text:
The Brazilian Circus
President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment process comes as a much-expected grand finale to a spectacular surrealist theatre piece: accused of an obscure budget wrongdoing, Rouseff was tried by a Congress absolutely immersed in infinitely darker scandals, ranging from forgery, bribery and embezzlement to drug trafficking, slavery, rape, pedophilia, and murder. [1]
While Dilma herself has never been accused of any kind of corruption, Eduardo Cunha, her nemesis and head of the lower house of Congress, is on trial for forgery, bribery, and multi-million dollar embezzlement. Yet, he harnessed enough support so that the impeachment request was accepted in a session that will be remembered by generations of Brazilians for the appalling, (literally) confetti-blasting speeches [2] made by several hundred congressmen.
The very thought of such a circus would be inconceivable even a year ago, yet now it seems as the only logical (and even possible) solution that would seal the end of the great Brazilian depression (which some commentators are calling "the worst in our history"). [3] This scenario is only possible due to a few important factors (listed in no particular order):
- The end of the commodities supercycle – oil, ores, and soybeans are Brazil's top exports – and China's economic slowdown;
- Escalation of the Car Wash (Lava-jato) operation and its encroaching on Dilma, Lula, and other PT (Worker's Party) high officials;
- A tight victory in the 2014 ballot resulting in severe political compromises;
- Consolidation of an "economic terrorism" strategy applied by Dilma's well-organized political opponents.
All these factors intermingle at some point: the slowdown of the economy was deeply worsened by the neoliberal cabinet Dilma appointed after a close win, and the lack of support from both houses of Congress resulted in a complete government lockdown.
Senators and congressmen tenaciously and continuously passed "bomb bills" [4] (pautas-bomba), bills that were never meant to see the light of day but have instead the explicit purpose of forcefully blocking the federal government and worsening the economic recession. The well-organized opposition parties dedicated every breathing hour of 2015 towards a unified strategy and common goal: worsening the economic recession in order to bleed Dilma's social and political support. In March 2015, Alberto Goldman, vice-president of the PSDB (PT's main political adversary), wrote in an article to the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo: [5]
Impeachment is the only path left, and it will only happen if the political and economic situations continue to deteriorate to the point where both society and political parties mobilize towards that goal [i.e., the impeachment].
Aided by the "Chicago boy" Minister of finance, the strategy was very effective: in 2015, Brazil mourned a 3.8% GDP decrease. [6]
Operation Car Wash (Lava-jato) and its judge/popstar Sérgio Moro will likely be the subject of many theses, dissertations, and books in the future; we will mention them only briefly. The operation unveiled a multi-billion dollar bribery and embezzlement scheme nested in the highest ranks of Petrobras, Brazil's state-owned oil giant. The bribes flowed between politicians, Petrobras officials, and construction companies such as Oderbrecht, OAS, and Queiroz Galvão. Politicians from many major political parties, including the PT, PSDB, and PMDB are involved.
Judge/popstar Sérgio Moro.
As an "unintended" side-effect of the Carwash operation, many of these construction companies were either liquidated or are under investigation. Another "unfortunate coincidence" is that most of Brazil's major infrastructure projects – all of which are state-sponsored – were executed by the companies implicated in the Carwash operation. As corrupt businessmen went to jail and their companies sank, hundreds of thousands [7] of construction workers found themselves out of a job and projects of extreme strategic, economic, and social importance were either halted or altogether abandoned.
The crowning jewel of the Carwash operation, however, is perhaps the re-emergence and re-qualification of the hitherto widely unpopular "privatization mythology" to be captained by PSDB, who in the 1990's dismantled many major state companies with little accountability. Petrobras is the obvious first target. More on the subject later on in this article.
The fundamental adhesive that glues together all these factors, however, is the solidification of a very strong anti-PT mythology.
Without the "PT scapegoat", all other factors we mentioned would likely be much less relevant than they currently are. After 3 consecutive terms, anti-PT sentiment grew steadily. In the fourth PT term (Dilma's second), it exploded. "PT is to blame" has truly become a mantra to some – specifically to almost 50% of voters who cast their ballot on the runner-up Aécio Neves (PSDB). If there's a drought, PT is to blame. If the sky is blue, it is PT's fault. If a puppy died, it is surely due to PT's disastrous government.
Brasília split by a wall: to the left, pro-Dilma supporters. To the right, pro-Impeachment supporters.
We call this a "mythology" because facts and hard data are either ignored or dismissed as "PT propaganda". Virtually all vital statistics were vastly improved in the 3 PT terms compared to their predecessor's: GDP, GDP per capita, average income, income distribution, poverty, education, public health, public debt, international risk ratings and so on. The anti-PT mythology cleverly avoids these "details" with the following thought mechanism: if data suggests that the PT improved something, then the data is cast away as being "manipulated by the PT". If on the other hand data shows that there was a worsening of something during the PT terms, then it is irrefutable proof of the PT's catastrophic government. This self-contained thought process avoids actually considering reality, instead judging facts based on whether they prove or not that the PT is evil.
"Dilma, you have 3 options: renounce, kill yourself or suffer impeachment."
"Dilma, too bad you weren't hanged by the Military Dictatorship."
The "anti-PT mythology" taps into a vein that runs deep in the Brazilian middle and upper classes: fanatical, paranoid anti-communism. While the economy plundered in 2015, private banks celebrated an outstanding 40% growth in net profits [8] – nevertheless, anti-PT protesters often "denounced" that Brazil was actually turning into a communist dictatorship. A vast network of blogs and social media outlets consistently hammered the exotic idea that Brazil was actually on its way towards a soviet-style communist dictatorship (a Google search for the terms "Brasil ditadura comunista" returns over 400,000 results), and if "the PT isn't stopped" the country will become a mix of Cuba, the Soviet Union, and Venezuela. While such notions may amuse the reader, they were and are taken seriously by a significant portion of the population, so much so that the Federal Government had to issue an official note [9] stating that "Brazil is not turning into a communist dictatorship."
"No to the Communist Dictatorship in Brazil".
Government memo: "we will not become a communist dictatorship".
What was hitherto only rhetoric is now mutating into a more physical form: several cases were witnessed recently where people were spat [10] on or assaulted "because they looked like PT supporters". Mixed with poor education, the anti-PT trance generated many hilariously surreal situations: in the northeastern city of Fortaleza, 3 anti-PT fanatics harassed a man because his baseball cap "looked like the PT logo". [11]
In the southern city of Curitiba, a couple was beaten by anti-PT "protesters" because they were wearing red T-shirts [12]. In one of the most ridiculous occasions, anti-PT protesters shouted one of their battle cries – "move to Cuba" – at an apartment window where they thought they saw a Cuban flag. However, the innocent flag belonged to Catalonia [13]. Earlier this year, a medical doctor in the southern city of Port Alegre refused to treat a baby "because her mother was affiliated with the PT" [14]. Far from reprimanding the doctor, the medic's union enthusiastically applauded her actions [15].
"Down with the Supreme Court. We want only Federal Prosecutors and Federal Police."
The bottom line is that anti-PT violence has become commonplace and is in the process of being normalized as a valid and accepted practice.
Nationwide protests, both supportive and anti-government, have become common in Brazil since early 2015. After "shocking reports" of pro-government, union-backed protest organizers distributing bread-and-baloney sandwiches to protesters, "scandalized" anti-government protesters quickly nicknamed any anti-impeachment supporter as a "baloney", seriously arguing that anti-impeachment rallies only attract people because of the "free baloney sandwiches".
Anti-Dilma protesters.
The much-maligned "baloney" is a good metaphor that helps understand the political thinking of anti-PT partisans: one of their main qualms against PT offices is "excessive social spending", specifically in the Bolsa Família program (ironically, a liberal assistance program based on Milton Friedman's "negative income tax" concept). Their hatred to "baloney distribution" is thus very fitting.
Janaína Paschoal is one of the 3 authors of the impeachment request. She defines herself as an adept of Spiritism, Catholicism, Evangelicism, and the African Yoruba deity Iemanjá. In a colorful "lecture" [16], Janaína waves the Brazilian flag furiously while shouting "we will not serve the snake", "we are not a republic of the snake", "we will not let them (…) dominate the souls of our young", "they wish that we remain as captives", "we want to liberate our country from the captivity of souls and minds", etc. A short metaphor about "snakes with wings" and "God sending down legions" is also made. The body language and gestures are also almost a caricature of Evangelical Pentecostal leaders. Paschoal had to later make a public statement declaring that she "was not possessed" [17] by the occasion. On another occasion, this time in a Senate hearing about the impeachment process, Paschoal waved the Brazilian Constitution while shouting [18] "this is a sacred book!" In Brazil, there are few things less sacred than the Constitution – in the 20th century alone there were six of them, while the current constitution dates back to 1988. Such a notion of a "sacred constitution" is entirely alien to the Brazilian people.
Janaína Paschoal "not possessed".
Paschoal prides herself of "never defending bad guys"; curiously, though, one of her clients is Douglas Ivanowski Kirchner - a member of an Evangelical Pentecostal sect lead by Pastor Hadar Eunice Batista Pitaluga; together with pastor Hadar, Kirchner is accused of imprisoning, torturing, and starving his newlywed wife. Hadar's sect is also accused of using child labor [19] to sell snacks on the streets and perform janitorial duties. To defend her client from the battering and torture charges, Paschoal argued that Kirchner shouldn't be prosecuted as a woman-beater, but instead should be seen as a victim of religious brainwashing. The Federal Prosecutor's office Council, responsible for Douglas' case, decided not to remove him from office, citing his "feeble psychiatric stability".
But here is where things get interesting: Kirchner is also a prosecutor in charge of investigating former president Lula's supposed influence peddling towards construction conglomerate Oderbrecht. Selected details of the investigation were continuously leaked to a popular magazine in Brazil, Época; at the same time, formal requests by Lula's lawyers to access case documents were denied by Kirchner.
We should take note that Paschoal is not a fringe figure in Brazil – she is considered a serious and respectable lawyer. However, she is far from being the most bizarre figure in current Brazilian politics. Among the most vocal and respected anti-PT, one can find gay porn stars (Alexandre Frota), former neo-nazi FEMEN "activists" (Sara Winter), terrorists (congressman Jair Bolsonaro, who planned the bombing of a water pipe that supplies Rio de Janeiro), famous astrologers (Olavo de Carvalho) and Youtube teenage subcelebrities (Kim Kataguri). Again, these are not fringe or freakish figures: they are all considered to be very respectable and have a vast audience.
Congressman Jovair Arantes, a politician and football tycoon linked to the infamous gambling kingpin Carlinhos Cachoeira [20], was the head of the congressional committee responsible for accepting the inquiry so that it could later be voted on by the lower house. In 2011, he was accused by the Prosecutor's office of Goiás state of defrauding the public pension fund INSS. The case was closed without conviction by federal justice Gilmar Mendes. In 2012, Jovair was cited in the Brazilian federal police's (PF) operation Monte Carlo as a "business relation" of Cachoeira.
Senator Antônio Anastasia, former lieutenant governor of the Minas Gerais state (on Aécio Neves' slate), is the head of the Senate impeachment committee. He is accused of having committed over a thousand [21] of the same budgetary misdemeanors Dilma is accused of (with a slight difference: while Dilma took money from public banks to cover social spending, Aécio-Anastasia siphoned money from public healthcare, spending R$ 14,2 billion less [22] than they were obliged to by law and covering up the difference with fake data).
Eduardo Cunha, president of the lower house of congress, lead the session that would accept Dilma Rousseff's impeachment, ultimately sealing her and Brazil's fate. When casting his vote, Cunha said: "May God have mercy of this Nation". Cunha is a notorious evangelical political leader from Rio de Janeiro state. He is currently accused of several charges of bribery and embezzlement – the latest of which surpasses US$ 52 million [23]. He certainly likes to think of himself as being close to God – his Porsches and BMWs are registered under the name of his divine Son [24] (more specifically, Jesus.com, one of Cunha's companies).
A relation of some of Cunha's luxury cars registered under "Jesus.com".
Throughout his career, Cunha has been charged [25] with forgery and various forms of embezzlement and tax evasion. The charges started in 1999; he managed to evade any serious convictions since then. Since 2015, Cunha has been seriously implicated in the billion-dollar "Petrolão" scheme – a complex bribery system operated by Cunha's PMDB and PT, where money flowed from Petrobras to politicians and businessmen through construction giants such as Oderbrecht, Queiroz Galvão, and OAS. Cunha has been caught lying under oath to the Ethics Council when affirming he had no foreign bank accounts – several accounts [26] in Switzerland were found later on with over US $5 million. Now somewhat of a pariah to both sides, Cunha enjoyed huge popularity among the anti-PT public not long ago.
Then there is Michel Temer, Dilma's VP gone rogue. Temer will be appointed president should the impeachment process be accepted by Senate. He is expected to appoint a heavily neoliberal cabinet and has already signaled, "we will privatize everything we possibly can" [27]. With no charisma and no public support, with 83% of Brazilians not supporting him as president even before he has sat on the presidential chair, Temer is likely to be a placeholder president. Thought to be a much less skillful politician than his main ally, Eduardo Cunha, it is highly questionable to which degree a Temer office will actually be controlled by Temer.
Some may think that the deep recession currently affecting Brazil would prove to be a challenge to the Cunha-Temer office, but it could prove quite the contrary. With public opinion in a state of absolute anti-PT and anti-Dilma hysteria, Brazil's depression may serve as a carte blanche for the new, non-elected officials: they now have the unique opportunity of pushing anything through both houses of Congress with little to no opposition, and still enjoy public support towards the measure, despite how unpopular it could or should be in normal times. Timing could not have been better: Brazil is currently afflicted by the worst drought in half a century, devastating new tropical diseases have spread through the country halting industries [28] and commerce, and entire sectors of the economy have been wiped out as collateral damage of the Carwash operation.
Backed by all major media outlets and taking advantage of the anti-PT public sentiment, Cunha-Temer also enjoys a condescending Judiciary and Supreme Court. To illustrate the selectivity of the Brazilian judiciary, we can cite the case of former president Lula. Major newspapers circulated the following "breakthroughs" on ongoing investigations about Lula: a couple of swan paddle boats [29] and a thousand-dollar tin fishing raft [30]. Among the more serious allegations, there were suspicions of influence peddling by Lula in exchange for some renovations made on a seaside apartment [31] linked to Lula. Lula was asked to talk to the Federal Police about the investigations, to which he agreed; nevertheless, he was illegally detained and transferred to a Federal Police HQ in a spectacular operation, televised in real-time by major TV networks. Judge Sérgio Moro authorized the "coercive transfer".
Cunha-Temer thus muddled the distinction of the 3 State powers plus the "fourth power" of the press. The press, as a "necessary remedy to fight the disastrous PT administration", will swallow any unpopular bill enthusiastically. Much like Argentina, where citizens are applauding 4-digit high tax bumps, escalating inflation and increases in poverty, everything will be labeled as "valid medicine" necessary to "rebuild" the country after the PT "destroyed" it. Any positive pre-Temer statistic will be discredited as "PT propaganda". A second dismantlement of what's left of the Brazilian State will follow, applauded by all 4 powers and a major part of the public opinion.
Twice-defeated presidential candidate José Serra [32] is also expected to assume a Ministry in the Temer administration. In a 2010 cable exposed in 2011 by Wikileaks [33], José Serra "negotiates" directly with Chevron's director in Brazil. He makes the following remark regarding the laws that assured Petrobras lifelong ownership of the newly discovered pre-salt oil fields and a mandatory share of 30% of the fields: "Let them [the PT office] do as they want. When we assume, we will revert to the old model [where the companies have full ownership of the field]".
Serra lost the presidential race next year to president Dilma Rousseff and was unable to fulfill his promises to Chevron. However, Serra is tenacious and patient. Five years later, amidst the political, social, economic and health crisis of 2015, Serra, now a senator, successfully passed a bill [34] that is almost a transliteration of his chat with Chevron five years earlier. The bill states: [35]
"Therefore, it is indispensible that we revoke Petrobras' lifelong ownership of all pre-salt oil fields (…) as well as the obligation of the 30% share destined exclusively to Petrobras exploration."
This is a perfect example of the extreme convenience of the economic depression and overall chaos in Brazil: while major press bombarded the Brazilian society with daily two-minute hates against Dilma and the PT, Serra's bill passed largely unnoticed by the general public.
After all is said and done and the results of all the "medicine" blissfully pushed through Congress by the Temer-Cunha administration don't seem to bring the advertised cure to our patient, the office will say that the cure did not occur because the patient was too ill: "the PT left the country in a state of absolute chaos, it will take decades to put the pieces together, we did our best".
The press will applaud their valiant efforts, followed closely by middle-class fanatical anti-PT partisans. History will record Temer-Cunha as the saviors that rescued Brazil from the Behemoth of the PT, and despite plunging the country into an even deeper recession, they are not to blame. It is highly likely that the PT will remain for a long time as a generic scapegoat to all evils: if something is wrong, it is likely PT's fault in some way, however unrelated or improbable it may seem.
There are countless other important factors which deserve close attention but were left out of our analysis. Enough has happened in the past few months to supply a couple dozen books, as we are yet to see the unfolding of this unprecedented political crisis.
[1] See:
[2] http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleleinbachreyhle/2016/04/25/rodan-fields-rising-success/#7fba62264854
[3] http://epoca.globo.com/ideias/noticia/2016/04/como-o-brasil-entrou-sozinho-na-pior-crise-da-historia.html
[4] http://politica.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,cunha-programa-pauta-bomba-de-r-207-1-bilhoes,10000018003
[5] http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/opiniao/209403-o-impedimento-e-o-desafio-da-oposicao.shtml
[6] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-economy-gdp-idUSKCN0W51CZ
[7] http://economia.uol.com.br/empregos-e-carreiras/noticias/redacao/2015/03/26/depois-da-lava-jato-construcao-civil-perde-250-mil-empregos-em-cinco-meses.htm
[8] http://g1.globo.com/economia/negocios/noticia/2015/08/mesmo-diante-de-crise-lucro-dos-bancos-nao-para-de-crescer.html
[9] http://www.brasil.gov.br/fatos-e-boatos/materias/boato-sobre-a-ditadura-comunista
[10] http://www.pragmatismopolitico.com.br/2016/03/manifestante-cospe-em-jovem-porque-ele-aparentava-ser-petista.html
[11] http://www.opovo.com.br/app/politica/2016/03/18/noticiaspoliticas,3590728/produtor-e-vitima-de-agressao-por-usar-bone-vermelho-em-fortaleza.shtml
[12] http://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2015/08/17/politica/1439769515_800304.html
[13] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG__GKxCQHw&feature=youtu.be
[14] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/world/americas/fight-to-impeach-brazils-leader-tears-at-fabric-of-daily-life.html
[15] http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/blogs/caixa-zero/sindicato-diz-que-medica-que-recusou-atendimento-a-filho-de-petista-devia-ficar-orgulhosa/
[16] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGAJrcjWrdM
[17] http://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/perfil-janaina-paschoal-a-republica-da-cobra-que-tomou-conta-das-redes-19026078
[18] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw6JxuaHxVM
[19] http://rondoniaovivo.com/noticias/depca-recebe-denuncia-sobre-exploracao-infantil-de-igreja-que-manteve-mulher-em-carcere-privado/116890
[20] http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/politica/2012-04-19/entenda-a-rede-de-negocios-do-bicheiro-cachoeira-alvo-da-cpi.html
[21] http://www.redebrasilatual.com.br/politica/2016/04/em-tres-anos-anastasia-cometeu-quase-mil-pedaladas-no-governo-de-minas-5882.html
[22] http://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/agencia-estado/2015/06/26/acao-cobra-r-14-bi-a-saude-devidos-por-aecio-e-anastasia.htm
[23] https://www.google.com.br/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjBtfb206jMAhUKIZAKHR8tBSwQFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpolitica.estadao.com.br%2Fblogs%2Ffausto-macedo%2Fdelator-aponta-propina-de-r-52-milhoes-em-36-parcelas-a-eduardo-cunha%2F&usg=AFQjCNFHLKATjxEIw9SLhO_TT2B0hJMJ1w&sig2=sJTe6y32U7S7YCORk2husQ&bvm=bv.119745492,d.Y2I
[24] http://politica.estadao.com.br/blogs/fausto-macedo/eduardo-cunha-tem-porsche-em-nome-de-jesus-com/
[25] http://jornalggn.com.br/blog/as-acoes-que-correm-contra-eduardo-cunha
[26] http://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/mp-da-suica-encontra-us-5-milhoes-em-contas-de-cunha-17660980
[27] http://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/programa-de-temer-preve-privatizacao-de-tudo-que-for-possivel-19193319
[28] http://jconline.ne10.uol.com.br/canal/economia/pernambuco/noticia/2016/02/26/dengue-zika-e-chicungunha-afetam-92_porcento-das-industrias-da-rmr-223124.php
[29] http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2016/03/1745280-pedalinhos-de-sitio-de-atibaia-foram-comprados-por-assessor-de-lula.shtml
[30] http://g1.globo.com/politica/operacao-lava-jato/noticia/2016/01/mulher-de-lula-comprou-barco-e-mandou-entregar-em-sitio-diz-jornal.html
[31] http://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2016/01/ao-mp-zelador-e-porteira-confirmam-ter-visto-lula-em-triplex-no-guaruja.html
[32] http://www.brasilpost.com.br/2016/04/18/psdb-ainda-discute-papel-_n_9718780.html
[33] https://wikileaks.org/Nos-bastidores-o-lobby-pelo-pre.html
[34] http://www25.senado.leg.br/web/atividade/materias/-/materia/120179
[35] http://www.senado.leg.br/atividade/rotinas/materia/getTexto.asp?t=162087&c=PDF&tp=1


text:
Saturday, December 24, 2011
No Presents For Christmas - Except for this one!
On your way home for Christmas
I'm robbing you blind
You are in a hurry
I've got nothing but time
The stores are all busy
About to close, it's late
Stuffing my pockets
With whatever I can take
To summon the holy spirits
From the bottom of the tube
'Cause all I want for Christmas is glue
All I want for Christmas is glue
All I want for Christmas is glue
Crazy glue
White glue
Red glue
Sparkly glue
Glue made of horse teeth
Glue made of babies and puppies
'Cause all I want for Christmas is glue
All I want for Christmas
My heart's in so many pieces
It might mend with glue
Another Christmas huffing
Is what I wanna do
Sirens through your neighborhood
Turkey's getting cold
Daddy won't be home tonight
And the prison bunks are full
So hang up your pretty stockings
I've been dreading it for weeks
But I feel it in my gut
Knowing it has to be done
Another Christmas rut
Smash another window
To get in from the cold
Start a living room fire
It never gets old
We'll all be dead soon anyway
So pass the bag around
I'll inhale a little longer
Make sure this Christmas is heaven bound
'Cause all I want for Christmas is glue
All I want for Christmas is glue
And of course: Haust's christmas song from the split record (Stooges cover only available on the vinyl!)
There will be no christmas this year
There will be no christmas anywhere
There will be no ghost of christmas present
And there will be no fucking christmas presents
There will be no christmas
We'll celebrate the dark, lazy winter
We'll celebrate it right here in our filthy bed
We'll sleep together
We'll rock together
We'll sing together
There'll be no fucking christmas!
There will be no christmas
No jesus christ
No santa claus
No christmas tree
Just you and me
There will be no christmas this year
There will be no christmas anywhere.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Ormeyngel: The year in tapes
Ormeyngel put out five releases this year: Dark Times, Drugged SS, Blackest Woods, Problems, and White Juice. The final copies of these can be purchased through the Ormeyngel Webstore or at Tiger.
All of these five releases can now be streamed and downloaded for free at the Ormeyngel Bandcamp. Five solid releases of ugly fucking music, signed the Black Hole Crew. Listen, distribute, and destroy.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Black Hole X-mas - OUT NOW!
The Ultimate X-mas feelbad record from the cold north! Exclusive tracks from both bands + a Stooges cover by Haust. Limited green vinyl. This year it's not the Grinch, but the misantropic noisepunks Haust and Okkultokrati who steal Christmas and give it to the kids of the black hole. This is a celebration of the darkest part of the year and the dizzy subliminal effect of mulled wine, carnations and poinsettas. Three songs, two originals and a cover, about being ugly, unfortunate and under-informed. A hymn to the less unfortunate, the deviants and the perverts, its for anyone who's ever felt mislead by the stars and alienated in a crib surrounded by animals. Recorded at the Black Hole by Pål Bredrup and Ruben Willem of Okkultokrati/Haust. Artwork by Esben S. Titland.
Track Listing
Side A:
- Haust - No Christmas
- Haust - No Fun
Side B:
- Okkultokrati - All I Want For Christmas is Glue
Listen to it here:
Buy it here:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- Kerrie Lee
The art making part of my plan is going well. I started a Twitch channel which has been an amazing experience. I broadcast myself making art 4-5 days a week, for several hours a day. Unfortunately, I haven't been very good about getting video footage to use for YouTube videos, but I have some ideas how to improve that.
I tweaked my Patreon page today, by reworking my rewards levels and goals. My Twitch channel has inspired me to get more serious about the promotion part of my business.
Social media is still my number one burden. I understand the importance of utilizing social media, but it feels like a chore. I want to find a way to use social media in a way that feels authentic and enjoyable.
I'm also struggling with the best way to connect with my audience. Twitch has been a great way for me to connect, but it's a very niche group. How do I connect with people who aren't familiar with Twitch? I suppose this question is very much related to my feelings about social media. I really do need to reflect on this some more.


text:
Icona Pop kicked their heels for a wee while, stewing in their hometown of Stockholm, awaiting the call to stardom. But when the call came, the pair of Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt was more than ready to answer.
Inspired by the melancholic melodies of their homeland, electronica ambassadors The Knife and crossover darlings Niki & The Dove, as well as the commercial slickness of so much stateside pop, Hjelt and Jawo's early material tickled at a breakthrough in 2011 with the release of the 'Nights Like This' EP and a cracking debut single, 'Manners'. That darkness can be heard in the lyrics to what was to become their dramatic entry onto the global pop playing field.
'I Love It', featuring a pre-'Fancy' Charli XCX, came out (of seemingly nowhere) and everything sort of exploded. The song went to number one in the UK in the summer of 2013, sold two million copies in the US, and since then everything's been a blur. The girls have been on tour with Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus. Surreal doesn't begin to come close to what they're still feeling.
As the campaign for their 'I Love It'-featuring album of 2013, 'This Is… Icona Pop' begins to cool, with attentions turning to summer festivals and the writing of a third album, Clash got on the phone to Aino (right, in main photo) to check in on the status of all things Icona Pop. Mainly to make sure their feet are still on the floor, as those Swedish skies, while pretty, sure are easy to get lost in.
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Icona Pop, 'I Love It'
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Straight in with the big one: how did the response to 'I Love It', when it stormed so many charts, affect the two of you? Because it marked quite the rapid rise in terms of pop profile…
I think it can depend on what kind of artist you are, how that affects you. For Caroline and me, I don't think we still understand just how big that song was, how big it is. We were working really hard at the time, so maybe that prevented us from seeing just how big it was getting. But it's been busy since – we're having our first vacation in a very long time, soon.
I think it comes down to what you make of it, when you get that sort of success. You could become a diva, or a lone wolf, which might negatively affect you. But for us, I don't think it's changed us at all. We don't care [how we're seen], we're just happy that people like our music. If it has changed anything, it's that we now have this much bigger audience, basically.
The song had been around a while before it hit the charts. Did seeing the way it was picked up, at a second attempt I suppose, make you feel good, vindicated perhaps, for standing by it?
I definitely think that it was a beautiful way of doing things. We released the song in 2012 in Sweden, and then it spread like a virus, onto and across the internet. Suddenly we had to release it in Australia, because people were yearning for it – and then that same feeling spread to the US.
I think it was cool to see that happen, that way – and it gave us so much more time to work on our other material. I don't feel anything negative about the experience, and it opened so many doors for us, to help us keep doing what we're doing right now.
Was it a surprise to see it do better here in the UK, going to number one, than back home in Sweden, where it stalled a place lower?
It was like a freaking dream come true! We used to live in London, a couple of years ago. We were working so hard on our music then, and eventually we had to move back to Sweden. But to go back to the UK, with our song at number one, it's… it has been like a dream come true. It was overwhelming, amazing.
We actually went back to our old apartment, in London, to see the people who we used to live with. They were like: wow! It was really cool.
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Making albums is very important, and should anyone be thinking that the format is dead, I just can't… That idea just makes me sad...
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Icona Pop, 'We Got The World'
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You mentioned having a holiday soon. Does that indicate that you're coming, quite naturally, to the end of the 'This Is…' promotional cycle? Time for some rest and recuperation?
I mean, right now, we've almost got half of the next album written. So I'm really excited to get that finished, and to share it. I think our next album is going to reflect a little of what it's been like on the road, in the wake of 'I Love It'. It's going to be quite chaotic as well, but I'm super excited to get it finished and out there.
So you're not planning too much time off, then?
No, I think we're going to get the new album out in January next year. I mean, why wait? To release any album is amazing. To get the next album out there, it'll feel like closing this current chapter in our lives, so we need that album.
There's a big topic in the British music industry right now, with people shooting the proverbial over whether or not the album format is dead. I'd say that some people might look to Icona Pop as an example of a tracks-over-albums artist, but you're clearly enthused about the making of full-length statements.
Our dream was always to make an album. I think we were always aiming for that. Having an album, having it out there, that release is like the last page in your diary, the closure of a period in your life. For me and Caroline, making albums is very important, and should anyone be thinking that the format is dead, I just can't… That idea just makes me sad.
Nothing compares to going out and buying an album, holding an album. That feeling, to own that little piece of art, is so beautiful. I know that there'll always be some people saying otherwise, but I'm sure that even if the album was dead, it'll come back to life again. We love things like Spotify, we're big supporters of that – but that's a service that's great for finding new music, and I do use it for that, for times when I can't get out to buy any new albums.
But when I do get out there, and shop for an album, I feel 15 years old again. I used to go to second-hand shops, and go through all the old records.
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Icona Pop, 'All Night'
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Speaking of tracks, to placate the playlist-supporting public, you've seen great success with having some of yours feature on TV shows, in advertising and in videogames. Nowadays, but how important to a band's career is that sort of activity?
It's been totally important, and such an amazing thing. 'I Love It' was in [the TV show] Girls, and it just blew up after that. There are a lot of people out there who don't listen to radio, so to be able to get your song in front of a TV audience, and have them like your music, that's massive. To get a good sync, it's amazing.
Do you sometimes forget, or simply not know, what your music is going to be used in – and then it comes on and catches you by surprise?
Oh yeah. Me and Caroline, we'll be in a club and our song will come on and we'll start screaming, "Oh my god, it's our song!" People are looking at us, like we're freaks, and we're dancing so much. But hearing even your own song in a new context, it can be like hearing it for the first time. We'll be watching TV and one of our songs will come on and we'll be, like: "Whoa, this is amazing."
Also, I can feel a little embarrassed, sometimes, when I hear my own music. I can be a little, "Well, oh, yeah." Y'know, it can be weird, so it depends on the situation. But, I do want people to know that it's our song.
Sweden's got a splendid reputation when it comes to this sort of electro-coloured, slightly askew pop. Did you have a great deal of domestic influences, going into making your own music?
Well, in Sweden, one of the biggest genres is actually indie-pop, and indie-rock. So I think that a lot of producers, and people, get influenced by that sort of music – and so that gives the pop that comes out of Sweden that edge. There were a lot of Swedish artists who I grew up with, like Neneh Cherry, ABBA, and then you've got Robyn, who's amazing, and Lykke Li. So there's a lot of good music coming from here.
We've been thinking a lot recently about what it is that's in the Swedish water, getting into these artists and producers. And I think that it comes down to the melodies. I can hear a pop song, and tell that it's Swedish, because it has these qualities that are quite like those of Swedish folk music. Swedish folk tends to be dark, and bittersweet, with this twist of happiness – and I think you can hear that, really quickly, in a lot of Swedish pop, too.
Do you think your music has evolved into a slightly more international sound? I listen to 'Manners', from 2011, and hear this distinctly Swedish brand of pop, something quite melancholic. Yet something like 'All Night', which came out last summer, has this slicker, more UK/US vibe going on.
Yeah, maybe. But then people will say to us, that we make all of this happy music. And we're like, "Hmm, you haven't listened to the lyrics, have you?" We love to disguise the heartbreak stories with happy melodies. I think 'Manners' and even 'I Love It' are in that vein – though 'All Night' is definitely a happy song, beside the bittersweet ones. They keep that Swedish mentality.
But we have developed as artists. We grew up with 1990s pop music, and I always wanted to be a pop star. But I think that we're maybe a new type of pop star. We're rock stars stuck inside he bodies of pop stars, because we don't feel like pop stars at all!
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I'd recommend night swimming, and you have to be naked. A lot of Swedish people like getting naked...
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Icona Pop, 'Just Another Night'
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You're at Way Out West, in Gothenburg in August. What should those in attendance there, and at any other festivals you're playing, expect from the experience?
We've been doing some magic with our live show. There are a lot of lights, and we're playing after dark so that's going to be beautiful – everything you see is going to be an extension of the music. There's going to be a big screen, too… what do you call it? Like a video wall? A backdrop, of screens. We have some small surprises for Way Out West too, but we can't tell – or else it wouldn't be a surprise.
So, for anyone going to Sweden for the first time – maybe for Way Out West, maybe just for a nice holiday – what should they take away from their time there? What one thing should they do, or see?
I would go to an archipelago, and take a swim. That's something you'll never forget. The nature in Sweden is so beautiful, and so clean. In Gothenburg, where Way Out West is, there is an archipelago nearby (details) , so if you do get the chance to go out there, take it. I'd recommend night swimming, and you have to be naked. A lot of Swedish people like getting naked.
I know us Brits are supposed to all be prudes, but give us a few beers and I'm sure we'll be right in there with you.
Oh yeah, well, you'll definitely find out that we're bad drinkers. I'll see you at Way Out West? You'll probably find me and Caroline naked, as we always try to take a dip. Maybe we'll do it together – we'll show you the real Sweden.
We'll sync our swims, right?
(Laughs) That sounds good, see you later!
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Icona Pop online. The band plays Way Out West in Gothenburg, August 7th-9th, details here.
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|You are in: World: Americas
Wednesday, 1 November, 2000, 14:19 GMT
Gore and Bush gagging for votes
With just a week to go to election day, the Republican and Democratic candidates in the US presidential race are trying to woo undecided voters with humour.
In a campaign that often seems to be more about character than policies, Halloween appearances on the Jay Leno talk show gave both presidential hopefuls the opportunity to show the more frivolous side of their personalities.
Texas Governor and Republican contender George W Bush was the first to joust with comedian Jay Leno.
When the host reached under his desk and pulled on a Bush mask, the Texas governor produced one of his own and looked into the camera in the visage of his opponent, Vice-President Gore.
"This is more scary," joked Mr Bush.
Continuing the Halloween theme, Jay Leno lit a candle in a carved pumpkin as Bush warned: "Jay, you can't light that in here with all this flammabbabble stuff around."
"I think the word you're searching for is flammable," Leno retorted - a reference to Mr Bush's well-documented tendency to mispronounce words.
"No Jay, look at the sign," Mr Bush replied, as the camera cut to a bright red sign reading: "Warning - Highly Flammabbabble".
When it was Al Gore's turn to get the Jay Leno treatment, the comedian produced a copy of the Rolling Stone magazine, for which Mr Gore had posed.
"Thank you for the million laughs," Jay Leno cracked, as he held the magazine up for cameras and noted that the cover photo of Mr Gore in khaki pants "had to be airbrushed because it was too sexy".
Mr Gore, often lampooned for his stiff posture, responded in a deadpan manner, saying: "I think people buy that magazine for the articles".
Mr Leno also showed some pictures from the annual Halloween parties Mr Gore and his wife, Tipper, have thrown at the vice-presidential mansion in Washington.
In one, Mr Gore, dressed up as Frankenstein, is speaking on the telephone.
Mr Gore confided that the call actually involved top US national security advisers about some genuine foreign policy crisis.
Asked what he would do in a similar situation if he was president, Mr Gore quipped: "It might help if it was, like a warning to Saddam Hussein".
Kiss and tell
Earlier, on a women's cable channel, Mr Gore and his wife Tipper tried to explain all the kissing they have done lately on campaign stages. "Well, we want people to try it at home," Mrs Gore said with a laugh.
For both Mr Gore and Mr Bush, the talk show circuit gives them a chance to connect with undecided voters nationwide.
Mr Leno says Americans like to learn by osmosis and admits that the jokes he makes at the candidates' expense are "trying to show that they're human and friendly and have a lighter side".
"With these jokes we're not questioning anybody's patriotism," says Mr Leno.
"I mean what you're doing is finding human foibles and making it funny. These people spend millions of dollars trying to hide various human frailties, and we do the same thing trying to bring them out," he says.
With theatrical tears in his eyes, Mr Leno laments the demise of President Clinton, whose personal conduct has been a rich source for gags in recent years.
"It's the golden age. It's like when Fonzi left Happy Days. You know it's not the same. I mean, fat girls under the desk - we won't see that again in our lifetime," he says.
See also:
01 Nov 00 | Americas
Gore off target
31 Oct 00 | Election challenge
Halloween on the campaign trail
20 Oct 00 | Entertainment
Bush and Gore fight for laughs
31 Oct 00 | Americas
Clinton seeks Republican apology
27 Oct 00 | Americas
Clinton seeks to rescue Democrats
26 Oct 00 | Americas
Bush calls in the big guns
28 Sep 00 | Americas
Key states to watch
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Low turnout marks pro-gun rally in Santa Fe
A pro-gun rally in Santa Fe failed to draw a large audience on Saturday.
Organized by the San Antonio-based This Is Texas Freedom Force, the "Carry For Our Kids Rally" featured several speakers who presented arguments for arming teachers across Texas schools.
"It's a really good message," said Denise Jaimes, 53. "They're hitting it right on point. It's just that there's nobody listening."
Jaimes and her fiancé drove nearly two hours from their home in Cleveland to attend the rally after hearing about it on Facebook. But when they strolled into the pavilion at Runge Park to find more speakers and media members than actual audience members, she felt let down.
"I'm disappointed that there aren't more people here, and I'm going to let people know that I'm disappointed," said Jaimes, who for a long time was a member of the Texas Defense Force, a sovereign army for the state of Texas. "We could have had a strong stance here, and there's just nobody here."
Brandon Burkhart, president of This Is Texas Freedom Force, didn't let the low turnout affect his mood. Instead, he projected confidence that the push for arming teachers in the name of student safety will continue to grow, despite a lack of media attention.
"First and foremost, we're trying to educate the public on the other side," he said Saturday , just a few minutes before he introduced the first speaker to take the microphone atop a wagon re-purposed as a stage.
"Most of the media has been running the with the narrative of March For Our Lives, and pushing more gun control and stuff like that," he said. "Basically, we want to do away with gun-free zones. We want any teacher that wants to carry to carry."
Usually, the main objective of Burkhart's organization is Texas history and its preservation. "But we do dabble in rights," he said. "And whenever our students are being targeted, that's why we insert ourselves."
He set out to plan the rally in the wake of last month's tragic school shooting at Santa Fe High School, which claimed the lives of eight students and two adults. He contacted several organizations from around the state, including Open Carry Texas and Lone Star Gun Rights. He also reached out to locals to ask if anyone would like to speak on the stage, which featured a large cutout of the Alamo and a prop armadillo with its shell painted like the Texas flag.
"We didn't get any blowback. I spoke to several residents, and the town has welcomed us with open arms. Though there were a few who had some reservations," he said. "And I told them, 'If you don't attend the event, you won't even know we were here.'"
The biggest hoots and hollers of the day came about when radio host Doc Greene, of "The Amazing Doc Greene Show" spoke. In his speech, he tapped the holster on his right hip, where he keeps his 1911, a semi-automatic pistol, and invoked the Bible regularly.
"Someone asked, 'What would Jesus do?' Well, we know that. We have the answer to that," he said, before paraphrasing from the Gospel of Luke, in which Jesus told his disciples to sell their cloaks and buy a sword.
"The whole point is that the Lord Jesus Christ understood that the ability to defend yourself and others is more important than comfort itself," said Greene. "That's why he said sell your coat and buy a gun. Jesus might have been the first Navy Seal. He said it would be better for you to be cold and wet than to not be able to defend yourself and others."
This was met with resounding applause. But while many of the other attendees cheered and, one rally-goer, Steve Johnson remained largely silent. He sat at a picnic table, listening to speakers for much of the morning, his arms crossed in front of the green "Santa Fe Strong" T-shirt he wore, which bears the names of the students who were murdered in the shooting.
"I wanted to just come and hear all the viewpoints," Johnson said. While Johnson technically lives on the other side of the city line in Algoa, his children attend Santa Fe schools, and his daughter was at Santa Fe on the day of the shooting.
"It was a pretty bad day for us," he said of May 18. "But it was a worse day for my daughter."
That's why it is so important to him to soak up as many viewpoints as possible in this national debate that has now become incredibly local.
"You know, this is a big issue right now, with school safety, and we're trying to listen to everyone's views, whether we agree with them or don't agree with them, because it's a very serious situation, and we want to have an honest discussion," he said. "We're pro-gun, and I personally am OK with certain parts of teachers having firearms."
He hoped that Saturday would help him find answers to the big questions his community is grappling with. But he knows that finding true solutions will take time, and more voices than can be offered up in one rally fueled by out-of-town organizations.
Still, he has hope that Santa Fe will be able to create solutions going forward.
"Nothing alone is going to stop it. It's going to have to be a group of things put together," he said. "And I think education is really important first step in that. Getting the voice out there of whatever it is you're pushing so people can understand."


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The other day I was posed with a question. It was as such, "who are you?" Much to my surprise, I was unable to come up with an answer, or even a partial one. While most people responded with "a child of God," or some related answer, I drew a blank. Yes I am a child of God, but that answer was not one that snuck up in my mind at first thought. This leads me to wonder. Do I really know and feel truly who I am?
Our lives are filled with many things, but lets begin here. There are lots of people in the world who define themselves by what they do, how they dress, and such related things. Those things may express who we are but are not the definition of who we are. We can get so wrapped up in worrying about those material things, or making sure we are "the best" at everything. Of course it is good to do our best, but we do not have to be the best. Either way, it should not define who we are. I would not say I am a poet, I am dancer, I am such and such…those are outlets for me.
While others may know who we are, we are not defined by others. I feel that this one is esspecially important to remember here in my days of formation. A lot of who I am, whoever that may be, is being challenged. There are always opinions around about you and always someone who will not like what you are doing, how you are doing things, where you are doing things, and you see my point. I am seeing that we tend to let that overtake us. While it is important to listen to the thoughts of others because there may be something of value there, we must also be aware that we still need to hold our own to some degree and not become what someone else thinks we should be. There is a fine line in all of this, one I feel is tred upon quite often here. There is still that search for balance.
Ever feel like you live multiple lives with a couple different sets of personalities. It is quite interesting. While I may not be "crazy" in the way one would define someone of this nature, I do have the sense of this at times in my life. This is where a big portion of teh struggle of "who am I" comes into play. Surely a child of God is in the definition, but beyond that. How do we really balance ourselves? What do we do with the bad part of ourselves that we all have lurking away somewhere? We need to focus on what we think God wants us to be. So then we just circle back around to answering "who are you?" Thus we end up withthe same answer. A Child of God.