GI JOE gone wrong...

I think this picture is really funny...or pathetic...


or both

Jeff Koons- Artist review

I remember going almost a year ago to the Metropolitan Museum with my childhood buddy, NYC Brooklyn resident Diego Dax Rooks *aka prux, and going in an elevator to the roof top of the museum. The day was sunny and the people in the elevator crowded, I remember the elevator made a stop at some floor and some staff of the Met came in the elevator. I remember flirting with a girl staff she was really cute...and at the roof top they were displaying some works of Jeff Koons...

Jeff Koons (born January 21, 1955) is an American artist whose work incorporates kitsch imagery using painting, sculpture, and other forms, often in large scale.

Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania; as a teenager he revered Salvador Dalí, to the extent of visiting him at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. Koons studied painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Maryland Institute College of Art. After college, he worked as a Wall Street commodities broker while establishing himself as an artist. He gained recognition in the 1980s and subsequently set up a factory-like studio in a SoHo loft on the corner of Houston and Broadway in New York. It was staffed with over 30 assistants, each assigned to a different aspect of producing his work—in a similar mode to Andy Warhol's Factory.

Copyright litigation

Koons has been sued several times for copyright infringement over his use of pre-existing images in his work. In Rogers v. Koons, 960 F.2d 301 (2d Cir. 1992), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a judgment against him for his use of a photograph of puppies as the basis for a sculpture, String of Puppies.[21]
Koons also lost lawsuits in United Features Syndicate, Inc. v. Koons, 817 F. Supp. 370 (S.D.N.Y. 1993), and Campbell v. Koons, No. 91 Civ. 6055, 1993 WL 97381 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 1, 1993). More recently, he won a lawsuit in Blanch v. Koons, No. 03 Civ. 8026 (LLS), S.D.N.Y., Nov. 1 2005 (slip op.),[22] affirmed by the Second Circuit in October, 2006, brought over his use of a photographic advertisement as source material for legs and feet in a painting, Niagara (2000). The court ruled that Koons had sufficiently transformed the original advertisement so as to qualify as a fair use.

Manuel Rosales speaks from his safehaven

Manuel Rosales, who recently has been subject of judicial criminal prosecution by the Chavez regime, has today issued a letter to the people of Venezuela. I will free translate some relevant parts of the letter.

Manuel Rosales was democratically elected to be Mayor of the city of Maracaibo (Western Venezuela, and second most populated city in Venezuela) in the last election of November 2008. During the campaign Chavez declared publicly that he was corrupt and leader of local mafias and that "he will send Rosales to jail" and even further insulting him as "one thousand times disgraced". Rosales and his candidate for the Zulia State governorship Pablo Perez won cleanly and notwithstanding Chavez's efforts to include last minute people in the electoral college, and including electronic fraud. Rosales won fair and square and the difference in the city of Maracaibo was brutal. Recently, Rosales has been the center of a criminal investigation prompted by the National Assembly concerning corruption charges. The core issue was his economic gain for private endeavors in a cattle ranch he invested some time ago. Now, according to the prosecuting lawmakers (Representative Mario Isea) they argue that Rosales can not lawfully admit such economic gains. The amount in question is roughly $70,000 and considering that Rosales has been a public official for the last 15 years, previously 2 time governor and 2 time elected Mayor for the city of Maracaibo, at least he can account for $70,000 as private economic gain. From another side the prosecuting party also argues that Rosales executed a donation of a 10 year old pick up truck to a Governorship employee of more than 30 years. Rosales has gone in the media and has declared that he will stand by the legal process and will submit his defense and further evidence. Now, do you really think that after a President of Venezuela on live Television declaring that "he will send Manuel Rosales to jail" is not a political trial? It is obvious that it is, and Rosales is a trophy for any Chavez government official.

Excerpt of the letter from Manuel Rosales to the people of Venezuela

"Dear and beloved people of Venezuela

From my safehaven, protecting my physical integrity with the support of democratic factors, I have reflected upon the last events produced in the national political scene, and remain expectant to observe the fashion in which the Government and his boss, Hugo Chavez, without shame or remorse, is conducting us to the establishment of a totalitarian and authocratic regime, that without a doubt, has closed all the democratic spaces.

We are in front of a President that has proposed to control the functioning mechanisms of our country, and has obtained the silent support of the public powers, who remain dominated and directed in a obscene fashion, just like dictators have done when comparing history."

Bernie the Relentless

Yes, I agree with Gore Vidal who recently said about Bernie Madoff that he was "relentless". He fooled everyone and thats not quite easy to do. 13 years without ever processing a single financial transaction. The lists of clients include Wall Street CEOs, CFOs, Hollywood actors, directors and producers, international banks from Spain, Swiss, Japan, Hong Kong and loads of charitable foundations. Bernie was relentless because he had no favorites, I mean everyone has to have to favorite, specially when you see charitable foundations on the list. Not only that but he also rejected thousands of investors, apparently the minimum to invest with Bernie was US 20 Million.

Now, a UK High court approves of data transfer to the US in Madoff case

The Chancery Division of the High Court gave its nod of assent - on 27 February 2009 - to the transfer of personal data to the Unites States (US) to further ongoing legal proceedings against Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

In the case (Re Madoff Securities International Ltd, 2009 EWHC 442), Justice Lewison ruled that although such transfers are normally barred under the Data Protection Act of 1998 (DPA), certain exemptions apply "when the transfer is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest and ...for the purpose of, or in connection with, any legal proceedings (including prospective legal proceedings)”. Section 4 of the DPA specifically forbids the transfer of personal data to countries outside of the European Economic Area, unless that country ensures an adequate level of protection – the US is not deemed to have such an adequate level of protection.

"I am satisfied that it is in the public interests for an alleged fraud on this scale and of this complexity to be investigated," said Justice Lewison, "and on the evidence before me, I am therefore satisfied that the transfers of the information scheduled to the draft order are necessary for reasons of substantial public interest."

The Court was also satisfied that the exemption relating to legal proceedings was applicable in this situation as well.

"The unravelling of the fraud will undoubtedly involve legal proceedings", said Justice Lewison. "Indeed...there are two such proceedings already on foot, namely the liquidators both in New York and in this country, and the establishment of legal rights will no doubt be necessary in order to wind up the affairs of both companies in an orderly fashion."

Madoff Investment Securities LLC, including its English subsidiary Madoff Securities International Limited, is alleged to have been at the heart of a $50 billion fraud, involving a number of charities and public authorities. The provisionally appointed UK liquidators, under the request of the US liquidators, had requested the UK High court to consider the data transfer under Section 112 of the Insolvency Act of 1986.