Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Fabucat's LiveJournal:

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Friday, March 23rd, 2012
9:50 pm	Thank Goddess for WGN! My antidote for lack of sleep is Chicago superstation WGN 720 AM.  Unfortunately, Bill Leff, the all night host, has a way of making me laugh in my sleep.  Last night, Bill Leff started discussing what crazy college kids were doing these days.  College kids love to buy cheap beer, same as it ever was.  Apparently, there's some place in Wisconsin, the Generic Store, where you buy, you guessed it Generic Beer.  Leff speculated that the beer was made by aging pickle brine.  Then someone else on the overnight crew mentioned that WALGREEN'S have an in-house beer brand, known as Big Flats.  This all made me laugh insanely at 5 AM.  I'm very happy never to have consumed a beer with the word "Flat" in the brand name.  Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
12:45 am	They are selling carrying bales of potatoes to sell to market and the police stop them because of their suspected capitalist activity.  The cops give them a warning and tell them it's OK this time but not to do it again.  What the hell is this TV show?  A conservative network's expose on the abuses of the Obama Administration?  A negative utopia flick produced by Ron Paul fans?  No it's my favorite TV show these days: "Bi thu tihn uy" on Vietnamese television!  Translated it's called "Provincial Party Committee Secretary" or as its many rabid fans in Vietnam call it "Secretary."  Secretary is set in North Vietnam in 1964 and it's the true story of Kim Hoang Ngoc who was a, surprise, Provincial Party Committee Secretary.  First, the credits run about three minutes into the show and it has a cast of dozens, characters whom I've surprisingly started to care about.  It's obvious that the people who work at Vietnamese state-run television have worked very hard to put together a quality, if propaganda-laden, product.  "Secretary" has an opening and closing theme song.  The main character is Secretary Kim, who is probably the most responsible, caring, conscientious government bureaucrat on TV since the President in the West Wing.  I remember seeing footage from Vietnam on TV when I was a kid and it looked like total hell.  In fact, everything on film dealing with Vietnam and the US looks like shit.  The province on this show, located an hour outside of Hanoi, is in 1964 relatively peaceful and the scenery is beautiful.  The Secretary and his family live in a lovely but modest stone house surrounded by a lush garden.  It's probably the North Vietnamese equivalent of Chevy Chase.  The Secretary's office is literally at his home and everyone drops by without appointment on business.  It's obvious that Secretary Kim has no life outside of his work.  Here's where things get interesting.  It's obvious that the province has many poor and even starving farmers.  People pretty much discuss eating their entire waking hours, when they aren't discussing Communist doctrine.  There's no portrayal of bloated bellies, but when people have a three minute dialogue about the ways to prepare potatoes, you figure that hunger is a constant companion.  Moreover, the war and the threat of war also are in the air, although, so far,  the show is pretty non-violent.  The province is far from the front, but is a major food producer for the military. You might recall that prior experiments in Communist agricultural collectivisation were terrible failures.  Not far from the minds of these bureaucrats are the terrible famines in China pursuant to Mao's dictates.  Idealogues, knew all about Marx, but were lousy at telling farmers how to farm.  Millions starved and cannibalism was common.  Secretary Kim, the son of poor farmers, wants to avoid this trap, but also does not want to run afoul of his superiors.  How did Secretary Kim, according to the TV show, avoid the pitfalls of collectivization?  One word: Capitalism.    This is where my head starts to explode. Kim knows how to smooth wrinkles with his superiors and heretofore, has escaped trouble.  Instead of having cooperative farms own tools in common, for example, he sells them directly to farm families.  Tools last longer when they are owned by individuals rather than by co-ops.  Kim allows farmers to sell excess crops at markets, which is another Communist no-no.  Another fascinating thing about "Secretary" is nearly everyone secretly or not so secretly indulges in capitalism.  One woman runs a still and sells whiskey.  Even Kim's wife raises pigs.  "One pig equals three months of your salary," she scolds.  The tension in this TV show is not between North Vietnamese and Americans, or Vietnamese and the ravages of war.  The tension is how long can Kim introduce capitalist innovations to make Communism work better before he is denounced and imprisoned as a traitor.  As his second in command Mrs. Thuong says, "I accept that the Americans are my enemy, what I can't take is that I have enemies in my own government."  The dialogue can be clumsy and filled with Communist bureaucratese like "How can we increase the mechanisms of production?"  Yet Secretary is good viewing for anyone who cares about government, economics, and running things well.  You get the idea that the same leadership skills that Kim has are equally applicable in a business or in a Western democracy.  Another fine quality of Secretary is that there are strong female characters.  My favorite is Bich, head of the women's militia and co-chair of her co-op.  I've rarely seen a young female character on TV evoke simultaneously strength, competence and femininity.  And it's not forced, the way one might think it is in Communist propaganda fables.  As all the young men are fighting at the front, the militias and anti-aircraft are run by brigades of girls in their teens and early 20s.  It's extremely difficult to reconcile this when you think that John McCain was probably shot down by such a brigade.  Nonetheless, there are few things meaner than a bunch of teenaged girls, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.  Apparently, this is historically accurate.  A lot of the fierciest VietCong were women.  Finally, I've got to wonder what message the Vietnamese government is sending with the program.  Many of the government officials are not portrayed in the best light.  Some of them are drunks, lazy, or are drunk with Communist dogma.  Perhaps the Vietnamese government is saying to its people: "A little bit of capitalism can be good for Communist gover (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, February 27th, 2009
11:31 pm	Writer's Block: AKA What's the story behind your username? View 527 Answers I've a universal username: Fabucat.  I picked it out for my hotmail account 15 years ago!  It was going to be 'fabcat' but that was taken.  It's short for "fabulous cat', which is my cat Vicki's nickname! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
11:02 pm	Writer's Block: AKA What's the story behind your username? <input ... > View other answers (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
10:53 pm	Chavez Cancels Concert of Popular Singer Oh, I KNOW that some of you think that I'm some kneejerk lefty, who loves commies, etc., just because I'm not a Republican.  WRONG.  I hate tyrants whether they are named Fidel or Pervez.  Or even wannabe tyrants like Mr. Bush.  In addition, I haven't liked a lot of what I've heard about Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.  The last straw came for me today, when I found out that Chavez canceled Alexander Sanz's Caracas show, after Sanz  had sharply criticized him.  By the way, Chavez allegedly has released a folk-rock CD of his own.  Now that's something that other tyrants haven't aspired to--pop star.  I thank the Lord above that Castro, Saddam, Musharraf, or VLADIMIR PUTIN haven't released  CDs of their singing.  YIKES!  I can only imagine that the Chavez CD is like a Bill Shatner LP of the 1970s, so bad that it provokes gales of laughter! Venezuelan government (A.K.A. Hugo Chávez) has suspended Alejandro Sanz's concert in Caracas, scheduled to November 1st, arguing structural problems of the "Poliedro de Caracas", where the show would supposedly take place. The Poliedro is under governmental management since September 4, by Presidential decree. The minister of Education, Luis Acuña, explained in an official notice that the decisions made about the "dome's schedule respond to the need of security for the public, and to the required pause to form and activate the new organization which will govern the Poliedro's destiny". Of course. The press has said that while Sanz's show wasn't authorized, other concerts scheduled between October and December received green light. It's been also said that the Venezuelan government (yes, A.K.A. Hugo Chávez) suspended Sanz's concert in retaliation to Alejandro's declarations in February 2004, during his previous visit to Venezuela. Alejandro said: "I don't like President Chávez, I don't like presidents of other countries either, and I don't think my president has done a good job either." "I don't come here to make a revolution, I came to sing. But if I could write a song to the country, it would be named 'three million signatures'. If they gather that much in order to make me stop singing, I would stop" he said, ironically referring to a petition that was being promoted by the government's opposition at the time, calling for a referendum against Chávez. Sanz's declarations were taken as a challenge by Chávez's followers, who initiated a "virtual collection" of signatures in a Website, which only obtained 230,000 signatures. But Evenpro, the company that is organizing Alejandro Sanz's concert in Caracas, said today to the newspaper El Universal they are confident this "impasse" with the Venezuelan government will be surpassed. A declaration given by the company says the show "has not been suspended" and they are talking with the Ministry of Education to maintain the Poliedro as the place of the event. "The company certifies that all the necessary procedures have been made, in order to the presentation of Alejandro Sanz to take place at the Polyhedron of Caracas. In case the Poliedro is definitively not available at the scheduled date, Evenpro will consider another space which assures appropriated conditions for the public and the spectacle", indicated the official notice. Evenpro's vice president, Julio Tricio declared: "I see authorizations have been given for a few days after this event. So I don't know the reasons why they are specifically canceling only Sanz's concert". Take a guess, Julio! Or, even better: ask Hugo Chávez if he knows anything about this! According to Venezuelan news media, tickets for Alejandro Sanz's concert in Caracas, with "El Tren de los Momentos" tour, went on sell on August 15, and the show is already sold out. But it's possible that nobody will see the show in Caracas, just because Sanz's said he doesn't like Chávez. After all, who cares about the people, or about what the people want? Chávez certainly doesn't. Permalink: Hugo Chávez Suspended Alejandro Sanz's Concert in Caracas - But There's Hope, Apparently Tags: Alejandro  Sanz  concert  Caracas  Venezuela  suspended  Hugo  Chávez  decree  censorship    latin  alejandro+s  Trackback: http://www.creative-weblogging.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.pl/95999 P.S. It's TRUE.  Chavez really DID release a CD.  And another thought occurs to me: WHAT IF IT ACTUALLY SOUNDS GOOD? Chavez releases CD of traditional Venezuelan music Oct 1, 2007 CARACAS (AFP) — President Hugo Chavez has released a CD of traditional Venezuelan folk music that features him singing, and which will be distributed free inside the country, presidential sources said. The CD, titled "Canciones de Siempre" which roughly translates to "Songs For All Time," includes tunes that Chavez has sung during his regular Sunday "Hello, President" television and radio program. At the close of each broadcast, Chavez regularly sings folk songs along with guest musicians and dancers. Sources close to Chavez said the CD will be available free in Venezuela.     Current Mood: indescribable (2 Comments |Comment on this)
4:45 pm	Another Reason for Living...Some Latin Rock I'll tell you my immigration reform policy...if people play music that can save rock 'n roll, I propose that they be allowed on the path to US citizenship!  My views on immigration are, er, complex, but now's not the time to discuss it.  For the past 10-15 years, I've found most rock music to really suck, especially punk pop and emo, which should really die, because these people are making a mockery of my heroes and heroines the Ramones, Sex Pistols and Patti Smith.  Now I've heard snippets of KILLER Latino pop/rock/disco that drive me out of my mind, the past few years.  I hear stuff on the Spanish language stations which knocks me out, but I can't determine the names of the artists, since my Spanish is non-existent.  I've discovered LinkTV, Channel 375 on DirectTV, which is wonderful in about 1,000 ways.  One great thing is that LinkTV airs music videos from all over the world.  Thanks to them, I've discovered Amadou and Mariam from Mali, who I'm sure will be saving R&B once everyone else gets hip to 'em.  This morning LinkTV aired a video of El Cuarteto de Nos from Uruguay.  Imagine a mod/punkish Spanish-singing Beatles.  These guys wear suits, but rock very hard (This week we've seen men in suits demonstrating in Pakistani streets so why not?).  Turns out that these men have been around for 27 years.  The youtube video is a bit fuzzy, but you can get a taste of the creativity which went into it.  I URGE you to watch and listen to it, if you care about rocking out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBFlODC3ef4 In the interests of rock 'n rolling your very soul, I also strongly urge you to check out the blog La Onda Tropical on blogspot.  It was here that I discovered Cafe Tacuba from Mexico.  These people are so unbelievable and incredible that if even Lou Dobbs listened to 'em, he'd BEG for them to become US citizens.  I've only heard a few songs, but imagine a combination of Sergeant Pepper era Beatles, Aerosmith, Radiohead and New Order, and that MIGHT describe what Cafe Tacuba does.  These men rightfully are Gods of Gods in Mexico and all over Spanish speaking America, so they're doing quite well without US help, thank you. Now I've always steered away from Latin music when I was a rocker because the lyrics were sooo important to me, because when I was in grade school the Beatles and Bobby Dylan were writing some good ones.  Electronica seduced me 15 years ago, and for the 1st time, I got used to listening to music without lyrics.  ('Music without lyrics gives you more room to think' one rave flier said).  Now it doesn't kill me that I don't comprehend the lyrics of these Spanish language songs, although I'm quite curious as to content, because El Cuarteto de Nos and Cafe Tacuba sound as if they're tackling significant issues.  Still, the excellence of the music and production make up for my lack of lyrical comprehension.  In fact, I can appreciate the music and production better because I am not straining to analyze the lyrics. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
9:21 pm	The Real Story In Pakistan..... ....is more complex than you might have imagined... ( Read more... ) Most of you are aware that there’s been a State of Emergency in Pakistan since November 5th, 2007.  Pres. Musharraf would have us believe that he has imposed martial law to keep his country from going Islamist, from going the way of Somalia, which is a failed state.  Further complicating things is that Pakistan has nuclear weapons and the Western world is terribly frightened that these weapons will fall into the hands of Islamist maniacs, friends of Al Quaeda and the Taliban.  Interestingly, this State of Emergency arose soon after the return of former Prime Minister Bhutto to Pakistan last month.  As you may recall, there was an attempt upon Ms. Bhutto’s life within 24 hours of her return, a suicide bombing which resulted in the deaths of more than 120 people.  It is questionable as to who was responsible for this terrorist attack—the Islamists or people within the Pakistani government who do not want Ms. Bhutto in the government or even in Pakistan.  (To be fair, Ms. Bhutto herself doesn’t have an unblemished record—her government reportedly was rife with corruption when she was in power).    Interestingly, shortly after Musharraf imposed martial law, he released a prominent man in the Taliban leadership from prison, as reported in The Long War Journal:   Pakistan frees Mullah Obaidullah, other senior Taliban leaders By Bill RoggioNovember 11, 2007 2:03 PM Mullah Obaidullah Akhund. President Pervez Musharraf's promise to hunt the Taliban as part of its suspension of the constitution and a virtual state of emergency rings hollow as the Taliban's grip on the northwest Frontier Province tightens. Newsweek reported the Pakistani government has released several senior Taliban commanders captured inside Pakistani territory over the past year. The leaders were among 25 Taliban exchanged for over 200 Pakistani soldiers captured by South Waziristan commander Baitullah Mehsud in late August. Among those freed from Pakistani jails are Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, Amir Khan Haqqani, two brothers of slain Taliban commander Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Usmani, and Baitullah Mehsud's cousin. Mullah Obaidullah was the Taliban Defense Minister under during the reign of the Taliban from 1996 until the US toppled the government in the fall of 2001. He was the most senior Taliban figure captured to date and "is considered by American intelligence officials to have been one of the Taliban leaders closest to Osama bin Laden," as well as part of the "inner core of the Taliban leadership around the Mullah Muhammad Omar who are believed to operate from the relative safety of Quetta." Obaidullah was a member of the Taliban's Shura Majlis, or executive council, and was thought to be third in command. Obaidullah was arrested in Quetta in Pakistan's Baluchistan province, which borders Kandahar and Helmand provinces in Afghanistan. The Taliban have established a command and control network for senior leadership to direct operating in Afghanistan in and around the city of Quetta. Amir Khan Haqqani, the former Taliban military commander of Afghanistan's southeastern province of Zabul, and Abdul Bari, the former governor of Helmand province, were both captured along with Obaidullah in February 2006. Haqqani was released, but it is unclear if Bari is still in custody. Baitlullah Mehsud, the powerful Taliban commander of South Waziristan who recently fought the Pakistani military to a standstill, demanded an end to military operations as well as the release of the 25 senior Taliban commanders as condition to the ceasefire. The Pakistani government has caved to the demands of Baitullah. The Taliban leaders have been released, while the government reinstated the 2005 Sara Rogha accord, which prevents the government from operating with no restrictions on Taliban activities inside or outside of Pakistan. In August, Mehsud captured almost 300 Pakistani troops -- an entire company -- as it conducted a resupply mission in South Waziristan. The company surrendered without firing a shot after the Taliban surrounded the convoy. The government freed over 100 of Mehsud's "tribesmen" immediately after the troops were captured in an attempt to secure their release. All of the troops have since been released. Several of the troops were beheaded. The morale of the Pakistani military has plummeted after suffering defeat after defeat at the hands of the Taliban in the Northwest Frontier Province. Troops are surrendering or deserting to Taliban fighters in Swat at an alarming rate. Over 29 Taliban and al Qaeda camps are known to be in operation in both North and South Waziristan alone.   Demonstrations broke out in Pakistan shortly after martial law was imposed.  Musharraf had removed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who is popular with advocates of democracy.  During the first few days, ATTORNEYS AND BUSINESSPEOPLE marched in the streets, and many were loaded into paddy wagons as if they had been common vermin.  There is nothing like watching a group of men in suits being beaten up by cops.  To say that this sight was bizarre is an understatement.  Subsequently, I have read that a group of ACCOUNTING MAJORS at university started a demonstration, which police dispersed with billy clubs and tear gas.  If you don’t live in the US, perhaps you don’t understand my incredulity.  I’m used to watching hippies and ethnic minorities demonstrating and getting hassled by the police, not upstanding pillars of the community.    This is where I have got to comment—Does anyone see an incongruity in Musharraf releasing a major Taliban figure from prison, around the same time as upstanding citizens are being hauled off to jail? Something does not smell right here.  I’m no expert in Pakistani affairs, but Musharraf’s actions appear to be nothing more than a power grab, an allergic reaction against democracy.  To me, this is government by ego, government by a man, not by laws.  I understand that Islamists have threatened the General’s life hundreds of times, but if he’s tired of living on the edge, perhaps that is what term limits are for.    According to the US neo-conservatives, you would think that Pakistan is filled with frothing Islamists, who have been schooled at fundamentalist madrassahs.  The Bush Administration would have us believe that Musharraf serves as a thin khaki line between US-friendly order and Islamist chaos.  No doubt, there are many poor people in Pakistan, many of whom are vulnerable to Islamist dogma.  What many Americans may not know  is that Pakistan, like India, has a burgeoning middle class, a group that, ironically, Musharraf has cultivated during his 9 year reign.  This group mostly is young to 30-something, well-educated, and technically savvy.  The Pakistani middle class is patriotic, sensible regarding their religion, and yearning for democracy.   Just out of curiousity, I did a member search on Yahoo of Pakistanis.  There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of Pakistanis on-line.  I spoke to a Pakistani attorney online, who was a bit cautious about revealing what was going on.  The man, however, admitted that he had access to the New York Times, the Guardian, and the New York State Bar Association website online.  A Livejournal search of Pakistanis revealed a character known as Punkistani, AKA Basim Usmani who provided a link for a report that he had written for the Guardian, which reads as follows:   “The house arrest order for Asma Jehangir reads thus: "Whereas, the Government of the Punjab is satisfied that the activities of Asma Jehangir Advocate are prejudicial to public safety and maintenance of public order, therefore it is necessary to prevent him [sic] from acting in such a manner." Her arrest was a Joseph Heller moment for our government; what does it hope to accomplish by jailing a human rights advocate with no political affiliation? First her home was declared as a sub-jail where she would be put under house arrest. Then, some 55 activists were jailed during a raid of the Human Rights Commission offices. For some reason or the other, these activists were detained until today. Meanwhile, many protesting lawyers and journalists were beaten with batons during demonstrations across the country, where the standard seems to be to punish rather than detain. It's as if the jails cannot contain the flow of protesters, so I spoke with the Superintendant of Jails, Javed Latif, about the preparations taken to cope with the State of Emergency. "We had no idea about the State of Emergency before it was declared," he told me. "And we were unprepared to cope with the flow of detainees." At least 2,000 Pakistanis have been arrested since the declaration, many of whom the country's prisons can't contain. Communication must be hard when official orders are written in broken English with gender confusion. I called the Capital City Police Officer of Lahore to ask him why his men are arresting so many without checking with Javed Latif to coordinate. Our conversation went like this: "Hello, is this Maliq Iqbal saab?" "Jee, speaking" "I'm a journalist and I wanted to know ..." "Sorry wrong number." Click. I was given the run-around with the rest of the people who had been CC'ed on the arrest order, but I got to talk with Tariq Azim, the information minister for the ruling party, PML-Q. "Those who make arrests do so on the spot," he confirmed for me. We are living under a dictatorship that flies by the seat of its pants. On November 2, I got together with a group of journalists from separate newspapers to discuss the possibility of Musharraf declaring a State of Emergency. Driving down Zahoor Elahi Road, the road where the Chief Minister of Punjab's mansion sits, we noticed an abject lack of police, white checkpoints, and armoured cars. We were intrigued. We asked a policeman deputed near a corner of the minister's house why there were only four police on the entire strip when usually there were upwards of 20. "They are all on holiday," he lied to us. So we drove down main boulevard, en route to Defence, the borough of Lahore owned by the military, where police are usually stationed at every traffic light. On the way there, we found no white barriers or police. "It's like it's 1947 again and Pakistan has just been freed," one of my associates joked. In Defence, it was the same scene. We spotted slouching guards outside of the closed shops, asleep at their posts, but no government police. We decided to park our car in the centre of a major intersection, right by Mc Donalds, and wait. No one came. The next day, the government declared a state of emergency. I spoke with Asma Jehangir to make sense of everything. We talked over a bugged phone line running between her home and the office of Child Rights advocate Uzair Sultan. "This is an old story," she began, describing how the charges levelled against her were drawn according to Ayub Khan's Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, which was drafted in 1960. Public detention back then would last 15 days, at which point the charges would be tested in a tribunal. "Now, under the State of Emergency, I could be detained anywhere from 90 days to 90 years," she said. All the court justices have been placed under house arrest. Well, all besides those brigadier and general court justices already affiliated with the army. "We are boycotting the courts as they operate presently. The only circumstances in which I'd go to court is to expose them as co-opted by the current dictatorship," she continued. It was all too heavy to sink in, so I asked her what advice she has for the student protesters, the young journalists, the activists that are just finding our footing. The line went dead. Uzair Sultan exhaled a puff of smoke with a sigh, and put his cigarette out. "The agencies that have bugged her phone have been cutting it at whim all day", he explained. I set down the receiver. My partner shot me a look, and I began reading through my notes with him. The phone began ringing again, and it was Asma on the line. "Basim, as a young activist you have to take to the streets. Those who can't have to write for the press. Those who can't do that need to express solidarity. Wear a black armband," she suggested before I could ask the question again. I asked her if she wanted to say anything to the people bugging her phone. She laughed: "Nothing I haven't been hammering in all day." And so concluded our conversation. I spoke with Hina Jilani in the UK next. "The response from western media has been good. There's worldwide concern for the military crackdown on the judiciary and civil liberties." She had just got off the phone with a PML - Nawaz worker, so I asked her about the support of existing political parties. "Their press statements are inadequate, and they need to play a larger role. They cannot let the Pakistani public shift back into cynicism, parties should be a source of confidence." I spoke with her about the pictures being circulated of lawyers and journalists getting beaten by riot police and plain clothes cops at protests with sticks. "I understand the apprehensions to protesting, and extend salutations to journalists and lawyers in Pakistan. But Musharraf has left no option [but] to come out on to the streets." We were getting ready to pack up when Uzair piped in, "You know, throughout the 70s students played a key role in bussing out to protests and actually instigating change in the political sphere. In 71, they played a big part in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto getting elected, and in 77 when he was effectively captured by Zia, they managed to bring cities to a standstill, clogging up roads protesting." He said that in the coming years, when Zia was overseeing the war in Afghanistan, an influx of heroine and hash subdued the youth. Now all local news channels have been blocked out, and all we have access to are PTV dramas, and Indian films. "The culture of activism has taken a hit in the years since Zia," he told me. Culture of activism? For a few moments, I was reminded of a Mother's Day in Boston, 2005. That day, American white power groups were holding a demonstration outside a Holocaust memorial service in Faneiul Hall, and many of the city's student population, which I was a part of, had come out to hold a counter-protest. We got too rowdy for the riot police, and state police on horseback were called in to beat us back. I got a good club in the head, a wallop that knocked me back a few steps but some kids caught me and youths in studded leather jackets formed a circle around me for protection. I don't know what came over me, but I broke into song. We all woefully sang Cock Sparrer's Riot Squad together, charging the barricades. An anarchist from the crowd yelled "A las barricadas!" through the black scarf covering her face, and our morale shot through the roof. We were punks. And it was that culture, those songs that got me contemplating workers' rights, unions, and eventually moving back to Pakistan in the first place.”     When I regained awareness of where I was, Uzair was shuffling through his drawers to retrieve a CD. "These are the protest songs we used to listen to in the 70s. You're a musician, do something with it."   God (or Allah) bless you and your friends, Punkistani.  Because of you, I know what REALLY is going on.  You are more courageous than words.         (Comment on this)
8:33 am	The listener and the watcher I can't give up on radio and TV, it seems.  If you're a political junkie, like myself, then you seek it out.  Here's my schedule - Mornings it's CSPAN's Washington Journal, until I can't stand it.  Because although Washington Journal has GREAT GUESTS of all political stripes, it has the STUPIDEST callers in America.  I'm not being biased here, because if you want to hear stupid liberals go on and on, Washington Journal's your place.  As for dumb righties, well, of course they are here.  Plus, unlike experienced talk show hosts from Limbaugh to Rhodes, CSPAN hosts allow callers to go on and on and on and on and on.  CSPAN hosts also permit callers to spread lies wthout challenging them.  So someone can insert the meme that Hillary tortures puppies as a hobby, for example, on national TV.  To be fair, a liberal told a whopper about Bush the other day.  The moron said that Bush, who was governor of TEXAS hadn't ever been to a foreign country before he was President.  The host should've said: "Well, isn't neighboring MEXICO a foreign country?"  Because I guarantee that Bush had at least crossed the border as TX governor. When Washington Journal gets craptacular, I turn to Bill Press on WWRC 1260 AM.  Bill's a gentle soul, but he's a little TOO tuned into the DC establishment.  Howard Kurtz, who appears on there regularly, needs to be neutered.  Either that or outed as Rove's boyfriend.  The general manager of WWRC loves Lionel, who comes on from 9 am to noon.  That's because he repeats Lionel from 7 pm to 10 pm.  Lionel can be fun, but he treats his callers with utter disdain.  He appears to believe that simply because he is an attorney, he's smarter than everyone else.  Next comes Ed Schultz from noon- 3pm.  A lot of the far, far left think that Ed's a faker, but I love him.  He makes me feel normal.  Yes, I know that he's an egotistical dickhead, but I only listen to him, I don't live with him!  Thom Hartmann comes on WWRC from 3-6pm, unless management decides to schedule paid advertisements which cut into his show.  Let me trash WWRC for a bit.  They are a hideously run station, and often run commercials over the regular programming.  Either they have drug addicts at the helm or these Clear Channel pigs are running the station on auto-pilot.  Did I mention the excessive dead air on this station as well? Which leads to discuss another station WWWT 1500 AM, which broadcasts talks shows left and right.  The righties are on in the morning, Randi Rhodes is on from 4-7 pm and Stephanie Miller is on from 7-9 PM.  This is a far better run station...no dead air, etc.  Night time it is back to WWRC from 10 pm-1 am with Jon Elliott, who started out wimpy, then got so subversive that he was deliciously scary, but now he's ranting a little bit too much...Getting so over the top that it is camp.  (Comment on this)
7:52 am	San Francisco Oil Spill I'm utterly furious regarding this: SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Dozens of dead and injured seabirds found coated in black goo are the most visible victims of a 58,000-gallon oil spill in the San Francisco Bay, an incident that scientists say could threaten wildlife for years. Crews work Thursday to remove oil from a beach on the San Francisco Bay. 1 of 2 more photos » The spill has fouled miles of coastline and had environmentalists scrambling Friday to save the bay's birds, fish, invertebrates and marine mammals. AND THIS! "The effects of the oil spill could persist for months and possibly years," said Tina Swanson, a fish biologist with the Bay Institute. Questions persisted about why the Coast Guard took so long to report the scope of the spill. As scientists worried about the future of the region's wildlife, authorities questioned the Coast Guard's response in the hours after the spill. More than 12 hours after the incident, Coast Guard officials were still saying just 140 gallons had leaked, according to Mayor Gavin Newsom, who said the city would consider legal action against anyone found liable. "We would have responded differently if we had accurate information from the get-go," Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard said. City workers, for instance, would have initially laid more boom lines to contain the oil, he said. Sen. Barbara Boxer also criticized the Coast Guard's response. In a letter sent Thursday to Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen, the California Democrat said she was "very troubled by the Coast Guard's delay in delivering accurate information to the public and the city of San Francisco. Many questions remain as to why it took an entire day to determine the gravity of this spill." Now I get it, if you live in an area that's predominantly Republican, like Mississippi and Southern California, you get help from Homeland Security during and after a crisis.  But if you live in an area filled with liberals and/or Democrats, like San Francisco and New Orleans, you can go Chaney yourself!!!! Arguably, some say good riddance to New Orleans (I wouldn't say that, since I've never been there).  But who wants to see beautiful San Francisco trashed except some rabid, extreme right-wingers?! Hannity cannot blame local government for this, since they weren't notified in time, although I'm sure that the noise machine will spin it that way.  What got me were descriptions I heard from the head of the San Fran. Sierra Club of the oil-soaked birds that struggled to come onto the beach and people who rushed forward to help them.  January 2009 can't come soon enough.  Even a President Hillary has GOT to be better than this!     . (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, November 12th, 2007
10:47 am	Reason for living pt, 69 Russian Dub Rap Moscow Liberation Orchestra - rap, funk, ambient, dub, psychedelia.  Because those who play Afro-influenced music in Russia are scarce and they all hang out together. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=120987815&MyToken=f2dd7999-4662-4f04-9b30-f84727c6a3cc Check it out! (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 11th, 2007
9:48 pm	For Our Veterans This is from A.E. Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad': XXII The street sounds to the soldiers' tread, And out we troop to see: A single redcoat turns his head, He turns and looks at me. My man, from sky to sky's so far, We never crossed before; Such leagues apart the world's ends are, We're like to meet no more; What thoughts at heart have you and I We cannot stop to tell; But dead or living, drunk or dry, Soldier, I wish you well. Current Mood: contemplative (1 Comment |Comment on this)
9:17 pm	Lonely I'm lonely but it's my own fault.  I'm afraid to post here because the Secret Service had been watching this space since the 2004 election, due to some less than flattering, but non-violent, things I said about our President.  Depression's my best friend.  My cat got sick, but then got better, which is good, since he is basically my life.  I'm also terrified to write because some people wrote some horrible stuff about my writing...that I was self-absorbed and boring.  Well, if you can't be self-absorbed and boring in a journal, where the fuck can you be self-absorbed and boring? The good news is that just for 'shits and giggles', I looked on Yahoo and found a person from Pakistan who also was an attorney.  We both were rather discreet regarding politics, but still, I found it rather amazing that we could converse.  The Secret Service may still be monitoring my internet journeys, and the Pakistani's country is in a 'state of emergency', but the internet is going STRONG.  It was difficult for me to find music to connect to.  I finally encountered something that I could get into: A blind married couple from Mali - Amadou and Mariam.  Here's there website: http://www.amadou-mariam.com/  If you love Afro-pop, with lots of reggae and 1960s soul influence, check it out.  They are showing live concert footage on linktv of Amadou and Mariam, and they are going into a nice, psychedelic ravey jam.  It's almost like Sister Ray with good vibes! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 19th, 2006
5:08 pm	I've been getting into music again lately................. I bought Sasha and John Digweed's "Communication" which was released in 2000.  I also listened to a mix by DJ Touche, which came with a recent  Mix-Mag.  The mix had a lot of punk rock-influenced electronics, the type of stuff which has been coming out since 2002 (under the electroclash genre).  However, since "electroclash" allegedly is dead, the genre name "new rave" has been affixed to such tracks.  Today, upon recommendation from a friend, I found http://solipsisticnation.com   Omigawd, what a luscious treasure trove of delicious, new, mouthwatering, adventurous new electronic-based music!  What I really enjoy about the dj who compiles tracks on this site, is that he isn't hindered by genre.  The "genre-fication" of electronic music has created dozens of sterile, hermetic ghettos of music, which really deters experimentation by DJs.  Anyone who knows me knows that I've got ADHD, and I get incredibly bored when any type of music gets stale.  I also can't listen to any one type of music for very long.  As a fan of the type of music that is called unsatisfactorily "electronic dance music," I've always loved the best of all genres, except the old big beat genre, which I only "liked."  I never have understood why certain people are vigorous partisans for only one genre and that's it.  I fell in love with this cycle of electronic music in 1993, shortly after Clinton's election.  I always looked at the decline of the rave scene starting with 9/11/2001.  Now I personally believe that there's some indication of light after six years of darkness, fear and danger, and I feel as if there's a reason for happy, beautiful music once again.  (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, November 17th, 2006
9:47 pm	And now we thank thee for thy Daily Snark! The origins of my daily merriment are multiple....First, thanks to Daily Kos, Andrew Sullivan, and John Podhoretz for making fun of this theo-con known as Kathryn Lopez.  Please note that Ms. Lopez and Mr. Podhoretz are exchanging on-linw remarks in a venue on the National Review website known as "The Corner."  Mr. Podhoretz is said to have coined the term 'Sen. Macacawitz,' with regard to lameduck Virginia Senator George Allen.  This coinage makes me forgive Podhoretz for all of the millions of words he has written in formulation of and in defense of neo-conservatism.  I'm glad righties like Sullivan and Podhoretz correctly view such theo-cons as the charlatans that they most certainly are. ( All about Santorum and contraception... ) (Comment on this)
9:11 am	Great Stuff! I'm not hiding this under an LJ cut, because this almost is too good to be true!  My brother and I used to stay up late to watch Playboy After Dark, in the hopes that we'd see people having sex on TV or at least the stray naked lady.  That didn't happen, but Hef was so cool, and he had on such great guests.  I remember watching Iron Butterfly live on the show, complete with mind-bending light effects!  This is a must for every hipster on your list:) by Billy Ingram "I distinctly remember seeing Hugh Hefner starring in his own suave talk show in the late sixties called 'Playboy After Dark'. Any chance you've heard of it?" - Jackson Arnold Playboy magazine, which began publishing in 1953, was enjoying robust sales in the ‘80s. To expand the empire, founder Hugh Hefner launched a subscription-based cable component, The Playboy Channel. It quickly became one of the first subscription cable TV success stories. Not as well-known is the fact that there were two earlier attempts by Hefner to create a television spin-off of his famous magazine. While neither caught on in a big way, both were critical and audience hits with unique formats that presented timeless performances by some of the greatest comedians, jazz, soul, folk and be-bop artists of all time. Hefner's first nationally televised series, Playboy's Penthouse, premiered on October 24, 1959. Produced in the studios of WBKB-TV in Chicago, the program was syndicated to a loose network of stations across the country that specifically signed up for the show. The format was modelled on a hip, swinging bachelor party, the kind of bash where cool people lounged in their cocktail clothes exchanging bright ideas. Beat poets, writers, comics, and musical immortals like Ella Fitzgerald, Cy Coleman (composer of the Playboy theme song), Nat "King" Cole, Sarah Vaughn, The Limelighters, and Harry Belafonte mingled in an impromptu fashion with Hef and his assembled party-goers. There had never been anything like Playboy's Penthouse on television. From a historical perspective, this was the first national program where whites and blacks sat down together and partied as equals. Hef's first "Penthouse Party" (as the show was also known early on) featured raucous comedian Lenny Bruce, a controversial choice. It was rare for any TV production to book the up and coming nightclub comic because of his rambling delivery and outspoken views on race, religion and politics. Hugh Hefner was making a point on his very first outing, tackling subjects never touched upon in 1950s television culture. Playboy helped bring Lenny Bruce from the small clubs to the mass marketplace with this TV segment and through publishing Bruce's autobiography How To Talk Dirty and Influence People after serializing it in the magazine beginning in 1964. Hefner and Lenny Bruce discussed the format of Playboy's Penthouse on that first program: BRUCE: "This is a kind of a... an interesting party. You know, I first figured it would be like, sort of a TV, you know, a typical fake party. But it's got a good party feeling to it, with some pretty chicks, which is a good composite. HEFNER: "Well, (we have) the girls and we serve real liquor... it does the trick." BRUCE: "You think you'll get any objection to drinking on the show? I don't think I've ever seen that on a show." HEFNER: "Well, we'll find out. We hope not." BRUCE: "That's what grooved me about the show. That it's an honest... it's actually a party. So whatever happens at a party, within, you know, limitations..." HEFNER: "Well, (laughs) we're trying to build the personality of the show out of the magazine itself and make the thing a sort of a sophisticated weekly get together of the people that we dig and the people who dig us." This show provided an opportunity for a larger audience to see and hear what Lenny Bruce had to say for himself, rather than read what other people were saying about him in the newspapers (especially after a series of obscenity and drug busts that began in 1961). On August 3, 1966, Lenny Bruce was found dead on the floor of his Hollywood Hills home. The LAPD announced he had died of an overdose. Music producer Phil Spector called it "an overdose of police" - a strategy he may want to use for his upcoming murder trial. The musicians that dropped by usually engaged in conversation with Hef to start out, peppering their talk with musical asides; then an intimate and lengthy concert segment would follow. For instance, folk singer Pete Seeger talked extensively about the roots of popular music in the United States, singing some early and quaint examples of the art. Throughout his expansive musical discourse, Seeger took potshots at corruption in society, the quiz show scandals and the ubiquity of brand names. Hefner was not your typical slick TV host, he had a nervous, disarming quality that worked to the benefit of the proceedings. He was smart enough not to hire a professional to headline, revealing in a 1959 interview, "If we did the thing ourselves, and the viewers could meet me as a human being every week, then hopefully they would begin to discover, those people who did not read Playboy, well, son of a gun, this guy isn't a dirty old man." Playboy's Penthouse ran for two seasons (re-syndicated in 1963) and helped extend the magazine's image as a source of sophisticated, diverse entertainment. Shortly after filming the premier season's episodes, Hefner opened the first Playboy Club in Chicago and moved into the first Playboy Mansion. Skip ahead to January of 1969. With magazine sales topping 5.5 million a month, Hefner (then forty-two) again entered the television arena with Playboy After Dark, a 26-week color version of his earlier series. Once again the party format was carried forward, with an elaborate $35,000 bachelor pad set built on a CBS Hollywood soundstage, complete with a den, sunken living room, and curvaceous bar. Twenty girls and nineteen guys (guess who got two girls) provided the atmosphere and mingled with the exceptional guest stars. Playboy After Dark again had Cy Coleman's jazzy theme and once again viewers were given a chance to hear discussions on a wide variety of subjects that were taboo on other talk/variety shows, as well as showcasing entertainers shunned (or outright blacklisted) on the tube. The program also provided a way for Hefner to get some face time with the magazine's growing audience. "Fame is as meaningful to me as fortune," was his revealing quote to the press in 1969. Guest stars on Playboy After Dark (surrounded by the ubiquitous Playboy Bunnies) included Marvin Gaye, The Checkmates, improv group The Committee, Janis Ian, The Byrds, Buddy Greco, Shari Lewis (in her post-Lambchop, adult comic days), Pat Henry, and others. Lenny Bruce's eccentric mother, former stripper Sally Marr, appeared on the opening episode as part of a tribute to her son (who had died three years earlier). Included were clips of Lenny from the first episode of Playboy's Penthouse a decade earlier - almost as if to say, "The party's still on, welcome back!" Sally Marr (who also had a nightclub act) went on to appear in several films including 'Harry and Tonto' (1974). In 1994, Joan Rivers portrayed her in the Broadway play ''Sally Marr - and Her Escorts,'' at the Helen Hayes Theater. Ratings were high overall for Playboy After Dark but the show was cleared for broadcast in only twenty-three cities, not enough to ultimately warrant continuation. It was successful in attracting new magazine readers, however - sales of Playboy peaked at over seven million copies a month in 1971. Ironically, while the Playboy name translated into viewers in the cities that ran the show, it made it difficult to get airplay in the midwest and south. Many stations couldn't carry the show because the brand name meant smut to older, more conservative audiences. The racially mixed guest list probably didn't help distribution in the south, even in 1969. (In Charlotte, NC, the show was listed in TV Guide as 'Hugh Hefner.' ) The television production provided an opportunity for Hef to get out of his Chicago digs and shake things up in Los Angeles. He enjoyed the experience so much, Hef decided to make LA his base of operations in 1971, purchasing the now-famous Playboy Mansion West in the Holmby Hills. Like Batman changing Batcaves, Hefner became an LA party-scene fixture from that point on. Hugh Hefner, ever modest, had this to say in 1969 about Playboy After Dark: "It's better than the Johnny Carson show or the Joey Bishop show and I do a better job hosting than Ed Sullivan does." Perhaps Hef can do us all a favor and revive the show again - in 2006, he released a 'best-of' collection of the Playboy After Dark programs on DVD.   NEW! Now on DVD!   Access our Classic TV Catalog Now!   Catalog of all Classic TV Shows on DVD ClassicTV-DVDs.com Hard-to-find Classic TV Shows on DVD! NEW! TVparty Classic TV Blog!   The late, great Cy Coleman     GET THESE NOW ON DVD! <a href="http://media.fastclick.net/w/click.here?sid=6363&m=3&c=1" target="_blank"> <img src="http://media.fastclick.net/w/get.media?sid=6363&m=3&tp=7&d=s&c=1" width=160 height=600 border=1></a>     <p><a href="http://media.fastclick.net/w/click.here?sid=6363&m=6&c=1" target="_blank"> <img src="http://media.fastclick.net/w/get.media?sid=6363&m=6&tp=8&d=s&c=1" width=300 height=250 border=1></a></p>   Find Classic TV Ads On VHS/DVD. 45% Off! www.80sCommercials.com   (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 16th, 2006
11:28 pm	Some People Just Keep On Popping Up in Life When I was a contract employee at DOJ, they were just starting to investigate a situation in the FBI crime lab exposed by a whistleblower chemist named Frederick Whitehurst.  This was back in 1995.  Apparently, the FBI crime lab was engaged in shoddy practices, which had possibly led to some people being unjustly convicted, and led to others being unjustly exonerated.  As I recall, Whitehurst was put on administrative leave and then he eventually was drummed out of the FBI.  The reports that I read about Mr. Whitehurst portrayed him as being "a troublemaker" and "a rabblerouser."  I next heard about Mr. Whitehurst in another context a couple of days ago.  Mr. Whitehurst keeps on talking about what an average guy he is: ( when he is a most exceptional person.... ) Thank you once again, Mr. Whitehurst.  You must be a heckuva guy!  (Comment on this)
7:11 pm	Meet Bush's New Appointee! From www.talk2action.org: ( Read more... ) (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 12th, 2006
10:16 pm	A Curious Story..... I wanted to write this before it got away: In 1986, we had a tremendous snowstorm.  It was one of those storms which shut the city down completely.  Downtown Washington DC becomes this gregarious small town suddenly after such storms.  People have to walk from place to place and the 19th century townhouses are given this Currier and Ives touch, as long as you can blot out all traces of the succeeding centuries.  In honor of this abrupt jolt into the 19th century, everyone feels the need to be gregarious.  After this particular storm, my then-husband and I went to this bar where artsie types hung out called Herb's on P St.  for brunch.  The pace was jam-packed with snowbound folks who were desperate not to be trapped in apartments.  The waiters consequently seated everyone next to one another, so there wasn't the traditional space amongst people that we have in DC while dining.  The couple we were seated next to was a mixed race couple about 20 years older than we were at the time.  I could tell that the couple really was not 'together' except for maybe last night.  The white woman, who looked like a status conscious social climber, kept on showing off her African American companion to all of her friends.  Her  male companion looked visibly uncomfortable.  I felt sorry for the guy, but I didn't know why this society hag and her friends were making such a big fuss over him.  I'd seen better looking guys in the city, for sure.  When a man is black, I find him better looking if he has darker skin than this man had.  Not that the man was bad looking, mind you.  He just looked really tired. When I tried to talk with him, he rebuffed me.  After our meal, my then-husband told me that the man was Ed Bradley.  Only I could eat an entire meal and not recognize Ed Bradley.  And Ed Bradley had been mightily annoyed that I had not recognized him.  Then again, Ed Bradley was annoyed that he was trapped with this society hag who should've been a one night stand and he was annoyed that he was this hag's boudoir trophy that she was showing off to her equally hag-like female friends.  I'm sure that he couldn't wait until the airport opened and he could fly on the hell back to New York City.  My purpose for writing this is not to disrespect the late Ed Bradley.  No one mentioned in this story comes off looking very well.  But Mr. Bradley comes off looking a lot less saintly than the person that the obituaries eulogized.  However, my brief portrait of Mr. Bradley makes him more interesting and more human. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
11:47 am	From Iraq-Nam of DailyKos ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONFLICTS of my daily life is my view of our troops in Iraq. Often I meet them only in death. And often (after, for instance, seeing pictures of a little brother with his eyes downcast in unbearable confusion at a funeral , or when reading about a farm worker family the slain soldier was desperate to support) I weep. But in the midst of all this I always wonder: how many of the 'enemy' did he kill? Did he high-five a comrade after, or retreat to some hidden iner sanctum of remorse? Or maybe, even... both. And I think of the extraordinary burdens of conscience we place on these young men and women who by rights should be planning their bright futures while enjoying the moment at hand, who instead have been placed in the midst of an epic upheaval where they must remain mindful of their potential slaughter by the end of each and every day -- all the while thinking of that little brother or farm worker family -- letting it guide their emotions... and their actions. And the only answer I can find is this: it is not for me to judge. Or even question.  Here then are some of their stories: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/11/17142/199 (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 9th, 2006
10:44 pm	THE REAL WORK STARTS TODAY Well, like many of you, I worked in the election.  My side won beyond my wildest dreams.  Now the Democrats have to remain free of scandal and I mean FREE.  The righties already are rummaging through the attics of Sen. Harry Reid and Sen. Obama.  In addition, the newly elected Democrats have to present a viable alternative or else we will have Jeb Bush or someone more rightwing for President in 2008.  The right-wing already has its long knives sharpened.  If I hear that Nancy Pelosi is from San Francisco ONE MORE TIME....(oh, yes, but I will,  we  will, a thousand times more).  (Comment on this)