Geoff > Status Update

Jeff Sessions confirmed. The good news - there is great chaos under heaven. From defeat to defeat to final victory.

1965-66. Mass killings in Indonesia, hundreds of thousands murdered in a series of xenophobic and anti-communist pogroms aided and abetted by the CIA.

Getting into years that some people might have actually been around for.

1967. I was reading Lewis Carroll, E. Nesbit, W.E. Johns, E.E. Doc Smith and Isaac Asimov.

Does Geoff have the power to freeze this at 2017? or should we continue into the future?

1968 - pretty quiet year, as far as I know

Manny wrote: "1967. I was reading Lewis Carroll, E. Nesbit, W.E. Johns, E.E. Doc Smith and Isaac Asimov."

You got the best year, but 1969 had Woodstock.

I want 1978 or any year in the 1970s

Wouldn't it be more feasible to just orchestrate an alternative terrorist attack; like the Bowling Green massacre? It worked pretty well in the film Wag The Dog, so why not now?

1970 - the UNIX epoch time started on January 1 0:0:0 UTC

Time warp==

Is it 1971? No matter, Zappa released an album.

David wrote: "Does Geoff have the power to freeze this at 2017? or should we continue into the future?

1968 - pretty quiet year, as far as I know"

Bringing this into the future is one of the things I'm looking forward to most! Our predictions will be hilariously dire!

1972 - Bloody Sunday
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FgyVvoO...

Matt wrote: "Wouldn't it be more feasible to just orchestrate an alternative terrorist attack; like the Bowling Green massacre? It worked pretty well in the film Wag The Dog, so why not now?

1970 - the UNIX ep..."

Sounds feasible and cost efficient to me. Godard did something like that too, but I can't remember the name.

New York Yankees teammates Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich arrive at Spring training and announce that wives and families have been swapped. Even the family dogs were traded. Things are getting bizarre.

Kellyanne Conway hawking Ivanka's fashion line from the White House briefing room has to be some kind of new low, yes? (Edit, I mean APOTHEOSIS OF CAPITALISM!)

1974 - Nixon resigns!

Geoff wrote: "Kellyanne Conway hawking Ivanka's fashion line from the White House briefing room has to be some kind of new low, yes? (Edit, I mean APOTHEOSIS OF CAPITALISM!)

1974 - Nixon resigns!"

Maybe, though that can be overly optimistic. I guess Conway needs to pick up some sales commissions before being dismissed as a recidivist and unapologetic liar. As an aside, she always reminded me of an Anne Coulter sans the nips and tucks.

But I wait before making so bold a statement; thanks to DFW. It seems entirely possible that there will be banners hung from the White House saying; "Liquidation sale!! Take advantage of the bargains. Only $999 for a weekend at the Trump hotel-golf course of your choice. Signed copies of "The Art of the Deal" to the first 100 registrants."

Hall of Fame outfielder Frank Robinson becomes the first African American man to manage a Major League Baseball team.

For all the fixation on the 'alt-right' and the rise of fascist groupuscules, the bigger story has actually been the number of Americans becoming card carrying socialists. We may be reaching a turning point in terms of media coverage. There was an article in al-Jazeera today:

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/feat...

(Last night, I went to the meeting of ISO, another socialist group, and the main presenter just happened to be reading a big fat book of Spinoza. I may have found my tribe!)

1975 - Premier of Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielmann - one of the most boring movies ever made, but also incredibly mesmerizing and a watershed in the history of cinema.

It would be best if Pence resigned, trying to distance himself from Trump. Then Trump gets impeached by Dems when they win in midterm elections. Would that make Paul Ryan president then? Never mind, there is no winning this.

Is it illegal for betting sites to offer odds on events like "major terrorist attack on the US", "introduction of martial law", "2020 election cancelled"? If not, someone should fill this gap. Surely there must be a country with a sufficiently relaxed regulatory regime? There's a great business opportunity here for someone bold enough to grab it.

1979: End of the Bush war and of Rhodesia/birth of Zimbabwe

I would like to make a special appeal to the men of the army, and specifically to the ranks of the National Guard, the police and the military. Brothers, you come from our own people. You are killing your own brother peasants when any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God which says, "Thou shalt not kill." No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time you recovered your consciences and obeyed your consciences rather than a sinful order. The church, the defender of the rights of God, of the law of God, of human dignity, of the person, cannot remain silent before such an abomination. We want the government to face the fact that reforms are valueless if they are to be carried out at the cost of so much blood. In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression.

Oscar Romero RIP

David wrote: "Oscar Romero RIP "

Thank you for this.

Manny wrote: "Is it illegal for betting sites to offer odds on events like "major terrorist attack on the US", "introduction of martial law", "2020 election cancelled"? If not, someone should fill this gap. Sure..."

I suspect you know the answer to your periodic questions beforehand, and may just be leading us to absurd situations. In any case this was fun and well up there on the absurdity spectrum.

1) Most forms of gambling other than those conducted by casinos, state lotteries, and a few other items are still illegal in the US, though the decision is made by individual states and they vary.
2) However the laws are almost never enforced.
3) As a consequence, since it is illegal to bet on the web, one can easily find sites which host precisely that.
4) The web betting includes betting on assassinations and terrorist attacks.
5) The federal government operated one of them until some candy-assed moralists in the Senate made a fuss.
6) There have been a few problems regarding definitions. Some sites have refused to make certain payments, stating that the event was not one of terrorism. In addition it is customary on most sites to specify the number of deaths required and there have been issues regarding how deaths are counted. i.e. Most significantly it has become quarrelsome over whether the death count is taken from the first day, is inclusive of the following week, etc.

As a matter of practice it does not seem wise to be one who wagers. But, given the lack of law enforcement and all the squiggle room regarding payout, it seems an excellent business.

So, once again, research has confirmed your excellent instincts.

In 1982 baseball absolutely nothing of the slightest interest happened, if you're the least bit of a normal person.

1983 - Jan 1. The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the true Internet). (Wiki)

Hey Boris, in 1982 Cal Ripken was Rookie of the Year in the AL. Start of a Hall of Fame career. Another HOF career also started that year, Tony Gwynn.

But the real bombshell in baseball that year was August 4, when Joel Youngblood became the first ML player to play on two different teams in two different cities on the same day. (Baseball's Benchmark Boxscores)

Ted wrote: "1983 - Jan 1. The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the true Internet). (Wiki)

Hey Boris, in 1982 Cal Ripken was Rookie of the Y..."

Hey, you're right Ted. Missed Gwynn- my error. Saw Ripken- IDK; most fans think more of him than I did; but not a good argument for me. Regarding Youngblood, I think he also got hits in each game. To me, that is more of an oddity than something memorable.

Dwight (Doc) Gooden is rookie of the year. With his stuff, he might have been a candidate for the best ever, but you know.

David wrote: "1975 - Premier of Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielmann - one of the most boring movies ever made, but also incredibly mesmerizing and a watershed in the history of cinema."

Great to see this mentioned - it's become a big refernence point for me since I watched it, it's really stuck. You are absolutely right about the mesmerising. (I don't find it boring though. It's calm...and then it's really not.)


1985: end of the UK Miners' Strike, which was a watershed in the reduction of trade union power and the consolidation of Thatcherism, and now a historic point of remembrance on the British left. e.g. in this re-enactment organised by the artist Jeremy Deller http://www.jeremydeller.org/TheBattle...

Boris wrote: "I suspect you know the answer to your periodic questions beforehand, and may just be leading us to absurd situations. In any case this was fun and well up there on the absurdity spectrum.

1) Most forms of gambling other than those conducted by casinos, state lotteries, and a few other items are still illegal in the US, though the decision is made by individual states and they vary.
2) However the laws are almost never enforced.
3) As a consequence, since it is illegal to bet on the web, one can easily find sites which host precisely that.
4) The web betting includes betting on assassinations and terrorist attacks.
5) The federal government operated one of them until some candy-assed moralists in the Senate made a fuss.
6) There have been a few problems regarding definitions. Some sites have refused to make certain payments, stating that the event was not one of terrorism. In addition it is customary on most sites to specify the number of deaths required and there have been issues regarding how deaths are counted. i.e. Most significantly it has become quarrelsome over whether the death count is taken from the first day, is inclusive of the following week, etc.
"

Well, I have not been able to find such a site. Where are they?

It really makes me feel nervous to see how badly Trump would like a terrorist attack to happen. He's hardly even bothering to hide it. But since there are already many people making profits out of shorting companies that he disses on Twitter, I thought, why not take it a step further...

There is an obvious question here which I expect is already receiving serious attention in various places. Many people have now made the point that Trump is hoping for a terrorist attack, which will vindicate his policies and allow him to take them to the next level. He has committed himself so strongly to this line that he'll lose a good deal of credibility if no attack happens.

So... if there is an attack, what procedures are being put in place to determine whether it's genuine, as opposed to being a black-flag operation? It would be reassuring to see the CIA comment on this.

1988: Hip hop really happened.

Paid in Full
Biz Markie Goin' Off
Long Live the Kane
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Follow the Leader
Straight Outta Compton

It was a good year.

Compared to this year's hits:

Energy Transfer Partners: Paid in Full
The Prez Goin' Off on Twitter
Long Live the Shame
A Nation of Millions is Still Holding Us Back
Follow the Leader
Straight Outta Celebrity Apprentice

1989: Do the Right Thing, A Spike Lee Joint

And, back on topic, re serious stuff: I don't know what the status of Islamic State is right now, or even whether they will exist a year from now, but unfortunately, if they have any fight left, an attack would probably suit their interests too. IS doesn't represent either Islam or the interests of Islamic people, but the more that people see the radicalization of anti-Islamics in America and elsewhere, the more persecuted and marginalized Muslims feel, the more people are willing to buy into Jihadis' claims to legitimacy.

These conspiracy theories depress the hell out of me, but Z I like/agree with your rational analysis, makes total sense, sadly.

You were older and therefore had better taste in music.

1990: Kylie Minogue - Rhythm of Love (where she started going all grown up and "raunchy" as they said in those days) - one I actually bought at the time
though more signficant in UK music history:
Happy Mondays - Pills Thrills n Bellyaches
Stone Roses at Spike Island

In news: reunification of Germany and other clearings-up after East European Communism. Start of a decade where it did look like a lot of stuff would keep on getting better. I've had this sense for years that whilst people around my age were spared graduating into a recession, we did grow up with a default idea of the Cold War thaw, of improvement and increasing peace as normality, only to be hit by 9/11 in the first half of our twenties, and having to be adults in a more paranoid and tense world than most of us expected. Recently found out that someone else - friend of a friend, hmmmm - had enough of the same idea to make it into a book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
I think the Trump situation is quite a lot to do with 9/11 (which, yes, has all kinds of economic and political roots too). Whether future historians - if they have the tech and communications and sources to do sweeping world overviews - see a "long twentieth century" ending in 2016 as some have speculated, or with 2001 it's too early to say. But interesting to contemplate IMO. (2001 may look like a blip or harbinger after which a lot of stuff continued fairly normally for a while, and 2016 seems to mark a turning away from globalisation, which is a big deal macrohistorically.)

Zadignose wrote: " but the more that people see the radicalization of anti-Islamics in America and elsewhere, the more persecuted and marginalized Muslims feel, the more people are willing to buy into Jihadis' claims to legitimacy. "

There is a cartoon making rounds on social media in which an ISIS leader sits back with a cigar between his fingers and thinks, "No need to waste time and energy now that we have the most effective recruiter in the White House itself. "

It's not surprising that groups who celebrated Trump victory included the Jihadists & soft Islamists. Far from being distressed, the latter have by and large welcomed the "Muslim ban," hoping that it would open the eyes of those silly Muslims who still think they can have common cause with the crusaders of the West towards some mythical common goal.

Excellent point, Jibran. An essentially counterproductive vote for those who chose Trump because of Islamic extremism.

David, was it on this thread or another one where we were talking about the alt-right? Anyway, good article here on the alt-right as a counterculture: http://thequietus.com/articles/21378-...
As soon as I saw the title I figured, yeah, it's about freedom for them isn't it, like the 60s? Not being told what they have to say, not having to observe minutiae of PC rules to the letter. (It's a great shame when that one, admittedly very noisy, wing makes some people turn their back on the left altogether.)
But there's also that tendency to revert to conservatism in the wake of more liberal currents, like where more conservative Muslim young people can be seen as rebelling against their moderate parents. Or Saffy from Ab Fab which I'm pretty sure was on TV in 1992

1992: Maastricht Treaty signed which would make the EEC into the European Union. It seemed like there was nothing else on the news...

1993 in music, seems pretty essential for me - Dinosaur Jr's Where You Been, Stereolab Space Age Bachelor Music, Butthole Surfers Independent Worm Saloon, Polvo Today's Active Lifestyles, Tool Undertow, PJ Harvey Rid of Me, Porno for Pyros, Slowdive Slouvaki, Flaming Lips Transmission From The Satellite Heart, Fugazi In On The Kill Taker, Bjork Debut, Unwound Fake Train, Bad Brains Rise, Breeders Last Splash, Archers of Loaf Icky Mettle, Nirvana In Utero, Afghan Whigs Gentleman, Mazzy Star So Tonight That I Might See, Hum Electra 2000, Bikini Kill Pussy Whipped, Bob Dylan World Gone Wrong, Tom Waits The Black Rider, Wu-Tang Enter the 36 Chambers, Tribe Called Quest Midnight Marauders, Autechre Incunabula HOLY SHIT WHAT A YEAR FOR MUSIC!

1993 was awesome for music. I was 14, learning the bass guitar and dreaming of Belly, whose album "Star" was released that year and which I still love to this day.

1994. I totally bought Dookie by Green Day. In my defence, I was 15.

Kristin Hersh "Hips and Makers" was released. This album genuinely changed, and possibly (though this may be hyperbole) saved, my life.

On a Trump note, his all-capitals temper tantrum today was hilarious.

Ill Communication!

Oh shit, and Portishead Dummy which I actually bought on cassette tape in Portishead town center while in the area on a Scout Camping trip when it came out that summer.

Jonathan wrote: "On a Trump note, his all-capitals temper tantrum today was hilarious. "

I hope he knows he addressed all of his 24.5 million followers by that.

Matt wrote: ". "

I hope he knows he addressed all of his 24.5 million followers by that."

I think we should all turn up. Might be a bit crowded, but should be fun. When the President tells you to do something, you do it goddamn it!

Jonathan wrote: "When the President tells you to do something, you do it goddamn it! "

Pass. It is NOT my president.

@Geoff: (Since you're a musician) Care to rewrite and play Mitch Ryder's song to fit Trump?
https://www.flashlyrics.com/songtext/...

1993 was awesome for music. I was 14, learning the bass guitar and dreaming of Belly, whose album "Star" was released that year and which I still love to this day.

One of my favorites too. I finally saw them in concert last year when they reunited and toured. I usually avoid seeing bands years after their heyday, but they were great. Tanya joked about joining AARP, saying "I like discounts!" I also listened to Hips & Makers and (especially) So Tonight That I Might See a lot back then, and still have those cd's.

Matt wrote: "@Geoff: (Since you're a musician) Care to rewrite and play Mitch Ryder's song to fit Trump?
https://www.flashlyrics.com/songtext/..."

I'll do it with a vocoder so the new Stasi won't be able to identify my voice.

YEAR 2000 NEW MILLENNIUM Y2K HAPPENED AND WE'RE ALL DEAD the afterlife is surprisingly so-so

Manny wrote; "Well, I have not been able to find such a site. Where are they?"

I think I've been set up to get this number. Putin must be one of the GR conspirators.

Anyway, I have to think that these sites may have been blocked out elsewhere; but here in the land of the free I had no trouble finding an easy three and here is one.

https://www.betmoose.com/bet/next-maj...

These sites are not very user friendly and I didn't want to invite the return of the Comcast panel truck, so I just looked at the home page. This one boasts the total mutual handle and the payouts. The sports betting sites are all over the place here.

As an addendum to my last post on this matter, there is another way to probably bet; but it is not a "pure play." There are packages of options available through most brokers which some say have been designed to produce a windfall if a terrorist attack occurs. But, they are also subject to fluctuations emanating from superfluous things; like earnings and CEO arrests. I frankly do not understand them, probably because they were designed by MIT honors graduates.

The SEC and NYSE both investigated the matter and their websites contain testimony from those who say this is the real deal and others who say this is nonsense. A consortium of investment banks filed the most easily readable paper saying; "Who cares and what's it to you?"

The SEC and NYSE eventually registered that they deplored the practice, if any, and said that you really shouldn't do such things, if in fact such things exist. So, if one is willing to go "impure," one is also accessing a relatively sure source of payment. To date, I am not aware of any victims under the regulators' strict ruling.

On a personal note; it can be construed from your posted interest in this matter that you know something. That is not the best of advertisements. However, if something has accidentally come your way, I am aware of a sock puppet interested in such undefined matters and is reachable and generous at evledtr@conway.com@gr.com. Just sayin'.

Ah, 2001. A building falls down, ostensibly of its own volition and within five minutes Dubya definitively says that Bin Laden was responsible; though crack US intelligence did not know anything about this five minutes prior. In the US we are blessed with Presidents of the highest calibre and IQ, able to see through what us commoners would have mistakenly considered just weird.

2002 - International Year of Mountains - The Euro is introduced - "The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom." - Department of Homeland Security established - My favorite records from the year are probably Ugly Casanova Sharpen Your Teeth, Tom Waits Alice & Blood Money, Hot Snakes Suicide Invoice, Sonic Youth Murray Street, Neko Case Blacklisted...

We here a mere 15 years later sit and wonder about the oncoming possible terror - the traffic buzzes outside - a cloud dumbly blots out the sun - unthinking, we too have blotted out a lot of things - the sky changes a moment later - shadows snake away on Penn. Ave. below me

Manny also wrote; "So... if there is an attack, what procedures are being put in place to determine whether it's genuine, as opposed to being a black-flag operation? It would be reassuring to see the CIA comment on this. "

Of course you know that the CIA cannot comment regarding ongoing procedures. However, since I like you, I'll try to provide some reassurance; at great personal risk. One of my buddies; a CIA employee and secretly a double agent advised me that the department now has access to all birth certificates and will immediately be able to determine if the perp was born here; only Barack yet to be determined.

You may well note that this answer gave no commentary about attempts to stop the event, but neither did your question. Your possible "inside knowledge" again comes to mind.

After 81 consecutive years of bearing the name "Comiskey Park," the Chicago White Sox' home field is renamed "US Cellular Field," said not to be indicative of advancing technology, but the result of a $68,000,000 payment from US Cellular. In 2016 the name will again be changed; this time to "Guaranteed Rate Field," though no one claims to know why.

In his third excellent year, Dominican Republic native Albert Pujols outdistances all other hitters. He falls only two home runs short of winning the rare "Triple Crown." The many scouts who said he was not good enough to play in the major leagues are summarily dismissed.

FIRE AND THE SKY

Jack was now blind to the dustpan full of snow ineffectually dropped from the oppressive, blistering sky. It really didn’t matter; as the descent of the pure, white, inimitable ones was hastily wasted over the flames. With ease, confidence and a sense of sanctuary, two red tailed hawks effortlessly circled above the flames; their extended, rounded wings keeping them aloft through the support of the presently warm, inspiring and unseen draft.

Barry Bonds of the Giants has another outstanding year. He sets the all-time record for highest on-base percentage at .609, breaking his previous record of .582, set in 2002. He also posts a slugging average of .812, the fourth-highest ever, and also breaks his previous OPS record of 1.381, set in 2002, with a 2004 OPS of 1.422. Bonds also set a record for most walks in a season, with 232. Finally, with 120 intentional walks, he almost doubles his previous record of 68. And the assholes will still not put this guy in the Hall of Fame.

I just took this off the "Trump News" website. I'm usually not a stickler for English; but this is coming from people who work for what might be now the most powerful man in the world.

They have complemented their provocative statement by screwing up what is short of three sentences with one mis-spelling, one wrong tense, and a sentence which makes somewhat unclear use of "it." The writer is also clearly equating "investment" with "war." It reminds me of an old pejorative slogan; "War is good business. Invest your son." The left may not be dealing with people who paid any attention in college.

Trump Team Gives Indication They Are Ready For War With Iran

During the campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump said the U.S. military was in a state if exhaustion and in major need of new investment, which he pledged to make as president. But he obviously believes it is more than capable of handling a country like Iran, and he’d be right. In fact, some believe the president […]

Thirty-two years after his death, Jackie Robinson receives the Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda, the highest honor Congress can bestow.

Geoff wrote: " ...Neko Case Blacklisted..."

What was it with Neko Case in the 00s? So many guys were fans of hers - though not usually people I knew well. She was always in lists of their favourite musicians. Yet unlike other serious female singers, I don't think I've ever met a female Neko Case fan. (And I was kinda bored by what I heard, sorry)

2006 - an eventful year for me personally, and some of the soundtrack:
First Impressions of Earth - The Strokes (saw them live in a ridiculously stressful situation)
Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys
Show Your Bones - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Be Your Own Pet - Be Your Own Pet
Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors
Johnny Cash - American V (though it was III and IV I got to know and was listening to loads)
Someone to Drive You Home - The Long Blondes (another gig ... god I miss them)
And Jarvis Cocker solo album (finally saw live after 12+ years)
TV on the Radio, The Pipettes, Fiery Furnaces...
All a bit mainstream indie (there would also have been a bunch of EDM and ambient I'd get into later that was released) but this was a year I got back into music in a big way after being in a relationship where I'd let myself get culturally old before my time and been listening to modern dadrock like the Foos & RHCP

Antonomasia wrote: "Geoff wrote: " ...Neko Case Blacklisted..."

What was it with Neko Case in the 00s? So many guys were fans of hers - though not usually people I knew well. She was always in lists of their favourit..."

*is a Neko Case fan, and female-bodied* ::)

Hey turns out that part of the dossier on Trump about colluding with Russia during the campaign was true. Seems a pretty staggering fact. I wonder what else in it is true. More than that, I wonder if a single Republican in Congress has the moral fiber to give a shit. As with many things, I won't be holding my breath.

Also, say what? I know tons of female Neko fans!

2008 - Barack Obama becomes the first black president. Liberals feel like they've done enough and stop trying. Racists everywhere arm up.

Where does it say that? I looked at Washington Post & NYT web front pages just now.

I wonder if a single Republican in Congress has the moral fiber to give a shit. As with many things, I won't be holding my breath.
Yeah. How to become a banana republic in less than one month...

2009: we're in the middle of the credit crunch, being frugal is super trendy and there are Keep Calm and Carry On branded novelties on sale everywhere in the UK.

Y'all see this?

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/10...

The NYT seize on the Julius Evola reference but they divorce it from its (quite illuminating) context. These remarks from President Bannon are the most systematic exposition of his political philosophy that I've seen.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/...

I agree with parts of it, particularly his description of the banks' role in the financial crisis. Don't see how it gels with the administration's plans for deregulation though.

Antonomasia wrote: "Where does it say that? I looked at Washington Post & NYT web front pages just now.

I wonder if a single Republican in Congress has the moral fiber to give a shit. As with many things, I won't be ..."

Flynn admitted to talking to Russian officials about easing sanctions if Trump was elected, during the campaign. Russia then hacked the DNC, etc. you know the rest.

howl of minerva wrote: "Y'all see this?

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/10...

The NYT seize on the Julius Evola reference but they divorce it from its (quite illumi..."

Well my fear level is back to nice and elevated this morning!

Brian wrote: "VladdyPee wrote: "To whom it may concern;

Boris will no longer be plaguing you with his misguided delusions. His last two annual performance evaluations have shown deterioration, and his current p..."

I've had enough of this shit.