Anti-imperialist-psychedelic-depressive-black metal project Axaxaxas Mlo now available. A best-of compilation featuring 42 Russian Paul tracks is also available. Both albums limited to 100 copies.Good riddance.
As a musician, I’ve always been sickened by it’s music. It represents all that is wrong with the music industry: simplified, sugary, monopolizing pop crap. The idea of a musician and businessman merging into one. The concept of marketing a song before you even write it. It wasn’t the first, but it certainly perfected such sleazy techniques. It’s career was the beginning of a huge decline in popular music and it’s morally bankrupt personal life was only a reflection of it’s integrity as an artist.
There is no doubt that the people of Iran have genuine grievances and the manner in which the Iranian government has violently cracked down has only inflamed the situation. That said, the idea that Ahmadinejad stole over 11 million votes is absurd. A poll of Iran's electorate taken three weeks before the election showed Ahmadinejad leading with a 2-to-1 advantage, which accurately predicted the results. The poll was conducted by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, of all organizations. Yes, some precincts report more votes then there was possible voters, but not nearly enough to ensure a victory for the opposition candidate. This was not a close election.
The US media acts as if this debate is over when there is no evidence to support that cheating took place on that grand of a scale. What is overlooked in both the corporate media and more "progressive" media outlets (and the fact that the left and the right are so united on this topic should be suspicious unto itself) is that Ahmadinejad is a true populist. The poor and working class overwhelmingly support him and the idea that Mousavi, the "reformer" (whose iron-fisted rule as Prime Minister and his involvment in the Iran-Contra affair makes this claim dubious) represents the majority of Iran is a joke.
Notice the signs being waved by the protesters. They are all in English. None of the infamous "Twitters" are in Farsi either. And who uses Twitter anyway? Certainly not the majority working-class population of Iran.
During a discussion I had with my favorite political cartoonist, Mr. Fish, he conceeded that "...I’m well aware that any movement that appears to be supported by the upper-middle class could be an indication that there is some collaboration going on between the business class and some concentration of power somewhere, domestic or foreign born..."
"OAKLAND, Calif. -- Facing pressure to crack down on crime amid a record budget deficit, Oakland is joining other U.S. cities that are turning over more law-enforcement duties to private armed guards.
The City Council recently voted to hire International Services Inc., a private security agency, to patrol crime-plagued districts. While a few Oakland retail districts previously have pooled cash to pay for unarmed security services, using public funds to pay for private armed guards would mark a first for the city.
Hiring private guards is less expensive than hiring new officers. Oakland -- facing a record $80 million budget shortfall -- spends about 65% of its budget for police and fire services, including about $250,000 annually, including benefits and salary, on each police officer.
In contrast, for about $200,000 a year the city can contract to hire four private guards to patrol the troubled East Oakland district where four on-duty police officers were killed in March. And the company, not the city, is responsible for insurance for the guards."
In Greece, the equivalent of the Oscar Grant shooting (the murder of Alex Grigoropoulos) caused a national uproar that nearly resulted in an overthrown government. In America, a young innocent man is shot dead by a policeman in Oakland and there is almost no reaction. Outside the riots in Oakland, we mostly only hear grumblings from people about those boisterous blacks causing a ruckus again. To control the disillusioned citizens of Oakland, private mercenaries would be ideal, since they may not be subject to all the same rules and regulations that police officers are. Last month's cop killer serves as the perfect catalyst to begin this new program. With the recent augmentation of private police forces and our own military deploying domestically, possibly with other paramilitary groups (Xe, formerly known as Blackwater) we may see our remaining constitutional rights vanish.
