When you think about it, it's pretty bizarre that Hawaii is part of the US. America, in all her throws of Western expansion, couldn't stop at California - another 3,000 miles in a boat, and Americans settled in Hawaii as well. Texas and California are already bigger than most European countries. Why, then, did William McKinley feel driven to annex Hawaii as a US territory? A small part of the incentive may have been to continue the trend of expansion, or maybe even to secure Hawaii's luscious fruit fields, but most likely, it was a strategic military decision.
Hawaii's location gives it a fairly big job that often goes unrecognized. It is the only state that has the ability to stall an attack from the far east. Alaska is close to Russia, but in all it's 663,268 square miles, it only has 4 active military installations - it would be better fitted to defend Canada than the mainland US. Hawaii is only 10,931 square miles but it has 7 bases. One of them, Pearl Harbor, is arguably the most famous US naval bases, and a perfect example of how Hawaii's location makes it fit to take the blunt force of an attack from the east and/or launch a counter-offensive. From a military standpoint, Hawaii is a defensive outpost - its job is to make sure that no enemies of the US ever make it to the country's west coast.
In light of North Korea's recent, lively military activity, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates ordered missile interceptors and radar to be installed on and around Hawaii. Gates expressed concern that a missile could be launched "in the direction of Hawaii," - that is, towards America, from the east. These defenses will be able to protect the island from a long-range North Korean rocket. This fortification of Hawaii shows that the island is not just some place with hotels and surf that you went for spring break last year. Given Hawaii's unique location, and even with a current absence of war in the Pacific, it is perpetually utilized by the government as a defensive bulwark.
Afro-punk smashes together a bunch of talented artists and invents / reinvents a genre centered around the presence of black people in punk and rock music. A phenomenon of 90s identity politics and "culture creation", now Afro-punk is stepping it up as a collective force / culture / marketing-phenom. This July in Brooklyn, in cooperation with BAM, Afro-Punk is, among many things: Janelle Monae, Living Color and The London Souls. Info at the Afro-Punk site here. More on 70s Afro-punk originals, Death, from the NYtimes
National Geographic reported that scientists have recently revived a culture of 120,000 year old glacial bacteria. The article does little in terms of suggesting what scientists might do with the information acquired by such a resurrection. Instead, is focuses on the fact that this accomplishment has sparked an interest in the possible rejuvenation of long-dormant life on other, ice worlds in the solar system.
The very old, frozen, purplish-brown bacteria, called Herminiimonas glaciei, were discovered two miles under a sheet of ice in Greenland. Scientists brought them to life by slowly thawing them in increasingly warmer water over the course of a year. The bacteria was able to survive for so long because of their almost incomprehensibly small size - so don't get any ideas (despite this breakthrough we don't yet have the technology to revive people who froze themselves in the 70s). But it's not all bad news. Scientists are now looking at Mars and the frozen sea of Jupiter's moon Europa in a new light. They hope that, one day soon, we can bring back chunks of ice and resurrect the frozen alien life inside - an aspiration that is, literally, both cool and far-out.
Man... I woke up wondering if last nights Bacradi B-Live party at NYC's M2 Ultra Lounge was some sort of splendid, magical dream. I couldn't even walk a few feet without someone throwing their arms around me, pouring some drank in my cup, kissing me on the forehead and saying something like "the world is great with you in it." I don't know if someone put MDMA in all the booze or impregnated the place with prom-night-love but shit was right.
Theophilus London stays focused Matt and Kim from 1894120 feet away
Matt and Kim had a smashing performance. DJ Jazzy Jeff reintroduced and killed the nineties, people lost their minds and probably some pounds from sweating so damn much. There were beautiful women, Theophilus London, and more booze than at my family reunion. What more could you want? A giant lit up kaleidoscopic boom box for a stage and flashing lights with glitter and lasers? Oh wait, they had that too; they had all that shit. Good thing I was there so I could share the adventure. Checks it! Stay up!
China has recently experienced a surge in the popularity and use of electric bicycles. As of now, China has 25 million cars, and 100 million e-bikes. These lively little appliances are, essentially, pedal-powered bikes with and electric boost. According to an article in Time, the Chinese find motorcycles too dangerous, cars too expensive, public transportation too crowded and pedal bikes too tiring - electric bikes are the perfect solution.
The success of the e-bike stems mainly from government planning and infrastructure; most major cities in China have commissioned or completed extensive bike lanes. The government also made developing e-bike technology a priority in 1991. With these underpinnings, and given the machine's relatively simple technology, a huge number of businesses opened in China with hopes of profiting off of e-bikes. These businesses played a huge role in fueling the commendable trend.
It is predicted that Southeast Asia is the region most likely to next adopt e-bikes. They are becoming popular in Japan and the Netherlands as well. United States e-bike sales are predicted to be around 200,000 this year, which is about one percent of that in China. The e-bike's Achilles-heel is its lead acid battery, which is a fairly old and unsustainable piece of technology. Some of the developers are working on incorporating lithium-ion batteries, which are newer, lighter, and, according to some, the key to the e-bike's success in the future. Posted by Henry Harper henry@greenowl.com
I was at the beach for a minute today and I realized that everyone should check out the Surfrider Foundation. They are a 50,000 person, non-profit organization that operates in 5 countries and has 60 chapters in the US. They secure the ecological integrity of beaches around the world, promote surfing, and want everyone to enjoy the beach as much as possible. Even if you personally don't like the beach, in the spirit of summer I recommend checking out what they do. They also have a Youtube Channel to make things easy.
DJ VAMANOS of Ghetto Bassquake fame keeps the wheels in motion with this new Green Owl mix -- soukous, funana, and all that good stuff you love but never heard before.
Shama Shama - Okomi Kolangua Sah'lomon - Rama Aurlus Mabele - Vacances Aux Antilles Skeat - Dumelang Magic System - Kit Dit Mie Aurlus Mabele - Soto Normal Nada - Funas 2 Duda - Dja Txiga Nha Bes
Ghetto Bassquake VS Green Owl Vol. 2 in the stream.
Canada's attempt to capture the musical-Goliath known as South by Southwest kicks off its five day binge today in Toronto. North by Northeast musical festival has happily included our guys The So So Glos. Now in its 15th year, the music and arts festival has a roster that would get most music bloggers shatting themselves. Along with The So So Glos, other performers include; Matt and Kim, Black Lips, The Cool Kids, No Age, Crystal Antlers, Japanther, Ninjasonik, and so many more it is ridiculous.
If you decide to hop the border on the non-fenced side of America, show some love to our Glos and make sure you take some pictures, so I can steal them from you and use them on our blog. Stay Up.
So So Glos Shows June 18th Sneaky Dee's show starts at 9PM Ranco Relaxo show starts at 2AM Bovine Sex Club show starts at 9PM
The State Controller has said that, within 50 days, California will be in the midst of a government "meltdown."Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, maintains that he will not increase taxes. His plan to save the Golden State rests on cutting funding to public programs. This strategy has drawn considerable criticism given the fact that welfare assistance and health care for the poor are some of the state amenities he has put on the chopping block.
In response to his critics, Schwarzenegger argues that, if Democrats would agree to make some cuts around labor unions, pressure would be eased off of the welfare, financial aid for college, and state park programs. Instead of sacrificing any of the aforementioned projects, Democrats have proposed a tax on oil drilled in California and a $15 annual vehicle tax. These, however, would be new taxes, which Schwarzenegger promises to prohibit.
It seems fairly stubborn that, even in times of economic crisis, Schwarzenegger will not add a few new taxes to help the faltering California economy - but then again, it is a recession, and you have to respect him for keeping his word. Instead of taxes, however, Californian's may have to pay for their unique economic crisis with state park and welfare programs. Needless to say, if things stay rotten in the land of milk and honey, the Governator will have a lot to answer for.
NYC supergroup led by veteran producers Daniel Collas and Sean
Marquand, and featuring contributions from L'Trimm, Calla, Sí Se, TV on
the Radio, The Dap Kings, & The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. PHB
blend psychedelic space disco & smooth 60s-style soul perfectly
with early hip hop, and moody, synth-soaked hooks.
My man Lee over at Midnight Rockers Express has been pumping me with political information as of late. He's hipped me to EarthtoObama.org a site that i'm still just finding my way around. This video should be everywhere.
When there's a car accident in the United States, and the price of fixing the damage is more expensive than the car itself, the insurance company, most of the time, writes a check for the value of the car, and the disabled wreck is shipped to a junkyard. Given the safety features of today's cars, crashing a car to the point of no return can be fairly easy. If you're driving 30 miles an hour, typing on your blackberry, drinking coffee and eating chicken Mcnuggets, and you just happen to slip off the road and into the forest, the car will probably be totaled. While the exterior damage may only be a few scratches, dents, and a crumpled hood, all the airbags (side, front, curtain) will have gone off and ripped the interior upholstery to smithereens. Fixing this damage would be way too expensive for any insurance company to bear on a regular basis, so they opt write a check for the Blue Book value of the car.
In Ghana, totaled cars do not exist; they are, at the very least, a pile of spare parts. In Alex Foley's shop, engines are rebuilt, dents are smoothed out, and almost any crashed car can be put back on the road. Foley and his repair men compare their job to working on a giant puzzle - the pieces are waiting to be found in older cars and scrap yards. This mentality behind fixing cars is born out of poverty, but demonstrates an impressive ingenuity. These mechanics are will to try anything: "there's no car we cant fix". Wrecks that we would consider rusted and utterly worthless junk, they utilize, creating cars that are very much artistic in their recycled manner of assemblage.
A critical difference remains however, that while you and your Mcnuggets were saved by the airbags, driving in to the tree in one of Foley's cars could be life threatening. Very few of the creations reassembled by these mechanics in Ghana would be declared street legal in the United States, or pass smog tests. Nevertheless, Foley and his crew display a remarkable ability to rebuild and reuse what many Americans would leave to rust forever in the backyard.
