[05.31.2001]
The European Parliament has released a 108-page report which concludes that Echelon, the worldwide spy network, does exist. This comes even in the face of many
governments continuing to deny its existence.
[Read More]
Related Stories:
New Order are set to release their upcoming album, Get Ready, through WEA/London on August 27 (UK). Their first single,
Crystal, will be released some time in July.
It's also been noted that Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), who guested on the track "Turn My Way," will be filling in for
keyboardist Gillian Gilbert, as she cannot make the dates for Moby's AREA: ONE tour
because her daughter is recovering from a serious illness.
[05.29.2001]
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision today to reject a challenge to the use of race as a factor in determining the admission of students to
universities has the potential to keep affirmative action alive. Their decision effectively denied an appeal, stating that the University
of Washington Law School did not act unconstitutionally when it considered the race of applicants in its admission policy.
The month of June has been declared as Peltier Awareness Month. June is a significant month in both the history of the Peltier case and the
history of the Lakota People. On June 26, 1975 the tragic shoot-out which led to Leonard Peltier's unjust imprisonment occurred. Two years
later, on June 1, 1977 Peltier was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. And almost a century prior to the shoot-out, on June 25, 1876,
the Lakota People defeated General George A. Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn.
On May 23, 2001, more than 90 nations, including the U.S., signed the first global treaty that would legally require the phasing out of 12 of
the worst known toxic chemicals. Hopefully President Bush and the U.S. will commit to this treaty unlike with the Kyoto Protocol, the international
agreement on global warming.
Related Stories:
[05.24.2001]
A regional zoning system that forces consumers to pay up to 20 per cent more for DVD movies is being challenged by the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission. This regional coding scheme perfectly illustrates why we must "Stop The MPAA." And it's also part of the reason why the DeCSS
utility was created, to allow people who've legally purchased DVDs from other regions to play them in their own regions as well as on the equipment
of their choice.
[Read More]
The National Security Agency (NSA), a secret spy agency taps into undersea cables.
[Read More]
[05.22.2001]
A national day of protest
has been called for Tuesday, May 22 to demand the return of "Democracy Now!" to the WBAI airwaves in New York City and for an overhaul of the Pacifica
Foundation's national board. The announcement follows WBAI’s decision not to air "Democracy Now!" during the station’s three-week spring fundraiser.
Read an article by the NYC IMC on the latest in the
Pacifica crisis.
[Take Action!]
New data to be released by the Ministry of Environment will show that the uncontrolled destruction of the Amazon Rain Forest is continuing at an
alarming rate. From August 1999 to August 2000, deforestation of the Amazon increased by 15%.
[Read More]
The Bush Administration's plans to implement a "Star Wars" missile defense system promises to engage the U.S. in a new arms race that will cost
billions and disrupt international stability. On Sunday, June 10 at 2 p.m., Project Abolition will
organize and stage a rally to speak out against Bush's flawed plans at Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House.
[Read More]
Related Stories:
[05.21.2001]
The World Bank has cancelled its summit in Barcelona fearing disruptions from demonstrators. Protesters from around the world planned a convergence
there for June 25 for the 2001 Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics. World Bank announced that the meeting will take place online instead.
Here's an interesting article which I happened across the other day. It seems Virginia are going to erect a monument dedicated to the First Amendment.
Measuring 7 feet tall and 50 feet wide, this monument will allow any citizen to pick up a piece of chalk and write. Anything. Freely. (Well, almost
anything. I doubt anyone will be allowed to scrawl "Kill G.W. Bush.")
[Read More]
The National Arbitration Forum (NAF), the largest U.S.-based provider of domain name dispute resolution services, has ruled that Aimster, a maker of
music-sharing software, has violated America Online's AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) trademark and must relinquish several Internet domain names with
"Aim" in them.
According to NAF, "Aimster could not include the AIM trademark in its domain names without infringing
on the goodwill created in the name by America Online." Maybe it's just us, but this is ridiculous!
These corporations and their teams of legal lawyers need to find something more constructive to do
with their time. "Aim" is not a trademark. It's a common word in the English language and should not
be subject to trademarking. If anything, America Online are the ones who are infringing on the "AIM"
trademark as those three letters have long been used by Aim toothpaste.
[05.18.2001]
We don't like where this is headed.... It appears that Amazon.com has made a deal with the movie studios in which
Amazon uses its detailed information about its 28 million customers' spending habits to help movie studios reach and market its films to certain
demographic groups. As a result, customers who have ordered a book on military history will probably be getting mail/e-mail promoting the movie
"Pearl Harbor." Amazon expects to make many more such marketing deals, so don't be suprised if you're flooded with junk mail and who knows what else.
Yesterday President Bush announced his energy policy report. But Bush's plan is not a done deal yet as he'll need the support of your representatives.
Tell them to reject the Bush energy plan and to support smart, clean solutions to our energy problems including an increased use of renewable energy
and energy efficiency. Demand clean energy now!.
The Ford case was heard today. Arguments from both sides were made and a decision is now
being awaited from Judge Robert Cleland. More details to come as soon as they become available.
In entertainment news, Fox television have announced that The X-Files will return next season, sans Mulder, except "for the possibility
of a cameo appearance here and there." In addition, The X-Files spin-off The Lone Gunman will not be renewed. In its place will be the
superhero spoof The Tick.
[Read More]
[05.17.2001]
Greenpeace activists dumped five tons of coal and five faux oil and nuclear waste drums outside the Vice President Cheney’s residence at the Naval
Observatory in Washington today to protest the Bush/Cheney Energy Plan.
[Read More]
According to Eli Llano the UC Regents have
rescinded SP-1 and SP-2. These policies, passed in July of 1995, ended affirmative action programs
in the admission of students and the hiring practices for the University of California.
Eli Ilano, President of Graduate Assembly
University of California, Berkeley
Anthony Hall #4500
Berkeley, CA 94720
(510) 643-0602
The Codex Alimentarius (the WTO's Food Standards Setting Body) committee on labeling just concluded
4 days of meetings in Ottawa, Canada, with most nations of the world pushing for mandatory labeling of GE
foods and crops. These mandatory labeling rules were blocked as in previous years by the world's three
largest GE crop and food producers, the US, Canada, and Argentina. The next Codex labeling meeting will
take place in Halifax, Nova Scootia next year.
[Read More]
It appears that Napster are looking for beta testers for it's subscription based services
before they officially roll it out this summer. Once the subscription-based service is implemented,
users can expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $10 per month, depending on how much music is downloaded.
Other changes expected to be added to the subscription model will be a degradation in the musics
quality and the inability to "burn" them onto CDs.
Massive civil resistance is planned to shut down Vandenberg Airforce Base, the world's largest military targeting and surveillance
facility, on Sat, May 19. Concerned people will converge on Vandenberg's beautiful California coast for a nonviolent security zone occupation to
challenge and disrupt its counterinsurgency satellite launch complex. The site directs corporate/military death squads and gunships from Colombia
to Indonesia and guides nuclear missiles and Star Wars weapons.
[Read More]
[05.15.2001]
Tell the Japanese Government to stop their illegal whaling. Yes, whales are STILL being killed. In fact, right now,
there are Japanese whalers on their way to the North Pacific to kill 160 of these great creatures. Against the policies of
the International Whaling Commission, the Japanese government has allowed the commercial killing of whales to continue.
How? By misrepresenting commercial whaling as "scientific" research. Please help us to put an end to these senseless
killings. We treasure the seas and sea life, and know that you do too!
Send a letter by fax to Shunji Yanai, Ambassador of Japan, and ask that he stop the whale hunt! Just go to
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/bin/actionframe.pl?action_id=48.
You can also ask President Bush to support the protection of these great whales by visiting
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/save/alerts/japanwhales.htm.
Your help is urgently needed!
We didn't think it would happen, but it has. Apparently, the owners of FuckGeneralMotors.com
are being sued by Ford Motor Company because they are pointing www.FuckGeneralMotors.com
at ford.com. You'd think that Ford would be pleased that people who dislike General Motors (their
competition) are being directed to Ford, but that just isn't so. Yes, we're just as confused as
you are.
[Read More]
[05.12.2001]
Once again it's time for Hootenanny. This year's festival (Saturday, July 7, 2001) will be at the Hidden Valley Ranch (located behind Verizon
Wireless Amphitheater and Wild Rivers) and will feature artists such as Social Distortion, Chuck Berry, The Reverend Horton Heat, Lee Rocker &
Scotty Moore, Supersuckers, Cadillac Tramps, Big Sandy, Blasters, John Doe, Paladins, James Intveld, Amazing Crowns, Russell Scott, Hot Rod
Lincoln, Throw Rag, Rattled Roosters, Rumble King, Rave Ons, and Crank Williams. Tickets are now on sale for $40.
[05.09.2001]
In acts against the poor and homeless, San Francisco police officers have arrested four
Food Not Bombs (FNB) members for serving free food Monday
afternoon to the poor and homeless. According to police officers, they were only following the law as
the Food Not Bombs members were violating a (ridiculously unreasonable) court order against serving
food without a permit.
Recently, there have been many reports of increased police harrassment, including the ticketing of
the poor and homeless for quality of life "crimes." A massive show of community support is encouraged
for the next serving on Wednesday May 9, at 5:30 at United Nations Plaza
(on Market Street at 7th).
[Read More]
If you haven't already placed an order with us through CD Now, now is the perfect time as
all purchases over $9.99 will receive a 15% discount. Just click on the CD Now banner in our
shop to start. Plus, now's
the perfect opportunity to place that advance order for Depeche Mode's Exciter, Radioheads
Amnesiac, and many others.
[05.08.2001]
Business Week against the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas? According to B. Kite's commentary
on Business Week, "not even the thickest clowd of tear gas can obscure the truth that globalism
hurts workers."
[Read More]
The National AIDS Marathon Training Program will be hosting
a series of informational meetings to discuss the upcoming Honolulu AIDS Marathon on
December 9, 2001. To attend a meeting visit them online at
aidsmarathon.com or call 213-201-1400.
If you decide to register for the marathon, you'll be assigned a Program Rep. who will help you through
every step of the way. Participants will also receive round-trip air travel and hotel accommodations in
Waikiki as well as a complete training program including coach, training materials, fundraising assistance,
and weekly group runs. In return, all you need to do is give them: 30 minutes of your time, twice a week;
a longer group weekend run; your fundraising efforts; and your dedication and commitment.
David J. (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets) will be DJing at The Beauty Bar in Los Angeles on
Thursday, May 10. He will be in control from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Admission is FREE!
The Beauty Bar
1638 Cahuenga Blvd.
[05.07.2001]
In a stunning development in the death row case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, on Friday Mumia for the first
time publicly denied killing Philly cop Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Jamal's attorneys also released
an affadavit from the man who says he shot Faulkner - because the mob and crooked cops wanted
Faulkner executed for impeding police corruption.
[Read More]
Shapeshifter (Terrence McGuckin), layout artist for 2600 Magazine, has been acquitted of
all charges (i.e. disturbing the peace by walking down a street with a cellphone) stemming from
his arrest at the Republican National Convention (RNC) back in August 2000. Within 2 hours after
his trial began, Judge Gary S. Glazer granted his judgement of acquital and expressed that he had
"very serious doubts whether the conduct was criminal" while at the same time found the evidence
to be "underwhelming to say the least." Judge Glazer concluded the hearing by stating that he was
"just sorry they (the prosecution) had to inconvenience all these people (the jury and defendants)."
Wish we could say we were wrong, but ....
Back on 03.19.01, we reported that the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to cut oil production by 1 million barrels a day, or roughly
4 percent, to keep oil prices from "falling in the face of a seasonal weakness in demand." As a
result, we expected oil prices to hit the $2.00 mark. But as major oil companies continue their deep
cost-cutting measures (i.e. cuts in oil production), we expect prices to inch closer to the $3.00
mark. All this comes even in the wake of record profits. Examples: Oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell
reported a 23% rise in net profit to $3.86 billion for the first three months of 2001; Exxon Mobil
reported a net profit of $5.05 billion, an increase of over 50%; Hopefully, this time we'll be
wrong.
[05.06.2001]
George W. Bush has made "Ass Of The Week" at KissMyAss.com.
If you'd like to submit your reasons for why you think Bush is such an ASS, they can be sent to
Ass_Of_Week@kissmyass.com. Personally, we just think
G. W. Bush is one dumb motherfucker,
in addition to many other expletives we don't care to mention here.
[05.05.2001]
As we mentioned last month,
New Order will be joining Moby's AREA: ONE
festival and will appear on four West Coast dates. The confirmed dates will be:
July 31 at Shoreline Amphitheatre (Mountain View, CA),
August 2 at Thunderbird Stadium (Vancouver, BC),
August 3 at Gorge Amphitheatre (George, WA), and
August 5 at Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion (Devore, CA)....
(click on date to see schedule).
[05.02.2001]
The pre-sale for Depeche Mode tickets for the Staples Center on Aug. 14 starts on May 3 at 3 p.m.
Just copy and paste this link to your browser: https://xe.ticketmaster.com/gen_template=/templates/tm/te/production/html/
purchasePage.jsp&event_id=900329ED13CEE61. While there, enter the password: dream on.
There will be a 4 ticket limit.
Here's the updated list of Radiohead tour dates (for the U.S.):
6/18 - Houston - C.W. Mitchell Pavilion
6/19 - Denver - Red Rocks Amphitheater
6/23 - Seattle - The Gorge
6/24 - Vancouver - Thunderbird Stadium
6/26 - San Francisco - Shoreline Amphitheater
6/27 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater
6/29 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
6/30 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
8/01 - Chicago - Butler Field
8/03 - Toronto - Molson Park
8/05 - Montreal - Park Jean Drapeu
8/07 - Cleveland - Blossom Music Center
8/09 - Philadelphia - TBA
8/11 - Washington DC - Bull Run
8/12 - Washington DC - Bull Run
8/14 - Boston - Suffolk Downs
8/16 - New York - Liberty State Park
8/17 - New York - Liberty State Park
8/20 - Los Angeles - Hollywood Bowl
[05.01.2001]
Almost immediately following their release of Amnesiac on June 5, Radiohead will begin a tour of the
States. Confirmed dates so far include:
6/18 - Spring, TX - C.W. Mitchell Pavilion
6/20 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
6/23 - George, WA - The Gorge
6/24 - Vancouver, BC - Thunderbird Stadium
6/27 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
6/29 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
6/30 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
