I know this isn’t your usual program, but sometimes the lies need responding to as widely as possible – take the NOM (National Organization for Marriage – guess who they are? Yup anti Proposition 8/same sex marriage fundie Xtians) commercial:

Actors who can’t act and a silly ad….yes we’re not in Kansas anymore. Well more like Iowa. Or Vermont even.

And what DOES a Doctor have to do with it? I know here if a doctor tried to not serve someone because they were gay, or same sex married, they’d get struck off. It’s like that old ‘homosexuality promoted in school’ stalking horse – made to scare people about something that likely won’t happen…yes I’m sure they’d have to say ‘men can get married to men / women to women’ if asked; but ‘promotion’ will work as well as teaching maths and english will make your child a genius, ie. not at all.

You know what makes it all ridiculous? Places like here in the UK, Canada and Australia who’ve had same sex marriage or civil partnerships and the ‘godly storm’ hasn’t washed them away. So think about that this Easter (well Eostre; it’s actually Pagan) Sunday.

Oh and back closer to the usual subject of this blog, someone of course has created a NOM mashup:

Your back’s against the wall
There’s no-one home to call
You’re forgetting who you are
You can’t stop crying
It’s part not giving in
And part trusting your friends
You do it all again
You don’t stop trying

Standing in the way of control
We live our lives
Because we’re standing in the way of control
We will live our lives

I’ve posted profkampf’s graphic here – and twittered about this – but not really said here how disturbed I am about the division not only in the McCain/Palin camp, but also the dividing lines brought up by Proposition 8. And it deserves saying.

Love knows no gender, race, country or age, so I don’t see how true Xtians could ever ever support this. Stop playing political baseball with mine and other’s lifestyles – you can’t choose who you love. You, or more likely others, can choose to make it easier though, and lose their intolerances and just accept others for who they are.

I said recently about this ‘I’m fed up of being tolerant’ – fed up of being tolerant of idiotic nutters who say I should be dead, go to hell, or live my life – then turn around and expect me to be tolerant of their nutty beliefs. Nope it doesn’t work like that – respect and tolerance are a two way street.

So I hope the citizens of California see sense and get rid of Proposition 8 – I really do.

I found this ironic:

“If you change the definition and have no moral standard, then honestly what is wrong with polygamy?”

Yeah what IS wrong with polygamy, exactly? And polyandry and polyamory…? We have a long way to go, methinks.

I hope Obama gets in, and although he’s not great on the gay marriage question, the whole politics of control and lifestyle interference gets dropped for, you know, the small little things, like the economy, and war. Would be nice.

Why does that affect me? Well it has a knock on effect – we already have civil partnerships here in the UK, it would be nice if the U.S. could honour those, or the U.S. lead the way in showing the supposed freedoms of it’s people, rather than being second fiddle to Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Canada, Norway, South Africa, Andorra, Australia (with limits), Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay (and soon to be Hungary too).

And I know people who have got married and I want them to stay that way

An event that just gets bigger and bigger, the disaster in New Orleans I don’t know exactly what to say or write; it seems too sad, too bizarre, too surreal, and too wrong. Bush’s response was way off; the evacuation was useless (leave in your car? Boy does the authorities in NOLA and the US need to learn more about public transport, especially as a lot of this calamity could have been avoided without the troops and money wasted by the US going to war for oil). At first I though after Cindy Sheehan and the bad polls due to the anti-war effort that again George Bush escapes, miraculously 9-11 style via an act of god or terrorism, but amazingly rather than doing the hand-wringing Giullani/Livingstone act he manages to totally fuck this one up too. Maybe in his Xtian nuttiness he and his government thinks they deserve to die?

At the end it all seems to come down to race and economic status – my immediate thought was that the response was slow because they were poor and black and ‘who cares?’. It makes me so angry, and it makes Kanye West angry too because on the NBC fundraiser he said live ‘ George Bush doesn’t care about black people!’ and told it like it is – you can see a clip here. It’s gone from a natural disaster, to a social and political one within 6 days. The media coverage is so flawed – people have spotted differences between how white and black survivors are treated (white people find things, black people loot) which reminds me of the old ‘Israelis are murdered, Palestinian are accidental victims of cross-fire’ language used in the UK media about people killed in the Palestine/Israeli dispute at least upto a couple of years ago. Interestingly Yahoo and AFP have noticed this and taken the comments down…media rewrites history once again.

Sadly the US now has with the looting and killing a taste of what life has been like in Iraq – and as with there, it’s always the poor people who lose. And I do find it ironic that the storm took out a large percentage of the US production of oil in the Gulf; so while they were trying to steal Iraq’s oil and make gibes at Venezuela, they lose out at home. One step forward, one step back.

Perhaps their god is telling them something?

This whole Live8 thing has left me cold; Damon Albarn was right, it’s ‘too darn Anglo Saxon’ and simplistic; anybody above the age of 5 knows that Africa is a big complex place and world-wide pop concerts won’t solve it. Poverty is even larger…

But like Princess Di this seems to be the uncriticisable, the unmentionable, you seem churlish for mentioning it…so if you want a better response than I can give see the banner to the right of this message, and click for a much better worded blog about this from a local, an african.

But don’t you think it’s particularly ironic and a double-bluff that the very thing used to dumb people down (and salve their aching consciences) – the mainstream arena rock concert and media – is supposedly being used to ’save the world’ and make people conscious and radicalised – who’s kidding who?

I love what I’ve seen of Africa and would like to see more – peacefully. But bolting on ‘activism lite’ to the old tired Live Aid formula isn’t going to Feed the World, but feed the egos of the pop stars like Bono – in fact the design here is ripped from an excellent t-shirt which I must get that says ‘MAKE BONO HISTORY’ which says it all really…

No Paul you don’t do it from the ‘inside’ by fratenising with popes, bushes and criminals (not exclusive categories I hasten to add) – you just look a prick. Ditto Geldof (or Gandalf; as Joss Stone put it – most people under the age of 30 are like, ‘who’?)

I think it’s more about supporting long faded careers than real change. Which is sad because I supported Drop the Debt and the Jubilee campaigh (last time Bono was on the money)and want to see that debt cancelled; but also understand the difference between fair and free trade, corrupt government and corrupt corporates, war and famine it’s not as simple as sending in a load of aid…it has to be tied to food, equipment, expertise, but not just sending money – and not tied to religion (I won’t support Catholic or Xtian charities; apart from Oxfam and Red Cross who are pretty agnostic now, because a lot of the help is tied into ‘converting’ the locals, which seems horrific to me, and very unchristian.).

Rather than this victim mindset I’d rather we operated a more fairer trade system and helped them with the AIDS crisis with releasing more of the anti-retroviral patents like in South Africa (and put pressure onto Mbeki to actually USE them) and allowing cheaper drugs to be created and cloned; and providing health care and prevention advice.

Because with the AIDS crisis as it is in Africa (upto a THIRD of the population in South Africa is HIV+ can you even imagine that?) it won’t matter if the debt is dropped, there actually won’t be anyone left of working age to repay it; and even the arrogant western money lenders at World Bank are starting to realise that fact.

Tim

P.S.* Chugger: Charity Mugger – those people with clipboards who are hired by charities to ‘mug’ you for money…love that term.

Publish and be damned! This is for me anyway…

Listen here (64:40 / 38Mb): http://www.realityengine.co.uk/radioclash/show-archive/rc_show31.mp3

This show is unsuitable for:

• Those who are easily offended
• Conservatives, republicans and those of a fragile disposition
• Children who want their parents to censor them
• Workplaces that keep their employees oppressed so that they can’t express themselves
• Pets and captivated animals
• People who like music, or musicians that don’t
• Those whose sanity is linked to music

Result:

Shownotes

Red Shadow – Understanding Marx (from 365 project, as most of these are)
Bob Chance – Van Man


Horror Cover Corner pt1:

Agnetha goes Fame – I’m So Excited
Minipop – Abba Medley
Lenora Anderson – Habanera from “Carmen” (from Music To Suffer By)
Gloria Balsam – Fluffy
I Miss You Ben
Moritz – Bohemian Rhapsody – suggested by Mr Fab

Marigaile and Don Moreland – Reputation (1953)

Weird Wired World

John Wells, Jill House [UCL] – Trills, and Non-Pulmonic Airstream
Kaigal-ool of Huun-Huur-Tu – Kombu – (Tuvalu Throat Singing) suggested by Hittman
Beastie Boys – Hail Sagan suggested by Marty Batfreak
Suicide – Frankie Teardrop suggested by Famous Mortimer

Some promos I did for Boots n’ All & Pitchshift in Sydney, Aus.
kickasspromo for Kick Ass Podcast

Horror Cover Corner pt2:

goldenarmy
dokaka – Smells Like Teen Spirit
Wild Man Fischer ft Mark mothersbaugh – The Way We Were
Peter Sellers – Hard Day’s Night suggested by Mark Rathmell of the Whoboys
Phi Mu Washboard – Love Hurts
Peter S. Langston (Eedie & Eddie & The Reggaebots) – Some Velvet Morning
Space Lady – Major Tom
Nick Cave – Black betty

Xtian Insanity

Humbards – I found a Hiding Place
Charlie the Hamster Sings the 10 Commandments
Lil markie – Diary of an Unborn Child suggested by Rev Don Deeley (more about the atrocity that is Lil markie here)

Henry & Mother – Home Sweet Home