Happy Hogswatch

Happy Hogswatchnight everybody!

World Orgasm Day

December 22 is World Orgasm Day. This is an event organized by Global Orgasm on Solstice Day 06:08 Universal Time (GMT), meaning at 07:08 in Belgium. The idea behind it is that everybody has an orgasm at the same time "to effect positive change in the energy field of the Earth through input of the largest possible instantaneous surge of human biological, mental and spiritual energy." During and after the orgasm you should concentrate your thoughts on peace. "The goal is to add so much concentrated and high-energy positive input into the energy field of the Earth that it will reduce the current dangerous levels of aggression and violence throughout the world" (R. Lynn, 2006).

The organizers cite three reasons for the event: peace, gender & social justice, and global warming. The well-being that an orgasm brings is seen as a good way to promote peace. "To combine the energy of orgasm with a conscious empathy for all beings, human and otherwise, would be a powerful boost to the well-being of our planet and species." "The planet needs a rest from all our other desires, so what better way to get us to take a rest from over-consumption than an orgasm?" Plus, overpopulation taxes the planet so they propose to have fewer offspring.

It is also a science project: the Global Consciousness Project "runs a network of Random Event Generators around the world which record changes in their randomness during global events." They postulate that concentrated consciousness has measurable effects, in the sense that our minds influence matter and quantum energy fields. So, instead of thinking typical masculine thoughts of power and control, they propose that we focus on our feminine traits of inclusion and partnership, especially during the collective orgasm.

Do I believe all of this? Don't know, but it never hurt anyone to have more orgasms. So, everybody grab your (a) partner (or help yourself) tomorrow morning for the sake of peace. If these guys are right you have helped promote social awareness. If they're wrong, at the least you will have a good start of the day.

A stroll through Myspace

This morning I watched a documentary about a band called The Internationals during a trip in South Africa, a bit in the style of Buena Vista Social Club. One of the band members' roots lay there. He was there to discover the country and its music and the rest of the band came with him. This led me to check out their website and myspace page. The Internationals is an instrumental band that has a Jamaican ska sound. They reminded me of another Belgian band, Los Callejeros (mspage). They went to Cuba to film the documentary Cara o moneda and evolved into a loose collective that plays latin-reggae inspired music. From their friends page I got to a singer from Ghent called Gudrun Roos, who does their backing vocals. She is also the lead singer of Cafe Con Leche (more latin music) and Comptoir du Désir (swing, 30ies jazz). And this in turn lead to a great jazz vocalist called Rondi Charleston (website). The last person to add to this list, is a new soulsinger I first heard on Solar Radio, Nyee Moses. So, if you want to listen to some great music, just follow the links and enjoy.

New studies

It has taken blood, sweat & tears to get it done, but I am finally enrolled at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). As of today I am officially on my way to become a knowledge manager. The course is called Master after master in Business Information and Services Management (BI&SM). Sounds impressive, huh. I have done all my studies at the VUB (Master in Contemporary History and Master in Archival Science), so I am well aware of the inherent chaotic functioning of the institution. In general, this has always worked to my advantage. Now (since the Bologna changes) it was a bit less funny. The internal mail lost my application papers. As a result I had to apply for a late registration. Which took forever. The most annoying part was the lack of information. It took more than a month before getting any word on what was going on (including numerous e-mail reminders and the help of the head of my faculty). But, that's all water under the bridge now. I am registered. Now I can concentrate on the stress for the upcoming exams and writing a clear definition of what my master thesis will be about.

On a side note, The BI&SM used to be called Master in Business Information Management (BIM). They added the "Services" only recently. The professors still talk about the bim-people though when they want to differentiate between us and the students of another master with who we share some classes. This always reminds me of a track by C-Mon & Kypski (although it has absolutely nothing to do with it):

Talking books

The Hogeschool Antwerpen (College of Antwerp) has organized a virtual exhibit of 40 works of two of their libraries called Het Boek Spreekt (The Book Speaks). As they put it, it is the result of a project of inventarisation of the documentary heritage found in the libraries of the departments of Dramatic Arts, Music and Dance, and (Audio)Visual Arts. You can browse through the different documents in a webbased viewer, and even listen to some music. Each item is accompanied by extra information about the author and the document itself. The exhibit is only in Dutch, but even just to have a look at the pictures it's worth a visit.

Archives in movies

Scholars are in general, in their own specific way - well - nerds. Merriam-Websters defines a nerd as someone who is "socially inept", but also "slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits." It can be a shameful term (social ineptitude), as well as one to be worn with pride (dedication). I don't think anyone will be calling Bill Gates a nerd nowadays. Not in his face anyhow. The word geek is offered as a synonym. To me, a geek is one type of nerd. The other type tells something about the focus on certain bits of knowledge that are completely meaningless to anyone who does not share the same mindset. The number 42 doesn't mean a thing to the largest part of the world, but has a relative significance among a minority of readers. What I'm trying to say is that scholarly professionals like what they do, and they like the little geeky bits of information that go with it. When they see things that show a reflection of their profession, they tend to feel a certain connection with it.

Which brings me to my point. Archivists are no exception to this rule. They work in archives, do research about archival science, and take pride in their role as keeper of knowledge in the service of history. Images of archives (and libraries) appear from time to time in movies. Some very dedicated academics have found the time to make an extensive list of which ones on the site Archivalia. No doubt, their significant others find their dedication very endearing. Not that I'm putting them down, I wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't dutifully surfed to their site when I read about it. :-)

ASEAN Union?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, is a geopolitical, economic organization aimed at accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development among its members, and the promotion of regional peace and stability and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. On 8 August 1967 the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand signed the ASEAN Declaration (commonly known as the Bangkok Charter), which established the organization. Brunei Darussalam joined in 1984 about a week after becoming independant. During the nineties Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam followed suit. In the same period a free trade area was created, AFTA.

In 1997, the bloc began creating organizations within its framework with the intention of further integrating the region. In 2005 the first East Asia Summit (EAS) was held in Kuala Lumpur. This is a forum held annualy by the leaders of the ASEAN countries, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand in order to improve the existing ties between these countries.

With the forming of the EAS, the idea arose to form a (Southeast) Asian Community. The Eminent Persons Group (EPG) was created to study the ramifications of such a policy and the possibility of an ASEAN Charter. With the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Charter on 12 December 2005 the EPG was assigned to produce a draft. On 23 November 2007, during the ASEAN Summit in Singapore, the charter was adopted to integrate the region as a legal organization bound by one set of rules. "The Asean charter establishes the group as a legal entity, creating permanent representation for members at its secretariat in Jakarta and committing heads of state to meetings twice a year. Members also adopted a blueprint for economic reforms designed to create a European-style economic community by 2015, with free-flowing goods, services, investment and skilled labor." It does not, however, have anything to say about human rights. "The charter only calls for a new agency to review human rights among the members of the 40-year-old Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The document gives the body no powers to punish violators - an apparent diplomatic victory for military-ruled Myanmar."

Critics have "condemned the document as watered-down to irrelevance", which is only "the codification of existing norms." But, Rome wasn't build in a day. It has taken Europe a long time as well to work out its differences, and a real political union still doesn't exist. But, slowly we're getting there. At least now a legal entity will be created. If the ASEAN countries intend to contribute to this organization, it can only gain momentum. As it stands the Charter still needs to be ratified. So, we can only wait and see what happens. If enough countries ratify, and a positive economic cooperation will follow, it can only lead to a more stabile and prosperous region. The 19th century has seen the rise of the nation states, during the 20th century these nations have started to mature. The 21st century might just be the era of the supranational unions.

Opening of Nazi archives

After more than 60 years the largest archives containing records of the Nazis have been opened to the public. The International Tracing Service (ITS), located in Bad Arolson, Germany, contains over 50 million records related to the persecution and Endlösung of the more than 17 million people who went through the concentration camp and slave labour system.

The origins of the ITS go back to 1943 with the founding of the Tracing Bureau, charged with the task of tracing and registering missing persons. In 1947, the International Refugee Organization (IRO) took over the Central Tracing Bureau (the "Central" was added in 1944) and gave it its current name. "While preparations were being made in 1954 to revoke Germany’s status as occupied territory, steps were taken to ensure the continued existence of the ITS. The service was to remain under the umbrella of an international commission and would be managed by an entirely neutral institution, the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) in Geneva."

The archives are under the control of the ITS International Commission, comprised of 11 countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, United States of America), which supervises its work since 1955. Up until now the main objective of the ITS was helping people find what they call DP's (Displaced Persons). The members of the International Commission have now agreed to open up the archives in order to promote historical research, within limitations concerning privacy issues. It is not expected that these records will provide new insights in our understanding of the history of the Holocaust, but it will deepen our knowledge. It will help us to keep the memory alive of the human suffering caused by the delusion of a small group of individuals.

Recently the Simon Wiesenthal Center has launched Operation Last Chance, the final effort to hunt down and capture Nazi war criminals. The campaign offers € 10,000 ($13,000) rewards for information leading to prosecution. It is sometimes very difficult to actually convict someone, because of a lack of good evidence. Maybe the ITS archives can be of assistance here.

On a side note: other interesting sites, among the many on the net about WWII, is the Holocaust History site, the BBC's WWII pages, Poland's Holocaust, and the German Propaganda Archive.

Creating a European History Textbook Repository

The CITER project “Creating a European History Textbook Repository” is an eContentplus project funded by the European Commission. "The objective of this project is the creation of a digital European history textbook base by integration of already existing material with the publishers in the respective countries. The integration is achieved by introducing language independent metadata schemata based on space (locations), time (dates), and thematic categories.The specific metadata corpuses defined in this project will be a European thematic ontology for history concepts [and] a multilingual location corpus." "Overall, this project aims at increasing the use of electronic textbooks in a modern classroom scenario. The re-use of content will be increased by using language independent browsing in combination with quality machine translation providing access to foreign language content. Specifically designed educational evaluation scenarios will be used to access the usability in a classroom context, i.e., obtaining a multiperspective view of history but also as a research means for new textbooks." The project will be co-ordinated by the Research Academic Computer Technology Institute, located in Greece.

By adding multilingual metadata through ontologies, CITER will try to integrate history textbook resources with the aim of compiling a European text base and providing language-independent access. Teachers across Europe will have access to the history textbook content based on spatial, temporal and thematic metadata through a web-portal. The repository will provide support to the study of cross-cutting themes in history "by a multiperspective and a comparative approach to the discovery and interpretation of historical facts."

In this way it can become the basis for historical information for students. It will contain the facts and analysis of European history as it is widely accepted by scholars. Besides being an interactive tool that may make the experience of learning more interesting, it will also provide different angles to certain events. The Treaty of Versailles, for instance, did not have the same repercussions for France as for Germany. Both points of view can be presented within the repository.

Adding a multilingual historical metadata can prove to be a problem. Simply translating words is sometimes not enough. Certain events have a different wording in different languages sometimes. E.g. the uprising of the creoles and slaves against the Spanish in Cuba during the second half of the nineteenth century, where the Americans were involved in as well, is called the Spanish (-Cuban) -American War by the US. In Cuba it's named the War of Independance. Once these kinds of obstacles have been tackled, I think it might become a very interesting tool to work with.

China's underwater museum

The Southern Sea Number One is an 800-year old shipwreck that lies under 24 metres of water and 2 metres of sand and soil. In 2002, archeologists took out more than 6000 items from one small room on the ship, and they expect to find 60 000 to 80 000 more.

They wanted to lift it out of the water, but experts advized against it, for fear the boat might break. Instead of letting it all go to waist, the Guangdong provincial government has now allocated £10 million to building a five hall underwater museum to preserve the wreck. Construction work on the museum is well underway and it is expected to open to the public by the middle of next year. How cool is that! You get to see the wreck the way it has been for ages, with added atmosphere. I hope they will put a glass dome around so that you can see the fish swimming past.

It sometimes amazes me what people can accomplish nowadays. Not even two hundred years ago we were driving carts, now scientists are sending robots to Mars. For centuries thieves were looting King's graves for some quick cash, now we're building museums on the bottom of the sea. Another great feat is the relocation of the Egyptian temples at the Abu Simbel site. They were being threatened by the rise of the Nile, that would follow after the completion of the Aswan High Dam. One of the propositions was to build a museum around the temples and thus leave them underwater. Eventually, the entire site was cut into large blocks, dismantled and reassembled in a new location (65 m higher and 200 m back from the river). It just goes to show that if we put our minds to it, we can accomplish virtually anything. In most cases it's just the willingness to act that is missing.

Quarterlife: life and tribulations of tweeners

Quarterlife is an online series produced directly for the internet, by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creative team behind My So-Called Life, thirtysomething, Legends of the Fall, and Blood Diamond. It "tells the ongoing stories of six creative people in their twenties. As with their earlier series, at the center of quarterlife is a commitment to realism, the recognition of universal human themes through the truthful depiction of the way young people speak, work, think, love, argue, and just goof around."

The show was originally conceived as a pilot for ABC, but it never got picked up. So, they decided to air it themselves online. The episodes are shown in 7 minute parts every sunday and thursday night, which can be seen on myspace and on the social networking site of the same name.

Only 4 episodes have aired so far, but it seems like a nice concept. Let's just hope that the story keeps up. Here and here are two reviews.

Some history links

For the First World War, or the Great War if you prefer, the English National Archives has created an online exhibition called The First World War, sources for history. It's divided into different parts: an overview, 'Britain and the war', 'the military conflict', 'service records', and 'aftermath'. There is also a timeline, particular 'spotlights on history', and maps. Another exhibit tries to teach kids something about crime and punishment in history through an interactive site with case studies to solve.

An interesting read is the blog WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier. The story of Harry Lamin is being retold by his grandson in the form of the letters that he had send home. As stated on the blog "the letters will be posted exactly 90 years after they were written. William Lamin has another blog where he publishes the "official war diary of the 9th Battalion of York & Lancaster Regiment." For more detailed info on WWI you can check out FirstWorldWar.com.

The National Archives and Records Administration (USA) has an interesting collection of the Second World War. The NARA has put the images from the donated "Hitler Album" documenting looted art online here. A more general overview of the records they possess, can be found here.

Finally, the British Library has put up an online gallery called Turning the Pages, in which you can leaf through books in their collection that have exquisite miniatures.

Military Wikipedia

Pieter Branckaerts, a 22 years old Belgian paracommando (sometimes also called special forces) had an accident during a parachute jump. The result was an unwanted resignation from the army. Since, he kept his interest in everything which has to do with the military. Now, five years later, he decided to build a knowledge community. Subsequently he created Milpedia, a wiki with the intent of becoming a complete military encyclopedia. For the moment the site is only in Dutch, but the creator aims to have an English and French version up and running in six months.

Sonny Rollins at the Bozar

Tomorrow 77 years old Jazz legend Sonny Rollins will be performing at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels (Bozar). In his long career, which started at the age of 11, he has worked with great performers such as Jackie McLean, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Clifford Brown, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, John Coltrane, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, and many more. As a virtuoso on the sax, his improvisations have had a profound influence on Jazz music.

Tickets cost between € 45 and € 85. Although it is no doubt worth paying these prices, they're a bit too high for my wallet this close to Christmas. For those of you whose financial situation is better, don't hesitate to go and see him. If you want a taste of his music, click here.

Sonny Rollins - Tenor Madness

On The Road with Sonny documentary

The National Security Archive and civil war in Guatemala

On his blog, Reading Archives, Richard J. Cox, professor in Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Information Sciences, talks about an essay concerning the discovery of the archives of the Guatemalan National Police, which documents their role during the civil war (1960-1996), called The Atrocity Files: Deciphering the Archives of Guatemala’s Dirty War.

The author of the article is Kate Doyle, "a Senior Analyst for the National Security Archive in Washington, DC, a non-profit, nongovernmental advocacy group that campaigns for the citizen’s right to know, investigates U.S. national security and foreign policy, and uses the Freedom of Information Act to obtain and publish declassified U.S. documents", who "directs several research projects on U.S. policy in Latin America", including the Guatemala Documentation Project. She tells the story of how the archives were discovered in 2005 and what was done with it afterwards. The Guatemalan government didn't know immediately what to do with it. Support, in the form of funding came from Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and Spain, together with the work of NSA advisors, and consulting from experienced archivist Trudy Peterson. Piece by piece the original structure of the archive is being recreated, so that in the near future they may be researched.

Cox writes that "Doyle’s essay is a stark reminder of the social and political importance of government records." She "makes very clear the importance of such records: “For human-rights investigators the archive was the discovery of a lifetime, the long-abandoned scene of a terrible crime. The effort required to salvage the records and recover the evidence buried in them however, seemed beyond human power. Even more challenging, how could the countless pages be rendered meaningful to the rest of society? Would their opening lead to another symbolic acknowledgement of the brutal past or to a transformation of the country’s history?"

You would wonder why a government would keep track of its crimes. The perpetrators never thought they would get caught, for one. Keeping track of everyone and everything gives a state a certain amount of control over their denizens and documents the importance of certain individuals. Another example of the need of bureaucratic dictatorships to keep the bureaucracy going, can be found in the huge Stasi archives of the former DDR (Germany). The knowledge hidden in these archives can have a kathartic effect on a society. Research will not only point the finger towards guilty parties, it will also acknowledge the secret suffering of those concerned. What has happened can be placed in a historical context, which will help the community to let go of the past. Knowing is understanding.

Dirty old man

Hammy and I live in an apartment building which is eleven stories high and has four entrances. The only people we see on a more or less regular basis are our neighbors right next to us. It’s an elderly couple. The woman is of the talkative nosey kind, but very friendly. Her husband is also a kind man, albeit a bit difficult to understand. Every time he talks to me I only get half of what he’s saying. His mental faculties aren’t what they used to be. He tends to forget things. In the last five years he’s asked me at least ten times where I come from (I’m not originally from Brussels). When I first moved in, I was living with a friend of mine. I’m sure he thought we were gay. About a year later my buddy moved out and my girlfriend moved in. It took him two years to understand that she’s living with me now.

His favorite subject, by far, is sex. At some point in our limited conversations he brings up some story about some woman he once knew or about girls he’s seen. In general I have no clue what he’s talking about, except that it has something to do with sex. I’m guessing he doesn’t get any nowadays, so whenever he gets the chance to reminisce, he does. That’s all fine by me. In general, our conversations only last five minutes or so, and if it makes the man happy …

They have this little lapdog he takes out twice a day. Yesterday evening when I got home, he was just getting back inside. And then he told me something, which has led me to believe he’s starting to imagine things. He said that he saw a naked woman leave my apartment, carrying a bag. Just to make sure I heard right, I asked “a naked woman”. “Yeah, an American lady, wearing nothing but a nightgown.” At first I thought he was talking about Hammy. When I leave for work in the morning she usually stands at the door wearing a bathrobe, while I wait for the elevator. Sometimes my neighbor sees this if letting out the dog coincides with my morning ritual. But then, he said, the ‘American’ was a sturdy woman. Hammy is quite skinny and petite. On top of that, he ‘saw’ her at 2 or 3 o’clock in the afternoon. With a bag of some sort.

He knows I have a girlfriend, or at least he should know. He knows what she looks like. And now he believes that another woman, an exotic foreigner even, was in my apartment. I’m pretty sure Hammy isn’t a lesbian, nor is she bisexual. So, let’s assume the American was never there. In his head she was though. What probably happened, is this: he has seen Hammy in her bathrobe, his brain isn’t working at top speed anymore and he’s frustrated about being old and a lack of sex. If you mix these elements with wishful thinking, you get a story he would like to believe. Maybe, he thinks I’m living the life he never could. I’m young, educated, for all he knows I’ve got a trendy job where I meet hot chicks all the time. The morals of us youngsters nowadays aren’t the same as those that he grew up in. Everything goes now, especially since we’ve had the sexual revolution of the seventies. All chicks dig other chicks. It’s only natural that we men get to share in the fun. So now I’m living with two women, who’re both exclusively into me, and each other. Yeah. He’s too old to jack off, but that thought alone probably makes him smile inside. It’s probably a good thing he doesn’t have access to internet. With the images he could be seeing there, he could imagine a whole new world for himself.

Walloon revolution: much ado about nothing

The newly formed, unknown organization Front Bruxelles-Wallonie Indivisible (FBWI), or Brussels-Wallonia Indivisible Front, has launched an appeal to the French-speaking population in Belgium to stand up against the Flemish oppressor on its website Nouvelle Revolution (New Revolution). The scission of BHV was the last straw. Now the French-speaking Flemish, so to speak, have been deprived of their democratic right to vote. For Walloons that is. No point in us staying together anymore, let's break the country in two.

Up to now, they had two goals to reach. The first one was blocking all the Flemish workers from getting to their jobs in Brussels by blocking the main roads and train stations. This has been postponed. The second goal, was having a manifestation in front of the Flemish Parliament on the 15th of November, which is the King's Feast (a day in honour of the King and monarchy). The national press was there to see what would happen. Well, nothing it seemed. 45 minutes after the official start one guy showed up, who quickly claimed that he didn't have anything to do with the whole thing.

There is only one suitable reply to all this:

End of Belgium?

For the last 150+ days our national representatives have been bickering about the direction our country should take. We still don't have a government. The views of the Flemish politicians are almost the direct opposite of the Walloon politicians.

The two main issues are the division of the constituency Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV) and the further federalization of the state. The problem with BHV is different according to the language of the person explaining it. For the Flemish it's about the arrogant intrusion of the French language into Flemish territory. For the Walloons it's about the arrogance of the Flemish wanting to impose a strict language barrier. In short, it's about bullshit (which is the essence of bad politics).

The federalization of the state is another matter. The idea behind it is "what we do ourselves we can do better". At first the Walloons wanted separate communities in order to organize their (then stronger) economy. Now that the tables have turned economically, the Flemish want to divert more national responsibilities to the regional level, e.g. unemployment.

By federalizing more and more, our country is, de facto, heading towards a separation. And that scares the weaker (in money and in numbers) part of the country. Recently the division of BHV was proclaimed by the federal parliament. The Flemish used their numerical majority to force the matter. Although the Walloon politicians denounced the proceedings as a conflict of interest, thus locking it down in a legal process that could last years, they got freaked. It's the first time in Belgian history that the Flemish have used their numerical superiority. A dangerous precedent.

In Flanders there is a lot of talk about the historical and ideological suppression by the Walloons. What I've read in the comments pages on the political crisis in the Walloon magazine Le Vif and the newspaper Le Soir is that they say roughly the same things about us. This made me think about the episode The Party of the sitcom Joey, where his scientist nephew Michael pretends that his neighbour is his girlfriend in an attempt to match his rival Seth, who also pretends to have a girlfriend. At the end of the episode, the moral turns out to be that they both think the other one always "wins" (by getting a new publication, a prestigious scholarship, etc.). This is exactly what's happening in Belgium. Each party thinks the other one always wins. Most of the time a wrong historical perspective is used. Because the Walloons suppressed us 50 years ago, we need to hate them. The Flemish on the other hand "always" get the better deal when there is power to be assigned. My dear Walloons, stop acting like a bitch and take responsibilty for your economic and political situation (e.g. PS, Charleroi). My dear Flemish compatriots, get off your high horse and stop invoking the past. If the Walloons living now are still to be held responsible for what their ancestors did, than all living Germans are still nazis and the Australians are still European criminals. As I said before, I'm fed up with this nonsense, and so is about 70% of the nation according to a recent poll.

The Dutch and the French wouldn't mind if we split up, it seems. Polls showed that about half the Dutch would welcome Flanders into the country, and half of the French wouldn't mind an annexation of Wallonia. Flanders has the extreme-right Vlaams Belang party and the NV-A who state sans gène that they want Flemish independence. The other side of the "border" has FDF and Rassemblement Wallonie-France with the same aim. There are even people calling for a revolution.

Will Belgium cease to exist? Not immediately. As long as initiatives like Save Solidarity, the Petition, Beglium (hehe), a march for solidarity (November 18th), and Belgium Hugs (November 21 - Louvain students' call to come and hug a Walloon/Fleming) can motivate enough people, we're good. Up until now I haven't met anyone willing to take up arms and cause an actual revolution. If this keeps up too long though, we will start to feel the economical repercussions of an instable regime. The only reason we haven't felt them yet, is the fact that we're a part of the eurozone. The old national currency would have devaluated dramatically by now. Plus, we're making an ass of ourselves internationally. Belgium, centre of the European institutions, advocate of the EU, can't keep its shit together.

In conclusion I would just like to say that it's time we stop throwing mud at each other. Especially those who live in a unilingual part of the country. Those who work with Belgians speaking a different language, in general, don't make a big deal out of it. Béatrice Delvaux from Le Soir has put it like this: "We need to open up a new dialogue between all [Belgium's] political parties, revisit and re-invent a form of Belgian federalism that could foster growth and progress in both of the language communities, and handle our differences much more smoothly. For francophones, this would involve taking our destiny in our own hands but it also means developing a much greater spirit of compromise. It also means the Flemings must somehow deal with the extremists and nationalists in their midst. The last word belongs not to myself but to Rik Torfs, a prominent Fleming: 'Don't dig your own graves, you the victors of the elections... Just stop and think what would happen if Flanders at last gained independence. If we Flemish were in effect to shoot our Walloon scapegoat, we and we alone would then become responsible for all our failures.'"

Update: March for Solidarity - 35,000 demonstrate for Belgian unity

Update 2: November 11 there was another event promoting unity called Be-Day for Peace.

Funny sex ed for teens: The Midwest Teen Sex Show

With the Midwest Teen Sex Show, Nikol, Britney and Guy are trying to "create a space for frank discussion of all things related to teen sexuality." By using humor and sarcasm they are talking to teens about sexuality. Nikol describes herself as a "former expert practitioner of teen promiscuity", she "lives out her days as a Midwestern mother of three. Her interests range from music, movies, trash television, and naked rodeo clowns with handlebar mustaches to cooking, reading and naked rodeo clowns with handlebar mustaches." They're are not trying to replace traditional sex education at school or to promote teen sex. "The Midwest Teen Sex Show is here to provide sex information in a clear and entertaining way. We won’t pretend to be experts, but hopefully a few of our own embarrassing experiences and insights will keep you out of trouble."

I'm sure that people with a broomstick up their ass will take offense, but at least they're giving a more positive message than those crazy abstinence preachers (like Purity Balls, Silver Ring Thing and True Love Waits) and other sexually repressed hypocrites (like Larry Craig, Ted Haggard and Newt Gingrich).

Here is the first episode: Female Masturbation

Discovery of unique papyrus codex

The Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren has discovered in its collection the most complete book made of papyrus of North-Western Europe. It is a unique piece because it dates from the 10th century, during which time papyrus had been replaced by parchment (even in Egypt it wasn't used anymore).

The book had already been found in the 1930s together with fragments of Roman wood and leather. Because the item didn't look all that special and wasn't numbered (and thus not a part of an inventory) it stayed there until last year. Staff of the museum thought that it looked like papyrus, but they didn't think that was very likely since papyrus has hardly been preserved in Europe. Research done by an expert on the matter, professor Clarysse of the Catholic University of Louvain, confirmed their suspicions.

Given the importance of the find, preliminary investigations were done by the Royal Institute for the Study and Conservation of Belgium's Artistic Heritage, KIK-IRPA. At first it was thought the artefact stemmed from the Roman period. The KIK-IRPA however dated it between 880 and 990 AD. Further research is now needed to determine the contents of the book. The leaflets have been compressed through time to almost a solid block. The painstaking task of pealing them off must be undertaken. Apparently only one page can be "freed" per day.

Funky Israel: The Apples

While checking Reck's myspace if there were any new tracks (I know he's working on some stuff), I saw a post about a band playing at Club Bugalu called The Apples, "a 9-piece band hailing from Israel, weaving traditional Jewish klezmer and big band jazz into raw funk rhythm patterns and scratch routines. The band has developed an eclectic approach on funk, playing with four horns, two djs, double bass, drums and a MixMonster. The album 'Attention!' for Freestyle Records got them onto the international deepfunk circuit, their fresh version of Rage Against The Machine's "Killing in the name of..." becoming a long running gig favourite. The Apples live performances have audiences dancing and laughing from the get go!"

From what I've heard on their site and myspace page, I think that live they could very well rock. They'll be playing in Belgium the 9th and 10th of November. Unfortunately I can't go, but let's hope they'll come back in the near future.

Legia: forum for studies of the Iron Age in Belgium

Legia is a non-profit organization that should start its official activities today, with the intent of becoming a multidsciplinary forum for studies of the Iron Age. The aim is to further the knowledge of the peoples that inhabited Europe, and Flanders in particular, by becoming a place where scholars and researchers with different academic backgrounds can meet to share their knowledge and experience.

Although our ancestors have an interesting story to tell, a lot of research into our history before the arrival of the Romans hasn't been done. In the high school history class we are taught how the Greeks, Persians and Romans lived, but apart from Julius Caesar's Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae (the Belgae were the bravest of all the inhabitants of Gaul) we know practically nothing about the Belgae (or Old Belgians). In order to change this, Legia will set up a open air laboratory for experimental archeology, where empirical programmes based on historical and scientific research, will be set up.

The project will be based on three pillars: information, education and recreation. The public will be informed at regular intervals by the website, presentations and publications in an easily understandable language. To keep the educational process fun, a historical journey will be prepared on the site by means of re-enactment and living history.

Terry Pratchett's minor stroke

"I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" Death thought about it. "Cats," he said eventually. "Cats are nice."

Sourcery

Terry Pratchett, writer of the Discworld series, has had a stroke in August. "Symptoms include weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, confusion and difficulties with speech and vision. But, like many people, Terry did not realise that some strokes, classified as mini strokes, might last only minutes and produce less extensive symptoms, which are often put down to other causes. Tests revealed his stroke had been the result of a cerebral thrombosis — a blood clot that causes a blockage in the artery to the brain, killing off brain cells." Luckily it did not affect the part of his brain that he needs to be creative.

For those who don't know the Discworld: The world, which is a disc naturally, travels through space on the backs of four elephants that stand on the back of a giant turtle named Great A'Tuin. It looks something like this or this. It is a world filled with magic, but mostly with a lot of humor. Like the Tolkien novels, the setting isn't more than that: a setting in which a story is being told. That's also where the analogy between the two authors ends. The writings of Pratchett are mostly witty and satirical, full of references to literature, world events and (pop) culture. I would urge anyone to read one of his books. If you like fantasy, the world he has invented is rich and filled with colorful characters; if you don't, there's more going on than wizards, witches, trolls, librarians, assassins, and Death (with his horse Binky and the Death of Rats as companions).

Anyway, I'm very pleased that this stroke was only minor, and I hope that he will be around for some time and keeps churning out books. For more info, check out LSpace (and its Wiki), his profile at Bebo, the site of his American publisher, Discworld Monthly Newsletter, and the Guild of Fans and Disciples (GOFAD).

MEMRI: bringing the Arab world closer to the West or US/Israeli propaganda?

For those of you who would like to get a glimpse of what is being talked about in the press of the Middle East the website of the Middle Eastern Media Research Institute (MEMRI) gives you that chance. "Founded in February 1998 to inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501 (c)3 organization." "MEMRI bridges the language gap which exists between the West and the Middle East, providing timely translations of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East."

On their site you can find written translations of selected newsitems and interviews, as well as subtitled fragments of television shows and newsreports (on MEMRITV). Besides this, analysis and special reports of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends are being offered. A division is provided so that you can browse by subject matter or country. Translations have been made in English, French, German, Hebrew, Spanish and Japanese. In addition, companion blogs have been created for more specific subjects: economy, Turkish media, Arab music, movies and literature, and a general news blog.

Next to the general media coverage, MEMRI also keeps an eye open for islamist extremists with the Islamist Websites Monitor Project. Along the same lines, but more in order to inform the public that not all muslisms are terrorist maniacs, and that those who are, interpret the Qu'ran only in a way that suits their political needs, Terrorism Has No Religion has put up a campaign. They want to "expose the fallacy of the distorted and politicized Islamic teachings used by ungodly extremists to sanctify and justify terrorism.It has become crucial to inform the Muslim and Arab people - particularly the Iraqi people - about the deceptions terrorists employ in distorting the peaceful teachings of Islam. These terrorists, who claim to follow the Islamic Faith, are in truth only drowning in an abyss of mistaken beliefs."

There has been some criticism on the institute. Some claim that in fact MEMRI is, in fact, mere propaganda, aimed at putting the Arab world in a bad light. Only newsitems that give Muslims a negative image are being shown and gross "mistakes" in translations are known to be made. An example of a distortion of reality can be found in the story of Mr. Finkelstein, an outspoken critic of Israeli policies and the U.S. pro-Israel lobby: "In 2006, he gave a TV interview in Lebanon on the way the Nazi Holocaust is used to silence critics of Israel. Finkelstein later wrote on his Web site: “MEMRI recently posted what it alleged was an interview I did with Lebanese television on the Nazi Holocaust. The MEMRI posting was designed to prove that I was a Holocaust denier.” Far from being a Holocaust denier, Finkelstein’s own parents were Holocaust survivors, a fact he has often spoken about. But MEMRI was able to create the opposite impression, as Finkelstein demonstrated on his Web site, by editing out large chunks of the actual interview. When some comments by the moderator were included, it appeared that Finkelstein’s interview was about nitpicking the number of Jews who died in the Holocaust rather than about Israel/Palestine."

More insight can be found in its founders: Yigal Carmon is a reserve colonel in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who served as acting head of the civil administration in the West Bank from 1977 to 1982, counterterrorism adviser to premiers Shamir and Menachem Begin from 1988 to 1993, and senior member of the Israeli delegation to peace negotiations with Syria in Madrid and Washington. Meyrav Wurmser, "an Israeli-born analyst of Mideast affairs, ... who has taught at Johns Hopkins University and the U.S. Naval Academy, is a central figure in the right-wing's web of Middle East policy institutes."

All of the above has led critics to believe that MEMRI's sole object is to disseminate negative images of the Arab world, and provide a justification of the American and Israeli actions in the Middle East. In response to these allegations Carmon replied: "You are right: we do have an agenda. As an institute of research, we want MEMRI to present translations to people who wish to be informed on the ideas circulating in the Middle East. We aim to reflect reality. If knowledge of this reality should benefit one side or another, then so be it." But, "Whatever the agenda, the research has to be scientific." "Memri has never claimed to 'represent the view of the Arabic media', but rather to reflect, through our translations, general trends which are widespread and topical."

I'll let you decide for yourselves what you think of this initiative. However it can not be denied that some of the ideas propagated by religious nuts in that area (and everywhere else in the world of course) are disconcerting (e.g. the children's show Pioneers of Tomorrow, don't indoctrinate kids, let them figure it out for themselves). I, for one, am glad that there exists a site like this, because I don't understand Arabic and at least part of the information on the Arab world that doesn't come from the regular media can be found there. Nonetheless, it is important to remain critical. There is a whole lot of internet out there, meaning it is a good thing not to base your opinion on only one source of information. Apart from CNN and BBC there are also the English version of Al-Jazeera, Middle-East Online and Arab Media (to state the obvious), and specifically for our subject: MEMRI Watch ("a small collective of translators and analysts who are bothered by the output of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) for various reasons. ... Our primary concern will be to highlight instances of mistranslation and doctoring, as well as address the wider strategy of MEMRI, which is in line with its unwritten agenda. Thus we aim to balance the discussion, rather than engaging in a full and balanced discussion.").

About women, this guy is right though ;-):

WBC fined $10.9 billion

A soldier's father didn't take kindly to the "protests" of the Phelpses at his sons' funeral. He took the Westboro Baptist Church to court. Naturally the WBC argued that they are protected by the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. The jury at the Baltimore courthouse thought otherwise and fined them with $10.9 billion. Since this is an amount the WBC will never be able to pay, it has more to do with sending a clear message than getting financial compensation for the mental anguish that they have caused. The WBC didn't get the message. They will appeal to a higher court and don't intend to give up. Luckily, the families of the fallen soldiers get some help from the Patriot Guard Riders, a loose collective of bikers which has taken it on itself to "shield the mourning family and their friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors." In my opinion, the only sensible thing to do is to lock these maniacs up in a nature (or religious fanatics') reserve and charge visitors to go and look at them. Maybe throw some peanuts. Or to put it in other words: "Funeral Protesters may indeed have the right to free speech. They may indeed have the ability to say what they want, when they want and where they want. They may also be the most vile and despicable people on the face of the Earth...and some people have just had enough of it."

Now Presents Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings performed at the Ancienne Belgique (Brussels) yesterday evening. Man, can that lady rock. Pure unadulterated funk! I never heard of her until about a year ago. My man Reck asked me if I wanted to go to a live show in Louvain. So, we went, she rocked the house and we got ludicrously drunk (well, Reck was wasted, I could hardly remember my name, but that’s a different story). My mom told me a while back that I always tell her about great live shows that I’ve been to, but I never invite her to come with me. So, since we’re talking about seventies revival bands, it became a family event: Dad, Mom, Hammy and my foster brother off to see some live goodness.

Sharon Jones is as classic as they get. She started singing in her local church choir as a child. She entered several talent shows in the early seventies and later on she did studio work as a backing singer. Unfortunately she never got a solo record, until she did a backing on a Lee Fields track in 1996. Subsequently she had two hits with Switchblade and the Landlord. She gained a small following through the release of several 45” singles and by building a good live reputation. In 2002 her first solo album was released on the newly formed Daptone Records, called Dap Dippin’ with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, followed by Naturally (2005) and 100 Days, 100 Nights (2007).

First up was The Dynamites feat. Charles Walker, who have just released their first album (Kaboom!). Again, here is some hardcore revival of late sixties funk. Walker has an excellent voice and the arrangements get your feet moving. Unfortunately, the soundman sabotaged their sound (as they are wont to do for the opening act, anyone remember Akro when playing before LL Cool J?). Although they were giving it all they got, it didn’t really come across.

Next up was the lady of the hour. It’s refreshing to see a sturdy woman with more personality in her small toe than all the Rihannas of the world combined sing some genuinely good music. All of a sudden the sound was how it should be and for the next hour or so she and the band got the crowd moving. She goes into a dialogue with her audience, and invites people up on the stage when singing tracks that necessitate an interlocutor. But mostly, they just rocked. Anyway, enough talk, here’s some music (torrent link):

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings:


SeeqPod Music beta - Playable Search











The Dynamites feat. Charles Walker:

Sign of the times

In the post Tempting!! on the Digital Archivist blog, Christian Van de Ven talks about the new flyer of the Archiefschool, the institute for archival education and research in the Netherlands, with its new enticing promo talk. It asks you if "you want to find out how things were in the past? How did your city used to look? What was the first movie on YouTube? The archivist preserves all information that is worth of it, so that everyone may view and use it." You will learn to "adjust your services to the customer. For the municipal government you'll write a research report, for school kids you'll make an exciting game." They are even offering classes on Web 2.0.

How ... well, modern. The days of the stuffy old nerd in a flashers' coat covered in dust are gone. In today's society managing "old paper" is only part of the job. An archivist isn't just a Keeper of Ancient Written Knowledge anymore, but also a knowledge and information manager. In the Belgian Master after Master in Archival Studies the profile of the archivist is described as a guardian of historical and cultural heritage, as well as a key figure in any modern administration as a document manager and consultant in the field of document and records management, taxonomies, work- and documentflow, automisation, etc.

The archival profession has entered the digital age for some time now. In the field of digital archiving a lot of research has already been done (e.g. Monash university's Records Continuum Research Group, the European Union's DLM-Forum, the InterPARES Project, the Dutch Digital Longevity project, the published ISO archiving standards like the OAIS-model, PDF/A and ISO 15489, the Archives of Antwerp's eDAVID project, and many more). Several technical solutions for the problem of the volatile digital record have been researched. Archives are now in the process of working out the feasibility of these solutions. However, until recently I got the feeling that people in general, and a lot of archivists outside of the academic world in particular, weren't ready to enter the digital era yet.[*] Slowly this is changing, but a lot of work still needs to be done to convince everybody that archivists need to move with the times. Not only in the field of preservation and dissemination of records, but also in the way archives (and libraries as well) present themselves to the public. A few librarians (and some archivists) are experimenting with different methods. Early september I went to Informatie 2007, a congress on ICT for information professionals, organized every two years by the VVBAD (the Flemish Organisation of Librarians, Archivists and Documentalists). There were several presentations about (ongoing) research and projects regarding digital repositories, digitalization, social software and the like. This is just an example at the level of a small European country, but the point that I'm making is that there are enough ideas and pioneers in the field willing to make a difference. The main thing now is to convince the rest of the world of what we're doing.

[*] I'm not saying that "traditional" record-keeping should be forgotten. The "old papers" still need to be taken care of. What's more, for the time being, the paperless office doesn't exist yet, so hybrid systems will remain in place.

It's our history!

"On the 26th of October 2007, the Museum of Europe", in collaboration with the Scientastic museum, "will be opening its doors to welcome you to an exhibition staged to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, marking half a century of European unification." It's our history! 50 years of the European adventure will take place in Brussels at the site of Tour & Taxis until the 23rd of March 2008.

The Museum of Europe is a project with the intent to illustrate and strengthen the European identity. The idea came from a group of historians and cultural promoters from civil society, about nine years ago. Their aim was to take Europeans back to the roots of their shared civilisation. They have already organised two ‘exploratory exhibitions’, La Belle Europe (fall 2001-spring 2002) and Dieu(x), modes d’emploi (27 October 2006 – 6 May 2007), in Brussels. Following the success of Dieu(x), which portrayed the resemblances between different religions, the exhibit went to Paris and Madrid.

The essential idea behind It's our history! is that "we are all protagonists in this incredible adventure, this ongoing quest to unify Europe." "From the devastated Europe of 1945 to the challenges that are today facing our continent, visitors will come face to face with History with a capital H but also with their own more personal history. ... The exhibition boasts the state-of-the art resources of contemporary museography: backdrops, films, multimedia and interactive tools guide you through exhibits that have been chosen above all for their authenticity." To get a feeling of how the exhibit will look, you can check out some videos here.

The description above is comprised of impressive words. I only hope that the exhibit can live up to the evoked expectations. At the least it is an effort to promote Europe to its' citizens. To most people it's merely an abstract idea used only to give more power to men and women in suits. The fact is that the European Union has a real impact on our daily lives, even if we don't notice it anymore. If I can find the time to go, I'll keep you updated.

Practical Info: From October 26, 2007 until March 23, 2008

At Tour & Taxis, 86 avenue du Port/Havenlaan – 1000 Brussels

Languages: French, Dutch, English, German.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 9 am to 5 pm, Saturday, Sunday, public holidays: 10 am to 6 am, School holidays: 10 am to 6 am
Duration of the visit: 1h30 – 2h00
Price: 10 €

Update: Our visit.

Panties for Peace

The Panties for Peace campaign, which started at October 16, is aimed at the leaders of Myanmar (the English-speaking world still calls it Burma although the name changed in 1989). Women throughout the world are sending packages containing their panties to Burmese embassies. Burma’s superstitious generals, particularly junta chief Than Shwe, believe that contact with any item of women’s wear deprives them of their power.

To widespread international condemnation, the military in Myanmar crushed mass anti-regime demonstrations recently and continues to hunt down and imprison those who took part. Women in Thailand, Australia, Singapore, England and other European countries have started sending or delivering their underwear to Myanmar missions following informal coordination among activist organizations and individuals. "You can post, deliver or fling your panties at the closest Burmese Embassy any day from today. Send early, send often! This is your chance to use your Panty Power to take away the power from the SPDC and support the people of Burma" the Lanna Action for Burma Web site urges.

So, girls, if you want to chip in, here is a list with the adresses of Burmese embassies. Or in the words of the blogger who compiled the list: "Ladies, the least you could do to help Burma is to just .. Take 'em off, Pack 'em up and send 'em in. Them undies. ... Ladies and grannies, take 'em off and send 'em in ... [ don't bother washing 'em ] !!!"

Viva Cuba!

From 18th till the 21st of October the Cultural Centre of Evere (Brussels) is hosting Viva Cuba! Festival of the Cuban Culture. In their words: "On the 20th October 1868 revolutionary Cubans, lead by Manuel de Céspedes, liberated the city of Bayamo. In hommage of this historic event, the 20th of October has been dubbed the 'Day of Cuban Culture'." During this week-end the Cultural Centre and the Friends of Cuba offer a series of films, two expositions, debates and musical evenings with a Caribbean touch.

On 27th of October the Iniciativa Cuba Socialista (ICS) is hosting Che Presente 2007 at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). The event celebrates the National Day of Solidarity with Cuba and commemorates the 40th birthday of the murder on Che. They will be providing several conferences, workshops and movies, as well as Cuban food, cigars and music.

God Hates the World

As you all know, most of the different factions within the abrahamistic religions claim that their god is a peace-loving and forgiving type of dude. Well apparently those who have made this claim are wrong.

Before I get into this, let me tell you about the most hilarious fundies that can be found on the web: Westboro Baptist Church. They have a subtly titled website (godhatesfags.com) were they say the most outrageous things. Cracks me up every time. The reason for all this mirth is that they’re very serious about their retarded beliefs, and the only thing we can do is laugh.

Actually the things they do is no laughing matter and shows a great deal of disrespect for anyone who doesn’t agree with them. They believe that the last days are coming because the world is filled with sinners. More specifically, America is doomed because it allows homosexuality, ensuring the hatred of god. Before entering their site you are “warned” that there will be “Gospel Preaching Ahead”, together with a summary of their beliefs. In the FAQ of their site Pastor Phelps (the Westboro Big Kahuna) explains it as follows: "The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) of Topeka, Kansas, is an Old School (or, Primitive) Baptist Church. In short, we adhere to the teachings of the Bible, preach against all form of sin (e.g., fornication, adultery, sodomy), and insist that the doctrines of grace be taught publicly to all men. These doctrines of grace were well summed up by John Calvin in his 5 points of Calvinism: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. ... WBC engages in daily peaceful sidewalk demonstrations opposing the homosexual lifestyle of soul-damning, nation-destroying filth. We display large, colorful signs containing Bible words and sentiments, including: GOD HATES FAGS, FAGS HATE GOD, AIDS CURES FAGS, THANK GOD FOR AIDS, FAGS BURN IN HELL, NO NOT MOCKED, FAGS ARE NATURE FREAKS, GOD GAVE FAGS UP, NO SPECIAL LAWS FOR FAGS, etc. Perceiving the modern militant homosexual movement to pose a clear and present danger to the survival of America, exposing our nation to the wrath of God as in 1898 B.C. at Sodom and Gomorrah, WBC has conducted some 20,000 such demonstrations during the last nine years at homosexual parades and other events (including funerals of impenitent sodomites, like Matthew Shepard). WBC teams have picketed major fag parades in San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., Miami, San Diego, Dallas, Orlando, Kansas City, etc. The unique picketing ministry of Westboro Baptist Church has received national attention, and WBC believes this gospel message to be America's last hope. ... [Homosexuality] is the sin that is at the forefront of the moral crisis in this nation. WE did not start the homosexual movement. WE did not put this movement on the front page of every major newspaper, in every phase of the entertainment industry, and in the schools. WE are not the ones insisting that this awful behavior serve as the basis for special legal rights. WE are not the ones marching up and down the streets demanding that people accept and respect us for our sins. This is the only sin to which America is seriously contemplating giving civil rights. Imagine if embezzlers, murderers or rapists demanded that they be given protection - not punishment - by law because of their wrongful deeds? You would gasp in amazement. Yet you embrace the notion that because someone engages in sex with a person of the same gender - and then chooses to broadcast that fact - they should be protected? Amazing! This sin is so insidious by its nature, and those who commit such things so abominable by their nature, that it serves as the litmus test for a society. When God has turned his back on a people, sodomites rule the land. America is on the cusp of that condition, and only by an abundance of mercy will God forebear the utter destruction of this country. That is why we focus on this issue in our ministry at this time in our journey on this Earth." As a result of not persecuting the “sodomites” the States is losing the war in Iraq (as opposed to giving false information, underestimating the enemy and safeguarding oil reserves). To make their point absolutely clear they picket funerals of soldiers, carrying banners with messages like “a soldier dies, god laughs”, “too late to pray” and “god hates your tears”; and reciting negative bible verses through a megaphone. It amazes me that none of them have gotten killed by the boy or girl’s parents. Needless to say nobody likes these people. From time to time though there are some Hell’s Angels who make sure they’re there as well. The Angels encircle the "Most Hated Family In America" with their bikes and try to drown out the disrespectful slogans.

Now, these guys are telling us that the supposition that god loves us all is wrong. They prove this in a dissertation, titled “God Loves Everyone” The Greatest Lie Ever Told – 701 Passages Proving God’s Hate & Wrath For Most of Mankind. It goes on for 94 pages that it is not once mentioned in the Bible that god loves everyone, and moreover that he killed and condemned to hell billions of people (which is listed in extenso), with an added list of 701 passages that tell us otherwise. It is in fact satan who has devised this creed. By believing this no one needs to heed the word of the lord, since we will be forgiven anyway.

I’m not really sure what the point of all this is. To me, it sounds more as propaganda against their beliefs. Who wants to live in fear and hate all his life? Well, apparently the Phelps Family does. Although they call themselves a church, they’re more or less only one big happy family (they even take their kids along in the madness). Poisoning your own clan isn’t enough though. That’s why they are on the internet, … abundantly. The God Hates Fags site couldn’t just be all by itself now could it? They do not only hate homosexuals, they also have a strong dislike for any country harbouring these “abominations against Christ”, and any other non-protestant religion. Here are some sister sites: God Hates America, America Is Doomed, God Hates Canada, God Hates Sweden (2 countries that are pretty hard to hate), The Sign Of The Times and Priests Rape Boys.

Maybe it's best to let them explain it themselves:



Here is Michael Moore’s take on the issue. Personally, I think Pastor Phelps has a problem of his own (something to do with repressed feelings). My suggestion to him is to seek help.

Some more fun with WBC:

Fred Phelps on "God's rage on America:

Discover your C-spot

Prof. Novak, a respected doctor, has discovered after years of research that every person has a C-Spot. This is a particular part on your body that, when stimulated, let's you enjoy culture in a more intense manner. Here is the explanation by the man himself:

You can find your C-Spot as well, by taking the test on Cultuurweb. Underneath you can find my result. What is yours?

Henry Rollins

What can I say? Henry is the man. I've never been a fan of his music especially. Not that he's made bad records as a member of Black Flag, and later with his Rollins Band, I'm just not that much into the whole rock, search and destroy thing. His spoken word releases on the other hand are the shit. I've seen him three times now and he never ceases to amaze and entertain me. Every time, he just gets on stage and speaks for two hours without interruption, dropping science and making me laugh. It's not stand-up comedy. He just tells stories of things that happen in his life or about stuff that bothers him. Sometimes he talks about serious stuff, but most of the time he's extremely funny. And the good news is, he's coming to town on the 24th of January 2008! Here are some samples of previous shows, just to wet your appetite:

On telemarketers:

William Shatner, Pt. 1



William Shatner, Pt. 2



Surreal Conversation, Pt. 1



Surreal Conversation, Pt. 2



Henry vs. Iggy Pop