Cabaret Voltaire flashback

Cabaret Voltaire released "The Voice of America" in 1980. That was about half of the worthwhile music they did, as they were assimilated into new wave disco within a few years. I like the idea of them being beaten up by rock music fans at their live shows in Sheffield for producing industrial glitch soundscapes instead of the expected rock'n'roll. As part of our continuing series of nostalgic summer reruns, here is "Obsession" "Diskono" and "Badge of Evil".
band site: http://www.brainwashed.com/cv/index.php
wikipedia :







The assassination of John Lennon, election of Ronald Reagan, my moving to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and the release of "The Voice of America" are a few of the events that seemed to initiate the decade of the 1980s and its incessant nuclear warfare. It all looks so … cute (???) now. Back in the good old days, nurturing a paranoid and anti-social outlook was a goddess-given right, something our modern chemicals have taken away.

Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives

The Eels "Whatever Happened to Soy Bomb" kept running through my brain yesterday. I don't even like that song. I decided I needed to displace that song with a dose of some other Eels music. I went to YouTube to see if I could find something fresh. I came across some interesting live content which can be waded into at the Eels official YouTube channel.

But better yet, I stumbled upon a BBC documentary about Hugh Everett, the multiverse theorist, featuring his son, E (Mark Oliver Everett). It doesn't get much better. Here is the first part of the six part YouTube version of the BBC documentary --NOT available on DVD in this universe--while it lasts.

In 1957, this young and brilliant physicist published a paper which used some heavy duty mathematics to predict the existence of parallel universes.

Although the concept of parallel universes seeped into popular culture, it was considered too way-out for mainstream physicists; and for many years, it remained in the scientific wilderness.

Now, 50 years on, Hugh Everett's son has travelled across America for a BBC Four documentary to find out more about his father's theory, and why it has now been accepted by many physicists as the work of a scientific genius.

Alternate sources in case this one gets deleted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_vpEyE6rug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWIyam5cAko

I haven't even had time to watch all of it yet myself, though. Planning to go to Kagurazaka Matsuri tonight despite possible thunderstorms and watch this later during the weekend.

Update: OK, where are the "Related" links? OK, here is the whole program.











Eels band site

About the documentary

E's book: Things The Grandchildren Should Know

BBC-- a spot of publicity

MySpace

That's what I do.

Canine true believer, retriever.

It's not my background picture; I found it on the internet.

Surely if I retrieve for them, these godlike yet doglike superior beings will recognize my usefulness and not toss me in their stir-fry. If only I could decode their signal system and uncover the meaning of the plastic discs they keep throwing over me.

Diebold down in Georgia

From The Raw Story :a report of electoral fraud that may be behind the defeat of Georgia Senator Max Cleland and Governor Roy Barnes. Whether true or not, we may never know due to the lack of a paper trail.

7/18/2008 @ 12:10 pm
Filed by Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane

A leading cyber-security expert and former adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he has fresh evidence regarding election fraud on Diebold electronic voting machines during the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial and senatorial elections.

Stephen Spoonamore is the founder and until recently the CEO of Cybrinth LLC, an information technology policy and security firm that serves Fortune 100 companies. At a little noticed press conference in Columbus, Ohio Thursday, he discussed his investigation of a computer patch that was applied to Diebold Election Systems voting machines in Georgia right before that state's November 2002 election.

In 1995, Spoonamore received a civilian citation for his work with the Department of Defense. He was again recognized for his contributions in 2004 by the Department of Homeland Security. Spoonamore is also a registered Republican and until recently was advising the McCain campaign.

Spoonamore received the Diebold patch from a whistleblower close to the office of Cathy Cox, Georgia’s then-Secretary of State. In discussions with RAW STORY, the whistleblower -- who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation -- said that he became suspicious of Diebold's actions in Georgia for two reasons. The first red flag went up when the computer patch was installed in person by Diebold CEO Bob Urosevich, who flew in from Texas and applied it in just two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, both Democratic strongholds. The source states that Cox was not privy to these changes until after the election and that she became particularly concerned over the patch being installed in just those two counties.

The whistleblower said another flag went up when it became apparent that the patch installed by Urosevich had failed to fix a problem with the computer clock, which employees from Diebold and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office had been told the patch was designed specifically to address.

Some critics of electronic voting raised questions about the 2002 Georgia race even at the time. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, who was five percentage points ahead of Republican challenger Saxby Chambliss in polls taken a week before the vote, lost 53% to 46%. Incumbent Democratic Governor Roy Barnes, who led challenger Sonny Perdue in the polls by eleven points, lost 51% to 46%. However, because the Diebold machines used throughout the state provided no paper trail, it was impossible to ask for a recount in either case.

Concerned by the electoral outcome, the whistleblower approached Spoonamore because of his qualifications and asked him to examine the Diebold patch.

Related graphic from the Washington Post:

Tortuous Discussions

From yesterday's New York Times:

But Mr. McCain was still a frequent impediment to the White House. In 2005 and 2006, for example, he spearheaded battles to prod the administration to sign laws banning the use of torture on military detainees. His talks with Vice President Dick Cheney on the subject degenerated into shouting matches, aides on both sides say. He felt that negotiating about torture with Mr. Cheney “was like negotiating bank reform with Bonnie and Clyde,” Mr. Weaver, the former McCain adviser, said.

That's such an interesting paragraph. If aides on both sides say it was a shouting match, maybe it was a shooting match. Maybe there was some wrestling going on. It sounds a lot like an episode of Dick Cheney: CONFIDENTIAL.

To the Gates of Hell! (managing the capital)

Recent polls show Barack Obama leading in Nevada. With this, the best guess as to the electoral vote is now 325 to 199 in favor of Obama. Perceptive observers will also note that the red states have contracted considerably and have now taken the form of a 3-headed snake, with the rattle, or tail being Arizona, and the three heads formed by Louisiana, Alabama, and Kentucky. Students of mythology may note the resemblance to Cerberus, the three-headed dog (with the tail of a snake) that guards the gates of hell in Greek mythology, and a private New York based equity firm which recently bought Chrysler back from Daimler. Interestingly, McCain promised to take America "to the gates of hell" if necessary, to pursue Osama Bin Laden during breaks between naps, golf, and campaign fundraisers.

McCain's price on Intrade has fallen to 29 or 30 cents. It may be worthwhile to invest in McCain as a hedge. In the increasingly unlikely event that he wins, you will be able to use the money you receive to leave the country.

Some crazy names are being thrown around for VP, even on Intrade and Rasmussen. I think Obama will choose Dodd, but Richardson or Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer might be a possibility. Only Richardson is registering on Rasmussen. Dodd had a 1-2.5% chance on intrade. McCain could generate some excitement and interest with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Vice Presidential Markets
To Win Democratic Vice-Presidential Nomination
Hillary Clinton 14.7
Kathleen Sebelius 18.5
Evan Bayh 12.0
Joe Biden 11.0
Tim Kaine 11.0
Claire McCaskill 8.6
Bill Richardson 9.3
Ed Rendell 5.2

To Win Republican Vice-Presidential Nomination
Mitt Romney 32.0
Tim Pawlenty 16.0
Charlie Crist 7.5
Sarah Palin 13.9
Mike Huckabee 12.1
John Thune 15.0
Mark Sanford 6.0
Carly Fiorina 10.0
Bobby Jindal 7.5

Savage Republic - Procession- (Tragic Figures)

Savage Republic is a Los Angeles band that I became familiar with during the 1982 - 1986 time frame of my life in Los Angeles. Legend has it they developed their sound in the steam tunnels and parking garages of UCLA. They have been playing together again since a 2002 reunion and even have a CD and EP out, 1938 and Siam. Since the band seems to operate somewhat outside of space, time, and culture, their 1982-1986 releases could have just as easily been 2002-2006. (Actually, it would be much more believable if they were.)

http://mobilization.com/artists/savage.html

http://www.myspace.com/savagerepublic

Procession was a great track from the 1982 album Tragic Figures. It serves as a decent jumping off point for introducing the band.






procession live

The crisis
of our country
is not caused
by external forces.
The danger lies within.
And the forces
are real.
And the danger
is ever growing.
It lies within.
The forces
of oppression
are a danger
we all feel
when you remove
the ignorance.
And you find
the crisis is real.
And the danger
is ever growing.
It lies within.

Only Dennis is Real

This post is content from a month ago, but it is relevant until the Bush-Cheney regime installed by judicial coup in 2000 and maintained in power by Diebold has been removed from power, its officials punished for their crimes, and its laws and appointees stricken down. I agree with Dennis that the Vice President and President should be impeached as soon as possible.

The Supreme Court has ruled that our ancient rights of habeus corpus are now extinct; that the president has the right to arbitrarily pick any person and detain them indefinitely for no reason. This and their many other official and underground powers make the two traitors in the White House not only (nuc-u-lar) armed but also extremely dangerous. Will they voluntarily surrender these powers on inauguration day to a president who may very well have them detained, if he has a brain? Or is it more likely that mister Cheney will ask some of his Saudi friends to fly a 747 into the Capital so he can declare a national emergency and suspend the inauguration indefinitely? It's not over 'til it's over. We will fight them in the snow, we will fight them in the rain, we will fight them in the sleet, keeping to our appointed rounds, in the meadows. Political power comes from the barrel of a gun. Thus spake Winston Churchill, Mao Zedong, and a delirious postal worker as transcribed by an astral traveler and Dennis Kucinich fellow traveler. My point is, why not fight them in the legislative chambers, too? We got to fight 'em over there in the legislative chambers so we don't have to fight 'em here in our living rooms. Impeachment should have never been taken off Nancy Pelosi's table. It should have been the mission #1 on day one. The fact that it was not tells us that the Democratic Republican Party is a single monolithic ruling party with probably less internal dissent than any of the world's ruling parties in one-party states.

For the record, I also favored the impeachment of Bill Clinton for his perjury involving minor improprieties with imperial consort Monica L-. These things would get you fired from night manager at McDonald's but somehow are to be overlooked in his majesty. Fair enough, but the right way to handle that was the way David Paterson did.

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/13/despite_opposition_from_his_own_party

JUAN GONZALEZ: Yes. Well, Ohio Congress member and former Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich is vowing to continue his impeachment efforts against President Bush despite attempts to bury it in committee. On Wednesday, Congress voted 251-166 to send Kucinich’s bill to the House Judiciary Committee, where it’s unlikely to be considered before Bush leaves office. A similar resolution against Vice President Dick Cheney that was introduced last year was also sent to the House Judiciary Committee, where it still remains. Kucinich spent four hours on the House floor Monday reading out thirty-five articles of impeachment against the President.
• REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as president and subversive of constitutional government to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W. Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.

AMY GOODMAN: We’re joined now from Washington, D.C. by the Ohio Congress member, Dennis Kucinich. Welcome to Democracy Now!
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Good morning.
AMY GOODMAN: Why have you chosen to do this now?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: We have 4,000 of our brave men and women who have died in Iraq. Over a million innocent Iraqis have been killed. We’ve had torture policies, rendition, illegal detention, wiretapping, spying, subversion of global climate change science. I mean, I went on and on and on with these articles the other night, but what it adds up to is that there has to be accountability. And for the leadership of the Democratic Party to say that impeachment is off the table is to essentially put on hold the United States code, international law and the Constitution of the United States. There is no rational, logical reason why the Judiciary Committee should not hear—have hearings on these articles.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Congressman, some of your colleagues in Congress have said that they would be willing to consider impeachment should President Bush move to begin a war with Iran without consulting Congress. Senator Joe Biden has said so, and the House Judiciary Chair John Conyers has said so. Do you think that this is in essence a reaction to your continued pressure over the issue of impeachment?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, you know, this isn’t golf. You don’t get a do-over. We can’t let this president wage war and kill more people in violation of international law, in violation of the Geneva Convention. His conduct has been totally in alignment with violating the Nuremberg Principles. We need to hold him to account. And if we do that, there won’t be an attack on Iran. We must not wait for more carnage and for more jeopardy to the peace of the world.
We have enough information right now to offer incontrovertible proof that this president lied to take us into a war, worked with others to manufacture a false case for war, falsely stated to the American people that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and told the Congress that there was an imminent threat, thereby subverting Congress’s power under Article I, Section 8, with respect to a declaration of war. So what are we waiting for?
AMY GOODMAN: Congressman Kucinich, the head of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, said voters did not hand Democrats control of Congress two years ago in order to impeach President Bush.
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Is that what he said? Well, you know what? Howard Dean ought to check with the people where he lives with in Vermont, because the people in Vermont understand this. And people all over this country understand it.
This isn’t a political question, by the way. The appropriate response for Howard Dean would be that this is a matter that’s beyond politics. This is a matter that relates to a democratic system of government and whether or not our Constitution is just a piece of paper. So this has to go beyond politics. It’s not for the Democratic Party to decide to overlook violations of US law and international law. We cannot let our political system trump the requirements of the law.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, let’s go to Nancy Pelosi. This is the House Speaker in late 2006, shortly after the Democrats took over Congress.
• REP. NANCY PELOSI: No, impeachment is off the table.
• LESLEY STAHL: Off the table. And that’s a pledge?
• REP. NANCY PELOSI: Well, it’s a pledge in the—yes, in that it’s a pledge—of course it is. And it is a waste of time.
• Democrats are not about getting even. Democrats are about helping the American people get ahead. And that’s what our agenda is about. So while some people are excited about prospects that they have, in terms of their priorities, they are not our priorities. I have said, and I say again, that impeachment is off the table.

AMY GOODMAN: That’s Nancy Pelosi. Well, last December, I asked House Judiciary Chair John Conyers about impeachment.
• REP. JOHN CONYERS: Unless we’re going to impeach the Vice President and the President within this space of time, I think we could be very seriously compromising the greatest important—most important thing, in addition to documenting any misdeeds that may have happened, whether we continue to have Bush enablers continue to shatter and tear the Constitution to shreds. And so, all of this, academically, is great. I’ve got a number of books from my friends about which articles would be best and which ones we should go after more. But it seems to me that the time element and also the feasibility of whether or not there is any possible chance of success—there is a very stark reality that with the corporatization of the media, we could end up with turning people who should be documented in history as making many profound errors and violating the Constitution from villains into victims.

AMY GOODMAN: That is the House Judiciary Chair John Conyers. Dennis Kucinich, your response?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: There is arguable evidence that President Bush has committed war crimes. We have a moral obligation to have hearings in Judiciary to make a determination whether or not this is so. This goes beyond politics. I have a great respect for John Conyers, I have a great respect for Nancy Pelosi, but this goes beyond politics. This is not—you know, our whole government rests on moral principles, not just on political principles.
And so, we need to evaluate what Congress’s rightful role is here. You know, one of the founders of our nation made it very clear that Congress had a role that was not simply to pass laws, but to ask questions of the executive. This is what helped to create a powerful three-branches-of-government concept that was imbued in the Constitution, co-equality, so that we wouldn’t have a monarch. George Bush has acted in a way that has separated him from the rule of law. Congress must hold him accountable. And to say, “Well, we have more important things to do”—what could be more important than finding out whether or not the President of the United States has committed war crimes, whether or not he’s violated United States law and repeatedly violated the Constitution?
You know, you look at the price of gasoline today. Does anyone have any idea that the United States invaded Iraq for oil, that there were meetings with the oil companies laying out maps of oil fields in Iraq, that Congress has not been able to get full documentation from the Vice President as to what was said in those meetings? What about the pressures that are being put on the Iraq government right now to try to get it to turn over its sovereignty so that the United States can facilitate the control of Iraq oil for the international corporations?
We have to stand up for this country and for its people, and that’s what I’m doing. And I am going to be challenging my colleagues to look at the evidence. And if they look at the evidence, I think that they’ll want to do what’s right.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And, Congressman, you vow to continue reintroducing your proposal now if it’s—every thirty days unless action is taken. Your response to those who say that there’s no—there isn’t enough time in the calendar, given everything else that is going to be occurring, the presidential election, over the next few months, to even be able to deal with this issue?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: George Bush has enough time to bomb Iran on another pretext. He has enough time to continue policies of torture. He has enough time to continue policies of eavesdropping and wiretapping. He has enough time to continue to ignore critical science with respect to global climate change. He has enough time to help facilitate more violations of election law for the 2008 election.
We don’t have enough time. We can’t spend any more time temporizing, while the Constitution, the United States laws, international laws, are being shredded.
AMY GOODMAN: Dennis Kucinich, you said President Bush is guilty perhaps of war crimes, and that’s what you want to get to the bottom of. What war crimes?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, it’s waging illegal war, attacking a civilian population, knocking out the access to electricity and water. The Geneva Conventions and protocols to the Geneva Conventions make it very clear that there are questions that need to be answered by the Judiciary Committee. That’s Article VIII of the impeachment resolution, points out that the first protocol to the Geneva Convention says that someone who is in civilian command is within the reach of war crimes prosecution if he or she had a direct responsibility for ordering troops—or ordering an attack on another nation. If you read the Nuremberg Principles, you know, our president has brought himself within the reach of prosecution for war crimes.
And the Congress of the United States should take this responsibility to—not just to look into it, but to take action, because if we don’t take action, what would it say to American history if later on, after this president left office, he was brought up by either an international tribunal or by the laws of another country? It’s not as though he’s going to be able to escape justice.
AMY GOODMAN: And the argument that John Conyers made, if you’re not impeaching Cheney at the same time, that he could be president?
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, who says that Dick Cheney should be beyond the reach of impeachment? I mean, I’ve already introduced that resolution. You know, we know that there was a rapid change of the guard that occurred during the time that Spiro Agnew left office in disgrace, that President Richard Nixon resigned before articles were presented to the House and the door was open for Gerald Ford to become president.
The personality shouldn’t matter here. What should matter is whether or not crimes have been committed. And to turn a blind eye to that, to say, “Well, you know, it’s off the table. We’ve got other things to do,” is to unwittingly be an accomplice in this. We have to realize our responsibility here to protect this country from corruption. And it’s being—the Constitution and the nation, the national governance, is being corrupted by Congress’s unwillingness to look into this. Why are—what are we afraid of, that we’re afraid to look into violations of law by this president?

Midsummer Music

Dengue Fever in Norway a couple of weeks ago:



and in Pasadena last month around the solstice playing Hold My Hips (incomplete…)



and some of the same Pasadena moments from a different angle with some zooming, editing, few mini-interview questions:

That's very L.A. It's nice to see them playing out in the sunlight and see how they (look when they) play together.


an interview at Sasquatch Music Festival, late May 2008:



and another backstage sasquatch moment/interview:



Tiger Phone Card from something called Fuel(ish)TV:



Seeing Hands via Brightcove via The Daily Habit (Fuel TV?):


There is pretty bad audio (PBA?) throughout all of these (even the ones off tv), but I was looking more for the pretty bad video (PBV) which is better than no video at all (NVAA). To my surprise, these videos have small numbers of Views, like 78 and 111. I guess Dengue Fever has not yet become totally mainstream. Or should I say that the mainstream has not yet become Dengue Fever? FWIW.

Afterdenken: Gotta include a live version of Sober Driver, too, one of my favorite songs on Venus On Earth.






Alternatively, see this bluradelic version from at the Independent in San Francisco on April 18, 2008, substituting "San Francisco" for "Echo Park" in the lyrics.