Sunday, December 30, 2007

soma fm

pretty kick-ass internet radio:

13 unique channels of listener-supported, commercial-free, underground/alternative radio broadcasting from San Francisco.


Current channels are:
* Xmas in Frisko
* Christmas Lounge
* Groove Salad
* Secret Agent
* Drone Zone
* Space Station Soma
* indie pop rocks
* Illinois Street Lounge
* Beat Blender
* cliqhop idm
* Boot Liquor
* Doomed
* Tag's Trance Trip

The Water Front

Good flick about water rights, government corruption, racism, and coercion. Think we all best get organized.



...p.s. lots of evil people in this film. Black, white, male, female, you name it - evil does not know skin color. Evil. Evil. Evil. Evil.

Lots to learn from this film. One of them is that 'just doing your job' is not an excuse. If your job requires you to do evil, then you need to quit. That's it, end of discussion. Find something else to do. At a minimum you have to make it more expensive for your company to commit evil, and you can do that by quitting.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Tiger finally has enough in SF

and goes ballistic:

All three men who were attacked were zoo patrons, not workers, and were attacked not in or near the tiger's pen, but outside the Terrace Cafe.

The dead man was 23 years old; the two survivors, whom a paramedic described as having wounds 'all over' their bodies, were brothers aged 19 and 18, friends of the victim.


We need to close down all zoos immediately. They're criminally inhumane to the animals, no matter how much some book might have led you to believe otherwise.

That a wild animal being treated in an inhumane fashion decides to go batshit crazy and attack and kill people should not be a surprise to anyone.

That zoos all over the world are underfunded and treat their animals like trash should not be a surprise to anyone.

That zoo cage designers continue to underestimate an enraged animal's abilities should not be a surprise to anyone.

I'd be willing to entertain the notion of wildlife preserves, but the time for zoos is up. Game over. Stop the madness. Stop crushing the souls of these animals. Stop locking them in cages. Stop trying to beat them into dank submission. They want to be free - let them be free.

One or more of the people responsible for this particular animal should go to jail for a long time.

Thoughts for family and friends of the injured and killed. Let this be the last time ever that a caged animal is set loose upon unsuspecting humans.

Move the remaining animals to wildlife preserves and sanctuaries. Close down the SF zoo, and then close down the rest of the zoos in the world.

...PeTA:

December 26, 2007

Manuel A. Mollinedo, Executive Director and President
San Francisco Zoo
1 Zoo Rd.
San Francisco, CA 94132-1027

1 page via fax: 415-681-2039

Dear Mr. Mollinedo:

While authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding Tatiana's escape and the tragic mauling of several zoo visitors, PETA is asking that the zoo give serious consideration to phasing out its tiger exhibit. The San Francisco Zoo has already established itself as a facility that takes animal welfare issues seriously, including the zoo's honorable decision in 2004 to close its elephant exhibit and send its elephants to a sanctuary.

There are some species--including tigers--that simply do not belong in captivity because of their extraordinarily complicated physical and psychological needs. Scientists at Oxford University have concluded that big cats and other wide-roaming predators become neurotic when they are confined. No "educational" program is worth sacrificing animals' well-being.

Given that the average tiger enclosure is about 18,000 times smaller than the animals' natural roaming range, it is simply impossible for these animals to express instinctual behaviors, such as staking out territory in dense forests, choosing mates, running, climbing trees, and hunting.

Dangerous incidents with captive big cats are not uncommon. Since 1990, there have been more than 220 such incidents involving big cats in 40 states. Four children and 15 adults have lost their lives, and more than 50 other people have lost limbs or suffered other injuries after being mauled. The animals involved are victims too--75 big cats, including Tatiana, have been killed because of these incidents.

May we please hear from you regarding this matter at your earliest convenience? I can be contacted at 757-622-7382.

Sincerely,
Lisa Wathne
Captive Exotic Animal Specialist


...the worst part about it all, is the dude who got killed by the tiger wasn't even doing anything - it was the other two losers (and maybe a third, who we don't know about yet). and the dude who got killed went back into the jaws of the tiger to protect his buddy - one of the kids doing the taunting. so what did the two taunters do when they saw _their_ buddy start getting attacked? they ran. that's right - they deserted the guy who had just saved their lives. awesome.

Merry Christmas!

Now go find a place to live, losers!

Don't suffer from PTSD, go out and cause it

The first time you read this blog, you might think, "This mf crazy," but then the posts start piling up and you start wondering, "Damn, maybe mf has a point."

Well, mf has a point:

BOISE – Idaho's newest police officers are not being trained to inflict post-traumatic stress, the head of officer training for the state says, despite a slogan to that effect that was featured prominently in the program for the latest police academy graduation.

"Don't suffer from PTSD, go out and cause it," urged the slogan, which was printed above the list of 43 graduates of the Idaho Police Officer Standards and Training Academy's latest basic academy.


On another point, this is an America where if a cop rapes and murders someone, he might get a couple weeks of desk duty, but imagine the situation in Iraq, where U.S. soldiers run around raping and murdering all day with nobody there to watch them - that's the real shit right there. It's the same with every occupation.

Monday, December 24, 2007

The Cops Will Kill Anything

If it moves, the cops are gonna shoot it:

I was depressed to read about a policeman shooting an off-leash dog in a Bedford-Stuyvesant park earlier this month. I heard about it through NYCdog—a New York City off-leash advocacy group. The dog, a three-year-old named Diamond, was running toward the cops “wagging her tail” when one of them shot her in the chest. After two days in critical care, Diamond is on the mend.


This doggie lived, but many don't. Cops are killers, and need to be stopped. They all need to be thrown in jail before they kill again.

Of course, if we actually tracked all the police murders in the U.S., we'd have no room or time for any other type of post. Just pay attention white people - they'll kill you, too.

...the backdrop, here, is that this story of cops killing the tiger only after the tiger approached them is absurd. We're supposed to believe they were sitting around smoking peace pipes as they watch the lion continue to maul the victim on the ground. Shit is stupid.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

I'll shoot you in the face...

...if you come to my house with your crew, and a baseball bat, threating me and/or my family.

Of course, I'm white, so I'm allowed to defend myself in this country.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Italians Block Construction of U.S. Base

Good on them:

The people of the northern Italian city of Vicenza, with help from activists around Italy, the rest of Europe, and even in the United States, are continuing to block the proposed construction of a new U.S. military base on their soil. When a company laid underground fiber-optic cables at the site of the proposed base, activists fill a junction box with cement. When another company tried to begin the work of removing World War II era U.S. bombs from the site, activists camped out in the cold for three days and nights while allies in Florence and a small town near Naples conducted simultaneous protests in front of the company's offices. The company backed off and has suspended the work. And a small town outside Vicenza has now refused to allow the United States to construct a residential village for troops.

Israeli army crimes 'unpunished'

Why every occupation is illegal and immoral:

An Israeli human rights group says the overwhelming majority of Israeli troops suspected of criminal offences against Palestinians are never indicted.

The small number of investigations and even fewer indictments showed Israel's army was ignoring its duty to protect Palestinian civilians, Yesh Din says.

It said soldiers felt they had immunity from investigation and prosecution, which inevitably led to more offences.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Got AVPR1a?

Trump, a Chump

I knew about Trump from growing up in NJ. I knew about him when he was a small-time crook - throwing little old ladies out of their homes so he could build massive shitpiles along the boardwalk in Atlantic City.

That he has a little army of criminals doing his dirty work these days is no surprise to me. That he's so popular, and afforded the privilege to be on tv is not a surprise, either - capitalist criminals look out for their own.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

HumanCalendar.com

From the squidlist, of course - it should show your local day, whenever you view this blog post:

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Bike Fatality in Portland Area

Been following the Portland biking scene since I've been thinking of moving up there.

Today there is a report of another bike fatality.

To me, it seems suspicious - not as in 'murder', but as in the description from police so far doesn't make sense. Do riders really just veer out into high-speed traffic, even when they're all (cars and bikers) going the same way? I doubt it.

Below is a picture of a sewer grate along that road (link). As you can see, the road has bike lanes and they're clearly marked, and there's even room to get around the sewer grates and still stay inside the bike lane. Not much room, but something.



Click the image for a closer look.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

The MXGM Pledge

MXGM is 'the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement'. They have a website. And on that website they list a pledge:

We must build the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement for Self Respect, Self Defense and Self Determination!

The Black Nation Charges Genocide!

We must Free the Land!

Free the Land!

Free the Land - By Any Means Necessary!


In this post, they explain exactly what they'd like to see happen:

Why we say FREE THE LAND

“Free the Land!”

... is the battle cry of the New Afrikan Independence Movement (NAIM).

The NAIM is part of the Black liberation Movement in North Amerikka that wants independent Black Nation on land in north amerikka. The land identified by the New Afrikan Independence Movement is primarily known as South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, as well as other areas of what is now called the Black-Belt South, where Afrikan people are in the majority or have a historical/economical/socio-cultural relationship to. When we say “Free the Land” this is the land we are talking about freeing. Malcolm X once stated:“Revolutions are fought to get control of land, to remove the absentee landlord, and gain control of the land and institutions that flow from the land. The Black [Nation] has been in a very low condition because [it] has no control whatsoever over the land.” He later stated:“A true Negro revolt might entail, for instance, fighting for separate Blacks states within this country…”

New Afrika- South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and other areas of the ‘Black-Belt South”- must be free. Afrika is the homeland of all Afrikan people, but We have no realistic plan to transport 40 million captive New Afikans back to Afrika.

We recognize the claims of Native Americans to this land, and we will struggle side-by-side to help them regain their land. At the same time, since out captivity in the western hemisphere, progressive Native Americans have recognized that We have nothing in common to north amerikkka and the majority of us have no realistic way to get back to Afrika.

We say ‘Free the Land’ because We want independence so that we can ensure our Human Rights are protected and that our land will be a zone and base for all who seek liberation and freedom.

FREE THE LAND!


That I can tell, the MXGM works with a lot of lefty-type groups out here in the Bay Area. I was at a Green Party meeting once where their name was brought up - the Greens and the MXGM were working together on something. I don't recall if I had a chance to speak or not, but I do remember voicing my opinion online somewhere - maybe a local Green Party mailing list. I said I didn't want to be involved with MXGM because of their 'Back-to-Africa' nonsense. Organizations that work together don't have to have similar goals all the way through, but they should share a common vision of what the future should look like, in a generalized way. For me, in any way cooperating with an organization whose ultimate goal is the division of people along race lines is plainly abominable and not something I would ever want to be associated with - officially or otherwise.

I don't approve of separatism, I don't approve of a Back-to-Africa strategy, I don't approve of a Back-to-Atlanta strategy, I don't approve of sexism, racism, or any form of aggression. For these reasons and more, I could not imagine ever supporting a policy of the separation of people based on race.

Maybe I'd feel differently if I was black and I was tired of getting terrorized by the police, but I doubt it.

I don't suspect it would take me too long to realize that black people with money and power are no better than white people with money and power.

And I don't think I'd be proud of myself for helping some old black lady onto a train bound for New Orleans from San Francisco, saying, "OK, ma'am - hop right in. You're gonna be safe down there, for sure." I suspect it'd make me think of myself as a racist. A Nazi. A monster. Or worse - a Republican.

And then I'd think, well what happens then? Do you need a passport to travel from White America to Black America and vice-versa? Does the South try to secede again? Another Civil War - poor whites versus poor blacks?

And what if some people want to stick around? Is the rest of society further polarized? White and black flight?

Do I get to visit South Africa for the next World Cup? Do I have to stay in just the white parts of town?

And if MXGM is really serious about this policy, then let's see it in action. There's no good reason I can think of for an any able-bodied black person who supports this policy to be stuck in the Bay Area for longer than a couple of weeks. Save up a couple hundred bucks, get a Greyhound bus ticket, and ride that mess down to the ATL - start your new racist life.

It's a bad joke. It reminds me of the racist evangelical preachers talking about moving all the god people down to some southeastern state to take it over and make it 'all god' or 'all white' or 'all whatever'. It's empty, hateful rhetoric.

This racist, divisive policy is asinine, and it's a poor service to Malcolm's memory to be promoting it. The MXGM needs to check itself, and any persons and any organization working with MXGM needs to think about their own position on this matter. I do not want to be aligned with the Aryan Brotherhood, and neither should you.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Sunday Parkways

Pretty cool.

Even if the U.S. government manages to stop other countries from progressing democratically, they can't stop progress on every front. Cultural ideas will still spread around the world. With the help of internet video, this exchange of ideas between everyday people is made even easier and more affecting. Witness different U.S. cities now taking up the issue of bicycle rental programs. These are not government-initiated programs - they're popular organizing, with people pressuring their local rulers to implement particular policies.