Did you see Jesus? Vote now.

 
The Bubble Baba challenge is the world’s only blow-up doll rafting race. It takes place every year in Russia. Here’s some footage from this year’s event. I love the point of view shot from the contestant’s perspective; the doll straining to achieve victory.

From the looks of the photograph it’s a unisexual blow-up doll event. I wonder what kind of problems a fully inflated plastic cock could cause in a situation like this? Position must be very important.
 

 
Thank you Violet Blue

 
Chouthi Bai from a village in Rajasthan breastfeeds a three day old calf whose mother recently died. Bai feeds the calf 3 or 4 times a day. “The gods will be pleased if I raise her.”

What an extraordinary way to acquire good karma.

Via Nothing To Do With Arbroath

 
I will admit to being somewhat crestfallen at the lack of loony-toons wingnuts on parade in all the reporting on the Glenn Beck event over the weekend. Somewhat crestfallen? Who am I kidding? I waited all week long to see a bunch of crazy, ignorant white people with low IQs spouting off on television about things they know nothing of and regurgitating, parrot-style, the predictable tropes and catchphrases that they’d been fed by Fox News, World Net Daily and Rush Limbaugh.

But there was so little of it. What a letdown! The reporting—and what transpired onstage with Beck, Palin, et al—was too bland to even hold my attention. I wanted to see foaming at the mouth nutcases, zany racist signs, people dressed as giant tea bags, in Confederate flag jumpsuits, etc, etc. Perhaps because signs were discouraged, the visuals were lacking, but it sure took all the fun out of the cable new coverage of the event.

But now Chase Whiteside and New Left Media have posted their take on the “Restoring Honor” event and well, it looks to me as if the job the major news channels did has been bested by the “indie” coverage of some students from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. It’s not like you couldn’t throw a rock the distance of, oh, about 12 inches without hitting an idiot, so how did the mainstream media miss these kooks and ignoramuses?

The story that’s not being examined—but should be—is is how fucking DUMB about a quarter of this country is. It’s not Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin or Ted Nugent or any of the rest of them, who are the story, they’re merely symptoms of the greater problem: 20-25% of the American population are abject idiots. That’s the story I want to see the media tackle.
 

 
Via The Daily What

 
Last week, thanks to the efforts of the Internet’s “collective id”—otherwise known as the 4chan BBS—Mary Bale, the evil woman from Coventry, England who was caught on tape mistreating a cat, was brought to justice (or at least a public shaming she is unlikely to ever fully recover from in this lifetime).

Well boys… here’s another job for you: If you think the CC video footage that caused Bale’s epic feline fail was bad, this is ten times worse and it involves an accomplice! That’s right, this footage—which you should not watch if you are easily upset (or a normal human being) because it is THAT BAD—was not captured by a passive CC camera, but by a human being who not only DIDN’T STOP IT FROM HAPPENING, but who thought it would be funny to videotape it and post it on the Internet? Yuck.

Mary Bale currently is under police protection, but if this woman can be identified, she should be taken into police custody. How could someone do something like this to tiny, crying, helpless newborn puppies?!?! As I type this, there is a tiny 5-month-old puppy playing happily beside me who I am madly in love with. It’s hard to conceive of someone doing this kind of thing. This woman who can kill a bunch of puppies so cruelly should be shamed, do some jail time and spend the rest of her sad shitty life with this videotape following her dumb ass around anytime a prospective employer (or boyfriend) would like some more information about her and types her name into a Google search.

People of 4chan, you know what to do!

Via Doobybrain

 
Wow! This is pretty crazy, unexpected and a wee bit creepy. Watch. 

At this weekend London Electronic Festival (LED) Aphex Twin used live facial recognition to map the audience and overlay images of his own, trademark distorted face. Mesmerising and disturbing in equal measure!

(via Nerdcore)

 
Does it seem odd to you that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is still north of 10,000 despite the fact that no one has any jobs, the economy is puking blood and a bruised and battered mainstream America long ago exited the stock market?

Why wouldn’t the stock market be thriving while the rest of us are on food stamps and living in tents? Wall Street and the banks got the bailout, they aren’t going to lend anybody anything and they are paying themselves FAT BONUSES with your tax dollars. Let there be no mistake about it. The financial class have tied up all the productive capital in this country and are skimming off the top to enrich themselves. That’s the way the game works. It’s all legal!

And it’s obscene. If the general population would stop watching Fox News and worrying about a “mosque” (that isn’t even a mosque) long enough to figure out how they’ve been fucked up the ass sans lube by the plutocrats, there would be rioting in the streets. Instead they think that what we really need are an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and to repeal healthcare reform. (Shudders).

That’s why this new thought experiment/essay, by my super smart pal Charles Hugh Smith is so important to read and share with others. I was thrilled when I read this and I think you will be, too. Talk about a dangerous mind. Wow.

Think what this thought bomb, injected into the national conversation would do. Talk about this idea with your friends, post the essay on Facebook and call talk radio to seed this into the dialogue there.

Imagine if a meme like this spread and took hold. It could—easily—happen. It would turn the national conversation upside down! Now do your part!

What if the Fed and Treasury distributed $1.3 trillion directly to households rather than disburse it to prop up bank lending? At least some households would use the funds to pay down debt, meaning the money would flow to the banking sector anyway, but with one critical difference: household debt would actually decline, leaving household balance sheets in better shape and owing less interest every month.

With quantitative easing, the idea is to increase the debt load on households; with a helicopter drop of fresh cash, the idea would be to reduce the debt load that is crushing many households. Banks would benefit, too, as more consumer debt would be paid off in full compared to the current policy of promoting heavier debt loads. The negative consequences of pushing more debt on households is also obvious: more loans become uncollectible and go into default, creating more loan losses for banks.

If the cash transfers were broadly distributed, the subsequent spending would be more representative of sustainable demand than other means of stimulus, such as costly and ineffective “job creation” programs.

Most importantly, the status quo monetary policy distorts economic activity towards debt-based financial assets and debt-financed durable goods such as the “cash for clunkers” program to boost auto sales.

According to the status quo, adding more debt to households is the cure to our economic malaise. But for most households, high debt is the disease, not the cure, and adding more debt to “stimulate spending” is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline.

Some might argue that a direct deposit of freshly issued cash into households would be inflationary. But other economists argue that if inflation is a monetary issue, and a helicopter drop of cash is fundamentally fiscal, then the worry over sparking inflation is misplaced.

What seems clear is that expanding bank credit through quantitative easing policies of funneling trillions of dollars into banks isn’t working. Putting the same money thrown into banks ($4 trillion) into households’ accounts would certainly put the money where it could either be spent or used to pay down debt—both of which are direct “cures” to over-indebtedness and a no-growth economy.

The sums of money squandered on bailing out banks are difficult to grasp. So I’ll make it easy: if the Treasury printed up $1.3 trillion in cash, that would be enough to give $10,000 to all 130 million households in the U.S.

Even $10,000 to each household would enable a lot of debt to be paid off. Those without any debt could save/invest/spend it. That would certainly do more for the economy than throwing another $1.3 trillion to “extend and pretend” the banks’ insolvency.

Would such a distribution set up a political expectation for another $10,000 next election cycle? Very likely. Would that be positive? No. But all policy is a series of trade-offs, and a helicopter drop could be “sold” as one-time only.

Would it trigger massive inflation? Doubtful. The national debt is about $13 trillion, so adding 10% to it with a “helicopter drop” is not going to change the long-term debt problem much. The GDP is around $13-$14 trillion as well, so it would amount to a one-time 10% boost in GDP. Total personal income is around $8.4 trillion, so a $1.3 trillion helicopter drop of cash would be about a 15% boost to personal income.

Would it really do much to lower indebtedness of the American consumer? No. Total debt in the U.S. is about $52 trillion—governmental, corporate and private. Mortgage debt is around $10 trillion, and consumer debt is around $2.4 trillon. (These are approximate; a web search will confirm the round numbers.)

While $1.3 trillion won’t do much to change the outlook for inflation or future debt crises, it sure would give a lot of households one last chance to set things on a more positive course. $10,000 could wipe out a high-debt credit card without wiping out the creditworthiness of the household, or it could finance a move to a locale with more employment. It could replace a vehicle on its last legs with a better used car.

Would some people squander a one-time “last chance to set a new course” helicopter drop? Of course some people will. But that’s not the point. The point is that the nation has received zero value from trillions in quantitative easing, and so if even 10% of the 130 million households do something useful with their $10,000 in cash then that would be one heck of a lot more than we’ve gotten from the trillions thrown down the rathole of a venal, corrupted, insolvent banking sector.

Throwing money at banks hasn’t done anything but reward financial Power Elites via privatizing their gains and transferring their losses to the taxpayers. Throwing money at households won’t solve the nation’s problems either, but it would give households a one-time chance to do something useful with a chunk of cash. If 90% of the households blew it, then it would still end up somewhere in the economy, which is more than can be said of the trillions thrown away on QE.

In the long run, it wouldn’t make much difference to the nation’s fiscal situation, but to households on the edge, it might make a very significant difference.

Read the entire essay
What If We Ditched Quantitative Easing and Just Printed (and Distributed) Cash? (Of Two Minds)

 

 
A man photographed at Glenn Beckstock. Via Little Green Footballs
 

 
And here’s another “patriot,” this one via Gawker.

 
According to the cat, “I did it as a joke because I thought it would be funny. I never thought it would be trapped. I expected it to wriggle out.”

(via TDW)

 
I lived in Manhattan’s East Village from 1984 to 1991 and the sight of the great poet Allen Ginsberg around the neighborhood was a pretty common one, although it was still cool to see him each and every time, I must admit. Now the apartment where Ginsberg lived until the mid-90s has been renovated and come on the rental market. There is a link to the listing today—$1700 for the one-bedroom—on Gothamist:

Allen Ginsberg spent 21 years of his life (1975 to 1996) living in a fourth floor walk-up in the East Village, and now—following the death of his partner Peter Orlovsky, it’s on the rental market. Earlier this month, The Allen Ginsberg Project stopped by as it was undergoing renovations, and there’s little left of the poetic madman’s presence. For example, the bedroom that his pal Harry Everett Smith once resided in is now a bathroom (read an interview Ginsberg did with Paola Igliori in 1995, where the two discussed his one-time roommate)

.
 

Above: Harry Smith’s in the guest room, now a bathroom.
 

Above: Here’s how Wired’s Steve Silberman remembers the apartment:
 

Left to right: Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Louis Cartwright, Herbert Huncke, William Burroughs, Allen & Peter’s new apartment, 437 East 12th Street, New York City, December 1975. Photographer unknown. (Via)
 

 
Above: Allen Ginsberg on William F. Buckley’s Firing Line TV program in 1968.

There’s also a link on Gothamist to some photos of the converted YMCA on the Bowery where William Burroughs used to live, famously dubbed “The Bunker.” John Giorno, who took over the place when Burroughs left, kept his bedroom exactly as it was.

Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, Norman René, Peter Hujar, Ethyl Eichelberger, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Cookie Mueller, Klaus Nomi….the list of New York artists who died of AIDS over the last 30 years is countless, and the loss immeasurable.

A heartwrenching tribute to New York City painters, writers and performers who died of aids, Last Address is composed of images of the exteriors of the buildings where the artists last lived. The video was shot by Ira Sachs and if you visit the film’s website you can read about the artists featured in this bittersweet poem of a film.
 

Last Address from Ira Sachs on Vimeo.

 
In this short, but riveting glimpse into the Taliban, Norwegian journalist Paul Refsdal goes behind the lines to film the insurgents from their point of view. This was broadcast on Australian television.

There is no question that the mujahideen are strong willed, relentless, and, in their absolute belief that Allah is on their side, seemingly fearless. Watching the Taliban perched on their mountaintops firing at Americans like targets in a fairground shooting gallery makes me wonder if this war will ever have an end. Too many mountains. Too many men willing to strike in the name of Allah. Too many men with nothing left to lose and, consequently, ruthless and deadly.

Some of the early shots in the video remind me of photos of Che and his guerrilla fighters in the Sierra Mastra Mountains: longhaired, bearded and fiercely determined.
 

 
Apparently, Lewis Floyd Henry (graffiti artist KNOWN) performs regularly at Tottenham Court Road Station and Portobello Road in London. This guys kicks some serious ass! Do watch.

More Lewis Floyd Henry after the jump…

 
I didn’t say he goes “deep” inside their minds, did I? This is brilliant! He totally nails it.

“C.S. Lewis Jr.” reminds me a lot of THIS GUY, don’t cha think?
 

 
As some of you reading this might recall, in the old Disinformation TV series, I devoted the next to last episode entirely to the topic of the potential for harm that easily available Internet porn, in particular the extreme variant called “gonzo porn,” might have in store for an entire generation of (mostly) young males. The piece left the question open ended, but it was clear that neither I, nor most of the people I interviewed (including porn actresses and producers) had any hope that much good would come of adolescent males spending their free time having images of violent sex seared onto their eyeballs at the point of orgasm. And besides that, what were they learning about human sexuality at the hands of twisted psychopaths like Max Hardcore and Rob Black? That their girlfriends would like them to invite 10 of their friends over for a session of tender love-making or perhaps that shoving a girl’s head in the toilet during sex was a suave move?

Well, the verdict is starting to come in that we’re—literally—raising a generation of… wankers. An entire generation has had their sexual fantasies hijacked by this stuff. This quite good 2007 BBC documentary Teens Hooked on Porn, is a disturbing look at what’s happening to Internet porn addicted kids. The pimple-faced young men portrayed in this documentary, sad to say, are going to have no idea what to do with a real girl when they have the chance. And frankly, what girl would want anything to do with them?

As you watch this, imagine their lives at 25, 40 and well beyond. It ain’t a pretty thought…
 

 
Thank you Paul Gallagher!

 
Zombies have civil rights, too, you know: Minneapolis city attorney’s office has decided to pay seven “zombies” and their attorney $165,000 after they were jailed following a street theater protest. From the Star-Tribune:

The payout, approved by the City Council on Friday, settles a federal lawsuit the seven filed after they were arrested and jailed for two days for dressing up like zombies in downtown Minneapolis on July 22, 2006, to protest “mindless” consumerism.

When arrested at the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and 6th Street N., most of them had thick white powder and fake blood on their faces and dark makeup around their eyes. They were walking in a stiff, lurching fashion and carrying four bags of sound equipment to amplify music from an iPod when they were arrested by police who said they were carrying equipment that simulated “weapons of mass destruction.”

However, they were never charged with any crime.

Via Common Dreams /Thank you Michael Simmons!

 
This country is fucked up beyond repair. There’s an IQ stratification that’s as obvious at this juncture as oil and water not mixing. On one hand you have a bunch of know-nothing, pitifully stupid Republican morons who revere Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Fox News, meanness, mindless racism and IGNORANCE. On the other hand you have smart people, Democrats and nearly 100% of all non-whites. Am I missing ANYTHING?

I used to think that the jingoistic Tea bagger-types would eventually just burn themselves out and overstay their welcome, before dispersing again. I’ve revised that opinion, they aren’t going anywhere. How can a 21st century democracy function when the dumbest 20% of the nation’s electorate is cohering into such an easily manipulated voting bloc? Be afraid, very, very afraid. No good can come of this, none.

Look deep into this man’s eyes. What do you see there?

Via Charles Johnson at Little Greenfootballs. Photo by Paul Gentile

 
Watch in horror and amazement as this mob of lily-white imbeciles at a ground zero protest today latch onto an unfortunate brown skinned fellow with the wrong kind of hat. Dark days, people.
 
via Glenn Greenwald’s twitter feed
 
Black, Muslim, Same Difference (Balloon Juice)

 
Shit!

Michael Been lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of 80’s band The Call has died of a heart attack at the age of 60. He was in Belgium acting as sound engineer for his son’s band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

The Call were one of the finest, smartest and most underrated bands of the 80’s. Michael wrote passionate anthems that went beyond simple bombast. His lyrics had depth, intelligence and incisive political content. He was highly regarded among musicians and collaborated with many, including Bono, Peter Gabriel and Robbie Robertson. His music was free of gimmicks and fashionable poses and, as a result, has stood the test of time.

Michael went from fronting his own band to becoming a guiding force in the development of his son Robert’s musical career. He co-produced and engineered several BRMC albums.

I was a big fan of The Call. They were the real deal. There was something about Michael that immediately appealed to me. His writing was terrific and he seemed like a decent, soulful, and genuine human being - nothing slick or phony about the guy. I listened to his songs and I know they seeped into my own writing and music. I can’t say that about many of my contemporaries in the 80’s. I respected Michael and I loved his music.

 
More goodness from Michael Been and The Call after the jump…

 
Just when you think that it’s not even possible that Sharron Angle, the Nevada nincompoop running on the Republican ticket against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, could say or do something even nuttier than she already has, a past incident from her “career” has come back to haunt her: In 1991, Angle, who says her Senate candidacy is divinely inspired (“a calling from God” as she put it!) was part of a group who successfully lobbied that a local high school football team in Tonopah, NV, not be able to have black football jerseys.

Why? Because the color black is “evil” of course! That’s right, it’s a thoroughly evil color!

From The Pahrump Valley Times:

Also opposing the black jerseys was another group including Angle, a member, if not its leader.

They argued against our charges wearing black on religious grounds.

I cannot quote scripture as they did to justify their point but the gist of their argument was that black as a color was thoroughly evil, invoking the supernatural and especially the devil may take from dictionary definitions and not from scripture .

Angle may or may not have thought this a political statement. But she became a high profile advocate of a specific religious position during her very first campaign.

Whichever argument prevailed, school administrators caved in and prohibited the Muckers from wearing the black apparel.

And here we see another side of the multi-faceted, one-woman lunatic fringe that is Sharron Angle: She’s a low IQ combination of Gladys Kravitz, the nosey, disapproving neighbor on Bewitched and a desert dumbass version of Abigail Williams, one of the accusers in the Salem Witch Trials!

And SHE is best the Republicans can do to run against the Democrat’s Senate Majority Leader??? A foaming at the mouth Christian Fundamentalist lunatic who wants to ban alcohol, abortion, leave the UN and do away with the EPA, the IRS, Social Security and Medicare? A mentally ill person? Why, YES, apparently she is!
 

 
Angle strove religiously against black jerseys (Pahrump Valley Times)