CAMPAIGN
The right-wing has come up with a new campaign strategy this fall. Terror Babies! The theory is that radical groups are going to use the 14th Amendment to enter the U.S., have children, and then, when they are young adults, use them to infiltrate the United States legally to perpetuate acts of terrorism against the country. On Anderson Cooper's show last night, he broke his usual mellow demeanor and argued with guests about the legitimacy of such claims. Could this be a backwards campaign tactic going into the election season or could this be real? What are your thoughts?
Designers Have Birthdays: Everyone wish Prabal Gurung a very big Happy Birthday today. The designer who is in his third season traveled home to Nepal to spend his special day with family. The Bill Blass veteran left the design house in 2008 to design glamorous gowns of his own for Orpah, Demi Moore and more celebrities. He recently made Paper Magazine's Beautiful People: Class of 2010, saying, "I can’t believe I’m in this issue. I hope it’s for my inner beauty -- that’ll last longer. I’m assuming that it is."
When I first brought the news that a subversive, independent facebook campaign was gaining headway in their effort to overthrow a single by Joe McElderry, winner of Britain’s The X Factor, as number one Christmas single in the U.K. pop charts with a Rage Against the Machine song from 1992, I had strong reservations as to whether they would actually succeed in their mission. As the U.K. pop charts closed on Sunday and I heavy-heartedly checked the NME website, who had been covering the battle extensively, my reaction was the same as that of “Rage Against the Machine for Christmas No 1” creator/moderator Jon Morter, as well as many others who had been following the campaign, “F--- me, I can’t believe it’s Number One!”
The National Campaign to Close Guantanamo has received its share of criticism, but the support from popular musicians and members of the music industry have further encouraged the Obama administration to follow through on their efforts to close the controversial prison. Both REM and Pearl Jam have joined with the likes of Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Roseanne Cash, and Rage Against the Machine in protest against the interrogation practices applied at the institution.
Most recently, the coalition has spoken up against CIA interrogators using music to “encourage” the detainees to reveal information relative to their involvement in terrorist plots and/or organizations. It has been reported that music from Britney Spears, AC/DC the Bee Gees, and Marilyn Manson has been used in prisoner control procedures, as well as songs from Sesame Street, Barney, and the Meow-Mix theme song. The songs were pumped into prisoners’ cells at near-deafening levels in what the CIA describes as an attempt to maintain prison security rather than “punitive purposes.” The National Security Archive is filing a request through the Freedom of Information Act to create a list of the exact songs that have been used at the prison. Thomas Blanton, executive director of the National Security Archive, said, “At Guantanamo, the U.S. turned a jukebox into an instrument of torture.”
With a new album coming out on November 9, the experimental indie group Animal Collective has teamed up with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for a separate endeavor. Known as a group of animal loving musicians (as if the name wasn’t enough), the partnership has been organized as a protest to the upcoming Canadian seal-hunting season, which begins six days after their new album is released.
The campaign, which features an ad with the band wearing white shirts adorned with an adorable seal illustration and a short, online video, is a blatant comment on the overly cruel practice of using spiked clubs to bludgeon and remove seals from their natural habitat. The video, which lasts nearly a minute and a half, explains the reasoning for the groups involvement in the campaign and explores band member Geologist’s (a.k.a. Brian Weitz) collegiate experiences studying biology and environmental policy. “We really like animals and seals, especially,” he says.
Emma Watson, best known for her role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, is growing up and entering the high fashion scene.
Watson, who turned 19 this week, recently starred in a 20-page fashion feature in Vogue Italy and has been seen attending fashion shows in Paris and London. Now, the actress will supposedly star in Burberry’s new ad campaign. She’s been a fan of the British label ever since she donned Burberry on a 2005 cover of Teen Vogue.
However, there has been no confirmation yet from the brand: “The campaign is not yet finalized and once it is we don’t release any information until the official launch time, which would be around June of this year,” said a spokeswoman.
 |
 |
 |
 |
