Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Genesis P-Orridge, R.I.P. (1950-2020)

From Braudie Blais-Billie's 3-14-20 Pitchfork obituary:

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, avant garde icon and founding member of cult experimental bands Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, has died, as Dais Records co-founder (and P-Orridge’s manager) Ryan Martin confirmed to Pitchfork. Martin shared a statement from Genesis’ daughters, Genesse and Caresse, who confirmed that their parent died the morning of March 14, 2020. P-Orridge was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia in 2017. P-Orridge was 70 years old.

Read the entire Pitchfork obit HERE

RE/Search Publications founder/editor, V. Vale, reminisced about P-Orridge's influence in a recent blog post:

Genesis P-Orridge may have "dropped their body" (Sat, March 14, 2020, NYC) but their WORDS LIVE ON.

There's a lot of controversy over GP-O, but one thing for sure: if anyone put a microphone in front of them, Gen became astoundingly articulate and unpredictable. It's like Gen was "channeling" the world to come—THE FUTURE.

There are a few people who, wherever they go, whatever they say should be tape-recorded. Genesis P-Orridge was definitely one of them. (William Burroughs and J.G. Ballard were others.) They are THAT ORIGINAL and thought-provoking.

Genesis became a major influence on RE/Search at a certain point. Our Burroughs / Gysin / Throbbing Gristle issue, as well as Industrial Culture Handbook, were inspired by our friendship with Gen. 

I did my best to put the word of Genesis P-Orridge in six publications I did:

1) Search & Destroy #6, 1978— "music must be made by all. noise is music. anyone can do it. use cut-ups"
2) RE/Search #1, 1980—"even priests can be philosophers"
3) RE/Search #4/5, 1981—"the control process and how to fight it"
4) RE/Search #6/7, 1983—"what to read. how to live. how to create"
5) RE/Search #12, 1989—"all my physical body decoration practices, especially tattoo/body piercing"
6) Modern Pagans, 2001—"I've been a Pagan all my life"
 


However, annoyingly, there are many other recordings I made of Genesis that I simply can't find. Maybe someday they'll "turn up"… but not yet!

Read the rest of Vale's post right HERE.

Psychic TV Interview + "Godstar" Video:

Monday, March 30, 2020

MARTIAL LAW

From Selam Gebrekidan's

In Hungary, the prime minister can now rule by decree. In Britain, ministers have what a critic called “eye-watering” power to detain people and close borders. Israel’s prime minister has shut down courts and begun an intrusive surveillance of citizens. Chile has sent the military to public squares once occupied by protesters. Bolivia has postponed elections.

As the coronavirus pandemic brings the world to a juddering halt and anxious citizens demand action, leaders across the globe are invoking executive powers and seizing virtually dictatorial authority with scant resistance.

Governments and rights groups agree that these extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. States need new powers to shut their borders, enforce quarantines and track infected people. Many of these actions are protected under international rules, constitutional lawyers say.

But critics say some governments are using the public health crisis as cover to seize new powers that have little to do with the outbreak, with few safeguards to ensure that their new authority will not be abused.

The laws are taking swift hold across a broad range of political systems — in authoritarian states like Jordan, faltering democracies like Hungary, and traditional democracies like Britain. And there are few sunset provisions to ensure that the powers will be rescinded once the threat passes.

“We could have a parallel epidemic of authoritarian and repressive measures following close if not on the heels of a health epidemic,” said Fionnuala Ni Aolain, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights.

As the new laws broaden state surveillance, allow governments to detain people indefinitely and infringe on freedoms of assembly and expression, they could also shape civic life, politics and economies for decades to come.

The pandemic is already redefining norms. Invasive surveillance systems in South Korea and Singapore, which would have invited censure under normal circumstances, have been praised for slowing infections. Governments that initially criticized China for putting millions of its citizens under lockdown have since followed suit.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has authorized his country’s internal security agency to track citizens using a secret trove of cellphone data developed for counterterrorism. By tracing people’s movements, the government can punish those who defy isolation orders with up to six months in prison.

And by ordering the closing of the nation’s courts, Mr. Netanyahu delayed his scheduled appearance to face corruption charges.

In some parts of the world, new emergency laws have revived old fears of martial law....

To read Gebrekidan's entire article, click HERE.

Even more *vital* information about the subject of "Martial Law" follows.... 


From Phil McCausland's 3-28-20 NBC News report entitled "Rhode Island Police, Troops Stopping Incoming New Yorkers to Force Quarantine":


Rhode Island's National Guard and state police are stopping motorists with New York license plates and going door-to-door to find people who may have traveled recently from the state.
The enforcement actions come after Gov. Gina Raimondo ordered that anyone who has moved from New York state to Rhode Island in the past two weeks must self-quarantine for 14 days, part of her state's effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Troops from the National Guard have been posted at train stations and bus depots to inform New Yorkers of the order, and on Saturday they began going door-to-door to tell any recent travelers from New York that they must follow the quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus. State police began stopping cars with New York plates on Friday.
“I know this is unusual. I know this is extreme. And I know some people don’t agree with it,” Raimondo said. “It’s absolutely not a decision I make lightly.”
Those who do not comply with the order face a fine of $500 and 90 days in prison.
To read McCausland's entire report, click HERE.

"Martial Law" 
(Lou Reed Live at The Bottom Line in New York, 1983):

From Kelly Mena's 3-28-20 CNN report entitled "Cuomo on Possible New York Quarantine: 'I Don't Think It's Legal' and It Would Be a 'Federal Declaration of War'":

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday in an interview with CNN that he didn't believe a possible New York quarantine was legal and that it would be a "federal declaration of war" after President Donald Trump said he was considering such a tactic for the New York metro area as US coronavirus cases increase.
"It would be chaos and mayhem," Cuomo told CNN's Ana Cabrera. "It's totally opposite everything he's been saying. I don't think it is plausible. I don't think it is legal."
More than 52,000 of the nation's over 113,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in New York state alone. And officials are forecasting that the apex of the pandemic there is still 14 to 21 days away.
"This would be a federal declaration of war on states," Cuomo said, adding that he doesn't think the President is looking to start a war with states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory regarding the three states about an hour after Trump announced in a tweet that he had asked the agency to do so, saying that a quarantine would not be necessary.
Trump's announcement came just hours after he said earlier on Saturday that he was mulling a short-term quarantine of "hot spots" in parts of the tri-state area -- New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- where cases of coronavirus continue to rise.
"We're thinking about certain things. Some people would like to see New York quarantined because it's a hotspot. ... We might not have to do it, but there's a possibility that sometime today we'll do a quarantine, short-term, two weeks on New York. Probably New Jersey, certain parts of Connecticut," he told reporters as he departed the White House for Norfolk Naval Station to send off a Navy hospital ship to New York.
"I'd rather not do it, but we may need it," said the President, who later tweeted that "decision will be made, one way or another, shortly."
To read Mena's entire report, click HERE.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

"Watch Out or You'll End up in My Novel" & Other New Releases!

Yesterday I received my contributor's copy of John Fante's Ask the Dust: A Joining of Voices and Views edited by Stephen Cooper and Clorinda Donato (and published by Fordham University Press). This anthology includes my essay entitled "Watch Out or You'll End up in My Novel: The Lost World of Ask the Dust," which explores the influence of Ask the Dust on Noah Van Sciver's Fante Bukowski graphic novels as well as many other obscure and unexpected tributaries that branch out from Fante's classic 1939 novel, Ask the Dust. The anthology includes illuminating pieces by Charles Bukowski, Fante biographer Stephen Cooper, documentarian Jan Louter, filmmaker Robert Towne, John Fante himself, and many others! (A Scholarly Intersections event celebrating the publication of the anthology was to have taken place at CSU Long Beach in April, but this has now been delayed until the fall semester.) 


2020 has also seen the release of a few other new Guffey publications, including Part Two of my serialized short story "A Scarcity of Angels" (5,200 words) in Selene Quarterly Magazine Volume 2, Issue 4. This issue contains stories and poems by the likes of Shwetha H S, Julie Kelso, and Lynn Rushlau....


Early in January, my short story "The Advertising Man" (7,500 words) appeared in Nameless Magazine Volume 2, Issue 4 alongside other "macabre, weird, uncanny, and esoteric" tales by William F. Nolan, Darrell Schweitzer, and Don Webb!


Many other stories and articles are scheduled to appear later in 2020. Stay tuned!!!

Saturday, March 28, 2020

KION TV News Reports on Organized Stalking

In the below clip, Candice Nguyen of KION News in Salinas, CA reports on organized surveillance and harassment in a segment entitled "Gang Stalking, Bullying on Steroids" (this segment originally aired on January 29, 2011):

Friday, March 27, 2020

"Spying on Everyone to Combat COVID-19...."

From Xeni Jardin's 3-23-20 BoingBoing post entitled "Spying on Everyone to Combat COVID-19 Will Further Erode Civil Liberties Just Like 9/11, Privacy Advocates Warn":

Tracking entire populations now with electronic surveillance, facial recognition, and biosecurity sensors to combat the coronavirus pandemic will inevitably mean even more invasive forms of government spying later, privacy advocates warn....

Click HERE to read Jardin's entire post.

THE GODS OF EDEN

"New AIDS-like immune-destroying viral diseases are being predicted by the World Bank, and a group of doctors from the United States was sent on a five-year mission to Africa in March 1990 to find new viral diseases and conduct other activities. The grant money for this mission was provided by the U.S. government's principle AIDS research agency: the Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. One of the doctors, Nicholas Lerche from the University of California at Davis, is quoted on page A8 of the March 15, 1990 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle: 'This is the problem of what we're beginning to recognize as emerging viral diseases, and there may well be other animal viruses waiting in the wings to move into humans and ultimately to cause new diseases.' In light of allegations and evidence that AIDS may have been induced deliberately into human populations, there are some legitimate concerns about how the new diseases discovered by the doctors may be used by some of those people sponsoring the research.

"By the time you read this, many new events will have occurred. Leaders, political personalities, and institutions will come and go from the world scene; warring factions will continue to arise and disappear. I hope that the long-term historical patterns described in this book will provide an interesting, and perhaps useful, tool for investigating the causes of future conflicts as they occur. Better yet, we can hope that this book will one day become nothing more than a reminder of a bad dream from which we have all managed to awaken ourselves."

--William Bramley, THE GODS OF EDEN, 1990 (p. 430)

Thursday, March 26, 2020

One Last Rondo Reminder!

One Last Rondo Reminder: You still have until midnight on March 29th to vote in the 18th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards!!!



As announced last month, my latest book, BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE (written in collaboration with Gary D. Rhodes), has been nominated in the BOOK OF THE YEAR category in the 18th annual RONDO HATTON CLASSIC HORROR AWARDS!

YOU CAN VOTE FOR BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE IN 3 EASY STEPS....

1. Copy-and-paste the ballot below into an e-mail.

 
2. Choose BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE in the BOOK OF THE YEAR category.

 
3. Then email to David Colton (
taraco@aol.com) by midnight on March 29th, 2020.

Don’t forget to include your name in the e-mail!

--START COPYING--

BOOK OF THE YEAR:
-- BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE, by Gary D. Rhodes and Robert Guffey (BearManor Media, softcover, 256 pages, $29.95). A look at the nine cheap but distinctive Poverty Row films Lugosi made between 1941-1944.

--END COPYING--

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Coronavirus: toxic drugs, no liability for pharma

[Guest-blogged by Jon Rappoport]


Coronavirus: toxic drugs, no liability for pharma

By Jon Rappoport 
qjrpress@gmail.com


(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealedclick here.)
 

First, we have this, from the World Health Organization (WHO): "There is no specific medicine to prevent or treat coronavirus disease (COVID-19)."

Nevertheless, doctors around the world, often with the approval of their national governments, are treating many patients with experimental or "off-label" antiviral drugs.

Here are some names of the medicines: Chloroquine, Remdesivir, Ribavirin, favipiravir, lopinavir; ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, Sofosbuvir, corticosteroids, oseltamivir, zanamivir.

They all have adverse effects.

What to do?

Answer: decide that no one who is injured by the drugs can file a suit.

In America: Done.

From druganddevicelawblog[dot]com, March 18, 2020, "We Finally Have Something To Say About COVID-19":

"On March 17, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") published in the Federal Register a 'notice of declaration' conferring broad-based immunity from tort (including product liability) litigation for those engaging in 'activities related to medical countermeasures against COVID-19.'  This declaration is now published at 85 Fed. Reg. 15198 (HHS March 17, 2020)."

"HHS is conferring tort immunity...The immunity extends to 'any claim of loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the manufacture, distribution, administration, or use of medical countermeasures'...The immunity extends not only to COVID-19-fighting drugs, but also to 'products or technologies intended to enhance the use or effect of a drug, biological product [vaccine], or device used against the pandemic'...The only exception is for 'willful misconduct'."

"The immunity being conferred shoves other federal laws aside as well as preempting state law."

And that takes care of that.

A patient is given an antiviral drug and dies?  No law suit can be filed.  Anyone associated with the drug, from manufacturer down to prescribing doctor, is exempt from liability.

Take one example of a drug, Chloroquine.  It's approved for the treatment of malaria, and now some doctors are using it on their COVID patients.  From webmd[dot]com, here is the "side effects" section:

* "Blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, headache, and diarrhea may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly."

* "Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects."

* "Tell your doctor right away if you have any serious side effects, including: bleaching of hair color, hair loss, mental/mood changes (such as confusion, personality changes, unusual thoughts/behavior, depression), hearing changes (such as ringing in the ears, hearing loss), darkening of skin/tissue inside the mouth, worsening of skin conditions (such as dermatitis, psoriasis), signs of serious infection (such as high fever, severe chills, persistent sore throat), unusual tiredness, swelling legs/ankles, shortness of breath, pale lips/nails/skin, signs of liver disease (such as severe stomach/abdominal pain, yellowing eyes/skin, dark urine), easy bruising/bleeding, muscle weakness, unwanted/uncontrolled movements (including tongue and face twitching)."

* "This medication may rarely cause low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Tell your doctor right away if you develop symptoms of low blood sugar, such as sudden sweating, shaking, hunger, blurred vision, dizziness, or tingling hands/feet. If you have diabetes, be sure to check your blood sugars regularly. Your doctor may need to adjust your diabetes medication."

* "Get medical help right away if you have any very serious side effects, including: severe dizziness, fainting, fast/slow/irregular heartbeat, seizures."

* "This medication may cause serious eye/vision problems. The risk for these side effects is increased with long-term use of this medication (over weeks to years) and with taking this medication in high doses. Get medical help right away if you have any symptoms of serious eye problems, including: severe vision changes (such as light flashes/streaks, difficulty reading, complete blindness)."

* "A very serious allergic reaction to this drug is rare. However, get medical help right away if you notice any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction, including: rash, itching/swelling (especially of the face/tongue/throat), severe dizziness, trouble breathing."

* "This is not a complete list of possible side effects. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist."

No liability.  No law suits.  No problem.

Except for the patient.

______________________________________________________________

Use this link to order Jon's Matrix Collections.
______________________________________________________

Jon Rappoport
 
The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED, EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX, Jon Rappoport was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. His website is www.nomorefakenews.com.

(Note: Jon Rappoport named his website "Nomorefakenews" at least two decades before Trump's advisors appropriated the term for their own purposes. In the popular mind, alas, Rappoport's definition of the phrase has now been grossly distorted from its original intent, which was to critique the hidden agendas of mainstream journalists on both the right and the left--and every political persuasion in between--RG.)

("
Coronavirus: toxic drugs, no liability for pharma" originally appeared on Jon Rappoport's blog on March 22nd, 2020.)