It reminds me of Meret Oppienheims x ray self portraits from the mid 60s...there is a whole page of them here:
including two films

NASCAR Harlequin

The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement. (washington post)

the good money is that these prisons are either in Rumania or Poland--I was talking to ray last night, and it was weird, hte question we approached was what would the effects on the EU be, no worry about the horror of secret prisions, tortue, etc etc esp. in countries outside american laws and pervues---for me the horror is so assumed that i guess the realpolitik consquences are more worth sorting, but i worry that idont spend enough time outraged and too much time playing other games...

the anger doesnt stay though and what else can be said about american imperial tendecies...

speaking of that---these photos from a Seattle Area Womens Correctional Facilty are about an innovative program that allows Mothers to parent their children inside the prisions, some of the captions are too friendly, and some of it downplays the difficluties and hardness of the prisoners lives, but they are there, as mothers and as prisoners, and to document that, needs to be done...what would be better i think, is giving the cameras to the prisoners themselves, and the print them in colour . but it is v. much worth it.

on the same note juvies at facilities throught the US ...done by a long frame 8x10, the pictures are more effective in their juxtoposition of tradtional studo portratiriue and locational veritee. The other interesting thing is how they name the correctional faccilities (Oakridge School, Green Hill, Maple Lane) most of these prisoners are urban, these are not schools they are jails, why are they naming after the pastoralism of middle class suburbs?


and Mike Schvartz from Tyco, about to go to prison...i bet more worthy of it then most of the people in the above two links..,

One of the things we need to understand about Genocide is that it is not about the killing of bodies but about the elimanting of cultures--Turks arresting Kurds for disobeying a langague law in Street Protests continues the explicitness of the destructon of Kurd Culture story here

Speaking of Langauge--an article from the Central European Review about swearing in Yugoslav (favourites include Jebem vam boga (Fuck Yr God) and Ni vreden pol kurca! (you ain't worth half a cock) and any number of them that feature communists.


Matthew Mullins, teaches philosophy, and is a pretentious ass--yes this is a Wittengenstein JAck o Lattern


A sign painted by Chaz Maviyane-Davies in one of the local stores in his native Zimbabwe, who also currated a show of historical political posters at MassArts, where (s)he teaches

This Hippo Roller is the reason why designers should exist--i'll jsut read the catalog copy:

Millions of people worldwide are forced to walk long distances on a daily basis to collect their water requirements for the day.  Traditional methods of collecting water include the use of 20-liter (5-gallon) buckets, which are laboriously carried on the head.  Extensive suffering occurs in the process.  This method is very time and energy consuming and is also the cause of many serious health problems. The Hippo Water Roller was specifically designed to alleviate the suffering caused by a lack of access to water.  The Hippo Water Roller is a barrel-shaped container designed to transport 90 liters (20 gallons) of water.  It comprises of a drum with a large screw-on cap and a clip-on steel handle. The drum is manufactured from UV stabilized Polyethylene and has been designed to withstand typical rural conditions such as uneven footpaths, rocks and even broken bottles.  The large opening (135 mm / 5.3 inch diameter) allows for easy filling and cleaning of the interior.  The sealed lid ensures hygienic storage of water and the steel handle provides firm control over difficult terrain while pushing or pulling the roller.  Simple, Ingenious solution, to prevent harm and provide clean water--fucking amazing.

The New Yorker writes about Scooter Libby doing bad historical erotica, which seems to be a republican habit (buckley, ginghrich, lynne cheney...) story here

Aussie John Walker Lindh type talks of his abuse at the hands of Americans in Cuba--including various anal games (there is an essay to be written about the recent obsession for anal sex in america these days)

These are images




from a large, surreal, mural about utopia and dystopia, done by the Japanese Super Flatter Chiho Aoshima, the utopia and dystopia work as a sort of narrative reflection on the rise and fall of empires, and of the aesthetic nature of cities, its beautiful, wounding, difficult and all encompassing, having them in the NY Subway System makes them metacontextual as well,analyisis and creation in the place of insipration. it took balls, but im glad they did it (see the wall panels, in the last image, they have large chunx of text explaining it all as well !!) (also note that the panels are of paper and panel, easily transferable and easily put up, wheat glue graifftiable in its history)
(see all of them here and the rest of nyc subway art as well

Lesbian Methodist defroked by a national council last week.
five things to say about this:
1) almost none of this sort of thing goes to a national council--the real consquence(s) of the fight about gay marriage and gay clergy in protestant sects are not about letting fags in, but of making a central authority powerful, which seems to be a violation of the central protestant ethic of decentralaztaion.
2) it was not entirely decided, some of the national council were suposicouly absent, and some voted in favour of her, this is not a runaway desciion against queer clergy
3) it saddens me that even playing the game, even basically marrying and living with the same partner will not save you when the worst comes.
4) the way the rule came down from the conference a few years ago "self-avowed, practicing homosexual" is pretty common way of phrasing these things (ie LDS, Southern Baptist, Anglicans, Presprtyians(sp), The AOG) have almost exact langauge saying the same thing and prevents interperation. it also provides a weird double bind, can you be out and not practive, is self avowing always practicing, is practicing sexuality all about practicing sex?
5) It also means that if they did not want to defrock her, they would have had to say that the rule was unjust (and by extenstion) unchrist like), which is outside of their prevue.

WWI and II era chemical and biological weapons are coming to shore in the US

Presently Riots are in:
5 French Cities
Addis Ababa
and Beunous Aries.