Designer Sam Edkins’ “Anatomically Correct” chairs are “luxuriously over stuffed offering a Bourgeois comfort, borrowing from the look of Victorian parlor furniture.” They retail for £595.00 on the Cavaliero Finn website.
They would really remind their owners to sit up straight!
Via Like Cool
Gore Vidal has died. He was 86 years-old and the cause of death was pneumonia.
In the next few days many words will be written about Vidal. He was the kind of bigger-than-life figure that polarized, provoked, angered and inspired his friends and foes alike.
Long before it became obvious to many of us that the USA was entering a kind of collective dark night of the soul, Vidal was vocal in his condemnation of the erosion of freedom in America, denouncing the imperialism that thrived under the political leadership of puppets controlled by the military industrial complex and giant corporations. But his cynicism regarding America’s future was balanced by a deep love for the revolutionary values this country was built on. He feared that we were losing our identity and freedom to the machinations of authoritarianism and greed.
The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the wonders of the Western world. No First World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all objectivity - much less dissent.
In this historic television debate with William F. Buckley during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Vidal is absolutely right on in his criticism of the Chicago Police Department’s violent response to the the anti-war demonstrations taking place outside the International Amphitheatre where the convention was taking place. Described accurately as a “police riot,” the victims of the gestapo-like tactics of the cops included innocent bystanders, journalists (including Dan Rather) and even the Democratic presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey who was overcome by tear gas in his hotel room.
Vidal calls Buckley a “crypto-Nazi” and Buckley responds by calling Mr. Vidal a “queer.” For a moment, the battle between the two men is a perfect distillation of what is occurring outside on the streets of Chicago.
Although Liars’ monumentally brilliant Sisterworld was one of my top five favorite albums of 2010, I have to admit that at first I didn’t get it.
It’s always been that way with me and Liars. With Liars, I usually have to listen to a song at least three times before it grabs me. That was true with “Brats” from the stunning WIXIW album. The first time, it didn’t really do anything for me. The second listen… still nothing (I was reminded of Underworld, a band I never particularly cared for). After the third spin, the song drilled itself into my psyche like an earwig demanding to be fed with the CD on repeat for weeks at time. It’s always been that way with me and Liars.
“Brats” will be available on vinyl from October 15th. The new animated video for “Brats” is a striking motion-capture affair directed by Ian Cheng.
The term “Libertarian” has long been synonymous with “Asshole” in my estimation, and I think it’s safe to say that Jacobin magazine editor Connor Kilpatrick probably feels the same way.
Today is the centenary anniversary of the birth of Libertarian icon, economist Milton Friedlman, so what better day for the publication of the most viciously hilarious takedpown of the Libertarian position that I think I’ve ever read?
Excerpted from the much longer “It’s Hip! It’s Cool! It’s Libertarianism!” which was cross-posted today at both Naked Capitalism and The Exiled:
Libertarianism isn’t some cutting-edge political philosophy that somehow transcends the traditional “left to right” spectrum. It’s a radical, hard-right economic doctrine promoted by wealthy people who always end up backing Republican candidates, no matter how often they talk about civil liberties, ending the wars and legalizing pot. Funny how that works.
It’s the “third way” for a society in which turning against capitalism or even taking your foot off the pedal is not an option. Thanks to our shitty constitution and the most violent labor history in the West, we never even got a social-democratic party like the rest of the developed world.
So what do we get? The libertarian line: “No, no: the problem isn’t that we’re too capitalist. It’s that we’re not capitalist enough!”
Genius.
At a time in which our society has never been more interdependent in every possible way, libertarians think they’re John fucking Wayne looking out over his ranch with an Apache scalp in his belt, or John fucking Galt doing…whatever it is he does. (Collect vintage desk toys from the Sharper Image?)
Their whole ideology is like a big game of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s all make-believe, except for the chain-mail–they brought that from home. Elves, dwarves and fair maidens for capital. Even with the supposedly “good ones”—anti-war libertarians—we’re still talking about people who think Medicare’s going to lead to Stalinism.
So my advice is to call them out.
Ask them what their beef really is with the welfare state. First, they’ll talk about the deficit and say we just can’t afford entitlement programs. Well, that’s obviously a joke, so move on. Then they’ll say that it gives the government tyrannical power. Okay. Let me know when the Danes open a Guantánamo Bay in Greenland.
Here’s the real reason libertarians hate the idea. The welfare state is a check against servility towards the rich. A strong welfare state would give us the power to say Fuck You to our bosses—this is the power to say “I’m gonna work odd jobs for twenty hours a week while I work on my driftwood sculptures and play keyboards in my a chillwave band. And I’ll still be able to go to the doctor and make rent.”
Sounds like freedom to me.
Standing ovation!
Read more of Connor Kilpatrick’s “It’s Hip! It’s Cool! It’s Libertarianism!” at either The Exiled or at Naked Capitalism. Trust me it’s a fantastic, totally worthwhile read.
Predictably, the reddit thread about Kilpatrick’s article is fascinating, too!
Wowsers, I thought my next door neighbors were bad until I got a load of this guy.
The whole “I’m gonna fuck you in the ass, you faggot” line of reasoning is a little perplexing but it obviously makes perfect sense to the redneck neighbor from Hell.
Via reddit
UPDATE: Pharmacy Hoax Revealed
San Diego, CA – The San Diego chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the nation’s largest medical cannabis advocacy group, working with LGBT activism group Canvass for a Cause and as part of the The Yes Men’s “Yes Labs” project, released a series of satirical press releases on Tuesday which indicated that U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy would begin targeting pharmacies for closure using asset forfeiture proceedings. The purpose of the action was to draw attention to the U.S. Attorney’s harmful efforts to deny patients access to doctor-recommended medical cannabis.
“Just as the closure of retail pharmacies, like CVS or Walgreens, is poor public health policy, so is the federal government’s crackdown on medical cannabis dispensaries,” said Eugene Davidovich of San Diego ASA. “Pharmacies, like medical cannabis dispensaries, play an essential role in our communities as they help the sick and dying treat and manage various medical conditions,” continued Davidovich. “Laura Duffy and the Obama Administration have no place interfering in the implementation of state law by shutting down dispensaries that thousands of patients rely on.”
The real Laura Duffy isn’t joking. In October 2011, Duffy and her fellow U.S. Attorneys in California began an escalated attack on medical cannabis businesses. “The California marijuana industry is not about providing medicine to the sick,” said Duffy at the time. “It’s a pervasive for-profit industry that violates federal law.” Since October, Duffy has used threats of criminal prosecution and asset forfeiture to close over two hundred medical cannabis facilities in her District.
Despite claims from Attorney General Eric Holder that his Justice Department was only targeting dispensaries operating “out of conformity with state law,” Duffy and the other U.S. Attorneys have indiscriminately targeted these facilities, regardless of “conformity,” shutting down all but a few in San Diego County. Most recently Duffy attempted to shut down the only collective in her district that is operating under a permit from the Sheriff’s department.
For many patients who cannot sustain the regular consumption of pharmaceutical medication, cannabis isn’t simply an alternative; it’s their only option. From reducing nausea and increasing appetite for people living with cancer or HIV/AIDS to stabilizing chronic pain, the vast majority of California’s medical cannabis patients rely on dispensaries. Advocates argue that by closing dispensaries, Duffy and other U.S. Attorneys are pushing thousands of patients into the illicit market and complicating the job of law enforcement.
“Today’s press releases may have been a hoax, but for the thousands of patients adversely impacted by Duffy’s attacks on medical cannabis, it’s no joke. The LGBT community fought hard to legalize HIV/AIDS medicine for their family and we carry on that tradition today” said Rachel Scoma, from Canvass for a Cause. “Patients need safe and legal access to their medication, not prosecution from the federal government.”
*****
The Los Angeles Times is retracting a story that was posted on their website this morning at 8:42 am:
20 San Diego pharmacies targeted by feds in drug sales crackdown
Twenty pharmacies in San Diego suspected of unusually high rates of drug sales are being targeted for a variety of enforcement actions, U.S. attorney Laura Duffy announced Tuesday.
The pharmacies, including some owned by major chains, are in the La Jolla, Carmel Valley and Pacific Beach areas of San Diego, Duffy said.
The enforcement actions will include civil forfeiture lawsuits, warning letters to pharmacy owners and criminal charges. Some will be given 45 days to shut down or face harsher penalties, Duffy said. The specific pharmacies are expected to be announced later Tuesday.
The pharmacies “are part of a pervasive for-profit industry that facilitates the distribution of drugs for illegitimate use,” Duffy said in a prepared statement.
Other pharmacies may be included later, officials said.
Duffy said she hopes the action by her office becomes a model for other U.S. attorney offices.
“Prosecutorial discretion means I decide how and when to enforce laws,” she said.
It wasn’t just the LA Times that got hoodwinked, it was the San Diego Reader that fell hook, link and sinker for the bogus email as well.
What’s truly pathetic about this matter is that if you read the actual text of the “hoax” email, it’s clear—and I mean to say that it’s not even a little bit debatable—that it is a satirical commentary on the ridiculous crackdown on legal, state-sanctioned medical marijuana dispensaries!
For fuck’s sake, did they even read this before they reported on it? Evidently not!
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA San Diego, California
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy
For Further Information, Contact: Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Shiner (619) 619-302-5235For Immediate Release
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY PUTS PHARMACY OPERATORS AND PROPERTY OWNERS ON NOTICE
Curbing illegal drug use via shutdowns will keep communities safe.
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 31, 2012 United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy today announced enforcement actions against local pharmacies for distribution of drugs for illegal purposes. Immediate enforcement will target pharmacies in the Coastal areas of La Jolla, Carmel Valley, and Pacific Beach; chosen for both the high rates of pharmaceutical drug abuse and high property values of targeted pharmacies. Affected pharmacies will have 45 days to shutdown in order to avoid harsher penalties.The Pharmaceutical shutdown initiative is aimed at curtailing drug abuse and its associated societal problems in the Southern District of California. Enforcement is proceeding against twenty pharmacies in San Diego County and will include actions such as: Civil forfeiture lawsuits against properties involved in drug trafficking activity, which includes, in some cases, sales consistent with state or local ordinances; Letters of warning to the owners and lienholders of properties where potentially illegal sales are taking place; and Criminal cases targeting commercial pharmaceutical activities.
“These pharmacies are not only about providing medicine to the sick. They are part of a pervasive for-profit industry that facilitates the distribution of drugs for illegitimate use. Doctors are prescribing unneeded medication; kids are overdosing on aspirin; police are finding pill bottles at junior high schools. Addiction and abuse of these drugs are serious problems in our communities and parents have come to me with their concerns. These pharmacies have provided not just medication - prescription and otherwise - but all the serious repercussions that come with it, including significant public safety issues and often irreparable harm to our youth.” said Duffy.
The Southern District of California will be the first in the nation to confront the problems associated with drug abuse by targeting storefront pharmacies with asset forfeiture proceedings. The operation will also be a model of fiscal discipline as asset forfeiture may render enforcement efforts cost-neutral.
If successful in San Diego, Duffy’s office will lobby for the implementation of this policy throughout the United States.
“Prosecutorial discretion means I decide how and when to enforce laws. Although this action is unprecedented, in my judgment it’s necessary to ensure we continue making progress in the war on drugs. Economic decline, climate threats, cybercrime, illegal immigration, and a general loss of faith in the political process have colored these drastic times. Now is the time to get tough in a fiscally responsible way.” Duffy stated.
Asset forfeiture is the seizure of property found to have been used for an illegal purpose. The tactic has been used to nearly end access to medical marijuana in San Diego. In 2011, the Southern District of California seized $29.7 million in property using asset forfeiture.
Though initially only twenty pharmacies will be targeted for closure, the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California will continue to investigate facilities which illegally provide dangerous substances to our communities.For Press Inquiries contact: Frank Shiner, Deputy Assistant to the US Attorney, Logistics and Narcotics (619) 302-5235***
How much more obvious could this be, huh? I guess the best place to hide something is right out in the open, no one ever thinks to look there!
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy, whose office was supposedly the source for the prank press release, said “We did not issue those press releases. We are looking into the source of those emails.”
I’m sure they will be. Don’t look for anyone to step forward to take credit for this particular prank, ‘cos this looks like it might be a federal offense. Still, it’s a sophisticated prank and well done to the perpetrator! Long may you prank!
Thank you, Morpheus!
Blondie: One Way or Another (2006) is a terrific BBC documentary full of energy and groovy interviews from the likes of Iggy Pop, Shirley Manson, Tommy Ramone, Roberta Bayley, Mike Chapman and Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads.
Blondie’s self-titled debut album never left my turntable for the first few weeks that it was released (1976). I was living in a hotel and had very few possessions. The Blondie album along with The Ramones and Patti Smith’s first lps were among the handful of stuff I owned - vinyl treasures that were soon joined by Television and Mink DeVille.
Spend a pleasurable 71 minutes with some of New York’s finest alumni of CBGB: Debbie, Chris, Jimmy and Clem.
Mike Oldfield’s 1973 recording of Tubular Bells is the most famous progrock “symphony” of them all—and a bit of a “love it or hate it” affair amongst music snobs—but in actual fact, most of the instruments played on the album are played by Oldfield himself, layered during the recording process.
Wikipedia lists Oldfield as playing “acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, Farfisa, Hammond, and Lowrey organs; flageolet, fuzz guitars, glockenspiel, “honky tonk” piano (piano modified to sound more percussive), mandolin, piano, “Piltdown Man,“percussion, Spanish guitar, producer, “taped motor drive amplifier organ chord,” timpani, vocals and tubular bells.” He was just twenty-years-old when the album was recorded.
Oldfield did bring in a few others—notably his sister, vocalist Sally Oldfield and the Bonzo Dog Band’s Vivian Stanshall as the “Master of Ceremonies”—but it’s fair to say that, a few embellishments aside, that Tubular Bells is (almost) the work of a “one man band” or in this case, a one-man orchestra. Initially championed by BBC disc jockey John Peel (who played the entire album on his radio show), Tubular Bells has sold an estimated 16 million copies worldwide and was the first album to be put out on the Virgin Records label, making Sir Richard Branson a very rich man. The opening theme was famously used as the title music for The Exorcist.
An “in the round” live-in-studio performance of side one of Tubular Bells was taped for the BBC program Second House on November 30th, 1973 and aired on December 1. Taking part in this performance are Oldfield himself on bass and acoustic guitar, his brother Terry on flute, Fred Frith (and other members of Henry Cow), Gong’s Pierre Moerlen and Steve Hillage, Tubular Bells co-producer Tom Newman, Mike Ratledge and Karl Jenkins of the Soft Machine, Rolling Stone Mick Taylor and others. (Vivian Stanshall, in his role as the MC, is present, reading off the list of instruments at the end of the first movement in his plummy voice, but, sadly is not captured well on camera).
Oldfield has returned to his most famous work time and again over the decades. A newly remastered version of the original Tubular Bells album came out in 2009 that includes this video (in great quality) and a superb 5.1 DVD-A surround mix of the piece.
After Michael Oldfield’s performance at the 2012 London Olympics, The Quietus reported that the HMV record chain saw sales of Tubular Bells spike over 850%.
Farmer Tom Robinson paid tribute to the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, by creating a giant maze in the sprinter’s image, on his land in Staffordshire, England.
Robinson says he is a massive fan of the Jamaican athlete, and had a dream Bolt would win the Olympic 100m in record time when building the maze.
The maze shows Bolt in his famous lightning pose, and was cut into a 15 acre maize field. The crop is currently at half its height and will continue to grow through the summer months.
The Amazing Usain Bolt Maize Maze is opened to the public until harvest time.
With thanks to Tom Law
‘Now then now then… ‘
An auction of the late Sir Jimmy Savile’s belongings raised almost half-a-million dollars yesterday in Leeds, England. 700 on-line bidders competed with 350 buyers at the Savile Hall for an excess of gold lame suits, platform shoes, and a selection of the DJ’s bling.
549 lots were up for grabs in a sale organized by Dreweatts. These included gold lame suits, jogging gear, kilts, cigars, cigar boxes, shoes, trainers, furniture, records, record player, photographs, cartoons, numerous awards, assorted glasses, memorabilia, including Christmas cards from Royalty, and Jim’ll Fix It medallions, presentation gifts and the famous red-upholstered chair.
The auction lasted 13-hours, which saw the legendary DJ and broadcaster’s Rolls-Royce (nick-named “The Beast”) sold for $200,000, his famous red chair sold for $13,300, and individual items, such as one highly sought after Jim’ll Fix It medal reach $3,130.
All of the items reached over their original asking price:
Lot 174 - A pink satin padded bedspread with a gold J.S. monogram was sold for over $200.
Lot 185 - A novelty egg cup teapot with picture of Sir Jim holding it raised $60.
Lot 549 - Sir Jimmy’s favourite ashtray complete with a Romeo Y Julieta cigar - went for $220.
All money raised will be donated to charity.
The auction catalog can be seen here, and more on the story here.
Edinburgh Evening News front cover printing plate.
A photograph of Jimmy Savile with Elvis Presley.
More of Sir Jimmy Savile’s booty, after the jump…