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"Johann Hari has rightly pointed out that what is driving the wars in the Congo is fierce competition over mineral resources, particularly coltan. To this extent, he helps see off some of the more obnoxious 'heart of darkness' myths that habitually appear in coverage of the conflict, in which almost five and a half million have died."
Linkfest: 2008-11-04
November 4th, 2008 § 0
Linkfest: 2008-11-03
November 3rd, 2008 § 0
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"Back when it was originally released in The Year 2000, Giants: Citizen Kabuto was one of those games that dared to bridge genres, bending the third-person shooter into the RTS, a mermaid simulator, and back again into something brand new." Interview/feature on Giants: Citizen Kabuto.
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The Left4Dead opening movie… zombieriffic!
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Founding member of the Descendents has died – R.I.P. Frank!
Linkfest: 2008-10-31
October 31st, 2008 § 0
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Great interview with comic artist Marc Ellerby.
Linkfest: 2008-10-30
October 30th, 2008 § 0
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An entertaining interview with Paddy from the excellent Dillinger 4, on the new album, the leak, the Fest, and how everything is always Billy's fault.
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Great current analysis of the US presidential election race, the campaign's roots in class politics and the possibilities for future class organisation.
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Interesting article on someone's efforts at "precycling" (avoid the need for recycling or putting rubbish into landfill by planning shopping and reusing packaging).
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Virgins (ex-New Mexican Disaster Squad) full album stream – good, gruffly sung, melodic hardcore punk.
A brief comment on that Brand/Ross thing
October 30th, 2008 § 3
Seriously, Britain, shut the fuck up already. There are plenty of things to talk about that are more important, interesting or relevant than some stupid joke/cock-up by two rubbish celebrities. I know that as a nation you like to get all weepy or angry or self-righteous en masse every so often, but this is just taking the piss.
And the next person I find using the phrase ‘Sachsgate’ will earn themselves a short sharp kick in the genitals.
Linkfest: 2008-10-29
October 29th, 2008 § 0
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1 – World is facing a natural resources crisis worse than financial crunch | Environment | The Guardian"The world is heading for an "ecological credit crunch" far worse than the current financial crisis because humans are over-using the natural resources of the planet, an international study warns today."
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"A 16-year-old girl has been sentenced to 2 to 2 1/2 years in a juvenile detention center for the manslaughter of a 49-year-old man. This sounds like nothing special until you start to look at the details."
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"The members of this band have previously played for: Token Entry, Kid Dynamite, Grey Area, Lifetime, Black Train Jack, Paint It Black, None More Black, Good Riddance, WARZONE, The Arsons, and quite a few others." Good pedigree!
Linkfest: 2008-10-28
October 28th, 2008 § 0
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A decent, if somewhat self-righteous article about the lack of intellectualism in mainstream US party politics.
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Guilty until proven innocent. If you advocate illegal means of accomplishing something the government disagrees with, you can be banned from Britain – and now the burden of proof is upon the accused, not the accuser.
Linkfest: 2008-10-27
October 27th, 2008 § 0
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1 – If You Make ItAnother donation-based record label (ala. Quote Unquote); also has videos of various bands… looks pretty cool!
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"American military helicopters have tonight attacked an area along Syria's border with Iraq, causing casualties, according to reports on Syrian state TV and from witnesses." The US military has now led overt raids into Syrian and Pakistani territory… maybe it's a game to see how many conflicts they can get embroiled in prior to the presidential election.
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"What do you get when you mix a former Big Brother contestant, your ex-girlfriend, an epic road trip and some of America's more surreal experiences? Charlie Brooker finds out."
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"Zombies are the misanthrope's monster of choice, says Charlie Brooker. That's why he's made a TV show letting them loose in the Big Brother house."
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"I shall have to disclose the secret to America's future foreign policy comportment for the most likely President-elect come November, BHO. I have to because, as is so often the case, this upstart doesn't even understand what is in America's interests (I would not expect any other concern to enter into the discussion). Here are three policies that Obama should pursue."
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"In every country where votes are counted, even a pissant little island like this one, some votes are fraudulent. [...] In the US, alleged voter fraud has become the basis for a Republican attempt to deny citizens the right to vote. Predictably, these efforts overwhelmingly target black voters, and low income voters in general."
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Why blogging is dead… according to the author. Doesn't even consider the point that blogging has supplanted niche print media, nor the wide range of blogs offering incisive, non-corporate political commentary and analysis. The author seems to value getting noticed over having something to say, which rather misses the point in my book… blog.
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8 – TNR – BarracudaGood article on Sarah Palin's political career and fear/dislike of "elites" in the New Republic.
Linkfest: 2008-10-25
October 25th, 2008 § 0
Linkfest: 2008-10-24
October 24th, 2008 § 0
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An interview with Eskil Steenberg, developer of indie "city-building MMOFPS" Love.
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Rob Stone's band. Not really my kinda thing, but they seem good at what they do…
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Rob's singer-songwriter solo stuff.
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"Claims of child abuse are proving a fertile pretext to menace the Aboriginal communities lying in the way of uranium mining."
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• "Former Fed chief admits 'mistake' over regulation
• Myners plans new agency to run state-owned banks"
When ideology crumbles… -
"10,000 indigenous Colombians are marching against President Alvaro Uribe's policies. The protest comes one week after violence erupted during demonstrations to press for land reform and dialogue with the government."
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An interview with Richard Morgan that covers quite a lot of ground, and is surprisingly broad and deep for something on io9…