The approximate playlist for John Lydon's legendary 16 June 1977 Capital Radio appearance with DJ Tommy Vance.
Tim Buckley - Sweet Surrender
Creation - Life Is Just Beginning
David Bowie - Rebel Rebel
possibly East of Eden - Jig A Jig
Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown
Gary Glitter - Doin' Alright With The Boys
Fred Locks - Walls
Vivian Jackson and the Prophets - Fire in a Kingston
Culture - I'm Not Ashamed
Dr Alimantado - Born For A Purpose
Bobby Byrd - Back From The Dead
Neil Young - Revolution Blues
Lou Reed - Men Of Good Fortune
Kevin Coyne - Eastbourne Ladies
Peter Hammill - Institute Of Mental Health, Burning
Peter Hammill - Nobody's Business
Makka Bees - Nation Fiddler/Fire!
Capt Beefheart - The Blimp
Nico - Janitor Of Lunacy
Ken Boothe - Is It Because I'm Black
John Cale - Legs Larry At Television Centre
Third Ear Band - Fleance
Can - Halleluwah
Peter Tosh - Legalise It
(Whoever they are fodderstompf have more info; there is some debate over the exact listing, with nobody sure who did Jig A Jig; I've also seen the Third Eye Band song named as Merciles Beaute, and a suggestion he played the Sex Pistols' Did You No Wrong.)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Other planets
David Thomson has written an angry, passionate polemic calling for cinema about ordinary life. In particular, he defends Yasujiro Ozu against modern interpretations of the director as being essentially a formalist, and he attacks James Cameron's spectacular 3D science fiction movie Avatar. Thomson starts with a powerful but probably untrue statement:
He is sharply dismissive of Avatar - a spectacular film that has been occasionally lauded for its political theme (by George Monbiot and by opponents of the Chinese government) while being attacked by others for its simplistic storytelling, numerous plot holes, and resemblances to FernGully: The Last Rainforest or Dances With Wolves. Thomson insists on the importance of Ozu's domestic subject matter and plain style in opposition to the 3D extragavance of James Cameron's film, and points to the basic flaw of all computer graphics movies:
Thomson's final version of his point is fairer, focussing not on theme (he concedes Avatar addresses many themes) but referring perhaps to the texture or surface of film rather than its depths:
Readers' comments on the article included many accusing Thomson of snobbery and saying ordinary people want escapist nonsense or alcoholic inebriation after a day at work; those saying that many people enjoy depressing small-scale family drama on TV, e.g. Eastenders; and someone pointed out that far from being an honest depiction of modern family life, Ozu's films were right-wing propaganda encouraging women to remain in the family and defending the traditional Japanese order after the turmoil of 1945.
Family is where we learn everything, including the sweeping urge to be done with family. Family is a basis of every narrative art, even if it offers us the humbling insight that our lives are all so ordinary and alike as to be worthless or without lofty significance. For most of us, family determines who will be at our funeral, and with what mixed feelings. Family asserts that we are higher than animals, and is the undertone and the consideration that leaves every one of us, if not afraid, then stilled, as we go to bed at night.(For an opposing viewpoint, recall the Gen X/slacker emphasis on friends as a new family, which reached its apotheosis on the incestuous TV show Friends, or Tim's remarks from the final episode of Ricky Gervais's The Office: "The people you work with are people you were just throw together with. You know, you don't know them, it wasn't your choice, and yet you spend more time with them then you do your friends or your family. But probably all you've got in common is the fact that you walk around on the same bit of carpet for 8 hours a day.")
He is sharply dismissive of Avatar - a spectacular film that has been occasionally lauded for its political theme (by George Monbiot and by opponents of the Chinese government) while being attacked by others for its simplistic storytelling, numerous plot holes, and resemblances to FernGully: The Last Rainforest or Dances With Wolves. Thomson insists on the importance of Ozu's domestic subject matter and plain style in opposition to the 3D extragavance of James Cameron's film, and points to the basic flaw of all computer graphics movies:
I will not dispute the level of spectacle in Avatar. And I am nostalgic enough about the engineering of prolonged battle scenes to concede that James Cameron has not lost the touch with armed struggle that he displayed in Aliens and the Terminator films. But Avatar is garbage, too, and that can only be pinpointed by stressing its abject subject matter and its inability to see that the most spectacular thing the movies ever had to offer (see Renoir, Ophüls, Ozu, Bresson ... well, just keep seeing) is the human face as its mind alters or saddens.In defending the centrality of family, he launches a rather unfair attack on Paul Schrader: a double failure as a sensationalistic filmmaker who can't even get funding these days - nobody would deny that Schrader's filmography as writer or director is variable, but anybody whose credits include Taxi Driver, Mishima, The Last Temptation of Christ, Raging Bull, Light Sleeper, and Affliction stands not only as a talented film artist but someone who has pinpointed many of the obsessions of his age while dealing with timeless themes of redemption, art, sacrifice, and even occasionally family. There is no reason why a sensationalist film cannot deal with real themes - just as Elizabethan and Jacobean drama did despite the murders and swordfights - though it is true that many filmmakers put in far less effort than Schrader into articulating a personal vision and following it to extremes (perhaps Thomson thinks film should be less personal and more social - although curiously he has in the past championed James Toback, a second-class Schrader if ever there was one).
You may say, don't be so solemn, don't pose the history of the movies as that blunt choice – Ozu or Avatar – when clearly there is room for so much more. But I think the cultural dilemma is as acute as this awkward choice suggests, and I fear that a culture – especially a culture of the young – will forget the existence of Ozu, and those whose films were always the fullest engagement of movies with this awkward but irresistible subject matter.
Thomson's final version of his point is fairer, focussing not on theme (he concedes Avatar addresses many themes) but referring perhaps to the texture or surface of film rather than its depths:
More and more of our movies – I am thinking of mainstream, English-speaking cinema – bear very little reference to life as lived.Science fiction or realist drama can equally well explore many of the same themes, and surely even Thomson would agree that not all art should be realist (there is surely space in film for Michael Powell or Robert Bresson). But representing life as it is lived, as it is experienced by individuals, looking at family, work, the day-to-day quotidian basis of getting out of bed and keeping going till you can sleep at night, is not a priority for British or American cinema. The recent mumblecore movement seemed to be an attempt, but one which made no attempt to represent lives other than those of its filmmakers, and thus failed to say anything about most people's life. There are filmmakers capable of making this work, but few people seem to go see their movies, and fewer give them money to make new films.
Readers' comments on the article included many accusing Thomson of snobbery and saying ordinary people want escapist nonsense or alcoholic inebriation after a day at work; those saying that many people enjoy depressing small-scale family drama on TV, e.g. Eastenders; and someone pointed out that far from being an honest depiction of modern family life, Ozu's films were right-wing propaganda encouraging women to remain in the family and defending the traditional Japanese order after the turmoil of 1945.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Negatives
Brian Duffy was one of the greatest British photographers ever, standing alongside David Bailey and Terence Donovan as one of the creators of the image of Swinging London. He shot the cover of Bowie's Aladdin Sane, created iconic Benson & Hedges adverts, shot the Pirelli calendars for 1965 and 1973, and helped produce the film Oh! What A Lovely War.
And then in 1979 he gave it all up, burning his negatives, and not taking another photo for 30 years.
His path into photography was unconventional - he came from a working-class north London background, but thanks to a radical project run by London County Council, he was exposed to art galleries, ballet, opera, and other art forms as a child. This took him to art school where he initially studied painting before switching to fashion design (he claimed because he wasn't the best painter and he wanted to meet girls). With this, he got work at Harper's and then London Vogue, getting sent to take photos and helping redefine the look of fashion photography.
BBC4 recently showed a documentary, The Man Who Shot The 60s, about Duffy, with contributions from David Bailey, Joanna Lumley and other people who know or knew him. He's still alive (though not in good health) and friends with Bailey, and he held an exhibition of old and new work in London in late 2009.
The TV program included Duffy visiting the house that held his old studio and talking about the moment he burned his photographs.
In the 1970s most of his work was for advertising. Although he loved the technical challenges of creating complex images, he didn't seem to view his work as art and was slightly bemused by the way that a camera is an art-making machine that can be used by anybody. Photography is the closest of all art forms to advertising, even more so than filmmaking. This post follows another entry on lost books, TV, and music.
And then in 1979 he gave it all up, burning his negatives, and not taking another photo for 30 years.
His path into photography was unconventional - he came from a working-class north London background, but thanks to a radical project run by London County Council, he was exposed to art galleries, ballet, opera, and other art forms as a child. This took him to art school where he initially studied painting before switching to fashion design (he claimed because he wasn't the best painter and he wanted to meet girls). With this, he got work at Harper's and then London Vogue, getting sent to take photos and helping redefine the look of fashion photography.
BBC4 recently showed a documentary, The Man Who Shot The 60s, about Duffy, with contributions from David Bailey, Joanna Lumley and other people who know or knew him. He's still alive (though not in good health) and friends with Bailey, and he held an exhibition of old and new work in London in late 2009.
The TV program included Duffy visiting the house that held his old studio and talking about the moment he burned his photographs.
NARRATOR: Throughout the 70s Duffy was still in demand, but his 20 years at the top were beginning to take their toll.(Transcribed from TV by myself)
DUFFY: 99.9% of my work was advertising: putting cream on babies' bums and rubbing it on; people putting toothpaste in their gob and doing this; putting something on their hair and doing that. That was 99% of my work. Crap.
HIS FORMER ASSISTANT: I think certainly by the time I came to work for him I think he was getting bored. He was still interested in trying new techniques, but there weren't many jobs that we did which I would say extended him.
DUFFY: The people who were hiring me I didn't like. You know it's like being on the game, disliking the men who are fucking you.
We're going to King Henry's Road because that's where I had the studio. And we're going there, which of course will be very exciting for you and for I guess the inhabitants of King Henry's Road.
Now this story might be absolute crock of shit and lies; it's the way I've been able to put it together in my cranium. I came in to start work and the assistant said we haven't got any toilet paper and I realised in a moment, in a flash, a trice: I was now commander-in-chief, managing director, senior partner, making decisions about toilet paper. And I thought, this has got to end: either by me murdering my staff, killing myself, or setting fire to the whole fucking thing.
I asked them all to leave and during the course of that morning decided to burn my negatives. My career went down the bog with a piece of paper.
So here we are, Linda. I set fire to boxes of negs which burned very inefficiently and I stoked them. And finally somebody turned up on the other side of that, that was a wooden fence, said, "What are you doing?" It was obvious what I was doing, burning stuff, and they said, "You can't do that. We're from the council." And so I put it out.
INTERVIEWER: I understand that as you were burning your work that Bailey played a part in all of this. What role did Bailey play?
DUFFY: Absolutely useless. I guess he was driving up the road, so he came in. I think he stood there like a spare dick at an Italian wedding and then said, "Oh, I could look after that for you." I said, "Don't bother," and then - went. Somebody later said or he said to them he helped me save them. He did no such thing. See that's the sort of turd he is.
INTERVIEWER: It was an incredibly significant moment in your life, wasn't it?
DUFFY: Not really, no. Just one thing I didn't want to do any more, that's all. When anything's destroyed people will wonder what was there. Well, it could have been a crock of shit that I left, worse than the stuff we've still got. Everybody think it might be full of gems.
In the 1970s most of his work was for advertising. Although he loved the technical challenges of creating complex images, he didn't seem to view his work as art and was slightly bemused by the way that a camera is an art-making machine that can be used by anybody. Photography is the closest of all art forms to advertising, even more so than filmmaking. This post follows another entry on lost books, TV, and music.
Will the internet save journalism?
A new study by Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism investigated news sources in Baltimore to study the changing nature of news media - the rise of blogs and websites, the decline of traditional newspapers. They found 95% of new stories came from traditional media (print, tv, radio, and niche media [e.g. trade press] - including the websites of these organisations) and only 5% from new media (blogs, twitter, websites). The web was the place where stories broke, both from traditional and new media.
On 6 major news stories studied in depth, 83% of all reports were repetitions of other stories without new information. Mainstream newspapers generated 48% of new information, TV 28%, and new media 4%. In the areas covered in detail, 63% of new stories came from government officials (mainly the police) while 15% were initiated by the press, 12% from citizens, and 10% from colleges/universities. They found numerous instances of press releases being reproduced word-for-word in news stories.
Many people in the blogosphere believe that bloggers can take the place of newspapers. There is some way to go. The researchers found just two news stories that originated from new media: one a posting on the police's twitter feed, and one by an investigative blogger who found a story about local government plans to put listening devices on public transport. Maybe we need more bloggers?
On 6 major news stories studied in depth, 83% of all reports were repetitions of other stories without new information. Mainstream newspapers generated 48% of new information, TV 28%, and new media 4%. In the areas covered in detail, 63% of new stories came from government officials (mainly the police) while 15% were initiated by the press, 12% from citizens, and 10% from colleges/universities. They found numerous instances of press releases being reproduced word-for-word in news stories.
Many people in the blogosphere believe that bloggers can take the place of newspapers. There is some way to go. The researchers found just two news stories that originated from new media: one a posting on the police's twitter feed, and one by an investigative blogger who found a story about local government plans to put listening devices on public transport. Maybe we need more bloggers?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Murder mystery
Rodrigo Rosenberg was a 47 year old lawyer living in Guatemala City. In April 2009, gunmen on a motorcycle attacked kill his client, industrialist Khalil Musa. This sort of killing is not unusual in Guatemala, a country rife with corruption and organised crime. Musa was killed alongside his daughter Marjorie, with whom Rosenberg was having an affair. Rosenberg spent weeks investigating the murders, becoming convinced it was part of a plot linked to left-wing president Alvaro Colom.
On 10 May 2009, at 8am, Rosenberg left his home on a bicycle, and shortly afterwards he was shot dead by assassins driving a Mazda. At his funeral, his friend Luis Mendizábal handed out copies of a video that Rosenberg had made four days before his death. In it, Rosenberg accused President Colom of trying to have him killed, naming the President's private secretary Gustavo Alejos and businessman Gregorio Valdez as accomplices. Guatemala was thrown into turmoil with protestors filling the streets and politicians demanding the president resign.
A team from the UN arrived to investigate the killing. The street where Rosenberg died was overlooked by several security cameras, and the investigators were able to identify the killers and eventually force them to talk. They discovered that Rosenberg had bought mobile phones and used them to makes death threats to himself, and even more incredibly he himself hired the assassins who gunned him down in the street. Rosenberg had fabricated evidence to frame Colom and in dying sought to pin his own death on the man he believed had killed his girlfriend - with Marjorie Musa dead and hopes of justice unravelling, suicide seemed not that bad an option.
It is a plot worthy of the darkest film noir or most convoluted Agatha Christie. Source: The Guardian.
On 10 May 2009, at 8am, Rosenberg left his home on a bicycle, and shortly afterwards he was shot dead by assassins driving a Mazda. At his funeral, his friend Luis Mendizábal handed out copies of a video that Rosenberg had made four days before his death. In it, Rosenberg accused President Colom of trying to have him killed, naming the President's private secretary Gustavo Alejos and businessman Gregorio Valdez as accomplices. Guatemala was thrown into turmoil with protestors filling the streets and politicians demanding the president resign.
A team from the UN arrived to investigate the killing. The street where Rosenberg died was overlooked by several security cameras, and the investigators were able to identify the killers and eventually force them to talk. They discovered that Rosenberg had bought mobile phones and used them to makes death threats to himself, and even more incredibly he himself hired the assassins who gunned him down in the street. Rosenberg had fabricated evidence to frame Colom and in dying sought to pin his own death on the man he believed had killed his girlfriend - with Marjorie Musa dead and hopes of justice unravelling, suicide seemed not that bad an option.
It is a plot worthy of the darkest film noir or most convoluted Agatha Christie. Source: The Guardian.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Proscribed
It has just been announced that Islam4UK (founded by Anjem Choudary) and parent group al-Muhajiroun (founders Omar Bakri Muhammad and Anjem Choudary) are to be banned under 2000 Terrorism Act, which allows the home secretary to proscribe groups which are "concerned in terrorism". Its offshoots the Saviour sect and al-Ghurabaa are already banned. But who else is banned? The following list is taken from the Home Office website; see also Guardian and Wikipedia.
Irish groups
Continuity Army Council (CAC) - NI Republican group, split from Provisional IRA in 1986
Cumann na mBan - Irish women's paramilitary group, linked to Irish Volunteers, formed 1914
Fianna na hÉireann - Name used by various Irish Republican groups, originally a youth group in West Belfast early in 20th century
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) - Northern Irish Republican group, split from Official IRA in 1972 because they believed the OIRA was too moderate, has now renounced violence
Irish People's Liberation group (IPLO) - Split from INLA in 1986, shut down by PIRA in 1992
Irish Republican Army (IRA) - Various Irish Republican groups going back to early 20th century, of which Original IRA, Provisional IRA (traditionalists who split from OIRA in 1969 after OIRA recognised British and Irish governments), Continuity IRA (broke from PIRA in 1986 when PIRA recognised Republic of Ireland), and Real IRA (broke from PIRA in 1997 over PIRA's support for peace process) are most well-known
Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) - Loyalist Northern Irish group, founded by Billy Wright, who left or was expelled from UVF in late 1990s; claimed it was ceasing operations in 2005, but may continue as a purely criminal gang
Orange Volunteers - Loyalist NI group, formed from members of Loyalist Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association following 1998 Drumcree conflict
Red Hand Commando - Loyalist NI group, linked to Ulster Volunteer Force
Red Hand Defenders - Loyalist NI group, with members of Ulster Defence Association and Loyalist Volunteer Force
Saor Éire - Trotskyite Irish Republican group active 1967-75
Ulster Defence Association (UDA) aka Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) - Loyalist NI group; used UFF name for terrorist actions; formed in 1971 and ended armed campaign in 2007
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) - Loyalist NI group, founded 1966, ended armed campaign in 2007
Other international groups
17 November Revolutionary Organization (17N) - Greek Marxist group; named after 1973 rising against Greek military junta; anti-USA
Abu Nidal group (ANO) - militant Palestinian group, secular and socialist
Abu Sayyaf (ASG) - Filipino Islamic group fighting for autonomy for Bangsamoro region; name means "father of swordsmith"
Al-Gama'at al-Islamiya (GI) - Egyptian Islamist group
Al Gurabaa (aka Al-Ghurabaa) - British Islamist group, formed from Al-Muhajiroun which disbanded in 2004. Name from hadith "Islam began as something strange and will end as something strange ... paradise is for the strangers (al Ghurabaa)."
Al Ittihad Al Islamia (AIAI) - Somali Islamist group allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda; now defunct
Al-Qaeda aka Al Qaida - Islamist movement formed by combining the wealtho of Saudi Arabian Osama bin Laden with the expertise of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, inspired by ideas of Sayyid Qutb
Ansar Al Islam (AI) - Kurdish Sunni/Wahhabi group
Ansar Al Sunna (AS) aka Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna - "Army of the Followers of the Sunna", Sunni Iraqi group founded in 2003, possibly linked to Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Armed Islamic Group (Groupe Islamique Armée) (GIA) - Algerian Islamist militia who hijacked Air France Flight 8969 and killed thousands of Algerians
Asbat Al-Ansar - Lebanese Sunni group, allegedly linked to Al Qaeda; name means "League of Partisans" or "Band of Helpers"
Babbar Khalsa (BK) - Sikh group trying to create independent Khalistan in Punjab; founded in late 1970s
Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) - campaigning for independence for Pakistani region of Baluchistan/Balochistan
Basque Homeland and Liberty (Euskadi ta Askatasuna) (ETA) - Basque separatists, Marxist
Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) - Egyptian Islamist group led by Ayman al-Zawahiri; affiliated with Al-Qaeda
Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain (GICM) - Moroccan terrorist group responsible for Madrid train bombings
Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades - Palestinian Islamists, military wing of Hamas
Harakat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami (HUJI) aka Harkat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami - Sunni terrorist group founded in Pakistan during Soviet occupation of Afghanistan; backed by Pakistan government and linked to Osama bin Laden
Harakat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami (Bangladesh) (Huji-B) - Bangladeshi branch of above
Harakat-Ul-Mujahideen-Al-Alami (HuM/A) and Jundallah - Pakistani Islamic group; active in Kashmir; formerly Harakat Ul Ansar (HuA); links with Osama bin Laden
Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HM) - Pakistani Islamist group, split from Harakat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami
Hezb-E Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) - Afghan Islamist faction of Hezbi Islami Party; funded by Pakistan in 1980s
Hizballah External Security group aka Hizballah Military Wing - Lebanese Shia Islamist group
International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) - Sikh pro-independence group
Islamic Army of Aden (IAA) - Yemeni Islamist group
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) - Uzbek Islamist group, split from Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) - Uzbek Islamist group, operated out of Tajikistan and Afghanistan trying to overthrow President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan
Jaish e Mohammed (JeM) - Pakistani Islamist group, "The Army of Mohammed"
Jammat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) - Bangladeshi Islamist group, set off 500 bombs in August 2005
Jeemah Islamiyah (JI) - Southeast Asian Islamist group, active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Brunei; derived from Indonesian Darul Islam movement
Khuddam Ul-Islam (Kul) - Islamist group sprung from Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jamaat Ul-Furquan (JuF) - Islamist group linked to Khuddam Ul-Islam
Kongra Gele Kurdistan aka Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel) (PKK) - Kurdish Marxist nationalists active in Turkey, formerly led by Abdullah Öcalan
Lashkar-e-Taiba or Lashkar e Tayyaba (LT) - South Asian Islamist group, based in Pakistan; seek independent Kashmir
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - Tamil militia fought for independence from Sri Lanka until defeated by Sri Lankan armed forces in 2009
Palestinian Islamic Jihad - Shaqaqi (PIJ) - Palestinian Islamic group descended from Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
Revolutionary Peoples' Liberation Party - Front (Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Partisi/Cephesi) (DHKP/C) - Turkish Marxist-Leninist group; split from Devrimci Yol aka Dev Yol which in turn split from People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey (THKP-C), which split from Revolutionary Youth Federation aka Dev Genç; "Party" refers to political side of organisation, "Front" the military
Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb - Algerian Islamist militia; formerly Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication et le Combat) (GSPC); founded by Hassan Hattab, formerly of Armed Islamic Group (GIA) who broke with the GIA because of their slaughter of civilians; decimated by mysterious disease in January 2009
Saved Sect (al-Firqat un-Naajiyah) or Saviour Sect - Islamist group from UK, descended from Al-Muhajiroun; believed to be headed by Omar Bakri Muhammad; founded 2005, banned 2006
Sipah-E Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), renamed Millat-E Islami Pakistan (MIP) in April 2003 - Pakistani Sunni Islamist group
Lashkar-E Jhangvi (LeJ) - Palestinian Islamists, splinter group of Millat-E Islami Pakistan
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) - Libyan Islamist group, opposed to Colonel Gaddafi; some people link them with Al-Qaeda, but they claim to oppose attacks on civilians; may have been involved in MI6 plan to kill Gaddafi in 1996
Tehrik Nefaz-e Shari'at Muhammadi (TNSM) - Pakistani Islamist fundamentalist group; control area around Swat in Pakistan; founded by Sufi Muhammad in 1992; may now be in alliance with Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Teyre Azadiye Kurdistan (TAK) aka Teyrebaz Azadiye Kurdistan - Kurdish group active in Turkey, attacking tourists; may have split from Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or may be subgroup of PKK
Ideally someone from Rock Family Trees could produce a more visually appealing presentation of this data.
Irish groups
Continuity Army Council (CAC) - NI Republican group, split from Provisional IRA in 1986
Cumann na mBan - Irish women's paramilitary group, linked to Irish Volunteers, formed 1914
Fianna na hÉireann - Name used by various Irish Republican groups, originally a youth group in West Belfast early in 20th century
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) - Northern Irish Republican group, split from Official IRA in 1972 because they believed the OIRA was too moderate, has now renounced violence
Irish People's Liberation group (IPLO) - Split from INLA in 1986, shut down by PIRA in 1992
Irish Republican Army (IRA) - Various Irish Republican groups going back to early 20th century, of which Original IRA, Provisional IRA (traditionalists who split from OIRA in 1969 after OIRA recognised British and Irish governments), Continuity IRA (broke from PIRA in 1986 when PIRA recognised Republic of Ireland), and Real IRA (broke from PIRA in 1997 over PIRA's support for peace process) are most well-known
Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) - Loyalist Northern Irish group, founded by Billy Wright, who left or was expelled from UVF in late 1990s; claimed it was ceasing operations in 2005, but may continue as a purely criminal gang
Orange Volunteers - Loyalist NI group, formed from members of Loyalist Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association following 1998 Drumcree conflict
Red Hand Commando - Loyalist NI group, linked to Ulster Volunteer Force
Red Hand Defenders - Loyalist NI group, with members of Ulster Defence Association and Loyalist Volunteer Force
Saor Éire - Trotskyite Irish Republican group active 1967-75
Ulster Defence Association (UDA) aka Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) - Loyalist NI group; used UFF name for terrorist actions; formed in 1971 and ended armed campaign in 2007
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) - Loyalist NI group, founded 1966, ended armed campaign in 2007
Other international groups
17 November Revolutionary Organization (17N) - Greek Marxist group; named after 1973 rising against Greek military junta; anti-USA
Abu Nidal group (ANO) - militant Palestinian group, secular and socialist
Abu Sayyaf (ASG) - Filipino Islamic group fighting for autonomy for Bangsamoro region; name means "father of swordsmith"
Al-Gama'at al-Islamiya (GI) - Egyptian Islamist group
Al Gurabaa (aka Al-Ghurabaa) - British Islamist group, formed from Al-Muhajiroun which disbanded in 2004. Name from hadith "Islam began as something strange and will end as something strange ... paradise is for the strangers (al Ghurabaa)."
Al Ittihad Al Islamia (AIAI) - Somali Islamist group allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda; now defunct
Al-Qaeda aka Al Qaida - Islamist movement formed by combining the wealtho of Saudi Arabian Osama bin Laden with the expertise of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, inspired by ideas of Sayyid Qutb
Ansar Al Islam (AI) - Kurdish Sunni/Wahhabi group
Ansar Al Sunna (AS) aka Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna - "Army of the Followers of the Sunna", Sunni Iraqi group founded in 2003, possibly linked to Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Armed Islamic Group (Groupe Islamique Armée) (GIA) - Algerian Islamist militia who hijacked Air France Flight 8969 and killed thousands of Algerians
Asbat Al-Ansar - Lebanese Sunni group, allegedly linked to Al Qaeda; name means "League of Partisans" or "Band of Helpers"
Babbar Khalsa (BK) - Sikh group trying to create independent Khalistan in Punjab; founded in late 1970s
Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) - campaigning for independence for Pakistani region of Baluchistan/Balochistan
Basque Homeland and Liberty (Euskadi ta Askatasuna) (ETA) - Basque separatists, Marxist
Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) - Egyptian Islamist group led by Ayman al-Zawahiri; affiliated with Al-Qaeda
Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain (GICM) - Moroccan terrorist group responsible for Madrid train bombings
Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades - Palestinian Islamists, military wing of Hamas
Harakat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami (HUJI) aka Harkat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami - Sunni terrorist group founded in Pakistan during Soviet occupation of Afghanistan; backed by Pakistan government and linked to Osama bin Laden
Harakat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami (Bangladesh) (Huji-B) - Bangladeshi branch of above
Harakat-Ul-Mujahideen-Al-Alami (HuM/A) and Jundallah - Pakistani Islamic group; active in Kashmir; formerly Harakat Ul Ansar (HuA); links with Osama bin Laden
Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HM) - Pakistani Islamist group, split from Harakat-Ul-Jihad-Ul-Islami
Hezb-E Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) - Afghan Islamist faction of Hezbi Islami Party; funded by Pakistan in 1980s
Hizballah External Security group aka Hizballah Military Wing - Lebanese Shia Islamist group
International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) - Sikh pro-independence group
Islamic Army of Aden (IAA) - Yemeni Islamist group
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) - Uzbek Islamist group, split from Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) - Uzbek Islamist group, operated out of Tajikistan and Afghanistan trying to overthrow President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan
Jaish e Mohammed (JeM) - Pakistani Islamist group, "The Army of Mohammed"
Jammat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) - Bangladeshi Islamist group, set off 500 bombs in August 2005
Jeemah Islamiyah (JI) - Southeast Asian Islamist group, active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Brunei; derived from Indonesian Darul Islam movement
Khuddam Ul-Islam (Kul) - Islamist group sprung from Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jamaat Ul-Furquan (JuF) - Islamist group linked to Khuddam Ul-Islam
Kongra Gele Kurdistan aka Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel) (PKK) - Kurdish Marxist nationalists active in Turkey, formerly led by Abdullah Öcalan
Lashkar-e-Taiba or Lashkar e Tayyaba (LT) - South Asian Islamist group, based in Pakistan; seek independent Kashmir
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - Tamil militia fought for independence from Sri Lanka until defeated by Sri Lankan armed forces in 2009
Palestinian Islamic Jihad - Shaqaqi (PIJ) - Palestinian Islamic group descended from Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
Revolutionary Peoples' Liberation Party - Front (Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Partisi/Cephesi) (DHKP/C) - Turkish Marxist-Leninist group; split from Devrimci Yol aka Dev Yol which in turn split from People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey (THKP-C), which split from Revolutionary Youth Federation aka Dev Genç; "Party" refers to political side of organisation, "Front" the military
Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb - Algerian Islamist militia; formerly Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication et le Combat) (GSPC); founded by Hassan Hattab, formerly of Armed Islamic Group (GIA) who broke with the GIA because of their slaughter of civilians; decimated by mysterious disease in January 2009
Saved Sect (al-Firqat un-Naajiyah) or Saviour Sect - Islamist group from UK, descended from Al-Muhajiroun; believed to be headed by Omar Bakri Muhammad; founded 2005, banned 2006
Sipah-E Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), renamed Millat-E Islami Pakistan (MIP) in April 2003 - Pakistani Sunni Islamist group
Lashkar-E Jhangvi (LeJ) - Palestinian Islamists, splinter group of Millat-E Islami Pakistan
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) - Libyan Islamist group, opposed to Colonel Gaddafi; some people link them with Al-Qaeda, but they claim to oppose attacks on civilians; may have been involved in MI6 plan to kill Gaddafi in 1996
Tehrik Nefaz-e Shari'at Muhammadi (TNSM) - Pakistani Islamist fundamentalist group; control area around Swat in Pakistan; founded by Sufi Muhammad in 1992; may now be in alliance with Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Teyre Azadiye Kurdistan (TAK) aka Teyrebaz Azadiye Kurdistan - Kurdish group active in Turkey, attacking tourists; may have split from Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or may be subgroup of PKK
Ideally someone from Rock Family Trees could produce a more visually appealing presentation of this data.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Sic ASA Parrot 2
More Advertising Standards Authority adjudications from the end of 2009.
Britvic, who make Tango orange drink, had "no intention to imply oral sex with a bull and they were concerned about any distress caused to those who had interpreted the ad in that way. They had carried out qualitative research groups with 17-20-year-old men before producing the campaign, and none of the respondents had interpreted the ad's headline as referring to oral sex with a bull." In what context would 17-20 year old men admit thinking of oral sex with a bull? The advert said: "Too much Tango made me suck a bull's udder." Another ad, "too much tango made me shave my nan", had "definitely no intention to imply the shaving of vaginal hair".
Press TV, the Iranian government's English-language satellite news channel is truthful! Well, truth is relative. The ASA said, "We considered that '24/7 TRUTH' would be seen as the station's opinion of the information it provided rather than an objective claim." As long as they "provided the full story as they saw it" there is no need to prove the reporting actually was true. This will surely be a comfort to TV news organisations everywhere.
If a company's response to a complaint starts like the following, you can probably guess the outcome:
liverock.org.uk advertised a fake Dionne Warwick concert on Magic FM. One punter "paid £296.00 for four tickets to the concert and subsequently found out that Dionne Warwick was not performing".
British Airways advertised the delights of Guangzhou (Canton), despite not actually flying to Canton - they suggest you can fly to Hong Kong or Shanghai and go from there. Complaint upheld.
British Gas will phone ahead to warn you before they come around. Except if they're coming to read your meter.
Car dealer Stoneacre Motor Group gets in trouble for advertising a scrappage scheme but not scrapping the cars.
Daily Mail misleading over a promotion for "free bulbs".
It's ok for Peta to say that eating meat gives you man-boobs.
Virgin Media in trouble for being rude to ginger-haired people!
The same presenter appeared on 2 different TV shopping channels at the same time, but this was found "unlikely to materially mislead viewers".
Best product idea of the bunch: Extend-A-Room offer to make your house bigger by constructing a new room in just 1-2 days (basically, it's a conservatory). Sadly, it seems they're not quite that fast.
With any recession come recruitment scams, such as the unimaginatively named JK Data and DH Data, and escort agency First4Companions. Meanwhile recruitment firm Pro-Tax was caught exaggerating its influence. And it strayed over into training: Redwood Futures were misleading wannabe accountants and The Ensign Group taxi drivers. Belmont Sporting's gambling system isn't any use either.
Martini won't make you beautiful! An event at a Pitcher and Piano bar promised "Stay beautiful with Martini". According to the ASA code, alcohol does not enhance attractiveness.
Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Ltd seem to have some method of getting hold of Sky customers' addresses and sending them direct mail. (Admittedly they could find out simply by looking at someone's house that they have Sky.)
Dating site eHarmony was criticised for claiming "2% of American couples who had married in 2007 were likely to have met through eHarmony" - their evidence doesn't show that - and because 20% of applicants got no matches at all.
Mobile Phone Xchange Ltd will exchange many mobile phones for cash! But not all.
Products and services that don't work as claimed: Easylife Pelvic Back Pain Belt; Dore program for treating dyslexia and Asperger's syndrome; Estee Lauder's "wrinkle-fighter" Perfectionist CP+ Wrinkle Lifting Serum; killyourstutter.com; Lloyds Pharmacy hay fever reliever; Advanced Hair Studio; Gymform Vibro Max; Larsen Health Care's chiropractic treatment for IBS, colds and asthma; Pain Ease electric patch; jennysweighlosssuccess.com; Omega XL artery cleaner; and Direct Beauty Products' silk anti-aging pillowcases. In all these cases, advertisers failed to produce evidence of claims (although the Estee Lauder stuff does work as well as any cheap moisturiser).
Britvic, who make Tango orange drink, had "no intention to imply oral sex with a bull and they were concerned about any distress caused to those who had interpreted the ad in that way. They had carried out qualitative research groups with 17-20-year-old men before producing the campaign, and none of the respondents had interpreted the ad's headline as referring to oral sex with a bull." In what context would 17-20 year old men admit thinking of oral sex with a bull? The advert said: "Too much Tango made me suck a bull's udder." Another ad, "too much tango made me shave my nan", had "definitely no intention to imply the shaving of vaginal hair".
Press TV, the Iranian government's English-language satellite news channel is truthful! Well, truth is relative. The ASA said, "We considered that '24/7 TRUTH' would be seen as the station's opinion of the information it provided rather than an objective claim." As long as they "provided the full story as they saw it" there is no need to prove the reporting actually was true. This will surely be a comfort to TV news organisations everywhere.
If a company's response to a complaint starts like the following, you can probably guess the outcome:
The Watermark Club Ltd (the Watermark Club) said the word "holiday" originated from Holy day, used to describe a day of festivity or recreation where no work was done. They defined other words, for example "second home", "residential property" and "holiday lodge". They said a "second home" plainly meant a place where one did not live as ones permanent home no more or less and underlined that in all probability if you were away from your primary home you would be on a break or on holiday.A complaint was upheld against holiday home property company Watermark Club, which was told that it had to make it clear you couldn't live in your new waterside home between "January 6 and February 5 of each year", amongst other restrictions.
liverock.org.uk advertised a fake Dionne Warwick concert on Magic FM. One punter "paid £296.00 for four tickets to the concert and subsequently found out that Dionne Warwick was not performing".
British Airways advertised the delights of Guangzhou (Canton), despite not actually flying to Canton - they suggest you can fly to Hong Kong or Shanghai and go from there. Complaint upheld.
British Gas will phone ahead to warn you before they come around. Except if they're coming to read your meter.
Car dealer Stoneacre Motor Group gets in trouble for advertising a scrappage scheme but not scrapping the cars.
Daily Mail misleading over a promotion for "free bulbs".
It's ok for Peta to say that eating meat gives you man-boobs.
Virgin Media in trouble for being rude to ginger-haired people!
The same presenter appeared on 2 different TV shopping channels at the same time, but this was found "unlikely to materially mislead viewers".
Best product idea of the bunch: Extend-A-Room offer to make your house bigger by constructing a new room in just 1-2 days (basically, it's a conservatory). Sadly, it seems they're not quite that fast.
With any recession come recruitment scams, such as the unimaginatively named JK Data and DH Data, and escort agency First4Companions. Meanwhile recruitment firm Pro-Tax was caught exaggerating its influence. And it strayed over into training: Redwood Futures were misleading wannabe accountants and The Ensign Group taxi drivers. Belmont Sporting's gambling system isn't any use either.
Martini won't make you beautiful! An event at a Pitcher and Piano bar promised "Stay beautiful with Martini". According to the ASA code, alcohol does not enhance attractiveness.
Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Ltd seem to have some method of getting hold of Sky customers' addresses and sending them direct mail. (Admittedly they could find out simply by looking at someone's house that they have Sky.)
Dating site eHarmony was criticised for claiming "2% of American couples who had married in 2007 were likely to have met through eHarmony" - their evidence doesn't show that - and because 20% of applicants got no matches at all.
Mobile Phone Xchange Ltd will exchange many mobile phones for cash! But not all.
Products and services that don't work as claimed: Easylife Pelvic Back Pain Belt; Dore program for treating dyslexia and Asperger's syndrome; Estee Lauder's "wrinkle-fighter" Perfectionist CP+ Wrinkle Lifting Serum; killyourstutter.com; Lloyds Pharmacy hay fever reliever; Advanced Hair Studio; Gymform Vibro Max; Larsen Health Care's chiropractic treatment for IBS, colds and asthma; Pain Ease electric patch; jennysweighlosssuccess.com; Omega XL artery cleaner; and Direct Beauty Products' silk anti-aging pillowcases. In all these cases, advertisers failed to produce evidence of claims (although the Estee Lauder stuff does work as well as any cheap moisturiser).
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