Wednesday, January 13, 2010

America the Deluded

Posted by Mickey Z on 01/13 at 05:08 AM
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  1. Failed states, yeah,

    It’s outrageous how the Western Powers colonise and rule a country for years, raping it of resources.

    The the country gets free for a few years, organises it’s resources and elects a moderate leader. Then we either depose them by proxy or invade, further plunging the area into chaos. Finally they are left with a loose military regime ..and when that collapses ...what’s the final comment from us :

    ...wait for it ...

    yes, it’s a failed state, or a rogue state ..or it;s underdeveloped, or the people and culture “are not ready for democracy”.

    We are definitely ruled by brutal psychopaths whose one statement is wildly disconnected from the next.

    Capture sez “life” ...yes, please.

    Posted by Andy from Shanghai  on  01/13  at  07:32 AM

  2. Dead on, Andy. Just ask Haiti.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/13  at  08:06 AM

  3. Haiti, of course. As we all know, early on in the age of modern empires Haiti’s slaves took the island and abolished slavery forming a free state.

    Outrageous! Next thing you know people everywhere will be thinking that they don’t have to answer to their betters and submit themselves to the will of the national planners and businessmen! They’ll be a whole generation of people who believe they are free to make their own lives.

    Preposterous!

    Back in chains for you lot.

    Posted by Andy from Shanghai  on  01/13  at  09:36 AM

  4. This is what the BBC had to say about Haiti just hours after it was devastated by the earthquake:

    Half of Caribbean island of Hispaniola
    History of violence, instability and dictatorship
    Population of 10 million people
    Most live on less than $2 a day
    Democratic rule restored in 2006
    Economy in ruins and unemployment is chronic
    UN peacekeepers deployed - foreign aid seen as vital
    Massive deforestation has left just 2% forest
    Storms and hurricanes in 2008 left almost 800 dead

    This was provided as ‘country profile’ capsule within the main article, ostensibly to give ‘context’ to the immiseration of Haiti. The problem, as anyone here will immediately grasp, is the utter lack of context.

    Posted by Keir from here and there  on  01/13  at  10:01 AM

  5. Yep, Haiti was once the richest land in terms of what we call “resources.”

    Anyway, I can’t vouch for any of this but here are some relief-related links:
    http://tinyurl.com/yh78hxk

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/13  at  10:22 AM

  6. Our band has basically got a deal in the offing of a kind. We have a big fan who works in a local label. But ‘label’ and ‘deal’ have quite different meanings in the underground scene here and it’s nothing to be too excited about.

    One of the tracks we are now prepping for the studio is “The New World” which is about Columbus and what is now Jamaica. About the complete genocide of the Arawak people, save a handful of migrant groups on the mainland.

    We tried to make it as offensive as possible to the mainstream sensibility.  The lead in to the chorus is a chant of ‘killers still living in the new world’ and the chorus opens with ‘if you don’t speak out then you are one of them, killers still living in the new world.’

    I’ve probably talked about it before and it’s the ‘no innocent bystanders’ principal. There’s two kinds of people, those that speak out about it and those, for whatever reason malicious or ignorance, who are contributing to the ongoing situation.

    Let’s draw the lines so people can see them.

    Zack de la Rocha sez: What better place than here, what better time than now.

    Posted by Andy from Shanghai  on  01/13  at  12:28 PM

  7. I’ve been looking at my friends’ updates on Facebook and Twitter.  Not much mention of Haiti.  When Michael Jackson died, every person wrote RIP MJ. 

    Then, of course, there’s Pat Robertson saying Haiti made a pact with the devil in order free itself from French tyranny.  Jerkoff.

    Posted by Charles from Jersey City  on  01/13  at  05:02 PM

  8. Andy: Please be sure to let me know when the PETA gig is set up.

    Charles: I oughta get me one of them Facebook pages, huh?

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/13  at  06:10 PM

  9. Hey Mickey I’d be privledged to be your “friend” on Facebook.

    Posted by Bob T. from Archer, FL  on  01/13  at  06:36 PM

  10. I’m just trying to find a loophole so I can use “Mickey Z.” as my name.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/13  at  07:20 PM

  11. “I read the September 2009 issue of National Geographic on my flight home this Monday and came across this phrase: “The failed state of Somalia, a place where pirates and terrorists rule.” To which I reply: No state has failed worse than the home of the brave and no state is more overrun by pirates and terrorists than the land of the free.” I’ve more than once had the same sentiments (almost) regarding Australia, so I really liked reading this, Mickey.

    Best wishes go to Andy, keir, Charles and Bob T.
    Keir #4:  I could not agree more regarding the ‘utter lack of context’ - and then there are some timelines accompanying articles which leave out very important facts.  Recently, in Melbourne’s broadsheet they ran a timeline on the Democratic Republic of Congo since independence, and guess what:  they left out Patrice Lumumba entirely.  Apparently the editor had never heard of him, otherwise he would have ‘corrected’ this oversight - or would he?

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  01/13  at  10:09 PM

  12. Re Haiti:  here’s an article which really provides some context:
    http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n08/paul-farmer/who-removed-aristide

    All best to all my fellow expendables!

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  01/13  at  11:13 PM

  13. Thanks, Helga. Paul Farmer is usually a great source for Haiti info. I’ll try to re-post that link here.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/14  at  05:16 AM

  14. Sorry， more selfish stuff. We finally got our new single, Paris 68, out here. It;s also available for free listen or DL at our Chinese page. If it’s slow, let me know and i’ll find an alternative source. Lyrics are in the forum below the MP3 player.

    Mickey, will mail you about the PETA show soon. Desperately trying to get one of shots prepped for the Time Out deadline right now. Once that’s done we have 5 weeks for the rest.

    Write it on the walls, the spirit of Paris 68

    Posted by Andy from Shanghai  on  01/14  at  06:06 AM

  15. Thanks, Andy.

    FYI: A new post is now up.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/14  at  09:16 AM

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