And this is why our economy is totally in the shitter and the world does not respect America anymore:

Two weeks ago, The Times reported that four Western oil giants were on the verge of signing no-bid contracts that would return them to Iraq, the third-most bountiful petroleum playground on the planet. The deals, expected to be finalized in the next 30 days, were the kind of news that big oil lives for.

Giddy executives singing “Oh Happy Day” could be heard in the corporate offices of Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP, which had been shut out of Iraq for three and a half decades.

We also learned this week that a group of American advisers, led by a team from the State Department, played a key role in drawing up the contracts between the companies and the Iraqi government. Chevron and several smaller oil companies are also on the verge of signing contracts.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney, both former oil-company executives, have long tried to tell us this war was about terrorism, about weapons of mass destruction, about bringing freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people, about anything but oil.

Read the full Bob Herbert piece here.............

Matador records would be one of the last labels to release a prank call album, but seeing as Sub Pop has cornered the indie comedian market, I guess they need something. Matador recently released Earles and Jensen Present: Just Farr A Laugh Vol. 1 and 2, a two CD collection that clocks in at two and half hours of hysterical prank calls. I highly recommend.........

DOWNLOAD: Earles & Jensen - "Kurt Loder Has Lost His Fucking Mind"
DOWNLOAD: Earles & Jensen - "Jason Bonham & Electric Ladyland"

Two years into his first term as a Junior Senator, Virginia's Democratic Senator Jim Webb has gotten a new G.I. Bill signed into law. The bill was overwhelmingly approved by Democrats and Republicans, with the major exception of John McCain and President Bush.

For his part, Bush threatened to veto the bill until it became obvious that Webb had enough votes to override any Bush veto. So Bush did the only thing he could, he signed the bill into law and took full credit for it. In a speech yesterday, Bush also gave McCain credit for the bill, which he voted against. Seriously, those two are so pathetic and out of touch with how to properly respect our troops.

Anyway, more proof that Democrats care more about our troops, America, education and the future of our country.........

Well, this must have been a sucky experience for Ricki....

A rape charge against Rikki Rockett has been dropped after authorities determined that the Poison drummer was not in the state at the time of the alleged crime.

Authorities say they are now looking for a man with a history of passing himself off as a rock musician to pick up women.

Rockett was accused of raping a woman at a central Mississippi casino in September 2007 and arrested in March. The Neshoba County district attorney's office confirmed Tuesday that the charges were dropped.

Rockett said he was in California when the rape was alleged.

"I was with my fiance watching her try on wedding dresses," Rockett said in a Tuesday phone interview with The Associated Press from Salt Lake City, where Poison is preparing to launch a 49-date tour. "We've got eyewitnesses to that."

This can't be a good sign for the economy.

Starbucks Corp said on Tuesday it plans to close 600 underperforming U.S. stores and cut up to 12,000 full- and part-time positions, as it copes with an economic downturn and increasing competition.

I blame Thurston Moore.....

In the last week, Senator Obama has been courted centrist and evangalists, but he hasn't abandoned his liberal values.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who previously said the issue of gay marriage should be left up to each state, has announced his opposition to a California ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriages.

In a letter to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club read Sunday at the group's annual Pride Breakfast in San Francisco, the Illinois senator said he supports extending "fully equal rights and benefits to same-sex couples under both state and federal law."

"And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states," Obama wrote.

Meanwhile, on the extreme right side:

John McCain’s position on California’s marriage amendment has officially switched from supporting the voters’ right to define marriage as they see fit to endorsing efforts to prohibit same-sex marriage by amending the state’s constitution, according to a statement by the Log Cabin Republicans.

I find this all interesting considering that McCain is considering two supposedly gay folks as his Vice President. One is Florida's Governor Charlie Crist. The other is former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who was just outed by Politico....

Mr. Brownstone will be doing some "Shock & Awesome" at the Bowery Ballroom on July 4th. Tickets are now on sale.

I don't know what is about them, but there shows are incredibly fun and out of control. Yeah, they do a great job playing G'N'F'N'R's hits but they also just bring so much energy to the stage and the crowd feeds off of it. A great way to spend the 4th of July...........

I'm usually totally against parties or shows on boats, but I think I might have to make an exception for tonight's special edition of People Don't Dance No More's The Wurst Boat Party. Not only does it sound super fun, but they'll be taking the boat right by all the New York Waterfalls. Sounds pretty neat...........

Thursday, July 3rd 2008 People Don't Dance No More present The Wurst Boat Party featuring My Cousin Roy + Lee Douglas opening set by Robot Blair + David Bruno ------------------------------------------------------------- On board the Half Moon Cruise Ship boarding (at E. 23rd Street and FDR Drive in the Skyport Marina) promptly at midnight and departing at 12:30, back in the dock by 3:45 am. ------------------------------------------------------------- $20 advance tickets via Ticketweb/$25 on the boat ------------------------------------------------------------- This party is 18+! Bring the whole family. Cash bar on board, so hit the ATM before we sail. Big thanks to our friends at Rocks Off for commandeering us a boat. ------------------------------------------------------------- Photos from last year's Wurst Boat Party are here and here. Don't miss this one.

Last night, Pearl Jam helped raise $3 Million for the Robin Hood Foundation, simply by playing one show at the Beacon Theatre. The high priced tickets brought in a more subdued audience than Pearl Jam were probably used to playing for and the band played accordingly. They started the show with an acoustic set that included covers of Dylan's "Masters of War" and Neil Young's "Harvest Moon," and later played three more cover songs.

On August 4th and 5th, Eddie Vedder will play solo shows at the United Palace in New York City. A presale starts on July 7th and the general on sale is July 11th. Full tour dates after the jump........

On July 4th, a documentary on the legendary Seattle outfit The Gits, who came to a sudden and sad end when singer Mia Zapata was murdered, will be released to select movie theatres. In New York, "The Gits Movie" will be shown at the Pioneer Theatre from the 4th - 10th.

"The Gits Movie" will be released on DVD on July 8th.

On July 7th at The Delancey in New York City, there will be a big celebration for "The Gits Movie" featuring Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill/Le Tigre), Allison Wolfe (Bratmobile) and a bunch of riot grrrl acts. Tickets are $12 advance or $15 day of the show...........

How many times can the "Straight Talk Express" break down before one must get a nice new car?

Republican John McCain prides himself on being a straight talker. But he resisted being dragged into a discussion Wednesday about insurance companies that cover Viagra but not birth control products.

"I certainly do not want to discuss that issue," the presidential candidate said when a reporter asked him about it on his campaign bus, the "Straight Talk Express."

A few seats away was Carly Fiorina, a top McCain supporter who stirred talk about the topic at a recent Washington breakfast with reporters. The former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, discussing consumer-driven health insurance, mentioned something "I've been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won't cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice."

Fiorina is among McCain's most prominent female advisers, and seen by some as a possible choice to be his running mate.

For the record, McCain believes that pharmacies don't need to carry or sell birth control or Plan B and is a anti-choice.........

For the last five years, the Bush administration has focred a complete media blackout of all the funerals and services honoring America's fallen soldiers, who gave there life for a U.S. created and unnecessary war......

When Gina Gray took over as the public affairs director at Arlington National Cemetery about three months ago, she discovered that cemetery officials were attempting to impose new limits on media coverage of funerals of the Iraq war dead -- even after the fallen warriors' families granted permission for the coverage. She said that the new restrictions were wrong and that Army regulations didn't call for such limitations.

Six weeks after The Washington Post reported her efforts to restore media coverage of funerals, Gray was demoted. Twelve days ago, the Army fired her.

"Had I not put my foot down, had I just gone along with it and not said regulations were being violated, I'm sure I'd still be there," said the jobless Gray, who, over lunch yesterday in Crystal City, recounted what she is certain is her retaliatory dismissal. "It's about doing the right thing."

Army Secretary Pete Geren, in an interview last night, said he couldn't comment on Gray's firing. But he said the overall policy at Arlington is correct. "It appears to me that we've struck the right balance, consistent with the wishes of the family," the secretary said.

How excited do you think the Prime Ministers and Presidents are that President Bush is leaving office in January? When Bush leaves the room, do you get the feeling that they all talk shit about him and say what a fucking prick he is?

President George Bush signed off with a defiant farewell over his refusal to accept global climate change targets at his last G8 summit.

As he prepared to fly out from Japan, he told his fellow leaders: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

President Bush made the private joke in the summit's closing session, senior sources said yesterday. His remarks were taken as a two-fingered salute from the President from Texas who is wedded to the oil industry. He had given some ground at the summit by saying he would "seriously consider" a 50 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2050.

This Sunday's JellyNYC Pool Party with The Breeders and Matt & Kim will also feature a set by our friends in the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, who make the Polyphonic Spree look like a bunch of hippie wimps......

The Rude Mechanical Orchestra is a New York City-based radical marching band. We exist in order to serve the efforts of progressive and radical groups and causes, including: feminism and women’s rights, immigrant rights, queer rights, labor, the environment, peace, community self-determination, and racial, social, and economic justice. We pledge to fight racism, sexism, homophobia, war and violence in all its forms. Through our music, we strive to bring joy and inspiration to these communities and to bring new people into radical causes. Internally, we work towards being a safe, welcoming place for all genders and gender identities, ages, races, backgrounds, sexual orientations, disabilities and musical skill levels. Through our musical selections, we pay tribute to the world’s cultures and the revolutionary role music has played throughout history.

Got to love an anarchist marching band doing songs by Le Tigre and Beyonce........

Should there be a warrant for his immediate imprisonment for failed to appear before a congress under order of a subpoena? This criminal needs to be jail.......

Former White House political director Karl Rove, defying a subpoena, failed to appear before a U.S. House panel investigating whether the Justice Department prosecuted people for political reasons. Rove's action today prompted the House Judiciary subcommittee to rule that his reasons for skipping the appearance weren't valid, setting up a possible contempt of Congress vote next week.

The panel is trying to determine whether partisan politics influenced the Justice Department's decision to bring a corruption case against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat. Rove has rejected the notion and said he would speak with the committee only in private and without a transcript.

Before they play a massive free show at the McCarren Pool on Sunday, The Breeders will play a free show at the much more intimate Other Music. The show is tonight at 8pm. I would recommend showing up early if you want to get in.

Elsewhere, Brazilian Girls will headline a show with Miranda! and Ticklah will be playing a free show at the Prospect Park Bandshell.

At South Street Seaport, No Age will bring the noise along with Telepathe and Abe Vigoda.

I love free........

I would have loved if Feist sang this version of "1, 2, 3, 4" at the Prospect Park Bandshell...........

Past and future failed oil businessman, President Bush, lifted an Executive ban on off-shore oil drilling this morning. As you may have heard, off shore drilling will do absolutely nothing to lower the price of gas.

If President Bush was serious about cutting gas prices, he would do away with the Enron loophole, which keeps gas prices nearly doubled the actual costs to ensure that Big Oil can maximize profits. If the Enron Loophole was removed, the price of oil would drop 25% - 50% overnight!

"The Enron Loophole was created by McCain campaign co-chair Phil Gramm at the behest of Enron," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton, "(and is) just one example of the special interest politics that put the interests of Big Oil and speculators ahead of the interests of working people "

As Bloomberg promised when he first ran for Mayor, his administration is finally examining the removal of the ancient and out-dated cabaret laws:

According to the Daily News, City Hall is looking to eliminate the 82-year-old cabaret license so bar patrons can dance if so moved.

The paper says officials are talking with the Consumer Affairs Office, which issues the licenses, and the NYPD, which enforces the laws about making a change.

The Prohibition-era regulation prohibits dancing at bars and clubs by three or more people unless the establishment has a cabaret license. There are only 181 licensed cabarets in New York -- meaning many bars are going without dancing or ignoring the law.

A court last year upheld the city's right to hand out licenses because of the need to protect other residents from noise.

It's only take Bloomberg seven years to get around to this issue that Giuliani enforced to suck all the fun out of the city..............

A new Oasis track, supposed remixed (or simply mixed) by the Chemical Brothers, has leaked. Here it after the jump..................

Awesome Pool Party this past Sunday. Even though The Breeders are nowhere near as good as the Pixies, they still are pretty fantastic. They played a full set that was highlighted by indie classics like "Cannonball" and "Divine Hammer," as well as their great cover of The Beatles' "Happiness Is A Warm Gun."

But the party was really brought by Matt & Kim, who played a super high energy set that featured a special encore performance with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra. During a cover of "Crazy In Love," Kim showed off her dancing skills and then the RMO stayed on for a mega-version of "Yeah Yeah." Much fun.........


More pictures after the jump..........

I think this week's New Yorker cover is brilliant satire of all the ignorant misconceptions that 13% of the American public supposedly believes about Senator Barack Obama and his wife Michele. I'm also going to guess that not one single person in that 13% subscribes to the New Yorker.......

About the cd that comes with this year's The Believer's annual music issue...

Of late, hordes of rock and hip-hop musicians—referred to from here on as MABELs (Musicians of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage)—are drawing inspiration from musical traditions by Nigerian, Peruvian, Indonesian, and other non-local musicians—referred to here as ANABELs (Artists Not of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage). (Here it should be noted that our little acronymic friends, MABEL and ANABEL, were born as a way of avoiding broad, inaccurate locutions such as “world music,” “Anglo music,” and other unfortunate “us vs. them” terminology.) Musicians like Beirut create entire styles out of Balkan Gypsy music; singers such as Devendra Banhart sing Spanish lyrics in homage to Tropicália; Radiohead nods to Jorge Ben; Vampire Weekend borrows from reggaeton beats; and producers such as Bill Laswell and Timbaland merge dub and bhangra into otherwise apple-pie rock-pop genres.

Tracklisting
1. Tartit, “Ansari”
2. Animal Collective, “Winters Love”
3. Sholi, “Hejrat”
4. Googoosh, “Makhloogh”
5. Gang Gang Dance, “Nicoman”
6. Beat Konducta, “Dancing Girls Theme”
7. Think Of One, “Antwaarpse Shaâbi”
8. Aceyalone, “Sound Gun”
9. Busy Signal, “Knocking At Your Door”
10. Dirty Projectors, “Finches’ Song At Oceanic Parking Lot”
11. Ensemble Pirin, “Di-Li-Do”
12. Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities, “What They Said (Barnburner Mix)”
13. Mahmoud Ahmed, “Abbay Mado”
14. High Places, “Golden”
15. Ya Bounma, “Jing Riang Me Lun”
16. Lucky Dragons, “Complement Song"

Last year we mentioned that Guns N' Roses were approached by to debut a track from Chinese Democracy on Guitar Hero III. Those talks eventually fell apart, but the timing seems to be just right for Axl to let a track appear on the soon to be released Rock Band 2.

Rock Band 2 will feature Axl's still unheard "Shackler's Revenge.{

I'm not surprised that G'N'F'N'R are releasing new material through a video game, but I am surprised at the entire set list released for Rock Band 2, which includes music by a whole lot of bands I would never expect to allow their music to be used on such a format.

In addition to Guns N' Roses, Rock Band 2 will feature Bikini Kill, Talking Heads, Silversun Pickups, Sonic Youth, Devo, Bob Dylan, The Muffs, Lush, and The Replacements, amongst others. Uh?! Really?!??! What the fuck!!?!??!?

Full playlist after the jump..........

Hedwig & The Angry Inch will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary with a big celebration at the Highline Ballroom on August 21st. Thw show will feature a live musical performance with special guest Theo + The Skyscrapers and a dance party featuring DJ Michael T (Rated X, Motherfucker) .

Concert starts promptly at 8:30pm. Tickets $20.00 in advance and $25.00 at door.

Oddly, I don't see any sort of information about John Cameron Mitchell being involved in this. Is Theo performing all the Hedwig tunes? Anyone from the cast involved? Aly Sheedy?

I was really expecting Billy Joel to wrangle up much better special guests than Don Henly, John Mellencamp, John Mayer and Tony Bennett for the first of two final shows at Shea Stadium. Night two is Friday........

BILLY JOEL | SHEA STADIUM | JULY 16, 2008
Star Spangled Banner -> Miami 2017 / Angry Young Man / My Life / Everybody Loves You Now / The Entertainer / Zanzibar / Allentown / The Ballad of Billy the Kid / New York State of Mind (with Tony Bennett) / Big Man on Mulberry Street / Root Beer Rag / Movin Out / Goodnight Saigon / Dont Ask Me Why / This is the Time (with John Mayer) / Keeping the Faith / The Downeaster Alexa / Stand By Me -> An Innocent Man / Boys of Summer (with Don Henley) / She's Always a Woman / Captain Jack / Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel) / River of Dreams -> A Hard Days Night / Pink Houses (with John Mellencamp) / We Didn't Start the Fire / It's Still Rock and Roll to Me / You May Be Right / Please, Please Me // Scenes from an Italian Restaurant // Only the Good Die Young // She Loves You // Piano Man // Souvenir

I don't want to get into a whole debate into the +/- of impeachment proceedings, but seriously, how many possible impeachable offenses can President Bush get away with before he gets slapped?

For four of President Bush's eight year term, he will be serving (supposedly) alongside a Democratic congress who have let him get away with everything. Obvious the Republicans assisted Bush from 2002 through 2006, but that's not surprising. A Senator's job should not be to get reelected, it's to represent their state and uphold the constitution Instead of doing their job, these politicans worry that holding the President to the rules of the law will make them look paritsan.

Anyway, enough ranting. Here's the latest bullshit from Bush:

President Bush invoked executive privilege to keep Congress from seeing the FBI report of an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney and other records related to the administration's leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003. The president's decision drew a sharp protest Wednesday from Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of House Oversight Committee, which had subpoenaed Attorney General Michael Mukasey to turn over the documents.

"This unfounded assertion of executive privilege does not protect a principle; it protects a person," the California Democrat said. "If the vice president did nothing wrong, what is there to hide?"

Waxman left little doubt he would soon move for a committee vote to hold Mukasey in contempt of Congress.

Um. What a milestone. Yay?

A watch list of suspected and known terrorists, compiled by the US authorities, has ballooned and contains more than one million names, the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday. The ACLU said it derived that figure from a Justice Department report on the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center, which consolidates terrorist watch list information.

Are they just adding everyone who brings bottle of too much sun tan lotion?

Nobel Peace Prize winner, former South African president Nelson Mandela, was also on the list until an act of Congress removed his name [on June 26, 2008] -- the only way, according to the ACLU, to get off the list.

With one million "terrorists" are on the list, I guess I shouldn't be frightened of a little thing like an airline cutting back on safe fuel levels.

The pilots union for US Airways said Wednesday the airline is pressuring pilots to use less fuel than they feel is safe, in order to save money.

US Airways Captain James Ray, a spokesman for the US Airline Pilots Association, which represents the airline's 5,200 pilots, said eight senior pilots and the union have filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration.

Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser are dead.

The two Israeli soldiers were peacefully patrolling the Lebanon border on July 12, 2006, when they were kidnapped by Hezbollah, which sparked the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. Israel offered Hezbollah many peaceful oppurtunities, but the Iranian backed organization flexed its muscles and Israel was forced to retaliate.

It is not known when Hezbollah murdered Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, but there bodies were returned to Israel today in a prison exchange. The fate of the two teenagers was not known until the bodies were returned.

The fighting began at around 8 AM when Hezbollah launched a barrage of Katyusha rockets and mortars on Israeli towns and military positions along the Lebanese border, apparently as a diversion A force then attacked two armored IDF Humvees patrolling near the Israeli village of Zar'it with anti-tank rockets, killing three soldiers and capturing the two others, and then retreating into Lebanon near the town of Ayta al-Sha`b.

An Israeli Merkava Mk. II tank was destroyed by a 200–300 kg improvised explosive device while attempting to pursue the soldiers into Lebanon, killing all four crewmembers. An eighth soldier was killed while attempting to retrieve their bodies.

On Wednesday July 16 2008, Hezbollah transferred the coffins of Captured Israeli Soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, in exchange for Lebanese militant and convicted murder Samir Kuntar and three other Hezbollah members captured by Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War.

I only wish Israel killed those fucking pussies in Hezbollah who use children and women as human shields.

Gilad Shalit, a French citizen turned Israeli soldier, who was kidnapped by Hamas at an Israeli army post on the Israeli side of the southern Gaza Strip border on June 25, 2006, is still being held captive.

David Byrne will be bringing his "Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno" Tour to Lehigh University's Zoellner Arts Center on September 16th. I want my New York City date......

DAVID BYRNE TOUR DATES
09/16 - Bethlehem, PA @ Zoellner Arts Center
09/20 - Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park Amphitheatre
09/26 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/04 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Arlington Theatre

I often hear people complain that hybrid cars aren't worth the money yet, but I think a better question would be, "Why don't car companies make hybrid cars the industry standard?" If they were the standard, the price of the car would immediately drop. But then, I guess, the car industry would lose money they have invested with gas companies.

Whie hybrid cars are great, do they really compare to the electric car? And while the electric car supposedly died in the 80's, one start-up is about to release a new, even more advanced version of the electric car:

The Tesla itself - 400 volts of electric potential wrapped in a carbon-fiber body - is as far-out as its namesake, styled like the cars you used to see only in cartoons but charged by a high-powered outlet in your garage. Stomp the accelerator, and thick cables connecting the liquid-cooled lithium ion battery pack to a printed circuit board send all that current into a series of silicon transistors the size of your little fingernail. They are capable of switching as much as 850 amps, which drive the AC motor as high as 14,000 rpm and send the rear-wheel-drive Roadster screeching off the line, with a range of 220 miles on a single charge. Acceleration is so fast (0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds) that you get pushed back in your seat for as long as you dare to keep your foot on the aluminum pedal.

That backdrop makes the story of the Tesla all the more remarkable. The car was conceived by Eberhard, an engineer, serial entrepreneur, and inventor (his name is on battery-cooling, electric motor, and power electronics patents filed by Tesla Motors). He was convinced that if he could outfit an existing sports car chassis with loads of laptop batteries, it would be feasible to build and he'd find plenty of buyers among the speed-loving, planet-conscious Silicon Valley set and beyond. But given that he had zero experience in the auto world and that gas was at a relatively cheap $1.50 a gallon, Eberhard, 48, couldn't find a VC firm willing to give him enough to build the car. Which is how he came to Elon Musk.

The 37-year-old Musk had co-founded PayPal, was forced out of the online-payment company, but cashed in when it was sold to eBay, giving him more than enough money to launch SpaceX, a private rocket company that aims to start shuttling people to the International Space Station by 2011. Big ideas, in other words, are Musk's specialty. After a two-hour meeting in February 2004, Musk agreed to plow $6.3 million into Tesla. He would become the company's chairman; Eberhard would be CEO.

Didn't McCain propose giving a “a $300 million government prize to whoever can develop an automobile battery that far surpasses existing technology"? Shouldn't McCain be working his ass off to get Tesla Motors that money?

The Siren Festival returns to Coney Island this Saturday, July 19th. The set times can be seen here or in this week's Village Voice pull out.

As this year's excellent participants arrive in town, many of them are playing "surprise" shows:

The Dodos will be playing Cake Shop tonight.

Ra Ra Riot will be playing Union Hall tonight.

Broken Social Scene will be playing the Mercury Lounge tonight (it's billed as a Brendan Canning solo show).

Maybe we'll be blessed with news of a surprise Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks show tomorrow..........

This just in from Gothamist......

Just in from the newswire, there's a "suspicious death" being reported at McCarren Park Pool, allegedly at the building that serves as an entrance. The person was found "DOA by event staff" earlier this morning. Last night Twelve Ophelias, a play centered around Hamlet's Ophelia coming back to life, was staged there; the night before there was a screening of The Virgin Suicides. All in all, a dark week for McCarren. Thus far, multiple calls to the Precinct have gone unanswered.

In an interview published on Friday in Germany, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he supports Obama's 16-month withdrawal plan.

SPIEGEL: Would you hazard a prediction as to when most of the US troops will finally leave Iraq? Maliki: As soon as possible, as far as we're concerned. U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes. SPIEGEL: Is this an endorsement for the US presidential election in November? Does Obama, who has no military background, ultimately have a better understanding of Iraq than war hero John McCain? Maliki: Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems. Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business. But it's the business of Iraqis to say what they want. And that's where the people and the government are in general agreement: The tenure of the coalition troops in Iraq should be limited.

As if that didn't hurt the Republican nominee enough, the White House accidentally sent out a mass email to the U.S. media informing them of Maliki's comments.

Obviously, McCain continued to bash Obama, who is currently visiting Iraq and Afganistan, amongst other nations. Meanwhile, the White House did some heavy arm twisting of Maliki, who didn't so much retract his statements as he did say that his words were not an endorsement of Obama....yet........

McCain still confuses Sunni and Shiites, so I guess his latest error should come as no surprise:

"the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent," McCain responded: "I think it’s serious. . . . It's a serious situation, but there's a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border,"

Iraq and Pakistan don't border each other.......

California resident and registered Republican John Lydon can be such a fucking tool:

According to Bloc Party, their singer approached Lydon to ask if he would ever consider reforming one of Okereke's favourite bands, Public Image Ltd.

However, in a statement from the younger band they claimed that the Sex Pistols singer "became intimidating and aggressive while his entourage responded with a racist tirade including the statement, 'Your problem is your black attitude'."

Okereke was then involved in a fight with three of Lydon's associates, at which point Foals' Philippakis and Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson stepped in to help the Bloc Party man.

The incident was broken up by festival security and was later reported to Spanish police. It was reported to police in the UK after Okereke returned.

It's time to party like it's a 1982 No Wave NYC night. Santos House Party is hosting a shindig tonight, July 21st, with The Homosexuals and James Chance! A stellar double bill.

RSVP to mailinglist@newyorknighttrain.com anytime before 6PM today for half price admission. $10/$5 with RSVP.

the flyer is after the jump.....

This is from the The New Republic:

The fact that Iraq's Prime Minister has endorsed, by name, Barack Obama's plan to withdraw most U.S. troops from his country in 16 months is a huge, huge deal. Most commentary has focused on the political repercussions -- as a GOP strategist succinctly put it to [The Atlantic's] Marc Ambinder, "We're fucked" -- and that certainly seems to be the case. How can John McCain paint Obama's plan as wildly naive or irresponsible when the Iraqi government favors it too?

On July 14th, Senator Obama wrote an op-ed in the New York Times where he detailed his plan for Iraq.

Not surprisingly, McCain wrote an op-ed bashing Obama's plan. The New York Times decided to reject the piece. Here's why:

The Times and the McCain Op-Ed By Kate Phillips

The Op-Ed section of The New York Times has decided not to publish an opinion piece submitted by Senator John McCain in response to one published last week by his Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama, on his plan for Iraq.

The decision occurs against the backdrop of the candidates’ dueling visions on the war in Iraq and how to handle the war going forward, particularly whether there should be a timetable for withdrawal or “time horizons” as spoken by President Bush or a measured troop presence for the foreseeable future to maintain stability.

Mr. Obama is on center stage today with his overseas trip to Afghanistan and Iraq, and Mr. McCain is hitting back from home with attacks that he has been right all along in achieving stability in the war zone through sustained support of President Bush’s troop buildup over this year.

On Mr. McCain’s Op-Ed, Matt Drudge posted online what he said was the original submission by Mr. McCain. According to his post, the senator wrote about Mr. Obama: “I am dismayed that he never talks about winning the war — only of ending it… if we don’t win the war, our enemies will. A triumph for the terrorists would be a disaster for us. That is something I will not allow to happen as president.”

Tucker Bounds, a McCain campaign spokesman, issued this statement: “John McCain believes that victory in Iraq must be based on conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables. Unlike Barack Obama, that position will not change based on politics or the demands of the New York Times.”

Times officials said that the decision not to publish Mr. McCain’s submission should not be considered a total rejection of the article by the presumptive Republican nominee. Rather, David Shipley, editor of the Op-Ed page, kicked back the original version while offering suggestions for changes and revision.

Here’s Mr. Shipley’s email response on Friday to Michael Goldfarb, a member of the McCain team and frequent writer for the senator’s blog, McCainreport:

Dear Mr. Goldfarb,

Thank you for sending me Senator McCain’s essay.

I’d be very eager to publish the senator on the Op-Ed page.

However, I’m not going to be able to accept this piece as currently written. I’d be pleased, though, to look at another draft. Let me suggest an approach.

The Obama piece worked for me because it offered new information (it appeared before his speech); while Senator Obama discussed Senator McCain, he also went into detail about his own plans.

It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama’s piece.

To that end, the article would have to articulate, in concrete terms, how Senator McCain defines victory in Iraq. It would also have to lay out a clear plan for achieving victory — with troops levels, timetables and measures for compelling the Iraqis to cooperate. And it would need to describe the senator’s Afghanistan strategy, spelling out how it meshes with his Iraq plan

.

Seriously. How does McCain define "victory" in Iraq? I'm going to guess it has something to do with bombing Iran.........

The Mercury *rize announced this year's nominees. I think they made some great picks. While I am a gigantic fan of first time nominee Laua Marling's Alas I Cannot Swim, I am putting my money on Burial's Untrue to win.

And the nomination of The Last Shadow Puppets makes it three years in a row that Alex Turner has been up for the award.........

20008 MERCURY PRIZE NOMINEES
Adele - '19'
British Sea Power - 'Do You Like Rock Music?'
Burial - 'Untrue'
Elbow - 'The Seldom Seen Kid'
Estelle - 'Shine'
The Last Shadow Puppets - 'The Age Of The Understatement'
Laura Marling - 'Alas I Cannot Swim'
Neon Neon - 'Stainless Style'
Portico Quartet - 'Knee-Deep In The North Sea'
Robert Plant And Alison Krauss – 'Raising Sand'
Radiohead - 'In Rainbows'
Rachel Unthank And The Winterset – 'The Bairns'

Have you seen this ad?

And here's something about T Boone Pickens and his neo-eco campaign, as editorialized in today's New York Times:

T. Boone Pickens, the legendary wildcatter and corporate raider, has decided that drilling for more oil is not the answer to the nation’s energy problems. President Bush should listen to his fellow Texan and longtime political ally.

Go to The Board » The 80-year-old Mr. Pickens does not oppose drilling. He’s been doing it for most of his life. Nor has he become a born-again eco-warrior (a conservative, he helped underwrite and made no apologies for the Swift Boat campaign against John Kerry). But he knows something that his friends in the White House won’t acknowledge: that a nation holding less than 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves while guzzling 20 percent of the world’s production will never be able to drill its way out of its dependency on foreign oil.

He also considers it absolute madness — financially and in terms of national security — to be spending $700 billion every year on imported oil produced in volatile and in some cases hostile countries.

His answer is to develop wind power in states with steady, forceful winds (like Texas) and use it instead of natural gas to produce electricity (natural gas now generates about one-fifth of the power in the United States). He would then use the natural gas saved to fuel cars and trucks. He predicts that oil imports would drop by 40 percent and the country would save $300 billion a year.

Mr. Pickens is putting his money where his ideas are, and in Texas he has begun assembling the pieces of a huge wind farm. He estimates the cost at $6 billion to $10 billion (his Mesa Power is the lead investor but his personal stake is unknown).

Read the full editorial here.

While I still don't personally care for T Boone, I do think he's got at least half a good idea here. Of course, his motives will end being extremely profitable for him (which isn't a bad thing necessarily), but his plans still keep American cars dependent on oil, which completley unnecessary in this day and age........

GEORGE MICHAEL | MSG | 7-21-08

Waiting (Reprise) / Fast Love / I'm Your Man / Father Figure / Hard Day / Everything She Wants / One More Try / Different Corner / Easier Affair / Too Funky / Star People // Faith // Spinning The Wheel // Feeling Good // Roxanne // Kissing A Fool // Amazing // Flawless // Outside // Praying For Time // Carless Whisper /// Freedom 90 -> Freedom Reprise

Poor Elizabeth...........

Vice Presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards was caught visiting his mistress and secret love child at 2:40 this morning in a Los Angeles hotel by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.

At 9:45 p.m. (PST) Monday, Edwards appeared at the hotel, and was dropped off at a side entrance. NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporter Alan Butterfield witnessed the ex-senator get out of a BMW driven by a male companion and stroll into the hotel.

"Once inside, he interestingly bypassed the lobby and ducked down a side stairs to go to the bottom floor to catch the elevator up - rather than taking the elevator in the main lobby. He went out of his way not to be seen."

Meanwhile, Rielle had reserved rooms 246 and 252 under the name of the friend who had accompanied her from Santa Barbara, Bob McGovern. Rielle was in one room and McGovern was in another with her baby. This allowed her and Edwards to spend time alone, a source revealed.

Sadly, this is very reminiscent of New Gingrich cheating on his wife with cancer........

(Credit: Skinvision)

Following his stunning show at Terminal 5, Jarvis Cocker headed down to Santo's House Party to DJ his own afterparty........

JARVIS COCKER | TERMINAL 5 | 7-22-08
Complications / Caucasian Blues / Tonight / Girls Like It Too / Big Julie / I Will Kill Again / Angela / Told You Twice / Big Stuff / Black Magic // Fat Children // Just A Fucking Song // Cunts Are Still Running The World // Don't Let Him Waste Your Time // Face It

The Contract with America was championed by Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay and is widely credited as fostering the neo-con revolution of the mid-90's. The influential document helped Republicans win back congress for the first time in 40 years and it's policies helped get George W. Bush into the White House.

The author of The Contract With America is Larry Hunter. He is a life-long conservative activist. In November, he will be voting for Barack Obama!!! In his own words, here's why:

I’m a lifelong Republican - a supply-side conservative. I worked in the Reagan White House. I was the chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for five years. In 1994, I helped write the Republican Contract with America. I served on Bob Dole’s presidential campaign team and was chief economist for Jack Kemp’s Empower America.

This November, I’m voting for Barack Obama.

When I first made this decision, many colleagues were shocked. How could I support a candidate with a domestic policy platform that’s antithetical to almost everything I believe in?

The answer is simple: Unjustified war and unconstitutional abridgment of individual rights vs. ill-conceived tax and economic policies - this is the difference between venial and mortal sins.

Taxes, economic policy and health care reform matter, of course. But how we extract ourselves from the bloody boondoggle in Iraq, how we avoid getting into a war with Iran and how we preserve our individual rights while dealing with real foreign threats - these are of greater importance.

John McCain would continue the Bush administration’s commitment to interventionism and constitutional overreach. Obama promises a humbler engagement with our allies, while promising retaliation against any enemy who dares attack us. That’s what conservatism used to mean - and it’s what George W. Bush promised as a candidate.

In a week when Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki more-or-less endorsed Obama, his is another massive blow to McCain's already incredibily weak campaign. And now rumors are swirling that former Bush Secretary of State, ufortunate war criminal (he did knowingly lie to the UN about Iraq), and disenfranchised Conservative Colin Powell is likely to endorse Barack Obama for President.

Professional douchebag Robert Novak is having a bad week.

First he had to admit that he was likely played by McCain's campaign staff in an effort to draw attention away from Obama's headline stealing trip abroad by running a story that the Republican candidate would announce his Vice President selection this week.

And today Novak hit a pedestrian with his corvette this morning and drove away!!! He was eventually caught a by a bicyclist, who sparked his bike in front of Novak's car two blocks away from the scene of the crime. Novak even acknowledged that he hit someone, but didn't seem to think it was a big deal. The pedestrian that was hit was taken to the hospital and is said to be recovering......

In an interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric, Senator McCain said:

Colonel MacFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar Awakening. I mean, that's just a matter of history.

Except it's a complete lie.

In his own word, McFarland is quoted as saying the Anbar Awakening actually began four months before the surge was even announced!

And, for some unknown reason, CBS News decided to edit out McCain's false claim rather than air them and call him on his latest gaffe. Why would they do that?

Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin is very popular in the G.O.P. She's young, female and for oil drilling in her state. She is strongly being considered as McCain's Vice President. This may hurt her chances:

Alaska Senate leaders want an investigation of whether Gov. Sarah Palin pressured and then fired the public safety commissioner because he wouldn't get rid of a state trooper who had gone through a bitter divorce with Palin's sister.

"I'm fairly confident at this point that what we're going to see is the appointment of an independent investigator," said Anchorage Democratic Sen. Hollis French, chairman of the judiciary committee.

The governor said she didn't think any conversations she, her husband, Todd, or members of her administration had with the commissioner about Mike Wooten should have been taken as pressure to get rid of the trooper.

Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan has said he felt pressured after Palin, her husband and members of her administration contacted him about Wooten. He said he doesn't know why he was fired but thought Wooten could be part of it.

Even worse for her, right-wing radio is starting to turn on her..........

I kind of like this song. Huey Lewis & The News play a free show on August 21st at Coney Island's Seaside Park......

The New York Times painted a very unflattering portrait of Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is considered the favorite to be the Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City in 2010.

It is rarely easy working for any member of Congress, with the low pay, long hours and endless politics. But Mr. Weiner, who is running for New York City mayor next year, is without question one of the most intense and demanding, according to interviews with more than two dozen former employees, Congressional colleagues and lobbyists.

Mr. Weiner, a technology fiend who requires little sleep and rarely takes a day off, routinely instant messages his employees on weekends, often just one-word missives: “Teeth” (as in, your answer reminds me of pulling teeth) or “weeds” (as in, you are too much in the weeds). Never shy about belting out R-rated language, he enjoys challenging staff members on issues, even at parties.

And, in a city saturated with transient career hoppers, Mr. Weiner has presided over more turnover than any other member of the New York House delegation in the last six years, according to an analysis of Congressional data. Roughly half of Mr. Weiner’s current staff has been on board for less than a year. Since early 2007, he has had three chiefs of staff.

I always figured it Charlie Rangel, another New York congressmen, would be the most difficult person to work for in the House. I happen to really like Rangel and think his interviews are always fabulous, but he seems like he'd be a super hardass in the office. Weiner, though, I am surprised to learn this about.......

Get Your War On has been one of the smartest comic strips since David Rees started it post-9/11. The folks at 23/6 have come up with the bright idea of animating the strip, with terrific results. Check it out......

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is rumored to be partaking in his home state's largest festival where he will introduce Kanye West before his Sunday headlining set at Lollapalooza.

In related news, Kanye West is among the musicians who have been confirmed to perform at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. Also slated to perform is N*E*R*D* and Wyclef Jean and John Mellancamp.......

Billy Corgan is about lose some dollar bills to his former bandmates:

James Iha and D'Arcy Wretzky-Brown, original strummers for alt-rock hitmakers the Smashing Pumpkins, have sued Virgin Records America, claiming the band's former longtime label screwed them out of royalties for ringtones, file downloads and other "electronic transmissions."

According to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Virgin inked an exclusive deal with frontman Billy Corgan in 2005 to license their tunes without Iha's and D'arcy's OKs.

Is it too early to call Billy Corgan & His Not So Smashing Pumpkins reunion a total failure? Or is it too late..........

For the first time in 15 years, the teen pregnancy rate is rising:

The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the world. In 2004, teen pregnancy cost the U.S. government at least $9.1 billion. That same year, teen childbearing in Michigan cost taxpayers at least $302 million, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Of these costs, 35 percent were federal costs and 65 percent were state and local costs.

Each year, about 750,000 teenagers will get pregnant.

Unmarried teenagers having children account for 24 percent of all unmarried expectant mothers.

More than two-thirds of all teenagers who have a baby will not graduate from high school.

Teen birth rates vary. For example, Nevada has the highest rate with 113 per 1,000, while North Dakota has the lowest with 42 per 1,000.

Billions of dollars are spent taking care of teen mothers and their children, who are most likely in the poverty bracket. Millions of dollars are spent in prevention programs.

In 2002, the abortion rate among teen mothers was 50 percent lower than its high point in 1988.

Nevada, where more than 1 in 10 teenagers is pregnant, is one of the state's that follow's the Bush administration approved abstinence-only-until-marriage education program. Nevada received $275,785 in federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Fiscal Year 2003...............

The boys are back in town. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the first of three shows at Giants Stadium on Sunday evening and they did not disappoint. The show lasted over three hours and the band spent lots of the show taking audience requests.......

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN | GIANTS STADIUM | 7-27-2008
Tenth Avenue Freeeze-out / Radio Nowhere / Lonesome Day / No Surrender / Adam Raised a Cain /Spirit in the Night / Summertime Blues / Brilliant Disguise / Atlantic City / Growin' Up / Janey, Don't You Lose Heart / I'll Work for Your Love / Youngstown / Murder Incorporated / The Promised Land / Livin' in the Future / Mary's Place / Working on the Highway / Tunnel of Love / The Rising / Last to Die / Long Walk Home / Badlands // Girls in Their Summer Clothes // Jungleland // Born to Run // Bobby Jean // Dancing in the Dark // American Land // Rosalita

(Photo by JennPelly)

JellyNYC's Pool Parties had their biggest party on this rainy Sunday. It was the first time that their mailing list was completely filled! The line stretched longer than ever. Ridiculous. I like MGMT alright, but are they really that popular?

Good show from MGMT and Black Moth Super Rainbow, but look at the size of that crowd......

Retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West, a Republican candidate for Congress in Florida, refused to be interviewed by Al Jazeera's English-language channel about Afghanistan after a "recent interview request lead him to suspect he was a target for kidnapping."

Congress really doesn't need another kook who thinks that eceryone from the Middle East is a terrorist, especially those folks who work for Al Jazeera. What's West going to do when Al Jazeera report from the Republican Conveniton?!

Seriously, this sounds like an extreme case of PTSD and he is obviously unfit to serve in Congress.........

It kills me that draft-dodger and current war criminal Dick Cheney will leave office and immediately go back to the private sector to profit from the war he started. Meanwhile, he continues to spit in the face of the soldiers who were lied to for his own gain....

Vice President Cheney's invitation to address wounded combat veterans next month has been yanked because the group felt his security demands were Draconian and unreasonable.

His staff insisted the sick vets be sequestered for two hours before Cheney's arrival and couldn't leave until he'd finished talking, officials confirmed.

Many of the vets are elderly and left pieces of themselves on foreign battlefields since World War II, and others were crippled by recent service in Iraq and Afghanistan. For health reasons, many can't be stuck in a room for hours.

Another horrible day for Iraqi citizens....

Female suicide bombers struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300, police said.

In related news....

The Iraqi Oil Ministry says oil exports in June amounted to 58.1 million barrels, a 4.3 percent decline from the previous month.

Sunday's statement says it sold for $123 a barrel and yielded $7.141 billion.

It adds that 43.6 million barrels were exported through the south and 14.5 million from Turkey's port of Ceyhan.

No reason was given a reason, but exports through Basra's ports were suspended for a few days last month because of sandstorms.

Last May saw Iraq's highest exports since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 with 62.4 million barrels.

Iraq sits on the world's third-largest oil reserves with about 115 billion barrels.

1. Shouldn't more oil coming out of Iraq mean lower gas prices for America? Wasn't that what Bush and McCain promised the world?

2. If Iraq sold $7.141 billion worth of oil, where did that money go? Is that the money that was supposed to pay for the war? the reconstruction of Iraq? Where is that money?

Fiscally responsible? Against big government? This is what eight years of Republican leadership gets you:

The next president will inherit a record budget deficit of $482 billion, according to a new Bush administration estimate.

A Bush administration official said the deficit was being driven to an all-time high by the sagging economy and the stimulus payments being made to 130 million households in an effort to keep the country from falling into a deep recession. A $482 billion deficit approaching billion would easily surpass the record deficit of $413 billion set in 2004.

David Byrne and Brian Eno will self-release their album, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, in August. Here's the info:

Brian Eno and I have finished our new record, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. One of the songs, “Strange Overtones”, will be available free via everythingthathappens.com in exactly one week — you can log on and get a reminder if you like — and the whole record will be available August 18th. A company called Topspin Media helped to set up the website and our online business.

In a nutshell, Brian wrote most of the music, and I composed most of the vocal melodies and lyrics, and then sang them. Other musicians play on the album too. It’s not Bush of Ghosts II: this is a record of sung songs, and the result really surprises me. Despite a sinister inflection to both the lyrics and the music, many songs feel fairly uplifting and the overall tone is hopeful, which still surprises me. From where does this quality derive?

Eno and I hadn’t worked together for many years, but since the Nonesuch reissue of Bush Of Ghosts in 2006, we’d kept in contact fairly regularly. In spite of a slow start, we began to collaborate, still with no plans to make a whole record (or whatever a collection of songs might be called now). After a while though, it became obvious that we were indeed making a record. As it neared completion, we decided to try releasing it ourselves — so far there is no record label involved — though various independent distributors will handle the physical CDs. Those who follow the music industry will know this idea is not entirely new; but every experiment in this area turns out a little different, as no model is right for everyone.

The artist and designer Stefan Sagmeister is busy creating the packaging and graphics. We’ve worked together before and it always results in something new and surprising; I have no doubt it will happen again here too. Do I sound like a salesman? Am I too enthusiastic?

Did anyone watch Brian Williams interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Wow, that man is batshit crazy! He, more or less, threatened war against America (again), amongst other things

Here's an interesting quote from him:

Nuclear energy must not be equaled to a nuclear bomb. This is a disservice to the society of man

Nuclear energy is very beneficial and very clean, by the way. All nations must use it. A bomb, obviously, is a very bad thing. Nobody should have such a bomb. If there are parties that claim a bomb is a bad thing, it’s only appropriate for them, as a first step, to destroy their stockpiles. Destroy their bombs and allow clean energy to be utilized by all.

I ask you if today, 1,000 nuclear power plants were up and running, would we have seen an increase in the price of oil? I am sure we wouldn’t have had such high prices which is affecting the economies of all countries. It has created problems for their economies. Nuclear energy is a renewable energy. It’s clean. It’s environmentally friendly and all nations must possess it.

And here's John McCain on the same topic:

Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, told the crowd at a town-hall-style meeting at Missouri State University that he saw nuclear power as a clean, safe alternative to traditional sources of energy that emit greenhouse gases. He said his ultimate goal was 100 new nuclear plants.

Mr. McCain has long promoted nuclear reactors, but Wednesday was the first time that he specified the number of plants he envisioned.

“China, Russia and India are all planning to build more than a hundred new power plants among them in the coming decades,” Mr. McCain said in this pocket of Missouri that is reliably Republican. “Across Europe there are 197 reactors in operation, and nations including France and Belgium derive more than half their electricity from nuclear power. And if all of these nations can find a way to carry out great goals in energy policy, then I assure you that the United States is more than equal to the challenge.”

The Walkmen's stellar new album, You & Me, is available in advance of its August 19th official release date for only $5 here and it's for a good cause as all of of your money will go to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, as part of
AmieStreet.com's "Download to Make a Difference" campaign:

"All donations go to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in honor of Luca Vasallo, a friend to the band and a current patient who is seven months old and doing a great job fighting a very difficult disease," said Peter Bauer of The Walkmen. "This is a very good organization that certainly deserves the attention."

Ignore the leak. Don't be a cheap ass motherfuckering douchebag. Donate the FIVE DOLLARS to a very worthwhile charity and get one of the year's best album at 320kbps mp3 format..

And I'm guessing that Gonzales got his marching orders from Bush, Cheney or Rove, but aren't they all already guilty of enough crimes to put any other person in prison for life.....

Senior aides to former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales broke Civil Service laws by using politics to guide their hiring decisions, picking less-qualified applicants for important nonpolitical positions, slowing the hiring process at critical times and damaging the department’s credibility, an internal report concluded on Monday.

A longtime prosecutor who drew rave reviews from his supervisors was passed over for an important counterterrorism slot because his wife was active in Democratic politics, and a much-less-experienced lawyer with Republican leanings got the job, the report said.

Another prosecutor was rejected for a job in part because she was thought to be a lesbian. And a Republican lawyer received high marks at his job interview because he was found to be sufficiently conservative on the core issues of “god, guns + gays.”

According to the report, officials at the White House first developed a method of searching the Internet to glean the political leanings of a candidate and introduced it at a White House seminar called The Thorough Process of Investigation. Justice Department officials then began using the technique to search for key phrases or words in an applicant’s background, like “abortion,” “homosexual,” “Florida recount,” or “guns.”

As Vice President of these United States of America, former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney has been forced to put al his investments into a blind trust.

is now coming out that Dick's blind trust, which still includes major shares of Halliburton and KBR, has increased more than 3000%!!!! Safe estimates from various sources say his net-worth when he leaves office will be $1.5 BILLION

That's all thanks to the war in Iraq that Dick helped create.

The Killers will be playing a secret fan club only show tonight at the HighLine Ballroom in New York City. Good luck getting in...........

First we have Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin being investigated in an abuse of power scandal now this:

Sen. Ted Stevens, the nation's longest-serving Republican senator and a major figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, was indicted Tuesday on seven counts of failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in services from an oil services company that helped renovate his home. The first sitting U.S. senator to face federal indictment since 1993, Stevens has been dogged by an investigation into his home renovation project in Alaska and his dealings with wealthy oil contractors.

Classy.........

John McCain, who you may have heard is a war hero, is having major trouble with one of his core voting bases (Well, two if you count the media). It seems that all the major vnon-partison veteran organizations are going to endorse Obama over McCain, because the Arizona Senator has an extremely poor voting record when it comes to veteran affairs. McCain was one of the most vocal critic's of Jim Webb's updated G.I. Bill, which virtually every veteran organization supported.

Check out these official rankings:

IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA
McCain: D
Obama: B+

DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS
McCain: 20%
Obama: 80%

AMERICAN LEGION (Backed Webb's G.I. Bill)
McCain: Opposed
Obama: Supported

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS (Backed Webb's G.I.Bill)
McCain: Opposed
Obama: Supported

"Grandpa Simpson" McCain's pathetic and failing Presidential campaign has hit a new low. On the same day the Washington Post ran a front page story on how McCain has become an outright liar, which Time Magazine backed up, he unveils his new factually incorrect ad. To make matters even more pathetic than usual, McCain compares Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton! This isn't even a Swift Boat ad, this is actually an official McCain ad. Wow. So. So. So. So pathetic.

But then again, Britney's a Bush supporter, which likely means she's a McCain supporter:

Will McCain's campaign even stay afloat until election day?

David Byrne will be playing the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey on November 3rd. Tickets are now on sale.......

DAVID BYRNE TOUR DATES
09/16 - Bethlehem, PA @ Zoellner Arts Center
09/20 - Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park Amphitheatre
09/26 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/04 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Arlington Theatre
11/03 - Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Theatre

If only Tiswas still existed, Cameron could have taken Obama....

The British opposition leader David Cameron gave Obama a copy of Winston Churchill’s “A History of the English-Speaking Peoples” and a box of CDs by British bands, including the Smiths, Radiohead and the Gorillaz.

While I am not politcally in line with the 42 year-old Conservative Party leader, he does have good taste in music.....

The Heatwave Festival in Tel Aviv, Israel, was downsized due to poor ticket sales and the line-up featured a last minute change when Siouxsie Sioux cancelled, but the New York Dolls and headliner Morrissey were still able to deliver a near religious experience.

This was the first time Moz ever played in Israel.......

MORRISSEY | HEATWAVE FESTIVAL | TEL AVIV, ISRAEL | 7-29-2008
Last Of The Famous International Playboys / Ask / First Of The Gang To Die / I Just Want To See The Boy Happy / That's How People Grow Up / Vicar In A Tutu / Irish Blood, English Heart / Sister, I'm A Poet / Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself? / The Loop / Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before / Everyday Is Like Sunday / The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris / Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed / Death Of A Disco Dancer / You Say You Don't Love Me / All You Need Is Me / Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want / Life Is A Pigsty / How Soon Is Now? // There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

I kid you not. Dan Quayle is rumored to be one of the contestants on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. We're talking about a former Vice President of the United States of America! Seriously! I mean it was embarassing enough having him in the White House, but this is a new low. Even for him. Maybe the GOP can stop him from doing the show by putting him on McCain's ticket as his Vice President......

I hear it's a visual masterpiece of a show, better than Kanye's Glow in the Dark set....

NINE INCH NAILS | REXALL PALACE, EDMONTON | 7-28-2008
999999 / 1000000 / Letting You / Discipline / March of the Pigs / Heads Down / The Frail / The Wretched / Closer / Gave Up / Me I'm Not / Vessel / Ghosts 5 -> Ghosts 6 -> Ghosts 19 -> Ghosts Piggy / The Greater Good / Wish / Terrible Lie / Survivalism / Big Come Down / Ghosts 31 / Only / Head Like A Hole // Echoplex // Beginning of the End // Good Soldier // Hurt // In This Twilight

Here's what the Iraq War has gotten America:

Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation.

So if Exxon Mobil cut their prices in half, they would have made earnings of almost $6 billion, which is still better than either Exxon or Mobil ever did prior to 2001.

Why isn't gas regulated? Why is the Enron loophole still in effect? Why aren't oil revenue paying for the war like the Bush administration promised?

Another awful week in Iraq.......

A suicide car bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a police station near the northern city of Mosul on Thursday, killing three policemen and wounding four, police said. It was the fifth suicide attack in Iraq this week and shows that insurgents can still carry out assaults despite security gains in urban areas.

Move over Harold & Kumar, the original stoners of comedy are back! Cheech & Chong have announced their first comedy tour since 1981. The "Light Up America..." tour is being put on by Live Nation.

Tickets go on sale nationally at 4:20 PM on August 8th. Here are all the announced tour dates (No New York date has been announced).......

CHEECH & CHONG LIGHT UP AMERICA TOUR DATES
September 12 Tower Theatre Philadelphia, PA
September 13 Warner Theatre Washington, DC
September 19 Murat Center Indianapolis, IN
September 20 Fillmore State Detroit, MI
September 26 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
September 27 Fillmore Jackie Gleason Miami, FL
October 24 Westbury Theatre Westbury, NY
October 25 Orpheum Theatre Minneapolis, MN
October 31 Verizon Wireless Houston, TX
November 1 Majestic Theatre Dallas, TX
November 7 Chevrolet Theatre Wallingford, CT
November 8 Rosemont Theatre Rosemont, IL
November 14 Dodge Theatre Phoenix, AZ
November 15 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX
November 21 Memorial Auditorium Sacramento, CA
November 22 Berkeley Community Theatre Berkley, CA
November 28 Copley Symphony Hall San Diego, CA
November 29 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA
November 30 San Jose PAC San Jose, CA
December 6 Gibson Amphitheater Los Angeles, CA
December 12 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
December 13 Borgata Music Box Atlantic City, NJ
December 19 Silver Legacy Casino Reno, NV
December 20 Paramount Theatre Denver, CO

Exxon Mobile broke the record, but Shell still made a killing:

Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported a 33 percent jump in second-quarter profits Thursday, its biggest quarter ever at $11.6 billion thanks to high oil prices and the weak dollar.

Shell said its selling price per barrel of oil was around $112, up from $64 a year earlier. That pushed earnings at its main exploration and production arm up 90 percent to $5.88 billion, despite a 1.1 percent fall in production to 3.05 million barrels of oil and equivalents per day.

If the price of a barrel of oil doubled, should that have cut the profit in half, not doubled them?

Oh, and McCain continues to offer only tax breaks for Big Oil and "short-term gimmicks" to consumers struggling with soaring gasoline prices. McCain's corporate tax plan would give "$4 billion each year to the oil companies, including $1.2 billion for Exxon Mobil alone" and a gas tax holiday that Obama said would only "pad oil company profits and save you — at best — half a tank of gas" over an entire summer..............

On a day when Exxon Mobil and Shell announced record earnings, the Bush-McCain Republican contingency in the senate have decided that they will fillibuster every single bill until they can get a provision that allows Big Oil to drill off American shores

Among the bills that Republicans have blocked to placate their billionaire buddies in the oil industry is:

1 . A Department of Defense Authorization bill that would, among other things, include a 3.9 percent across-the-board pay raise for military personnel; major funding increases for research into traumatic brain injury treatment and troop suicide prevention efforts; $26 billion for the Defense Health Program, and $500 million for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.

2. Allocated $25 million for research on spinal cord injuries, rehabilitation and measures to improve the quality of life for paralyzed Americans. The effort is backed by the Paralyzed Veterans of America, which claims 19,000 members. Some 200,000 Americans suffer spinal cord-related injuries.

3. A bill that would extend tax incentives for wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy, and would renew a host of expired tax cuts, such as the research tax credit and the state-sales-tax deduction. It would also protect most taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax in 2008.

4. Disaster relief for Midwestern states.

5. A requirement that health plans cover mental illnesses on par with physical diseases.

6. A provision to protect journalists from being forced to disclose their confidential sources

McCain once again sided with Big Oil and gave a big fuck you to hard working mericans and our troops............