Not much to say about this one, apart from - wtf? (This comes from the same Powell interview where he endorses Obama).

Around 2:38, Powell states, and this is verbatim:

‘There’s gonna be a crisis come along on the 21st or 22nd of January that we don’t even know about right now’

Now, I’m studying paradoxes in one of my university modules, and I have to say that statement qualifies. You know it’s going to happen, but you don’t even know about it? One resolution: perhaps this is a sentence with two distinct subjects, one an informed insider and the other the unaware general populace (hence ‘we’, not ‘I’)?

And, um, why so specific on the date, Colin? Presumably he’s aware of the significance of the date, since its only a day or two after the presidential inauguration, Jan 20th…

Who knows what we should make of it (or the interviewer’s neglecting to ask Powell what in God’s name he was prophesying). But remember this in a few months time, if and when some supposedly unforeseen, external threat is being invoked to justify military action and/or the erosion of hard-won civil liberties.

Here’s your daily dose of propaganda, kids: Dangerous and depraved: paedophiles unite with terrorists online. This is one of the worst examples of Rupert Murdoch’s ‘journalism’ I’ve seen - I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Yes, two of the best excuses for the erosion of civil liberties are now apparently colluding online to ‘exchange operational secrets’. It’s now even been discovered (by an unnamed and unbiased ‘anti-terror source’) that terrorists and paedophiles are psychologically similar. They’re both ‘obsessive’, ‘paranoid’ (surely they should be paranoid?) and - this is the best one - they spend a lot of time ‘going to the mosque or going off to internet cafés’. That’s an actual quote, I’m afraid.

Never trust an ‘anti-terror source’ with your psychological well-being.

Not only are the terrorists and paedophiles in league with one another, apparently they’re often one and the same. The article proudly declares that ‘The link might have remained unknown but for the case of a Muslim preacher from the East End of London [Abdul Makim Khalisadar]’. Right. Except that they then admit that Khalisadar was never convicted of anything relating to terrorism or paedophilia. (He was a convicted rapist though, so hey, they’re all the same right?) All through the article ‘terror suspects’ are treated as if equatable with convicted terrorists.

We then get the incredible claim that terrorists actually communicate through child porn. Yes, Al-Qaeda have decided to encode pornographic images of children, possibly the most illegal, graphic and conspicuous medium thinkable, with secret messages as a mode of ‘clandestine communication’. I’m not making this up (although I suspect the Times is).

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Today I just want to promote/congratulate this guy. I’ve never really been into hip-hop much, but having come to a growing realisation that most good things in any genre will be hard to find, I did some research. And Sage Francis stood out for me - he’s a proper artist. It’s surprising enough when any given contemporary performer comes across as a self-aware, socially conscious, intelligent human being. Add to that captivating lyrics and you deserve some respect! This particular song, by way of context, was written a month after 9/11. (And yes, that’s Bob Dylan at the end).

Anyway, I’ll let the song speak for itself.

“Taught from infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.” - Mary Wollstonecraft

For those that have not had the pleasure of watching the ‘Winx Club’ - It’s a children’s TV show in which six fairies (and some small pixie things) tackle evil whilst still managing to look good. Originally an Italian animation series which began in 2004, Winx is now somewhat of a worldwide phenomenon that appears on over 100 children’s channels. It has spawned a myriad of merchandising ventures. Recently, a feature film was made and there are plans for another series and film to be released soon. It was originally conceived of by Iginio Straffi, who also happens to have created the production company responsible for Winx (Rainbow S.p.A) and made himself the CEO.

What is my beef with the cute little characters? As a feminist (and a human being), I see that gender role socialisation is an issue which harms both of the sexes. It’s unnecessary, it’s harmful, it’s unacceptable. The Winx Club, with their tiny clothes and tiny little brains seem to epitomise the message of children’s television about what it means to have a vagina. All of the elements are there, and conveniently encapsulated within the one minute opening sequence. I can’t hide my surprise that not only this level of sexism is still acceptable to the public, but we are letting thousands upon thousands of children view and internalise something which inherently aims to box them in.

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Today I had the rare opportunity to watch the music channels on TV, and so I flicked over to Kerrang. The first thing I noticed (after the shocking lack of new music in the past 5 years) was the presence of British Army recruitment ads in the commercial break. It’s extremely naive of me, but I did half-expect alternative music to be somewhat suggestive of anti-war sentiments. (But then again, how alternative can a channel be when its parent company also owns most of the available pop stations?)

The second thing was Metallica’s new video The Day that Never Comes, which ostensibly features US soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan (or maybe Pakistan?).

Immediately I was reminded of this Guardian news piece about US interrogators at Guantanamo Bay (and other sites?) playing certain songs, repeatedly and at deafening volumes, as a form of torture. That Guardian article does a good job of explaining why ‘torture’ is the appropriate word here. Now, one of those songs was Metallica’s Enter Sandman. Did they object? Well, allow me to quote the band’s vocalist James Hetfield:

“If the Iraqis aren’t used to freedom, then I’m glad to be part of their exposure”

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So what are the US special forces up to this week? I’ll give you three guesses. No, go on! What’s that, you say? Killing civilians and causing needless destruction again? Well I don’t know how you did that, but godamnit, you’re right. Have a cookie - or a prozac, whichever gets you through the day.

Yep, democracy is on the rampage again but this time in Pakistan. The ’smart bombs’ are officially confused. This story first came to my attention way back into The Guardian (in print last Thursday), I believe it was around p. 22. So it’s there if you want to find it (funny how the news works isn’t it?).

Since then, more updates have arrived on The Guardian online to a grand total of four as far as I can tell. We know that it was bound to happen soon, but I will admit I was mildly surprised. It’s being reported as an accidental spill-over from the Taliban hunting festivities in Afghanistan, reports are varied on what actually took place. Speaking generally, it seems as though between 7 -20 civilians were killed in their homes via several helicopters and heavily armed commandos.

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We’ve all heard the debate about whether video games affect our thoughts and behaviour. Personally, I have no problem with indiscriminate violence in games. Some senseless murders in Grand Theft Auto 4 can be highly cathartic, diminishing rather than exacerbating those murderous urges we all get (eh? anyone?). But there’s a worrying trend of videogame violence becoming discriminating, and senselessly so.

Case in point - Mercenaries 2, released this week. As far as I can tell from its wikipedia entry and various trailers, the game is set in Venezuela, in the year 2010. Megalomaniac ‘Ramón Solano’ has just seized power and become dictator. He takes control of the nation’s vast oil reserves and declares “It is time the Venezuelan people stop paying for the greed of foreign interests, we will make them pay dearly for our oil. From this day forward everybody pays”. And so you, the maverick mercenary, have to overthrow the Venezuelan government. (Apparently, because ‘Solano’ didn’t pay you for a previous job. Of course…)

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Alright, so in the papers this morning - the Home Office fancies granting extra powers and privileges to private security staff and council wardens, including dog wardens, housing wardens, football stewards, traffic wardens, bin men, security staff and shopping center staff.

So, what powers will they get? Speaking generally, they’ll be dealing with ‘anti-social behaviour’ when police involvement could be seen as excessive’.

• Ability to issue fines
• The right to obtain personal details
• The right to confiscate alcohol and cigarrettes from those who are either underage, or drinking / smoking in a public place.

It is perhaps a little telling that ‘The Wright Stuff‘ is covering this story (and most papers, infact) from an angle of cheap policing. i.e. Our government is cutting corners - again! They want us to do all the work - again! Why can’t we just have more policemen?

So what’s wrong with this idea? Saves taxpayer money and cuts crime… it’s a win/win situation. Right?

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I don’t know what ‘liberal’ is supposed to mean these days, but I always understood it as having something to do with the prioritisation of individual liberty (hence the etymology of the word). So when I heard Barack Obama’s new running mate summed up as ‘a liberal’ by the BBC last night, I did have to wonder.

Joe Biden supported the PATRIOT act, of all things. Now, admittedly he does want to restore the habeas corpus rights of detainees, but really - is that a specifically *liberal* position these days? It’s a central tenet of the US constitution, from which all US government officials, republican or democrat, (supposedly) derive their power. The constitution says: ‘The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.’  And let’s be clear, the USA have neither been invaded, nor have they revolted.

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Yesterday - Friday, August 22nd - a coaliton airstrike took place in the Herat province of Afghanistan. That is what we do know. And then the fun guessing game begins. You see, once again depending on who you ask, something wildly different actually happened.

Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry is claiming that 76 civilians were killed when the airstrike took place yesterday afternoon (19 women, 7 men, 50 children). Conversely, US forces claim that they took out roughly 25-30 terrorists and Taliban members that had been planning to attack US bases. It’s good to see them really going for this pre-emptive strike thing, isn’t it? (Remember when they did that and managed to wipe out everybody at an entire wedding reception?). Yeah, fighting the good fight for freedom. But I digress - the military is also claiming that the strike occurred in the early hours of the morning and that there were no further attacks that day. Oh yeah, and there were no civilian casualties. Reuters must be full of bullshit, right?

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Hat tip: JBalzer.

Now there has always been a minority of people who retain suspicion of the BBC and the organisation’s claim to impartiality. Being an institution essentially entirely reliant on the British government, the potential vested interests there were often cited as a reason for establishing commercial television in the 1950s. What a barrel of laughs and shining paragon of virtue that idea turned out to be. But the link between BBC content and governmental influence rarely seems to be explicitly stated. I’ve no doubt that some of you must have heard the general echoes that the BBC is a government propaganda instrument - however, it is often anecdotal. And so here is my modest attempt to connect the dots, a little bit.

So is there more to the concept of the BBC and the security services in collusion with one another? Does the BBC feel a conflict of interests; their duty to the public on one hand, their duty to uphold the image of our country and government on the other?

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(Left: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev)

So it seems that the French have brokered a deal between the two countries. For a while there it was looking like it might fall flat on it’s face; Medvedev claimed he would only sign once Saakashvili had. Russian troops are remaining in S.Ossetia for the time being.

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• Russia could strike Poland over U.S. shield (Reuters). See yesterday’s post for more on the missile-hosting agreement Poland signed up to on Thursday.

From what I gather, Col-General Anatoliy Nogovitsyn (who is Russian deputy-chief general of staff), gave an interview in which he stated that under current Russian military doctrine, an attack on Poland would be possible. This doctrine was re-worked in 2000, apparently to allow for a broader spectrum in which nuclear attacks would be acceptable. I will allow Nogovitsyn to further clarify the rationale:

“The USA is engaged in an anti-missile defense for its own government, and not for Poland. And Poland, in deploying (elements of the system) opens itself to a military strike. That is 100 percent[…] It is written clearly: We will use it in instances against governments that have nuclear weapons; against allies of countries with nuclear weapons, if they somehow enable them.”

Sounds a whole lot familiar to me. The US, and even our own country have used this rhetoric again and again - you just need to switch some of the words out for ‘those who harbour terrorists’ / ‘those who hinder freedom’ / ‘those who hate our great country and our allies’.  But of course, when the shoe is on the other foot, Russians are “evil […] 21st century barbarians.” (Saakashvili)

Well, not really. But how’s this for a case of life imitating art?

The man in FBI custody is now believed to be a German con-man named Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter. He’d earlier passed himself off as a member of the Rockefeller oil dynasty.

Acquaintances described him as a ‘charming intellectual with rarefied interests, a distinguished pedigree and a privileged air’.

He’s arrested on suspicion of kidnapping his daughter, which clearly isn’t funny. But damnit, all the rest of it is. And, just in case the FBI haven’t worked this one out yet: Clark Rockefeller = Christian Gerhartsreiter = Keyser Söze = Verbal Kint = Kevin Spacey. So, y’know, watch out Kev.

“Before I say anything else, I just want to say that I was running from Georgian troops bombing our city. Not Russian troops. I want to say thank you to the Russian troops that were helping us out.” - Amanda Kokoeva

Just stumbled across this gem from Fox News, broadcast yesterday. It’s reminiscent of so many other occasions on which Fox has deliberately cut footage to guests in order to prevent alternate discourses from receiving airtime.

A girl who happened to be visiting relatives in S.Ossetia at the time violence broke out along with her aunt, whose house was burnt down as a result of the fighting, talk openly on Fox News about placing the blame at the feet of the Georgian government.

Incidentally, if you would like to learn more about how Fox manipulates its’ audience please watch the excellent documentary, Outfoxed (available online at that link) and visit Brave New Films or subscribe to their YouTube channel.

In every single sodding sentence uttered by American officials, Saakashvili is referred to as the ‘democratically-elected president of a sovereign nation’.

We certainly seem to have a very short memory. In 2003, the US funded ‘Revolution of Roses’ brought Saakashvili to power via a thoroughly un-democratic coup.

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Over the past few days, the news media has been full of quotes such as these:

‘The US stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia and insists the territorial sovereignty of Georgia be respected’ - George Bush

The obvious implication is that South Ossetia is a part of Georgia, and the situation is framed as a simple invasion