Daisy's Dead Air: Noam Chomsky update II
Back in the 70s, during the PR campaign for the Chicago Rock-Against-Racism event (which I helped organize), I attempted to interview Patti Smith... which basically turned out like this interview. Just as we got introduced, we got cut off. I always wondered if it was a right-wing roadie or somebody, who did that. Well, today, I can't blame right-wing roadies, I blame Gregg Jocoy, my well-meaning consigliere, who could not refrain from fiddling with buttons and various electronic gimcracks whilst I introduced myself to Dr Noam Chomsky. Suddenly, BEEP, cut off. Shades of Patti Smith! …
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The Galloping Beaver: Art and politics . . .
— Leo Fender's Stratocaster —THE ECONOMIST has a fascinating tale of Jackie Shin. Jackie who? Considered to be Korea's Jimi Hendrix , Jackie had to struggle with the demands of the Korean government and when he wouldn't play nice, the fascists made sure Jackie couldn't play at all. Being imprisoned in a mental hospital sure puts a crimp in the recording career . . .Shin Joong-hyun first learned to play guitar in the 1950s, and soon found a following among the American soldiers stationed here. Jackie Shin, as they knew him, was a master of jazz, rock ’n roll, rhythm-and-blues, and …
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Peace, order and good government, eh?: Speaking of political theatre
While the National Post does its best to hype the threat posed by Iran, here's the news I can't seem to find from a Canadian source:
WASHINGTON, Feb 1, 2012 (IPS) - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told Israeli leaders Jan. 20 that the United States would not participate in a war against Iran begun by Israel without prior agreement from Washington, according to accounts from well-placed senior military officers.
Dempsey's warning, conveyed to both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, represents the strongest move yet by President …
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Northern Reflections: The Fault Is In Ourselves
We have nurtured an old curmudgeon. He or she has been with us for a long time. However, we have never had so many of them at the same time. Carol Goar writes in this morning's Toronto Star:Across jurisdictions, political leaders seem to have forgotten their authority comes from the people. They don’t bother to listen, explain, persuade or look for a consensus. They simply pronounce.She then goes on to illustrate her point with three prominent examples -- Stephen Harper, Dalton McGunity and Rob Ford:Harper "sprang the imperative of reducing seniors’ benefits on an unwary public, with …
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The Galloping Beaver: Nazi wants privacy?
Regardless of whether Anonymous was right or wrong in releasing personal data, I might suggest that Nazis lost any reasonable expectation of privacy somewhere between Kristalnacht and the invasion of Poland, although I'd lean more toward the Beer Hall Putsch. Genocide and tens of millions dead will do that to a brand.The only concern I might have is that if any of these unfortunately-inked examples of societal failure actually mature out of the movement, they might have hard time starting over given the infinite memory of the internet. …
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The Galloping Beaver: Occupy American Anthropological Associaton
For unfamiliar readers, the vast majority of published peer reviewed academic research appears in journals controlled by massive for-profit publishing houses. Academics do not see the monetary profit, the publishers do because they control distribution and access to their journals through expensive subscriptions. The lay public, independent researchers, and others must pay through the nose in order to access this research. The advent of the internet has challenged this middle-corporation driven model by allowing journals to flourish free of the need for massive publishing houses. All you need …
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Sister Sage's Musings: Susan G. Walther-Komen soft on guns. Hard on women.
It's OK. It's pink! I felt a little bad feeling so much animosity towards a person, but Nancy Brinker’s reaction to her disengagement from Planned Parenthood has quickly become the stuff of history. Not the good kind mind you, but the wrong-side kind. Now I find her organization is soft on guns, . . . → Read More: Susan G. Walther-Komen soft on guns. Hard on women. …
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Politics'n'Poetry: The perfect blend of politics and poetry
Phil Rockstroh gives us this piece of beauty and politics and reality. A Journey to the end of Empire: It is Always Darkest Right Before it Goes Completely Black. P’n'P shall simply bask in it. A Journey To The … Continue reading → …
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unrepentant old hippie: The Personal gets Political
Nearly two dozen US Senators have signed onto a letter urging the Susan G Komen Foundation to reverse its despicable and sleazy Planned Parenthood decision: The pressure on the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation to reverse its decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings for poor people — a [...] …
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The Galloping Beaver: Midwinter’s Freditorium . . .
— Fred —MIDWINTER: AKA GROUNDHOG DAY. Actually, celebrating midwinter happened a long time before some American marketing weenie thought of promoting a rodent. According to thepaganperspective, Midwinter began as a celebration of the returning sun and sometimes a propitiation to assure that same return. Neolithic chambers, such as An Lianh Greine (Cave of the Sun) at New Grange were built to capture the sun’s power, while the Zuni and the Hopi Indians performed sacred dances to guide the returning sun. The temples of Egypt in Karnac, Thebes, and Abydos focused the midwinter sun’s …
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Facing Autism in New Brunswick: ABA Benefits for Autism: Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) Educates LA Times Alan Zarembo
The attached letter was written by ASAT Board member Sabrina Freeman Ph. D., and Secretary Florence DiGennaro Reed, Ph. D., BCBA-D to the LA Times Alan Zarembo who did such a poor job (in my humble opinion) reporting on autism issues in a recent LA Times series. In the letter Freeman and Reed attempt to educate Zarembo about the scientific, evidence based benefits that ABA has been demonstrated to bring to autistic children.
I don't know if a superficial mainstream media reporter is capable of understanding the information presented in the letter or if he would make the …
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Sister Sage's Musings: Planned Parenthood gains back the $ it lost to ideology-driven Susan G. Komen turnabout
From Dammit Janet! While the the big news, and the ultimately sad news, is that the Susan G. Komen foundation has allowed far-right evangelical ideology to interfere with its formerly well-respected humanitarian work, the news that Planned Parenthood has replaced the $650K it lost from Komen so quickly is good news, indeed. . . . → Read More: Planned Parenthood gains back the $ it lost to ideology-driven Susan G. Komen turnabout …
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Daisy's Dead Air: Noam Chomsky update
We are planning a taped interview with Noam Chomsky tomorrow, and intending to run it on the Saturday morning show.
Needless to say, this has made me a nervous wreck.
As Mr Daisy told me, "Well, you'll be talking to a living legend, but don't let that intimidate you."
Ohhh, I wouldn't dream of it!
I am hoping to transcribe the interview for the blog. (It occurred to me a day or so ago, that I used to transcribe silly doctors and lawyers for a living, so I think I know how to do that!) Stay tuned!
Or as Don Cornelius (R.I.P.) would have said, its gonna be a stone gas. (We'll …
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Sister Sage's Musings: Sun News Network + Jason Kenney = frothy mixture
If you ever wanted to combine the worst of Conservatism – that frothy mixture of deceit, barely-veiled racism and amoral opportunism – look no further than the perfect marriage of the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and Fox News North. Six federal bureaucrats were drafted to pose as new Canadians for a citizenship reaffirmation ceremony broadcast . . . → Read More: Sun News Network + Jason Kenney = frothy mixture …
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Sister Sage's Musings: Vic Danger – Third Eye. Toews doesn’t know ‘statistics’. But he sure knows fear.
Vic Toews doesn’t let reality get in the way of a good ideology (emphasis mine). “I don’t know if the statistics demonstrate that crime is down,” he said. “I’m focused on danger.” Toews said his concern is that the public is in danger as long as criminals walk the streets. The government’s crime . . . → Read More: Vic Danger – Third Eye. Toews doesn’t know ‘statistics’. But he sure knows fear. …
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unrepentant old hippie: All About the Timing
The movie “Pink Ribbons“, which explores breast cancer fundraising by groups like Susan G Komen, is being released tomorrow. Komen’s decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood has been in the works for some time now; one top Komen official quit over it in December. As Dave suggests, the Komen Foundation had to know “Pink [...] …
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Peace, order and good government, eh?: Bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase "political theatre"
I'm sure a lot of my fellow bloggers will be all over this story but I wanted my own copy to refer back to. I expect to get a lot of mileage out of this one.
Federal bureaucrats pose as 'new Canadians' on Sun News
Six federal bureaucrats were drafted to pose as new Canadians for a citizenship reaffirmation ceremony broadcast on the Sun News network, an event requested by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's office.
Kenney's staff wanted to do something splashy for citizenship week. But Sun TV resisted pressure to attend and broadcast an actual citizenship ceremony and instead suggested that …
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Northern Reflections: Anti Intellectual
The Harper government is willing to spend money -- on prisons and F35 jets. The simple truth is that it's not willing to spend money on pensions. Therefore, its "improvement" to the pension system is to be voluntary and administered by private financial interests.For Stephen Harper, a strong public pension system is symptomatic of "a welfare state in the worst sense." That's why he and his party have once again chosen to ignore expert opinion. The Globe and Mail reports thatresearch prepared at Ottawa’s request argues Canada’s pension system is in far better shape than the Europeans’, …
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The Galloping Beaver: The Komen cave
If it's got a pink ribbon on it, I'm not buying it. Simple.As TBogg points out, the upper end of the Susan G Komen foundation had to know that THIS bombshell was being released in the same week at they issued a press release severing their breast cancer funding from Planned Parenthood. And, as he asks, is that hubris or stupidity?Run for the cure? Apparently the mega-charity holding the trademark rights on that line (in the US) doesn't really give a damn about the cure part, especially since they've been hijacked by the religiously-driven woman-haters. Cowards. …
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