In Loving Memory

House of Cards

New Radiohead video shot entirely without cameras.  

Thanks for the head's up Mikula.  

I Gotta See These Guys

Battles - "Atlas" (live at Pitchfork Music Festival)

Death Penalty Continued

The crux of this guy's argument should be everyone's crux.  

Check out the facts and figures brought to you by the Innocence Project.

Mikey Lost His Hamster Money

Death Penalty

A contemporary of mine, for lack of a better word, makes the case for the death penalty in his most recent blog, citing specific examples where he sees no other justifiable recourse.  The case against the death penalty, however, is made not in defense of the heinous crimes and criminals.  If a civilized society is to be assessed by the manner in which it treats its criminals, perhaps the death penalty should boil down to a fundamental value judgement:  Is it worse to put an innocent man to death or to relegate a guilty one to a life behind bars instead of adhering to Hamurabi's Code (which predates the Christ debacle by a substantial margin)? In my estimation there is no debate.

Typically the most heinous crimes, or the cases with which it is easiest to identify with the victims, incur the loudest cries for the death penalty.  Subsequent anger and outrage is projected often with little regard for the truth.  Atrocious crimes should incur harsh penalties, but, institutionally, reason has to prevail over blood lust.  

With regard to public policy making, you cannot differentiate between clear instances of guilt and flimsy guilty verdicts.  A jury of "peers" distinguishes guilt from innocence.  An added layer of discretion would only further separate this system from a remotely consistent path to the truth or justice. Policy makers who preach the desirability of executions as a deterrent address their own inability to understand and address the underlying causes of violent crime.   

• Only the United States of all the western industrialized nations engages in this punishment.
• State-authorized killings is immoral contradicts the morality it seeks to uphold. It epitomizes the tragic triumph of violence over reason.
• Capital punishment is always irrevocable - forever depriving an convicted of the opportunity to benefit from new evidence that could overturn a conviction.
• The death penalty violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law. It is applied randomly, discriminatorily, and panders to the public's potentially flawed reception to the crime in question. 
  

Maybe, someday I'll back some of this up with some facts.  Right now, however, it's getting close to bed-time, so, for now, I'll close by drawing your attention to the West Memphis 3.

  

Previous Post

I hope some of you were inclined to visit the link included in "Iceland".  I don't know what the hell's going on over there in Iceland, but it's spectacular.  

Iceland

Available for one week only.

If A + B = C Then Replace B with Water

Exerpts Taken from This NY Times Article

"Even over the past year, as Iraq intermittently curtailed its exports of two million barrels a day to demand changes in the United Nations sanctions against it, Saudi Arabia acted as the 'swing producer,' making up much of the difference."

As occupiers of Iraq, shouldn't our government use its relationship with Saudi Arabia to prevent this?  Wouldn't part of forging sustainable democracy in Iraq contain something about removing barriers between them and economic prosperity?    

"Short of withering in the grip of a coup d'état, Saudi Arabia's oil exports could be cut if its rulers decide that they no longer can afford to support the United States-led campaign against terrorism. If the bombings kill many civilians or if the war expands quickly, the Saudis may feel that they have no choice but to veer away from the United States and reduce the flow of oil."

Afford monetarily or in terms of self-preservation/keeping power?  Both?

'''The only way I see that happening is if the U.S. would continue to pick targets that would include Middle Eastern oil-producing countries -- and how many it picked -- and if it were done in a unilateral way,''' said Marianne Kah, chief economist at Conoco. '''But if it continues its multilateral approach, and includes friendly Arab countries, that won't happen.'''

Thanks for your input Marianne from the oil company.

"Even in the case of state overthrow somewhere in the Middle East, she said, the flow of oil would be likely to continue. 'Usually anyone in power wants oil revenues,' she said, 'though that may not be true for Osama bin Laden, who wants to live in a cave.'"

I think you might be right, Marr.  Who wants oil revenue more than the people in power?  

"If oil supplies from the Middle East dwindle, the impact on the United States would not be acute shortages, at least for a few months. Less of its oil comes from the Persian Gulf now, and more from Canada, Mexico and Venezuela."

That's right Middle East!  We don't need you.  If push comes to shove we can just lean on our three closest friends, Canada, Mexico, and...wait a second.

"Instead, a sharp drop in oil supplies would set off a steep rise in prices. How long they stay high would depend on the length and the severity of any cuts. The United States has few options to increase supply and damp a price surge. Oil fields in the United States and most of the rest of the world are running close to full capacity, except, as luck would have it, in the Persian Gulf. New fields, regardless of the promise they hold, take several years to bring on stream."

What a coincidence!  We have a bit of a military presence there right now!

''There is a big lag time between when you drill exploratory wells and when you get production,'' Ms. Kah said. Although the Bush administration and the oil industry have long pushed to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, delivering oil from there would mean 'expanding the oil pipeline in Alaska to handle the extra volume, and then you would be sending the oil down at the soonest in three or four years.'''

Is it making any sense, yet?  No?  Ok.  No need to go any further.  Let's start drilling the shit out of the Pacific shelf.  

"The United States, with just 5 percent of the world's population, has an enormous appetite for oil: it goes through 19 million barrels a day, or nearly one-quarter of the world total of about 76 million barrels. Imports increased about 4.5 million barrels a day in the last decade. To put it in perspective, Mr. Diwan pointed out, Germany and France together consume 4.7 million barrels a day."

This is getting frustrating.

"The dependence on foreign oil and the lack of a backup plan, either in the form of a bolstered reserve or conservation, evolved in large part because the United States thought Saudi Arabia would again make up for any supply disruption. 'In the 90's, we let a lot of things slide,'' said Mr. Hakes, the former Energy Department official. 'We quit improving the efficiency of automobiles. We quit buying oil' for the reserve."

Ask GM how that decision's going.

"The price shocks from a serious disruption in oil supplies would course through every quarter of the United States economy. Prices for gasoline and jet fuel would jump, hamstringing commuters and businesses alike. Heating-oil prices would climb. The drain on people's incomes and companies' revenue would further sap a weakened economy."

Sounds pretty serious.  

"Most major oil companies, like Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch/Shell, and large independent refiners like Valero Energy get substantial amounts of oil from Saudi Arabia. Oil companies declined to comment officially on the impact of a disruption, but some industry executives said privately that if the Saudis continued to ship oil elsewhere, American oil concerns could buy it through third parties, although at higher prices. If an embargo turned global, American companies could get some oil from the petroleum reserve before that ran out."

No problem.  We'd just have to pay more money for oil.    

"'We could buy the oil from OPEC, and because it is not a commercial sale, the members would not be violating their production quotas,' Mr. Goldstein said. 'It wouldn't push up prices, because oil demand is so low. It buys us flexibility, because none of us know what tomorrow will look like.'"

Wait.  Oil demand is low?  Someone's going to have to explain that to me.  

"But more than anything else, consumers would be likely to react on their own. In 1981, during the Iran-Iraq war, oil prices hit $40 a barrel. By 1986, they had dropped to $12, largely because of reduced demand. ''Prices go up, people consume less,'' Mr. Diwan said. ''The market really does work.''' 

Minor difference: Oil is a finite resource.  Minor detail: It's destroying the environment. 

We have governments of greatly varied ideologies purportedly acting on the behalf of nations of people who seem hellbent on prolonging and maximizing this cash cow at all costs.  Forget the whole global warming thing.  Ladies and gentlemen, in the event you haven't heard, I present to you, Genepax.

That Was An Old Song This Is A New Song, It's Evolution Baby

There is no one quite so capable of bringing a crowd of 20,000+ to its feet for a couple hours of a couple nights in the same city during the same tour, of prompting singalongs and mass hysteria, and then, only minutes later --and to the chagrin of a noteworthy though outnumbered contingency within that same crowd-- unleash an earnest political tirade.  No one combines the lilting emotion of the blues with the power and synergy of punk as effortlessly as Mike McCready.  What other rock band boasts a drummer whose "tastefulness is equaled by his sheer muscularity"?  And who, besides Jeff Ament, sports a Seattle Supersonics' Ray Allen jersey in front of a crowd simmering in the wake of a championship run?  No one could hold a band of this magnitude together with the grace and humility of Stone Gossard.  

At one point last week, having kept to a steady diet of Pearl Jam bootlegs, I wondered if I'd already seen them at their best.  I mean, how long could they keep doling out best shows ever? After concerts from tours past, having hurled a lion's share of hyperbole through the phone and into my father's ear, was I on the verge of a major disappointment?

           

Nope.  It's not in their DNA.  

June 28:

Throw Your Arms Around Me, Hard To Imagine, Why Go, Hail Hail, Comatose, Low Light, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Corduroy, Faithfull, Off He Goes, Given To Fly, Down, I'm Open, I Got Shit, Even Flow, Do The Evolution, Once, Rearviewmirror
Encore 1 Love Reign O'er Me, Come Back, Insignificance, Black, Better Man(Save it for Later)
Encore 2 No More, State Of Love And Trust, Alive  

Having tempted fate in booking a limo service to Saturday's show despite the driver's having told the us he was working a wedding prior to picking us up, we scattered in pairs just before the limo screeched to a hault in an empty parking lot.  Pete and I sprinted between parked cars and into the venue, finding a temporary home in the aisle next to some pretty good seats that weren't ours just in time to hear the back half of "Given to Fly".  I actually didn't realize how much we had missed until I checked the set-list the following morning.  As Eddie Vedder credited Howard Zinn as the inspiration for "Down" before dropping into it headlong, I begun to get my bearings, smiling and looking to Pete, a first timer, to see if a visceral reaction was worn on his face (it was).  By the time they burst into "I Got Shit", I was actually laughing to myself for ever having doubted.  

As Pete fervently applauded a rant from Mr. Vedder, I noticed we were standing next to a slew of marines.  Tattoo exposed by cut-off sleeves, the one seated beside me stood at attention, jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the man with the microphone, as he complained about the Marine recruiting booth that was set up in the parking lot.  Though I agreed with every word, I reached for Pete's arm, whispering and motioning to him that we were dangerously close to a pack of irrationally drunk marines.  He dismissed me and clapped even louder.  (It is worth noting that, prior to the show Monday night, the band forced the venue to take the recruiting booth down.) 

Engorged with bootlegs from the week leading up, I would be proven jaded once more.  When the house lights went on and the opening notes of "Alive" soared through the air, I initially lamented.  There are certain songs that appear in Pearl Jam setlists more often than I'd like.  They're great songs, but, like anything, after a while they can become stale when they're not covered and put away for a while.  Not on this night.  "Alive" completely blew me away.      

 

June 30:  

Wash, Last Exit, Save You, Severed Hand, Animal, MFC, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, 1/2 Full, Corduroy, Given To Fly, Even Flow, Education, Satan's Bed, Whipping, Glorified G, Do The Evolution
Encore 1 Bee Girl, Who You Are, Better Man(Save it for Later), Garden, Why Go
Encore 2 No More, Once, Footsteps, Alive, Rockin' In The Free World

We didn't make the same mistake on Monday, the last show of the American tour.  Firmly entrenched in my Ten Club seat 15 minutes before PJ took to the stage--no small thanks to Josh Dwire-- I am glad to be able to say I didn't miss a note.  

"Bee Girl", easily one of the most forgettable songs on Lost Dogs, was a actually a pleasant surprise.  I'm not sure if he quit smoking or something, but one of the themes that permeated both shows was not just the triumphant return of his baritone at full capacity, but its new heights.  While the entire show was a aural orgy, a decidedly dissonant and electric "Who You Are" was the climax.  Not to be overlooked, however, was "Once", "Footsteps", and "Alive", which they played together in sequence.  These three ditties, music written by Stone Gossard before the band had a lead singer, combine to tell a story.  But they almost never play all three, much less adjacent and in order.   

I'll never doubt them again.