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“MOVE YOUR MONEY!” Union firefighters shut down Wisconsin bank that supported Republicans/Walker
03.12.2011
02:41 pm
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Firefighters know that sometimes you have to fight fire with fire and they’re taking steps to make sure that the obscene fatcats who run Wisconsin’s Marshall & Ilsley Corp (a bank holding company) understand exactly what’s at stake in labor’s fight against an increasingly backed-against-the-wall Scott Walker and the Republicans: The survival of their own incomes. There’s no question about it, they’ve got these assholes by the balls. Why should the working people of Wisconsin entrust their hard-earned savings to the very people who are helping screw them over? Here’s more from Daily Kos:

What these pictures show are six hundred ordinary citizens descending on the M&I branch near the Wisconsin Capitol after learning of their purchase of the gubernatorial election last November. Two firefighters with old school ideas about saving had over $600,000 between the two of them and they demanded cashier’s checks on the spot.

Not everyone has the purchase price of a couple of homes sitting in the bank, but if the 60% of Wisconsin that’s sick to death of Scott Walker’s behavior simply go close their accounts the bank will crash and they’ll have stripped him of the funds he needs to fight the recall next January.

 
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M&I closed for the rest of the day, obviously hoping to avoid a run on their bank. As if that will ultimately matter! The power is—clearly—NOT in the hands of the elite this time, is it? In a sense, it never was. It’s about time the man on the street realized that.

This is a brilliant tactical move. I hope this hand is played for everything it’s worth! More from Dane101.com

When the firefighters arrived at the Capitol this morning they started the chant “MOVE YOUR MONEY!” Firefighters Local 311 President Joe Conway told the audience they should move their money out of M&I Bank. The bank was one of the leading contributors to the Walker campaign due to contributions by current and former executives and board members. Detailed contributions are available via the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. In a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last month the bank said “Individual employees may choose, at their own discretion and based on their political beliefs, to make contributions to political campaigns.”

Following speeches by Conway and Wisconsin Professional Firefighters Association Mahlon Mitchell, the firefighters marched to the M&I Bank across the street and picketed the bank and withdrew $192,00. Video of the firefighters arriving this morning and part of Conway’s speech is posted below.

M&I Bank received $1.7 billion in bailout money via President George W. Bush’s Troubled Assets Relief Program. The bank was acquired by the Bank of Montreal in December of 2010 for $4.1 billion in stock.

 

 
Wanna get even angrier? Read more about Marshall & IlsleyI: This Bank Executive Took TARP Money, Never Paid It Back, And Now He’ll Get $18 Million If He’s Fired (Business Insider)

Posted by Richard Metzger
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03.12.2011
02:41 pm
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New Brad Laner interview for your perusal
03.12.2011
01:48 pm
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For those who may be interested, a long and absurdly kind article and fairly in-depth interview with yours truly along with a ton of videos has just gone up at When The Sun Hits.
 

Posted by Brad Laner
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03.12.2011
01:48 pm
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My Dinner With Paul (Stanley)
03.12.2011
12:32 pm
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“Episode 1. Paul gives me advice about the ladies and makes an offer.”

True story: Sometime in 2004, I was returning to my car in the parking lot of a CVS drugstore in Sherman Oaks, California (the one with “The Party Store,” the Marie Callendar’s restaurant and the really good dry cleaners on Ventura Blvd. & Willis Ave., for all you locals).

Just as Paul Stanley and his son, who was maybe 6-years-old at the time, were leaving “The Party Store,” two transgendered women were walking in.

The kid looked them and when the door automatic doors had closed behind them, he asked his father the rock star, “Dad were those GUYS???”

Stanley, with a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face that I will never forget said softly: “I don’t know, son” and then quickly changed the topic to “Hey, this is going to be a really great party, tomorrow, huh?”
 

 
Via Kembra Pfahler/Howie Pyro

Posted by Richard Metzger
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03.12.2011
12:32 pm
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Democracy trampled: Watch the working man in Wisconsin get screwed over in real time
03.11.2011
08:10 pm
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Boy, considering what this is—and how utterly appalling it is—not all that many views so far. Watch in horror as decades of hard-fought labor gains are done away with within a matter of minutes by some over-reaching Republican bastards politicians in Wisconsin… Did anyone actually see any of this on TV? I didn’t.
 

 
Thank you Chris Musgrave!

Posted by Richard Metzger
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03.11.2011
08:10 pm
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‘Inception’ in 60 seconds
03.11.2011
07:05 pm
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‘Inception’ in 60 seconds with Victorian woodcuts, part of the Jameson Done in 60 Seconds Empire Awards. And here are this year’s finalists.
 
With thanks to Simon Sellars
 

Posted by Paul Gallagher
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03.11.2011
07:05 pm
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Martial arts madness: Konfu Dread takes on Jamaica’s skin-bleaching trend
03.11.2011
06:14 pm
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In a genius move that combines martial arts spoof with his country’s long tradition of satirical theatre, Jamaican video man Simon “Sno” Thompson (a.k.a. Yosef Imagination) has dropped a third episode of the hilarious Konfu Dread series of short videos.

This one goes after the sad and dangerous skin-lightening trend that’s affected developing cities worldwide, from Mumbai to Lagos to Havana. Rooted in a nefarious twining of racial politics, latent colonial mentality and economic disadvantage, skin-lightening’s gone especially harsh in Kingston JA, which has seen wide use of a range of pills and creams with ingredients like mercurous chloride and hydroquinone (see the second video after the jump). Some also use Blue Power brand laundry soap—known as “cake soap”—in the folkloric belief that it lightens the skin, as well as keeping it cool in the sun.

Last fall, dancehall reggae superstar Vybz Kartel, ironically nicknamed “Di Teacha,” propogated the myth by releasing his tune “Cake Soap.” Its chorus—in which Kartel claims his skin “cool like mi wash mi face wit di cake soap”—caused enough controversy to motivate Kartel to admit that he does indeed lighten his skin:
 

 
In classic dancehall fashion, fellow star Kiprich took the tune’s rhythm and recorded an anti-lightening answer tune, which features a Jamaican mum ridiculing the craze and a chorus that notes: “Ya can’t get brown, ya coulda buy every cake soap inna town…”
 

 
Enter Konfu Dread. As previously featured on Dangerous Minds, Thompson’s production polished the natty martial artist’s street-level vibes in episode two. But for this edition, he takes it back to Kingston’s roads, as the Cake Soap crew goes after the Dread for using their treasured product for its original purpose—washing clothes.
 

 
After the jump: a Current TV segment about the serious health problems of skin-bleaching on top of the cultural concerns…

READ ON
Posted by Ron Nachmann
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03.11.2011
06:14 pm
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Real road sign in Wisconsin?
03.11.2011
05:49 pm
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Contribute now to the official PCCC Wisconsin Recall campaign!

After ignoring the public and voting to attack working families, Wisconsin’s Republican state senators need to be punished. We are mobilizing volunteers and preparing new TV, radio, and online ads that urge the recall of vulnerable Republican senators—can you chip in $3 to our recall fund?

Via Mike Hudack

Posted by Richard Metzger
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03.11.2011
05:49 pm
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No, you are not dreaming: Glenn Beck’s crew expose James O’Keefe as a lying sack of shit (again)
03.11.2011
04:40 pm
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Okay, admittedly I’m not in the habit of applauding the actions—or integrity—of Glenn Beck or anything the guy’s even remotely connected with. Clearly to readers of this blog, I have a rather low opinion of the man. I think Glenn Beck is bad for America because he fills the heads of ignorant people who aren’t sophisticated enough to be able to evaluate an information source, and who know nothing whatsoever about history, with shit. He fills their heads with shit. If Glenn Beck were hit by lightning, I would start believing in a loving, interventionist God concerned with America’s future.... but I digress.

It’s just hard for me to say this, I guess, uh, what I’m trying to say, but there is something on Beck’s news website, The Blaze, that demands to be read if you want to understand exactly what is going on with the “undercover NPR Muslim sting” video the rightwing is all up in arms about. I’m not kidding, it’s essential reading and it’s smart stuff. How (or why) this news analysis was financially underwritten by Glenn Beck, I really can’t say, but what Scott Baker wrote there, examining if the videos were edited in a misleading fashion along with Blaze video producer Pam Key, and what Emily Esfahni Smith wrote there about whether or not the means justify the ideological ends, where LYING is involved, I can find little fault with.

However, because writing something nice about Glenn Beck is difficult for me, I think I’ll just take the easy way out and quote Ken Layne posting on Wonkette:

Whenever that James O’Keefe guy puts out another heavily edited video against some liberal bogeyman, both the White House and the Washington/New York media quickly fire everyone involved — because the only rational way to deal with claims made by partisan pranksters is to simply punish anyone targeted. That’s why Shirley Sherrod was immediately fired by the White House while the Lame Stream Media nodded approvingly and only Wonkette bothered to look at the allegedly damning video closely enough to see that Breitbart’s crew had carefully edited it to make Sherrod sound like a raving racist. Likewise, the firing of NPR executive Ron Schiller and his CEO boss was cheered by the liberal media and got solemn nods from Democrats in Washington. Only Glenn Beck’s reporters at his website, The Blaze, bothered to watch the unedited footage and note that the various bombshells in the video were taken out of context (the opinions of others made to look like the opinions of Schiller, for example) and that Schiller’s pro-Republican statements were (obviously) all cut out of the video released by O’Keefe.

Here’s the unedited section with Ron Schiller discussing the opinions of a senior Republican lawmaker and a major GOP donor. While Schiller seems to agree with the characterization of the Tea Party people at the end of this anecdote, it’s obvious he is quoting Republicans uneasy with the teabaggers here:
 

 
There’s a lot more of this on The Blaze: eight sections of raw video with written commentary by a video producer from the website. She finds numerous instances of editing to make Schiller sound like he’s replying to completely different statements (a bemused reaction to something about restaurant reservations is made to look like a response to implementing sharia law worldwide), and she also finds sections where the audio has clearly been switched from another part of the video, as well as the complete removal of many instances of Schiller and his colleague praising either Republicans or the Fox News audience.

There were pretty much only two news sources to pick this up from, Wonkette and The Blaze. What does it say about the rest of the media (no matter their supposed bias or supposed lack of one) who gave this story and that dweeby, sleazeball James O’Keefe a pass, AGAIN???

Hell, isn’t it obvious why Andrew Breitbart stayed away from this stinker? Yes it is, because James O’Keefe is a lying sack of shit and Breibart knows it. A sleazy non-entity who should be treated as one! Why wasn’t it Salon or The Nation or MSNBC who looked into this video, first? Shouldn’t the name James fucking O’Keefe have caused anyone to sit up an notice on the Left??? It took Glenn Beck’s crew to get the truth out? Yes, it did! I did wake up in Bizarro World again, didn’t I?

But the truth will out in the weirdest places sometimes. Good on Scott Baker, Blaze video producer Pam Key and Emily Esfahni Smith for having the courage and journalistic integrity to out one of their own, or perhaps they don’t count clown boy James O’Keefe as one of their own. You know, a real investigative journalist.

Baker’s conclusion:

Anyone looking at the edited version of the Project Veritas video would be concerned about the conduct and views expressed by the NPR representatives. But should we also be concerned about the deceptive nature of some of the video’s representations? Some will say no — the end justifies any means, even if unethical. Others may be bothered by these tactics and view similar projects with a greater degree of skepticism.

In our posting yesterday on the ethics of undercover journalism, we found a range of views. One interesting view is held by Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard. Barnes believes it is always wrong for a journalist to lie: “It‘s dishonest for anyone in journalism to pretend to be someone they’re not.”

But Barnes also believes this applies only to journalists. “This rule doesn’t apply to folks outside the profession,” he told The Blaze. Barnes views the O’Keefe production as a “political hit job and a quite clever and successful one at that.”

Barnes may not realize that O’Keefe describes his work as “investigative journalism,” and thus by Barnes definition — unethical.

And that is only on the issue of going undercover. But even if you are of the opinion, as I am, that undercover reporting is acceptable and ethical in very defined situations, it is another thing to approve of editing tactics that seem designed to intentionally lie or mislead about the material being presented.

As you might expect, the comments on THIS ONE are fascinating and to be fair, all over the place. That’s not typical of what I’ve seen on the boards there at all.

One of the posters (“CaptainKook”) even writes

“O’Keefe is, ultimately, lying to YOU when he publishes these faked edited and dishonest scam videos. WHY whould you willingly choose to believe a guy who YOU KNOW IS LYING TO YOU???”

This is a very good, penetrating question not just for far right conservatives who cheer the likes of James O’Keefe and Lila Rose on even knowing that they are basically liars who they happen to agree with, but to the left who let them get away with it just long enough for their version of heavily edited reality to become the de facto truth.

I mean James O’Keefe lying, right? Who’d have thunk it?

That the answer was Glenn Beck’s crew at The Blaze is as surprising to me as it probably is to you, too. But there it undeniably is.

You can’t explain that!

Via Wonkette/The Blaze

Posted by Richard Metzger
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03.11.2011
04:40 pm
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Movie Barcodes - the secret texture of film
03.11.2011
04:38 pm
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Shinboru (2009)
 
These are films, but not as we know them. Movie Barcode compresses every frame of a feature film into a single image. They may look like hair samples, but I like to think these images tell you something other about the movies they represent. Delicatessen looks strangely edible; Tron has a hint of lightning blue; Goodfellas is dark with thick crimson lines; while Speed Racer looks far more exciting than the actual film.

A full index of compressed films, can be found here; and if you fancy one of these prints on your wall, check here.
 
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Goodfellas (1990)
 
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Tron (1982)
 
With thanks to Jeremy Kelly
 
More Movie Barcodes after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Paul Gallagher
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03.11.2011
04:38 pm
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Man annoys the shit out of people by playing ‘Careless Whisper’ on saxophone
03.11.2011
03:36 pm
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Oh Lord this funny. As one YouTuber points out, “I used to hate Careless Whisper, but now, the existence of this song is totally justified.”

 
(via High Definite)

Posted by Tara McGinley
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03.11.2011
03:36 pm
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‘Left Behind’ author sees Bible all over disaster

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Some people see vast devastation and the human toll, others, like Christian author Tim LaHaye see an opportunity for self-promotion!

Tim LaHaye, the best-selling author of the “Left Behind” series of Bible prophecy novels, was one of many visiting the island of Maui who had to be evacuated to upper floors of the Marriott Hotel today.

He said being caught in the crossfire of the fourth largest earthquake in modern history helped prepare him for two prophecy conferences he was scheduled to address in Hawaii.

“The Bible tells us in Matthew 24 that one of the signs of the last days – one of the birth pangs to occur – is an increase in earthquake activity and intensity,” LaHaye told WND. “We’re seeing that happen here. It’s not just earthquakes, but hurricanes and all kinds of natural disasters.”

Give it a fucking break, asshole! At least for a day or two, huh?

Via (where else?) World Net Daily

Posted by Richard Metzger
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03.11.2011
02:53 pm
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President Obama Photobombed
03.11.2011
02:29 pm
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Update: It appears the woman is probably a sign language interpreter.
 
(via Wonkette)

Posted by Tara McGinley
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03.11.2011
02:29 pm
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Listen to the earthquakes off the coast of Japan
03.11.2011
01:36 pm
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BB Submitterator’s Speedo writes: “Audio sonification of the incredible seismic activity off the coast of Honshu, Japan - Friday March 11th. Tectonic is a realtime seismic analysis and sound synthesis system. Sound is created in realtime by earthquakes as they occur across the globe. A tightly integrated system between Max/MSP, Google Earth and Symbolic Sound’s Kyma processes earthquake data that is translated into sound synthesis parameters.”

Earthquakes off the east coast of Honshu, Japan - Friday March 11, 2011 by Micah Frank

  Magnitude 5.2 - NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN 2011 March 11 14-10-39 UTC by Micah Frank

Hear more over at Micah Frank’s website and SoundCloud.

Posted by Tara McGinley
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03.11.2011
01:36 pm
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Raw footage of the earthquake in Japan
03.11.2011
12:31 pm
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Raw, chaotic footage of the earthquake in Japan, shot in Tokyo where things weren’t nearly as heavy. Really sums up what it’s like to be in an earthquake.

I’ve been in several, including one in Japan when I was on the 17th floor of a building that shook like the hand of God had THUMPED it, but I’ve never experienced anything like this.
 

 
Thank you Michael Backes of Los Angeles, CA!

Posted by Richard Metzger
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03.11.2011
12:31 pm
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British Sea Power: ‘Who’s In Control?’ NSFW video
03.11.2011
12:06 pm
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British Sea Power have been plying their trade on the UK alt-rock scene for nigh on a decade now, building a solid fan base and proving impervious to trends in fashion, press hype, and, unfortunately, mainstream success. Maybe they’re just too genuinely odd to enter the popular consciousness, or perhaps their not willing to play certain corporate games, but either way they don’t seem to care much and continue to plow their own eccentric furrow.

This Spring the band embark on their first tour of America in 3 years, in support of their new album Valhalla Dancehall, and if you can catch one of their shows I’d recommend it. I first saw them eight years ago when they decked the tiny stage with stuffed animals, bits of plants and trees, and had a look somewhere between an army of bird watchers and a deranged scout troupe. It was a great show. Times have changed (the animals and plants have gone, replaced with a kind of bizarre wrestling chic) but the music remains as rousing as ever, especially in a live setting. Arcade Fire have copped a lot from this band.

In support of the tour BSP have made a video for the Valhalla Dancehall track “Who’s In Control?”, and in keeping with the anti-authoritarian theme of the song, the video features young people fighting, demonstrating, partying, and getting naked. It’s actually better than that sounds, it’s a great video, but it’s not safe for work:
 
British Sea Power - “Who’s In Control?” (NSFW)
 

 
Valhalla Dancehall is available to buy here.

After the jump, British Sea Power’s North American tour schedule for March/April…

READ ON
Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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03.11.2011
12:06 pm
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