Pirates! Stinking, loathsome, unidexter, parrot-loving pirates have struck again!

Recently a thoughtful correspondent (thanks, Trent) pointed out that Vancouver’s normally-upright Zulu Records had some copies of a re-issue of the our 1979 EP in their window, a re-issue that included some extra tracks from our early singles as well. First we’d heard of it. Some inquiries revealed that the bogus disc was being distributed locally by Vancouver’s normally-upright Scratch Records. Further inquiries resulted in Scratch telling us that the counterfeits came from a European distributor who they cravenly refused to name. Apparently they traded some of their product for the pirated EPs so there was no possibility of them withholding payment for them. And their stock was all gone, anyway. Oh, and they made some weak-minded comment about how if we’d re-release our stuff ourselves then nobody would bootleg it – as if the pirating was somehow our fault.

(We’ll fill everybody in some time about just why we haven’t re-released our older stuff yet – another tale redolent of sea air, bottles of rum, etc.)

This follows by a few months the appearance of a bootleg CD of “Incorrect Thoughts” from another band of villains going by the name “Punk Vault.” Also European, apparently.

Zulu made the comment that they “didn’t know it was a bootleg.” Yeah, right. Other music-store personnel who are similarly brain-fogged are invited to visit the discography page at our website (www.subhumans.ca) which has a listing of all of the actual real official releases of our stuff that have ever occurred. If it ain’t on there then it ain’t fair and square.

If anybody else hears of any other supposedly-legit outlets dealing in this stuff, please drop us a line.

Hey it’s March and once again we here in Canada are hearing rumours of a spring federal election. Astoundingly, according to some national polls, a lot of Canadians are actually considering re-electing Stephen Harper and his Conservative government. Wow, a lot of Canadians must have very short memories. Let me take this opportunity to refresh your memories if I may.

This man, Stephen Harper, is the same man that in 2003 as leader of the official opposition was frantically pushing for Canada to join the Bush and Blair administrations in the invasion of Iraq. This is the same man who relentlessly cajoled and harassed then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien for his decision to abide by the UN’s recommendations and not take Canada into an illegal war. This is the same man that pointed out that by not joining in the invasion, Canada’s trade with the US could suffer (we should go to war because it’s good for business).

Perhaps your memory needs further refreshment. When it was pointed out to him that the polls showed that the majority of Canadians did not support joining in the invasion of Iraq, Harper explained that sometimes it was necessary to do the right thing regardless of what the people wanted. This is the same man that had repeatedly championed the notion that governments should be in step with the majority’s wishes and not act according to their own lofty and skewed sense of morality. Harper also tried to shame Chrétien, and every other Canadian that was opposed to the war, by claiming that we were abandoning our American friends in their hour of need. At the same time, of course, he was always careful not to mention the fact that the polls showed most Americans were against the war as well.

During this time, many experts were saying that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, no evidence of a link to Al Qaeda and that a war in Iraq, rather than liberating the country, could lead to civil war between Shia and Sunni factions, greater acts of terrorism and general instability in the region. These experts even included some members of the US intelligence community. All across Canada, thousands of us were arguing that we should be listening to what these experts had to say, instead of being taken in by the Bush administration’s rhetoric and war mongering. As well, we argued that if we wanted other countries to abide by the UN charter, we had to abide by it ourselves and not go to war without the UN’s support. Harper not only ignored us, he ignored the experts and he ignored the UN; he only had ears for Bush

Okay, so as it turns out the experts I mentioned above were absolutely right and Harper was absolutely wrong. The cost: anywhere from 30,000 to 600,000 Iraqi civilians dead (depending on who you want to believe, Bush or an independent medical research organization), thousands upon thousands more civilians permanently maimed and disfigured, thousands upon thousands made homeless, over 3000 US soldiers killed, Iraqi streets once again made dangerous for women (hell, they’re dangerous for everybody), the growth of huge, well armed terrorist networks operating in a relatively lawless country with a whole new bunch of reasons for hating the West, literally billions and billions of dollars diverted from the public coffers in the US to the military campaign, etc., etc., etc.

If Stephen Harper had of been prime minister in 2003 we would have joined the US and Britain in the invasion of Iraq and we’d probably still be there. We would bear equal responsibility with them for this monumental fiasco/tragedy, all so Harper could be best buds with his right-wing heroes in the US. And you’re thinking of re-electing this man as prime minister? Please, give your head a shake!!!

An update at last! Ah home sweet home. Finally, a stove that really puts out some heat! We’re home, we’re recovering (we all got brutally sick on the tour) and we’re busy plotting new strategies and conspiracies. While we can’t take credit for Rumsfeld’s resignation or Pinochet’s recent demise, we are working on some ideas like a possible re-release of Incorrect Thoughts, maybe some international shows, etc. We’re going to take a little break from playing shows over the winter as some of us have to work at our real jobs (the kind that actually pay the bills!), but with any luck, we should be back in the loop in the spring some time.

Thanks to everyone who helped us out on the tour, from those who put us up at their homes, to those who let us park in their driveways, to those who helped us load and unload gear (usually in the wind and the rain), to those who took photos of us—and then actually gave us some, to those who paid more money than agreed upon for shows, to those in the media who helped to generate interest in the new CD and the tour, to those who shipped us merch intact and on time. Thanks as well (and a big sweaty hug) to Derek and Sam, who worked hard behind the scenes to help make the damn thing happen. Thanks to G7 and AT, the greatest record labels on Earth. Last but not least, a very special thanks to all the loyal Subhumans’ fans we met in every town, whose enthusiasm and support got us over the rough spots and made it all worthwhile. Don’t just take my word for it. Look at yourselves, you are such beautiful people!

Now y’all be sure to keep in touch, send us your comments and more photos of the shows if ya got ‘em. Just check out this baby! Yeah, we be rockin’! (we’d all taken our Geritol that night). For those of you who still haven’t picked up your copy of New Dark Age Parade for some reason (what are you waiting for, Christmas?!), you can listen to 4 tracks from the CD at our Myspace site (as well as check out what a bunch of other crazy bands are up to). If you want to shoot the shit with me personally (or tear apart my banal blatherings), come on over to my Blogspot and join the mundanities. Check the Links page on this site for the above addresses. Talk to ya.

The Lancet, one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world, has just published a study on mortality rates in Iraq since the 2003 US-UK invasion. The same authors published a study in 2004 which estimated deaths since the invasion to be in the range of 100,000 at that time. Despite its rigor, that study was attacked with much vitriol by defenders of Western imperial aggression. The new study, which is based on a larger (and hence more reliable) sampling of Iraqi households, finds that the rate of violent death is continuing to rise: “We estimate that as of July, 2006, there have been 654,965 (392,979 – 942,636) excess Iraqi deaths as a consequence of the war, which corresponds to 2·5% of the population in the study area. Of post-invasion deaths, 601,027 (426,369 – 793,663) were due to violence, the most common cause being gunfire.” The 654,965 figure is considered to have a 95% confidence level.

The actual study is available online. It’s only eight pages long, no complicated equations. Go ahead, read it, I double dare you.

Like the earlier study, the new one will be dismissed by those responsible for the invasion because it extrapolates from a sample to the whole population, and that’s sort of sciencey and can be scoffed at. The research team gathered data from “1849 households that contained 12,801 individuals,” asking who had lived there before the invasion and who lived there now, and accumulating all the explanations for the difference: migration, births, deaths from natural causes, deaths from violence. Death certificates where examined for 92% of the reported deaths.

And on that cheery note, we’re off on tour!

Feast eyes on cool poster for the upcoming Win MB show.

The Unwanted have a slogan on their Myspace page: “Bigger, badder, balder & fatter.” Jeez, it’s just like looking in a mirror . . .