von_geisterhand: (Default)
An argument I've encountered a few times in regards to the last US presidential election is that Hillary would have been as bad a president as Donald, that she is corrupt, in collusion with Russia and would have led the States into war in no time.
Now, I am a pretty.... rather.... very cynical person, so yes, I am willing to go with that argument. Even looking at the eight years of St. Obama, there are enough aspects that make you shudder in horror. So let's assume that Hillary is really corrupt and in the pocket of american/international industrial interests.
I would have still preferred her over Donald, and here's why:
If you imagine you were at the end of a party at your place and just had to pop out for a sec. In your living room are Donald and Hillary and to be honest, you think they've both had a bit too much. But Hillary looks reasonably prim and proper and also she assures you that she has herself under control. A day later you find a wet spot under one of the carpets smelling of piss. So you ask Hillary whether she has pissed on your floor in your absence and she assures you that no, of course she hasn't. And while you say you believe her, the suspicion that it might have been her will not leave your head.

Then you have the same situation with Donald. Donald is shouting a lot about how rude people are and how he hates that. Donald has also a reputation for pissing on carpets, is wearing a t-shirt stating "Bane of Carpets" and has already opened his flies by the time you turn to leave.

In both cases you might feel miffed about leaving this person alone in your flat but in the case of Hillary you at least saw a smidgen of decorum to reassure yourself that your carpets might not suffer. With Donald, this was never going to end well, you had no reason to think he would not piss on your carpet and leaving him alone, you have noone to blame but yourself.

And I am not a fan of essentially hitting yourself in the face in this manner.
von_geisterhand: (Default)
Ridley Scott talks about cutting Spacey out of film (BBC Entertainments)

"In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Scott said: "You can't tolerate any kind of behaviour like that."

The director said: "You can't condone that kind of behaviour in any shape or form," adding that keeping Spacey in the picture would have spelled disaster for the film.

"We cannot let one person's action affect the good work of all these other people. It's that simple," he said."

Or in other words: You had words with the accounting department and they told you what it would cost to reshoor the scenes with Plummer, compared it to the projections of how much money you would lose in revenue and potential awards and told you to go ahead. Do not insult anybody's intelligence. This has nothing to do with moral integrity. It all comes downs to money.

It was known for decades what Weinstein was up to but as long as nobody made too much of a fuss and the dough kept rolling in, who cares about a few starlets? Even if damaged, they are a renewable source of revenue. Now was a good time to hang the fat Jew out to dry. The political climate is right and as long as everybody uses him as a pinata, everything else can go as always without drawing any attention. Nice going.
von_geisterhand: (Default)
Sorry, this is currently all over the news and normally this isn't something I don't cover. (Be grateful. I have reams of stuff I wanted to post/write but well, reasons.)
But here we go: Hear thee now the words of Jayda Fransen, Deputy Head of the organisation "Britain First". The excessive capitalisation is all hers:

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN'S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! OCS

You know. what DJT has done is hardly groundbreaking. It's not the first time he shared unverified material from an extremely right-wing source and it is well know that the KKK loves him and he loves the KKK, so this is only shocking inasfar as he shared material from a gasp! non-American source.

But Jayda, do you recall what your organisation is called? Yes, that's right: "Britain First". And do you know what Trump's slogan for the election and his guiding principle for the past year of his presidentship was? "America First". So yeah, suck up to him, why don't you? It shows how much you are actually interested in the nation you profess to love so much. Your toadying will be renumerated after Brexit, no doubt.
von_geisterhand: (Default)
Im September sind wieder Abgeordnetenhauswahlen in Berlin. Das heißt, daß seit dem Wochenende mehr und mehr Laternenpfähle mit Wahlplakaten in verschiedenen Höhen dekoriert sind. Der übliche Prozess sieht vor, daß bald auch Plakatkritik vorgenommen werden wird. Frank Henkels Plakate z.B. werden in der Nähe der Rigaer Straße wohl nicht lange halten.
Mir fiel ein sehr buntes Plakat mit dem eigentlich gar nicht mal so doofen Slogan "Die Sicherheit muss besser organisiert sein als das Verbrechen" auf. Leider war es von der FDP, die inzwischen auch wieder ein Büro auf der Reinhardtstraße hat(welches sie seit der letzten Wahlschlappe vorübergehend los war). Deren Posteraktion ist zwar gut, aber nicht mal annähernd gut genug um mich zu überzeugen, ihnen in den nächsten Jahren meine Stimme zu geben. Dafür war ihre Politik in letzter Zeit in zu starkem Maße eine wachsende Bankrotterklärung.
Ein anderes Juwel der FDP-Slogankunst ist: "Berlin braucht Tegel". Man kann in diesen Satz viel Schönes reininterpretieren. Wer schonmal in Tegel war, weiß, daß es dort viel Schönes gibt, aber auch viel, was in anderen Ecken von Berlin auch schon en masse vorhanden ist, im Großen und Ganzen aber ach niemand vermissen würde, wenn es weg wäre. Leere Fußgämgerzonen z.B. Aber hier bezieht sich "Tegel" wohl auf den Flughafen, der ja trotz aller ursprünglichen Planung immer noch in Betrieb ist. Nun, ich mag den Flughafen Otto Lilienthal (wie er eigentlich heißt) und das Wahlversprechen "Tegel bleibt erhalten" wäre auf jeden Fall ein Punkt für einen Kandidaten, aber in dieser vagen "Braucht"-Formulierung, die nebenbei natürlich noch die These, daß Berlin Tegel hauptsächlich braucht, weil man mit den Bauarbeiten am BER einfach nicht zu Potte kommt, ist es mir dann doch etwas zu vage und, um ehrlich zu sein, doof.

Auch betrübt es mich etwas, daß das allererste AfD-Plakat, das ich in diesem Jahr gesehen habe, direkt vor meiner Haustür hängt. Insgesamt scheinen die Jungs und Mädels von der Nein-Nein-wir-sind-keine-rechte-Partei sich gute Chancen in diesem Viertel auszurechnen. Da hängt jetzt einiges. Eigentlich etwas erstaunlich, wenn man bedenkt, wieviele "ausländisch" aussehende Menschen mal hier auf der Straße sieht, von den Touristenströmen mal ganz zu schweigen.
Die AfD ist auch sehr groß mit den "Braucht"-Plakaten.
"Berlin braucht Regeln"
"Berlin braucht mehr Blau". Ich wünschte, daß wäre ein Bekenntnis dafür, das offizielle Alkoholverbot im ÖPNV abzuschaffen, aber leider ist es nur der typische Ruf nach mehr Polizei.
Und zum Schluss: "Berlin braucht Schnauze". Ich habe vergessen, was damit ausgedrückt werden sollte, aber frühmorgens im Halbdunkel liest man das gerne als "Berlin braucht einen auf die Schnauze". Womit wir wieder bei Frank Henkel wären.
von_geisterhand: (Default)
Jeder Tag startet gut, wenn man morgens in Bad kommt und sich denken darf: "Ja, dieser Körper ist unansehnlich und wird nie geliebt werden, aber wenigstens ist er noch ein Objekt voller unterdrückerischer Kraft. Das kann man mir nicht nehmen."

Das Hemd bitte immer anbehalten.
von_geisterhand: (Default)
I am still undecided about whether I agree with this highly politicised reading of "The Cabin in the Woods" (Contains spoilers, but then you really can't talk about the film without giving away the central idea) just as I will probably have to rewatch "Firefly" looking for hints of Ayn Rand's philosophy in it.
On the other hand I do agree that "Cabin in the woods" seriously fell down once it tried to go deep. On the surface it is a fairly entertaining ride but when you start to think about "what the film might want to say", you start to notice the logical flaws and half-baked ideas. I see the ending not so much as political but rather as insufficiently developed.
von_geisterhand: (Default)
I have resisted the temptation to comment on the recent election in the UK in any major way so far as I have the feeling that I could not really make an informed comment on proceedings anyway. In my mind, I tend to draw parallels to the current German political landscape, which might well not be totally fair on the Brits. The Lib Dems seem to have become a really important force in this election, as well as the party that most people are hoping to make a difference in the years to come. I need to constantly remind myself not to face them with the scepticism I feel after their direct German counterpart, the FDP, has become to all accounts of purposes a sub-faction/bootlicker of the CDU/CSU (Conservatives). As for the Tories becoming the strongest party, I wasn't really surprised. Labour had a good long grasp onto power and after 12 years of doing a less-than-excellent job, it would appear only fair to give the other team a shot again. Yes, I am old enough to remember Thatcher and Major and no, I am not all that keen to see their party back in power but seeing that there really seems to be very little difference between the two major parties at the moment, why not see if maybe the Tories have changed a wee, wee bit and give them a chance? After all, what are they going to do? Invade somebody again?
von_geisterhand: (Coffee)
...there is some kind of discrepancy between these two news stories, isn't there?

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

and

US advance deployment of "Bunker Buster" bomb

I know that this is probably just an unfortunate coincidence, but still.

Besides, the man has been in office for a mere 10 months. Would it not be wiser to consider him for the NPP closer to the end of his term? You know, give him something to work towards?
von_geisterhand: (Default)
As you may or may not be aware, there will be a general election in Germany at the coming weekend, so for the past months, all manner of public places and surfaces have been lined with posters, banners and notice boards trying to get you to exercise your constitutional right in a particular direction. And as far as I am concerned, what all these placards have in common this year is that they are horrible, look tacky and totally fail to make any coherent point whatsoever. Or rather, they say nothing which could be interpreted as making a political point beyond "Vote for us. It's good." or (more often than not) "Vote for us and you'll have more money soon." In terms of making a point, nobody seems to want to make the effort anymore. No wonder voters are getting apathetic.

In addition to this lack of content, I also feel that the visual presentation of the vast majority of placards is horribly generic and uninspired, all crowds and smiles and abuse of Photoshop. The only campaign I felt was making any sort of point and presenting itself in a manner that maybe some people might not like but which is at least saying something and showing character is the one of Hans-Christian Ströbele. His material for the last few years has been drawn by Gerhardt Seyfried (http://www.seyfried-berlin.de/cartoons/adlerhering.php), which I guess is a statement in itself as well as making Ströbele's campaign immediately recognizable.

Another campaign that caught my eye during the last week were the pictures/placards of Barbara Höll. Which are just plain bad. And make her look like a bad transvestite. Look ye here: http://www.barbara-hoell.de/
Why it was decided to use this picture instead of, say, her other official one (http://www.linksfraktion.de/mdb_hoell.php) is beyond me. Obviously it's not her exterior but her political skill that are really important here but in all honesty, I find the chosen picture to be unflattering in a way that makes me wonder whether her party is trying to actively undermine her campaign.
Well, actually, my main thought was wondering about whether or not Germany was ready for a transvestite in politics. I don't see why not but then my views are probably not exactly representative of the general public.
von_geisterhand: (Default)
A short documentary on the Amen Break , quite possibly the most widely utilised drum loop in modern electronic music. Chances are you will have heard it before lots of times.
And even if you are not interested in this six-second cornerstone, I recommend you listen to this as it makes some very good points about the way that copyright in music has been handled in the past and is handled now and what this means for future musicians wanting to use samples from existing musical works in their music.
(Thanks go to P-A-L, who posted this on his Myspace)

von_geisterhand: (It is to indifference that I say)
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/03/26/controversial.cartoon/index.html

(CNN) -- Two leading Jewish watchdog groups are denouncing a prominent cartoonist's illustration about Israel's offensive in Gaza, saying it uses anti-Semitic imagery.
The cartoon was published Wednesday in newspapers and on the Internet.

The Anti-Defamation League, which has been fighting anti-Semitism since it was founded in 1913, called the syndicated cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winning Pat Oliphant "hideously anti-Semitic."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which, among other things, fights anti-Semitism and educates people about the Holocaust, said "the cartoon mimics the venomous anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazi and Soviet eras."

Published Wednesday in newspapers and on the Internet, the cartoon shows the small figure of a woman, labeled Gaza, carrying a child. She is being pursued by a headless, jackbooted figure wielding a sword, marching in an apparent goose-step and pushing a fanged Jewish star on a wheel.

The Anti-Defamation League said the cartoon used "Nazi-like imagery" and a "hateful evocation of the Star of David."

Abraham H. Foxman, the ADL's national director, said the cartoon's "outlandish and offensive use of the Star of David in combination with Nazi-like imagery is hideously anti-Semitic."
[...]

magery and rhetoric comparing Israel to Nazis have been deployed by Israel's persistent critics, who decry the Jewish state's treatment of Palestinians as oppressive and brutal. Israel and its supporters defend the state as humane and say it has properly defended itself against attacks.

There has been sharp criticism of Israel's offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza who launched rockets into southern Israeli towns.

Human Rights Watch said Wednesday the Israeli military's firing of white phosphorus shells over densely populated areas during the offensive "was indiscriminate and is evidence of war crimes," a claim denied by Israel.

von_geisterhand: (the geisterhand)
..weil ihm die Darstellung seines Werdegangs nicht gefällt.

http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/0,1518,590643,00.html

Wahrscheinlich geht es um diese Passage:

"Im Oktober 2005 enthüllte Der Spiegel die von Heilmann bislang verschwiegene Stasi-Vergangenheit. Heilmann gibt bis heute öffentlich an, von 1985 bis 1990 einen „verlängerte[n] Wehrdienst (Personenschutz MfS)“ geleistet zu haben.[2] Heilmann war nach Ableisten der allgemeinen Wehrpflicht von 18 Monaten für die Zeit bis 1990 als Berufssoldat beim MfS beschäftigt und verließ dieses erst, als es aufgelöst wurde.[4]

Vor der Wahl hatte Heilmann den Mitgliedern des Landesverbandes seine Tätigkeit beim MfS verschwiegen. Dies stellte einen Verstoß gegen innerparteiliche Richtlinien dar. Auf dem Landesparteitag am 4. Dezember 2005 stimmten die Mitglieder des Landesverbandes Schleswig-Holstein über einen Misstrauensantrag gegen Heilmann ab. Das Ergebnis war 47 Stimmen für Heilmann zu 42 gegen ihn.[4] Heilmann ist seitdem innerhalb der Linken in Schleswig-Holstein umstritten."


http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutz_Heilmann
von_geisterhand: Monika küsst Jörg. Sie liebt ihn. (Monika küsst Jörg)
but why should I, seeing that you clearly don't have a brain?
Yeah, that's right, first you reenact Pasolini's "Salo" and when these people decide that their only way out is hanging themselves, all of the sudden, it's an act of warfare. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5068606.stm

Oh, hang on! No, I have changed my mind, I agree: These suicides were acts of warfare. In fact, all these people, by allowing themselves to be shackled, confined and humiliated are in fact committing war-crimes.
Do you hear me?! What they are doing is committing acts of war! I demand that ALL the detainees/perpetrators of Guantanamo are immediately proscecuted and punished for these WAR CRIMES!
Oh, you think I am joking?

I am not, shit for brains! Have you forgotten that the justification for incarcerating these people in Guantanamo, far away from human rights, Geneva Convention and legal aid was that they are not in fact prisoners of war, but in fact "non-combattants"?  Making them war criminals would necessitate all kinds of shit so far conveniently ignored.

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