David Fonseca - Hold Still
From the album "our hearts will beat one" (2005).
From the album "our hearts will beat one" (2005).
posted by duende mágico at 3:03 PM
1 comments
Friday, December 29, 2006
Discovering it on time, luck?
'New Mozart work' gets premiere
A recently discovered 18th-Century keyboard work believed to be one of the earliest by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has been performed in Austria.
The piece - about two minutes long - was played by Florian Birsak on a harpsichord in the Salzburg Residenz.
The discovery came in the 250th anniversary year of Mozart's birth, which was marked by festivities in his homeland and Mozart concerts worldwide.
Experts think Mozart wrote the piece when he was aged between six and 10.
It bears the title Allegro di Wolfgango Mozart and was contained in a volume of anonymous manuscripts given to Salzburg Archdiocese archivist Ernst Hintermaier, Austrian media report.
The reports did not name the person who donated them.
Mozart (1756-1791) was a child prodigy. He composed his first symphony before the age of 10 and his first successful opera by the age of 12.
Before his early death he had created hundreds of solo and orchestral pieces, inspiring the likes of Beethoven and Wagner.
A recently discovered 18th-Century keyboard work believed to be one of the earliest by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has been performed in Austria.
The piece - about two minutes long - was played by Florian Birsak on a harpsichord in the Salzburg Residenz.
The discovery came in the 250th anniversary year of Mozart's birth, which was marked by festivities in his homeland and Mozart concerts worldwide.
Experts think Mozart wrote the piece when he was aged between six and 10.
It bears the title Allegro di Wolfgango Mozart and was contained in a volume of anonymous manuscripts given to Salzburg Archdiocese archivist Ernst Hintermaier, Austrian media report.
The reports did not name the person who donated them.
Mozart (1756-1791) was a child prodigy. He composed his first symphony before the age of 10 and his first successful opera by the age of 12.
Before his early death he had created hundreds of solo and orchestral pieces, inspiring the likes of Beethoven and Wagner.
posted by duende mágico at 2:45 PM
0 comments
Dapunksportif
Taken from debut album "Ready!Set!Go!" from Dapunksportif (Peniche/Portugal) released through Rastilho Records (Portugal) in June´06.
Taken from debut album "Ready!Set!Go!" from Dapunksportif (Peniche/Portugal) released through Rastilho Records (Portugal) in June´06.
posted by duende mágico at 3:07 AM
0 comments
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Why wasn't i the one who created You tube?
Chad Hurley (left) and Steven Chen became very rich men when Google paid $1.6bn for their website, YouTube. The success of YouTube, with more than 100 million videos watched every day, is driving a revolution in the TV industry.
posted by duende mágico at 4:09 PM
1 comments
Bank of America sings U2's One
So proud of itself for successfully merging with MBNA, Bank of America takes one of the most beautiful U2 songs and changes the lyrics so it's about . . . credit cards. And it's maybe meant to be a joke. But the singer takes himself so seriously, that it's not a joke.
So proud of itself for successfully merging with MBNA, Bank of America takes one of the most beautiful U2 songs and changes the lyrics so it's about . . . credit cards. And it's maybe meant to be a joke. But the singer takes himself so seriously, that it's not a joke.
posted by duende mágico at 3:34 PM
0 comments
Is there a solution for south america?
Rio hit by deadly gang violence
Gang attacks on buses and police stations in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have left at least 18 people dead, officials say.
In one incident, seven passengers were burnt to death when gunmen attacked their bus and torched it.
The wave of violence across the city started on Wednesday night and continued into Thursday morning.
Officials said the co-ordinated attacks had probably been planned from jail by imprisoned gang leaders.
The gangs were trying to put pressure on the authorities ahead of the swearing-in of a new state governor on 1 January, Rio state Security Secretary Roberto Precioso told reporters.
"It is very difficult to prevent these types of attacks that were practically kamikaze. Police action prevented the situation from getting much worse," he said.
Favelas occupied
One local media report has spoken of an atmosphere of war in the city, which is preparing for a huge New Year's Eve beach party.
At least 12 police stations and posts in different parts of Rio were attacked with grenades and automatic fire.
Four buses were set on fire, and gunmen are reported to have stopped emergency workers from getting close to the scene.
"I don't know how, but I gathered my strength, got myself into the aisle of the bus and jumped through the window. I felt like I was being toasted," a woman who escaped one of the burning buses said.
As military police and gunmen exchanged fire on some of Rio's streets, motorists fled their cars to seek shelter.
Two police officers were among the dead, as well as seven gang members, Mr Precioso said.
He said three suspects had been arrested and added police had occupied 10 shantytowns, or favelas, which were controlled by drug gangs.
Rio is reputed to be one of the most violent cities in the world.
Its favelas, are frequently the scene of shoot-outs between officers and gang members, as are poor neighbourhoods in other Brazilian cities.
In May, more than 120 people died in Sao Paulo after a wave of gang attacks. These triggered a heavy police backlash, which was blamed for many of the deaths.
Gang attacks on buses and police stations in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have left at least 18 people dead, officials say.
In one incident, seven passengers were burnt to death when gunmen attacked their bus and torched it.
The wave of violence across the city started on Wednesday night and continued into Thursday morning.
Officials said the co-ordinated attacks had probably been planned from jail by imprisoned gang leaders.
The gangs were trying to put pressure on the authorities ahead of the swearing-in of a new state governor on 1 January, Rio state Security Secretary Roberto Precioso told reporters.
"It is very difficult to prevent these types of attacks that were practically kamikaze. Police action prevented the situation from getting much worse," he said.
Favelas occupied
One local media report has spoken of an atmosphere of war in the city, which is preparing for a huge New Year's Eve beach party.
At least 12 police stations and posts in different parts of Rio were attacked with grenades and automatic fire.
Four buses were set on fire, and gunmen are reported to have stopped emergency workers from getting close to the scene.
"I don't know how, but I gathered my strength, got myself into the aisle of the bus and jumped through the window. I felt like I was being toasted," a woman who escaped one of the burning buses said.
As military police and gunmen exchanged fire on some of Rio's streets, motorists fled their cars to seek shelter.
Two police officers were among the dead, as well as seven gang members, Mr Precioso said.
He said three suspects had been arrested and added police had occupied 10 shantytowns, or favelas, which were controlled by drug gangs.
Rio is reputed to be one of the most violent cities in the world.
Its favelas, are frequently the scene of shoot-outs between officers and gang members, as are poor neighbourhoods in other Brazilian cities.
In May, more than 120 people died in Sao Paulo after a wave of gang attacks. These triggered a heavy police backlash, which was blamed for many of the deaths.
posted by duende mágico at 3:26 PM
0 comments
GENE
One of my favourite bands from the britpop era.From "Olympian" (1995). Any Gene fans out there?
One of my favourite bands from the britpop era.From "Olympian" (1995). Any Gene fans out there?
posted by duende mágico at 2:37 AM
0 comments
I can manage 3 hours without food!
Nepal Buddha Boy 'sighted again'
A missing Nepalese teenager popularly known as Buddha Boy has reappeared after nine months, eyewitnesses say.
Thousands of people are thronging a jungle in southern Nepal to catch a glimpse of Ram Bahadur Bomjan, 17.
The boy's meditation and apparent 10-month fast attracted global attention before he vanished in March.
Bomjan's followers say he is an incarnation of Lord Buddha who was born in Lumbini, in present-day Nepal, more than 2,500 years ago.
Eyewitnesses said that a large number of people had reached the jungle in Bara district to get a glimpse of him.
The boy attracted international attention earlier this year when he was reported to have meditated for months without food.
But there has been no information about his whereabouts over the last nine months.
Eyewitnesses said that he had become thinner. The boy told the local reporters that he lived on herbs, but did not take other food.
He also carried a sword. Newspapers quoted him as saying that he kept the weapon for self-defence: "Even Buddha was forced to arrange for his security himself," he was quoted as saying.
His followers say he has been meditating without food or water and is immune to fire and snake bites.
These claims have not been independently verified. Scientists were unable to examine the boy as his followers said it would disturb his meditation.
A missing Nepalese teenager popularly known as Buddha Boy has reappeared after nine months, eyewitnesses say.
Thousands of people are thronging a jungle in southern Nepal to catch a glimpse of Ram Bahadur Bomjan, 17.
The boy's meditation and apparent 10-month fast attracted global attention before he vanished in March.
Bomjan's followers say he is an incarnation of Lord Buddha who was born in Lumbini, in present-day Nepal, more than 2,500 years ago.
Eyewitnesses said that a large number of people had reached the jungle in Bara district to get a glimpse of him.
The boy attracted international attention earlier this year when he was reported to have meditated for months without food.
But there has been no information about his whereabouts over the last nine months.
Eyewitnesses said that he had become thinner. The boy told the local reporters that he lived on herbs, but did not take other food.
He also carried a sword. Newspapers quoted him as saying that he kept the weapon for self-defence: "Even Buddha was forced to arrange for his security himself," he was quoted as saying.
His followers say he has been meditating without food or water and is immune to fire and snake bites.
These claims have not been independently verified. Scientists were unable to examine the boy as his followers said it would disturb his meditation.
posted by duende mágico at 2:32 AM
0 comments
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Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Are germans so in need of the money?
Pregnant Germans seek cash bonus
German mums-to-be are avoiding actions that may bring on labourMany German mothers-to-be are reportedly trying to delay labour so their births coincide with a generous new government scheme.
Parents of babies born on or after 1 January will be entitled to up to 25,200 euros (£16,911, $33,300) to ease the financial burden of parenthood.
But those born even a minute earlier will not be covered by the scheme.
The cash subsidies are part of a government initiative to boost Germany's dwindling birth rate.
German women have an average of 1.37 children, well below the average of 2.1 needed to keep a population stable. One minister recently warned of "the lights going out".
Under the current system of Elterngeld, parents receive a maximum of 7,200 euros (£4,831, $9,472) over two years.
But the parents of children born in 2007 will be granted over two thirds of their former salary for up to a year - up to 25,200 euros.
'Let nature take its course'
Doctors have been warning women not to take any medication to try to delay labour, and few, they stress, would put the life of their baby at risk for the sake of the money.
But what many mums-to-be do in order to bring on labour, pregnant Germans are now anxious to avoid.
These include drinking red wine, eating curries and taking part in physical activity.
Midwives are also advising women to avoid cinnamon and cloves - a staple of German Christmas cooking.
And it was to the government's festive spirit that a Berlin bishop appealed this week when he asked for the start date for the new benefits to be brought forward.
"It would be an anti-bureaucratic act in the spirit of Christmas to move the date from 1 January to 24 December," Wolfgang Huber, a leader of the Protestant church, said in the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper.
German mums-to-be are avoiding actions that may bring on labourMany German mothers-to-be are reportedly trying to delay labour so their births coincide with a generous new government scheme.
Parents of babies born on or after 1 January will be entitled to up to 25,200 euros (£16,911, $33,300) to ease the financial burden of parenthood.
But those born even a minute earlier will not be covered by the scheme.
The cash subsidies are part of a government initiative to boost Germany's dwindling birth rate.
German women have an average of 1.37 children, well below the average of 2.1 needed to keep a population stable. One minister recently warned of "the lights going out".
Under the current system of Elterngeld, parents receive a maximum of 7,200 euros (£4,831, $9,472) over two years.
But the parents of children born in 2007 will be granted over two thirds of their former salary for up to a year - up to 25,200 euros.
'Let nature take its course'
Doctors have been warning women not to take any medication to try to delay labour, and few, they stress, would put the life of their baby at risk for the sake of the money.
But what many mums-to-be do in order to bring on labour, pregnant Germans are now anxious to avoid.
These include drinking red wine, eating curries and taking part in physical activity.
Midwives are also advising women to avoid cinnamon and cloves - a staple of German Christmas cooking.
And it was to the government's festive spirit that a Berlin bishop appealed this week when he asked for the start date for the new benefits to be brought forward.
"It would be an anti-bureaucratic act in the spirit of Christmas to move the date from 1 January to 24 December," Wolfgang Huber, a leader of the Protestant church, said in the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper.
posted by duende mágico at 5:37 PM
0 comments
God's Gonna Cut You Down
Johnny Cash's New Video. Featuring appearances by:
# Iggy Pop
# Kanye West
# Chris Martin
# Kris Kristofferson
# Patti Smith
# Terrence Howard
# Flea
# Q-Tip
# Adam Levine
# Chris Rock
# Justin Timberlake
# Kate Moss
# Sir Peter Blake
# Sheryl Crow
# Dennis Hopper
# Woody Harrelson
# Amy Lee
# Tommy Lee
# Dixie Chicks
# Mick Jones
# Sharon Stone
# Bono
# Shelby Lynne
# Anthony Kiedis
# Travis Barker
# Lisa Marie Presley
# Kid Rock
# Jay Z
# Keith Richards
# Billy Gibbons
# Corinne Bailey Rae
# Johnny Depp
# Graham Nash
# Brian Wilson
# Rick Rubin
# Owen Wilson
Johnny Cash's New Video. Featuring appearances by:
# Iggy Pop
# Kanye West
# Chris Martin
# Kris Kristofferson
# Patti Smith
# Terrence Howard
# Flea
# Q-Tip
# Adam Levine
# Chris Rock
# Justin Timberlake
# Kate Moss
# Sir Peter Blake
# Sheryl Crow
# Dennis Hopper
# Woody Harrelson
# Amy Lee
# Tommy Lee
# Dixie Chicks
# Mick Jones
# Sharon Stone
# Bono
# Shelby Lynne
# Anthony Kiedis
# Travis Barker
# Lisa Marie Presley
# Kid Rock
# Jay Z
# Keith Richards
# Billy Gibbons
# Corinne Bailey Rae
# Johnny Depp
# Graham Nash
# Brian Wilson
# Rick Rubin
# Owen Wilson
posted by duende mágico at 4:49 PM
0 comments
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Weekend Without Makeup - The Long Blondes
This is a beautiful Sheffield (england)band
This is a beautiful Sheffield (england)band
posted by duende mágico at 6:30 PM
0 comments
Monday, December 25, 2006
Vontade de viver
O exemplo dos sem-abrigo de Lorrach
Mário Bettencourt Resendes>>Jornalista>>
A notícia tem já meia dúzia de semanas. E impressionou-me pela >violência rara e brutal dos factos relatados.>>Recorrendo a meios típicos da Pré-História informática, recortei-a e >foi para o dossier dos "assuntos pendentes", à espera de uma >oportunidade para escrever sobre o assunto. A escassos dias do >Natal, um tempo próprio de celebração da vida, surge a ocasião >adequada.>>Vamos ao tema. Era uma breve, vinha num baixo de página do Público e >dizia, em síntese, o seguinte: "Uma rapariga de 21 anos subiu ao >telhado do edifício da câmara da cidade alemã de Lorrach, com a >intenção de pôr termo à vida. Uma multidão de mirones juntou-se na >praça e uma parte dos presentes, na sua maioria entre os 16 e os 19 >anos, encorajaram a jovem a saltar (!) [o ponto de exclamação é da >responsabilidade do autor deste texto]. Alguns sem-abrigo, que >habitualmente ocupam o lugar, protestaram. Os ânimos aqueceram e em >pouco tempo havia mais de 40 pessoas envolvidas em confrontos. A >polícia teve de intervir para separar os dois grupos e seis agentes >ficaram ligeiramente feridos. A jovem acabou por descer e foi >conduzida a uma clínica da região.">>Sempre encarei o suicídio como uma desistência. Já vi, ao longo da >vida, muita tristeza e desespero, desilusões imensas, dores brutais >que trazem a negritude dos horizontes. E sei que a mente humana é um >mundo complexo, com profundezas onde não impera a lógica, com >distorções que dominam os comportamentos e eliminam a razão. E >também não ignoro que há situações terminais, em que a chegada da >morte natural pode ser um alívio.>>Mas conheci também resistentes, que nunca deixaram cair os braços, >mesmo quando era óbvio que o caminho não tinha saída. Não vislumbro, >confesso, qualquer coragem no suicídio. Há mesmo, no Jardim do >Colégio, em Ponta Delgada, um banco que é das poucas coisas que me >afastam de Antero: foi aí, no dia 11 de Setembro de 1891, que o mais >genial dos meus conterrâneos desistiu da vida.>>O episódio da jovem de Lorrach choca menos pelo desespero de uma >rapariga do que pelo incitamento ao suicídio por parte de um grupo >onde, eventualmente, estariam alguns dos seus amigos. Como é >possível que jovens, "com idades entre 16 e 21 anos", tentem >empurrar para a morte "um dos seus", quase como se se tratasse de >uma paródia de sábado à noite, quiçá uma proeza merecedora de >aplauso post mortem?>>E há depois a reacção, que nos reconcilia um pouco com a vida, dos >sem-abrigo que se indignaram. Eles, essa gente que, pelos mais >variados motivos, pouco tem a esperar do futuro, revoltaram-se >contra a morte e contra aqueles que, com uma crueldade sem limites, >queriam o espectáculo de um suicídio em directo.>>Não falta hoje quem passe pelo Natal com um sentimento de fastio. E >a verdade é que o mundo moderno, nas sociedades mais de- >senvolvidas, transformou a quadra num fes- tival de consumismo, com >a multiplicação de ofertas e felicitações "obrigatórias" - não >esquecendo as sessões gastronómicas que arruínam a elegância e >ameaçam a saúde.>>Com ou sem convicções religiosas, pouco sobra para um tempo genuíno >de celebração da vida.>>O jornalista deixa-vos, aqui, a propósito do Natal, o exemplo dos >sem-abrigo da praça central de Lorrach como fonte de meditação. E >repete a frase tantas vezes escrita nestas colunas: "Só é vencido >quem desiste de lutar."
Mário Bettencourt Resendes>>Jornalista>>
A notícia tem já meia dúzia de semanas. E impressionou-me pela >violência rara e brutal dos factos relatados.>>Recorrendo a meios típicos da Pré-História informática, recortei-a e >foi para o dossier dos "assuntos pendentes", à espera de uma >oportunidade para escrever sobre o assunto. A escassos dias do >Natal, um tempo próprio de celebração da vida, surge a ocasião >adequada.>>Vamos ao tema. Era uma breve, vinha num baixo de página do Público e >dizia, em síntese, o seguinte: "Uma rapariga de 21 anos subiu ao >telhado do edifício da câmara da cidade alemã de Lorrach, com a >intenção de pôr termo à vida. Uma multidão de mirones juntou-se na >praça e uma parte dos presentes, na sua maioria entre os 16 e os 19 >anos, encorajaram a jovem a saltar (!) [o ponto de exclamação é da >responsabilidade do autor deste texto]. Alguns sem-abrigo, que >habitualmente ocupam o lugar, protestaram. Os ânimos aqueceram e em >pouco tempo havia mais de 40 pessoas envolvidas em confrontos. A >polícia teve de intervir para separar os dois grupos e seis agentes >ficaram ligeiramente feridos. A jovem acabou por descer e foi >conduzida a uma clínica da região.">>Sempre encarei o suicídio como uma desistência. Já vi, ao longo da >vida, muita tristeza e desespero, desilusões imensas, dores brutais >que trazem a negritude dos horizontes. E sei que a mente humana é um >mundo complexo, com profundezas onde não impera a lógica, com >distorções que dominam os comportamentos e eliminam a razão. E >também não ignoro que há situações terminais, em que a chegada da >morte natural pode ser um alívio.>>Mas conheci também resistentes, que nunca deixaram cair os braços, >mesmo quando era óbvio que o caminho não tinha saída. Não vislumbro, >confesso, qualquer coragem no suicídio. Há mesmo, no Jardim do >Colégio, em Ponta Delgada, um banco que é das poucas coisas que me >afastam de Antero: foi aí, no dia 11 de Setembro de 1891, que o mais >genial dos meus conterrâneos desistiu da vida.>>O episódio da jovem de Lorrach choca menos pelo desespero de uma >rapariga do que pelo incitamento ao suicídio por parte de um grupo >onde, eventualmente, estariam alguns dos seus amigos. Como é >possível que jovens, "com idades entre 16 e 21 anos", tentem >empurrar para a morte "um dos seus", quase como se se tratasse de >uma paródia de sábado à noite, quiçá uma proeza merecedora de >aplauso post mortem?>>E há depois a reacção, que nos reconcilia um pouco com a vida, dos >sem-abrigo que se indignaram. Eles, essa gente que, pelos mais >variados motivos, pouco tem a esperar do futuro, revoltaram-se >contra a morte e contra aqueles que, com uma crueldade sem limites, >queriam o espectáculo de um suicídio em directo.>>Não falta hoje quem passe pelo Natal com um sentimento de fastio. E >a verdade é que o mundo moderno, nas sociedades mais de- >senvolvidas, transformou a quadra num fes- tival de consumismo, com >a multiplicação de ofertas e felicitações "obrigatórias" - não >esquecendo as sessões gastronómicas que arruínam a elegância e >ameaçam a saúde.>>Com ou sem convicções religiosas, pouco sobra para um tempo genuíno >de celebração da vida.>>O jornalista deixa-vos, aqui, a propósito do Natal, o exemplo dos >sem-abrigo da praça central de Lorrach como fonte de meditação. E >repete a frase tantas vezes escrita nestas colunas: "Só é vencido >quem desiste de lutar."
posted by duende mágico at 11:46 PM
0 comments
Sunday, December 24, 2006
The Power of Love
When i was a kid i liked this music, and today i felt the nostalgia so ...mery christmas!
When i was a kid i liked this music, and today i felt the nostalgia so ...mery christmas!
posted by duende mágico at 1:09 PM
0 comments
Friday, December 22, 2006
phoenix - if i ever feel better
french music makes me feel better
french music makes me feel better
posted by duende mágico at 8:11 PM
0 comments
News from the new frontier
The ATV will be put in orbit by the European Ariane launcher. It will provide the International Space Station with pressurised cargo, water, air, nitrogen, oxygen, and the propellant the platform needs to keep itself in a stable configuration. The ATV can also boost the ISS's altitude.
posted by duende mágico at 7:55 PM
0 comments
What's coming 2007?
Science magazine's breakthroughs of 2006
1. The Poincare Conjecture. Reclusive Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman apparently solved the venerable mathematical problem.
2. Digging out fossil DNA. Researchers used new techniques to sequence more than one million bases of nuclear DNA from a Neanderthal.
3. Shrinking Ice. Glaciologists discovered that the world's two great ice sheets were indeed losing water to the oceans - at an accelerating pace.
4. From sea to land. Details emerged of a 375-million-year-old fish that fills an evolutionary gap between sea creatures and land animals.
5. The Ultimate Camouflage. A British-American team built a "metamaterials" cloaking device, that rendered an object invisible to microwaves.
6. Ray of Hope. Clinical trials show the drug ranizumab improved the vision of about one-third of patients with an age-related condition that causes degeneration in vision.
7. The road to speciation. Studies on the fruit fly and on butterflies aided our understanding of how species arise.
8. Beyond the light barrier. New microscopy techniques allowed biologists to get a clearer view of the fine structure of cells and proteins.
9. The Persistence of Memory. Neuroscientists provided insights into how the brain records new memories.
10. Small molecules. Researchers reported a new class of small RNA molecules that shut down gene expression.
1. The Poincare Conjecture. Reclusive Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman apparently solved the venerable mathematical problem.
2. Digging out fossil DNA. Researchers used new techniques to sequence more than one million bases of nuclear DNA from a Neanderthal.
3. Shrinking Ice. Glaciologists discovered that the world's two great ice sheets were indeed losing water to the oceans - at an accelerating pace.
4. From sea to land. Details emerged of a 375-million-year-old fish that fills an evolutionary gap between sea creatures and land animals.
5. The Ultimate Camouflage. A British-American team built a "metamaterials" cloaking device, that rendered an object invisible to microwaves.
6. Ray of Hope. Clinical trials show the drug ranizumab improved the vision of about one-third of patients with an age-related condition that causes degeneration in vision.
7. The road to speciation. Studies on the fruit fly and on butterflies aided our understanding of how species arise.
8. Beyond the light barrier. New microscopy techniques allowed biologists to get a clearer view of the fine structure of cells and proteins.
9. The Persistence of Memory. Neuroscientists provided insights into how the brain records new memories.
10. Small molecules. Researchers reported a new class of small RNA molecules that shut down gene expression.
posted by duende mágico at 7:21 PM
0 comments
I wonder, does this means we christians around the world are the heirs to the throne of Poland?
Polish MPs bid to make Jesus king
The MPs cited historical and theological reasons for the moveA group of Polish members of parliament have submitted a bill seeking to proclaim Jesus Christ king of their overwhelmingly Catholic country.
Forty-six deputies - 10% of the lower house - signed the bill, which was tabled earlier this week, reports say.
Some Polish clerics however have criticised the move as unnecessary.
If the bill becomes law, Jesus will follow the path of the Virgin Mary, who was declared honorary queen of Poland by King John Casimir 350 years ago.
The motion has been backed by MPs from the far right League of Polish families (LPR), the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party and the Peasants' Party (PSL).
They argued Jesus should be made king on both theological and historical grounds.
PiS deputy Artur Gorski said colleagues were "praying in the parliamentary chapel for [Jesus'] coronation", Reuters news agency reported.
But Monsignor Tadeusz Pieronek, a member of Poland's episcopate and rector at Krakow's Papal Academy of Theology, dismissed the move.
"Christ doesn't need a parliamentary resolution to be the king of our hearts," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
"These lawmakers would do better to look after their constitutional prerogatives and let religious institutions and the Church do our work," he said.
The MPs cited historical and theological reasons for the moveA group of Polish members of parliament have submitted a bill seeking to proclaim Jesus Christ king of their overwhelmingly Catholic country.
Forty-six deputies - 10% of the lower house - signed the bill, which was tabled earlier this week, reports say.
Some Polish clerics however have criticised the move as unnecessary.
If the bill becomes law, Jesus will follow the path of the Virgin Mary, who was declared honorary queen of Poland by King John Casimir 350 years ago.
The motion has been backed by MPs from the far right League of Polish families (LPR), the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party and the Peasants' Party (PSL).
They argued Jesus should be made king on both theological and historical grounds.
PiS deputy Artur Gorski said colleagues were "praying in the parliamentary chapel for [Jesus'] coronation", Reuters news agency reported.
But Monsignor Tadeusz Pieronek, a member of Poland's episcopate and rector at Krakow's Papal Academy of Theology, dismissed the move.
"Christ doesn't need a parliamentary resolution to be the king of our hearts," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
"These lawmakers would do better to look after their constitutional prerogatives and let religious institutions and the Church do our work," he said.
posted by duende mágico at 2:18 PM
0 comments
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Martina Topley-Bird - Anything [music vid] [pv]
2nd music video from Martina Topley-Bird's debut album "Quixotic" Probably most known from all the music she made with the trip hop artist Tricky.
2nd music video from Martina Topley-Bird's debut album "Quixotic" Probably most known from all the music she made with the trip hop artist Tricky.
posted by duende mágico at 7:18 PM
0 comments
Strange future
Robots could demand legal rights
Robots could one day demand the same citizen's rights as humans, according to a study by the British government.
If granted, countries would be obliged to provide social benefits including housing and even "robo-healthcare", the report says.
The predictions are contained in nearly 250 papers that look ahead at developments over the next 50 years.
Other papers, or "scans", examine the future of space flight and methods to dramatically lengthen life spans.
"We're not in the business of predicting the future, but we do need to explore the broadest range of different possibilities to help ensure government is prepared in the long-term and considers issues across the spectrum in its planning," said Sir David King, the government's chief scientific adviser.
"The scans are aimed at stimulating debate and critical discussion to enhance government's short and long term policy and strategy."
Robot rights
The research was commissioned by the UK Office of Science and Innovation's Horizon Scanning Centre.
The 246 summary papers, called the Sigma and Delta scans, were complied by futures researchers, Outsights-Ipsos Mori partnership and the US-based Institute for the Future (IFTF).
The reports also explored the future of manned space flight
The papers look forward at emerging trends in science, health and technology.
The scans explore a diverse range of areas from the future of the gulf stream and the economic rise of India, to developments in nanotechnology and the threat posed by HIV/Aids.
As well as assessing the current state of thinking the research also examines the possible implications for society.
The paper which addresses Robo-rights, titled Utopian dream or rise of the machines? examines the developments in artificial intelligence and how this may impact on law and politics.
The paper says a "monumental shift" could occur if robots develop to the point where they can reproduce, improve themselves or develop artificial intelligence.
The research suggests that at some point in the next 20 to 50 years robots could be granted rights.
If this happened, the report says, the robots would have certain responsibilities such as voting, the obligation to pay taxes, and perhaps serving compulsory military service.
Conversely, society would also have a duty of care to their new digital citizens, the report says.
It also warns that the rise of robots could put a strain on resources and the environment.
"These scans are tools for government to identify risks and opportunities in the future," said Sir David.
Robots could one day demand the same citizen's rights as humans, according to a study by the British government.
If granted, countries would be obliged to provide social benefits including housing and even "robo-healthcare", the report says.
The predictions are contained in nearly 250 papers that look ahead at developments over the next 50 years.
Other papers, or "scans", examine the future of space flight and methods to dramatically lengthen life spans.
"We're not in the business of predicting the future, but we do need to explore the broadest range of different possibilities to help ensure government is prepared in the long-term and considers issues across the spectrum in its planning," said Sir David King, the government's chief scientific adviser.
"The scans are aimed at stimulating debate and critical discussion to enhance government's short and long term policy and strategy."
Robot rights
The research was commissioned by the UK Office of Science and Innovation's Horizon Scanning Centre.
The 246 summary papers, called the Sigma and Delta scans, were complied by futures researchers, Outsights-Ipsos Mori partnership and the US-based Institute for the Future (IFTF).
The reports also explored the future of manned space flight
The papers look forward at emerging trends in science, health and technology.
The scans explore a diverse range of areas from the future of the gulf stream and the economic rise of India, to developments in nanotechnology and the threat posed by HIV/Aids.
As well as assessing the current state of thinking the research also examines the possible implications for society.
The paper which addresses Robo-rights, titled Utopian dream or rise of the machines? examines the developments in artificial intelligence and how this may impact on law and politics.
The paper says a "monumental shift" could occur if robots develop to the point where they can reproduce, improve themselves or develop artificial intelligence.
The research suggests that at some point in the next 20 to 50 years robots could be granted rights.
If this happened, the report says, the robots would have certain responsibilities such as voting, the obligation to pay taxes, and perhaps serving compulsory military service.
Conversely, society would also have a duty of care to their new digital citizens, the report says.
It also warns that the rise of robots could put a strain on resources and the environment.
"These scans are tools for government to identify risks and opportunities in the future," said Sir David.
posted by duende mágico at 6:14 PM
0 comments
Ladyflash
The go! team - ladyflash video. Great band/album
The go! team - ladyflash video. Great band/album
posted by duende mágico at 2:10 PM
0 comments
Just what they need...
'Karaoke boost' for N Korea troops
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is reported to have found a rousing way of boosting morale among his troops - by giving them karaoke machines.
He said karaoke sessions eased tensions in the ranks, but also encouraged competitiveness, state media reported.
North Korea has one of the world's largest manned armies, but levels of training, discipline and equipment are reported to be low.
The secretive state alarmed the world with a nuclear test in October.
"I plan to send more song-accompanying machines to the People's Armed Forces," Kim Jong-il was quoted as saying by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers Party of Korea, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency.
He told a meeting of military commanders that "the atmosphere changed completely" among troops when they started to sing along to the tunes on the machine.
And he also noted that soldiers and officers competed with each other to get the highest scores, the newspaper reported.
Kim keeps track of the number of karaoke machines sent out to each troop division by writing it down in a notebook, according to the Rodong Sinmun.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is reported to have found a rousing way of boosting morale among his troops - by giving them karaoke machines.
He said karaoke sessions eased tensions in the ranks, but also encouraged competitiveness, state media reported.
North Korea has one of the world's largest manned armies, but levels of training, discipline and equipment are reported to be low.
The secretive state alarmed the world with a nuclear test in October.
"I plan to send more song-accompanying machines to the People's Armed Forces," Kim Jong-il was quoted as saying by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers Party of Korea, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency.
He told a meeting of military commanders that "the atmosphere changed completely" among troops when they started to sing along to the tunes on the machine.
And he also noted that soldiers and officers competed with each other to get the highest scores, the newspaper reported.
Kim keeps track of the number of karaoke machines sent out to each troop division by writing it down in a notebook, according to the Rodong Sinmun.
posted by duende mágico at 1:37 PM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Monks clash!
Greek monks clash over monastery
Violent clashes between two groups of Greek monks at a disputed monastery in Mount Athos left at least four monks in hospital, local police said.
Fighting reportedly broke out when monks loyal to the Orthodox Patriarch attempted to enter a monastery occupied by a rebel faction.
Four monks were hospitalised after the clash in which crowbars and fire extinguishers were used as weapons.
The rebel monks have ignored court and Church orders to leave the monastery.
Religious schism
Esphigmenou monastery has been the scene of a long-running dispute between Orthodox Church authorities and dissident monks who are bitterly opposed to the Orthodox Church's efforts to improve relations with the Roman Catholic Church.
The rebel monks view relations between the two churches as tantamount to heresy.
In the latest incident both sides blamed each other for provocation.
The rebel monks have been occupying the site since 2003 and have ignored eviction orders from both the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I and Greece's supreme court.
Mount Athos is one of the holiest sites in Orthodox Christianity.
In October a Greek court gave two-year suspended custodial sentences to nine Esphigmenou monks for continuing their illegal occupation of the monastery.
Violent clashes between two groups of Greek monks at a disputed monastery in Mount Athos left at least four monks in hospital, local police said.
Fighting reportedly broke out when monks loyal to the Orthodox Patriarch attempted to enter a monastery occupied by a rebel faction.
Four monks were hospitalised after the clash in which crowbars and fire extinguishers were used as weapons.
The rebel monks have ignored court and Church orders to leave the monastery.
Religious schism
Esphigmenou monastery has been the scene of a long-running dispute between Orthodox Church authorities and dissident monks who are bitterly opposed to the Orthodox Church's efforts to improve relations with the Roman Catholic Church.
The rebel monks view relations between the two churches as tantamount to heresy.
In the latest incident both sides blamed each other for provocation.
The rebel monks have been occupying the site since 2003 and have ignored eviction orders from both the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I and Greece's supreme court.
Mount Athos is one of the holiest sites in Orthodox Christianity.
In October a Greek court gave two-year suspended custodial sentences to nine Esphigmenou monks for continuing their illegal occupation of the monastery.
posted by duende mágico at 6:52 PM
0 comments
orbital 'the box'
whatever happened to the 90's electronic music? 90% were crap but there was some valid projects like Orbital.
whatever happened to the 90's electronic music? 90% were crap but there was some valid projects like Orbital.
posted by duende mágico at 2:45 PM
0 comments
Forgoten wars
Janjaweed blamed for Chad attack
Chadian forces encounter rebels and the Janjaweed in the eastAlmost 40 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and armed raiders in eastern Chad in the past few days, the government says.
Officials say 20 civilians, eight Chadian soldiers and nine raiders were killed when Janjaweed militia attacked and partially burnt down two villages.
The government has blamed the Arab militia, based in neighbouring Sudan.
Janjaweed fighters have launched attacks from Darfur in the past year and many villages are now empty.
There have been repeated warnings that Sudan's Darfur conflict, where more than 200,000 have died and some 2m people have been displaced in three years of fighting, could spill over into Chad and the Central African Republic.
Chad's government has accused the Janjaweed of mutilating their victims.
Civilians sought refuge in the nearby refugee camp, Goz Amer, run by the United Nations refugee agency for some of the 200,000 Sudanese in Chad.
"The government response was pretty strong and there are a lot of Chadian army troops in the zone," an aid worker, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters news agency.
The head of the UNHCR, Antonio Guterres, will visit Chad on Wednesday.
The governments of Chad and Sudan accuse each other of supporting the other's rebels.
Chadian rebels launched a campaign earlier this year aimed at overthrowing President Idriss Deby.
The UN says about 90,000 Chadians have been displaced by recent fighting.
Chadian forces encounter rebels and the Janjaweed in the eastAlmost 40 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and armed raiders in eastern Chad in the past few days, the government says.
Officials say 20 civilians, eight Chadian soldiers and nine raiders were killed when Janjaweed militia attacked and partially burnt down two villages.
The government has blamed the Arab militia, based in neighbouring Sudan.
Janjaweed fighters have launched attacks from Darfur in the past year and many villages are now empty.
There have been repeated warnings that Sudan's Darfur conflict, where more than 200,000 have died and some 2m people have been displaced in three years of fighting, could spill over into Chad and the Central African Republic.
Chad's government has accused the Janjaweed of mutilating their victims.
Civilians sought refuge in the nearby refugee camp, Goz Amer, run by the United Nations refugee agency for some of the 200,000 Sudanese in Chad.
"The government response was pretty strong and there are a lot of Chadian army troops in the zone," an aid worker, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters news agency.
The head of the UNHCR, Antonio Guterres, will visit Chad on Wednesday.
The governments of Chad and Sudan accuse each other of supporting the other's rebels.
Chadian rebels launched a campaign earlier this year aimed at overthrowing President Idriss Deby.
The UN says about 90,000 Chadians have been displaced by recent fighting.
posted by duende mágico at 1:32 PM
0 comments
Blockhead - Insomniac Olympics
underground beats for an urban/night spirit
underground beats for an urban/night spirit
posted by duende mágico at 2:17 AM
0 comments
Tree frog , found in Borneo - we still don't know them all!
posted by duende mágico at 1:50 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-spread your love
Spread your love like a fever...
Spread your love like a fever...
posted by duende mágico at 7:13 PM
0 comments
Smelly news
Sense of smell 'underestimated'
The red line shows an attempt to follow the straight scent trailThe sensitivity of the human sense of smell has been significantly underestimated, a study suggests.
US research had confounded the established belief that people have a poorer sense of smell than animals.
The work, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, asked people to follow scents on the ground, as a dog would do, and found they were as good.
A UK expert said the findings were "intriguing" and would aid better understanding of the sense.
It is not the second class system that has been the traditional assumption
Dr Peter Brennan, University of Bristol
The researchers from University of California Berkley laid scent trails, including one of chocolate essential oil, in a grassy field, and asked 32 people to find the 10 metre trail and track it to the end.
Those who took part were blindfolded and wore thick gloves and earplugs to force them to rely exclusively on smell.
Two thirds were able to follow the scent.
And while they remained slower than the animals at tracking scents, their performance improved over time.
In other tests, it was found that humans required both nostrils to be working to be able to track scents.
'Highly developed'
Writing in Nature Neuroscience, the researchers led by Dr Noam Sobel showed the human sense of smell was more powerful than previously believed and that, with training, humans might be capable of tasks which had been thought to be the exclusive province of non-human animals.
Dr Peter Brennan, a physiologist at the University of Bristol, said: "It's certainly an intriguing piece of research.
"It shows that although the sense of smell is less important for humans than it is for many other animals, it is nonetheless a highly developed and sophisticated sensory system.
"It is not the second class system that has been the traditional assumption."
He added: "There has been previous evidence that scent can elicit orientation and movement towards maternal odours by new-born babies, but this is the first time that adult humans have been shown to follow a scent trail."
Dr Brennan said the findings could enable specific areas of research into the human sense of smell.
"For example, it would be interesting to study the extent to which blind people make use of their sense of smell for finding their way around their environment."
The red line shows an attempt to follow the straight scent trailThe sensitivity of the human sense of smell has been significantly underestimated, a study suggests.
US research had confounded the established belief that people have a poorer sense of smell than animals.
The work, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, asked people to follow scents on the ground, as a dog would do, and found they were as good.
A UK expert said the findings were "intriguing" and would aid better understanding of the sense.
It is not the second class system that has been the traditional assumption
Dr Peter Brennan, University of Bristol
The researchers from University of California Berkley laid scent trails, including one of chocolate essential oil, in a grassy field, and asked 32 people to find the 10 metre trail and track it to the end.
Those who took part were blindfolded and wore thick gloves and earplugs to force them to rely exclusively on smell.
Two thirds were able to follow the scent.
And while they remained slower than the animals at tracking scents, their performance improved over time.
In other tests, it was found that humans required both nostrils to be working to be able to track scents.
'Highly developed'
Writing in Nature Neuroscience, the researchers led by Dr Noam Sobel showed the human sense of smell was more powerful than previously believed and that, with training, humans might be capable of tasks which had been thought to be the exclusive province of non-human animals.
Dr Peter Brennan, a physiologist at the University of Bristol, said: "It's certainly an intriguing piece of research.
"It shows that although the sense of smell is less important for humans than it is for many other animals, it is nonetheless a highly developed and sophisticated sensory system.
"It is not the second class system that has been the traditional assumption."
He added: "There has been previous evidence that scent can elicit orientation and movement towards maternal odours by new-born babies, but this is the first time that adult humans have been shown to follow a scent trail."
Dr Brennan said the findings could enable specific areas of research into the human sense of smell.
"For example, it would be interesting to study the extent to which blind people make use of their sense of smell for finding their way around their environment."
posted by duende mágico at 6:52 PM
0 comments
Hey Joe
Michael Pitt of Pagoda and The Twins of Evil collaborated on a cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic "Hey Joe" for the original motion picture soundtrack of "The Dreamers." A video was shot for it by Bernardo Bertolucci who also directed the film and included as a bonus feature on the DVD release.
Michael Pitt of Pagoda and The Twins of Evil collaborated on a cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic "Hey Joe" for the original motion picture soundtrack of "The Dreamers." A video was shot for it by Bernardo Bertolucci who also directed the film and included as a bonus feature on the DVD release.
posted by duende mágico at 1:54 PM
0 comments
Taxes are allright, as long as we could see the results!
Hallyday exile row gets political
Hallyday made a failed bid to acquire Belgian nationality this yearFrench rock star Johnny Halliday's plans to leave the country have sparked a political row.
The singer, who is a high-profile supporter of the centre-right interior minister Mr Sarkozy, is moving to Switzerland to escape French taxes.
Francois Hollande, leader of the rival Socialists, joked it was "a really nice way to support his chosen candidate".
Mr Sarkozy is the leading candidate to represent the ruling UMP Gaullist party in next year's presidential election.
'Escape'
Mr Hollande told French station Radio J: "If he really thought Nicolas Sarkozy could win, and was so convinced by his policies, he only had to wait four months."
And at a rally, left-wing candidate Segolene Royal said she had deliberately avoided "having as a friend someone who escapes to Switzerland to pay their taxes".
Mr Sarkozy says France should be a place for everybody, rich or poorHallyday, who has sold 100 million albums during a 40-year career, must spend six months and a day each year in Switzerland to avoid French taxes.
In September, he posed with Mr Sarkozy to support the politician's campaign, but warned he would leave France if Mr Sarkozy failed to keep his promises.
President Jacques Chirac, who presented Hallyday with the medal of knight in the Legion of Honour in 1997, said he valued Hallyday as a friend and an artist but regretted his actions as a citizen.
Mr Sarkozy has declined to comment directly.
Hallyday made a failed bid to acquire Belgian nationality this yearFrench rock star Johnny Halliday's plans to leave the country have sparked a political row.
The singer, who is a high-profile supporter of the centre-right interior minister Mr Sarkozy, is moving to Switzerland to escape French taxes.
Francois Hollande, leader of the rival Socialists, joked it was "a really nice way to support his chosen candidate".
Mr Sarkozy is the leading candidate to represent the ruling UMP Gaullist party in next year's presidential election.
'Escape'
Mr Hollande told French station Radio J: "If he really thought Nicolas Sarkozy could win, and was so convinced by his policies, he only had to wait four months."
And at a rally, left-wing candidate Segolene Royal said she had deliberately avoided "having as a friend someone who escapes to Switzerland to pay their taxes".
Mr Sarkozy says France should be a place for everybody, rich or poorHallyday, who has sold 100 million albums during a 40-year career, must spend six months and a day each year in Switzerland to avoid French taxes.
In September, he posed with Mr Sarkozy to support the politician's campaign, but warned he would leave France if Mr Sarkozy failed to keep his promises.
President Jacques Chirac, who presented Hallyday with the medal of knight in the Legion of Honour in 1997, said he valued Hallyday as a friend and an artist but regretted his actions as a citizen.
Mr Sarkozy has declined to comment directly.
posted by duende mágico at 1:38 PM
0 comments
Monday, December 18, 2006
Death Cab For Cutie - Soul Meets Body
one of the best songs of 2006
one of the best songs of 2006
posted by duende mágico at 10:55 PM
0 comments
German opera decapitates Muhammad. Art beats hypocrits
Police on alert for controversial staging of Mozart's "Idomeneo"
BERLIN: Audience members at Monday's Deutsche Oper production of Mozart's "Idomeneo" will be kindly asked to empty their pockets of all metal objects. And they should be prepared to leave — quickly — in case of a bomb alert.
Fears of a Muslim backlash over a scene featuring the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad have prompted security precautions more suited to the airport than the opera.
Mozart, born 250 years ago, was noted for an impish sense of humor, and some directors take huge liberties with their interpretations of operas. But the security measures for the performance are not part of the plot — and no Mozart Year joke.
It's a case of art meeting religious sensibility — and a decision that the show must go on, despite concerns that the production could prompt violence.
Mozart might wonder what the heads of Islam's founder, along with those of Jesus, Buddha and the Greek god of the seas, Poseidon, are doing in his opera. They are the brainchild of director Hans Neuenfels, whose production premiered three years ago. While some critics found the twist trite back then, it aroused little attention outside the opera world.
But that was before a Danish newspaper cartoon of Muhammad led to Muslim riots worldwide — and before comments by German-born Pope Benedict XVI further inflamed sensibilities in the Islamic world, just as the Neuenfels production was to be revived.
Such fears initially led the opera house to cancel revival plans. Opera manager Kirsten Harms said in September that her decision was prompted by the advice of Berlin police and she invoked the "consequences of the conflict over the (Muhammad) caricatures."
But a city proud of its openness, tolerance and artistic verve was aghast.
Some Muslim leaders praised the decision, but even Kenan Kolat, the leader of Germany's Turkish community, equated it with a step "back in the Middle Ages." Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against "self-censorship out of fear," and Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble — in charge of police — described it as "crazy."
So the show is back. But it comes with safeguards that for some will make the experience more like clearing airport security than a night at the opera.
Staff are setting up electronic scanner gates at entrances, said opera spokesman Alexander Busche. A memo from Berlin police tells employees what to do in case of a bomb threat, and officers will be present in force — although low-key, so as not to intrude on what all hope will be nothing more than a musical and visual experience.
"We are ready for any eventuality," said police spokesman Berhard Schodrowski.
Kolat, head of Germany's Turkish community, has said he plans to attend, as has Schaeuble, the interior minister. Still Ali Kizilkaya, head of Germany's Islamic Council, whose presence would have done much to defuse potential tensions, will not be there.
Instead of an opera where Muhammad and Christ are beheaded, "I ... would hope for a debate in society about whether everything should be allowed for the sake of art," he said, in indirect criticism of the decision to stage the production.
Another German Muslim leader, Aiman Mazyek, also said he would not attend, saying the purpose of opera was "not to mix religion, art and politics."
Also missing will be director Neuenfels, creator of the heads-scene and a talented but notorious "Problemkind" — problem-child — of the German cultural scene.
Neuenfels has harshly criticized the present Deutsche Oper management's revivals of his productions. He has insisted his staging not be altered, saying the scene where the king of Crete presents the severed heads represents his protest against "any form of organized religion or its founders."
The controversy has focused international interest on the production — a potentially welcome development for a house that competes for audience against two other opera companies in the German capital and is usually is no more than two-thirds full.
But tickets were still available just a few days before the performance.
"This is one of Mozart's less-known operas," said Busche of the relative lack of interest. As for the controversy around the severed heads, Berliners "are just not so into sensationalism."
BERLIN: Audience members at Monday's Deutsche Oper production of Mozart's "Idomeneo" will be kindly asked to empty their pockets of all metal objects. And they should be prepared to leave — quickly — in case of a bomb alert.
Fears of a Muslim backlash over a scene featuring the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad have prompted security precautions more suited to the airport than the opera.
Mozart, born 250 years ago, was noted for an impish sense of humor, and some directors take huge liberties with their interpretations of operas. But the security measures for the performance are not part of the plot — and no Mozart Year joke.
It's a case of art meeting religious sensibility — and a decision that the show must go on, despite concerns that the production could prompt violence.
Mozart might wonder what the heads of Islam's founder, along with those of Jesus, Buddha and the Greek god of the seas, Poseidon, are doing in his opera. They are the brainchild of director Hans Neuenfels, whose production premiered three years ago. While some critics found the twist trite back then, it aroused little attention outside the opera world.
But that was before a Danish newspaper cartoon of Muhammad led to Muslim riots worldwide — and before comments by German-born Pope Benedict XVI further inflamed sensibilities in the Islamic world, just as the Neuenfels production was to be revived.
Such fears initially led the opera house to cancel revival plans. Opera manager Kirsten Harms said in September that her decision was prompted by the advice of Berlin police and she invoked the "consequences of the conflict over the (Muhammad) caricatures."
But a city proud of its openness, tolerance and artistic verve was aghast.
Some Muslim leaders praised the decision, but even Kenan Kolat, the leader of Germany's Turkish community, equated it with a step "back in the Middle Ages." Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against "self-censorship out of fear," and Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble — in charge of police — described it as "crazy."
So the show is back. But it comes with safeguards that for some will make the experience more like clearing airport security than a night at the opera.
Staff are setting up electronic scanner gates at entrances, said opera spokesman Alexander Busche. A memo from Berlin police tells employees what to do in case of a bomb threat, and officers will be present in force — although low-key, so as not to intrude on what all hope will be nothing more than a musical and visual experience.
"We are ready for any eventuality," said police spokesman Berhard Schodrowski.
Kolat, head of Germany's Turkish community, has said he plans to attend, as has Schaeuble, the interior minister. Still Ali Kizilkaya, head of Germany's Islamic Council, whose presence would have done much to defuse potential tensions, will not be there.
Instead of an opera where Muhammad and Christ are beheaded, "I ... would hope for a debate in society about whether everything should be allowed for the sake of art," he said, in indirect criticism of the decision to stage the production.
Another German Muslim leader, Aiman Mazyek, also said he would not attend, saying the purpose of opera was "not to mix religion, art and politics."
Also missing will be director Neuenfels, creator of the heads-scene and a talented but notorious "Problemkind" — problem-child — of the German cultural scene.
Neuenfels has harshly criticized the present Deutsche Oper management's revivals of his productions. He has insisted his staging not be altered, saying the scene where the king of Crete presents the severed heads represents his protest against "any form of organized religion or its founders."
The controversy has focused international interest on the production — a potentially welcome development for a house that competes for audience against two other opera companies in the German capital and is usually is no more than two-thirds full.
But tickets were still available just a few days before the performance.
"This is one of Mozart's less-known operas," said Busche of the relative lack of interest. As for the controversy around the severed heads, Berliners "are just not so into sensationalism."
posted by duende mágico at 10:29 PM
0 comments
Morrissey - everyday is like Sunday
One of my all time favorites
One of my all time favorites
posted by duende mágico at 2:00 PM
0 comments
Story of crimes are allways there to entertaine
Seven found dead in Missouri duplex
KIRKSVILLE, Missouri (AP) -- Seven people were found dead Sunday in a duplex in northeast Missouri, police said.
Police Chief Jim Hughes confirmed the deaths but would not discuss a suspected cause or release details about the victims.
Police were trying to make positive identifications and notify relatives.
Emergency officials went to the home after receiving a 911 call around 2:30 p.m. saying there were a number of unresponsive people and an unusual odor in the duplex.
Foul play had not been ruled out, Hughes said.
About two dozen people, many saying they were related to the victims, gathered in the street near the taped-off investigation scene seeking answers about the deaths.
Police obtained a search warrant and removed a Dodge minivan from an enclosed garage beneath the duplex.
Kirksville, home to Truman State University, is about 165 miles northwest of St. Louis.
posted by duende mágico at 1:54 PM
0 comments
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Love Burns
Music video for "Love Burns" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Great rock 'n' roll tune!
Music video for "Love Burns" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Great rock 'n' roll tune!
posted by duende mágico at 3:13 AM
0 comments
What a waste of money!
Police send cards to law-breakers
Police in Greater Manchester are sending Christmas cards to criminals in a bid to appeal to their better nature and persuade them not to offend.
The cards, which are being sent to known law-breakers in Chadderton, near Oldham, have been produced with the Chadderton Area Action Team.
They have been personally signed by the Neighbourhood Policing Inspector and feature the Crimestoppers number.
It is hoped the festive card will cut vehicle crime and burglary in the area.
The cards also bear the message: "We are looking out for you and the community".
Neighbourhood Policing Inspector John Haywood said: "We hope that receiving a Christmas card from the police may discourage some offenders from committing crime this Christmas.
"It is the season for giving, not taking, and some people need reminding of this as they consider trying to ruin somebody else's Christmas".
Police claim the initiative is also aimed at families of offenders who may have information which could help police reduce crime.
Police in Greater Manchester are sending Christmas cards to criminals in a bid to appeal to their better nature and persuade them not to offend.
The cards, which are being sent to known law-breakers in Chadderton, near Oldham, have been produced with the Chadderton Area Action Team.
They have been personally signed by the Neighbourhood Policing Inspector and feature the Crimestoppers number.
It is hoped the festive card will cut vehicle crime and burglary in the area.
The cards also bear the message: "We are looking out for you and the community".
Neighbourhood Policing Inspector John Haywood said: "We hope that receiving a Christmas card from the police may discourage some offenders from committing crime this Christmas.
"It is the season for giving, not taking, and some people need reminding of this as they consider trying to ruin somebody else's Christmas".
Police claim the initiative is also aimed at families of offenders who may have information which could help police reduce crime.
posted by duende mágico at 2:34 AM
0 comments
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Never ending story
Mass drug arrests across Europe
Italian police seized 14kg of cocaine Police across Europe have broken up an international drug-trafficking network, arresting 90 people in a number of countries.
The operation, called "Tiro Grosso", was a co-ordinated effort involving European and Colombian police, and the US Drug Enforcement Agency.
The network included members of criminal gangs from Italy, Colombia, Spain and Bulgaria, the Spanish interior ministry announced on Friday.
Large amounts of drugs were seized.
The network was principally involved in supplying drugs to a number of gangs operating in Italy, Spain's interior ministry said.
Arrests were made in Spain, France and Italy.
Italian authorities froze assets worth around 14.5 million euros (£9.7m).
International co-operation
NUMBER OF ARRESTS
Italy - 40
Spain - 29
France - 20
Germany - 1
Operation "Tiro Grosso" involved the co-operation of police forces from Ecuador, Colombia, France, Italy, Germany and the US.
The international operation has investigated 230 people from various countries and tracked 3,500 financial movements resulting in nearly two million euros (£1.4m) worth of assets being frozen in Europe and South America.
Spanish authorities say the operation is ongoing and more arrests have not been ruled out.
In Spain 4.8 tonnes of hashish and 950kg of cocaine were confiscated while in Italy 1.4 tonnes of hashish and 14kg of cocaine were seized.
Police in France found 90kg of cocaine, and in Germany 190kg of cocaine was confiscated.
Italian police seized 14kg of cocaine Police across Europe have broken up an international drug-trafficking network, arresting 90 people in a number of countries.
The operation, called "Tiro Grosso", was a co-ordinated effort involving European and Colombian police, and the US Drug Enforcement Agency.
The network included members of criminal gangs from Italy, Colombia, Spain and Bulgaria, the Spanish interior ministry announced on Friday.
Large amounts of drugs were seized.
The network was principally involved in supplying drugs to a number of gangs operating in Italy, Spain's interior ministry said.
Arrests were made in Spain, France and Italy.
Italian authorities froze assets worth around 14.5 million euros (£9.7m).
International co-operation
NUMBER OF ARRESTS
Italy - 40
Spain - 29
France - 20
Germany - 1
Operation "Tiro Grosso" involved the co-operation of police forces from Ecuador, Colombia, France, Italy, Germany and the US.
The international operation has investigated 230 people from various countries and tracked 3,500 financial movements resulting in nearly two million euros (£1.4m) worth of assets being frozen in Europe and South America.
Spanish authorities say the operation is ongoing and more arrests have not been ruled out.
In Spain 4.8 tonnes of hashish and 950kg of cocaine were confiscated while in Italy 1.4 tonnes of hashish and 14kg of cocaine were seized.
Police in France found 90kg of cocaine, and in Germany 190kg of cocaine was confiscated.
posted by duende mágico at 3:51 PM
0 comments
I'm From Barcelona-Collection of Stamps
A numerous Swedish collective, halfway between bizarre folk and even more bizarre pop, this band has 29 members.
A numerous Swedish collective, halfway between bizarre folk and even more bizarre pop, this band has 29 members.
posted by duende mágico at 3:47 AM
0 comments
You people taking the power (hum, i don't think so)
'You' named Time's Person of 2006
YouTube viewers watch more than 100 million videos a day on the siteTime magazine has named "You" as "Person of the Year", in recognition of the growth and influence of user-generated content on the internet.
The US magazine praised the public for "seizing the reins of the global media" and filling the web's virtual world.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Chinese President Hu Jintao and North Korea's Jong-il were all contenders.
Time has been awarding its somewhat controversial awards since 1927, aiming to identify who most affected the news.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and rock star Bono won the accolade last year and recent winners also include President George W Bush, in 2004, and "The American Soldier" in 2003.
'Wresting power'
The magazine said naming a collectivity rather than an individual reflected the way the internet was shifting the balance of power within the media through blogs, videos and social networks.
Time cited websites such as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and Wikipedia, which allow users to interact with the web, by uploading and publishing their own comments, videos, pictures and links.
"It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes," Time magazine's Lev Grossman writes.
Time praised the tool that made such broad collaboration possible - the web.
"It's a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter," Mr Grossman said.
Time aims to pick "the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or for ill".
Previous winners have often sparked controversy - including Adolf Hitler in 1938 and, in 1979, Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini.
posted by duende mágico at 3:39 AM
0 comments
Saturday, December 16, 2006
God Knows (You gotta give to get)
Taken from the album 'El Perro del Mar'. Released in Spring 2006.
Directed by Åsa Arnehed. Animated by Åsa Arnehed, Olle Söderström and Malin Rosenqvist.
For more info please visit www.elperrodelmar.com
Taken from the album 'El Perro del Mar'. Released in Spring 2006.
Directed by Åsa Arnehed. Animated by Åsa Arnehed, Olle Söderström and Malin Rosenqvist.
For more info please visit www.elperrodelmar.com
posted by duende mágico at 2:56 PM
0 comments
EUROPEAN SEX SURVEY
Teens from Germany, Iceland Ditch Virginity Early
German kids like their sex. A survey of European teen sex habits has found that only pubescents from Iceland are quicker to jump in the sack. But when it comes to safety, the Dutch are tops.
The casual observer in Germany might be forgiven for thinking the Germans are oversexed. Pornographic cinemas and blush-inducing sex shops are a familiar part of the urban landscape, while exposed breasts are a common sight on advertising billboards and magazine covers.
With all that stimulating material around, it's not surprising that young Germans apparently have sex on the brain. A newly-released World Health Organization (WHO) report on sexual habits among teenagers in 26 European countries reveals that German teens are quick off the mark when it comes to losing their cherry; the average age at which Germans -- both boys and girls -- first have sex is 16.2.
Only teenagers in Iceland lose their virginity earlier, at an average age of 15.7. Of the countries surveyed, Slovakia had the tardiest teens, who were on average a mature 18 when they first got it on.
Of course, health professionals tend to play down the significance of comparisons when it comes to sexual activity. In remarks reminiscent of the famous quality-over-quantity take on male endowment, the WHO's Gunta Lazdane commented, "It's not the age that counts, it's when young people are ready for it."
And German girls are apparently ready earlier than their male peers. The report reveals that 33.5 percent of 15-year-old girls in Germany have had sex, while only 22.5 percent of boys of that age have divested themselves of their virginal status. The age of consent in Germany is 14.
German parents worried that little Wolfgang and Katja are embracing their sexuality (and each other) too soon may take some solace in the report's findings that at least German teens are careful. The study shows that 94.9 percent of 15-year-old German girls used contraception the last time they had sex, compared to a slightly more lackadaisical 87.7 percent of boys.
Interestingly, more girls used contraception than boys in Austria, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK, as well as in Germany, while in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden it was the boys who were more careful suggesting something of a split between Western Europe on the one hand and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia on the other when it comes to who takes the precautions. The sensible Dutch were the most careful, with 97.0 and 92.4 percent of 15-year-old girls and boys, respectively, using contraception.
German teens' concern for contraception seems to pay off. The birth rate among 15 to 19-year-olds in Germany was only 11.7 per 1000 population, compared to the UK's 27.8 births per 1,000 population, and -- in first place -- Bulgaria's 39.0 births per 1,000.
Presenting the report, WHO health experts called for improved sexual education for young people across the continent. Although German teens seem to already be pretty well-informed about the subject, the WHO report says German sex education is "inadequate" in many cases, adding that "in Germany, persistent Roman Catholic-inspired anti-choice opposition creates a difficult climate in which to implement sexuality education curricula."
German kids like their sex. A survey of European teen sex habits has found that only pubescents from Iceland are quicker to jump in the sack. But when it comes to safety, the Dutch are tops.
The casual observer in Germany might be forgiven for thinking the Germans are oversexed. Pornographic cinemas and blush-inducing sex shops are a familiar part of the urban landscape, while exposed breasts are a common sight on advertising billboards and magazine covers.
With all that stimulating material around, it's not surprising that young Germans apparently have sex on the brain. A newly-released World Health Organization (WHO) report on sexual habits among teenagers in 26 European countries reveals that German teens are quick off the mark when it comes to losing their cherry; the average age at which Germans -- both boys and girls -- first have sex is 16.2.
Only teenagers in Iceland lose their virginity earlier, at an average age of 15.7. Of the countries surveyed, Slovakia had the tardiest teens, who were on average a mature 18 when they first got it on.
Of course, health professionals tend to play down the significance of comparisons when it comes to sexual activity. In remarks reminiscent of the famous quality-over-quantity take on male endowment, the WHO's Gunta Lazdane commented, "It's not the age that counts, it's when young people are ready for it."
And German girls are apparently ready earlier than their male peers. The report reveals that 33.5 percent of 15-year-old girls in Germany have had sex, while only 22.5 percent of boys of that age have divested themselves of their virginal status. The age of consent in Germany is 14.
German parents worried that little Wolfgang and Katja are embracing their sexuality (and each other) too soon may take some solace in the report's findings that at least German teens are careful. The study shows that 94.9 percent of 15-year-old German girls used contraception the last time they had sex, compared to a slightly more lackadaisical 87.7 percent of boys.
Interestingly, more girls used contraception than boys in Austria, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK, as well as in Germany, while in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden it was the boys who were more careful suggesting something of a split between Western Europe on the one hand and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia on the other when it comes to who takes the precautions. The sensible Dutch were the most careful, with 97.0 and 92.4 percent of 15-year-old girls and boys, respectively, using contraception.
German teens' concern for contraception seems to pay off. The birth rate among 15 to 19-year-olds in Germany was only 11.7 per 1000 population, compared to the UK's 27.8 births per 1,000 population, and -- in first place -- Bulgaria's 39.0 births per 1,000.
Presenting the report, WHO health experts called for improved sexual education for young people across the continent. Although German teens seem to already be pretty well-informed about the subject, the WHO report says German sex education is "inadequate" in many cases, adding that "in Germany, persistent Roman Catholic-inspired anti-choice opposition creates a difficult climate in which to implement sexuality education curricula."
posted by duende mágico at 2:48 PM
0 comments
Friday, December 15, 2006
Wednesday night news from belgium were a blast!
Solar explosion
posted by duende mágico at 7:41 PM
0 comments
The world is getting more interesting
Viewers fooled by 'Belgium split'
RTBF reporters kept up the spoof for nearly two hours Belgians reacted with widespread alarm to news that their country had been split in two - before finding out they had been spoofed.
The Belgian public television station RTBF ran a bogus report saying the Dutch-speaking half of the nation had declared independence.
Later it said Wednesday night's programme was meant to stir up debate.
It appears to have succeeded. Thousands of people made panicked calls to the station and politicians complained.
"It's very bad Orson Welles, in very poor taste," said a spokesman for Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, referring to the famous director's 1938 radio adaptation of War of the Worlds. That spoof fooled many Americans into believing Martians had invaded.
"In the current context, it's irresponsible for a public television channel to announce the end of Belgium as a reality presented by genuine journalists," he added.
The French-language TV channel interrupted regular programming with an apparent news report, announcing that Dutch-speaking Flanders had unilaterally declared independence and that Belgium as a nation had ceased to exist.
It showed "live" pictures of cheering crowds holding the Flemish flag, huge traffic jams leading to Brussels airport, and trams stuck at the new "border".
The broadcast came amid an apparent growth of separatist sentiment in Flanders.
Recent regional elections have shown strong support for the far-right, nationalist Vlaams Belang party, which advocates Flemish independence.
The station's website crashed briefly as alarmed viewers sought more information, and 2,600 calls were made to a telephone number given out during the spoof.
"Our intention was to show Belgian viewers the intensity of the issue of the future of Belgium and the real possibility of Belgium no longer being a country in a few months," Yves Thiran, head of news at RTBF, told the BBC.
He said it introduced people to the debate who would otherwise have ignored it, but he admitted some may have taken it the wrong way.
"We obviously scared many people - maybe more than we expected," he said.
Diplomatic reaction
Some politicians were in on the joke, contributing interviews to the programme with their reactions to the "news". But others were not amused.
The minister for audiovisual affairs for the French-speaking community, Fadila Laanan, said the words "this is fiction" appeared on screen half an hour into the broadcast - at her insistence.
"I find it questionable to use such a tactic, which frightened people unbelievably," she said, adding that a number of people had called her in panic when the "news" broke.
The AFP news agency reported that even some foreign ambassadors in Brussels were taken in, and sent urgent messages back to their respective capitals.
RTBF reporters kept up the spoof for nearly two hours Belgians reacted with widespread alarm to news that their country had been split in two - before finding out they had been spoofed.
The Belgian public television station RTBF ran a bogus report saying the Dutch-speaking half of the nation had declared independence.
Later it said Wednesday night's programme was meant to stir up debate.
It appears to have succeeded. Thousands of people made panicked calls to the station and politicians complained.
"It's very bad Orson Welles, in very poor taste," said a spokesman for Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, referring to the famous director's 1938 radio adaptation of War of the Worlds. That spoof fooled many Americans into believing Martians had invaded.
"In the current context, it's irresponsible for a public television channel to announce the end of Belgium as a reality presented by genuine journalists," he added.
The French-language TV channel interrupted regular programming with an apparent news report, announcing that Dutch-speaking Flanders had unilaterally declared independence and that Belgium as a nation had ceased to exist.
It showed "live" pictures of cheering crowds holding the Flemish flag, huge traffic jams leading to Brussels airport, and trams stuck at the new "border".
The broadcast came amid an apparent growth of separatist sentiment in Flanders.
Recent regional elections have shown strong support for the far-right, nationalist Vlaams Belang party, which advocates Flemish independence.
The station's website crashed briefly as alarmed viewers sought more information, and 2,600 calls were made to a telephone number given out during the spoof.
"Our intention was to show Belgian viewers the intensity of the issue of the future of Belgium and the real possibility of Belgium no longer being a country in a few months," Yves Thiran, head of news at RTBF, told the BBC.
He said it introduced people to the debate who would otherwise have ignored it, but he admitted some may have taken it the wrong way.
"We obviously scared many people - maybe more than we expected," he said.
Diplomatic reaction
Some politicians were in on the joke, contributing interviews to the programme with their reactions to the "news". But others were not amused.
The minister for audiovisual affairs for the French-speaking community, Fadila Laanan, said the words "this is fiction" appeared on screen half an hour into the broadcast - at her insistence.
"I find it questionable to use such a tactic, which frightened people unbelievably," she said, adding that a number of people had called her in panic when the "news" broke.
The AFP news agency reported that even some foreign ambassadors in Brussels were taken in, and sent urgent messages back to their respective capitals.
posted by duende mágico at 7:29 PM
0 comments
Factory Girl Trailer
The first trailer for Factory Girl.This movie must be something to look foward
The first trailer for Factory Girl.This movie must be something to look foward
posted by duende mágico at 3:49 PM
0 comments
Bloc Party - The Prayer
Fresh fresh fresh!!!!The First single of the album "A Weekend In The City"
Fresh fresh fresh!!!!The First single of the album "A Weekend In The City"
posted by duende mágico at 3:33 PM
0 comments
Contradicting myself puting politics in my blog.
The Brotherhood’s kung-fu militia
December 14th, 2006 at 01:09pm Issandr El Amrani
Deputy Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Khairat al-Shatir, author of this surprising article about a year ago, has been arrested. (Update: better story from Reuters.) This just a few days after the release of Essam al-Erian and Muhammad Mursi from their six-months (or more) stint in jail. All of this is taking place with as backdrop the top story in a lot of the Egyptian papers this week, a martial arts demonstration held at al-Azhar University last weekend.
According to newspaper reports, a group of 50 students wearing uniforms and black hoods held a martial arts show (karate and kung-fu, apparently) in front of the dean’s office. Security troops were present but did not intervene. The students claimed to represent a part of the “militia” of the new Free Students Union, a recently created parallel union not recognized by the university and dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood at al-Azhar University (different universities have created different parallel student unions representing each campus’ political map. Al-Azhar is traditionally conservative.) The anti-Islamist state press, such as Rose al-Youssef, is having a field day showing pictures of the event and comparing it with pictures of Hizbullah or Hamas militants.
(The top three pics are of the martial art show, the ones in the middle are of Hizbullah in Lebanon and Geish al-Mahdi in Iraq. The bottom pics are of Deputy Guide Muhammad Habib and TV show host Amr Adib, who argued over the incident. The big headline on top says, “The Brothers’ Army”)
For many commentators the event was reminiscent of the MB’s paramilitary wing, which was active between the 1940s and the 1950s and is alleged (although this is much disputed) to have taken part in political assassinations. The MB disbanded the group, called alternatively the tanzim al-khass or tanzim al-sirri (Special Organization or Secret Organization) and by the 1970s it officially renounced violence. Other interpretations say that the more violent wing of the MB split and eventually went on to form Egypt’s two main Islamist terrorist groups, the Gamaa Islamiya and Islamic Jihad. The former was crushed by the authorities in the early 1990s, while the latter was driven out of the country and now forms a core of al-Qaeda, most notably represented by Ayman al-Zawahri. Amr al-Choubaki, a leading Egyptian analyst of the Brotherhood, called the development “extremely worrying” in a recent interview, arguing it may point to a radicalization of parts of the Brotherhood.The MB’s Deputy Supreme Guide, Mohammed Habib, has denied that the organization has a secret paramilitary wing and said that an internal investigation had been opened into the events at al-Azhar University. He is hinting at an independent initiative of the al-Azhar student Brothers that did not receive approval from senior leaders, and has even suggested that the people who organized it will be punished. But the MB’s leadership is now largely in damage control mode, with the regime getting its revenge for the Farouq Hosni/veil debacle in many ways. For the MB, which has spent much of the past year trying to reassure people about its ascendency, this incident is deeply embarrassing and only serves to confirm widespread, but hereto unjustified, claims that they continue to have a violent branch. It is almost tempting to think that agitators are behind this, judging by how uncharacteristic this seems, but that is probably not the case. After three months of demonstrations and clashes with university authorities — especially at al-Azhar where the expulsion of Islamist students from university housing in September began mobilizing students even before October’s student elections — it is not surprising that exasperated students would engage in these kinds of displays, especially when the Hizbullah model is on everyone’s mind at the moment. Not to mention of course the now year-long campaign against the MB, which has seen more than 800 members arrested this year.
Although I have not really investigated this in any serious way, it reinforces my impression that the MB, as a “big tent” movement, has members who would like to take a much more aggressive stance towards the regime and impose itself on campus. This divide is probably across generational lines, with younger members disappointed that the MB leadership is not doing more political mobilization. Watch this space.
Update 2: I forgot to mention that a common theme to Egyptian press commentary about the MB militia is a reference to Supreme Guide Mahdi Akef’s offer last July to send 10,000 troops to Lebanon to fight alongside Hizbullah. A lot of anti-Islamist commentators, notably but not only in Rose al-Youssef, are saying that this “army” actually exists and has been trained for the last two years in Marsa Matrouh and Abou Kir. They gloomily write of an impending insurrection and call for the government to react swiftly (”as it reacted in the controversy over Farouq Hosni’s comments on the veil,” in the words of one writer.) They also insist that Egypt is at risk of having an armed opposition, as in Lebanon and Palestine, is this phenomenon is not fought more insistently.
December 14th, 2006 at 01:09pm Issandr El Amrani
Deputy Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Khairat al-Shatir, author of this surprising article about a year ago, has been arrested. (Update: better story from Reuters.) This just a few days after the release of Essam al-Erian and Muhammad Mursi from their six-months (or more) stint in jail. All of this is taking place with as backdrop the top story in a lot of the Egyptian papers this week, a martial arts demonstration held at al-Azhar University last weekend.
According to newspaper reports, a group of 50 students wearing uniforms and black hoods held a martial arts show (karate and kung-fu, apparently) in front of the dean’s office. Security troops were present but did not intervene. The students claimed to represent a part of the “militia” of the new Free Students Union, a recently created parallel union not recognized by the university and dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood at al-Azhar University (different universities have created different parallel student unions representing each campus’ political map. Al-Azhar is traditionally conservative.) The anti-Islamist state press, such as Rose al-Youssef, is having a field day showing pictures of the event and comparing it with pictures of Hizbullah or Hamas militants.
(The top three pics are of the martial art show, the ones in the middle are of Hizbullah in Lebanon and Geish al-Mahdi in Iraq. The bottom pics are of Deputy Guide Muhammad Habib and TV show host Amr Adib, who argued over the incident. The big headline on top says, “The Brothers’ Army”)
For many commentators the event was reminiscent of the MB’s paramilitary wing, which was active between the 1940s and the 1950s and is alleged (although this is much disputed) to have taken part in political assassinations. The MB disbanded the group, called alternatively the tanzim al-khass or tanzim al-sirri (Special Organization or Secret Organization) and by the 1970s it officially renounced violence. Other interpretations say that the more violent wing of the MB split and eventually went on to form Egypt’s two main Islamist terrorist groups, the Gamaa Islamiya and Islamic Jihad. The former was crushed by the authorities in the early 1990s, while the latter was driven out of the country and now forms a core of al-Qaeda, most notably represented by Ayman al-Zawahri. Amr al-Choubaki, a leading Egyptian analyst of the Brotherhood, called the development “extremely worrying” in a recent interview, arguing it may point to a radicalization of parts of the Brotherhood.The MB’s Deputy Supreme Guide, Mohammed Habib, has denied that the organization has a secret paramilitary wing and said that an internal investigation had been opened into the events at al-Azhar University. He is hinting at an independent initiative of the al-Azhar student Brothers that did not receive approval from senior leaders, and has even suggested that the people who organized it will be punished. But the MB’s leadership is now largely in damage control mode, with the regime getting its revenge for the Farouq Hosni/veil debacle in many ways. For the MB, which has spent much of the past year trying to reassure people about its ascendency, this incident is deeply embarrassing and only serves to confirm widespread, but hereto unjustified, claims that they continue to have a violent branch. It is almost tempting to think that agitators are behind this, judging by how uncharacteristic this seems, but that is probably not the case. After three months of demonstrations and clashes with university authorities — especially at al-Azhar where the expulsion of Islamist students from university housing in September began mobilizing students even before October’s student elections — it is not surprising that exasperated students would engage in these kinds of displays, especially when the Hizbullah model is on everyone’s mind at the moment. Not to mention of course the now year-long campaign against the MB, which has seen more than 800 members arrested this year.
Although I have not really investigated this in any serious way, it reinforces my impression that the MB, as a “big tent” movement, has members who would like to take a much more aggressive stance towards the regime and impose itself on campus. This divide is probably across generational lines, with younger members disappointed that the MB leadership is not doing more political mobilization. Watch this space.
Update 2: I forgot to mention that a common theme to Egyptian press commentary about the MB militia is a reference to Supreme Guide Mahdi Akef’s offer last July to send 10,000 troops to Lebanon to fight alongside Hizbullah. A lot of anti-Islamist commentators, notably but not only in Rose al-Youssef, are saying that this “army” actually exists and has been trained for the last two years in Marsa Matrouh and Abou Kir. They gloomily write of an impending insurrection and call for the government to react swiftly (”as it reacted in the controversy over Farouq Hosni’s comments on the veil,” in the words of one writer.) They also insist that Egypt is at risk of having an armed opposition, as in Lebanon and Palestine, is this phenomenon is not fought more insistently.
posted by duende mágico at 1:40 PM
0 comments
Two Ton Boa
Music video for "Cash Machine" by Two Ton Boa. Directed by Sherry Fraser, Morgen Dye, and Nathan Carson
Music video for "Cash Machine" by Two Ton Boa. Directed by Sherry Fraser, Morgen Dye, and Nathan Carson
posted by duende mágico at 1:31 PM
0 comments
Thursday, December 14, 2006
How Big Birds Got Their Colours- The New Pollutants
Hypnotic music video of various pills and capsules dissolving in water. Captivating and very beautiful. Directed by Anto Skene
Hypnotic music video of various pills and capsules dissolving in water. Captivating and very beautiful. Directed by Anto Skene
posted by duende mágico at 5:29 PM
0 comments
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