MTV has a list of 10 reasons why Dr. Dre’s Detox will come out.  Consider me skeptical.

According to Tehran-Emrouz, an Iranian daily newspaper, he said that young Iranian men and women were arrested last week in a score of raids targeting the capital’s underground rap scene. The rappers – both male and female – had apparently taken over “vacant” buildings in order to create what Iran’s regime has depicted as degenerative, anti-Islamic music. Tehran-Emrouz describes how the police kept the buildings under surveillance after they were informed that “young boys and girls” had been seen with “unusual appearances and musical instruments”

But the Iranian authorities are not cracking down on the music because it is anti-Islamic and somehow profane but because it is confronting problems with the Iranian government:

The regime can tolerate its youth intoxicated. But what it cannot abide is young Iranians actively subverting its authority. Iranian rap is not a direct emulation of what the regime deems “messianic” American rap; its lyrics often derive from the pain of living under the corruption and abuse of the Islamic Republic.

The establishment of the Islamic regime marked the exodus of talented Iranian musicians from the country. One famous Iranian rapper, Erfan, now lives in California. His lyrics are not about fast cars and money. And they are certainly not, as the Iranian government has suggested, sexually explicit. For an increasingly unpopular and paranoid Iranian President like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they are far worse:

“I wanna break all borders and boundaries before the flight and escape of all our valuable brains. All the youth in Iran have plans of leaving, from continent to continent they are travelling. After 2000 years it’s the time of breaking tradition, suffocating our family trees in exile.”

These frustrated lyrics from Sad Ghasam, ‘One Hundred Promises’, are especially pertinent to the post-2005 era, when Ahmadinejad banned Western and “indecent” music from state-run TV and radio stations. In an explicit attack against the Regime, Erfan also wrote Tasmim, ‘Resolution’, after the June 2009 Green Movement protests in Iran. One line in particular echoes recent events: “Every day you say our Iran is at fault, you say this but you beat and you kill.” It is for lyrics like these that the young musicians have been arrested in Tehran.

MSNBC and Fox News are networks that have ideologic bias that will come out from their host.  That is okay as long as the hosts admit it.

I think Chuck Todd is right when he reasons that this ad could bring up his name ID which isn’t hard to do since no one has heard from him.

The case against the New Black Panther Party members was actually dropped during the last days of the Bush Administration The truth is Obama isn’t really a radical he is just a big government Democrat. As nice as it would be to believe in some big giant conspiracy I believe the truth is scary enough.

Link via Julian Sanchez

But maybe there are things we could learn about Elena Kagan.  For example, the Sunlight Foundation has created a site called Elena’s Inbox which posts all the emails to and from Elena Kagan during her time in the Clinton Administration in a searchable manner similair to gmail.

“@Sn00ki u r right,” the 2008 Republican presidential candidate tweeted on his verified account. “I would never tax your tanning bed! Pres Obama’s tax/spend policy is quite The Situation. but I do rec wearing sunscreen!”

Snooki caught McCain’s shout-out and, though she didn’t respond to him directly, did tweet back, “Haha Yes!”

The health care reform legislation passed by Congress and the Obama administration imposed a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services which goes into effect July 1st.

From a non policy standpoint this shows how the conservative movement is trying to embrace new media to attract the youth and get their message out to the public.

Hamas police have broken up the Gaza Strip’s first major hip-hop concert.

The B Boy Gaza group had just started a lively dance set late on Saturday in a crowded auditorium when police from the Islamist Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip ended the performance with shouts of “the show is over”, witnesses said.

“I told one of the policemen that rap meant respect for all people, but he didn’t seem to be listening. He said it was an immoral dance,” one of the dancers said.

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Hamas officials said the performance, in a conservative enclave where most musical shows strike a nationalistic note, was shut down only because organizers had not applied for a police permit for the gathering.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said police confiscated cameras and tapes at the venue and arrested six of the performers. They were released after signing a pledge not to hold further performances without police permission.

Hamas has denied accusations by Gaza human rights groups that it is trying to impose Islamic law in the enclave where 1.5 million Palestinians live. In public speeches, Hamas leaders have urged Palestinians to adhere to Islamic values

Hamas may say rap music bring immoral dance but it should be noted that some of the best American rappers are self-identified Muslims.

Link via Consumerist