The Ice and the Plane

The Plane Went Crashing Down

diesel superfly soundtrack 2006 download

free download of soundtrack of this year, more info in previous post and artwork below. enjoy!
























cover front





















cover back

Två dagar till julafton

diesel superfly soundtrack artwork

jobbade med årets soundtrack igår kväll. hade egentligen tänkt att göra en skiva med mitt livs bästa låtar men orkade helt enkelt inte. har sålt och tappat alltför många skivor för att kunna göra ett 'riktigt' soundtrack of my life.

skivan 'diesel superfly soundtrack 2006' samlar i stället ihop de låtar jag spelat mest i år. tycker att det om något visar vad jag lyssnat - and i only listen to g.o.o.d. music (kanye's label). postar artworket nu (som jag är fucking stolt över - tycker det är bland det snyggaste artwork jag gjort på länge) och laddar upp skivan i morgon eller på tisdag - christmas weekend makes it hard doing things properly. booyakasha.
























diesel superfly soundtrack 2006 - front cover





















diesel superfly soundtrack 2006 - back cover

download link coming soon.

soundtrack of my life up next

tänkte att jag skulle avsluta året med en till skiva/lista. håller på att snickra ihop en skiva med mitt livs bästa låtar. kanske lite tidigt att göra det än men what the hell, verkar som en rolig sak att göra. kommer med den i morgon eller övermorgon.

diesel superfly episode one

thought i might spread some luvin ere. har gjort en liten skiva med ett par tunes som kan rädda dis fokking christmas. är lite blandat på den men merparten är soft so you don't be buggin your parents and all. booyakasha.

























click here to download.

tracklist below.

A Tribe Called Quest - 1Nce Again (Jackin For Beats Remix)

Aaron Hall - Don't Be Afraid

AZ ft Hi Tek - New York

Curtis Mayfield - No Thing on Me (Cocaine Song)

Cyne - Arrow of God

Cyne - Fuck America

Eric B. & Rakim - Juice (Know The Ledge)

Fat Joe - Pendemic

Il Unorthodox - Just A Little Flava

Kanye West & Fabolous - Like This

Sticky Fingaz - Baby Brother (Feat. Dave Hollister)

Trick Daddy - Tonight (Feat. Jaheim, Trina) (Produced By Gorilla Tek)

ali g sez

booyakasha! here iz sum quotes fom da sho.

Talking to Sue Ramsey. A member of the assembly of Sinn Fein...

Ali : Wot is it the language that they speak 'ere?
Sue : Gaelic.
Ali : GAY-LICK? What is that botty language or somfin, what is the real name of it?
Ali : What is the vibe with drugs in Ireland? It might be stereotyping or whatever man but I is heard that the Irish is always up for the
crack.
Sue : No, no. Crack in Ireland means having a good time.
Ali : A'ight, for real but crack is a bad drug there is a high but also a low.

Talking to the Lord Mayor of Ireland...

Ali : Me don't know what going on 'ere.
Mayor : Well there are some people in Ireland who want to become a part the United Ireland and then there are people who would like to become a part of United Kingdom.
Ali : And where does Wogan stand? Is he in the IRA?

Education with Rhodes Boyson...

Ali : What is education.
Rhodes : Education is basic literacy and numeracy.
Ali : And what is they?
Ali : What do you reckon about the Maffs.
Rhodes : What, the Maths?
Ali : Ayyy. Do you rate tha Maffs or do you rock tha Maffs?
Rhodes : What is the Maffs?
Ali : You know. One, two, three or whatever.
Rhodes : I see, yes.
Ali : Well why don't they teach propa Maffs in schools?
Rhodes : What do you mean by propa Maths?
Ali : Instead of teaching kilos and grams, why don't the teach ounces,
quarters and eighths?
Rhodes : Yes, I mean in baking you need to know those terms.
Ali : Ayyy, for real. Me know baking.
Rhodes : I bake my own breakfast every morning.
Ali : Ayyy. An me make ME own breakfast an all. I mean who ever bought a kilo of anything man. Except me mate Dave but he's gone down now.

Ali : Do you think we should have mixed schools?
Rhodes : I think that everyone should have the choice.
Ali : Do you not think that in mixed schools, all the boyz will spend all their time chasing muff, and all the girls spend all their time
preparing their muff?
Ali : Well me, me got an A+ in punani but me fail me exams coz me spend all me time chasing the kitty.
Rhodes : Well that's your fault.
Rhodes : I think, overall, single sex schools perform better than mixed ones.
Ali : But do you not think that single sex girls schools bread, well, people who drink from the furry cup?
Rhodes : Well never having drunk from the furry cup one doesn't know what liquor is kept in it.
Ali : Well you know them girls who drink from the furry cup, also, eat from the bushy plate. You know what I is getting at?
Ali : Do you think sex education should be taught in schools?
Rhodes : No, it should be taught within the family.
Ali : Do you think that porn stars should teach the kids?
Rhodes : No
Ali : Why not?
Rhodes : I do not respect them.
Ali : But they has had more experience than anyone, man. Someone who has had a four header will no how to cope with any situation.
Ali : Well you have shown that, Education should be spread throughout the nation, if we want to get into the space station. Wicked, reespect, boyaka-sha, big up.

The Bishop of Corsham...

Ali : Jesus. Does he really have a beard?
Bish : Not necessarily.
Ali : Is he a man or a woman?
Bish : He's neither a man nor woman.
Ali : Wot? you mean he's a ladyman?
Ali : But wot has god ever done.
Bish : He made the world.
Ali : Wot he made the world?
Bish : Yes.
Ali : Did he?
Bish : I can only tell you what I believe.
Ali : So you saying god made the world? And since then he's just chilled.
Ali : What about the Virgin Mary? Is she really a virgin?
Bish : Yes.
Ali : Was she really?
Bish : I believe she was. She found herself pregnant.
Ali : But me know girls who also find themselves pregnant. There muffa's say wotz been 'appening 'ere. They say "listen, you been mucking about? 'Ave you been drunk maybe? Don't lie to me."

























Talking to James Whittaker about Princess Di...

Ali : Why was she nobbing that Pakistani?
James: He wasn't a Pakistani he was an Egyptian.
Ali : A'ight...
James : She fell in love with him and she had a summer romance.
Ali : Will Carr-mella ever be queen?
James : Camilla?
Ali : A'ight Carr-mella.
James : I think she will.
Ali : Do you think that a lot of the objection to Camilla is because she is so minging?
James : So *what*?
Ali : So minging.
James : What does minging mean?
Ali : Her face is very.. ugly. NO me didn't wanna say that.. she's RANK.
She's rank.
James : Most women in this country...
Ali : A'ight - are a bit dodgy.
James : Well no, being compared to Diana who was a very beautiful...
Ali : She was tasty.
James : Very tasty - so you put anybody up against Diana and it's a wee bit of a problem. She is also a very fit woman. She rides well -
Ali : She 'aint fit man!
James : No this isn't Diana I understand Prince Charles as well -
Ali : But she look like Rod Hull.

Ali : She does man.. what do you think about Fergie?
James : I think she is a... decent person -
Ali : Did they not find pictures of her sucking someone's nob or something?
James : No they wouldn't find pictures like that - you're referring to sucking someone's toes or having her toes sucked...
Ali : A'ight but they used the word toe.. they used the word toe
James : NO.. er watch it... naughty!

Women

Ali : Boyaka-sha. Check dis. Today we is talking about the women. I is with none other than Sue Leetch. She be none other than director of the centre for gender research and we is going to talking about ladies.
Now, one in two people in the country is "a women", so we has got to know about this. Women. They is important aren't they?
Sue : They indeed are, very important, as important as men.
Ali : Which is better? Man or Woman?
Sue : Well equality is not about who is better.
Ali : But which one is better? But one must be just a little bit better.
Sue : In what way?
Ali : Like, in the way that somefin is worse and somfin is better.
Ali : Do you think there will ever be a female Prime Minister?
Sue : There has been one.
Ali : Who?
Sue : Mrs. Thatcher.
Ali : Yeah but she wasn't a real Prime Minister. Do you think they'll ever let another one slip through?
Ali : Do you think that a women should be able to 'av any job?
Sue : I think so yeah.
Ali : Yeah, but would you feel safe thought if you new a women was flying your plane.
Sue : Would you feel safe then? Do you feel safe being driven by a women?
Ali : Nope. Would you not be scared though that she might start nattering or what ever or start finking about fings and then forget to
fly the plane, and get angry with somebody?
Ali : A lot of boys me know are trying to get their girlfriend to try a bit of feminism, do you think that if right?
Sue : Yeah I do actually I think it's a good thing.
Ali : Do you think all girls should try feminism at least once? Do you think it's right that they should try it when they is drunk at a party or what ever with one of their mates?
Sue : What is trying feminism?
Ali : You know try a bit of feminism and when they is sober wake up in the morning and get back with their boyfriend?
Sue : What do you mean?
Ali : When they kiss a women.
Ali : Me uncle Jamal say that he is tri-sexual. That he will try anything that is sexual. What does that mean?
Sue : There are a lot of people who would like to have sexual relationships with men and women.
Ali : So you think that he is saying that he is having it with blokes?
Sue : Yes.
Ali : Ayyy?
Sue : It would suggest that or that he is interested in it, but maybe not done it. It depends what done it means.
Ali : So you fink my uncle Jamal is a botty boy?
Sue : I don't think he is a botty boy but...
Ali : So you think that he just like it in both pipes?
Sue : Not necessarily.
Ali : So you think that it is a joke? Coz he is a joker. Coz if you call him that to his face he'd probably kill ya.































Ali in an Art Gallery looking at Paintings...

Ali : Who be dis cheeky lickle lady?
Guide : It's a friend of Van Gough
Ali : She look like she just been having??
Guide : She doesn't look very happy.
Ali : Perhaps she just been taken up the wrong 'en or something?

corinne bailey rae live performance

tänkte vara lite snäll så här i jultider. once a slut always a slut kommer säkerligen att uppskatta denna live-skiva. klicka här och ladda ner. it's gooood.

interview wit ciara

hittade en trevlig intervju med ciara. personligen tycker jag hon suger men once a slut always a slut kanske uppskattar den.

klicka här for some nice reading.

rumble of the sluts

hittade en nice comic på new york posts hemsida.

Is på sjön

bildt in the background

När regeringen presenterades i oktober befarade många att Sverige fått två statsministrar. En riktig, Fredrik Reinfeldt (m). Och en informell, förre statsministern Carl Bildt (m).
Men EU-toppmötet här i Bryssel, det första officiella internationella mötet med både Bildt och Reinfeldt, bevisar motsatsen.
Carl Bildt ansträngde sig till det yttersta för att inte stjäla föreställningen för sin efterträdare. Att Fredrik Reinfeldt är högsta hönset skulle vara solklart.

Bildt ”kom för sent”
1. På den avslutande presskonferensen uppträder alltid statsministern tillsammans med utrikesministern. På Göran Perssons tid var det inte säkert att hon eller han fick yttra sig. Men utrikesministern fanns alltid med på podiet.
I går däremot var Fredrik Reinfeldt ensam när han skulle berätta vad mötet beslutat.
Carl Bildt förklarade det ovanliga arrangemanget med att han ”kom för sent”. Därför satte han sig längst bak i lokalen, inte bredvid Reinfeldt. Förseningen föreföll avsiktlig.

Bildt kom inte alls
2.  De olika partigrupperna i EU har förmöten inför toppmötet. Till mötet i torsdags med moderaterna gick Fredrik Reinfeldt ensam.
Carl Bildt åt i stället lunch med svenska chefer i EU-administrationen. ”Mycket uppskattat”, sade ambassaden.
Det var det säkert. Men planeringen gjorde att Fredrik Reinfeldt slapp dela strålkastarljuset med Bildt. Det kan inte ha varit utan baktanke.

Bildt kom för tidigt
3.  Reinfeldt och Bildt anlände aldrig tillsammans till toppmötet. Sannolikt för att slippa uppleva att fler journalister var intresserade av den välkände Bildt än av den okände Reinfeldt.
I förrgår kom Carl Bildt 45 minuter innan mötet började. Statsministern anlände på minuten.
Även i går inledde Bildt arbetsdagen tidigt. I ett folktomt hörn av presscentret läste han mejl och tidningar. Reinfeldt däremot kom på utsatt tid – genom huvudentrén.
Den regering Fredrik Reinfeldt leder är en fyrpartikoalition. Det räcker som riskfaktor för spänningar och konflikter.
Om utrikes- och statsministern dessutom skulle börja tävla om vem som är högsta hönset vore katastrofen nära.
Därför är det klokt av dem att hålla hårt på rollerna. Åtminstone utåt måste det vara ställt utom allt tvivel vem som är chefen.

brad and mad

fina bilder.

holocaust denial conference

i iran pågår just nu en konferens om förintelsen. konferensen kallas 'holocaust denial conference' och är ett led i irans kamp mot israel. har nedan samlat ihop ett par texter om konferensen, som jag själv finner absurd och jag hoppas att irans president dör i morgon, så att relationen länderna emellan kan stabiliseras. jag vill först börja med att inflika bilder av islams profet muhammed.
























från pacificviews.org:

For love of gods, what the hell are they thinking over there in Iran? I can't say I really buy that their leaders believe that the Nazis didn't kill systematically kill millions of people, but they've nonetheless gone and provided a forum for lunatics who believe exactly that.

Germany's prime minister has joined Israel's condemnation, which shouldn't be a surprise. It's against the law in Germany to deny the Holocaust. A willingness to irritate Germany should be of concern, as they've been one of the more reliably moderate foils to Bush's hawkishness in middle eastern matters for several years now.

I doubt very much, however, that this is more than a political statement. As noted on this blog previously, if Iran's leaders wanted to start ethnic cleansing against the world's jewish population, they could easily start with the 25,000 Jews in Iran. But not even Ahmadinejad seems to have anything against them personally and they can freely visit and call relatives who live in Israel:

... Despite the offence Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has caused to Jews around the world, his office recently donated money for Tehran's Jewish hospital.

It is one of only four Jewish charity hospitals worldwide and is funded with money from the Jewish diaspora - something remarkable in Iran where even local aid organisations have difficulty receiving funds from abroad for fear of being accused of being foreign agents. ...

The problem seems to be that on one hand, Israel seems to have finally achieved their apparent goal of getting a US administration to identify with them as completely as if they were a 51st state. That's great in terms of getting the US to take their side on every question, but it's also made Israel an excellent proxy stand-in for the new Least Popular Country on the planet. Ahmadinejad can do something like this that, through insulting the memories of Holocaust victims and driving the Israeli government crazy, allows him to gain points with other radicals while telling the US and Europe that he doesn't care what they think. Without firing a shot or holding a military parade, this is a sufficient leverage point through which he can thumb his nose at the west. On the other hand, the aftermath of the Iraq war has left Iran with a very strong hand, feeling perhaps "untouchable." This wasn't the case in 2003, when Iran made a sweeping offer to compromise on the nuclear issue and pull back from supporting Hezbollah, an offer brushed casually aside by the Bush administration. (h/ts Juan Cole)

They've created a good impression of it and have significant issues with human rights, but Iran doesn't act like a crazy country at home. At street level, it isn't even particularly radical. They're not a suicidal country, haven't started any wars in over a century, and surely know that any attack on Israel would be met with nuclear retaliation. Though they have good reason to distrust the US, the post-revolution governments have shown more willingness than several successive US administrations to reopen negotiations and potential diplomatic ties.

Yet the plain facts are that Iran no longer feels vulnerable and this conference should, beyond the strongly objectionable nature of the content, be interpreted as a loud statement of independence. We have only Bush's catastrophic adventurism in Iraq to thank for it, because this would have been unthinkable as recently as three years ago.

från vita huset:

The United States condemns the conference on the Holocaust convoked by the Iranian regime on Monday in Tehran. While people around the world mark International Human Rights Week and renew the solemn pledges of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which was drafted in the wake of the atrocities of World War II, the Iranian regime perversely seeks to call the historical fact of those atrocities into question and provide a platform for hatred. The gathering of Holocaust deniers in Tehran is an affront to the entire civilized world, as well as to the traditional Iranian values of tolerance and mutual respect. The United States will continue to support those in Iran and elsewhere who seek to promote human rights and dignity, and will stand with them in their efforts to overcome oppression, injustice, and tyranny.

från bbc news:

Why are Jews attending a conference on the Holocaust in Tehran at which star guests include deniers of the genocide? Clue: they also want an end to the Israeli state.

A handful of Orthodox Jews have attended Iran's controversial conference questioning the Nazi genocide of the Jews - not because they deny the Holocaust but because they object to using it as justification for the existence of Israel.

With their distinctive hats, beards and side locks, these men may, to the untrained eye, look like any other Orthodox believers in Jerusalem or New York. But the Jews who went to Tehran are different.

Some of them belong to Neturei Karta (Guardians of the City), a Hasidic sect of a few thousand people which views Zionism - the movement to establish a Jewish national home or state in what was Palestine - as a "poison" threatening "true Jews".

A representative, UK-based Rabbi Aharon Cohen, told the conference he prayed "that the underlying cause of strife and bloodshed in the Middle East, namely the state known as Israel, be totally and peacefully dissolved".

In its place, Rabbi Cohen said, should be "a regime fully in accordance with the aspirations of the Palestinians when Arab and Jew will be able to live peacefully together as they did for centuries".

Neturei Karta believes the very idea of an Israeli state goes against the Jewish religion.

The book of Jewish law or Talmud, they say, teaches that believers may not use human force to create a Jewish state before the coming of the Messiah.

But how do Neturei Karta and other Orthodox Jews such as Austria-based Rabbi Moishe Ayre Friedman justify attending such a controversial conference?

Rabbi Friedman told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that he was not in Tehran to debate whether the Holocaust happened or not, but to look at its lessons.

He says the Holocaust was being used to legitimise the suffering of other peoples and he wanted to break what he called a taboo on discussing it.

The main thing, he argued, was not Jewish suffering in the past but the use of the Holocaust as a "tool of commercial, military and media power".

In what many other Jews would consider the height of naivety, he commended Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for wanting "a secured future for innocent Jewish people in Europe and elsewhere".

In his speech to the conference, Neturei Karta's Rabbi Cohen said there was no doubt about the Holocaust and it would be "a terrible affront to the memory of those who perished to belittle the guilt of the crime in any way".

However, he also argued that the genocide had been divine will. "The Zionists, with their secular pompous approach behave in complete opposition to this philosophy and dare to say 'Never Again'.

"They have the audacity to think that they can prevent the Almighty from repeating a Holocaust. This is heresy."

Neturei Karta's views are regarded with abhorrence by most other Orthodox Jews, according to Rabbi Jeremy Rosen of the Yakar centre in London.

"And I think, frankly, even among the Hasidic world, by and large Neturei Karta are regarded as freaks," the Orthodox rabbi told the BBC News website.

från israeliska haaretz.com:

Serbia and Russia on Wednesday join international calls condemning an gathering of Holocaust deniers hosted and sponsored by the Iranian government in Tehran.

Serbia called the conference a "damaging and pseudo-scientific" event.

The Balkan country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two-day conference that began Tuesday in Tehran is an "attempt to deny undeniable facts about the tragedy of the Jewish people during World War II."

Participants at the gathering, supported by Iran's President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, have questioned the Holocaust's death toll of 6 million or if it took place at all.

Serbia's government considers the gathering a "damaging and pseudo-scientific manifestation that cannot contribute to dialogue between cultures and religions," it said.

During the Nazi occupation of Serbia and other parts of the then Yugoslav Kingdom, tens of thousands of Jews died. Less than half of Serbia's 30,000-strong Jewish community before World War II survived the Holocaust. Many later moved to Israel or to the West.

Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday criticized Iran for
hosting a conference of Holocaust deniers, saying Moscow opposed "the
concealment of the truth about the monstrous crimes of the Nazis."

In a statement posted on the ministry's Web site, spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Russia had condemned Tehran and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the past for threatening Israel and denying the systematic killing of 6 million Jews by the Nazis during World War II.

Russia opposes "the distortion of historic events, the concealment of the
truth about the monstrous crimes of the Nazis, and revision of results of
humanity's most difficult struggle against Nazism," he said.

"Russia shares the determination of the UN general assembly not to allow the denial of the Holocaust."

Russia has itself had a troubled history with anti-Semitism.

Some scholars estimate that as many as 2 million Jews from the Soviet Union died in the Holocaust following the Nazi invasion of the country in World War II.

Russian Jewish leaders also condemned the conference.

Authorities "should unambiguously state their rejection of such issues,"
Borukh Gorin of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Russia, was quoted by Interfax as saying. He also asked whether "an Iran headed by a maniac with an atomic bomb is advantageous or safe?"

The two-day conference in Iran sparked widespread and angry condemnation in Israel and across Europe, where many countries have made it a crime to
publicly deny that the Holocaust happened.

washington post skriver:

Yesterday the Iranian Foreign Ministry held an international conference. Nothing unusual in that: Foreign ministries hold conferences, mostly dull ones, all the time. But this one was different. For one, "Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision" dealt with history, not current politics. Instead of the usual suspects -- deputy ministers and the like -- the invitees seem to have included David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader; Georges Theil, a Frenchman who has called the Holocaust "an enormous lie"; and Fredrick Toeben, a German-born Australian whose specialty is the denial of Nazi gas chambers.

The guest list was selective: No one with any academic eminence, or indeed any scholarly credentials, was invited. One Palestinian scholar, Khaled Kasab Mahameed, was asked to come but then barred because he holds an Israeli passport -- and also perhaps because he, unlike other guests, believes that the Holocaust really did happen.

In response, Europe, the United States and Israel expressed official outrage. The German government, to its credit, organized a counter-conference. Still, many have held their distance, refusing to be shocked or even especially interested. After all, the Holocaust ended more than six decades ago. Since then, victims of the Holocaust have written hundreds of books, and scholarship on the Holocaust has run into billions of words. There are films, photographs, documents, indeed whole archives dedicated to the history of the Nazi regime. We all know what happened. Surely Iran's denial cannot be serious.

Unfortunately, Iran is serious -- or at least Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is deadly serious: Holocaust denial is his personal passion, not just a way of taunting Israel, and it's based on his personal interpretation of history. Earlier this year, in a distinctly eerie open letter to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, he lauded the great achievements of German culture and lamented that "the propaganda machinery after World War II has been so colossal that [it] has caused some people to believe that they are the guilty party."

Such views hark back to the 1930s, when the then-shah of Iran was an admirer of Hitler's notion of the "Aryan master race," to which Persians were said to belong. Ahmadinejad himself counts as a mentor an early Muslim revolutionary who was heavily influenced by wartime Nazi propaganda. It shows.

Of course, Holocaust denial also has broader roots and many more adherents in the Middle East, which may be part of the point, too: Questioning the reality of the Holocaust has long been another means of questioning the legitimacy of the state of Israel, which was indeed created by the United Nations in response to the Holocaust, and which has indeed incorporated Holocaust history into its national identity. If the Shiite Iranians are looking for friends, particularly among Sunni Arabs, Holocaust denial isn't a bad way to find them.

But this week's event has some new elements too. This is, after all, an international conference, with foreign participants, formal themes (example: "How did the Zionists collaborate with Hitler?") and a purpose that goes well beyond a mere denunciation of Israel. Because some countries once under Nazi rule have postwar laws prohibiting Holocaust denial, Iran has declared this "an opportunity for thinkers who cannot express their views freely in Europe about the Holocaust." If the West is going to shelter Iranian dissidents, then Iran will shelter David Duke. If the West is going to pretend to support freedom of speech, then so will Iran.

Heckled for the first time in many months by demonstrators at a rally yesterday, Ahmadinejad responded by calling the hecklers paid American agents: "Today the worst type of dictatorship in the world is the American dictatorship, which has been clothed in human rights." The American dictatorship, clothed in human rights and spouting falsified history: It's the kind of argument you can hear quite often nowadays, in Iran as well as in Russia and Venezuela, not to mention the United States.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying that this particular brand of historical revisionism is no joke, and we shouldn't be tempted to treat it that way. Yes, we think we know this story already; we think we've institutionalized this memory; we think this particular European horror has been put to rest, and it is time to move on. I've sometimes thought that myself: There is so much other history to learn, after all. The 20th century was not lacking in tragedy.

And yet -- the near-destruction of the European Jews, in a very brief span of time, by a sophisticated European nation using the best technology available was, it seems, an event that requires constant reexplanation, not least because it really did shape subsequent European and world history in untold ways. For that reason alone it seems the archives, the photographs and the endless rebuttals will go on being necessary, long beyond the lifetime of the last survivor.

vidare meddelas:

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy condemned the Holocaust denial conference in Tehran, saying that denying the massacre of 6 million Jews in WWII is unacceptable.

Pope XVI said the Holocaust is a terrible tragedy and its legacy should remain as a warning in people's conscience.

yoyo ma and christer fuglesang

Christer Fuglesang and the other fools continue their work way up there. Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang took on the roles of electricians and movers during STS-116’s second spacewalk at the International Space Station. During the 5-hour excursion, which ended at 7:41 p.m. EST Thursday, they rearranged the station’s power system from a temporary status to a permanent setup and relocated two equipment carts.

















To prepare the station for the spacewalkers’ electrical work, flight controllers sent a barrage of commands to power down roughly half of the station’s systems.

























The spacewalk kicked off at 2:41 p.m., and Curbeam and Fuglesang quickly went to work rewiring two of the station’s four power channels. After they finished the connections, flight controllers began sending commands at 4:45 p.m. to power up the electrical systems in their new configuration.

I'm not a pimp!

rudy giuliani running for president?

jag hade ingen aning om detta men flera amerikanska kanaler pekar på att giuliani - främst känd som new yorks forne borgmästare och mannen som kom stärkt ur 11 september - kan kandidera som republikansk presidentkandidat 2008.

hmm...
detta låter sannerligen intressant. rudy giuliani (rep) vs. hillary clinton (dem)
vet faktiskt inte hur det kan sluta. tycker om giuliani. han ställde ju upp i ett seinfeld-avsnitt en gång. love that.
'after getting a physical and his cholesterol being 375, vowes to clean up the so called non-fat yogurt being sold throughout NY City if elected.'

det kan bli tufft för hillary men visst vore det kul med en kvinna som amerikansk president och att bill clinton kan bli 'first lady' är inget negativt. låt oss se en återgång till amerikansk politik anno 1993-2001. yeah baby!

obama versus clinton

presidentvalet i USA 2008 kommer bli intressant. medan republikanerna inte verkar ha en enda säker kandidat och efterträdare till george w bush står kampen om demokraternas presidentnominering mellan två personer - hillary clinton och barack obama. jag tror att nästa år samt 2008 kommer bli ett verkligt intressant år och förhoppningsvis kommer vi slippa en republikansk president 2008-2012. bruce willis wills it. and god.

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama Sr. of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham of Wichita, Kansas. His parents met while both were attending the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student. In his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father, Obama describes a nearly race-blind early childhood. He writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me –- that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk –- barely registered in my mind."^[3][4]

When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced and his father returned to Kenya. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian oil manager, moving to Jakarta with Obama when he was six years old. According to novelist Scott Turow's March 2004 Salon.com piece about Obama's diverse background and his prospects in the 2004 Senate race, Obama spent "two years in a Muslim school, then two more in a Catholic school" in Jakarta. At age 10 he was sent back to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents so that he could attend the highly-regarded non-sectarian private Punahou School; he entered in fifth grade and went through high school, graduating in 1979.

U.S. Senator Obama poses in front of the Superman Statue in downtown Metropolis, IL. known as the home of the DC Comics super hero.

In Dreams from My Father, Obama writes about smoking marijuana and trying cocaine during his teenage years. Inviting journalists to contrast his earlier admission with Bill Clinton's "didn't inhale" remarks made during the 1992 presidential campaign, Obama recently stated: "I inhaled—that was the point." Obama added: "It was reflective of the struggles and confusion of a teenage boy; teenage boys are frequently confused."

After high school, Obama studied for two years at Occidental College in California, before transferring to Columbia College, the undergraduate division of Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. Upon graduating in 1983, Obama worked for one year at Business International Corporation before moving to Chicago and taking a job with a non-profit organization helping local churches organize job training programs for residents of poor neighborhoods.

Obama then left Chicago for three years to study at Harvard Law School. He was elected president of the Harvard Law Review, obtaining his Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude in 1991. On returning to Chicago, Obama supported a voter registration drive, then worked for the civil rights law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland, and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his federal election.

After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal's FHA and GI Bill programs, Obama said:

No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.

Questioning the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq War, Obama spoke of an enlisted Marine, Corporal Seamus Ahern from East Moline, Illinois, asking, "Are we serving Seamus as well as he was serving us?" He continued:

When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.

Finally he spoke for national unity:

The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

While working at the corporate law firm Sidley Austin LLP in the summer of 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson, then an associate attorney at the firm. They married in 1992, and have two daughters, Malia (born 1999) and Sasha (born 2001). The Obamas are members of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Of his religious affiliation, Obama has written:

I was drawn to the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change. [...] In the history of these struggles, I was able to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death; rather, it was an active, palpable agent in the world. [...] It was because of these newfound understandings–that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved–that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized. It came about as a choice and not an epiphany; the questions I had did not magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side of Chicago, I felt God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth.

Presidential ambitions

Obama's keynote speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention sparked expectations that he would eventually run for U.S. President. Speculation on a 2008 presidential run intensified after Obama's decisive U.S. Senate election win in November 2004, prompting him to tell reporters: "I can unequivocally say I will not be running for national office in four years". Asked again in a January 2006 television appearance on Meet the Press, Obama repeated his intention to finish his Senate term. However, in an October 2006 interview on the same television program, Obama appeared to open the possibility of a 2008 presidential bid:

I don’t want to be coy about this, given the responses that I’ve been getting over the last several months, I have thought about the possibility. But I have not thought [...] about it with the seriousness and depth that I think is required. My main focus right now is in the '06 and making sure that we retake the Congress. [...] after November 7, I’ll sit down [...] and consider, and if at some point, I change my mind, I will make a public announcement and everybody will be able to go at me.

In September 2006, Obama was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, a political event traditionally attended by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucus. TIME magazine's October 23, 2006 issue featured Obama on its cover beside the headline "Why Barack Obama Could Be The Next President."

Commentators have suggested that Obama's chances to be elected president would be better in 2008 than in 2012 or later. A December 2005 article published in The New Republic reasoned that, with no incumbent president or vice president in the race, 2008 offers Obama his best chance at winning the presidency. In an October 2006 editorial published in the Chicago Tribune, Newton Minow compared prospects for a 2008 Obama presidential bid to John F. Kennedy's successful 1960 presidential campaign. An editorial published that same month in The Economist presented a similar opinion.

During his first year in the Senate, Obama acquired several high profile supporters, including U.S. businessman and philanthropist Warren Buffett. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Illinois State Comptroller Daniel Hynes have both urged Obama to consider running in 2008. Celebrity television show host Oprah Winfrey and actors George Clooney and Kristin Chenoweth also recently expressed their enthusiasm for Obama entering the 2008 presidential race.

In October 2006, following Obama's statement that he is considering a run for president, opinion polling organizations added his name to surveyed lists of Democratic candidates. The first such poll ranked Obama in second place with 17% support among Democrats after Hillary Clinton who placed first with 28% of the responses. In latest Gallup polling on December 07, 2006 Obama had 36% positive and Hilary Clinton had 37% while on the negative side Obama only had 17% but Clinton had 50%.

the zerosixth year in hiphop

tänkte att det kunde vara kul att lista de låtar som fastnat i mitt huvud detta år. inspiration kommer från smokingsection.net som gjort en egen lista. bifogar den först, cuz it's goood.
















In actuality, hip-hop, & music period, is still alive and kicking. And if you really look @ it, alot of good quality material and artists came thru the speakers. Yeah, you may have had to dig a little deeper & gotten dust on your fingers.

With that in mind, we’re gonna recap the year over the next few days with an undisputable* list of the good, the bad & all the ugly that popped off this year and made ‘06 a pretty decent year.

Loosies Award - For the tracks that stayed on repeat.

Ransom - “Final Straw”

Wailing sample, heavy bassline. Rans speaking partly on his split from A-Team partner Hitchcock as well as clearing off the smoke and mirrors that has so many of us thinking that all rappers are living lovely. Honestly, this might THE song of the year in my opinion. From the time it dropped until the end of next year, this track will always find it’s way into rotation.

Obie Trice - “Cry Now”

After surviving a highway driveby attack, Obie really must’ve hit the booth like this could be his last shot. This track was proof positive that the man deserved to be seen in a light outside of the most famous white man from Detroit.

Yola Da Great - “Ain’t Gone Let Up”

The word “swagger” is tossed around heavily these days. But if one track embodied raw emotion and bravado, it had to be this one. It makes you feel young, brash and hungry just by chanting along to the chorus.

Young Jeezy - “Bury Me A G”

Every now and then…well repeatedly, you hear the statement that Jeezy ain’t “lyrical.” If you ask me, the most oft-quoted Southern legend, Scarface, wasn’t “lyrical” either. Like ‘Face, on this track, Jeezy paints a most believable picture into the darkside & paranoia that corner boys face.

Joe Budden - “Dumb Out” & “Broken Wings” Freestyle

If you can’t understand why, just stop reading. Lyrically, not too many are ahead of Joe. “Mixtape rapper,” “internet favorite,”…whatever you want to label him, after listening to these two tracks, if you can’t understand why his fans are passionate about his music, hip-hop music really may not be for you.

Killer Mike - “That’s Life”

Always approaching the mic with a certain level of fury, Mike managed to bring a mix of hardness and social commentary that’s been missing from hip-hop for years.

Jim Jones feat. Stack Bundles & Max B. - “Life’s Like A Movie”

A few things happened as a result of this track. Stack got some shine. We got a nibble of Max B’s skills as the new go-to-guy for a hook. And Jim stepped up his rhyming abilities.

Lil Wayne - “Maneater” (Remix)

“I’ll be Diddy/you be Mase…”

Truly hypnotic, this slow as molasses track showed a certain level of versatility for the young NO boy. If he could only open his mouth to rap and keep his foot out of it, Wayne could definitely maintain his illusions of granduer in the public’s perception.

Ludacris - “War With God”

I’ve never really been a fan of Luda. But the ill sample & Luda just straight sizzlin over this track with some tenacity…banger.

Got a track in mind that may not have been mentioned? Everybody needs to hear it?
Drop it in the comments with a link if you’re feeling real giving.

* - undisputable only because this is primarily one person’s opinion. I ain’t even sure if the rest of the crew is vibin with my picks lol. Feel free to disagree if it’s that pressing for you.

The little list of my own.

Nas - Hustlers ft The Game

The Game - It's Okay (One Blood)

Jay-Z - Beach Chair ft Chris Martin

Eminem ft 50 Cent - You Don't Know

Lupe Fiasco - American Terrorist II

Snoop Dogg - Imagine ft Dr Dre

hallelujah

fick godkänt på kompletteringsuppgiften idag. skönt att ha klarat av det svåraste momentet (1000-1750).

















'new york new york with blood on your ice. put numbers on your head, name your price.'

az - 'new york'

the slut sisters enjoy themselves bigtime

Strike a pose.

another slut arrested for dui

muhahaha.

polisen rapporterar vidare att hon är 155 cm och väger 85 pounds (85 lbs = 38.6 kg). freak.

i ain't no moraltant

...but this is just stupid. hade jag varit rektor hade jag stängt av hela gruppen. utan att tveka.

Här nakenstrippar eleverna under skolans vintershow.
Två rektorer står i publiken.
– De visste vad som skulle hända, men gjorde inget, säger en 16-årig elev.

Ett återkommande inslag i Rudbecksskolans vinterspex är strippshower, då 17- och 18-åriga gymnasieelever dansar och kastar av sig kläderna på scenen.
– Killarna tog av sig allt i år, några av tjejerna tog av sig bh:n och dansade med bar överkropp, berättar ögonvittnen.
Spexet, som sätts upp av eleverna på naturvetenskapliga och tekniska programmen, är mycket populärt.
De 500 biljetterna till årets show tog slut under en enda rast – trots att de kostade 150 kronor styck.
Enligt Leif Hildebrand, utbildningschef på skolan i Sollentuna utanför Stockholm, är det eleverna själva som utformar showen.

”Visste om strippshowen”
– Lärare och rektorer visste om strippshowen. Det händer varje år. De stod i publiken och tittade, men gjorde ingenting, säger en elev.
Rektorerna Bengt Bexell, 56, och Bo Milton, 47, fanns med i publiken i år. Deras uppgift var att se till att ingen kränktes.
Bo Milton vill inte kommentera nakenstrippen och hänvisar till utbildningschefen.
Bengt Bexell, rektor för teknikprogrammet, hävdar att ingen elev var helt naken.
– De hade kläder på sig, men jag vill samtidigt inte försvara det här. Det här är något som är gammalt och förlegat sedan trettio år tillbaka. Det ska vi förändra, säger han.















Det syns på bilderna att tjejer hade naken överkropp.

– Ja, men det stämmer inte.

”Bara en kul grej”
Utbildningschefen Leif Hildebrant:
– Det är inte okej och ska inte upprepas. Det har aldrig varit på tal att de ska få strippa. Rektorerna som var med var mycket upprörda. Men de kunde inte ingripa och ensamma stå emot 500 elever.
Nu tänker skolan förändra elevernas attityd.
– Ungdomar blir matade med så mycket annat, så det är inte lätt att hävda skolans värdegrund. Det finns ”Bonde söker fru” och alla möjliga dokusåpor och ungdomar tar mycket intryck av det, säger han.
En 17-årig tjej som strippade i år säger:
– Lärarna har alltid vetat om det, men valt att ignorera. Vissa elever och lärare har klagat. Men vi tycker att det bara är en kul grej.

På Boom Box i Sundsvall

Med Patrik o Emma. Dick önskade en fet låt, Group Home - Serious Rap Shit.

fingers crossed this weekend

lyssnar på nas 'hip hop is dead' och skriver på kompletteringsuppgiften till ett moment i historia. skrev 5 sidor (han ville minst ha 3) och andas tungt. tänk om han inte godkänner det? orkar inte skriva om hela tentan! fingers crossed this weekend.

i'll celebrate christmas with gang starr

Beställde några skivor från megastore.se vilka jag hoppas få i min hand innan julafton. Ja, det kommer bli en kul jul!

Kundnr      ME141441
Namn        Myrén, Daniel
Ordernummer 1525691
Orderdatum  12/08/06
Kundordernr 258433
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFU RA               GOD OF RAP           12   1     1      59.00
GANG STARR           HARD TO EARN         CD   1     1      79.00
GANG STARR           MOMENT OF TRUTH      CD   1     1      79.00
GANG STARR           DAILY OPERATION      CD   1     1      79.00
HOUSE OF PAIN        JUMP AROUND          12   1     1      75.00
KRS ONE              SOUND OF THE POLICE  12   1     1      85.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Att Betala: 539.00

the lohan slut

ett klart fall av megalomani, tagen från wwtdd.com.

Page Six has gotten their hands on a text message written by Lindsay Lohan last week after the GQ Man of the Year party, in which she spells out her plans to change herself and the world. Never one to disappoint, the message is incoherent, rambling, and delusional. Lindsay says:

"Al Gore will help me. He came up to me last night and said he would be very happy to have a conversation with me. If he is willing to help me, let's find out. Hilary [sic] Clinton, Bill Clinton, and Evan Metroplis [sic], and John Daur who works with them would be willing, if we just ask. If we just ASK."

Lohan then says she should sue the tabloids for defamation of character, then wrote "way of the future-Howard Hughes" for some reason followed by her plan to "release a politically/morally correct, fully adequite [sic] letter to the press." Lindsay says:

"... our society should be educated for the better of our country. Our people . . . because I have such an impact on our younger generations, as well as generations older than me. Which we all know and can obviously see."

Yikes. Okay Lindsay, the good news is you're not going crazy. The bad news is, you are crazy.

independent women

Vet inte vad bilden ska föreställa eller vad som hänt med hennes hårfäste. Ful är hon dock.

Beef is gettin' real old, keep it to your damn self

What’s Beef? A good way to get your name in the news.

No, this isn’t a brand new topic, but I have jack shit to write about today, and in all honesty this rap beef shit is getting old. Ever since 50 cent's beef with Ja Rule fueled his album to sell millions of records, it seems the only hip-hop news I ever get to read about anymore is who is beefing with who. This guy said this, and then dude made a diss track, then other boy popped off on the radio, blah blah fucking blah. I’m not saying I wish all rappers would band together and embrace each other in hugs of unity…I just wish that these rappers were more focused on making good music and less focused on talking shit to get attention, and seem like they are hard.

Yesterday, I get on SOHH, and the headlining article is about how Lil’ Wayne thinks he is the best in the game now. I have no problem with Wayne saying he’s the best, just like I have no problem with T.I. calling himself the King of the South. If I was rappin I’d probably say that I was the greatest rapper to ever walk the face of the earth, the king of the world, and the best thing to happen since sliced bread (and lets face it...if I was rapping...all these things would be true haha). Dudes that say they are the king of this and that, or the best to ever do it, are just bein confident and tryin to motivate themselves, and other rappers, to prove they're sicker on the mic. It’s all good. Now, what is not good is what Weezy said after that.

He went on a fuckin’ rant spitting on Jay-Z, Young Buck, Clipse, and Pharrell. Clipse and Pharrell? What the fuck are you beefing with them about? Because you both like the same goddamn brand? And were you not wearing a Billionaire Boys Club (Pharrell’s own line of clothing) T-shirt in Bobby Valentino's "Tell Me" video? I mean it’s like Nas said in the latest pulse report, “It’s easy to sell records if I diss you. Who can sell records on love?” And I’m going to take the liberty of interpreting that last word “love” to mean love of the game and of the music rather than your hatred and problems with others.

On another stupid ass beef note, somebody tell me why Jay-Z takes time out of his day to respond to Jim Jones? Is "We Fly High" a big hit? Yeah, but these cats are not even close to being on the same level. Jay-Z is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and runs an empire, so why is he wasting our time with diss tracks? Nobody that matters honestly thinks Jim Jones and Dipset have your fucking number Jay…let it go.

Lastly, to come full circle and put this in perspective to us down here in Houston, I’m glad I’m not reading about beefs from our city. Everything in the H seems pretty chill. I mean I’m sure a lot of cats still don’t like each other, but shit I haven’t heard a diss record from a major Houston artist in like a fuckin year. I’m glad Chamillionaire is making the news for the free release of Mixtape Messiah II. And even though I lack some respect for guys like Mike Jones and Paul Wall, I would rather hear a new joint from them with the same corny lines about the same old shit than see them on a SOHH report about who they have shit with (Mike and Paul are hopefully smart enough to know they’d get wrecked if they beefed with even a four-year-old white girl). It’s just fuckin sad that a rapper like Lil’ Wayne, who I used to respect overall and enjoy his music for the most part, comes out popping off like his shit don’t stink. “It’s not your house anymore…I’m better than you.” What? Who the fuck says some shit like that? I can see it now…mixtapes and underground tracks being dropped for all the dumb “beef” this is gonna start. I just lost a lot of respect for the dude. I know this ain’t exactly the most prevalent topic in relation to Houston hip-hop, but I just wanted to give my input on how stupid the whole beef thing is. You mother fuckers are grown ass men making hundreds of thousands of dollars (or millions) to do something you love (I’m assuming the love part). Drop your sack, man up, and move the fuck on. Anyone who respects you more for shitting all over another man who didn’t do a damn thing to you isn’t a real hip-hop fan anyway.

taken with illicit respect from sohh.com. bust a move, bitch.

Årets mest lovande uttalande, no doubt about that:

Pitchfork: Is there any possibility of you doing that much talked-about album with DJ Premier anytime soon?
Nas: I hope so. We have to wrap our minds around doing that and that only. Both of us. And it could be exciting.

interview with nasty nas

årets skiva släpps 19/12, 'hiphop is dead' av nas. you know it.

pitchfork har en intervju med mannen. read it and go buy the record (or download it from here).













Interview by Ryan Dombal

I'm sitting across from Nas in a nondescript Def Jam office overlooking midtown Manhattan. His eyes are, of course, half-closed. As he sits behind a large desk, he's at once at ease and on guard. This is not Nas' office but he certainly owns the room. Nas comes off as intimidating. And confusing. And contradictory. Basically, the same characteristics that make him a crucial, complex rapper also make him a tough interview. So, during our half-hour one-on-one, he would sometimes go off on tangents about Jim Morrison or blatantly oppose points he had made just a few seconds earlier about his reaper-ready new record Hip Hop Is Dead. Yet, given his elusive nature, such twisting internal narratives aren't terribly surprising. But even with his calm and collected exterior in fine form, there was a moment of unscripted candor thanks to an incoming call on his cell. "Hey Nas! Hey baby! How is beautiful Kelis?" said a heavily accented voice on speakerphone. "Hey man, I'm doing an interview right now, can I call you back in 10 minutes?" responded Nas, tactfully dismissing the excited caller. "Sorry about that," he said, tucking the phone away. Turns out Nas is actually, like, polite.

Pitchfork: In a recent Rolling Stone interview, you said you were trying to "inspire one motherfucker to reach beyond a beef or going platinum" with Hip Hop Is Dead. But you also said that hip-hop "is over, so fuck it, exploit it and piss on it." So, with this album, do you want to cure what you take to be culture's ills or are you taking advantage of those ills to try to sell more records? What does the title mean to you exactly?

Nas: Some people say it's bold. Some people say I'm saying what they wanna say. Some people don't agree. Some people are outraged. Some people want to see what the album is about. To me, hip-hop's been dead for years. We all should know that, come on. With that being said, then, the object of the game now is to make money off of exploiting it. That's what it's all about-- get this money. That's basically what I'm saying.

Pitchfork: But isn't that a conflicted point of view? You're saying other rappers are just trying to get money and that's what's bringing hip-hop down, but then you're doing the same sort of thing. How do you reconcile that?

Nas: It's not just a business for rappers, it's a business for record companies. It's happening for every form of music. It's not just hip-hop that's dead. Mostly every form of American music is dead. It's been dead. R&B isn't really good. You got a handful of great guys-- Ne-Yo, R. Kelly, Usher. You have a handful of great female artists. But for the most part the music world's changing and change is good. You have to make adjustments if you want to survive in that world. You start to thinking about creative moments-- bliss. When everything was all good. You realize that in comparison to the way hip-hop started off, where we should be at right now is not there. Not to say everybody's wack. Or Nas is wack. But I'm trying to provoke thought for the next up and coming MCs to do something different.

Pitchfork: What was the turning point when you thought hip-hop started to go in the wrong direction?

Nas: After Biggie and Pac died, it left with them.

Pitchfork: How do you think it would be different if they weren't killed?

Nas: It would've been better as far as creativity, artistry. They would've had it hard though. I think people love them more that they're gone. The jealously that was around them was so great. With rap music, because it's all so on the street, you get treated like a street cat: "All right, you've been eatin' enough, you're fat, get out of the way now and let somebody else come by." They would never have felt the love they get now.

Pitchfork: Are there any other moments that you can think of when hip-hop lost its way?

Nas: As it became really global it helped but it also hurt at the same time.

Pitchfork: How so?

Nas: By becoming global no one knows where it comes from. No one knows who is doing it right. There was a time when you knew that Jim Morrison was dope. You knew that Kurt Cobain was dope. You knew they were the shit. But by the time it turns into what's going on now, you don't know. How are the kids going to be inspired to create something innovative when they're being influenced by some of the shit that's happening now, which is about just copying and turning it into a business? You never get a chance to know about Muddy Waters or the shit that really meant something. You don't even care.

Pitchfork: Do you feel like there was ever a time when you fed into those negative aspects yourself?

Nas: Absolutely. You get lost in the shuffle and the touring and the money and the business and the working and the running. It feels good sometimes. But when you feel like you want to pull back and get your shit together you can't because you're so far gone.

Pitchfork: I watched the "Hate Me Now" video on YouTube recently and-- though I think it holds up really well-- I was struck by how it's so different to what you're doing now. Do you regret any of that really over-the-top stuff?

Nas: Nah. Me and Diddy, we started the bling thing. I called myself the bling king. My whole thing was to put on the bigger chain-- to ice out the stuff. Puffy was to come out and outdo. We'd get with R. Kelly on tour and he'd come out with more chains. That was happening on 80s tours, but they didn't call it bling and they weren't wearing platinum or as many diamonds. Of course, Cash Money and No Limit took it to another level. That's our thing, we started that right there. I loved that. It was like, with "Hate Me Now", we had to give 'em something to hate us for.

Pitchfork: But when you see Master P's episode of "Cribs" and he has, like, gold-plated forks, do you think that's a bit much?

Nas: That's his thing, that's what he does [laughs].

Pitchfork: Listening back to Street's Disciple, it sounds like an independent album-- it's so out there and uncompromising lyrically. Did you make a conscious decision to reign it in for Def Jam on this album?

Nas: I did at first but even when I try to pull it back in with producers who are more known for the current sound, it's always gonna turn to be what I want to do. When I try to sound like the contemporary sound, it never turns out that way [laughs]. That's just me.

Pitchfork: Were there any producers you especially wanted to work with on this record?

Nas: I always wanted to work with Kanye West. He'd be the main one.

Pitchfork: Yeah, you're on both Late Registration and Doctor's Advocate, and both Kanye and the Game are on Hip Hop Is Dead. Is it safe to say those are the two younger guys you're checking for the most right now?

Nas: Yeah. Game is a monster. He's all about doin' what he needs to do. He's gonna take on the whole world if he has to by himself. And that's impressive.

Pitchfork: Do you see some of yourself in that?

Nas: Nah, he does what he does.

Pitchfork: One of the tracks on the new album samples "Unforgettable", which is a bold move…

Nas: It was amazing. That totally stands out to me because it's a classic Nat King Cole song, him being the guy of his era. It's something you don't really wanna touch because it's so great. But I did feel like this album was an epic moment for me, so why not?

Pitchfork: Looking at some of the big hip-hop names that are coming out with albums this season-- you, Jay, Ghost, Snoop-- there are a lot of rappers trying to stay relevant and commercially successful with their sixth, seventh, eighth LPs, which is kind of uncharted territory for the genre. Do you worry about that? Is it exciting?

Nas: We're gonna be the first [long pause] real rap artists. Period. And that's scary because I always thought it was Run-D.M.C. I always thought it was Rakim. They're still the forefathers. But we're stepping into something they haven't done. We're reinventing the game, and hip-hop's never seen that. The shit's crazy.

Pitchfork: You've mentioned Gnarls Barkley as an act that you think is pushing things forward musically. Would you ever consider making a less traditional rap record akin to their album?

Nas: I don't do what Gnarls Barkely do, I just appreciate what they've done musically and what Andre 3000 has done musically-- just the bravery. I think Andre 3000 may be one of the bravest artists in rap music. And Gnarls Barkley is the second coming of that. I love that.

Pitchfork: At the same time, there's a difference between being brave and actually making great music. Prince is an obvious example of someone who was doing really strange things that were also amazing and popular. But I don't know you if you can say the same thing for someone like Dre…

Nas: Well, you can't count a man out because one record went…a different direction. You gotta count the things that scored, not the misses. Especially someone like Andre who hasn't had many misses.

Pitchfork: I interviewed Common recently and asked him about some contemporary rappers and he said that he doesn't really listen to that much rap as much as jazz and old r&b nowadays. Where are you as far as keeping up on things?

Nas: I listen to whatever's good. That's why I work with Game, he's dope. I love Kanye. Twista. Even the shit that's cool to dance to-- I call it intermission music. It's the stuff we listen to between the times that good artists come out.

Pitchfork: So you think there's a place for groups like Dem Franchize Boyz?

Nas: Definitely. To the South's credit, they kept the lights on in hip-hop for at least two years. And I rock with all their records. Hip-hop ain't died because of the South, that's retarded. When I named the album originally, I thought I bit off more than I could chew but you'd be an idiot to think I'm talking about how the South killed hip-hop or how New York isn't where it should be or where it once was. It was like, "Damn, I need to explain this?" But I thought, "Nah, the proof is right there. We should know what it is." I expect the hip-hop audience to be avant garde. I want them to be where I'm at or beyond where I'm at.

Pitchfork: What's your take on the state of the country and the current elections? Do you vote?

Nas: Not until [Barack] Obama runs…or even maybe when Ms. Clinton runs. Obama is an exciting cat.

Pitchfork: It seems like no matter how good an album you make, everyone's like, "It's good…but it's not Illmatic." In a weird way do you ever wish Illmatic wasn't that hot?

Nas: I could never wanna wish that. Because if there's a record I do that's as good as Illmatic, it wouldn't be intentional. When I say as good as Illmatic, I mean to those Illmatic fans, in their opinion. I want each album to say something different and be accepted better than the last one but I don't have any point to outdo any particular album of mine.

Pitchfork: Do you ever listen to your own albums?

Nas: Maybe once a year. At most maybe three times a year.

Pitchfork: Are you planning a tour for the new record?

Nas: Next year. Probably with other people, don't know yet. I do wanna tour. I wanna do something different onstage. Something more exciting.

Pitchfork: I was at the recent Roots show at Radio City a few months ago where you came out to do a short set with them.

Nas: That was nice with a live band. That's what made me really wanna do some live shit.

Pitchfork: Is there any possibility of you doing that much talked-about album with DJ Premier anytime soon?

Nas: I hope so. We have to wrap our minds around doing that and that only. Both of us. And it could be exciting.

Pitchfork: Is a project like that even possible with all the label politics you'd have to get past?

Nas: I'm sure we're gonna meet some bumps in the road, but if it's meant to be it will happen. If we get in there and the chemistry's there, it's gonna happen.

Pitchfork: Thinking about the history of popular American music in the past 50 years or so, Motown eventually fell off after lots of success, and rock was considered to be in a decline before punk jumbled things up in the late 70s. Do you think it's inevitable for genres to stagnate after a while and become re-energized?

Nas: Absolutely.

Pitchfork: And I guess you think calling an album Hip Hop Is Dead is the best way to do that?

Nas: Absolutely.

Pitchfork: Do you think there's anybody else following your lead?

Nas: I think everyone will [laughs].