The hooligan problem and the football violence that just won't go away.
The hooligan problem and the football violence that just won't go away. They hunt in packs, fuelled by cocaine, hooked on violence and occasionally wielding chains. Some are as old as 65. They use mobile phones and the internet to arrange showdowns with rival "firms" at agreed locations away from prying CCTV cameras and police surveillance. This is the profile of the 21st-century football hooligan, a breed of "fan" who, although decreasing in numbers and visibility, is recognised by the football authorities and police as never having gone away.
Women and Suicide by Self-Immolation in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: When Women Set Themselves On Fire Images from photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair's Whitney Biennial exhibition: "Self-Immolation: A Cry for Help" can be seen at her website, here. (Caution: Disturbing, Graphic Images) An interview with Planet Magazine also contains many of those images. In this series of photographs, journalist Stephanie Sinclair documents Afghani women being treated for extensive self-inflicted burns. These women, who were being cared for in a rudimentary public hospital in the town of Herat in western Afganistan, set themselves on fire in acts of utter desperation. Some of the women shared their personal histories of prolonged abuse at the hands of their husbands or families with Sinclair. Sinclair?s images mark an exchange of trust and compassion. By consenting to be photographed at their most vulnerable, the women in these images demonstrate a rare bravery. The representation of their suffering exposes the everyday violence against women that is made more pernicious when it remains hidden. Partially in response to the widespread attention these images received from media outlets around the world, a new burn unit was created in Herat. Additional Information: * Afghan women escape violence through suicide: report * RAWA News keeps a searchable English-language archive of news articles relating to life in Afghanistan. Here are the search results for "self-immolation". From RAWA: Afghan girls burn themselves to escape marriage * MSNBC: Afghan girls burn themselves to escape marriage
Mexican gubernatorial candidate assassinated
Rodolfo Torre Cantu, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate for the governorship of the border state of Tamaulipas, was assassinated in an ambush yesterday. He was presumed to be the virtual winner of next sundays election (no opposition candidate has ever governed the state).
No witty title for such a topic.
Toothed female condom unveiled in South Africa. South African Dr. Sonnet Ehlers was on call one night four decades ago when a devastated rape victim walked in. Her eyes were lifeless; she was like a breathing corpse. "She looked at me and said, 'If only I had teeth down there,'" recalled Ehlers, who was a 20-year-old medical researcher at the time. "I promised her I'd do something to help people like her one day." more from the article... "It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on," she said. "If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter... however, it doesn't break the skin, and there's no danger of fluid exposure." Women take drastic measures to prevent rape in South Africa, Ehlers said, with some wearing extra tight biker shorts and others inserting razor blades wrapped in sponges in their private parts. Human Rights Watch Report about violence against women in South Africa (pdf available) BBC Africa news article about the survey discussed in the article about the doctor. "One in four South African men questioned in a survey said they had raped someone, and nearly half of them admitted more than one attack." South Africa Medical Research Council reports on rape in South Africa, including the aforementioned survey about rape. I figure folks will pull out more salient quotes from various things. It's all a little much and I just want to keep posting quotes from everything.
Worst. Divorce. Ever.
A lawyer and her husband decide to get a divorce. Then, the lawyer loses her mind.
Drink Milk!
The A-Team film is filled with sex and violence. Mr T pities the fools.
knock knock no knock
On the heels of the highly publicized Missouri raid that ended in the death of a corgi (previously), a seven year-old girl has been killed in a no-knock raid in Detroit. According to one of Radley Balko's commenters, the family may have been targeted because they shared a two-family duplex with the target of the raid.
Kill the Beast
Probing the link between slaughterhouses and violent crime. A study shows that as the number of slaughterhouse workers in a community increases, the crime rate also increases.
M.I.A. has a Punishment Park-style music video.
MIA's new video for "Born Free." (Vimeo; NSFW) Directed by Romain Gavras, the son of Costa-Gavras (YouTube). Romain Gavras has directed other amusing music videos, such as The Last Shadow Puppets' "The Age of the Understatement" (Vimeo). Further, he co-founded the Kourtrajmé production collective in 1994, along with Kim Chapiron (YouTube; language NSFW), the director of the sleazy French flick Sheitan (YouTube; NSFW).
Mean World Syndrome
George Gerbner, a pioneer in the research of TV's effects on society, advocated a theory called Mean World Syndrome. According to this theory, exposure to the media leads people to believe the world is more dangerous than it actually is, because of violent programming and terrifying news programs. This is part of cultivation theory, the idea that humans are brought up in a culture of stories, reflect those stories, and that TV is now our main storyteller.
The Tube
American TV watching statistics.
I've created a flash monster
Flash Mobs Take Violent Turn in Philadelphia [H]undreds of teenagers have been converging downtown for a ritual that is part bullying, part running of the bulls: sprinting down the block, the teenagers sometimes pause to brawl with one another, assault pedestrians or vandalize property. . . . The flash mobs have raised questions about race and class. Most of the teenagers who have taken part in them are black and from poor neighborhoods. Most of the areas hit have been predominantly white business districts. In the flash mob on Saturday, groups of teenagers were chanting ?black boys? and ?burn the city,? bystanders said. Bill Wasik is not proud.
Grim and gritty
Superhero Tragedy Porn Is Bad For Comics
And they say there's nothing good on TV...
[NSFW] ? Concrete TV -- bringing you an audiovisual mashup of pornography, drugs, violence, rock'n'roll, the 1980's, and humor** -- via NYC Public Access Channel 67, Friday nights at 1:30 AM.
Karaoke Rage
"After a day of barbering, Rodolfo Gregorio went to his neighborhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he grasped a microphone with a habitué?s self-assuredness and [...] belted out crowd-pleasers by Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. But Mr. Gregorio, 63, a witness to countless fistfights and occasional stabbings erupting from disputes over karaoke singing, did not dare choose one beloved classic: Frank Sinatra?s version of ?My Way.? ?I used to like ?My Way,? but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it,? he said. ?You can get killed." ?My Way? has reportedly generated so many outbursts of hostility that some bars in the Philippines now do not offer it on the karaoke menu. Is there something inherently provocative about "My Way" (YouTube link) that inspires violence among karaoke enthusiasts? Sources quoted in the NYT link suggest that the song's "'triumphalist' nature might contribute to [...] violence" as its "lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if you?re somebody when you?re really nobody." Or is "karaoke rage" a predictable consequence of the fact that karaoke bars may bring together several socially combustible elements? Elsewhere in the world, karaoke song selections as varied as Dio's "Holy Diver" and John Denver's "Country Roads" have been implicated in rage-related crimes.
Buckfast Tonic Wine
One person?s helpful mood improver, though, is another?s worryingly effective stimulant. "The drink is 15 percent alcohol by volume, a bit stronger than most wines. Also, each 750 milliliter bottle contains as much caffeine as eight cans of Coke." Scottish authorities are trying to reduce alcoholism in the country, but consumers still love their Buckfast, which has been linked to violent behavior by some, and dismissed as merely a scapegoat by others. "'It goes straight to your head,' he said, 'but it?s not my cup of tea.' (Mr. Rooney noted that his cup of tea is half a bottle of vodka a night.)"
The Regime Reels
Kosoof?Arash Ashoorinia's Photography —including today's Ashura protests in Iran. The protests in Iran today on the Islamic holy Day of Ashura have been significant and violent, with multiple deaths reported including the nephew of opposition leader Mir-Hussein Moussavi. There are several sites live-blogging the events: Enduring America NY Times The Lede Iran News Now — [twitter feed] The Daily Nite Owl And video compilations: [some videos and images display brutal violence] Tehran Bureau Enduring America Opposition group Jaras Please note all sites are very busy today and may be slow to load.
?Of course there will be more Sodinis?there will be many more?
Point: At the end of October, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, members of the men?s movement group RADAR (Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting [2]) gathered on the steps of Congress to lobby against what they say are the suppressed truths about domestic violence: that false allegations are rampant, that a feminist-run court system fraudulently separates innocent fathers from children, that battered women?s shelters are running a racket that funnels federal dollars to feminists, that domestic-violence laws give cover to cagey mail-order brides seeking Green Cards, and finally, that men are victims of an unrecognized epidemic of violence at the hands of abusive wives." Counterpoint: Whatever minor successes men's groups may have achieved, the reality is that public policy on domestic violence in the U.S. is heavily dominated by feminist advocacy groups. For the most part, these groups embrace a rigid orthodoxy that treats domestic violence as male terrorism against women, rooted in patriarchal power and intended to enforce it. They also have a record of making grotesquely exaggerated, thoroughly debunked claims about an epidemic of violence against women--for instance, that battering causes more hospital visits by women every year than car accidents, muggings and cancer combined.
It's about improving the lives not only of women, but of men
Video discussion on being a man with, and The Seven P's of Men's Violence by, Michael Kaufman, International Director of the White Ribbon Campaign. Feminism Brings Benefits to All -- Men Included. Rethinking privilege?
Getting burned by packing heat
Does carrying a gun protect you from physical harm? Research by epidemiologists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine suggests that carrying a gun makes one 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault, than someone not possessing a gun. Resisting increases one's odds of suffering harm even greater. "On average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. Although successful defensive gun uses are possible and do occur each year, the probability of success may be low for civilian gun users in urban areas."
Misdirection
"What do you get when you combine the worst economic downturn since the Depression with the first black president? A surge of white racial resentment, loosely disguised as a populist revolt."
"In my next conscious moment, I was dimly aware that I was facedown on the pavement. There was blood in my mouth."
"A Mugging on Lake Street" : John Conroy -- author and former staff writer of the Chicago Reader best known for his articles on police torture finds himself a victim of a "senseless" crime and is forced by circumstance to examine his own opinions about race, hate crimes, and violence. (last link is referenced in original article)
Debt, slavery, and violence in history
Debt: The first five thousand years. Anarchist anthropologist David Graeber (previously) writes about "debt and debt money in human history" in Eurozine. Lots of thought-provoking stuff here; I'll put a sample in the extended description. (Via wood s lot.) Commodity money, particularly in the form of gold and silver, is distinguished from credit money most of all by one spectacular feature: it can be stolen. Since an ingot of gold or silver is an object without a pedigree, throughout much of history bullion has served the same role as the contemporary drug dealer's suitcase full of dollar bills, as an object without a history that will be accepted in exchange for other valuables just about anywhere, with no questions asked. As a result, one can see the last 5 000 years of human history as the history of a kind of alternation. Credit systems seem to arise, and to become dominant, in periods of relative social peace, across networks of trust, whether created by states or, in most periods, transnational institutions, whilst precious metals replace them in periods characterised by widespread plunder. Predatory lending systems certainly exist at every period, but they seem to have had the most damaging effects in periods when money was most easily convertible into cash.
Occupy, not gentrify
The National Coalition for the Homeless announces that anti-homeless attacks are up, while Maryland becomes the first state to expand hate crimes legislation to include attacks on the homeless. Meanwhile, new DHS restrictions in New York close drop-in shelters and up restrictions for faith-based homeless shelters, while New-York based advocacy group Picture the Homeless take over a vacant J.P. Morgan lot to protest rising vacancies in the face of the housing crisis
Bolaño and the Ghosts of Ciuduad Juárez
Alone Among the Ghosts is an essay from The Nation by Marcela Valdez about Roberto Bolaño's 2666. She interviews journalist Sergio González Rodríguez, who has written extensively about the murders of women in Ciudad Juárez which is the black hole Bolaño's novel orbits around. The journalist was Bolaño's correspondent and main source of information about the femicides. The best English language article about the epidemic of violence in Ciudad Juárez I have read is Max Blumenthal's 2002 Salon article. The website No Angel Came is a good resource for more info on the subject, including a continually updated section with links to articles about the killings. The site's most arresting section is the list of every woman killed in Ciudad Juárez from 1993 to 2006. The epidemic of violence against women in Ciudad Juárez continues.