MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE DEF CITADEL

Good morning. It’s Monday. And Team Def is ready for business.



If you know what I mean.

No trespassing,

This is dF

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER “R”, PART 1: LOUD AND UGLY

So ayoub  assigns me this meme:

1. Reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. List 5 songs that start with that letter.
3. Post them to your journal with these instructions.

And I can’t resist, naturally. So I signed on and he gave me the letter “R”.

And of course, me being me, I can’t just post a list of five songs and be done with it like normal people. I have to play them for you.

So, since I know perfectly well that if I put five videos in one post no one will watch them all, I’m splitting these into five posts over the week.

Starting with this one, from the greatest film ever made with The Ramones in it.

Watch on YouTube

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: If anyone wants a letter, I have 26 25 of them.

I just wanna have some kicks,

This is dF

RENDITION MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY YR SORRY

ITEM: The US Supreme Court declines to review the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against the US govt by Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who, under suspicion of being connected to Al Qaeda, was sent by US authorities to be tortured in Syria for almost a year.

Turned out he was completely innocent, you see. Which is why Canada – which provided the US with the bad tipoff on Arar to start with – investigated the case, found they screwed up, and gave Arar $10.2 million and an official apology.

The US, on the other hand, has kept Arar and his family on a watch list, and has argued in US courts that he can’t sue the US govt because it would endanger national security – an argument the Bush-led DOJ used all the time, and the Obama-led DOJ continues to use in this case and others – even though Obama said during his 2008 campaign that he would put an end to such things.

As Jon Stewart will now demonstrate.

I've posted about this issue before, and I’m not sure what worries me more – the likelihood that Obama is doing this simply because some chart says it’s his best ticket to re-election, or that the only other option in 2012 will probably be Sarah Palin.

Case dismissed,

This is dF

HIYA KIDS! WHO’S READY TO GET HIGH?

ITEM [via io9]: Back in the 50s, Mickey Mouse and Goofy were heavily into psychoactive drugs, and even sold them to people in third-world countries after forcing it down their throats.

Evidence: this mini-comic from 1951 that was one of an eight-comic set on offer from General Mills for 15 cents and a Wheaties box top.




Fascinating not only for its pro-drug message (and remembering that uppers and downers were mostly legal in the US at the time) but also for its blatant racial stereotypes.

You could do that in the 50s. Not so much today.

Mostly.

The need for speed,

This is dF

YOUTUBE SURVIVOR SERIES #86: YOU GOT WOMEN ON YR MIND

It’s the Summer Solstice. Why not celebrate with Mungo Jerry?

Because few things represent summer better than jug bands and epic sideburns.

Just do what you feel,

This is dF