These kids are doing it. Watch for the part where he “ghost rides” the bike.

Check out these excerpts from the Iraq For Sale, an insightful documentary by director Robert Greenwald, which documents the war profiteering by corporations - ”Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so.” No joke, that’s your tax dollars at work.

Apparently, the U.S. Military has recently discovered hand drawn documentation of various Al Qaeda torture methods.

In a recent raid on an al-Qaeda safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like “blowtorch to the skin” and “eye removal.” Along with the images, which you’ll find on the following pages, soldiers seized various torture implements, like meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters. (The Smoking Gun) 

Apparently pirates on the high seas are still a major problem. This fascinating article details, the current state of piracy around the world, and which locations are still hot spots.

Even though the global numbers for piracy is declining, there’s one area that incidents are growing: Bangladesh. In 2006 they recorded a staggering 33 incidents (22 successful, 11 attempted) making Chittagong the “world’s most dangerous port.” There have been 47 reports since January of 2006 alone. In 2003, pirates killed 14 fishermen in the Bay of Bengal waters outside of Chittagong, stealing $50,000 USD worth of fish… - Full Article -

Ezekiel of Bible fame said “Son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thine beard” because he thought regular shaves and haircuts were a good idea. And like all good sons do, the son of man listened and then there were barber shops.

The barber was a respected member of society, so much so that the practice of his craft extended below the neck. Barbers also functioned as surgeons when the Catholic Church forbade doctors from performing certain surgeries. Services provided by Barbers included blood-letting, to counter the ill effects of an “overbalance” of the blood and tooth-pulling. Blood-letting was common practice. George Washington actually died of shock, in combination with a few other things, after his physician performed a blood-letting to treat an infected windpipe.

During a typical blood-letting, the patient would hold onto a pole so that the veins in their arms would be more pronounced, and easier for the barber to find come slicing time. Post-surgery, the bloody bandages were hung wrapped around that pole to dry outside. The flapping of the bandages around the pole formed a spiral pattern similar to the spiral recognized on the barber’s pole today. The pole and bandages, and later a pole painted in that fashion, signaled to passers-by that such services were available at that particular shop and later came to symbolize just plain barbering sans surgery.
(more…)

Adam Bhala Lough, director of the critically acclaimed Bomb The System, and the soon to be released Weapons (acquired by Lionsgate at Sundance where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize this year), has launched his own website consisting of a comprehensive video catalog of nearly all of his past work. The site includes high quality streaming video of earlier works, so high quality that the videos can take several minutes to load (warning - don’t even try to view these if you are on a slow connection or dial up). The site features Lough’s earlier works such as music videos he directed for M.F. DOOM (Question Mark & Dead Bent), experimental video art projects previously unavailable to the general public, and two collaborations with esteemed indie film director Jim Jarmusch. - AdamBhalaLough.com -

Remember that time we did LSD and made a Levi’s commercial?

Bettty Davis was clearly a straight, bad sista. On this re-mastered, re-release, “They Say I’m Different”, from Light In The Attic Records (which was originally her debut), Betty Davis is laid bare. Basically, this chick had more punk aesthetic before punk even existed, than the legions of so called punk rockers that have followed since. She reportedly introduced Miles to Jimi, and you can hear traces of both clearly on this release. Full of ripping funk cuts, and sass-laden vocals, with a screech and wail that ranks up there with Janis, and a moan that evokes Tina in her heyday, this outing was clearly a symbolic battering ram over the heads of it’s 1973 listeners. Betty Davis owns these tracks. Over a bed of funk-rock that’s as tight as can be, Betty seduces with taunts and coos. She’s infinitely sexy, and grippingly intoxicating. Hearing this music that was so ahead of it’s time is a reminder of the importance of powerhouses like Stevie, Jimi and Miles. All around the same time, these separate beams of light shined so bright on the music world, with such originality, that they made an un-deniable mark on the music world that will last forever. Be her less appreciated, Ms. Betty Davis figures just as important as the aforementioned in black music (and music in general)’s grand scheme. The proof of this is contained right within this disc.

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