseparably intermingled: Fifth Avenue and Harlem, Mexico City and Chiapas, Beverly Hills and South Central, and so on. Biopower But how is Empire to establish domination over global populations without the police powers of a nation-state? Hardt and Negri's answer lies in the idea of "biopower" (literally "power over life"). By means of mass communication technologies (television, radio, public relations, and advertising), Empire leaves the task of policing to the individual: "Go ahead. Buy that car and let the little fascist in your head take over!" This is the new society of control: There are no more prisons, only inmates. You don't finish school; remedial education is always in session. You're never healthy, but always in therapy. And the army is no longer a place where you learn how to kill, it's a career-resource center. But, argue Hardt and Negri, this is not to say that people have now become happy robots. The field of politics has been displaced from the national liberation and socialist politics of old to a new kind of "biopolitics," formally set into motion by the social movements of the late '60s. There will be no new Soviet Union, no second Gandhi; what replaces all that is the politics of everyday life--biopolitics constituted by struggles for individual and collective autonomy in the present, such as women's right to choose, sexual liberation, the fight against police profiling, etc. The Multitude Biopolitics produces the multitude. In the past, nation-states had been so successful as forms of political domination because they made people believe, through various ideologies, that they had a stake in the state--that they were "the People," the central actors who, by sheer force of will, moved the machinery of "democratic" government. But in the brave new world of Empire, there is no more nation-state that "the People" can be hoodwinked into believing they still control. Political and cultural identities become pluralized. Nobody is satisfied with being an "American" any longer; you're now a Jewish feminist lesbian of Russian decent. Though biopower reaches into the capillaries of society, inciting individuals to consume more and more commodities, this new system has no means of extending control over political allegiances. Hardt and Negri call this situation "the multitude"--an irreducible multiplicity of political-cultural subjectivities. The flip side of this new system? There is no more proletariat in the traditional Marxist sense. Whereas Marx and Lenin had argued that the (white, male) industrial workers were the vanguards of the Communist society, in Empire, such a configuration is no longer possible. Whether the question is one of maintaining capitalism or of overthrowing it, there can no longer be a center of agency. Since political identities are radically pluralized on a global level, but also linked by a global situation (Empire), revolutionary agency must itself be decentralized. There will be no vanguards--only a multitude of potentially coalescing revolutionary movements. In short, according to Hardt and Negri, "The deterritorializing power of the multitude is the productive force that sustains Empire, and at the same time the force that calls for and makes necessary its destruction. They draw the conclusion that Empire is, by its very nature, an unstable system poised for implosion. This, however, is not an occasion for sadness, but joy. The global reach of the multitude's rebellion--exemplified in the protests against global finance that have since rocked the world since Empire's publication--means that global communism is within reach. Hardt and Negri offer three potential demands for this movement to take up: the global right to immigration (global citizenship); the global right to a social wage; and finally, global collective ownership of the means of production, which is not only the factories of old, but also the means of producing and circulating information. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of Empire. http://www.thestranger.com/2001-08-16/books.html Those of you who have been paying attention know that they have missed something out; The Multitude can instantaneously stop the preparation and waging of war. Aparently, the authors next book is on this very subject, how to permanently puyt a stop to war. This is a great concern for them (and us) because perpetual war is, according to the authors, the only way that the power of The Multitude can be controlled in the post capitalist world. Thankfully the solution has already been designed.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Shortwave Numbers Stations
Irdial Disks
1997
Reviewed by: Michael Heumann
Static. Faint voices. Seven slow, monotonous tones. A pause. Suddenly, you hear music?one of those wind-up songs played by a child's toy. The melody repeats three times. A pause. Suddenly, you hear a female voice counting off the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 in German. A pause. She repeats the numbers. A pause. The children's toy melody returns.
So begins The Conet Project, perhaps the greatest collection of found art ever produced. This is not only a monumental work; it is also a monument, a testament to 50 years of Cold War espionage, a living document of the world's most secret agencies. That most of these agencies are still around today merely enhances the importance of this work. [...]
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/musicreviews/the_conet_project.shtml
"These two deep-sea animals have come to a very agreeable arrangement. Hermit crabs have long soft bodies that must be protected. So they like to live safe inside other objects, typically shells. As shells can be rare in the deep sea, these hermit crabs have worked out a way to live inside a relative of anemones and corals known as �zonathid�. Most corals and anemones need a hard surface on which to settle and grow. Most of the deep sea is mud and sand, so hard surfaces are rare. By these two animals getting together, they both benefit. The crab has a safe home in the tough leathery body of the zonathid, it may even be protected by the coral�s stinging tentacles. In return the coral gets carried to new places that might have more food, including the sorts of foods that the hermit crab scavenges. It is not known how this union starts but it�s possible that the two get together from a small size and grow up helping each other out."
"The scientific name for this strange deep-sea eel says it all. Eurypharynx means �all throat� and pelicanoides means �pelican-like�. This all-black fish has a tiny head and eyes and has a huge mouth with small teeth and a big soft-bag throat. At the tip of its tail is a small light organ that glows pink but can also flash red. It seems that this eel hunts by waving the tip of its tail in its open mouth, drawing in schools of small shrimps and other crustaceans. Once inside the eel very slowly closes its mouth so that the shrimp don�t even know they�re trapped. Then the water is squeezed out through gill openings and the shrimp are trapped and swallowed."
This name doesn�t do this fish justice. One researcher onboard suggested a name like the Starburst Anglerfish would be more appropriate. This is the female of this strange anglerfish. She has very long fin rays, and hairy tubes all over her head. These tubes are known as �neuromasts� and are extensions of the sensory structures found in the lateral line system of most fishes. They must help her detect her prey, soon captured in her large toothy mouth. Less than 20 specimens have ever been collected of this species, only six in the entire Pacific and Indian oceans (in an area two thirds of the earth�s circumference!). To show how rare many of these deep-sea fishes are, this species is considered the �common� member of the family! Others are only known from a single specimen. Like other anglerfishes, males are very different. They are small and have simple fins. In this species, the male latches on to the female and doesn�t let go. Their skin fuses and he stays as a permanent pimple with eyes, drinking blood and making sperm.
http://www.oceans.gov.au/norfanz/CreatureFeature.htm
mary, what / where is that bike ?
I wish I could say it was in my garage, but alas, not today. My friend just bought one and she tells me it is fantastic, a bit heavier than a regular bike, but the hills are "smooth and easy". This one is particularly sleek, isn't it? I am due for a new bike, the old Peugeot gets me around, though I'd like a more stylish one for special occasions (like every day!). I do like the Schwinn city cruisers ...
Considering the alumni are mostly English, does anyone have a good recipe for scones? I bought some sour cherries at the farmers market on the weekend and I think they would be lovely in a scone with some chocolate.
Monday, July 07, 2003
You are a Radical. Right on!
What kind of Sixties Person are you?
brought to you by Quizilla uh oh....
"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both."
- James Madison (Fourth President of the United States)
http://opengov.media.mit.edu/faq.htm
Blunkett's card trick
(Filed: 07/07/2003) You can often tell a bad idea by the arguments deployed in its favour. So it is with David Blunkett's proposal to introduce identity cards for everyone over the age of 16, at a cost of �39 each. Each of the claims made by the Home Secretary in support of his pet scheme is wrong. First, Mr Blunkett says that there is strong public support for the idea. In fact, the Home Office's recent consultation exercise focused on the concept of an entitlement card, a very different prospect. The state is perfectly within its rights to demand that benefits claimants identify themselves. There is a world of difference between being asked to justify yourself in order to claim a subsidy and being asked to produce your papers when you are going about your lawful business. The Home Secretary goes on to argue ID cards will help fight crime. This is one of those assertions that is forever being made, but hardly ever substantiated. Muggers and burglars are unlikely to leave their identity cards behind at the scene of the crime. The public mood is said to have changed since September 11, 2001, but no one has explained - or even seriously tried to explain - how ID cards would have thwarted those bombers, many of whom died in possession of forged papers. Nor, by the way, are ID cards a solution to illegal immigration. The root of the asylum problem is not that we cannot find clandestine entrants, but that we never enforce their deportation. It is typical of Mr Blunkett - and of New Labour - that, instead of seeking to repatriate the hundreds of thousands of false claimants who have already been ordered out, he should seek eye-catching, if unrelated, new powers. More faulty still is Mr Blunkett's central proposition, as set out in a letter to his Cabinet colleagues: "The argument that identity cards will inhibit our freedom is wrong. We are strengthened in our liberty if our identity is protected from theft; if we are able to access the services we are entitled to; and if our community is better protected from terrorists." It has become trite, especially in this, his centenary year, to describe things as "Orwellian". Here, though, is the real thing. In an appendix to Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell describes how a concept can be traduced if the words used to express it lose their meaning. The example he gives, uncannily, is the word "free". Now here is Mr Blunkett using "freedom" to mean more state control. Any doubts as to the wisdom of the scheme must surely be removed by the Home Secretary's final argument in its favour: that we are "out of kilter with Europe". Indeed we are, thank heaven. Policemen in Britain are seen as citizens in uniform, not agents of the government. The balance of power between state and individual is, in general, tilted toward the latter. That which is not banned is presumed to be allowed, and we do not expect to account for ourselves unless we have done something wrong. Mr Blunkett might usefully heed Orwell's contemporary, Aldous Huxley: "Liberties are not given - they are taken."
Blunkett's ID cards 'threat to freedom'
By Toby Helm, Chief Political Correspondent
(Filed: 07/07/2003)
David Blunkett was accused by civil liberties campaigners last night of planning "the biggest threat to freedom since the Second World War" after a leaked memo showed he is pushing the Cabinet to back national identity cards for everyone aged 16 and over.
The Home Secretary insists in a memo to Cabinet colleagues that rather than limiting freedom, his plan for ID cards would reinforce people's sense of liberty by making it easier for them to use services and protecting them from criminals and terrorists.
It is understood that he wants to introduce legislation in the autumn to allow cards to be brought in within the next few years. A full Cabinet discussion is expected within the next fortnight.
Plans for ID cards, abandoned in the mid-Nineties, were revived amid concern about security following the terrorist attacks on September 11. The Home Secretary believes that it should not be compulsory to carry the card but says that people could be forced to produce it within days if asked to do so by police.[...]
What is much more likely is that they will lock you up until one of your relatives or mates turns up with your card. Any fool will have the common sense to abscond if he is already wanted for some offence. All of these reassurances are just empty words, the same as the words spoken about how the public's reaction would be taken into account in the consultation. Lies lies LIES!
This will really stop terrorism, not that a terrorist would be able to give a false name address and then relocate or carry out their actions in the between days.
All of the 911 men had valid IDs. This is complete and utter hogwash from beginning to end.
And the line about "our european partners all have to carry ID cards" is total bullshit; just because they have something awful doesnt mean that anyone else, anywhere else, has to accept it.
This is Bliars Britain; they didnt count the true number of objections in the consultancy, then they counted it but said that it doesnt matter because the people who voted against it were "highly organized". So they are just going to do it anyway just like they illegally and imorally attacked and colonized Iraq in the face of well orgainzed and unprecedentedly large demonstrations.
Yet again, so much for "democracy".
Saturday, July 05, 2003
Friday, July 04, 2003
Thursday, July 03, 2003
| ||||||
Anyone yearning to get this look on? On second thought, it could be quite cute, with the right shoes ...
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
| ||||||
| ||||||
Today, I walked down Cork Street as part of an almost random walk, and wandered into a few of the galleries.
The Entwistle is putting on "Paris is Burning" when I walked in, the following titles had just displayed:
"Instrumental Version 2001"
I found out later that what I had watched was this:
The Portuguese video artist Joao Onofre, (b. 1976, Lisbon) filmed the chamber choir Coro de Camra da Universidade de Lisboa singing an acappella version of The Robots by Kraftwerk from their 1978 album Man Machine.
It was a very pleasant surprise.
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Mistrust Mixes With Misery In Heat of Baghdad Police Post
Frustrated Reservists See a Mission Impossible By Anthony Shadid Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, July 1, 2003; Page A01 BAGHDAD, June 30 -- To Staff Sgt. Charles Pollard, the working-class suburb of Mashtal is a "very, very, very, very bad neighborhood." And he sees just one solution. "U.S. officials need to get our [expletive] out of here," said the 43-year-old reservist from Pittsburgh, who arrived in Iraq with the 307th Military Police Company on May 24. "I say that seriously. We have no business being here. We will not change the culture they have in Iraq, in Baghdad. Baghdad is so corrupted. All we are here is potential people to be killed and sitting ducks." To Sgt. Sami Jalil, a 14-year veteran of the local police force, the Americans are to blame. He and his colleagues have no badges, no uniforms. The soldiers don't trust them with weapons. In his eyes, his U.S. counterparts have already lost the people's trust. "We're facing the danger. We're in the front lines. We're taking all the risks, only us," said the 33-year-old officer. "They're arrogant. They treat all the people as if they're criminals."[...] Washington Post
BOOK BRANDON FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT
Everything you hear on the CD Brandon can duplicate live and in concert. Again he even plays the singing voices...its wild. BRANDON is not only an electronic musician, he�s also is great magician and illusionist.
http://www.listentothefuture.com/booking/booking.html
Monday, June 30, 2003
EXTRA: FAT HACK SPEAKS (SOME) TRUTH
�R�u�s�h� �L�i�m�b�a�u�g�h�:� �G�5� �'�g�o�i�n�g� �t�o� �c�h�a�n�g�e� �e�v�e�r�y�t�h�i�n�g�'� �
�J�u�n�e� �2�8� �-� �1�4�:�4�5� �E�D�T�
�"�T�h�e� �G�5� �i�s� �g�o�i�n�g� �t�o� �g�o� �t�o� �6�4�-�b�i�t�s�,� �a�n�d� �i�t�'�s� �g�o�i�n�g� �t�o� �c�h�a�n�g�e� �e�v�e�r�y�t�h�i�n�g� �-�-� �w�h�i�c�h� �i�s� �w�h�y� �I�'�m� �s�o� f�r�u�s�t�r�a�t�e�d� �t�h�a�t� �t�h�i�s� �t�e�c�h�n�o�l�o�g�y� �i�s�n�'�t� �m�o�r�e� �m�a�i�n�s�t�r�e�a�m�,�"� �w�r�i�t�e�s� �t�a�l�k� �r�a�d�i�o� �p�e�r�s�o�n�a�l�i�t�y� �R�u�s�h� �L�i�m�b�a�u�g�h�.� �"�I� �r�e�c�e�n�t�l�y ��b�o�u�g�h�t� �t�h�e� �l�a�t�e�s�t� �d�u�a�l�-�p�r�o�c�e�s�s�o�r� �G�4�.� �I�'�v�e� �a�l�r�e�a�d�y� �h�o�o�k�e�d� �u�p� �a�u�d�i�o�,� �v�i�d�e�o�,� �i�C�h�a�t� �-�-� �w�h�i�c�h� �i�s� �t�h�e�i�r� �v�e�r�s�i�o�n� �o�f� �A�O�L� i�n�s�t�a�n�t� �m�e�s�s�e�n�g�e�r� �-�-� �a�n�d� �i�t�'�s� �i�n�c�r�e�d�i�b�l�e�.� �I�t�'�s� �r�e�a�l�-�t�i�m�e� �v�i�d�e�o� �c�o�n�f�e�r�e�n�c�i�n�g� �o�n� �y�o�u�r� �c�o�m�p�u�t�e�r�.�.�.� �T�h�e� �G�5� �i�s� �a�n� �e�v�e�n� �m�o�r�e� �a�d�v�a�n�c�e�d� �m�a�c�h�i�n�e�,� �y�e�t� �A�p�p�l�e�'�s� �m�a�r�k�e�t� �s�h�a�r�e� �r�e�m�a�i�n�s� �s�t�a�t�i�c�!� �T�h�e�y� �h�a�v�e� �s�o� �m�u�c�h� �s�u�p�e�r�i�o�r� �e�q�u�i�p�m�e�n�t� �t�h�a�t� �t�h�e�y� �s�h�o�u�l�d� �h�a�v�e �a�t� �l�e�a�s�t� �d�o�u�b�l�e� �t�h�e� �s�h�a�r�e� �o�f� �t�h�e� �m�a�r�k�e�t� �t�h�e�y� �h�o�l�d� �n�o�w�.� �A�p�p�l�e� �i�s� �a�p�p�a�r�e�n�t�l�y� �a� �c�o�m�p�a�n�y� �t�h�a�t� �i�s� �s�o� �c�o�n�s�t�r�a�i�n�e�d� �b�y� �t�h�e� �p�o�l�i�t�i�c�a�l� �v�i�e�w�s� �o�f� �i�t�s� �c�o�r�p�o�r�a�t�e� �l�e�a�d�e�r�s�h�i�p� �a�n�d� �b�o�a�r�d�,� �w�h�i�c�h� �n�o�w� �i�n�c�l�u�d�e�s� �A�l� �G�o�r�e�,� �t�h�a�t� �i�t�'�s� �a�c�c�e�p�t�i�n�g� �l�o�w�e�r� �s�a�l�e�s�.� W�h�a�t� �a� �s�h�a�m�e�.�"
At 3:42AM, Thrash worte:
> From - Mon Jun 30 07:53:39 2003
> Return-Path:
> Reply-To:
> From: "angry troll [OT]"
> To:
> Subject: FW: christs huge girth
> Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 03:42:35 +0100
> Organization: bLiP
> Message-ID: <000201c33eb1$435233a0$ea00a8c0@barnsley>
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
> boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0003_01C33EB9.A5169BA0"
> X-Priority: 3 (Normal)
> X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
> X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.2616
> Importance: Normal
> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000
> Status:
>
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
>
> ------=_NextPart_000_0003_01C33EB9.A5169BA0
> Content-Type: text/plain;
> charset="us-ascii"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
>
> Hows your credit card?
> Christs fat cock...
> Have you heard your music lately!
> Heeeheeeee....
> I don�t understand
> Whats so funny about jeff minters site?
> Whats the matter?
> Can�t you stand that someone is nice to me?
> I think your problem with me posting the album on blogdial
> Is that you are jealous or something
> Why else would you immediately pick holes in something
> That doesn�t have any holes?
> There seems to be other much more blatant posts
> That are promotional...
> Why don't you go back to your abusive post and read it again?
> You behaved like such a wank stain on that post
> You really showed your true colours
> What kind of welcome for another independent label is that?
> Thank god I sussed you out...
> now you've read it again - do you feel like a cunt?
> you should!
> i think that justifies my flames quite nicely :-)
> Free music? - what a wanker!
> I cant wait to see you out there....
> you can live blog my fist punching your teeth out
> Also...If you are really *that* interested in what I post
> Why don�t you trawl through all my posts on the internet?
> You'll find some excellent flames on usenet
> (most of my posts are flames)
> Try looking under the orb list at xmission.com
>
> Try searching for the keywords
>
> You inbred brother buggering busted wrist monger
>
> :-)
>
> One last thing..
>
> Blog this - ass toot
>
> Laters
>
> --
>
> ))
> ((
> c[_] bLiP
>
> www.justablip.co.uk
Duly blogged!
This week, we will be reviewing the Thrash "album" one track per day.
Just for the hell of it.
Sunday, June 29, 2003
[clay] stop it
[llandrutu] what?
[clay] just fucking stop
[clay] im not putting up with that shit
[llandrutu] i havent done anything!
[clay] [flonze] llandrutu is threatening me
[llandrutu] no fucking way. i just got here.
[clay] I AM NOT A MEXICAN
[clay] END THE RACISM
[clay] SIR, I AM OF EUROPEAN/AMERICAN INDIAN DESCENT
[clay] I DO NOT HAVE TO BE ON THE RECEIVING END OF THIS
[llandrutu] freedom is not free free men are not equal and equal men are not free.
[llandrutu] all clear now?
[clay] i am not claty
[llandrutu] i didnt mean to say that.
[clay] here comes the dead
[llandrutu] are you ready for your bath?
> From: "angry troll [OT]"
> To:
> Subject: Someone has been fucking with my site I hope for your sake...
> Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 14:45:36 +0100
> Organization: bLiP
> Message-ID: <000101c33e44$b8870320$ea00a8c0@barnsley>
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: text/plain;
> charset="us-ascii"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> X-Priority: 3 (Normal)
> X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
> X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.2616
> Importance: Normal
> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000
> Status:
>
> Yo wanker
> Hey - did you fuck with my site?
> If you did - youre dead...
> If you didn't apologies...
> Hope I get to see you out soon
> I can give you a slap
> What clubs you go to?
> Or don't they allow you away from the computer?
> I cant believe how up your ass you are
> Going on about free music like you invented it
> And whats all that shit about we are the best
> Your page is boring as shit
> And I couldn't give less of a monkeys toss
> That you don't want me on there
> Im just gutted I tainted my album by posting it on your shit
> Cant believe I actually linked to your shit too
> So much for labels who give free music sticking together
> With your attitude you should be running a major label
> Not pissing about with free music..
>
> Fuck you wankstain
>
> :-)
>
>
> kris
>
> --
>
> ))
> ((
> c[_] bLiP
>
> www.justablip.co.uk
Well well well, the ultimate l00ser rears his ugly face again!
The votes are in, both on and off blog, the sentence is excommunucation, exsanguination and any other vivid ex that you might think of.
And lest you need more evidence, whilst trawling through the referrer logs, I found this rather amusing thread.
Oh the humanity!
Playlist:
http://www.wfmu.org
Gilbert/Lewis/Mills "MZUI"
J.S.Bach - Keith Jarrett (harpsichord) - Goldberg Variations
Chris Watson "Weather Report"
Jacksons - "Let Me Show You the Way to Go"
the breeders "CANNONBALL"
Wendy Carlos - "Tron"
Bootsy Collins - "Off Da Hook", "Very Yes", "What's A Telephone Bill", "Roto-Rooter"
Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground - "Vicious"
Valley Of The Shadows "31 Seconds"
A pile of worthless - "Demos"
Boards of Canada "Zoetrope"
Sylvia - "Pillow Talk"
Diana Ross - "Love Hangover"
Aqualung - "Aqualung"
dinbot-watching4u.mp3
Soundtrack - "Super Star Soldier"
Mylene Farmer- "Abracadabra"
Dizzy Chip / unlethal enforcer / nullsleep / tangible / commie64 / $everyone from www.8bitpeoples.com
Saturday, June 28, 2003
TAMPA, Fla. - A man who admitted scheming to steal satellite television signals has been ordered to pay $180 million in restitution in $500-a-month installments � a payment plan that would take 30,000 years to fulfill.
Yahoo News
Friday, June 27, 2003
Rice warns of 'Made in America' solution to Iran's nuclear plans
By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor
(Filed: 27/06/2003)
America gave notice yesterday that it was ready to act alone against Iran and North Korea if European countries did not co-operate in stopping them from developing nuclear weapons.
"If we do not want a 'Made in America' solution, let's find out how to resolve the issues of North Korea and Iran," declared Condoleezza Rice, the US national security adviser, during a visit to London.[...]
The Telegraph
no linking to The Telegraph; The Telegraph==evil
Playlist, hmmmm. Last night I saw Sonic Youth and Wilco for free out in the sultry heat of a Central Park evening. So I am thinking alot about the Youth. They played mostly newer material (which I most definately dig: Murray Street is a gorgeous noise). But as far as recordings: Brahms Clarinet Trio. Mountain Goats Zopilote Machine. And I am still digging through the monstrosity that is the Los Angeles Free Music Society box set: 10 CDs of wonderful artdamaged weirdness.
Speaking of LA, I'm flying out there tonight for a week-long visit. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do/see? I can't wait to visit the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Fun and education just do not get more absurd.
oh, and Sun City Girls just came up in my mp3 rotation. a twisted gem from 330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond The Rig Veda.
Sign me up. When are we meeting?
If only the artists themselves would see that their complacency and submissive behavior allows groups like the RIAA to exist. [...]
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/31447.html
Thursday, June 26, 2003
Recently turned onto the wild sounds of Julius Hemphill through the wonders of WFMU. Doug Schulkind's shows are unfuckwithable.
June 26, 2003 -- A computer buff who circulated a rough cut of "The Hulk" on the Internet before the movie's release turned green when he went before the judge yesterday.
Kerry Gonzalez, 24, arrived at Manhattan federal court wearing a pale green shirt, a green suit and a green tie.
But the burly, 6-foot-2 video pirate insisted his green tones didn't mean he was about to unleash a burst of clothes-splitting rage.
"It's my nicest suit," Gonzalez shrugged, after pleading guilty to one count of copyright infringement. His lawyer, Matthew Portella, quipped, "Just don't make him angry - you won't like him when he's angry."
After being told that the feds were on his tail last week, Gonzalez agreed to cop a plea that might land him in jail for between six and 12 months rather than the maximum three years. [...]
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/1893.htm
Man Who Put Early Copy of `Hulk' on Net Pleads Guilty to Piracy
Thursday, June 26, 2003
By P.J. Huffstutter Los Angeles Times
When Karen Randall received a phone call late one night and learned that an early, rough version of ``The Hulk'' had been pirated and posted on the Internet, one thought came to mind.
``We are going to get them. We are going to get them, crush them, stop them,'' said Vivendi Universal Entertainment's general counsel.
Wednesday, she got her wish. Kerry Gonzalez, a 24-year-old New Jersey insurance underwriter, pleaded guilty in a New York City federal courthouse to criminal charges of posting the bootlegged movie on the Internet. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when he is sentenced Sept. 26.[...]
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=20&ID=107407&r=0
Peanut allergy among children, which was once unknown, is now common and increasing numbers of people react badly to foods such as avocados and kiwi fruit, bee and wasp stings, drugs and latex rubber.[...]
Prof Holgate said genes were partly responsible for the soaring allergy rate. "Genetics are important - allergies run in families," he said. But "the early-life experiences associated with western civilised society" must also bear some blame.[...]
If allergies run in families, and the cause is mostly genetic, then there should not have been such a huge spike in the number of people allergic to peanuts. Peanuts will have been historically known as a poison and not a food if the cause were genetic.
"Most pronounced is the lack of exposure to agents that stimulate the immune system in early life," he said. The immune systems of babies and small children were no longer challenged by infections, dirt and bacteria because of our sterile homes and tendency to run to the doctor. Antibiotics were frequently given, even for coughs and colds which were probably viral, and wiped out the bacteria in the gut.[...]
So this means that the UK household is on average the cleanest in the world. That is bullshit. Take for example, the practice of washing up plates as done in the UK. Any American looking at how its done here would hurl if they saw it in practice. The way brits keep their food in (WHEN they do it) a refridgerator is also astonishing to Americans.
If increased household hygene is the cause of the allergy spike, then the UK should not be at the top of the list.
It was possible that babies could become allergic to foods such as peanuts which their mothers ate while pregnant.[...]
There is some evidence that this is true...
New treatments were being developed that were likely to make a real difference to allergy sufferers, he said. One neutralised the antibody responsible for the allergic reaction, while others aimed to stimulate the immune system so that it did not develop an allergic response.[...]
Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization is a course of shots that you can get, which lessens your sensitivity. Dont you just love the FACTS?!?!?
The Guardian
[...]
TNX-901 is able to block the chemical pathway responsible for food allergies. The treatment could help in people allergic to other things such as cats, eggs and other nuts.
Patients who received the highest dose of the drug showed the largest improvement. The treatment cut sensitivity to peanuts in 76 per cent of the participants.
"Some patients have reported that they seem to have also developed a greater tolerance to foods other than peanuts," said Hugh Sampson, the study's co-author, in the journal report.
Final testing on the treatment is now being held up by litigation among the three companies that developed the drug &3151; Tanox, Genentech and Novartis.
The treatment could be on the market in four years if the three companies settle soon.
The study was paid for by Tanox, the Peanut Foundation and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
CBC
" The only sound Mr Taylor understands is the sound of AK-47 and that is what we are playing for him "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3021604.stm
Eeek the new blogger interface! Where's the old one!?
Dead forever. Now Blogger supports Mozilla properly, which is a blessing.
I don't like not being able to see the last few comments...
I can still see the last 5....the lower window is smaller on 800x600, thanks to the new tabz.
sometimes blogger is slow and the Blogdial page isn't as fresh as the blogger page.
the BLOGDIAL page is pulled and refreshed every 5 mins from another site, where the posts are squirted. When you run say "view page", the page is immediately refreshed.
"Manage Posts" sort of does it, but you lose your blogging window, and blog entry (as I have just discovered - thankfully I always try to CTRL-C before I post on blogger to avoid such things).
I just tried to find the "manage posts" section, and ctrl-c'd this post to save it, and blogger asked me if i want to save the post!!!!!! Very cool....
Not sure about this...
You will love it soon enough, if only for the URL/bold/italic making buttons which means no more left out qoute marks...which I do often to my astonishment.
I tried to migrate the blog to Dano weeks ago, but BLOGDIAL didnt show up on the list of migratable blogs; its here now, at last...no more need to go to IE EVER again. Im going to test it with Opera later today, Opera being even less useful than Mozilla with the previous version of Blogger.
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/scitech/SciTechRepublish_887398.htm
[Nice to see the Swiss Guards have an information warfare component
working to secure the Pontiff's network. - WK]
Wednesday, 25 June 2003
The Vatican has revealed it has taken on a team of experts to protect
the Pope's website which is attacked by some 10,000 viruses a month
and at least 30 mainly American hackers every day.
"Fortunately, up to now no-one has managed to penetrate the Pope's
site thanks to a highly efficient team of specialists charged with
anti-virus protection who have always managed to block hackers'
emails," said Archbishop Claudio Celli, secretary for the
administration of the Holy See's heritage.
"Young Americans are the most common and aggressive of hackers around
the world seeking to cross the Vatican's e-borders," he continued.
Pope John Paul II has on several occasions shown his support for the
Internet, whilst warning against some of its specific uses, but for
security reasons he has no personal email address.
Well-wishers' messages reach the pontiff through various other
addresses which are filtered by Vatican staff.
For his 83rd birthday in May, the pope received some 23,000 messages.
The Vatican launched its website (www.vatican.va) on Christmas Day
1995 with a page of Christmas wishes from the Pope.
Now, according to Celli, the Vatican website is consulted by some 50
million surfers in 150 countries.
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
The US/Mexico Border Crossing Card (BCC):
A Case Study in Biometric, Machine-Readable ID
http://www.sonic.net/~undoc/bccnew.htm
EU backs biometric passports
By John Leyden Posted: 23/06/2003 at 17:06 GMT European Union governments last week agreed to embed computer chips containing biometric data in passports. The plans to create passports carrying information on a person's fingerprint or retinal scans are presented as a way to reduce counterfeiting and fraud. Biometric chips would also be implanted in visas issued to foreign nationals travelling to Europe. [...] Under the US Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002, countries whose citizens enjoy visa-free travel to the United States "must issue passports with biometric identifiers no later than Oct. 26, 2004," the IHT reports. [...] Meanwhile there's no talk yet about any insistence about biometric passports for Americans travelling to Europe. The Register ***************** The United States, which does not require its citizens to carry ID cards, has for years used biometric "crossing cards" to help police its border with Mexico. . U.S. Embassies and consulates in Mexico have issued 6 million such cards since 1998. The cards include a digital photograph and two electronically collected index fingerprints, which can be checked against a government database of individuals caught violating immigration laws.[...] International Herald Tribune
Monday, June 23, 2003
noodle-free jazz
read this intitially as noodle freejazz. a genre to aspire to?
I discovered Hafler Trio at my college radio station in 1997. The packaging was just screaming to be plucked from the stacks and the sounds inside sent my latenight listenings from fear to delight. I dig How to Reform Mankind.
Reminds me of my forays into the soundscapes of Stillupsteypa...
Pitfalls of Transgene Containment in Chloroplast
As transgenic contamination is becoming a big issue, biotech companies are proposing to put transgenes in the chloroplast genome instead of the nuclear genome in order to prevent them from spreading. Prof. Joe Cummins reveals the pitfalls. [...] [..]The majority of proposals for preventing the spread of transgenes by putting them into chloroplasts assume that chloroplasts are maternally inherited, and absent from pollen.[..] http://www.i-sis.org.uk/chloroplast.php
Transgenic Weeds Help Hackers Poach Corn Computing Cycles
March 4, 2051 DECATUR, IL--Edible resources giant Archer Daniels Midland today launched a legal and public relations campaign designed to discourage poachers from using new breeds of transgenic weeds to siphon off computer cycles generated by fields planted with SmartCorn, an engineered corn variety equipped with DNA-based computational and networking powers. "We want to make clear that there is zero tolerance for 'weedhacking,'" declared ADM CTO Alice Montie.[...] http://www.futurefeedforward.com/front.php?fid=40
i smoke skunk / hash / crack
I knew it.
Kris / Thrash you have not acquitted yourself very well. You sound completely addled; a babbling lunatic...a "Johnny Ryal" made flesh.
Now, I dont have anything against lunatics, as long as they are funny; but you are, for certain, un-funny; a crashing bore, incoherent, rambling and ultimately, unispiring. Your worst crime, next to not posting at all, is that you stubbornly refuse to punctuate. I also appears, frighteningly, that you cannot read.
The signal to noise ratio in here at BLOGDIAL is perfect; there is no noise at all. People who post here are reliable, interesting, funny, intelligent, insightful, and can think clearly even when drunk. You, are none of those things. You do not post here regularly. The scant few posts you have made have been of the lowest calibre; a waste of bytes, trash not even worthy of being called a troll.
I didnt invite you to join BLOGDIAL, you asked for an account. I gave you an access, and you BLEW IT.
Crack fuelled lunacy will not soil the pristine dashed borders of this great place.
I will decide your fate, and carry out sentence shortyl. Yes shortyl.
Bailiff's, TAKE HIM DOWN.
Sunday, June 22, 2003
Woke up to thunder this morning
Astonishing power in that file...
I was in a lightning storm once...unforgetable.
It was around 8PM, totally dark, completely overcast, with the clouds at what seemed to be a high level. There were dozens of flashies going off per minute, like paparazzi bulbs flashing a superstar at a Royal premiere. It was simply breathtaking, and, because the flashes were coming from 360° around us, our shadows darted around the ground...it was almost like being in a strobe light testing factory.
There is nothing like extreme tropical weather; the power of it, its single mindedness.
Was that in the 6 rules? Maybe not th e360 deg: "from all around us"... more simple.
look mate ... im not being funny but you really think you own the world dont you?
Dont be an ass...unless you like being an ass.
i dont need know it alls telling me what to do with my website i can do what the fuck i like - and thats it
No one is telling you what to do with your website, and yes, we do know that you can do "what the fuck" you want with it. Like I clearly explained, I am not saying that you dont have the right to collect this and any other information that you want; its your business. and, its just my worthless 2c.
I looked at your site before you posted your "announcement" here, and said nothing about it. If you had not posted, I would never have mentioned it at all. You cannot come here, post bullshit and expect no one to notice or say anything.
dont EVER tell me what info to collect what to do with downloads
What are you smoking? I want some! This is precisely why I dont let idiots onto BLOGDIAL. Idiots dont post often, and when they do, they post garbage or worthless stuff to promote themselvs.
THE MUSIC *IS* FREE
dont expect my art for free - that s not your right...
and (i) give them the fucking music FOR FREE...
BUT IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THEY EXPECT MY HARD WORK FOR FREE
Ummm which one is it??
and your comments let me see - havent helped at all....
Like i said, my worthless 2c.
Dont promote your bullshit on BLOGDIAL. Period.
And frames SUCK!
blatant bit of self promotion...
Hmmm Worldpay dont appear to be an ISP, but some kind of credit card handling service:
http://tinyurl.com/ey42
What made you choose them to host your site - if they -are- hosting it.
I tried to leech all the tracks yesterday, but there was some carp about registering to get access; I tried to ftp all the tracks at once, but got "forbidden"; I dont want to have to right click and download each file one at a time.
no access to level 2 music folder
no access to level 5 music folder
You shouldnt have to register to listen to music. Period.
You dont need to collect ANY of the information that you are trying to collect as a prerequisit to hearing music:
*=required field..
first name: *
last name: *
irrelevant
country: *
city: *
use your logs to see who is leeching what and from where and how.
gender: * Female Male
do i really have to say IRRELEVANT?
year of birth: *
Irrelevant
email: *
username: *
password: *
retype password: *
None of this is needed by you.
homepage
what led you to us: *
Use your LOGS!!!
check this box to join the blip mailing list
display your email to other members
i**e*e*a** now put in the non vowels.
The Telegraph makes people register to read their "news", The Guardian does not. The Guardian is one of the most read online newspapers. The Telegraph is nothing and nowhere. There is a lesson there, similar to the lesson of iTunes as compared to the other absurd "services". Nothing beats free. Ever.
Now of course, I am not saying that you dont have the right to collect this and any other information that you want; its your business. Im just throwing in my worthless 2c. Denying access to music for any reason is just crazy. The whole point of freeing/sharing music is that you free it without any artificial boundaries to getting the music. Free should mean free; when you take a registration from me in exchange for access that is a payment. I choose not to pay it.
It should be easy and convenient to get music; at the very least, there should be a single point to get all the files in one go, and if I want to ftp the files at once, I should be able to simply do that for my convenience. Releasing the files on all the networks, but restricting access to registrants on the home site is crazy; all I have to do, theoretically, is go to KaZaa and leech everything I want without registering at your site....bizarre!
And not to repeat any libels, but it smells to me that you are being shut down because of that list post that you made which pissed someone off rotten. All it takes is a phone call to an isp to have an account shut down...insane isnt it?
Ill leave it to you to explain what that was all about.
Saturday, June 21, 2003
I just heard a track from this; Chris Watson does it AGAIN.
GEORGE ORWELL'S SIX RULES
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. 2. Never use a long word where a short one will do. 3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. 4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. 5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. 6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. Let us see what happens to the posts when we follow these simple rules and thanks to the mighty AK for linking to this!
Friday, June 20, 2003
Be careful: too safe can too easily end up sorry
Simon Jenkins The Times, 20/6/03 I am not paranoid. It is just that people out there are trying to scare me and I am not sure who they are. Some have Semtex and ricin, dirty bombs and dirtier intentions. Others have fragile budgets, turf wars and blame-aversion. I know that one is foe and the other friend, but their impact on my daily life is increasingly hard to distinguish... When President Eisenhower left office in 1960 at the height of the Cold War, he gave the Western world a remarkable warning. It was not against the might of the Soviet Union but against the "unwarranted influence . . . of a military-industrial complex" which he had watched emerge during his time as soldier and President. With access to the vast resources of the State, that complex could lead to "a disastrous rise of misplaced power". The warning has echoed down the ages. A similar power is emerging today. It is of the "terrorist-security complex". It smothers public life in risk-aversion and spends hundreds of millions of pounds on buildings, consultants and human protection. Downing Street has become a concrete bunker. The entire current increase in London police, 1,000 officers, has been diverted to counter terrorism. Now the complex is acquiring its own political dimension. The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, demands new powers by the month. The security agencies are being drawn into the open. On Monday the head of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, made an astonishing speech for a body whose essence used to be discretion and the nuancing of judgment. She warned the public that it was "only a matter of time" before al-Qaeda launched an attack, which "could be" chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear... Last week, while No 10 and its feuding agencies were hogging the headlines, a 1,600lb car bomb was seized outside Londonderry. It probably belonged to the Real IRA and was destined for London, where its impact would have been catastrophic. The seizure was the outcome of good policing and intelligence. The IRA threat remains real and the forces of law and order coped with it: no fuss, no alarmism. That is what I call security... Ms Manningham-Buller claims to know of a threat that "challenges government and society in general" and would do "real harm to our way of life". I do not believe her. AlQaeda commits acts of violence, sets off bombs and kills people. But this is not the Cold War. It is not an enemy that had enslaved half Europe and threatened the West with nuclear winter... The weapons at present marshalled against us do not conceivably "challenge British government or society" let alone threaten "the British way of life". What a miserable view Ms Manningham-Buller and her colleagues must have of British democracy and society to think so. I have more faith in their resilience, and suspect the motives of those who publicly doubt it. What threatens the British way of life at present is not terrorism but the public response to it. The terrorist-security complex is driving forward a hyperbolic, risk-averse, "health-and-safety" culture that infuses every British home and workplace, every enterprise and relationship. It is dangerous. According to the police, street crime in London is now rising again because so much police time and effort are being diverted from normal duties. Hyper-safe is unsafe. It distorts priorities and confuses leadership. I pay my taxes to be kept secure, not to get a lecture on insecurity. Last week in Londonderry I got value for money. This week in London I am not so sure. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,482-719525,00.html
| ||||||||||||||||||||
# Do you have your own personal blog?
!
# Do you post to any other community blogs?
Slashdot.
# Are you a member of or regular poster to any other net communities, be it usenet, bbs or forums?
used to usenet, used to black dog towers.
# Do you regularly read personal blogs (if so, which ones do you like)?
Lessig's.
# Do you prefer to read RSS feeds or to be immersed in the experience of the web?
I dont have a good RSS reader, but the idea of RSS is cool when someone cooks up a good reader then ill try it again
# If your first language isn't English, do you post in your mother tongue? Do you feel obliged to post in English?
English is the language of science.
# And finally... What do you make of web communities, personal blogs and weblogging in general?
Personal blogs mostly bite.
Web communities are cool.
Weblogging in general follows the same guidelines as people in general, there are some exceptional ones, and most are carp.
Statements like this always confuse me,
because:
A: You dont believe in God
B: Are easily confused
C: Drunk
Is not "A" the answer? and HEY now that you have broadband, harken unto this:
Brother Stair
There is NOTHING quite like Brother RG Stair talking about Tony Bliar. AK, you will be astonished to find yourself agreeing with everything that he says about TB!
What I wonder is, if there exists a higher creationist power, and if that power is interventionist, why would that power decide to bestow the gift of [throwing a ball/running/jumping] slightly better than anyone else on a person?
Why would he let people cannibalize each other in DCR?
Why would he let people cut off the limbs of babies in Ivoray Coast?
Why would he let people $atrocious_act each other in $beautuful_country?
God doesnt stop you from being evil or good, you have the choice to do either. (Thats the explanation you will be always be given.)
Are there not better abilities to bestow?
Yes and no, and if yes, has he not already bestowed them? Anyway, this cricketer may be wrong about God making him a good fast bowler, he might have just worked hard for it. Either way, he is showing gracious humility by attributing his powers to God. Humility is a good thing®.
Would these 'gifted' individuals not be able to carry out their special talent without 60 hours a week practise and 5 personal trainers if it were truly god-given?
Yes of course, because God can do anything, and make anything happen, anywhere. Duh!
Does 'god' not stick to the principle that 'all men are created equal'?
This is not a principle, but a fact. All men are created equal, and then they make themselves by ther own actions unequal via sin.
Is immortality and omnipotence really so boring that getting humans to throw things faster is a good hobby?
If you could see everything, everywhere, all the time, wouldnt you want to see a little well played cricket once ini a while?
Honestly!
And its God with a capital "G"!!!!!!
So buy more, for less, and don't get ripped off.
Batteries have a sell by date; if you dont use them voraciously, its insane to by 100 at a time. The most a regular user needs at a time is 2 or 4, whcih is, surprise surprise, why they are sold in packs of 2 and 4!
GBA, thankfully now uses only 2 AA, and they last 9hr with the sound low...
(and here was me thinking dollar$$ were a no-go area)
I quoth the dollar, so that our american friends can guage the insanity of the high prices here, and for no other reason. You could have, however, cought me out with the Snapple example, as I MIGHT have drukn one, and paid 1.65 sterling for it. Thankfully I am innocent of that crime.
and a fact that may be, but you don't have to pay that.
But we know this!
And yes, drukn.
I bought 100 for about �20 from PC World last year
If you go to the factory in Taiwan and pay cash, you can get 1000 for 20, so what? When you buy Eveready 4 packs in the high street in london, they cost 8 Dead Presidents, and thats a fact.
Everyone that comes to live here from abroad barks about how expensive the UK is; batteries are the least of the problem....Americans scream when they are asked for $2.60 for a bottle of Snapple. YES $2.60!
"Interdiscplinarity" a cool word for sure. What I want to see are the NUMBERS realated to this battery replacement technology. Also, unless the chemistry of rechargable batteries is changed, no battery can be recharged in "a matter of seconds".
I read somewhere about a system like this where you have to shake the device you want to charge for a few moments to juice it up...could be the same thing....either way, anything that eliminates the need for batteries is a good thing, they are a scourge, poisoning the environment and costing everyone a phortune.
For you across the water, a pack of AAs costs around $8 over here. yes, thats right, EIGHT DOLLARS.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)