gimme culture

“I feel profoundly identified with Roger’s intense personal involvement with Benjamin’s story — who indeed can feel that they “get” Benjamin, or are even beginning to get a glimmer, without finding themselves becoming addicted to both the thought and the man? (As Benjamin said (roughly quoting here from memory), “thought can be as intoxicating as any narcotic, not to mention that drug we take in solitude, ourselves.”

Some good conversations about Walter Benjamin’s death and place in cultural studies canon

“Public school teachers, meanwhile, were calling Friedman’s plan “an educational land grab”. I call these orchestrated raids on the public sphere in the wake of catastrophic events, combined with the treatment of disasters as exciting market opportunities, “disaster capitalism”.

Privatising the school system of a mid-size American city may seem a modest preoccupation for the man hailed as the most influential economist of the past half century. Yet his determination to exploit the crisis in New Orleans to advance a fundamentalist version of capitalism was also an oddly fitting farewell. For more than three decades, Friedman and his powerful followers had been perfecting this very strategy: waiting for a major crisis, then selling off pieces of the state to private players while citizens were still reeling from the shock.

In one of his most influential essays, Friedman articulated contemporary capitalism’s core tactical nostrum, what I have come to understand as “the shock doctrine”.

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You tell em Rafa!!!

Staff and agencies
Wednesday August 22, 2007

Guardian Unlimited

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has launched an astonishing attack on the Premier League, in a tirade which covers subject matter as varied as the Gabriel Heinze transfer saga, early kick-off times, the Carlos Tevez affair, and favouritism towards Manchester United
Benitez is angry that United defender Heinze has had his attempts to join Liverpool blocked by a Premier League hearing that sided with United over who they could sell the player to once their £6.8m valuation had been met.

But not only has Benitez attacked the Premier League decision, which could leave Heinze’s career in limbo until his contract ends, he has also directed his fury at the Old Trafford hierarchy.

In a Liverpool Echo interview, Benitez claims decisions are being taken which favour Liverpool’s old rivals with yesterday’s dismissal of Heinze’s bid to move to Anfield the latest setback.

Benitez said: “I would like to ask the Premier League a number of questions. How can a player with a signed agreement be treated like this?

“He has a document which is clear, but the Premier League prefers to believe the word of someone else who made a mistake. I know there were accusations made against Liverpool in the hearing which were unbelievable. How can this be allowed?”

And broadening his attack from the Heinze issue, Benitez said: “Then I would like to ask the Premier League why is it that Liverpool always plays the most fixtures away from home in an early kick-off, following an international break?

“We had more than the top clubs last season and we have four already to prepare for this season.

“Then I want to ask the Premier League why it was so difficult for Liverpool to sign Javier Mascherano, when we had to wait a long time for the paperwork, but it was so easy for Carlos Tevez to join Manchester United?”

Mascherano joined Liverpool from West Ham in the January transfer window and the deal took weeks to clear as the row over third party ownership of players at Upton Park raged on.

The Tevez move to Old Trafford took less time to approve, with the Argentina star’s representatives paying West Ham £2m to release his registration in time to beat the transfer deadline.

Benitez added: “It’s going to be very difficult for us to win the Premier League because the other teams are so strong, but I want our supporters to know that despite the disadvantages we have, we will fight all the way.

“We will fight to cope with our more difficult kick-off times and all the other decisions which are going against us.”

But it is the Heinze decision, stopping Liverpool buying the defender who believed he had a letter clearing his exit for a set sum, that has upset Benitez most.

He now must consider contingency plans knowing that any appeal by Heinze may not be concluded by the time the transfer window shuts at the end of August. An appeal panel on the Premier League’s decision will include a PFA representative and a high ranking member of the legal profession.

Heinze remains optimistic an appeal will be accepted and is in no mood to give up on his hopes of moving to Liverpool.

His solicitor, Richard Green said: “We are extremely disappointed with the result and we will be appealing.”

It is being suggested that United would be happy for Heinze to be loaned out to a mid-table Premier League side or agree to a transfer overseas, with Lyon at the front of the queue while Real Madrid have also been linked with a move for the Argentinian.

The Premier League are disappointed by Benitez’s comments.

A spokesman said: “The Premier League tried to make sure that our dealings with all our member clubs, including the scheduling of fixtures, are as fair as possible.

“We are disappointed to read Rafael Benitez’s comments in the press, especially when channels exist for every member club to raise any issues directly with the league.”

Press release

“The arts are a fundamental part of a confident and cultured society. They challenge and inspire us. They bring beauty, excitement and enjoyment into our lives. They help us express our identity as individuals, as members of communities, and as a nation.”

—Scottish Arts Council, Action Plan 2004-2009

Caribbean Contemporary Arts (CCA) is now obliged to face the stark reality that has been haunting us for the past years, and we have taken decisive action. As a collective, we have worked to the best of our ability towards developing both a sense of philanthropy and policies to increase the value placed on culture and identity.

Despite increased international funding for our core endeavours, we continue to lack operational funding or much in the way of communal national support. We can no longer afford to keep the organisation running, and therefore we feel that we have no option but to close down our current location on the Fernandes Industrial Estate, and to cease the running of all programmes, effective August 31st 2007.

We will continue, however, as an NGO under the name CCA, but strictly as an information base and to provide continuity for our archive, and also to maintain the possibility of future endeavors.

As from September the 17th CCA will be based at:

233 Belmont Circular Road, Belmont
Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies
P: +1 868 625 1889
F: +1 868 621 3837

Our e-mail contacts will remain as: mail@cca7.org and jleeloy@cca7.org

Our emotions are mixed: we are deeply saddened by the realisation that, even with financial support from our foreign partners, we continue to live in a country that lacks governmental and private sector support for culture and the arts. Since our inception ten years ago, we have attempted to tackle the formidable task of increasing awareness of and appreciation for visual art in our country, and the larger Caribbean region.

We have provided crucial training to arts and culture administrators, who now work in the field locally, regionally, and internationally. CCA has worked to create opportunities for local artists abroad, including exhibitions and workshop participation. As a result of our efforts, Trinidad is now considered a major centre for contemporary art in the Anglophone Caribbean.

We have put on over 70 exhibitions and have hosted Kairi, the Trinidad & Tobago International Film Festival. We have had 84 artists in residence, and 6 regional workshops with 118 local, regional, and international participants.

CCA’s plight is not unique to our organisation, but seems to be the on-going difficulty of all NGOs working in the field of Trinidad and Tobago. We can but hope that one day organisations such as ours will be able to reap from the same ground they tirelessly and optimistically continue to fertilise.

This is also a time of acknowledgement and appreciation. We are proud of our achievements, and hope that much has been learned from all the opportunities and experiences we have shared since 1997. We are confident that the spirit of CCA7 will live on through the work of the artists we have supported.We would like to extend our warm appreciation to all of our friends, affiliates, sponsors, and staff who have supported us over the years. Without your kindness and dedication, we could not have made it at all.”

“In his famous Two Cultures lecture, CP Snow lamented the deep divide that separates the arts and humanities in modern culture. But recent work published in Genome Biology by researchers Rie Takahashi and Jeffrey H Miller at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), might be a step towards healing the rift. The scientists designed a computer programme that turns genes into music. The resulting tunes are surprisingly melodic and have a curious resonance with the roots of both western music and science 26 centuries ago.”

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“It is the greatest gift since the fall of Saddam Hussein, and shows how Iraqis from all walks of life can work together to achieve success,” said Hozam Mahmoud, a Kurdish policeman, who had abandoned his traffic duties to join noisy celebrations close to the foot of the ancient citadel in the Kurdish regional capital, Irbil.

He added: “Football alone may not be able to heal the nation’s deep wounds, but for the moment it has induced a sense of cohesion, and we can all build on that if we try.”

One reason for the team’s popularity is that its players are drawn from all sections and all parts of Iraqi society.

On the pitch yesterday were Kurds, Sunnis, Shias and Turkomans. The players had overcome kidnap threats, the murder of loved ones, and disruptions to their training schedules.”

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“State-sanctioned teams of computer hackers were able to break through the security of virtually every model of California’s voting machines and change results or take control of some of the systems’ electronic functions, according to a University of California study released Friday.”

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countries with universal healthcare

“Prof Murray said: “Individuals who - perhaps with some mild predisposition - would not otherwise have developed schizophrenia will do so because of taking cannabis. It’s a bit like how people with only a minimal predisposition to diabetes will develop it if they eat too much.”

Dr Iddon, the chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on drugs misuse, said the study did not convince him it was time to return cannabis to class B.

“I don’t think the causal link has been proved. I think cannabis might - possibly for genetic reasons - trigger psychosis at an earlier age.”

The MP, who is also a member of the science and technology select committee, said there was a danger of criminalising “hundreds of thousands of young people” if the status of the drug was changed.

If Gordon Brown changes the class of the drug, it won’t be evidence-based but for political reasons,” he said.

“Since we reduced the classification of cannabis from B to C the usage is going down, so what’s the point of muddying the debate again by this yo-yo political policy?”

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My buddy Alex Smailes. A very cool cat, amazing photographer and, well, read for yourself…

“We faxed it to friends at Cambridge just to check what it was. They called right away and said, “Where did you find this? Don’t go anywhere near it! Your balls would drop off!” We told the editor of the newspaper we were working for a regional newspaper. He basically came back and said, “Leave that alone.” The actual owner of the newspaper was a member of the royal family! So we put it in an envelope and dropped it off to the American Embassy. That was the last we thought of it until I started getting phone calls in the middle of the night saying Mr. Smailes can you come and meet me at the Sheraton Hotel I hear you are causing a big problem.”

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