Archive for January, 2010
Let’s Not Deny The Evidence That Australia Has A Problem With Racism
[disinformation® editor's note: The author is not a native English speaker; we have chosen to leave the article largely "as is" so please bear with his grammatical errors. Please also note that the views expressed are those of the author alone and The Disinformation Company does not necessarily agree with or endorse those views.]
Australia will not win the respect of the world by being defensive on the issue of racism as and when it arise. The issue of racism is not going to go away simply because our politicians (Cream, Gillard, Rudd), police chief (Simon Overland) denied its existence.
Indian government and media have every right to feel angry with what had happened to their fee paying students in Australia. The frequency of attacks and verbal abuses against Indian citizens in Australia is at an intolerable high level. We can only find out the actual figure through the police department. In fact,…
We Will Stop All The Conspiracies!
In the latest video news report from AboveTopSecret.com host Johnny Anonymous reports on a chilling development for all conspiracy theorists: the revelation that Obama administration is seeking to infiltrate groups of conspiracy theorists, and disrupt the flow of free expression. Additional stories include another surprise from the administration in an apparent dismissal of the second amendment, more misleading data revealed on the extent of global warming, and a special visit from the CEO of ATS to discuss some big changes.
Danny Schechter: U.S. Has Let Haiti Down
Russia Today interviews “news dissector” Danny Schechter, who slams the United States government for its continuing failure to assist Haitians.
Red State Soundsystem’s Josh Ellis on DIY Music Production and more
Via Technoccult:
Multi-instrumentalist Joshua Ellis, who records under the name Red State Soundsystem, has just self-released his debut album Ghosts a Burning City. Ellis — whose music sounds like a cross between Paul Simon and Nine Inch Nails — recorded, mixed, and mastered the album himself. I caught up with him via instant messenger to talk about his music and DIY music production. [...]
The most important things, I think, are these: a good audio interface with minimal noise and high-bitrate capabilities, and the best microphone preamp you can afford. With those things, you can afford to be a little lax on other stuff.
Also, the most important investment is time. Learn everything you can. Listen to your favorite albums, figure out what you like about the sound, try to figure out how they did it. Read reviews of gear. Read magazines like Sound on Sound and Future Music. It took me a lot…
Haitians Flee in Fear as Big Aftershock Hits
Those solar-powered Bibles must really be working, reported by the AP via Yahoo News:
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A powerful aftershock sent Haitians screaming into the streets on Wednesday, collapsing buildings, cracking roads and adding to the trauma of a nation stunned by an apocalyptic quake eight days ago.
The magnitude-5.9 jolt matched the strongest of the aftershocks that have followed the huge quake of Jan. 12 that devastated Haiti’s capital.
The new temblor collapsed seven buildings in Petit-Goave, the seaside town closest to the epicenter, according to Mike Morton of the U.N. Disaster Assessment and Coordination agency, but there were no reports of people crushed or trapped, perhaps because the earlier quake frightened most people into sleeping outside.
Wails of terror erupted in Port-au-Prince, where the aftershock briefly interrupted rescue efforts amid the broken concrete of collapsed buildings, and prompted doctors and patients to flee the University Hospital.
Hundreds of thousands of Haitians remain homeless, hungry and…
How Sugar Made Tycoons Out Of A Religious Sect
Multinational junk-food company Kraft’s takeover of Britain’s mass-market chocolatier Cadbury has stimulated all sorts of criticism, especially from xenophobic newspapers like the Daily Mail, with its Keep Cadbury British campaign. Now the British media are looking at Cadbury’s religious roots, asking how sugar made tycoons out of a religious sect. Just one of several similar reports, from the BBC:
Cadbury, which has been sold to US firm Kraft, is one of several great British firms founded by Quakers. But how did they gain such a stranglehold on the chocolate industry and why were they so successful in business?
For a religious sect more interested in championing social reform than industry, the Quakers have established an impressive roll call of household business names.
Barclays and Lloyds banks, Clarks shoes, Bryant & May matches and the biscuit firms Huntley & Palmers and Carrs are just a few of the companies founded by members of the pacifist…
What Happened In Massachusetts
From Nick P. at Black Sun Gazette:
For the first time in almost 40 years Massachusetts is sending a Republican to the Senate. While this doesn’t trouble me as much as others, mostly because the Democrats are largely the party of giving Republicans whatever they want, it is worth discussing.
Democrats thought they were going to waltz into the Senate. There was a pervasive attitude that the Democratic primary was the general election. While the right is trying to turn Massachusetts into some kind of microcosm of America and the election into a referendum on President Obama, all the election proves is that when Democrats act like Republicans, voters prefer the real thing.
Buy Your Very Own Space Shuttle, for the Rock-Bottom Price of $28 Million!
Reported by the AP via the NY Times:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Here is a recession bargain: the space shuttle. NASA has slashed the price of the 1970s-era spaceships to $28.8 million apiece from $42 million.
The shuttles are for sale once their flying days are over, which is scheduled to be this fall.
When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in December 2008 put out the call seeking buyers at museums, schools and elsewhere, the agency received about 20 inquiries. An agency spokesman, Mike Curie, said he expected more interest, especially with the discount.
“We’re confident that we’ll get other takers,” Mr. Curie said Friday.
The Discovery is already promised to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The Atlantis and the Endeavour are up for grabs. It is possible that the Enterprise, a shuttle prototype that never made it to space, will also be available. The Enterprise is currently at the Smithsonian.
Read More: AP…
Haitian Earthquake Survivors Get Solar-Powered Bibles
Reported by Reuters via news.au.com:
As international aid agencies rush food, water and medicine to Haiti’s earthquake victims, a US faith-based group is sending Bibles to Haitians in their hour of need.
Not just any Bible.
These are solar-powered audible Bibles that can broadcast the holy scriptures in Haitian Creole to 300 people at a time.
Called the “Proclaimer,” the audio Bible delivers “digital quality” and is designed for “poor and illiterate people”, the Faith Comes By Hearing group said. According to their website, the Proclaimer is “self-powered and can play the Bible in the jungle, desert or … even on the moon!”
The Albuquerque-based organisation said 600 of the devices were already on their way to Haiti. It said it was responding to the Haitian crisis by “providing faith, hope and love through God’s Word in audio”.
With tens of thousands of Port-au-Prince residents living outdoors because their homes have collapsed or they fear aftershocks…
Cruise Ships Still Escorting Vacationers (and supplies) to Haiti
via NY Daily News
As Haiti reels from the devastating earthquake, luxury cruise ships are creating controversy by dropping off vacationers at private beaches only 60 miles away from the carnage.
Florida’s Royal Caribbean International was docking the 3,100-passenger Navigator of the Seas on Monday so tourists can jet-ski, para-sail and picnic in the sand.
Another ship, the Independence of the Seas, anchored off on Haiti’s north coast on Friday at the resort of Labadee, according to The Guardian. It’s a tony, wooded resort peninsula with five pristine beaches that’s leased from the government and protected by 12-foot fences and armed guards.
The ships have, and will, come loaded with relief supplies, says Royal Caribbean, which has luxury liners scheduled to dock Monday, Tuesday and Thursday bearing more than 100 pallets of supplies each.
“This is equivalent to over three semi-trucks-full two or three times a week,” Royal Caribbean associate vice president John Weis wrote in a blog post to guests.
The vessels are also sending extra lounge chairs, bedding and mattresses to a a gymnasium in Cap Haitian that’s being used as a makeshift hospital.The decision to bring tourists to sunbathe in Haiti, despite the massive death and destruction, sparked considerable internal debate at Royal Caribbean.
Werner Herzog Reads Curious George
A must-watch deconstruction of the classic children’s text, as done by your favorite German art-house film director.
The ’00s Was The Warmest Decade In Modern History
Don’t tell climate skeptics, but everything is getting hotter:
The 2000-2009 decade was the warmest on record, easily surpassing the previous hottest decade — the 1990s — researchers said Tuesday in a report providing fresh evidence that the planet may be warming at a potentially disastrous rate.
Last year’s climate milestones included:
The deadliest February tornado in Oklahoma history.
The largest wildfire in Los Angeles County history.
Worst deluge in decades in northern Brazil, affecting 186,000 people.
Heavy rainfall in northern Argentina, causing a landslide affecting 20,000 people.
Will The Singularity Be Triggered By “Bitch Slap”?
“The “shameless self-promotion” for an indie parody film argues that Bitch Slap “will bring about the Singularity.”
Including both actors and film-makers from Xena: Warrior Princess, the science fiction film promises “mind-altering substances (not FDA or DEA approved), bleeding-edge technology (that will kill you)” plus “anime-inspired lunacy (in live action).”
And it even delves into a nanotech subplot “to be elaborated upon in Bitch Slap II.”
The film is “a post-modern, thinking man’s throwback to the ‘B’ Movie/Exploitation films of the 1950s-70s,” the post argues, “as well as a loving, sly parody of the same…”
“And it’s a movie revered by both Playboy and Lesbian News. Isn’t that a harbinger of the end of the world as we know it?”
DEADLINE TODAY! — Help Fund ‘PLUNDER: The Crime Of Our Time’
DEADLINE COMING
All of us become weary of the incessant pleas for funding. However, I am sick and tired of being “sick and tired” of the Banksters, the funding of their casinos, the ever increasing subjugation to the banks and Wall Street.
Today, and today only, you can help us finish the film PLUNDER, the story of the financial crisis as a crime story but you have to do it by 5 PM EST TODAY (Jan. 20, 2010). You can be a part of this film for as little as $1.00. [Back This Project]
FAQs:
How do I make a pledge?
First, enter your pledge amount and select a reward. On the next page we’ll ask you to log in or sign up with Kickstarter.com, and then we’ll send you to Amazon Payments to complete your pledge with a major credit card.
Nevermore? No Mystery Visitor to Poe’s Grave for First Time in 60 Years
You can get a more detailed description of the mystery on Wikipedia. Here’s the report from the Baltimore Sun:
A longtime tribute to Edgar Allan Poe may have come to an end with the absence of the “Poe Toaster,” who for more than half a century has marked the poet’s birthday by laying roses and a bottle of cognac at his original grave site.
This is the first time since Jan. 19, 1949 that the person, whose identity is unknown, failed to arrive, said Jeff Jerome, curator of the Edgar Allan Poe House.
“I was very annoyed,” he said. “I’ve been doing this since 1977, and there was no indication he wasn’t going to show up,” Jerome said.
The curator said the toaster usually arrives between midnight and 5:30 a.m. He said he arrived at Westminster Hall at 10:30 p.m., because one year the toaster left his offerings at 11:30 p.m.
He sometimes kneels at the tombstone or puts his hands on it, Jerome said. “There’s no elaborate ceremony — it’s very short and touching,” he said.
Secret Bill-Writing On The Rise
Jim Abrams on the Washington Post:
Schoolchildren are taught that a bill finally goes to the president after selected lawmakers meet openly to forge a compromise, and the House and Senate approve their accord.
But in today’s Congress, formal conference meetings are rare, the minority party is usually shut out and the public has little or no access to the process.
That trend has been on display this month as Democrats and the White House engage in closed-door talks on how the government is going to change the delivery of health care that have effectively excluded the public and the media.
Dating back to 1789, the House and Senate have dealt with differences in bills by convening conference committees to thrash out a unified approach that the chambers can pass and send to the president. For the past two decades at least some of these bicameral, bipartisan meetings have been open to C-SPAN cameras.
But…
Ron Paul: ‘We Need to Take Out the CIA!’
Michael Nystrom on the Daily Paul:
Excerpt from the Campaign for Liberty Regional Conference in Atlanta, GA. As the crowd begins to cheer, Ron Paul states, “We need to take out the CIA!”
There’s been a coup — have you heard? It’s the CIA coup. The CIA runs everything! They run the military .. and they’re every bit as secretive as the Federal Reserve. And yet, think of the harm they have done since they were established at the end of World War II. They are a government unto themselves. They’re in businesses, in drug businesses, they take out dictators … We need to take out the CIA!
Haitian Police Admit Gangs Have Taken Over Port-au-Prince
Sounds like a comic book or some Hollywood movie, an earthquake freeing prisoners, if only. Bruno Waterfield writes in the Telegraph:
Haitian authorities conceded they had lost their battle to maintain order in Port-au-Prince after the leaders of the city’s crime gangs reclaimed their old turf since being freed when the national prison collapsed last week.
The gangsters have stepped into the law and order vacuum, notably in the sprawling shanty town of Cite Soleil which they dominated before being locked up following police operations supported by United Nations troops over the last three years.
“Even as we are digging bodies out of buildings, they are trying to attack our officers,” said Aristide Rosemond a Cite Soleil police inspector.
The Haitian authorities, already weak and reliant on UN forces, are now crippled by heavy casualties and widespread destruction of infrastructure while international peacekeepers are focused on disaster relief.
Jean-Max Bellerive, Haiti’s prime minister, has despaired…
