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Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Thursday, January 15, 2009
We tortured. It's official.
Bush administration official Susan Crawford, admitted that a 911 co-conspirator was tortured repeatedly during his illicit detainment in Guantanamo. Watch and worry.
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Weather Underground (full doc)
*Now that the 2008 Election is really really over (excluding the ever irritating Minnesota Senate debacle) I thought it wise to explore this ominous education professor, Bill Ayers, and the militant leftist organization of which he was once a member, "The Weathermen." We know The Weatherman bombed government buildings and police stations. Most of us no little else about them.
Like many of those who came of age in the 90's, I extrapolated my own warped time-line of events from that glorious and glorified era known affectionately as, "The Sixties." -------It was apparently so groovy, they decided it was worth spelling out instead of the old apostrophe-and-last-two-digits kind of linear thinking, which was so utterly '57.------- When first hearing about The Weathermen circa 1996, my keenly warped sense of assumptive chronology told me they were burnt out hippies who after too much Brown Acid (and a crippled barter economy due to the free love default swap scandal of' '72) became angry and disheartened enough to start blowing shit up.
As a man now in my 30's I attempt the occasional spackle-ing of the gaping holes in that assumed time-line. After watching The Weather Underground I realized 4 essential things: A) These people were smarter, and better organized than our current government. B) They genuinely believed there was a full scale revolution in progress. C) The only person killed or even injured in the multiple bombings was a Weathermen member in his home, an accident. And D) Their belief in this revolution was not entirely unfounded, and although deplorable, their means were not entirely unjustified.
Like many of those who came of age in the 90's, I extrapolated my own warped time-line of events from that glorious and glorified era known affectionately as, "The Sixties." -------It was apparently so groovy, they decided it was worth spelling out instead of the old apostrophe-and-last-two-digits kind of linear thinking, which was so utterly '57.------- When first hearing about The Weathermen circa 1996, my keenly warped sense of assumptive chronology told me they were burnt out hippies who after too much Brown Acid (and a crippled barter economy due to the free love default swap scandal of' '72) became angry and disheartened enough to start blowing shit up.
As a man now in my 30's I attempt the occasional spackle-ing of the gaping holes in that assumed time-line. After watching The Weather Underground I realized 4 essential things: A) These people were smarter, and better organized than our current government. B) They genuinely believed there was a full scale revolution in progress. C) The only person killed or even injured in the multiple bombings was a Weathermen member in his home, an accident. And D) Their belief in this revolution was not entirely unfounded, and although deplorable, their means were not entirely unjustified.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Art, Truth and Politics: Harold Pinter's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
Playwright, Activist, Poet and Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter died of cancer last week at the age of 78. The adjective, "Pinter-esque," is often used to describe situations marked by, "Halting dialogue, uncertainty of identity, and an air of menace." His gripping, fiercely passionate speech in acceptance of his 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature reflects a man with no time left for fear, crippled by his physical shell, and yet liberated by his limited time to inhabit it. Pay particular attention to the Pablo Neruda exceprt towards the end. R.I.P. (1930-2008)
Crawford: George W. Bush moves to a 705 population town in East, TX (full doc)
***CLICK ON THE EDGE OF VIDEO TO GET FULL SCREEN: THAN ROLL OVER RIGHT SIDE OF VIDEO***
Crawford is a funny, often melancholy and wryly endearing glimpse into the tiny Texas town of Crawford, it's 705 residents, and the way their lives changed when the most (in)famous and powerful man in the world made it 706. Remember the Simpsons episode where George Bush Sr. moves to Springfield?
Related Video:
Best Bush Quotes Compilation
Link to George Bush Sr. Moves to Springfield Simpsons episode:
The Simpsons 713 Two Bad Neighbors
***footnote: Also the episode with the classic Homer rant about Ayatollahs and Skinner's tie rack bit.
Crawford is a funny, often melancholy and wryly endearing glimpse into the tiny Texas town of Crawford, it's 705 residents, and the way their lives changed when the most (in)famous and powerful man in the world made it 706. Remember the Simpsons episode where George Bush Sr. moves to Springfield?
Related Video:
Best Bush Quotes Compilation
Link to George Bush Sr. Moves to Springfield Simpsons episode:
The Simpsons 713 Two Bad Neighbors
***footnote: Also the episode with the classic Homer rant about Ayatollahs and Skinner's tie rack bit.
Towncraft: Little Rock's DIY Music Mecca
Until very recently, I only knew 2 things about Little Rock, Arkansas: Bill Clinton lived there, and that's the place where Chris Chambers, Gordy LaChance, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio battled trains, leeches, switchblade wielding hoodlums, and the infamous Chopper in search of Ray Brower's body. Then I saw Stand By Me again, and realized it takes place in Castle Rock, Oregon. Make it one thing I knew about Little Rock before seeing Towncraft.
After seeing Towncraft, I can only feel what can be described as a sense of tribal brotherhood. The depth and breadth of LR's music community through the 90's is as awe-inspiring as it is painfully honest, let alone it's unique parallels to my own Minneapolis roots. A true testament to the creative spirit, DIY ethics, and the awesome power of insular boredom.
After seeing Towncraft, I can only feel what can be described as a sense of tribal brotherhood. The depth and breadth of LR's music community through the 90's is as awe-inspiring as it is painfully honest, let alone it's unique parallels to my own Minneapolis roots. A true testament to the creative spirit, DIY ethics, and the awesome power of insular boredom.
Welcome To New Orleans Documentary (full)
"Welcome To New Orleans" is the full story as brought to light by Amy Goodman and the Democracy Now staff in the previous entry "Katrina's Hidden Race War." It is an entirely different look into the eyes of the storm. We are used to these panoramic Kubrickian shots from helicopters of the raging waters and the structural carnage. We saw people getting rescued from roofs and thousands squinting as they looked up at the chopper filming them. This doc brings you right into the fight, into a specific neighborhood and its efforts to "wring out" a semblance of community. As told through the words and wisdom of Malik Rahim, co-founder of the Common Ground Collective and future Congressional candidate.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Hurricane Katrina's Hidden Race War
Hurricane Katrina's Hidden Race War (part 1)
Hurricane Katrina's Hidden Race War (part 2)
Hurricane Katrina's Hidden Race War (part 2)
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