Here's something interesting spoken by an Israeli judge on why a senior Palestinian official can't be held as prisoner of war:

"Terror is not an act of war, and therefore it doesn't fall within the rules of war."

This is what I was thinking the moment Resident Shrub called the 9/11 attacks "an act of war." That wasn't war, it was terrorism. Calling it an act of war validates it to a certain extent, and excuses the perpetrators from responsibility for their actions. The only reason we're at "war" right now is to line the pockets of the super-rich oil- and weapons barons who currently have a stranglehold over our nation's policy makers, our money, our media, and our conscience. Calling an act of terrorism an act of war reduces the vileness of the act and gives the terrorists an amount of defensibility that it doesn't deserve.

in the cd spinner today:
James Lauer - Rapid Transit a departure from his house background into more progressive styles, but still sneaking in some house tracks along the way, i like it a lot. I also like that he finally split the mix into tracks!
Max Cascone - MCIII i always feel a need to listen to a cd that I give to people the night before, as if to validate that it is worth listening to.
System of a Down - Steal This Album! A collection of songs that didn't make it onto either of their two previous albums, this album starts off a little grating (except for "innervision") but becomes pure System goodness a little over halfway through. Their beautiful songs only get more beautiful with each listen; the faster, heavier ones show their meaning after a few listens, and the melody and rhythm begin to make sense.

"This administration is set to complete what the railroad barons pushed the Grant administration to start: to take democracy and its institutions of governance from the hands of the human citizen/voters the Founders fought and died for, and give it to the very types of monopolistic corporations the Founders fought against when they led the Tea Party revolt against the East India Company in Boston Harbor in 1773.

And, in the ultimate irony, the new man in charge of economic policy as Secretary of the Treasury will be a multi-millionaire Bush campaign contributor, chairman of The Business Roundtable (an elite corps of 100 of the nation's most powerful corporate CEOs), and, himself, a railroad baron. "

The robber barons are finishing the job, read this masterful article here.

The evolution is Ours
We are drowning in an ill-conceived wave of corruption and death brought upon us by the short-sighted fascinations of old men and frightened politicians. The energy to power the light of the future is being concealed by the filth produced by the energy of the past. The evil men who push us down are clinging to their last reserve of power and wealth. Soon the truth will be revealed and a new era will begin. World peace is possible in this new vision.

go here

Wow, they actually did something about the White House's economic team! Good riddance, you bastards! Maybe O'Neill will go back to looting California's energy market, which he excelled at when was a CEO at Enron(!).
The article wastes no time in noting that, as usual, the decision to boot O'Neill and Lindsey was purely political and to create the appearance that they actually give a damn about us non-billionaires. Full article here.

update: my mistake, Secretary of the Army Thomas White was the tool who was at Enron in California. O'Neill was just the CEO of Alcoa, the largest aluminum maufacturer in the world

Where are they now?
They are gone.
I saw them run,
run to the sea.
Under the waves,
all has been said.
Can you hear them?
Their voices are free.
Free from the sun's stare
Free from the noise
of lost souls.

Their voice carries on,
On the waves.

-- Neurosis, "The Tide"

On John Kerry, 2004 Presidential hopeful gleaming in his eyes: "Kerry has a strong presence within his own party: he’s a war veteran who later became a war protestor, giving him a unique advantage of being able to play both sides of the war card. He’s a staunch advocate of many core left-wing Democratic ideals (I am happy because I got to use the word "staunch" today) and has a prior history of taking on corporate fraud- something which hopefully could be used as a 2004 campaign strategy seeing how it’s all nice and fresh from no one using it in the 2002 elections, you stupid, stupid, stupid Democrats. Stupid."

From the awesome Xoverboard.

"Hoover, Eisenhower and Goldwater were conservatives. George W. Bush is not. He's a radical right-winger applying selective liberalism in order to create an expansionist military empire centered around an oppressive police state."

Ted Rall's latest column, read it all here.

In the cd player today:
Noel Sanger - summerbreeze2 i really like this cd. I met Noel last night at Big Wig - class act all the way, and truly solid spinning. I'm looking forward to hearing more from him and seeing him spin in a more exciting atmosphere.

I think I've got to recant my "eh" rating of Sasha's Airdrawndagger. It's really starting to grow on me ("like a rash", according to Andrew) and I'm starting to hear where he's coming from and what he's trying to do. It does sound like it was all made with all the same gear though; there isn't a huge depth of sounds but I'm starting to appreciate it. I do hear a few live basses and guitars which is interesting.

"How convenient to divert the public's attention from other problems with the notion that the whole world must be turned upside down to combat terrorism, when marginal and avoidable mistakes by our government allowed the dreams of madmen to be fulfilled in blood."

Read it here.

Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty,
Beauty is not Love.
Love, is not Music.
Music is the best.
-- Frank Zappa

Welcome to WorkingForChange From around the Web
Quotes and quips

TOTAL(ITARIANISM)INFORMATION AWARENESS
'I don't use the f-word myself -- in fact, for years, I've made fun of liberals who hear the approach of jackbooted fascism around every corner. But to quote a real authority on the subject, 'Fascism should more properly be called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power.' -- Benito Mussolini.'
Molly Ivins on WorkingForChange

SMOKE SCREED
Pot is better, just not the 30 times better that Walters cites to scare today's voters. Walters is disingenuously comparing the best pot of today with the worst of yesterday, rather than comparing average marijuana of a generation ago with average marijuana now. He's ginning up the figures he wants by contrasting stuff you might line your cat's litter box with to the alleged 30-percent pot--the likes of which a lucky (or rich) smoker might encounter once every several years.
Daniel Forbes in Slate.com

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENTS
But if the moderates want to make a real vote of conscience, if they want to stand above partisanship and represent the great American political middle, there is another choice they can make: Chafee, Snowe and Specter can pull a Jeffords -- leave the GOP, become Independents, and caucus with the Democrats, which will give the Democrats control of the Senate.
Michael Kieschnick on WorkingForChange

BIN LADEN. YOU REMEMBER BIN LADEN.
Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post dismissed bin Laden as 'a blast from the past.' Well, that was a helluva blast, Howard, and I for one haven't forgotten it. I want that son of a bitch dead or alive, and I want getting him to be this country's top priority in terms of enemies.
Molly Ivins on WorkingForChange

AXIS OF IDIOCY
So let us say that sex is an area where we lefties have a more mainstream view than the Bush administration. The Bush administration has consistently blocked programs of sex education aimed at the prevention of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases if those programs mention any method other than abstinence. On an international level, they are joined in this view by Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and the Vatican.
Jon Carroll in the SF Chronicle

AFGHANISTAN. YOU REMEMBER AFGHANISTAN.
If promises made to Afghanistan go unfulfilled, if the United States does nothing to challenge warlord dictators who come to power in the aftermath of its military victory there, what reason is there to believe the United States will do better -- be more engaged and care more about post-war democracy and reconstruction -- in Iraq?
David Corn on WorkingForChange

FIGHT THE POWER
Rage Against the Machine or Public Enemy couldn't get the 8 Mile treatment if they wanted it (and they probably don't), because their anger tends to be focused at the more powerful, not the less powerful. Fighting the power isn't useful to power; killing fags and hos, on the other hand, works just fine. Pop culture is a tricky balance between validating things people already feel and relate to, and selling, selling, selling.
Geov Parrish On WorkingForChange

THAT'S NUDES TO ME
Women from all ages and walks of life took off their clothes, not because they are exhibitionists but because they felt it was imperative to do so... They wanted to unveil the truth about the horrors of war, to commune in their nudity with the vulnerability of Iraqi innocents, and to shock a seemingly indifferent Bush Administration into paying attention.
Organizers of naked peace rally in The Point Reyes Light

I saw Neurosis in San Fransisco this past weekend. What a fukkin' show. As if their cds weren't terrifying enough, seeing them live completes the experience. The energy coming off these guys was palpable. My old buddy Sam, who I was visiting and dragged to the show, told me he could "smell the music." That raw, melting smell when the amps are overdriven, the air is moving and compressing in unison throughout the whole venue, as if you have your nose in the speaker cab is how he described it. He said he's smelled the same thing at many Phish shows. Jimi Hendrix said that at a certain point, on certain nights, the amps start sweating. That's what this music is like. Pure aggression and energy and sorrow and fear, coupled with shining beauty and renewal and light. There is no other band like Neurosis. These guys play so hard, so intense. The surprising part about this music is that it's so slow. That's what makes it so powerful - there's a lot of room to move around in the music, and lots of time to think. Scott Kelly's voice has matured from "sounding like somebody's dying," as Mike put it so eloquently, into something more deep and primal and whole. It still sounds like the end of the world though. And Steve Von Till's voice is as beautiful and manly live as it is on the cds. This music has to be heard many times to be appreciated, but once you get past the chaos and destruction surrounding you, the melody and tone of the music shines at you like pure truth.

---

in fields of time i've lain
to crawl the inner plane
awakened crystal pain
through and down by a
wall it come in waves
free and invisible
mother crawled away
to see the star

---

once is enough, trial is alone.
grace fall, into us
all through the night, Father I crawled
sun of my soul, be revealed.
Walking amongst the stones from the sky
feeling their rhythm wash over me.
...
rite of this warring god.
destructive, alive, frees you now.
rivers of fear, don't you know?
vigil of faith, stills you now.
You've been shown, over and over, don't you know?
You've been shown, over and over, don't you know?

We even ignited the first atomic bomb on the day commemorating the transfiguration of Christ, thus unconsciously signalling that we intended likewise to transform the world not only after the light, but after the darkness...

The blast of the bomb was several times hotter than the surface of the sun...

become the ocean.
--- Neurosis

"The waking dream of a snug immortality is a necessary, even ingenious, adaptation to an earthbound finitude unrelenting consciousness of which would be immobilizing."

Full article here.

What have I been listening to today?
Orange 9mm - Driver Not Included
Sasha - airdrawndagger eh, except for wavy gravy which is great
Talking Heads - Naked
vinyl mp3 cd disc 5
Sattva - november demo pretty great!
Neurosis - A Sun that Never Sets

Jennifer Van Bergen:"What the Republicans do not yet know is that they are creating a revolution. It is true that they may also create war, and this is very sad and terrible for ALL of us, with repercussions far into the future. Of course, every thinking and ethical person must oppose this avaricious belligerence."

Full article here.

William Rivers Pitt: "Finally, the men and women who make up the spine and soul of the Democratic Party must stand up and make some noise. The streets beckon, nay, demand to be filled. Since Congress has been greased for all manner of Bush proposals, the only area of true resistance left stares back at you from your bathroom mirror. If you are not represented by the leadership, if the issues that concern you are not spoken of by those who purport to be on your side, then so be it. Your last, best option can be found on the far side of a lot of shoe leather."

Full article here.

I think it's interesting that I am a "progressive" dj, and will one day be a "progressive" political figure. The two go hand in hand, I guess.

I love Geov Parrish's writing. It's never overly reactionary, and always controlled and intelligent. It makes me want to write, and become active in the progressive political revolution. He's one of the reasons I started this blog. Read his current article on how we respond to the Republican victory this Tuesday here. Check out his archives here.

Hmmm... what's been in my cd player today?
Disk Jockey Devo - Beatnikbeats very cool! He layers Alan Ginsberg beat poetry over "grooved-out summer house"
Liquide - Living in Exile saw them last night at Big Wig, live set...trancey progressive...nice and spacey, and a live electronic performance is rare
DJ Anton - Beatz different and almost reggae-tinged breaks and techno... I like it!
Max Cascone - .end of july. Yes I listen to my own cds...it helps me get better
Test mix of my as-yet-unnamed next mix cd - this is going to be a good one...

Let's hear it for Nancy Pelosi. She's one of the most, if not the most vocal opponent of Bush's policies and his War(s). She is planning to take over Gephardt's post as Democratic leader, and I think she'll show actual LEADERSHIP which is what the party so sorely lacks.

Beautiful words by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and founder of True Majority progressive action campaign:
The continued belligerence of our leaders saps our souls, saps our spirit, and saps our strength as a nation.
Let us instead rededicate ourselves to helping our nation to match its actions with the spirit and soul of our people -- in goodness and justice and compassion and love.

Full article here.

Gephardt looks like a zombie. Good riddance. Will somebody in the Deomcratic party PLEASE stand up and be ORIGINAL and offer a true OPPOSITION?

The picture of Dubya on CNN.com today shows him gesturing with three fingers up, and his thumb and pinky together. Is this just another Bush mistake, that is he doesn't know how to give the "Victory" sign correctly; or is it something more sinister - a secret Skull&Bones signal to his henchmen? What is the significance of the three fingers signal? The world may never know.

Have you ever been, have you ever been to Electric Ladyland?
The magic carpet waits, for you, so don't you be late
Oh, I want to show you different emotions,
I want to ride you , the sounds and motions
Electric woman waits for you and me, so it's time we take a ride,
You can cast all your hang-ups over the south side
While we fly right over the love filled sea,
Look up ahead, I see the love land, soon you will understand...
Make love, make love, make love, make love.....
I want to show you, the angels will spread their wings, spread their wings
I want to show you, good and evil laying side by side, while electric love penetrates the sky
I want to show you, I want to show you....
Jimi Hendrix

It was great to watch Chuck D just now - on CNN - talking so eloquently and intelligently about Jam Master Jay. Something inside me thinks that the network execs didn't expect such intelligence from a rapper. Chuck D has always been one of the most intelligent rappers, maybe the most intelligent. Maybe they chose him because they knew that, but I think they wanted some garbage to come from him and instead got a genius speaking verbosely about a friend.

NRA goes ahead with GOP rally TWO DAYS after multiple homicide/suicide shootings at AZ. Nursing School
These are insane, insensitive people who have no business running this country!

"I honestly think that if a madman had driven a car into a crowd and if there was a car convention scheduled, they wouldn't cancel the convention," [NRA Chief Executive] LaPierre said.
Hey moron - CARS AREN"T DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY TO KILL HUMAN BEINGS AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE

"That tragedy would not have happened if more people had guns," [an attendee] said.
WOW that's idiotic. Someone else who treats the victim as the criminal.

Albanians, Russians to monitor US elections
Satire not required.

Only in America......can a homeless combat veteran live in a cardboard box and a draft dodger live in the White House.
(change "draft dodger" to "National Guard AWOL" for the current Administration)

Jam Master Jay KILLED
Jesus Fucking Christ What is happening? Where is all this evil and senselessness coming from?
I remember a period of time during college when it seemed like there was a lot of evil things going on in the world. This was the time of the Columbine school shootings. Things cleared up a while after that, but now the world seems to be in this state of constant fear and violence. People being killed by people who have no remorse and see no consequences of their actions. In this increasingly militaristic society, where kids grow up watching tv that shows them murder after murder but refuses to show them a little tit action, killing has gone from the ultimate sin to the ultimate ratings juicer. The glorification of war and murder, of drawn-out death scenes and John Woo shootouts, it all implies that in some situations, killing can be a wonderful thing to do. The Arizona nursing school shootings and the Beltway Sniper, and now this brutal slaying of Jam Master Jay in his own studio, almost makes me want to be a death penalty supporter. There needs to be a clear and serious danger to give someone a second thought before they kill someone. Increasingly these days though, there are too many people who feel no fear of the known consequences towards themselves and plan to take care of themselves anyway when they are done.

Israeli Gov. Falling Apart
This may not be the best way to do it, but it is time for a change in Israel. Sharon is a psychopath, not to mention a horrible leader, who obviously has zero interest in even attempting to keep the semblance of a peace or even a truce. It's the strife and chaos that keeps him in power, and he is unwilling to trade that power for the safety of his constituents. Like our own Adminstration, he considers his post as an opportunity for him to consolidate his power and that of the people who paid for him to push their agenda, and make a huge profit from the war corporations - not to mention the 3 Billion in military aid we send him - who profit from death and war. His disgusting obesity is a symbol of his arrogance and stupidity. Being a Jew I wish they would work something out over there. People are so stubborn sometimes, and when the public are terrified of sudden, irrational death (the Israelis) or of constant persectution and occupation (the Palestinians...thanks), incompetent leaders can gain power from a populace who may be initially drawn to their militaristic promises of putting an end to the problem with force. Sharon's goal of bludgeoning the Palestinians into submission - are they any safer than when he took office? The hypocrisy of his confinement of Arafat in his (what must be real smelly by now) headquarters, and at the same time crowing at him to "do something" about impressionable, hopeless people strapping bombs to themselves and ending their misery in the most inhuman way possible, incredibly out-hypocrisizes our own Bush Administration's existence. The War on Drugs (stupid), the War on Poverty (impossible with millionaires in charge), the War on Terror (incompetently created and given nice polish jobs by the insane government-controlled media), and any other "War On a Noun", all fail to address the DEMAND/CAUSE/PERPETRATOR side of the problem, while treating the SUPPLY/EFFECT/VICTIM as the problem, the victims as criminals.

Maximilian Arthur Cascone
I'd like to thank my parents for giving me such a cool name.

He gassed his own people!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Ol' Pooty-Poot! Another thorn in the side of our pResident's morally-bankrupt rhetoric! Are we going to invade Russia now?

What's in my cd player today?
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue ohhhh man, this is just so sweet... true music... captured from the universe into pits and valleys on a little 5 1/4 inch disc... The muted trumpet does sound a little harsh even though it's a 20-bit remaster, I wonder how it sounds on vinyl
Neurosis - A Sun That Never Sets
Vinyl mp3s - disk 4

Blix and ElBaradei (Head Iraq Weapons Inspectors) to brief Bush
I wonder if this will help our perilous situation. Blix and ElB are two of the smartest people in the world, literally. If they can keep the big words to a minimum and speak in short, easy-to-understand sentences, maybe something will get through to Bush&Co. Especially Cheney's mind is so warped as to tune out anything that doesn't work with his apocalyptic vision. I've seen Hans Blix speak on TV, he is clearly extremely intelligent, and doesn't take no guff either. Too bad Scott Ritter isn't working with them anymore - there's someone who really knows what he stands for and what his internal morals are. I really respect all these inspectors - I hope they can talk some sense into the idiots and psychopaths currently running our country.

"the show that proved, if a show is number one, it's probably very popular."

What the hell does that mean? That's how Nick At Nite descibes the Cosby Show. Thanks. How about "groundbreaking," "ridiculously funny and true," or just plain "brilliant?"

What's been in my cd player at work today:
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
mp3s of my trance vinyl records - disk 2

Narrowly escaped ticket&tow this morning - I was awoken by my house and teeth rattling, from the steamroller outside on Belmont. My car was noticably in the way, with another steamroller waiting impatiently behind it. I ran out and moved it, and saw other cars being "moved" - ie towed to another spot - how are you supposed to find your car if they do that? Do you get a ticket too? Anyway, a close one this morning, just as good as coffee.

him who want total control,
always lose control,
some always lose their soul,
for silver and gold...

-- Lee "Scratch" Perry, w/ the Beastie Boys

Here's my first blog. I'm calling it spinBlog because I'm a DJ and I'm witty, look at me. I'll post news, cd and gig updates, and other dj stuff, as well as political and philosphical thoughts that I am wont to have from time to time.