Casa di Ricomanjaro

Wat een teringgoeie plaat was en is dat eigenlijk: Leftism, het debuut van Leftfield. Hij is al meer dan tien jaar oud (godverdomme, wat gaat de tijd toch belachelijk snel!), maar staat nog steeds als het spreekwoordelijke huis. Steevast opzwepend, qua ritmes misschien wel de beste dansplaat ooit, qua opbouw sowieso en qua sound is er gewoon geen betere. Of het zou het transparante Second Toughest In The Infants van Underworld moeten zijn, maar dat album is weer zo zacht opgenomen. Kut, ik lijk wel een popjournalist van de Volkskrant. Die hebben ook altijd wat te zeiken over aspecten die eigenlijk niet ter zake doen. Excuses dus. Beide albums zijn prachtig, laat ik wel wezen.Deze week heb ik tot nu toe elke avond minimaal één keer Leftism gedraaid. Heerlijk om weer terug te worden geslingerd naar de jaren negentig. Aan het eind van dat decennium verscheen de opvolger van Leftism, Rhythm & Stealth. Ook geen slechte plaat, maar hij mag de veters nog niet vastknopen van het debuut. Ik heb ze destijds naar aanleiding van dat album nog geïnterviewd voor het muzikantentijdschrift Music Maker. Lezen? Dit is de oorspronkelijke tekst.

Ik zal eens uitzoeken hoe het tegenwoordig met de heren is gesteld. I’ll keep you posted.

Mexico’s Fox backs down on drug law

MEXICO CITY – In a surprise reversal, Mexican President Vicente Fox will not sign widely criticized narcotics legislation to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of marijuana, cocaine and heroin, his office said Wednesday.The president’s office said the law, which also toughened sentences for dealing and holding larger amounts of the intoxicants, would be sent back to Congress for revision. “In our country the possession of drugs and their consumption are, and will continue to be, crimes,” the office said in a statement.

Fox’s decision was unexpected, given that the legislation was initially designed by his office and introduced by his party. This week, his spokesman praised the law and insisted the president would quickly sign it, despite rumblings of discontent from Washington. The legislation, passed by Congress last week, shocked Mexico’s northern neighbor, which counts on its support in a war against gangs that move massive quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines through Mexico to U.S. consumers. It was also criticized by authorities in Mexican tourist towns who worried about a flood of hard-partying U.S. thrill seekers attracted by the new, lenient rules.

Bron: Reuters

Eikol…

Het nieuws is alweer enkele dagen oud (28 april jl), maar daarom niet minder opbeurend.

Mexico to decriminalize pot, cocaine and heroin (en lsd, peyote, paddo’s)

MEXICO CITY – Possessing marijuana, cocaine and even heroin will no longer be a crime in Mexico if the drugs are carried in small amounts for personal use, under legislation passed by Congress.

The measure given final passage by senators in a late night session on Thursday allows police to focus on their battle against major drug dealers, the government says, and President Vicente Fox is expected to sign it into law.

“This law provides more judicial tools for authorities to fight crime,” presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said on Friday. The measure was approved earlier by the lower house.

Under the legislation, police will not penalize people for possessing up to 5 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of opium, 25 milligrams of heroin or 500 milligrams of cocaine. People caught with larger quantities of drugs will be treated as narcotics dealers and face increased jail terms under the plan.

The legal changes will also decriminalize the possession of limited quantities of other drugs, including LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, amphetamines and peyote – a psychotropic cactus found in Mexico’s northern deserts.

The legislation came as a surprise to Washington, which counts on Mexico’s support in its war against drug smuggling gangs who move massive quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines through Mexico to U.S. consumers.

A delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives visited Mexico last week and met with senior officials to discuss drug control issues, but was told nothing of the planned legislative changes, said Michelle Gress, a House subcommittee counsel who was part of the visiting team. “We were not informed,” she told Reuters. (net goed!)

Hundreds of people, including many police officers, have been killed in Mexico in the past year as drug cartels battle for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the United States. The violence has raged mostly in northern Mexico but in recent months has spread south to cities like vacation resort Acapulco.

Under current law, it is up to local judges and police to decide on a case-by-case basis whether people should be prosecuted for possessing small quantities of drugs, a source at the Senate’s health commission told Reuters.

“The object of this law is to not put consumers in jail, but rather those who sell and poison,” said Sen. Jorge Zermeno of the ruling National Action Party. Fifty-three senators voted for the bill with 26 votes against.

Hector Michel Camarena, an opposition senator from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, warned that although well intentioned, the law may go too far. “There are serious questions we have to carefully analyze so that through our spirit of fighting drug dealing, we don’t end up legalizing,” he said. “We have to get rid of the concept of the (drug) consumer.”

(By Noel Randewich; additional reporting by Anahi Rama)

Bron: Reuters/Yahoo News

Ik voorzie een drugsoorlog tussen de VS en Mexico. Maar hier ligt wel een buitenkans voor het weldenkende deel van ons land. Want ineens hoeven we niet meer bang te zijn voor het dopeparadijs van de wereld te worden versleten. En kunnen we ons drugsbeleid zonder schroom aanpassen aan het gezond verstand.

Ik weet het, leuke visuele instinkertjes hebben we allemaal al tot vervelens toe gezien. Fotootjes van Bush ook, evenals toespraken van Bush, filmpjes van Bush, powerpoints van Bush, liedjes van Bush. We krijgen ze al jaren op ons werk. Dus mijn link lijkt geen aanrader. Maar toch, voor wie nieuwsgierig is: deze is wel erg origineel, moek zeggen.

En nog verbluffender wordt ie als je hem checkt in een firefox browser!

Kijk ook even hier…

Deze is ook cool!