Shooting Up: Infections among injecting drug users in the UK 2009. An update: November 2010 (PDF, 1.4 MB)
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Police State Crackdown on Occupy Oakland (Video)
20 minutes ago
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
HEAVEN EARTH
HEAVEN EARTH I 2008 I a film by Rudolf Amaral and Harald Scherz
poetry by Royce S. Alido
HEAVEN EARTH explores amazonian ayahuasca-shamanism culture in context with tourism.
The documentary film portrays all day activities of Percy, a peruvian healer and another western ayahuasquero, named Ron. Both live near Iquitos and work with ayahuasca.
Participants of ayahuasca ceremonies, touroperators and –guides, as well as western visionquesters recount episodes of their internal imagery and journeys, related to a growing global pop cultural phenomenon, swinging between psychotherapeutical healing procedure and spiritual sell-out.
The film follows indepth interviews of its protagonists and persons linked to the field of ayahuasca-shamanism in Iquitos and explores the social, and cultural framework of a global subculture.
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(Thanx SJX!)
poetry by Royce S. Alido
HEAVEN EARTH explores amazonian ayahuasca-shamanism culture in context with tourism.
The documentary film portrays all day activities of Percy, a peruvian healer and another western ayahuasquero, named Ron. Both live near Iquitos and work with ayahuasca.
Participants of ayahuasca ceremonies, touroperators and –guides, as well as western visionquesters recount episodes of their internal imagery and journeys, related to a growing global pop cultural phenomenon, swinging between psychotherapeutical healing procedure and spiritual sell-out.
The film follows indepth interviews of its protagonists and persons linked to the field of ayahuasca-shamanism in Iquitos and explores the social, and cultural framework of a global subculture.
MORE
(Thanx SJX!)
Save Melbourne's Keith Haring Mural
1984
2011
While visiting Australia in 1984, American artist Keith Haring painted an outdoor mural at the Collingwood Technical College in inner city Melbourne. This mural is the only remaining publicly-sited work made during Haring’s three-week visit. More than 25 years later, the mural is now a shadow of its former self with a bleached pallor that has overcome Haring’s signature sensibility of life and vitality. Despite being in the care of the Victorian Government and registered as a site of state significance with the Victorian Heritage Council, the mural has received no regular maintenance or care since conception.Recently, positive steps have been undertaken to develop the old Collingwood Technical College into a home for Circus Oz and other organisations. As part of the proposed development, the Victorian Government, along with Arts Victoria, has commissioned a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) that proposes spending 1 million dollars of taxpayers money on stabilising the Haring mural in its current neglected state.
This plan directly contravenes the wishes of the Keith Haring Foundation, which was established by the artist before his death. The Foundation have publicly stated that they wish to see the mural returned to the people of Collingwood through its re-painting. They do not believe Haring would have agreed nor wanted to see an excess of money spent on preserving the mural in its current state.
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(Thanx Gram and SJX!)
Jackie Leven RIP (18 June 1950 - 14 November 2011)
Leven never achieved the level of success he deserved. Photograph: Brigitte Engl/ Redferns
Jackie Leven, who has died of cancer aged 61, was a brilliant outsider, a remarkably prolific Scottish singer-songwriter who built up a devoted cult following during his lengthy, wildly varied and often turbulent career, but never achieved the level of success that he deserved. An intense, passionate giant of a man, he first came to attention in the late 1970s and early 80s, as leader of the highly praised but commercially unsuccessful band Doll By Doll. He went on to found a successful charity, the Core Trust, which treats "addicts of any sort", before continuing his musical career as a soloist – still acquiring devoted fans, but never selling many albums.
Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, of Romany descent, he began singing his own, blues-based songs in local folk clubs, but said he was forced to leave the area because he was picked on by a local gang. He was first married at 16, but began travelling, sometimes working as a labourer, although still performing, now sporting orange hair and using the name John St Field.
His friend Joe Shaw, the guitarist with Doll By Doll, remembers meeting him in a folk club in Bridport, Dorset, and finding that their common interest was "not folk songs about young maidens, but Hendrix and Van Morrison". He says that Leven was "very intense. He could make you feel uncomfortable or the best ever – and he made me feel the best ever. He was the best friend I ever had."
They shared a squat in a farmhouse in Dorset, and met up again in Hamburg "and spent all our time jamming on guitars". Later, when Leven moved to another squat, in Maida Vale, London, he suggested they bring in a bass player and percussionist to form a band, and they started rehearsing "with mattresses around the walls to deaden the sound, but still annoying the neighbours".
The result was Doll By Doll, dominated by Leven, whom I described at the time as "a mixture of Van Morrison and a psychopath", but who could mix edgy, brooding rock songs, such as Butcher Boy, with stirring, lyrical Celtic soul, including the exquisite Main Travelled Roads.
The band recorded four albums between 1979 and 1982, including Gypsy Blood, which would later be hailed as a forgotten rock classic. At one memorable show at the London Venue, they were supported by the young U2. Shaw says: "It's a mystery why we didn't make it, when all our contemporaries did well. And our live shows were something else."
In 1984, Leven's musical career was brutally interrupted when he was mugged as he walked home at night in north London. His ribs were broken, and his larynx was "almost destroyed". With his career apparently wrecked, he turned to heroin, and told me later: "I was spending £150 a day, and found I had no money." He beat the heroin habit using acupuncture and reflexology, and with Carol Wolf founded the Core Trust to help addicts by using alternative medicine. He and Wolf recruited other counsellors offering free treatment, and was helped by Pete Townshend and Westminster city council. When I met him in 1988 he seemed far keener to discuss Core than Concrete Bulletproof Invisible, the short-lived band that he and Shaw had then started with the former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock.
For the last 17 years, Leven worked as a solo artist, recording for the independent label Cooking Vinyl. "It took me two years to sign him," according to Martin Goldschmidt, who runs the company, "and since then we have released 26 of his albums. I kept telling him there were too many, but he kept coming up with scams to get another album out." Some of his albums were credited to Sir Vincent Lone.
His remarkable solo output also included the 1994 album The Mystery of Love is Greater than the Mystery of Death, which included contributions from the poet Robert Bly and musician Mike Scott, along with one of his most thoughtful, lyrical songs, Call Mother a Lonely Field. It was ranked by Q Magazine one of the "best 100 albums of all time". On other albums he was backed by former members of Doll By Doll, by his partner Deborah Greenwood, and by David Thomas of Pere Ubu. After finding that he was mentioned in one of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus novels, he contacted Rankin, and the result was the stage show and 2005 album Jackie Leven Said (a parody of a Van Morrison song) in which a Rankin story is matched against Leven's music.
Leven was himself a great story-teller, and delighted in teasing his followers. According to Goldschmidt, his much-publicised whisky brand Leven's Lament was "a complete scam – new labels on old bottles", and so was Leven's claim to have written a song with Bob Dylan on a train to Moscow. He was a hugely likeable, larger-than-life figure, with a legacy of more than 400 songs, and I suspect his music will reach a wider audience still.
Leven was married twice, and is survived by Deborah; his son Simon, from an earlier relationship; and his sister, Wendy.
Robin Denselow @'The Guardian'
Damn, damn, damn...
Occupy Wall Street: NYPD attempt media blackout at Zuccotti Park
New York police attempted to impose a media blackout as they cleared Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park late last night.
As police swooped on the park in the early hours of Tuesday, the city closed airspace in lower Manhattan to prevent news helicopters taking aerial shots of the scene. Vans were used to obscure views of the park and a police cordon effectively blocked accredited media from reaching the site. Some of those members of the press who were in the park or were able to get there say they were arrested, pepper sprayed or treated aggressively.
One of the few reporters on the scene when the police moved in was Josh Harkinson, a writer for Mother Jones magazine. As police used tear gas to remove the last protesters from the park Harkinson identified himself as a member of the media and was physically dragged out of the park. He was told that reporters had to stay in a "press pen".
Reporters tweeted their frustration using the hashtag #mediablackout and said police were ignoring and even confiscating press passes.
A New York Post reporter was "roughed up" according to the New York Times' Brian Stelter. Lindsey Christ, of local cable-news channel NY1, said on-air this morning that "the police took over, they kept everybody out and they wouldn't let media in. It was very planned."
At a press conference after the raid, mayor Mike Bloomberg defended the decision to raid Zuccotti Park as "mine and mine alone." He said the decision to clamp down on media coverage was made to "protect the members of the press. We have to provide protection and we have done exactly that." He said the move was made "to prevent a situation from getting worse".
Bloomberg said that "from the beginning, I have said that the city had two principal goals: guaranteeing public health and safety, and guaranteeing the protesters' First Amendment rights. But when those two goals clash, the health and safety of the public and our first responders must be the priority."
The New York Police Department did not return calls for comment.
While most media were left scrambling to catch up with the surprise midnight raid, some sections of the local press appear to have had some forewarning of what the police were planning. The New York Post, a persistent critic of Occupy, was able to splash on the news even though it happened after most papers had gone to press. The New York Times too was able to get early coverage on its website as the raid happened.
"Maybe Mayor Bloomberg has been watching Syrian TV or perhaps taking to Assad. His tactics are more akin to something you would see in Damascus than you would expect in country that claims democracy and freedoms of speech such as the United States," said Karanja Gaçuça, a member of the Occupy Wall Street press working group.
Josh Sterns, associate program director at Free Press, has been tracking the arrests of journalists at Occupy rallies across the US. So far he has counted 14 media arrests and many incidents of violence against media covering the events.
Dominic Rushe @'The Guardian'
As police swooped on the park in the early hours of Tuesday, the city closed airspace in lower Manhattan to prevent news helicopters taking aerial shots of the scene. Vans were used to obscure views of the park and a police cordon effectively blocked accredited media from reaching the site. Some of those members of the press who were in the park or were able to get there say they were arrested, pepper sprayed or treated aggressively.
One of the few reporters on the scene when the police moved in was Josh Harkinson, a writer for Mother Jones magazine. As police used tear gas to remove the last protesters from the park Harkinson identified himself as a member of the media and was physically dragged out of the park. He was told that reporters had to stay in a "press pen".
Reporters tweeted their frustration using the hashtag #mediablackout and said police were ignoring and even confiscating press passes.
A New York Post reporter was "roughed up" according to the New York Times' Brian Stelter. Lindsey Christ, of local cable-news channel NY1, said on-air this morning that "the police took over, they kept everybody out and they wouldn't let media in. It was very planned."
At a press conference after the raid, mayor Mike Bloomberg defended the decision to raid Zuccotti Park as "mine and mine alone." He said the decision to clamp down on media coverage was made to "protect the members of the press. We have to provide protection and we have done exactly that." He said the move was made "to prevent a situation from getting worse".
Bloomberg said that "from the beginning, I have said that the city had two principal goals: guaranteeing public health and safety, and guaranteeing the protesters' First Amendment rights. But when those two goals clash, the health and safety of the public and our first responders must be the priority."
The New York Police Department did not return calls for comment.
While most media were left scrambling to catch up with the surprise midnight raid, some sections of the local press appear to have had some forewarning of what the police were planning. The New York Post, a persistent critic of Occupy, was able to splash on the news even though it happened after most papers had gone to press. The New York Times too was able to get early coverage on its website as the raid happened.
"Maybe Mayor Bloomberg has been watching Syrian TV or perhaps taking to Assad. His tactics are more akin to something you would see in Damascus than you would expect in country that claims democracy and freedoms of speech such as the United States," said Karanja Gaçuça, a member of the Occupy Wall Street press working group.
Josh Sterns, associate program director at Free Press, has been tracking the arrests of journalists at Occupy rallies across the US. So far he has counted 14 media arrests and many incidents of violence against media covering the events.
Dominic Rushe @'The Guardian'
Reporters Say Police Denied Access to Protest Site
Zuccotti Park’s OWS cleared out while the media is blacked out
ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald
"We must never be afraid to insist on compliance with our laws"- Michael Bloomberg, as he knowingly ignores a Court Order#TwoTieredJustice
"We must never be afraid to insist on compliance with our laws"- Michael Bloomberg, as he knowingly ignores a Court Order
Statement by Public Advocate Bill de Blasio on Clearing of Zuccotti Park
“Protecting public safety and quality of life for downtown residents, and guaranteeing free expression are not exclusive of one another. Mayor Bloomberg made a needlessly provocative and legally questionable decision to clear Zuccotti Park in the dead of night. That some media and observers were prevented from monitoring the action is deeply troubling.
“I know of no one—protesters included—who desires a permanent occupation of lower Manhattan. But provocations under cover of darkness only escalate tensions in a situation that calls for mediation and dialogue. I call on the Mayor to find a sustainable resolution—as other cities have done—that allows for the exercise of free speech and assembly, with respect for the rights of all New Yorkers to peaceful enjoyment of our great city.”
Bill de Blasio
“I know of no one—protesters included—who desires a permanent occupation of lower Manhattan. But provocations under cover of darkness only escalate tensions in a situation that calls for mediation and dialogue. I call on the Mayor to find a sustainable resolution—as other cities have done—that allows for the exercise of free speech and assembly, with respect for the rights of all New Yorkers to peaceful enjoyment of our great city.”
Bill de Blasio
Judge orders New York to allow protesters, tents, in park
A New York judge issued an order Tuesday morning allowing Occupy Wall Street protesters to return to Zuccotti Park, just hours after scores of police in riot gear ordered them out and tore down their tents.
The order from New York Supreme Court Judge Lucy Billings allows protesters to bring tents and other equipment back into the privately owned park where the now-global Occupy movement began.
Police, however, did not immediately let them in.
Soon after the ruling, a large group of demonstrators -- some of them apparently holding the court documents -- marched back to Zuccotti Park and presented the documents to police.
We have a court order," the group chanted, as it wielded signs and circled the Lower Manhattan park. "You don't have authority over a judge," they yelled at police.
At least two people were seen jumping over a metal barricade before they were forcibly removed by authorities.
Video of the park showed security officers picking up one protester and tossing the individual over the fence.
City officials, meanwhile, said they had intended to allow protests to resume at the park, but added they would not allow demonstrators to set up tents or camp. The park will remain closed until officials sort out the legal situation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
"We have an obligation to enforce the laws today, to make sure that everybody has access to the park so everybody can protest. That's the First Amendment and it's number one on our minds," he said. "We also have a similar, just as important obligation to protect the health and safety of the people in the park."
A hearing was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET to discuss the order.
The operation to clear the park began around 1 a.m., according to Bloomberg, with police handing out notices from the park's owner, Brookfield Office Properties, that said the continued occupation posed a health and fire hazard.
"You are required to immediately remove all property, including tents, sleeping bags and tarps, from Zuccotti Park," the note said. "That means you must remove the property now."
Police in riot gear then moved into the park, evicting hundreds of protesters.
Dozens of protesters who had camped out at the Lower Manhattan park since September 17 linked arms in defiance. Many chanted, "Whose park? Our park" and "You don't have to do this."
Police arrested more than 100 people, according to Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne.
New York City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez was among those arrested, after he rushed down to the park when he heard police were evicting protesters, his spokesman, David Segal, told CNN.
Medical crews treated three people for minor injuries, Bloomberg said. A police officer was also hospitalized after experiencing heart palpitations, he said...
The order from New York Supreme Court Judge Lucy Billings allows protesters to bring tents and other equipment back into the privately owned park where the now-global Occupy movement began.
Police, however, did not immediately let them in.
Soon after the ruling, a large group of demonstrators -- some of them apparently holding the court documents -- marched back to Zuccotti Park and presented the documents to police.
We have a court order," the group chanted, as it wielded signs and circled the Lower Manhattan park. "You don't have authority over a judge," they yelled at police.
At least two people were seen jumping over a metal barricade before they were forcibly removed by authorities.
Video of the park showed security officers picking up one protester and tossing the individual over the fence.
City officials, meanwhile, said they had intended to allow protests to resume at the park, but added they would not allow demonstrators to set up tents or camp. The park will remain closed until officials sort out the legal situation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
"We have an obligation to enforce the laws today, to make sure that everybody has access to the park so everybody can protest. That's the First Amendment and it's number one on our minds," he said. "We also have a similar, just as important obligation to protect the health and safety of the people in the park."
A hearing was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET to discuss the order.
The operation to clear the park began around 1 a.m., according to Bloomberg, with police handing out notices from the park's owner, Brookfield Office Properties, that said the continued occupation posed a health and fire hazard.
"You are required to immediately remove all property, including tents, sleeping bags and tarps, from Zuccotti Park," the note said. "That means you must remove the property now."
Police in riot gear then moved into the park, evicting hundreds of protesters.
Dozens of protesters who had camped out at the Lower Manhattan park since September 17 linked arms in defiance. Many chanted, "Whose park? Our park" and "You don't have to do this."
Police arrested more than 100 people, according to Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne.
New York City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez was among those arrested, after he rushed down to the park when he heard police were evicting protesters, his spokesman, David Segal, told CNN.
Medical crews treated three people for minor injuries, Bloomberg said. A police officer was also hospitalized after experiencing heart palpitations, he said...
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attackerman attackerman
I liked this David Brooks column on Penn State better when@drewmagary wrote it last week. nyti.ms/v1OdZU & deadsp.in/sGDpQ2
I liked this David Brooks column on Penn State better when
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
SLAB - Through The Arcs of Dying Suns
A new track, a voyage through the darkness, a huge monolithic bass overlaid by psychedelic guitars on a journey into the sun....
If the Illuminati are so clever and sneaky and powerful how come so many idiots have read about them?
Scott Olsen
Via
Loutallica
16% The Edsel, the RMS Titanic, New Coke, Windows Vista, “Ishtar,” the Bay of Pigs invasion and Season 3 of “Veronica Mars”
16% Noisy, overblown, Michael Bay-ish godawfulness
12% Delusional narcissism
“It’s maybe the best thing done by anyone, ever. It could create another planetary system. I’m not joking, and I’m not being egotistical.” - Lou Reed
12% Terminal-stage hubris
“My guitar on top of James and Kirk. The odds on that working — three guitars — is almost zero.” - Lou Reed
8% Back issues of “Penthouse Letters” and a complete set of “Saw” DVDs
6% Obvious-in-hindsight subtext
“Lou said: ‘Let’s make a record together.’ We were down by the garbage and parked cars.” - Lars Ulrich
6% More obvious-in-hindsight subtext
“I was on the verge of tears. I couldn’t stay in the room. Ten seconds later, James comes into the kitchen, sobbing. Lou took down the guitar players in Metallica in one fell swoop.” - Kirk Hammett
6% Post-traumatic stress disorder
“Lou walked into the studio, and about seven seconds later, my head was spinning like Linda Blair in ‘The Exorcist’ … it’ll take me years to access what happened.” - Lars Ulrich
5% The Peter Principle
“This is as good as my writing gets. I can’t do better.” - Lou Reed
4% Easily ignored grumbling
“I can’t stand being blinded by a stupid light show when I want to see the people. When did it turn into ‘you have to have a light show’? What happened? Where did I go wrong?” - Lou Reed
3% Retrograde amnesia
“When I finally heard it back, I was beyond stunned. Now I don’t even associate myself with it.” - Lou Reed
3% Denial mechanisms
“I sense only joy and elation and the excitement of sharing this.” - Lars Ulrich
2% A retired mailman scat-singing over a fleet of defective Zambonis
1% Brief moments of lucidity
“I don’t have any fans left.” - Lou Reed
Discographies @'The Daily'
Monday, November 14, 2011
First Listen: Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow
Powdery fantasia. Contemplative. Winter matins. Playful. Opium reverie. Grounded. Ghost story. Sensual. Artistic recalibration. Unhurried. Drummer's holiday. Quiet. Ode to the white keys. Imaginative. Exploration of the lower register. Floating. Mother-son duet. Solitary. Snowed-in erotica. Collaborative. Joni Mitchell answer record. Inimitable. Supernatural space odyssey. What we'd expect from Kate Bush.
It's a fun game to mimic the task that England's elusive empress of art rock devised for her 10th studio long-player out Nov. 21. Approaching this release from different angles, speaking of it in different metaphors, piques the imagination while creating a kind of unity of thought, just as limiting herself to stories inspired by winter weather clearly did for Bush.
But the phrase that might spring first from the lips of Bush fans digging into Snow is, "Welcome home!" In seven long tracks, the album does just what the best of Bush's work has done since she burst on the scene, Spandex bat wings flapping, at the dawn of the New Wave era. It melds extravagant tales to unconventional song structures, and spirits the listener away into Bush's distinctive hyperreality.
Each song on Snow grows as if from magic beans from the lush ground of the singer-songwriter's keyboard parts. The music is immersive but spacious, jazz-tinged and lushly electronic – the 53-year-old Bush, a prime inspiration for tech-savvy young auteurs ranging from St. Vincent to hip-hop's Big Boi, pioneered the use of digital samplers in the 1980s and is still an avid aural manipulator. This time around, drummer Steve Gadd is her most important interlocutor – the veteran studio player's gentle but firm touch draws the frame around each of her expanding landscapes. But Bush won't be restricted. Like Mitchell on Don Juan's Restless Daughter, she takes her time and lets her characters lead.
The album's scenarios are as startling as the ones Bush spun in the plastic-fantastic 1980s, when she became famous for taking on myriad alter egos, from Houdini's bride to Wilhelm Reich's son to a whole menagerie of mythical creatures. But the tighter focus of Snow makes it one of Bush's most cohesive works, despite the daunting length of each track. (The shortest is nearly 7 minutes long.) Spinning variations on a theme instead of offering one long narrative, Bush reimagines the concept album as a poet would, connecting its elements with delicate thread.
The opening and closing cuts invoke a chill as they dwell on the ephemeral nature of the life cycle. "Snowflake," which features the choirboy pipes of Bush's 12-year-old son Bertie, gives voice to the melting consciousness of the natural world itself; "Among Angels" reads like the sweetest kind of suicide note. In between there are imagined couplings – with a gender-bending snowman in "Misty," and with a lover found and lost through many reincarnations (and played with brio by Elton John) in "Snowed In At Wheeler Street." The bounding "Wild Man" chases a yeti.
The trip-hoppy title track casts actor Stephen Fry as a Siberian scientist building a lexicon in white. That song could be a metaphor for Bush's own creative process. In its choruses, she goads Fry on with vocals that come close to the legendary witch whoops of her youth: Come on, Joe, you have 32 to go! The listener can easily imagine Bush pushing herself in a similar way: waking up in the morning and telling herself to get on that sled and ride her theme to a new destination.
We who treasure her can rejoice that she cut a path so quickly. Along with May's reworking of older material, Director's Cut, this makes for two Bush albums in a year. The once moderately reclusive artiste may be entering a fruitful late season. Let's hope she continues on her elemental mission. One hundred words for starlight, maybe, Kate?
Ann Powers @'npr'
Hear '50 Words For Snow' In Its Entirety
Shooting Up – Infections among injecting drug users in the United Kingdom 2011
Health Protection Agency
Publication date: November 2011
Synopsis
People who inject drugs (PWID) are vulnerable to a wide range of viral and bacterial infections. These infections can result in high levels of illness and in death, so public health surveillance of infectious diseases and the associated risk and protective behaviours among this group are important. This report describes time trends on the extent of infections among PWID in the UK. It is based on data to the end of 2010. This year’s report focuses on infections caused by bacteria.Download full publication
TheTweetOfGod God
The Four Horsemen are Conquest, War, Famine and Death. And their Four iPods blast Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer.
The Four Horsemen are Conquest, War, Famine and Death. And their Four iPods blast Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer.
Earth | Time Lapse View from Space | Fly Over | Nasa, ISS
Time lapse sequences of photographs taken with a special low-light 4K-camera
by the crew of expedition 28 & 29 onboard the International Space Station from
August to October, 2011.
HD, refurbished, smoothed, retimed, denoised, deflickered, cut, etc.
Music: Jan Jelinek | Do Dekor, faitiche back2001
w+p by Jan Jelinek, published by Betke Edition
janjelinek.com | faitiche.de
Editing: Michael König | koenigm.com
Image Courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory,
NASA Johnson Space Center, The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth
eol.jsc.nasa.gov
Shooting locations in order of appearance:
1. Aurora Borealis Pass over the United States at Night
2. Aurora Borealis and eastern United States at Night
3. Aurora Australis from Madagascar to southwest of Australia
4. Aurora Australis south of Australia
5. Northwest coast of United States to Central South America at Night
6. Aurora Australis from the Southern to the Northern Pacific Ocean
7. Halfway around the World
8. Night Pass over Central Africa and the Middle East
9. Evening Pass over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East
10. Pass over Canada and Central United States at Night
11. Pass over Southern California to Hudson Bay
12. Islands in the Philippine Sea at Night
13. Pass over Eastern Asia to Philippine Sea and Guam
14. Views of the Mideast at Night
15. Night Pass over Mediterranean Sea
16. Aurora Borealis and the United States at Night
17. Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean
18. Eastern Europe to Southeastern Asia at Night
by the crew of expedition 28 & 29 onboard the International Space Station from
August to October, 2011.
HD, refurbished, smoothed, retimed, denoised, deflickered, cut, etc.
Music: Jan Jelinek | Do Dekor, faitiche back2001
w+p by Jan Jelinek, published by Betke Edition
janjelinek.com | faitiche.de
Editing: Michael König | koenigm.com
Image Courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory,
NASA Johnson Space Center, The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth
eol.jsc.nasa.gov
Shooting locations in order of appearance:
1. Aurora Borealis Pass over the United States at Night
2. Aurora Borealis and eastern United States at Night
3. Aurora Australis from Madagascar to southwest of Australia
4. Aurora Australis south of Australia
5. Northwest coast of United States to Central South America at Night
6. Aurora Australis from the Southern to the Northern Pacific Ocean
7. Halfway around the World
8. Night Pass over Central Africa and the Middle East
9. Evening Pass over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East
10. Pass over Canada and Central United States at Night
11. Pass over Southern California to Hudson Bay
12. Islands in the Philippine Sea at Night
13. Pass over Eastern Asia to Philippine Sea and Guam
14. Views of the Mideast at Night
15. Night Pass over Mediterranean Sea
16. Aurora Borealis and the United States at Night
17. Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean
18. Eastern Europe to Southeastern Asia at Night
New arrest as Germany links neo-Nazis to 10 murders
Police in Germany have made a second arrest after the dramatic discovery of evidence linking a self-styled Nazi group to the murder of nine foreigners.
A man suspected of being a member of the hitherto unknown "National Socialist Underground" was arrested near the northern city of Hannover.Eight ethnic Turks, an ethnic Greek and a policewoman were murdered.
The group only came to light this week after one alleged member surrendered and two others killed themselves.
Beate Z - her surname was not given for legal reasons - had been sought by police over an armed robbery in the eastern city of Eisenach.
She handed herself in on Tuesday after allegedly blowing up the flat she had rented in the eastern town of Zwickau.
The remains of two men close to her, who were also wanted over the armed robbery, were found shortly afterwards in a burning caravan in Zwickau.
A pistol recovered from the caravan was found to be the service weapon of a German policewoman shot dead in 2007 in the south-western city of Heilbronn. A second pistol is also believed to have been recovered.
Hans-Werner Wargel, head of the Lower Saxony department for the protection of the constitution, said Germany could be "dealing with the worst case of right-wing violence in decades."
'Brown Army Faction' Holger G, 37, was arrested on suspicion of being a member of the National Socialist Underground since the late 1990s, German prosecutors said.
He is suspected of providing his driver's license and passport to the other three alleged members of the group.
The murder victims of foreign origin were small businessmen - mainly kebab stall owners - who were shot in the face in broad daylight at their places of work.
The murders were committed in several German cities between 2000 and 2007.
Germany is home to some 3,000,000 people of Turkish origin.
Police did not link the killings to neo-Nazis until the discovery last week of the two handguns.
Other evidence found included National Socialist Underground propaganda DVDs prepared for sending to news agencies and Muslim cultural centres.
Police identified the two men found dead in the caravan as Uwe B and Uwe M.
Beate Z faces charges of murder, attempted murder, arson and belonging to a terrorist organisation.
Germany's far right is small and politically marginalised, but has given rise to concern with periodic attacks on immigrants.
German media have dubbed the group discovered in Zwickau the Brown Army Faction after the now defunct left-wing Red Army Faction group, which killed more than 30 people between the 1970s and 1990s.
@'BBC'
♪♫ St. Vincent - These Days (DUMBO Session)
A snippet of Mark Stewart performing 'She Is Beyond Good & Evil' in London with St Vincent the other night here.
Garrett McNamara surfs 90ft wave
The Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara catches the wave of a lifetime while tackling the Nazare Canyon off Portugal.
The 3-mile deep underwater canyon – which stretches for 105 miles – acts likes a funnel when it receives Atlantic swells, creating huge waves. Some estimate that McNamara's wave was 27-metre (90ft) high, which would top the current Guinness World Records holder Mike Parson's 77ft monster at Cortez Bank in 2001
The 3-mile deep underwater canyon – which stretches for 105 miles – acts likes a funnel when it receives Atlantic swells, creating huge waves. Some estimate that McNamara's wave was 27-metre (90ft) high, which would top the current Guinness World Records holder Mike Parson's 77ft monster at Cortez Bank in 2001
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Conspiracy Of Silence (Child Sex Abuse Ring of Washington DC)
"Conspiracy of Silence" is a powerful, disturbing documentary revealing a nationwide child abuse and pedophilia ring that leads to the highest levels of government. Featuring intrepid investigator John DeCamp, a highly decorated Vietnam war veteran and 16-year Nebraska state senator, "Conspiracy of Silence" reveals how rogue elements at all levels of government have been involved in systematic child abuse and pedophilia to feed the base desires of key politicians.
Based on DeCamp's riveting book, The Franklin Cover-up, "Conspiracy of Silence" begins with the shut-down of Nebraska's Franklin Community Federal Credit Union after a raid by federal agencies in November 1988 revealed that $40 million was missing. When the Nebraska legislature launched a probe into the affair, what initially looked like a financial swindle soon exploded into a startling tale of drugs, money laundering, and a nationwide child abuse ring. Nineteen months later, the legislative committee's chief investigator died suddenly and violently, like more than a dozen other people linked to the Franklin case.
So why have you never heard of the Franklin cover-up? Originally scheduled to air in May of 1994 on the Discovery Channel, "Conspiracy of Silence" was yanked at the last minute due to formidable pressure applied by top politicians. Some very powerful people did not want you to watch this documentary.
You may find yourself becoming angry or upset while watching "Conspiracy of Silence." Many people do. However, consider that each of us has at times in our life acted out of selfish motives when it comes to sexuality and ended up hurting others in one way or another. Let us take this information not only as a call to stop this kind of abuse at the nationwide level, but also as a call to examine our own sexual relationships and make a commitment to deep honesty and integrity in our own lives around this most sensitive issue. Thanks for caring and may we all work together to build a brighter future for ourselves and for our world.
A copy of this videotape was furnished anonymously to former Nebraska state senator and attorney John De Camp who made it available to retired FBI Agent Ted L. Gunderson. While the video quality is not top grade, this tape is a blockbuster in what is revealed by the participants involved.
NOTE; This film had to be reassembled from remaining VHS fragments after an all-out effort was made to block the films release and destroy all extant copies. Every effort has been made to restore it to the original and complete "meant to be broadcast" version.
For additional information on this video, and download information: http://www.archive.org/details/ConspiracyOfSilence-SexAbuseRingOfWashingtonDc
http://www.american-buddha.com/franklincoverup.13.htm
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20Government/boys_town_abuse.htm
http://franklincoverup.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=...
Based on DeCamp's riveting book, The Franklin Cover-up, "Conspiracy of Silence" begins with the shut-down of Nebraska's Franklin Community Federal Credit Union after a raid by federal agencies in November 1988 revealed that $40 million was missing. When the Nebraska legislature launched a probe into the affair, what initially looked like a financial swindle soon exploded into a startling tale of drugs, money laundering, and a nationwide child abuse ring. Nineteen months later, the legislative committee's chief investigator died suddenly and violently, like more than a dozen other people linked to the Franklin case.
So why have you never heard of the Franklin cover-up? Originally scheduled to air in May of 1994 on the Discovery Channel, "Conspiracy of Silence" was yanked at the last minute due to formidable pressure applied by top politicians. Some very powerful people did not want you to watch this documentary.
You may find yourself becoming angry or upset while watching "Conspiracy of Silence." Many people do. However, consider that each of us has at times in our life acted out of selfish motives when it comes to sexuality and ended up hurting others in one way or another. Let us take this information not only as a call to stop this kind of abuse at the nationwide level, but also as a call to examine our own sexual relationships and make a commitment to deep honesty and integrity in our own lives around this most sensitive issue. Thanks for caring and may we all work together to build a brighter future for ourselves and for our world.
A copy of this videotape was furnished anonymously to former Nebraska state senator and attorney John De Camp who made it available to retired FBI Agent Ted L. Gunderson. While the video quality is not top grade, this tape is a blockbuster in what is revealed by the participants involved.
NOTE; This film had to be reassembled from remaining VHS fragments after an all-out effort was made to block the films release and destroy all extant copies. Every effort has been made to restore it to the original and complete "meant to be broadcast" version.
For additional information on this video, and download information: http://www.archive.org/details/ConspiracyOfSilence-SexAbuseRingOfWashingtonDc
http://www.american-buddha.com/franklincoverup.13.htm
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20Government/boys_town_abuse.htm
http://franklincoverup.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=...
RIAA: Google Refuses to Remove “Pirate App” from Android Market
“We sent a takedown notice to Google in August for this particular app, which is clearly being used for illegal purposes, and Google responded that they were declining to remove it from the Android Market,” an RIAA spokeswoman told PCMag.com.
“We continue to have concerns with Google’s screening and takedown procedures and hope that they will be improved.”
The RIAA and other entertainment industry groups have been pushing hard against Google to take down apps they deem to be infringing.
Although the company is generally very cooperative, the groups are not always pleased with the slow response times.
Last month Google deleted the popular Frostwire app from the Android market, but it’s unknown whether this had anything to do with complaints from groups like the RIAA.
Ernesto @'TorrentFreak'
Hepatitis C Surpasses HIV as Cause of Death in U.S.
The discouraging findings, presented by Scott Holmberg, MD, MPH, chief of the CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, come from data involving 21.8 million deaths reported to the National Center for Health Statistics between 1999 and 2007. The only cases included in the analysis involved reports that specified HIV, AIDS, HCV or hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection as possible contributors to the deaths.
Encouragingly, death rates associated with chronic HBV infection—a major cause of liver failure and liver cancer—remained relatively flat between 1999 and 2007. In 2007, for example, about 1,800 U.S. residents died of HBV-related complications, which translated into less than one chronic hepatitis B-attributable death per 100,000 people in this country.
Death rates related to HIV infection continue to fall. Whereas HIV contributed to 6 per 100,000 deaths in 1999, the rate dropped to less than four per 100,000 deaths in 2007.
Hepatitis C–related deaths have increased sharply, Holmberg’s team reported. Whereas HCV contributed to roughly 3 per 100,000 deaths in 1999, the HCV-related death rate exceeded 4 per 100,000 people in the United States by 2007.
With respect to crude numbers, roughly 12,700 HIV-related deaths were reported to the National Center for Health Statistics in 2007. More than 15,000 HCV-related deaths were reported to the center that year.
Most viral hepatitis deaths occurred in people in the prime of their lives. About 59 percent of people who died of complications related to hepatitis B were between the ages of 45 and 64. The impact of chronic hepatitis C was even more substantial—roughly 73 percent of the deaths related to HCV were in baby boomers.
Not surprisingly, death rates were highest among certain populations. For example, people coinfected with both HBV and HCV faced a 30-fold increase in the risk of death from liver disease or related complications. Alcohol abuse was associated with a four-fold increase in the risk of death. Coinfection with HIV nearly doubled the risk of death from HBV-related complications and quadrupled the risk of death from HCV-associated liver disease.
“[Achieving] declines in mortality similar to those seen with HIV,” Holmberg’s group concluded, “will require new policy directions and commitment to detect and link infectious persons to care and successful treatment.”
@'Hep'
Meanwhile luckily for me...
Brazil police target drug gangs in Rio's biggest slum
Brazilian police have begun an operation to clear Rio de Janeiro's biggest slum, Rocinha, of drug gangs.
Elite police units backed by armoured military vehicles and helicopters moved into the slum before dawn, the Associated Press reports.Alleged Rocinha drugs kingpin Antonio Francisco Bonfim Lopes was arrested trying to flee the slum on Thursday.
Police are trying to clear Rio's shantytowns of drug gangs ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
Since 2008, they have occupied some 20 slums, or favelas, to drive out the dealers who controlled the areas.
'Historic moment' Police had openly announced their plan to move into Rocinha - which is officially home to some 70,000 people, although is widely thought to have considerably more residents.
Some of the favela's residents left the area on Wednesday, as police began setting up checkpoints at entrances to the slum district, which is located close to tourist areas in Rio's south zone.
They scored an early success on Thursday when they arrested Antonio Francisco Bonfim Lopes - widely known as "Nem" - as he tried to escape Rocinha in the boot of a car.
The driver of the vehicle tried to claim diplomatic immunity, saying he was the honorary consul of the Democratic Republic of Congo, police said.
He then offered a bribe worth $570,000 (£358,000), they added, but officers refused and opened the boot to discover the hidden suspect.
Nem was one of Rio's most wanted suspects and his arrest was described as a "historic moment" by the city's state security secretary Jose Mariano Beltrame.
The police operation to clear the favelas involves special forces, known as BOPE, moving in to take on the traffickers. Police then establish a permanent base in the favela with officers trained in community policing.
City officials also move in to provide services such as health care and electricity.
Pacification has been generally welcomed in favelas, where residents have seen a drop in crime.
But there have been complaints about the behaviour of some of the troops and police involved, with local people reporting excessive violence or abuse of authority.
@'BBC'
PHOTOGRAPHS
Israel refuses to tell US its Iran intentions
The US leader was rebuffed last month when he demanded private guarantees that no strike would go ahead without White House notification, suggesting Israel no longer plans to "seek Washington's permission", sources said. The disclosure, made by insiders briefed on a top-secret meeting between America's most senior defence chief and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's hawkish prime minister, comes amid concerns that Iran's continuing progress towards nuclear weapons capability means the Jewish state has all but lost hope for a diplomatic solution.
On Tuesday, UN weapons inspectors released their most damning report to date into Iran's nuclear activities, saying for the first time that the Islamic republic appeared to be building a nuclear weapon. It was with that grave possiblity in mind that Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, flew into Israel last month on what was ostensibly a routine trip.
Officially, his brief was restricted to the Middle East peace process, but the most important part of his mission was a private meeting with Mr Netanyahu and the defence minister, Ehud Barak. Once all but a handful of trusted staff had left the room, Mr Panetta conveyed an urgent message from Barack Obama. The president, Mr Panetta said, wanted an unshakable guarantee that Israel would not carry out a unilateral military strike against Iran's nuclear installations without first seeking Washington's clearance.
The two Israelis were notably evasive in their response, according to sources both in Israel and the United States.
"They did not suggest that military action was being planned or was imminent, but neither did they give any assurances that Israel would first seek Washington's permission, or even inform the White House in advance that a mission was underway," one said.
Alarmed by Mr Netanyahu's noncommittal response, Mr Obama reportedly ordered the US intelligence services to step up monitoring of Israel to glean clues of its intentions. What those intentions might be remains distinctly murky. Over the past fortnight, Israel's press has given every impression that the country is on a war footing, with numerous claims that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Barak are lobbying the cabinet to support the military option.
Two weeks ago Israel tested a long-range ballistic missile capable of reaching Iran, its first since 2008. Shortly before, the Israeli airforce took part in Nato exercises in Sardinia that involved air-to-air refuelling, a key component of an aerial strike on Iran. A separate exercise in and around Tel Aviv tested civilian readiness in the event of a missile strike against the city. In a sign of the febrility of the public mood, many beach-goers apparently mistook the air raid sirens for a genuine Iranian attack and fled in panic for their cars. There were similar jitters in Iran yesterday, when a huge but apparently accidental explosion at arms dump outside Tehran killed at least 27 soldiers and shook the city.
Speculation about an imminent Israeli military action has been a regular occurrence over the years, but rarely as fevered as now. Last week, a British official even suggested that an attack could come before Christmas.
Few in Israel believe that is likely and the difficulty of mounting an operation over winter, when cloud cover hampers aircraft targeting systems, means that if military action is being considered it will not come before the spring or summer of next year.
Many observers also believe that the bellicose rhetoric voiced by a number of senior Israeli figures in recent days is largely bluff, designed to goad the international community into imposing sanctions of such severity that Iran would be forced into economic ruin if it persisted with its nuclear ambitions. Israel says that if Iran's central bank were sanctioned and a ban on Iranian oil exports enforced by an international naval blockade, military action would not be necessary.
Mr Barak has already publicly stated that he does not believe the West can overcome Russian and Chinese opposition to the sanctions Israel wants, leaving military action increasingly as the only alternative...
Continue reading
Adrian Blomfield @'The Telegraph'
Israeli Source Claims Depot Blast Mossad/MKO Operation
Such a fugn publicity whore...
I've deliberately kept well away from #OpCartel and Brown's book deal etc but...the man really is a complete moron!
xeni Xeni Jardin
Berlusconi resigns to "focus full-time on whoring, stealing, and sexually assaulting meter maids."
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