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Archive | June 16, 2013

Bradley Manning and Adolf Eichmann

By on June 16, 2013 in News 12

220px-Eichmann,_AdolfElliot Sperber writes at Counterpunch:

The year 2013 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Hannah Arendt’s controversial critique of the trial of the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, and her work remains unambiguously pertinent. Indeed, not only do the ghosts of the past continue to haunt Eichmann in Jerusalem; another ghost – a ghost from the future – is also detectable among her words. As one reads her text, Eichmann’s polar opposite, Bradley Manning, arises from Arendt’s pages like a photographic negative. Presently on trial for charges that include “communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source,” and “aiding the enemy,” Manning succeeded in accomplishing what Eichmann was tried and executed for failing to do; Manning refused to participate in the commission of crimes against humanity.

The reader must refrain from inferring that an equivalence is being drawn between the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime and those committed by the US.

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Christian, You Might Be Guilty of Military Idolatry

By on June 16, 2013 in News 17

fascismLaurence M. Vance writes at LewRockwell.com:

This past Memorial Day brought forth the usual military idolatry. What makes it worse, though, is that this military idolatry is so rampant among Christians and in churches.

And just how can a Christian know if he is guilty of military idolatry? Simple.

Christian, you might be guilty of military idolatry:

  • If you send a care package to a U.S. soldier, but not to a missionary.
  • If you thank a veteran for his service, but not a pastor, priest, deacon, or minister.
  • If you can recite the Pledge of Allegiance, but not the Ten Commandments.
  • If you value serving your country more than serving your fellowman.
  • If you sing the National Anthem at a sporting event with more enthusiasm than you sing a hymn in church.
  • If government welfare spending bothers you, but not government military spending.
  • If anti-war rallies make you mad, but cadences recited in basic training don’t make you blush.
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Man In China Jailed For Alien Hoax

By on June 16, 2013 in News 8

alien

This eerie yet funny alien was made of rubber, steel, and a substance called antholeucin and was stored in Mr. Li’s freezer. Via the New York Daily News:

A Chinese farmer has been jailed for disrupting social order — after he posed with an “alien” he claimed he’d electrocuted after its UFO crashed near his home.

Mr. Li sparked a social media frenzy on Monday when pictures of him standing next to what appeared to be an extraterrestrial life-form were uploaded online. But, following police interrogation, he reportedly confessed to making the whole incident up — admitting that the “body” was in fact rubber.

The Shangdong farmer now faces five days in jail. “The alien purportedly electrocuted and discovered by a man in Binzhou is a high-quality imitation,” posted Jinan Police on its Sina microblog.

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Anna von Hausswolff – Deathbed

By on June 16, 2013 in News 0

via The Quietus

Next week, City Slang are giving Anna von Hausswolff’s second album of dark-hued, cinematic pop Ceremony a worldwide release.

Says von Hausswolff of the album: “I didn’t just want Ceremony to be a collection of songs. I wanted it to be like a film, with every single part connected to the other, with shifting moods and settings, but a thread holding all the tracks together. I listen to a lot of film scores, and in many the music is able to move freely without the typical structures that we find in commercial music.”

She recorded part of her follow-up to 2010’s Singing From The Grave in her hometown of Gothenburg, making use of the Annedalskyrkan cathedral’s organ, as evident on the sweeping sprawl of ‘Deathbed’

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German Bank Worker Accidentally Transfers Nearly $300 Million By Falling Asleep On Keyboard

By on June 16, 2013 in News 2

falling asleep on keyboardSomething tells me that the falling-asleep-on-keyboard mistake will eventually be how the world ends. Via FRANCE 24:

An obviously tired German bank employee fell asleep on his keyboard and accidentally transformed a minor transfer into a 222 million euro ($293 million) order, a court heard Monday.

The Hessen labour court heard that the man was supposed to transfer just 62.40 euro from a bank account belonging to a retiree, but instead “fell asleep for an instant, while pushing onto the number 2 key on the keyboard” — making it a huge 222,222,222.22 euro order.

The bank discovered the mistake shortly afterwards and corrected the error. The case was taken to court by the man’s 48-year-old colleague who was fired for letting the mistake slip through when verifying the order.

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