“I want you to understand that I respect the rights of the poorest and weakest of colored people, oppressed [to deny others their rights or liberty] by the slave system, just as much as I do those of the most wealthy and powerful. That is the idea that has moved me, and that alone.”
John Brown at his Virginia Court Hearing, 1858
And you Klyammy cats thought Jay Reatard was wild at Harpers Ferry, you should have seen John Brown in 1859!
At least some of us get work/school off…
Part 1 (of 6) of an interview with our hometown boy, David Dellinger.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5762714709014580290# This documentary does a good job of portraying Che as both a hero and a villian to different people. Check it out.
Full Title: Machete
Directors: Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez
Year: 2010
Comments: When I grow up, I want to be MACHETE! (pronounced muh shet tay not muh shetty). As a big fan of the fake Machete trailer in Grindhouse (2007) as well as director Robert Rodriguez’s work in general, this film was near the top of my list of highly anticipated, Must Sees of Twenty-Ten, and fortunately my expectations were satisfied. The plot involves a badass Mexican named Machete (Danny Trejo), who is instructed to off a racist, anti-immigration propaganda spewing Senator (Robert De Niro) for $150,000. Machete, an illegal immigrant himself, needs the money and accepts. As he is about to fire, he is shot at and he soon realizes the whole assassination was a set up to boost sympathy votes for the Senator and his anti-immigration policies. Now, Machete is on the run and the target of everyone from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents (Jessica Alba) to covert businessmen (Jeff Fahey). Machete also features Steven Seagal (he actually does a decent job!) as an evil druglord/nemesis of Machete, Michelle Rodriguez (looking fabulous as usual) as Shé, the leader of an underground network to support illegal immigrants, Cheech Marin as a renegade reverend/brother of Machete, and Lindsey Lohan also makes a few appearances, some without her clothes! Which, brings me to my next point, Machete is filled to the brim with buckets of blood- decapitations, intestines ripped out and used as ropes, you know all that good old family fun. Plus plenty of nudity, sex and other lurid imagery. This Mexploitation flick delivers a dish best served cold; in other words it’s a straight up gruesome, guy-action movie of that wonderfully, black/absurdist humor tinged Rodriguez/Tarantino, trashy, Grindhouse revival variety. Pheww that was a mouthful… Machete never fails to excite and entertain its audience because like most Rodriguez flicks it contains over the top, stylized violence mixed with a solid story, memorable characters, and witty, distinctive dialogue, separating it from your run of the mill action pieces of shit. On a final note, I dig the germane content of the film- illegal immigration, in light of the recent Arizona fiasco, though I don’t think this is a movie with a deep political message haha. In any case, I hope to see a Machete II in the future!
Grade: B+/A-
“How can you have a war on terrorism when war itself is terrorism?”- Howard Zinn.
RIP Howard I hope all is well in another world. Out of the vast sea of astute and indisputiably appropriate Howard Zinn quotes, I chose this one as it raises the primary question regarding the so called, “War On Terrorism,” how can you end violence when your largest vehicle of combat is violence on the grandest of scales?- sadly, a question few pose on both pro and anti war sides.
Either way, whether you are for or against the building of the Mosque at Ground Zero, this is without a doubt a touchy topic and it is understandable for both parties to feel hurt and/or offended. Though, with that being said, this is America after all, the supposed land of freedom and therefore through a legal perspective the mosque’s location should not be in question. Ok, so they can build it, that’s not the issue, it’s the moral factor. Well, I admit this sounded funny to me the very first time I heard it, but I never thought it was some sort of horrible act that was worthy of such (smoke screen) media coverage and debate. So, now that I am over a hundred words into my little spiel, I bet you are saying to yourself “get to the fucking point, which side are you on?!” Ha, well let me say up front I don’t know what it is like to walk in the shoes of the 9/11 Victims’ families, but at the same time, what is wrong is wrong. To me, as with most, discrimination is wrong. This, though as I said earlier is an emotionally charged issue, is clearly discrimination, even if understandable discrimination. Discrimination is discrimination. Let’s look at it this way, if it had been a Christian nation or rather Christian terrorists that had committed the atrocious crime in the name of God would we be debating the right or morality of Christians to be able to build a church a couple of blocks away from Ground Zero. No, of course not, because Christianity is the dominant religion here, so we are not offended by it. Well, to me there is no difference and that is a massive indication that this is a clear sign of Islamaphobia. It’s not like they are buildng Jihad Cafe. This a community center for those of the Muslim faith, not a center for terrorists. Also, this is the equvialent of freedom of speech and so it’s the same deal: freedom of speech protects the speech you precisely disdain. I sincerely send my heart out to all who feel sad or threatened by this issue, on either side. But, like Rage Against the Machine screams, “When ignorance reigns life is lost.” Keep your eyes and ears open.
“Fuck the President! I voted for assassination.”- Immortal Technique
This is for those that lost their lives on 9/11 and to those that lost their loved ones.
“Doesn’t Rush Limbaugh remind you of one of those gay guys who likes to lay in a tub while other men pee on him?” I can think of plenty of others myself.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 