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Greeklish.org Features
 The Story of Zoya and Shura full text from greeklish.org 
Bandiera Rossa by Pankrti Youth Against Fascism by Sonic Youth On My Radio '91 by The Selecter The Lonesome Death of Rachel Corrie by Billy Bragg CM Punk wins the World Heavyweight Championship (2008) Rob Van Dam wins the WWE Championship at One Night Stand (2006) Month Archive
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Thursday, August 31
With apologies to spider-haters
by
Mike
on Thu 31 Aug 2006 09:18 PM EDT
If
it’s any consolation at all to you spider-hating folks, soon it will be
cold and all the spiders (and all the pictures of them) will eventually
be in short supply. But for now, I have a new picture. This
evening, I went back to check on our baby mantis (who is in about the
same spot as the other day) and I came upon a rather impressive
sight: I found a huge reddish-brown spider snacking on a
yellowjacket. There was a light breeze and it was difficult to
get a good close-up picture, but I tried my best...
Wednesday, August 30
McAfee finally gets it right
by
Mike
on Wed 30 Aug 2006 09:09 PM EDT
McAfee SiteAdvisor his finally changed their rating on marxists.org after months (or maybe longer) of warning web users to refrain from using marxists.org. Within the past few days (not sure exactly when), all info on McAfee’s SiteAdvisor safety ratings now accurately reflects that marxists.org, a reputable Internet archive that has existed in various forms for around 15 years, is officially a “good” site. Their updated rating includes the following note:
Feedback from credible users suggests that this site is safe to use.
Still safe. Way to eventually get it right, folks. It doesn't explain the whole story, but it'll do. Tuesday, August 29
Baby mantis
by
Mike
on Tue 29 Aug 2006 02:16 PM EDT
Now
here’s something you don’t see every day...In fact, I don’t think I
have ever seen one of these! I found what appears to be a baby
praying mantis on the west side of our house this morning:
 This one was only about an inch and a half long. My brother and I used to catch adult mantises when we were kids, but even full-grown ones are difficult to come by. I have never seen one quite this small. And this one was really alert, turning his/her head in all sorts of directions to keep an eye on me while I snapped a few closeup pictures. It’s been an interesting week for bugs around our house. The other day, I saw a real live cicada killer wasp in our front yard. These things are far too fast and elusive for me to try and photograph, though. There’s also a big black and red spider on our back porch that I will try to catch so that I can add him to the Spider House. Sunday, August 27
Rang de Basanti
by
Mike
on Sun 27 Aug 2006 11:04 PM EDT
 I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the film Rang de Basanti. I had read a little bit about it some time ago while I was researching the Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
I had found a short description of the film basically indicated that it
was something of a modern re-telling of the story of Bhagat Singh and
his compatriots and while I was a bit intrigued, I didn’t exactly rush
out to find a copy. A couple of weeks ago, my curiosity finally
got the better part of me and I ordered a surprisingly inexpensive DVD
of the film from eBay. While I was waiting for the film to arrive
in the mail, I picked up a copy of the soundtrack at the local Indian
market, as I had noticed that the soundtrack included a song by the
incomparable Lata Mangeshkar. The song by Lata was quite
lackluster compared to her earlier work, but I actually enjoy the CD’s title track by Daler Mehndi
and Chitra despite the fact that I do not generally enjoy hip-hop
and/or techno music (view an excerpt from the film featuring this song).When the DVD finally arrived, I was a little surprised because its packaging and label looked a little substandard. It looked professional, mind you...but substandard, nevertheless. When I played the DVD for the first time, it didn’t take long to figure out the reason behind the shoddy packaging. It all started to add up... The film was not formatted to view on a television screen, so the images looked kind of stretched out. And the English subtitles featured poor punctuation and a littany of mispellings. So I eventually figured out that I had inadvertently picked up a less-than-legitimate copy of the film. Oh well. I can’t say that it really took away from the viewing experience all that much...Actually, it made things even more interesting in a way. Even the few times where the subtitles were completely omitted for several minutes at a time were not all that bad, even though I don’t understand Hindi. I was recently discussing Rang de Basanti with one of the proprietors of the local Indian market. She proudly explained to me that she is from the state of Punjab, which was also home to many prominent Indian revolutionaries. She also told me that “Rang de Basanti” basically refers to the color yellow (or maybe saffron, as I have read online) which symbolizes a struggle or fight. As we talked, she excitedly waved a piece of yellow plastic sheeting that she had been using as packaging in a box of jewelry and she said, “When I wear this color, I am saying, ‘Today I am ready to go out and fight!’”
The film’s depiction of Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries is included as a recurring flashback of sorts that is wonderfully woven through the film's broader tale of modern India. The filmmakers effectively depict the bravery of the Indian revolutionaries in the face of the brutal and repressive forces of the British occupation. Moments such as the Assembly Hall bomb-throwing scene are brief but incredibly well-staged. The image of Bhagat Singh, Batukeshwar Dutt and others shouting “Inquilab zindabad!” is incredibly compelling. It is, of course, possible to enjoy Rang de Basanti with little to no knowledge of the Indian independence movement, but some familiarity with the history and events surrounding the struggle for freedom in India greatly enhances the experience of watching the movie. Of course, a deeper appreciation of the history of the movement will also serve to elucidate the message behind the film. The works entitled “The Red Pamphlet” and “Statement of the Undefended Accused” are great starting points towards an appreciation of the story of India’s ongoing struggle for freedom. Monday, August 21
Discovering YouTube
by
Mike
on Mon 21 Aug 2006 09:31 PM EDT
Note: Most hyperlinks for this article lead to the respective YouTube videos
YouTube is kind of a new thing to me. I think the first time I ever heard of it, I had been searching for some clips from the old MTV show The State when I came across a clip of the “Muppet-eating dinner party” sketch that had been uploaded to YouTube (they also have the “Tenenment” sketch and a couple of clips featuring the “Louie” character and as well). I didn’t really think too much about YouTube after checking out those clips from The State, but every so often for the last few months, I have been stumbling across links to interesting pieces on the site. And last week alone, I think I got at least 3 e-mails from friends suggesting different stuff to check out on the site (such as Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager), so Saturday night seemed like a good time to have a more in-depth look at what YouTube has to offer. In just the first few minutes of my YouTube browsing, I decided that I would never buy the Kiss: Rock the Nation DVD. The few clips that are available on YouTube show just how awful Kiss is with Tommy Thayer filling in for Ace Frehley. It just doesn’t work. There…I just saved about $25.00. Thanks, YouTube. I was really excited to find some vintage Randy Rhoads material available on YouTube, including a 1979 live performance of “Laughing Gas” that runs almost 10 minutes. Say what you will about his cheesy bow tie, Randy is one of the greatest guitar players in the history of metal. I can remember back when you had to pay through the nose for 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation copies of this stuff at record shows (...and that was only a few years ago, by the way). And speaking of metal, where else can you see the original music video for Venom’s “Nightmare”? Again, it’s kind of cheesy – but who cares? It’s Venom! There’s a bunch of stuff from the Venom concert films “The 7th Date of Hell” and “Alive in ‘85" on YouTube as well. Hail, Venom! There are a few clips of Phil Ochs on YouTube, including clips from performances of “There But for Fortune,” “I’m Going to Say It Now,” and “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” (as Phil puts it: “dedicated for all the nice folks of NATO”). Phil is one of my heroes and it is a real pleasure to see him playing, even if it’s only for a few minutes here and there. I have previously written of my rather embarrassing affection for a few old Southern wrestling promotions from back in the early 1980's. I was, of course, happy to find that some vintage clips from ICW and Memphis Wrestling have made it on to YouTube. Some of their better selections include the time when Ronnie Garvin smashed Ox Baker’s false teeth and the legendary dust-up between Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman on Late Night with David Letterman. Awesome stuff! There are quite a few selections from Indian films and music videos on YouTube as well. Some of my favorite songs from Mughal-E-Azam are posted on the site, including “Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya” and “Teri Mehfil Main Kismat Aazma Ke.” These clips are especially good, as they are from the 2004 colorized re-release of the film. I guess you can say I am hooked. It’s probably accurate that for everything “good” on YouTube, there’s a whole lot of weird and pointless stuff too. But then again, I know my tastes are rather eclectic by most standards -- In fact, the above list probably proves this better than anything. I guess that in the end YouTube is simply a great medium to bring all sorts of interesting people and ideas together. Friday, August 18
The worst wedding toast ever
by
Mike
on Fri 18 Aug 2006 10:45 PM EDT
It’s
been a long and busy week. Although topics have come and gone
from my mind over the last few days, it’s been nearly impossible to sit
down and type any of them out. I’m sure things will slow down a bit
soon, but in the absence of a decent article about family, comics or
politics, I will instead offer a short piece featuring a very true
story. This popped into my mind the other night and I thought it
would be fun to share…
Back in the summer of 2001 (shortly after the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic, which is an important point later in the story), I attended a very strange wedding. The bride and the groom were both dentists and they had recently moved to Washington D.C. (but the wedding was here in town). The best man was the father of the groom. (Now, how weird is that?) The wedding ceremony itself was unremarkable (although I did spend a fair amount of time wondering if the groom had even one single friend that he could have chosen as a best man instead of picking his old man), but the reception featured a rather awkward moment during the customary toast to the bride and groom. When it came time to offer his toast, the best man/father of the groom rose and started chattering about something or other and eventually he got around to talking about the bride and groom. Now, he was particularly proud of the fact that the married couple were both practicing dentists and that they were living in Washington D.C, so this became somewhat of the focus of this rambling “toast.” He talked about how proud he was of their work and the fact that they now lived in Washington and he then joked that while they were in D.C, his new daughter-in-law was going to be performing some kind of dental work on Hillary Clinton and that his son was “going to be doing root canals on Slobodan Milosevic!” The latter comment was particularly asinine seeing as how Milosevic was nowhere near the U.S. following his arrest and detention. Maybe he was fantasizing that his son was part of some kind of crack dentist-commando unit for the Navy. Anyway, that was basically the toast. Seriously, folks...the toast ended with a reference to Slobodan Milosevic! After it was over, a few people laughed uncomfortably, there was some scattered clapping, everyone raised their glasses and the afternoon rolled on. There is an interesting postscript to all this: Several months later, the groom was caught cheating, and the marriage ended quite abruptly. Now I am not a superstitious guy, but a toast that bad has to be some kind of a curse!  Sunday, August 13
"McAfee" = "McCarthyism"
by
Mike
on Sun 13 Aug 2006 11:28 PM EDT
Note:
This article was published prior to McAfee’s fix of their site rating
for marxists.org. As of late August 2006, the rating for
marxists.org has been adjusted appropriately.
It looks like McAfee, one of the leaders in Internet security, has decided to take the idea of “security” to the next level. Their SiteAdvisor feature (available as a plug-in for web browsers) clearly warns users against visiting and using the Marxists Internet Archive (marxists.org/marx.org) despite giving MIA a completely clean bill of health on all automated web safety testing results. (view their complete "Web Saftety Ratings" for marxists.org here) By and through McAfee’s own testing regimen, McAfee acknowledges the MIA site is completely free of automated e-mail spamming, adware, spyware, harmful links to other sites, and the like. And yet, they formally and unequivocally recommend that MIA is not to be used. Is it this a mistake or is it intentional? Is it "red flagging" or "blacklisting"? Whatever the case, it’s censorship, plain and simple. And the implications of this are both sinister in their nature and disturbing in their scope. So how can the online community fight such skullduggery? It appears as though McAfee only permits registered users or verified site owners users to post comments in protest of their site ratings. Further, it is a bit tricky to connect with actually McAfee/Site Advisor staff to formally register a complaint regarding their ratings. As a public service to the online community, we at greeklish.org have opted to open our own “Site Advisor” service in hopes that web users might benefit from our keen powers of observation and our sincere insight.  Note:
This article was published prior to McAfee’s fix of their site rating
for marxists.org. As of late August 2006, the rating for marxists.org has
been adjusted appropriately.
Wednesday, August 9
Polygyros, then and now
by
Mike
on Wed 09 Aug 2006 10:28 PM EDT
While
going through some family photos last night, Thomai found a nice old
black and white photograph featuring Papou Vangelis in Polygyros standing near a
building he he had built. We think this photo is from the early
1970s:
 On the back of the photo is a note from Papou Vangelis, written in Greek cursive: In this picture I laugh for my courage and enjoy my work. When we visited our family in Polygyros in 2004, we stopped to visit Thio Saki at his store, which is on the ground floor of the same building. While we were there, we took a picture. Here's how the property looks these days:  Efharisto to Anthony for translating the inscription on the back of the photo. Tuesday, August 8
The "Oil Hunger"
by
Mike
on Tue 08 Aug 2006 11:17 PM EDT
A
week or so ago, I was thumbing through a collection of works by V.I.
Lenin (vol. 19 of Collected Works, to be exact) and I discovered a
relatively obscure gem entitled The “Oil Hunger” (full text) I had a quick read
of the piece and I had all but forgotten about it for a while, but
yesterday’s news that BP has closed the biggest oil pipeline in North
America prompted me to have another look.
The text was written in 1913 during a rather critical time in the development of the Russian economy, so some of the facts in the work are obviously rather dated, to say the least. It is a sure sign of the times when Lenin quotes statistics of his day regarding oil production: “In 1900 Russia and America together produced over nine-tenths of the world’s oil and in 1910 they produced over eight-tenths.” Compare this to the figures regarding the top oil producers for 2004 and you’ll find that Russia is presently still in the position of the second-largest producer behind Saudi Arabia, although it is important to note that prior to its disintegration, the USSR was consistently the number one producer for an extended period. The United States ranked third in annual production in 2004. (source) But while the facts of Lenin's text may be somewhat dated, the key concepts and rhetoric of the piece deserve a closer look. In Lenin’s piece, he notes, “America now extracts three times more oil...(than Russia)” but he also stresses that it was Russia who felt the pinch of the “‘world-wide’ phenomenon of price increase” much more so than the United States. The U.S. was still the largest consumer of oil in 2004 (for non-OPEC countries), using 20.5 million barrels per day. Russia was ranked fifth, behind China, Japan and Germany. The difference in daily consumption between the U.S. and Russia was a difference of almost 19 million barrels per day. (source) There is, of course, a new worldwide phenomenon of price increase and each record high oil price is somewhat of a predictable surprise, so to speak. But the imbalance of the market remains the same – The US produces less, uses more and pays less than much of the rest of the world. And while the US feeds its ravenous “oil hunger,” developing nations survive on crumbs to curb their own pangs of hunger. Although Lenin’s work was written almost a century ago, certain passages still accurately describe the current global superstructure which guides and shapes world petroleum production and supply. Consider Lenin’s mirror-image “portrait” of the Duma’s Markov the Second, drawn from the very image of the Russia’s oil tycoons and millionaires. He describes the tension between the two sides as “a quarrel between two plunderers of the people’s property.” How similar is this image to the scene earlier this year when the heads of US oil companies were before a government inquiry to explain their record profits? And what, exactly, was the explanation that was provided by the magnates? Does anybody remember? The mantra of the day for the US oil companies back in March 2006 was that a significant proportion of their profit went back into “research and development.” Very clever. That’s all good and well for the American companies (if you really believe it), but evidently, research and development is does not extend to oil industry infrastructure for British-owned BP. BP’s decision to close the Prudhoe pipeline is purportedly necessary due to extensive corrosion...caused by years of neglect and disrepair, to be more precise. BP claims that the poor timing of this issue is simply an unfortunate coincidence (with respect to recent surges in oil prices due to wars and the 2005 hurricane season) and that the necessity of the closure is somewhat of a surprise. But perhaps Lenin’s words from 1913 still ring true, both for the American oil companies and BP: What lies at the bottom of the oil question?
First of all it is the shameless inflation of oil prices by the oil kings accompanied by the artificial curtailment of oil-well and refinery productivity by these “knights” of capitalist profit. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We don’t need any more inquiries, testimony or market research to understand the ‘oil hunger’. We know what —– and who — drives the market. It is what we do with this information — from here onward — that really matters. Further Reading The Development of Capitalism in Russia by VI Lenin; full text at marxists.org Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism by VI Lenin; full text at marxists.org Some interesting oil industry statistics from Gibson Consulting Geology, Geophysics, and Educational Tourism Thursday, August 3
Another really big spider
by
Mike
on Thu 03 Aug 2006 09:02 PM EDT
Here’s a picture of a really big spider that I found on the north side of our house today. I think it’s a Black and Yellow Argiope.
She is about 2 inches from top to bottom (or that might be from bottom
to top, as she is pointing down towards the ground.) I would
typically be inclined to catch this beauty and put her in my Spider House,
but that particular project has gone by the wayside for now. It
seems as though my plate is now full with two jobs, two kids, four fish, a
dog, volunteer work and a blog. So she will stay on where she is
for now and we’ll entrust her to keep all of the other pesky bugs away. Click here to see another spider that I found last year.
 Click on the picture to see a larger version |
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