TheFIRE.org: "San Francisco State Refuses to End Investigation of Professor..."

From Sabrina Conza's 4-12-23 TheFIRE.org article entitled "San Francisco State Refuses to End Investigation of Professor for Showing a Drawing of the Prophet Muhammad to His History of the Islamic World Class":

San Francisco State University claims it cannot drop its investigation of a history professor who showed a depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in class, but says it will attempt to conclude the investigation swiftly. FIRE and SFSU’s faculty academic freedom committee have criticized the investigation into the professor’s First Amendment-protected academic speech. SFSU must immediately end its investigation.

Last week, FIRE wrote SFSU after news broke of the university’s investigation of professor Maziar Behrooz for showing a drawing of Muhammad while teaching a class on the history of the Islamic world last fall. We criticized SFSU for violating Behrooz’s academic freedom right to determine what pedagogically relevant materials to use in his course. The university quickly responded the same day, claiming that because the university had already begun investigating, it had “limited ability to dismiss” the investigation.

FIRE responded Monday, reiterating our concern for academic freedom at the university and explaining that it cannot continue violating someone’s rights just because an investigation has already started. The university responded within two hours with a campus-wide statement by President Lynn Mahoney that addressed its violation of Behrooz’s rights as well as protesters’ disruption of a recent student-organized event.

In the statement, SFSU committed to swiftly “address the concerns raised by all involved in this complaint” and blamed the “systemwide antidiscrimination policies” for its investigation, but did not say it would end its investigation of Behrooz. If the California State University system’s policies are to blame for the university’s abysmal handling of faculty academic freedom, FIRE would welcome the opportunity to help evaluate those policies. In the meantime, SFSU’s violation of Behrooz’s First Amendment rights is ongoing, further chilling his and other faculty members’ speech with each passing day. This investigation is unacceptable — and unconstitutional — at a public university.

To read the entire article, click HERE.

Edward Lee's THE TELEVISION

Recommended Reading: Edward Lee's latest novel, THE TELEVISION, is a darkly absurd mixture of Hieronymus Bosch and William S. Burroughs. THE TELEVISION might be the most brutally realistic novel published in the past thirty years or so. Edward Lee is a mad man, and I mean that in the best sense possible. Even Bosch would be impressed by the perversely absurd, transgressive tableau on display in these pages. I hope this wins the Splatterpunk Award for Best Novel of the Year. It deserves that much recognition (and a hell of a lot more, in fact). 

“Lee has managed to string together the most gruesome atrocities of our history into a cohesive story. And he describes them in cold graphic detail. I had to go intellectual to stay sane. It's the most ... I don't know ... horrifying thing. It's true evil. Factual evil.” -- Lisa Tone, Editor in Chief, Madness Heart Press

"Okay, so, I just read a paragraph, consisting of but three sentences. I had to put down the Kindle and go into the bathroom, rinse my damn face off. Then I looked at myself in the mirror, and questioned everything about myself, I laughed maniacally for a couple of seconds. I think it's a coping mechanism. But that didn't work so now I'm gonna go for a ride with Birdie and get some fresh air. For real. Three sentences. FML. I Love The Edward Lee." -- Brad Tierny, Extreme Horror book reviewer

John Shirley's STORMLAND

 

STORMLAND

 Author: John Shirley 

Publisher: Blackstone 

Price: $18.99 (US) 

Isbn: 978-1094017822

John Shirley’s latest science fiction novel, STORMLAND, is a post-apocalyptic environmental cautionary tale just as daring as Shirley’s groundbreaking dystopian trilogy, A SONG CALLED YOUTH (comprised of ECLIPSE [1985], ECLIPSE PENUMBRA [1988], and ECLIPSE CORONA [1990]). Given recent developments in the United States, Shirley’s foundational cyberpunk trilogy about a fascist takeover of America seems more relevant with each passing day. In coming decades, STORMLAND will be considered just as prescient.

The near-future South Carolina presented in this novel is beset by climate-change-caused tropical storms that are savage and unrelenting. The main character, Darryl Webb, is a bounty hunter contracted to track down an elusive serial killer, the DC Strangler, who’s hiding somewhere inside “Stormland,” the violent, uncontrolled wasteland into which Charleston, South Carolina has devolved.

The speculative elements that drive the plot are far more plausible than most casual readers might suspect. For example, after Webb catches up with the DC Strangler early in the novel, the killer reveals that he’s already turned himself over to law enforcement authorities—namely, agents of Justice Inc., a privatized version of the FBI. As a result of his surrender, the killer has become the subject of an unusual experiment run by Societal Solutions, LLC (the corporation that runs Justice Inc.). Rather than send the perpetrator to prison, as one might expect, Societal Solutions instead agreed to let him go on the condition that he allow himself to be a guinea pig in an experimental program intended to prevent serial killers from following through on their atavistic urges. This methodology employs “Neuro-Cellular Behavioral Modification” to repair damage to the amygdala through the use of stem cells. Because he’s ostensibly been cured of his compulsions, the former killer volunteers to help Webb track down an unrelated serial murderer who’s been using the perpetual chaos of Stormland as a cover for his crimes.

It turns out that the true antagonists of STORMLAND are not the DC Strangler or any other run-of-the-mill serial killer, but the rich, sadistic elites who utilize surveillance drones, virtual reality, and cutting-edge mind control technology to experience the thrill of mass murder vicariously via remote-controlled “Manchurian Candidates” let loose in the autonomous zone of STORMLAND. (Readers of my nonfiction book, CHAMELEO [2015], might recognize that some of these “speculative” elements aren’t quite as speculative as they should be in an ideal world.)

Written in muscular, clipped, precise prose, STORMLAND combines the best elements of the detective thriller with the progressive, futuristic social satire that Shirley pioneered when he wrote the first cyberpunk novel, CITY COME A-WALKIN’ (1980), over forty years ago. 

John Coulthart on Umberto Eco & H.P. Lovecraft

From John Coulthart's 4-10-23 { feuilleton } blog post entitled "Eco Calls on Cthulhu":

Umberto Eco nods fleetingly to the Cthulhu Mythos near the end of his second novel, Foucault's Pendulum. I’d show you more of the relevant passage (below) but it’s rather spoilerish if you haven’t read the book. This turned up during a re-reading, my first since the novel appeared in paperback in 1990. A reference like this doesn’t stand out as much as it might elsewhere, not when the text that precedes it is stuffed to the gills with esoterica. Several hundred pages of occult history made me forget that Eco had hauled Lovecraft into his compendious fabulation along with everything else.

Ishmael Reed was responsible for returning me to Eco’s novel as a result of an earlier re-read of Mumbo Jumbo, Reed’s fictional account of voodoo, jazz, politics and many other things in the America of the 1920s. Eco was already in mind prior to this since I’d been working my way through his essays and lectures [...]. Mumbo Jumbo's exploration of occult knowledge and occult conspiracy summoned vague memories of Foucault’s Pendulum, which made me realise that I didn’t remember very much at all about Eco’s novel even though both books share an interest in the tangled history of the Knights Templar. To the top of the pile it went....

To read Coulthart's entire post, click HERE.

COUNTERPUNCH: "Fighting Fire with Free Speech"

From Nicky Reid's 4-7-23 COUNTERPUNCH article entitled "Fighting Fire with Free Speech: Aborting Antiwoke Fascism with Principled Political Incorrectness":

They call it antiwoke and it has become a thriving industrial complex of think tanks, parental action groups and political organizations that are using the banner of free speech to erase Black people from the history books and Queer people from the streets. Tennessee has even passed an anti-drag law that promises to charge anyone who their fascist police state declares to be a male or female impersonator “performing” in public with a misdemeanor followed by a felony for a second offense. 16 GOP-led states are pushing for similar assaults on free speech. Meanwhile, schools across the country are gagging their students from engaging in discussions on anything that offends certain white Christian parents and books are being yanked from public libraries by the thousands. They call it antiwoke, but it reeks to high hell like political correctness in my nostrils [...].

The right has always been at the forefront of cancel culture and unlike the left, they’ve never been afraid to use the state to enforce it with draconian laws and judicial witch trials. Just ask Lenny Bruce, Allen Ginsberg, Mike Dianna and the West Memphis 3 if you don’t believe me. The only difference now is that the left has largely forfeited the fight for free speech to a bunch of fucking fascists who wear it like drag while they bring back the Inquisition.

To read the entire article, click HERE.

WASHINGTON POST: "What is Bohemian Grove?"

From Hannah Sampson's 4-6-23 WASHINGTON POST article entitled "What is Bohemian Grove? The Secretive Camp Linked to Clarence Thomas.":

Bohemian Grove has all the hallmarks of an eyebrow-raiser: The men’s-only retreat in Sonoma County has a massive owl statue, a reported history of public urination, mysterious ceremonies and a top-secret guest list that has included presidents, wealthy businessmen, international power players and other newsmakers.

 

That list also includes Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has reportedly attended the retreat with billionaire friend and Republican donor Harlan Crow. An investigation by ProPublica found that Thomas accepted luxury trips from Crow for years without disclosing them. The travel included a private flight to Indonesia, superyacht sailings and visits to Crow’s East Texas ranch and private Adirondacks resort.

 

It’s just the latest unwelcome moment in the spotlight for the extremely tight-lipped group that owns Bohemian Grove, San Francisco’s 150-year-old Bohemian Club [...].

The club has been using the 2,700-acre Bohemian Grove property — a collection of buildings, dining venues, theaters, camp structures and redwoods — since the 1890s. The main event at the Monte Rio site is the annual Midsummer Encampment, a two-week festival of concerts, lectures, performances, camp-like activities and other artistic ventures.

 

Three productions serve as the centerpieces, according to the club: a ritual called the “Cremation of Care” that celebrates “members’ brief but welcome midsummer escape from life’s cares,” an original musical comedy called the “Low Jinks” and an original musical, the “Grove Play.”

 

The cremation event in particular has drawn scrutiny, especially since Infowars founder Alex Jones snuck into the encampment and filmed the ceremony in 2000. Mainstream journalists are also fans of trying to pierce the veil: A Washington Post reporter was escorted back to his car after trying to get in. A writer for Spy Magazine snuck in for several days in the 1980s. And a Vanity Fair contributing editor was arrested for trespassing.

To read the entire article, click HERE.

"It’s Kind of a Jesus Christ Thing"

From Jana Winter's 4-3-23 ROLLING STONE article entitled "Inside Trump’s Demands for a High-Profile Surrender: ‘It’s Kind of a Jesus Christ Thing’":

DONALD TRUMP INSISTED on turning his Tuesday arraignment into a spectacle, and he’s going to get his wish.

A law enforcement official tells Rolling Stone that the former president was offered a chance to surrender quietly and be arraigned over Zoom. Instead, Trump opted for a midday, high-profile booking at the Manhattan courthouse, the official says.

“He wanted a perp walk, he wanted daylight hours,” says the law enforcement official, who’s involved in aspects of the security planning. “He wants to get out of the vehicle and walk up the stairs. This is a nightmare for Secret Service, but they can only strongly suggest — not order — that Trump enter through the secure tunnels,” the official says. “Trump wants to greet the crowd. This should be a surprise to no one — especially not his detail.”

Secret Service had argued in favor of holding the proceedings outside of court business hours, at night with minimal cameras and less risk. But Trump, a source close to his legal team says, wants to create the type of scene that he believes will galvanize his supporters.

“It’s kind of a Jesus Christ thing. He is saying ‘I’m absorbing all this pain from all around from everywhere so you don’t have to,’ ” says the source [...].

Trump will be fingerprinted and processed, and will have his mug shot taken in the booking office, a small office in the courthouse. He will not be handcuffed, according to the law enforcement official. “Secret Service said absolutely not, no cuffs, no way.”

Outside, there will be counter-snipers on rooftops. NYPD will be outside, with riot gear, bracing for protests to turn violent. Secret Service will have about 40 agents posted around the courthouse. Trump’s personal detail, known as “the shift” will be inches away from him at all times.

“It will be a shitshow,” says the law enforcement official.

To read the entire article, click HERE.