Holding Forum

OCCUPY SAN FRANCISCO

IK — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:45:14 +0000

GENERAL STRIKE MARCH 31, ADDENDUM

IK — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:03:17 +0000

FOR ANYONE/EVERYONE WHO IS POSTING RALLY INFORMATION ONLY ON FACEBOOK PAGES…BEAR IN MIND THAT THOSE WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS OF SAID SITE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE EVENT INFORMATION FOR THEIR CITY. THIS IS A CALL FOR A GENERAL STRIKE, NOT A FACEBOOK EVENT! MAKE THE INFORMATION MORE ACCESSIBLE!

POST THE INFORMATION SOMEWHERE THAT IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE. THE IDEA AND SPECIFICS OF THESE RALLIES SHOULD HARDLY BE EXCLUSIVE TO FAKEBOOKERS. THE MORE, THE BETTER.

Call for General Strike, March 31

IK — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:27:30 +0000

[Organizers, please read this addendum: http://holdingforum.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/general-strike-march-31-addendum/]

There has been at least one call for a US-wide general strike on March 31, 2011. There may be other general-strike calls for days other than March 31, and this one doesn’t seem to have organizational backing yet, so take this with a grain of salt.

Here is the fakebook group for it: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147739558619715 . And here is the description from the group:

“We’re calling for a day of NON-VIOLENT ACTION to show the heartless corporations, and politicians they own that WE THE PEOPLE make this democracy work and this country great. The plan is that we will not go to work or class and instead march, picket, gather in a place that makes sense in our town, city, or county, and non-violently make noise, create excitement, and promote solidarity.

HOW?
This will only work if YOU work to help …organize, get the word out (repost, share, invite friends) and participate. We’re calling for ACTION, helping to connect people, and providing other support as needed. You know your community. You know what will work. Leafleting? Picketing? A march? Neither of us can nor should dictate what local actions or activities look like. We ask that if you operate under the auspices of this movement that it be non-violent, but beyond that we want you, your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to creatively design and plan what is right for you.

From our group/cause page,
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Call-for-a-Nationwide-General-Strike/150601308334693?sk=app_2373072738

click on “Discussions” on the left side. I now have topics for every state! Please check in, and let people know …what state and city you are in or plan to be in on March 31.

WHY?
The lower 98% in the U.S. are under attack in a way not seen in generations. From union busting to outsourcing to mass layoffs, the working people of this country are being assaulted by corporations and plutocrats. While we lose our jobs, our benefits, and take cuts in pay, the rich are awarded massive tax breaks and amass obscene amounts of wealth. They buy politicians to do their bidding and pull the strings of corporate media to tell us that WE have to make sacrifices.

We believe that the workers, the unemployed, the underemployed, the students, the bottom 98% — have sacrificed ENOUGH and that it is time for us to say NO.

WHEN?
March 31st is the birthday of César Chávez, one of the preeminent labor and civil rights leaders in the U.S. during the 20th century. César Chávez and his incredible work helped to build the US Labor movement and the modern middle class. Our action, on his birthday, will strengthen the labor movement and help ensure that there will be a middle class tomorrow.

If you’re not familiar with him, you can start by reading these two links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/César_Chávez
http://www.ufw.org/_page.php?inc=history%2F07.html&menu=research

Who is behind this?
Mike Benedict: Mike works in a vibrations test lab in Erie Pennsylvania and has been a UE (United Electric, Radio and Machine Workers of America) member for nearly 17 years. He has organized, fought for workers rights, single payer healthcare (HR 676) was canvass coordinator for Erie Pennsylvania during the 2004 John Kerry Campaign and ran for Eire city council in 2005. As someone that has studied the history of labor and economic trends, he recognized that we are now at a defining moment and that a large scale action is necessary.

Yuri Keegstra: Yuri came across the “A Call For a General Strike” event on Facebook one night while organizing and sharing info regarding protests in Wisconsin and thought “absolutely!”. He works in IT at a Wisconsin university and is a proud union member. He has a strong interest in the civil rights, environmental, universal health care, anti-war, social justice, economic justice, and animal rights movements. He has been an organizer and activist since he was a teenager. More info can be found on his Facebook profile.

Who is behind them?
Nobody. Mike created the event and issued the call. Yuri saw, joined, and offered to help. Two people, a couple states apart, working on their own time with their own equipment. No union money. No political party money. No organization money. Nobody dictating or suggesting what to say or do. Just us — oh, and YOU!”

A.V. Update #2

IK — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:57:58 +0000

Hola amigos. Been a while since I rapped at ya (anyone?).

Here’s some of what’s been going down in cultural consumption over the past couple of weeks:

Words:

Life, Keith Richards

Backbone, David Foster Wallace

Rat Girl, Kristin Hersh

Historias de cronopios y de famas, Julio Cortazar

Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic, John Drumbo French

Sounds:

Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies

Martin Carthy – Sweet Wivelsfield

Dinosaur Jr. – Bug

Films, etc.:

Mutiny: The Last Birthday Party, Heiner Mühlenbrock

Critique of Separation, Guy Debord

The Brady Bunch – online episodes

IK

2 Experimental Short Films

IK — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:34:35 +0000

Salta y Jujuy 9/23-28/09

IK — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:58:53 +0000

More or less a week-long road trip (gratis, yep) exploring Salta and Jujuy, the northwest provinces of Argentina. As the photos show, much of the landscape is not dissimilar to that found in the US southwest and parts of California. This certainly did nothing to hinder my enjoyment and it seldom occurred to me at the time. Def. no shortage of extra-planetary scenes. Along the way we were stopping off in the local small towns, which were usually beset by wind and dust, for sustenance and sundry activities. Despite a consistent presence of other non-locals at these stops, we were steeped in the authentic, more or less.

This was the first time I had traveled as part of a multi-day ‘tour’, but no doubt the guide’s presence and savvy enhanced the experience. (predictable gripe: the guide’s musical taste/selection while driving, or lack thereof, did leave much to be desired, so i retreated to my headphones/discman/cdr’s for much of the trip, politely removing them during the tour-spiels.) And luckily, my travel companions consisted of a very small group of fairly like-minded individuals, and they provided a good balance and company. A novel and fine time had by all.

During the week I

ate llama twice (excellent), and probably nothing that was less fresh than a day or two, of which I’m convinced makes an essential difference.
was coerced into dancing traditional folklore (in public).
flew across an expansive river valley multiple times on a wire cable, from 50 stories up (it’s called ‘canopy‘.)
breathed it in at pre-Incan ruins.
saw and learned a hell of a lot about the geography and history of Argentina.
by request, elucidated riverside the history and significance of the MC5 to a curious, if unsuspecting, Argentine owner of one of those faux-vintage Levi’s rock shirts.

The photographic evidence of much of this (not the dancing) follows below.

Notes:

My two souvenirs consist of a glossy placard of the ‘military angels’ paintings found here, and a bag of coca leaves with which I home-brewed tea (total cost: 12 pesos.)
The dominant vibe manifested by the landscapes dovetailed beautifully with my recent immersions into Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian and the Clint “Man with No Name” Westerns ( i count five of ‘em).
Memorable desert-driving discman spin: Boredoms Vision Creation Newsun

A-H1N1 update

IK — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:02:23 +0000

For any of you soon to be confronted with the choice to accept the swine flu vaccination, you may want to check the video link I’ve now posted in the comments section of the first swine flu entry.

NFL pre-

IK — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:48:48 +0000

BY REQUEST…my NFL preseason post.

Picking up ESPN 1st season pregame NFL which is def. a first for me. What the hell….

Ditka has been this bad for 10 years. I think he is out of networks to jump to after this one.

KeyShawn will be funny, and inadvertently so, i predict.

Going remote for a talk with Steve Young? Yeah, just what this crew needs, more people, esp. Steve Young.

Cris Carter looks comfortable. Have faith.

Tom Jackson relegated to the end of the table. Slowed down maybe. Immediately looses all pathos by hyping Kyle Orton’s Denver Broncos as a dark horse.

These guys all made awful picks.

Seattle says Steve Young. Jim Mora? Maybe, only in the west.

Berman is off script way more than i would expect. Seems that way.

“Did you drink the kool-aid already?!” yells Keyshawn at Tom Jackson, multiple times.

Ditka goes NFC Central on his pick, to fully establish the trend. “Wide open, every team is a contender”, but likes GB. Thanks Coach.

most telling comment to this point:

A. Reid via Mortensen: “Tom Brady is too important to this league (to injure in preseason)”. Eh?

Que es suficiente por ahora.

Post script: I watched more pregame than game, but I predict that Jon Gruden will be a big booth success. (At worst, TK will not be missed.)

Post post script: Vick in PHILLY! Save me a jersey…

A-H1N1…

IK — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:28:37 +0000

…is the scientific name for the much hyped ‘Swine Flu’ virus, or ‘Gripe A’ as they call it here. (I can’t help to flash on the pederast chapter near the end of Catcher in the Rye every time i see the word “gripe”.) Oddly, I have had not one person from outside Argentina inquire as to my experience with the virus. Hard to believe considering the amount of international attention, plans for mass vaccinations, etc. that have spewed forth over the last several months. (In any event, my intention here is just to relay the general trivialities behind what I’ve seen here in AR/BA in regards to the virus, not to contribute to the hype machine/fear mongering that has been prevalent.)

Here are some recent stats according to this site:

Argentina Gripe H1N1 statistics

• The first Gripe H1N1 case in Argentina was confirmed on May 9th, 2009

• As of July 24th, 2009 there are 3,056 confirmed cases of Gripe H1N1 in Argentina

• As of July 24th, 2009 there have been 137 Gripe H1N1 deaths in Argentina

• As of July 24th, 2009, the Gripe H1N1 death rate in Argentina is 4.483 % or one death per every 22 infections

Some Incidental notes:

I have seen reports, like this one in the Miami Herald that list the number of cases in AR at 119,000 (!). Someone there should probably learn to differentiate between ‘reported’ and ‘confirmed diagnosed’, or something…
I have a few friends whose trade schools/universities have shut down by government order for the entire month of July. At least one provincia (suburb) was put on something like a 7 day lock-down, with most businesses closing up.
Around late May/early June, i recall reading a story about groups of Argentines stationed at the border of Chile, bombarding the incoming buses with rocks for fear of bus passengers bringing the virus into the country. The Chilean horror.
Without a doubt there is an uptick in public mask wearing and the use of a certain hand gel antiseptic that ‘el gobierno’ is recommending as a preventative measure.
As of 7/29/09, I know of no one, or of anyone that knows anyone, who has contracted the virus. Knock wood.

As for my direct experience, after arriving at Ezeiza airport in early June, which was during an early wave of the outbreak and fear, I and my fellow passengers were forced before departing the airplane to wear protective masks (see above photo). We were also asked to fill out a ‘health report’, a single piece of paper where you were to list/describe any flu-like symptoms you might be having. (Anyone who had been paying attention to the news over the previous week was surely aware that confessing to suffering from anything flu-like would land you in a 7 day quarantine. True). We lined up in two rows and dutifully handed our reports to two ‘officials’ in white coats as we entered the concourse. (The idea that thousands upon thousands of these handwritten, unchecked, crumpled, self-administered ‘health reports’ was going to help track the virus or those carrying it is the kind of thinking that AR’s bureaucracy is famous for.) Then we were made to pull down our mask and briefly pose before a video camera. Good times.

Nightmare Alley

IK — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:37:28 +0000

Apropos of nothing really…I (re)watched Nightmare Alley (1947) over the past couple nights. I can always find something to appreciate in any film that falls into the noir genre, this one being no exception.

The film depicts the rise and fall of a conman/mentalist, played by Tyrone Power, whose sly ambition leads him from carnival hack to ‘mentalist’ superstar. There are some mood-ruining implications regarding “God” that accompany the fall of the ‘Stanton the Great’, but TP ultimately carries the film beyond those dimensions. It’s pretty dark stuff for the time period, there aren’t really any respites from the tension or moments of comic relief along the way, and after watching it you may never think of the term ‘geek’ in the same way again. Recommended.

Anyway, it got me thinking on hustlers of this sort of the modern day. Like with fim noir, my inclination towards claims of psychic phenomena usually have been to give them more than a fair shake on an individual basis as opposed to a hasty dismissal (I have my reasons). (Don’t get me wrong–at best, the vast majority of instances of such that are reported, exploited, etc. are total hogwash.) My thoughts jump to a one John Edward who was/is(?) the host of a daily program on one of major networks where he would ‘cross over to the other side’ and purport to communicate with deceased loved ones of audience members. There are others of course who have made a name and probably millions working this shameless hustle (James Van Praagh), but Edward’s image and apparent popularity managed to become lodged in my brain.

What he and others of his ilk usually pass off as ‘crossing over’ is of course nothing more than a well-practiced form of ‘cold reading’, where the medium/psychic/etc. embarks on a series of ‘educated guesses’ and does so in a way to make their ‘misses’ seem insignificant, part of the process. Admittedly, a sort of grotesque fascination with the set-up and dynamics at play propelled me to actually watch his show if I came across it. I remember feeling embarrassed not only for Edward (even for a no-doubt highly edited-for-TV-performance, he was rarely impressive), but for his audience/dupes, (and myself of course), as well. ‘Tis sad, really, on several levels.

In any event, so as to not leave on such a downbeat, here’s the gratuitous list of some of my favorite/essential film noirs for those in the dark (ahem).

Touch of Evil

The Big Sleep

Laura

Out of the Past

In a Lonely Place

Mildred Pierce

Asphalt Jungle

The Killers

Gilda

Criss Cross

Kiss me Deadly