PoisonxPlanet - Boycott Everything

POISONxPLANET Blog

[neetelite-deactivated20171230]

Visit Original Link

[poisonxplanet]

In the spirit of the holidays I'd like to share this sentiment. Wrapped up in all of the trappings of tradition people easily forget that others suffer for their pleasure. In my mind there is nothing festive in the slaughter of millions of birds to celebrate a single day. Its an atrocity. Tomorrow everyone in the US will gather with loved ones, and many of us will have to subdue the anger and frustration that we feel as the people we care about stuff dead animals in their mouths. They will pat each other on the back and praise their joyous bounty. I know I'm looking forward to seeing my family, but I'm not looking forward to that sickening smell, or sitting deliberately so that I don't have to gaze upon a carved up carcass. I wrote this piece to remind people of their ignorance and their selfishness. I wrote them in the vain hope that someone would hear these words and end the cruelty and the killing in their own life, through their own choices. Before the "big day" I want to remind people again. Guess what? You're to blame.

Go Vegan. Stay Vegan.

-9Volt

Poison Planet - Who’s to Blame?

Born and raised to ignore our surroundings  Born and raised to never question  We consume and shit and we never think  "My actions cause immense suffering"  You would never beat an animal for fun  You would never torture an animal for sport  But you’d close your eyes and you’d turn your back  When faced with the realities of factory farms  Pens and cages, festering in their own filth  Pens and cages, restricting their movement and instinctual behavior  A life of torment and discomfort is all they know  And you say “turn it off, I don’t want to know.”  You absolve yourself of this injustice  You absolve yourself from guilt  "That animal was going to die anyway!"  You didn’t torture these animals  You didn’t wield the killing knife  You didn’t fire the bolt gun  You didn’t take their lives  But as you look to your table  You should be asking yourself,  "Who’s to blame?"  Who’s to blame?  Who’s to blame?

[poisonxplanet]

Today I finally put copies of the POISON PLANET 'Demo' 7" and the POISON PLANET/GOVERNMENT FLU split 7" up on the PxP storenvy.

If you need either of these imports now is a great time to pick them up.

http://poisonxplanet.storenvy.com/collections/87659-all-products/products/3970204-poison-planet-demo-7

Thanks for the continued support!

-9Volt

[poisonxplanet]

Today there has been a petition all over Facebook discussing Nestle and how they are siphoning off ground water from rural Pakistan leaving villages without drinkable water. In the petition it mentions that the CEO of Nestle has said that, "Water is not a right."

I found this offensive and disturbing - so much so that I needed to track down the quote to give the assertion in the petition credence. I found it in one quick web search.

The attached 6 minute video shows him discussing how organic foods are backwards and GMO's are wonderful and haven't hurt the US at all - something completely unsubstantiated by any evidence to support his claim. He follows this up with his assertion that "declaring water a public right" is an extreme solution and that instead it should be a foodstuff with a value, and for those without water something can be worked out.

The discussion turns to his social responsibility as a CEO is a profitable future for the enterprise. Note: There is no mention of a social responsibility to those harmed in the pursuit of that profitability. He goes on to prattle on about their role in the creation of jobs, and then he attacks the existence of a fair work week, something conceived to protect workers from exploitation.

Finally, he talks about how we've never been so healthy and wealthy - that we have everything that we want so why is anyone mourning?

Life sure is pretty when you're at the top of the 27th largest corporation in the world isn't it? Its not quite so pretty when you're one of the fucked over people at the bottom. I can tell you that its not always that pretty from somewhere in the figurative "middle".

Here's the petition mentioned above if you want to sign it/learn more:

http://action.sumofus.org/a/nestle-water-pakistan/?sub=fb

Here's a chart of who owns what - including Nestle's products/holdings. It is slightly out of date but you can still know your enemies:

http://www.policymic.com/articles/71255/10-corporations-control-almost-everything-you-buy-this-chart-shows-how

Wherever possible - buy local, buy small business, buy ethical.

As for the rest - fuck off.

Boycott Everything.

-9Volt

[poisonxplanet]

The 'Government Poison' split EP is out now!

As soon as I have word that the band copies have been sent and know how many I am receiving I will take pre-orders for North America.

http://poisonxplanet.bandcamp.com/album/poison-planet-government-flu-split-ep

[slothstyle-blog]

PUNX ON STRIKE

[poisonxplanet]

These are the last 2 songs from the upcoming split with Government Flu on Refuse Records. Refuse Records are still taking pre-orders now. Here are the lyrics for both songs:

Drug Related Causes  Global supply of  Narcotics sold  No protections  And no controls  Global supply of  Narcotics sold  No protections  And no controls  Drugs flow to feed your addiction  Poison coursing through your veins  The “source” is of no consequence  As long as you're free from pain  Drug - Related  Drug related causes  Drug – Related  Drug related causes  Gunned down cold on broken pavement  Territorial pissing leaves pooled blood  Black market capitalism is just the same  With violent retention of markets claimed  Drug - Related  Drug related causes  Drug – related  Drug related causes  Servant Class Citizen  We strive and push but we're held in place  We serve and accommodate by their grace  Our jobs overseas our educations loaned  But we lift them higher on their thrones  Thrones!  We are the working class - servant class citizen  We are the servant poor - servant class citizen  We are the working class - servant class citizen  We are the servant poor - servant class citizen  Earn a degree that doesn't mean shit  Bite down hard at the corporate bit  Hope for a break to rise from the pack  Knowing full well the deck is stacked  Stacked!  We are the working class - servant class citizen  We are the servant poor - servant class citizen  We are the working class - servant class citizen  We are the servant poor - servant class citizen  We are the servant class  We are the servant class  We are the servant class

[burningheartsmedia]

Poison Planet at New Direction Fest!

[poisonxplanet]

"Government Poison E.P." Pre-Orders are now being taken by REFUSE RECORDS.

Refuse 089 POISON PLANET/GOVERNMENT FLU "Government poison" 7"EP PRE-ORDER A Polish-American pact signed on this seven inch piece of plastic.While the governments are busy with spreading their poison, you can still find raw and loud disobedience in places like Warsaw or Chicago. This 8-track EP should be effective antidote against apathy, ignorance, helplessness and plain boredom. Government Flu: http://governmentflu.pl/ Poison Planet: http://poisonxplanet.bandcamp.com/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Poison-Planet/177658082939 Side Government: 1. Intro  2.They Know Best  3. Random Acts  4. New Barbarians  Side Planet: 5.Death of Ideas 6.Retaliate 7.Drug Related Causes 8.Servant Class Citizen Pressing info: 3 test press (not for sale) 110 copies, white vinyl (5,00 EUR / $7 + shipping) 390 copies, blue vinyl (4,50 EUR / $6 + shipping) ordering: [email protected] www.refuserecords.prv.pl Release-date: 1.04.2013

Shipping: : 12-20.04.2013

[poisonxplanet]

Art Evolution and Compromise. The PxP/Government Flu split EP.

All the way back in the summer of 2012 both Poison Planet and Government Flu recorded music for a split 7" to come out on Refuse Records, an idea originally spawned on our European tour back in 2011.  To say this record was a long time in the making is an understatement. I wanted to take a moment to show how the evolution of the art took place. Often you look at a cover and you think that someone grabbed a photo and put a logo on it and it was done, but the process can be way more involved, especially with a collaborative project.

This was the original mock up I created. This was essentially to present the record as the "Government Poison E.P." and convey that theme with a series of pictures portraying imagery to do with radiation and poison gas. It was pointed out by Robert Refuse that a couple of these images were used previously by other bands so the art was sent back for revision.

At the same time I submitted that art I submitted this image as well as a mock up. The image was considered good but the proposed layout was rejected. It should be noted that as mock ups, it was assumed that Government Flu would provide a better logo to replace the one I pulled off of their first EP.

Ralf from Government Flu submitted these ideas for consideration. I liked the idea of the crossed names but it was too clean looking - too computerized. Both of these concepts were rejected as well.

I printed out one of their concept images and started toying around with putting it over some of the images from my previous concepts to see how well they went together. The first one was rejected but the second one was sent back for revision and almost became the final cover.  

Delays at my end resulted in Marcin from Government Flu cranking out this cover. I felt the image was well composed but it deviated too much from the "Government Poison" theme and was too similar to some other recent records from out of Chicago. 

The deadlock was broken with this final selection. Marcin chose this image to bring it back more in line to the "Government Poison" theme. 

It was a long process and I may use some of the images I had found elsewhere, but that's how collaborative projects go. As I understand it pre-orders for the Government Flu/Poison Planet 'Government Poison E.P.' will begin on March 1st from Refuse Records. 

[poisonxplanet]

In the US Version of 'Boycott Everything' there is a detailed essay about the song Border Fences. In that essay, I talk briefly about SB1070, the Arizona Immigration Law, that was originally drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC.

At the time of writing the essay I didn't have much info on ALEC, just that an NPR investigation had discovered the link between ALEC, and members of the Corrections Corporation of America (a private prison company) and Russell Pearce, the member of the Arizona State Legislature that introduced the bill. When a friend told me there was documentary screening last night about ALEC, I knew I wanted to know more and attended.

I highly recommend watching this video, its the same documentary I saw last night. In case you don't have 30 minutes to spare I'll give a brief explanation.

The American Legislative Exchange Council is an organization composed of members from all 50 state legislatures around the country, as well as a mix of prominent business leaders from a huge variety of corporations and organizations. What this collection of businesses and state legislature members do together is they gather to discuss how to craft laws that better serve the business community. They create "model" bills and vote on them. In this setting business leaders get an equal vote to the state legislature members. If a "model" bill successfully passes at ALEC, state legislature members will then use these model bills to introduce new legislation in their own states. Often these model bills are tweaked slightly and introduced in several states at once. The 'Stand Your Ground' Law in Florida that was being used to protect George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin shooting case exists in one form or another in 17 states and is linked to ALEC. Anti-immigration laws, union busting, the privatization of public schools, and a whole host of other pro-business and conservative agendas that sweep across multiple states at once can often be linked to ALEC. 

Thankfully, when ALEC got some negative attention during the Trayvon Martin case, a bunch of major corporations and some legislators split ties with the organization. Still, ALEC marches on, and they actively recruit new members after each state election to keep their agendas pushing forward. For more information on what corporations are still members of ALEC and to look and see if any of your State Legislature members are connected to the organization, check out http://alecexposed.org This is the sort of corporate take over of government that we need to resist and subvert, but we can't do so effectively if we don't know the facts. 

As always, boycott everything.

-9Volt

[poisonxplanet]

DRUG RELATED CAUSES

Global supply of narcotics sold No protections and no controls Global supply of narcotics sold No protections and no controls

Drugs flow to feed your addiction Poison coursing through your veins The source is of no consequence As long as you're free from pain

Drug  Related Drug related causes

Drug Related Drug related causes

Gunned down cold on broken pavement Territorial pissing leaves pooled blood Black market capitalism is just the same With violent retention of markets claimed

Drug  Related Drug related causes

Drug Related Drug related causes

These are lyrics from one of the songs from the upcoming Government Flu split on Refuse Records. Robert Refuse was asking that I get him the layout for the split by the end of the month so I spent much of today at the copy shop cutting and pasting. While I was there I put together the above tentative t-shirt design. I felt like this image that I had stumbled upon perfectly captures the second verse of the song. The victim in the photo is a casualty of drug violence.

[poisonxplanet]

POISON PLANET looking for members.

PxP is rebuilding from the ground up. I'm looking for XVX musicians who are dedicated to trying to make a difference in this world through music and art - people who are willing to sacrifice a little bit of themselves (basically time and money) to share ideas on veganism, Straight Edge, social justice, and animal rights. Its a modest time commitment - I can only tour a few weeks a year. Your location, at this moment, isn't a huge issue if you are a seasoned musician and are passionate about the songs and getting out there to spread ideas. Logistically being from the midwest and/or east coast would seem to be the best for me to get to you or for you to get to Chicago but I'm open to reasonable ideas. We've played a lot of cities with a lot of great bands and I've met a lot of people who would probably fit the band perfectly if given the opportunity. If you're interested drop an email to: [email protected]

I've got a lot of cool plans for 2013 and I'd like to see them all come to fruition so drop me an email if you'd like to be a part. 

XXXX

-9Volt 

[poisonxplanet]

Factory farming is one of the greatest atrocities on the planet. Unlike wars that come and go the abuse and slaughter is endless. Many people regard animals as unthinking and unfeeling objects to be used up and discarded. The corrupt synergy that comes into being when you combine the feeling that animals are just objects, with the driving forces of capitalism and no level of cruelty is out of bounds in their minds. The animals and the people that are entrusted to "care" for them are forced into the most barbaric and deplorable of circumstances. Profit motive has stripped any amount of humanity out of the already questionable act of killing and eating animals and turned it into an endless holocaust for living, breathing, emotive, beautiful creatures.  

You can do something about it. You can start by forgoing turkey this Thanksgiving, or you can jump in with both feet and go vegan. But understand that with this knowledge you are now willingly and knowledgeably participating in cruelty to animals with every meal as long as you continue to eat meat, eggs, and dairy.

[poisonxplanet]

Fuck the System. Vote.

I know a lot of punks feel that voting validates a broken system and that it is a pointless act that fails to further their ends. I challenge that notion. For better or worse, those of us in the US live in a representative democracy. That may mean that we are at the mercy of both the majority of the populace and the corporations and lobyists that spend millions of dollars to influence politicians and the public, but the fact of the matter is, this is still the system we're stuck with. As much as taking to the streets in protest gives us a sense of empowerment and also attempts to sway public and political opinion, it doesn't change that often altering the system still comes down to a vote and if you abstain then all that screaming in the street could have been for nothing. Yes, in a presidential election your 1 vote is a mere drop in the bucket, but you should be at the polling places voting on local politicians, propositions, measures, and amendments at the very least.

For example, in North Dakota there is Measure 5 this election, an attempt to put a law on the books to make extreme animal cruelty a felony, because currently in the Dakotas, it is not. They are the only 2 out of the 50 United States to lack such laws. If you live in North Dakota and believe in animal rights, then you should be at the polling place. You have the ability to have your voice heard or you can let this opportunity slip through the cracks. The choice is yours.

There are ballot initiatives all over the country to vote on today having to do with gay rights, campaign contribution reform and the like. You can sit out of these initiatives and hope the average American "has your back" or you can do something about it yourself. Yes, you might not get what you want and you may feel cheated because you live in a region full of people you consider idiots, but at least you can feel better about throwing that brick through a window (if you must) because you "tried it their way" first.

Another area where your vote has influence is third parties. On the ballot here in Chicago there were multiple Green Party candidates running for a variety of low level positions. These are the races that no one pays attention to, and we have the greatest chance of getting a 3rd party candidate elected. And even if they do not get elected, your vote for 3rd party candidates influences a parties ability to stay on the ballot and how many campaign dollars they may receive. Every area is different as to how this works, but in my original New York State it even influenced how high up the ballot a name was listed. The more votes a party got in the previous election, the higher up the ballot their name/party was listed. These may seem like minor inconsequential victories, but campaign funding and visibility make a difference. They aren't going to turn the world upside down and we aren't going to turn into the socialized democracy or anarcho-syndicalist collective of your dreams overnight, but if we get a bunch of Greens as Water Commissioners here in Chicago, maybe that one area of the local government will experience some sort of shake up, and isn't that worth 20 minutes of your time? I know its worth 20 minutes of my time. And after the votes are counted, yeah, its back to the protest circuit for most of us but maybe we'll be able to shift our focus to another issue or assert our ideas one more increment further than the year before because we scored some small gain this election. That would be a small victory right?

It would be for me.

http://poisonxplanet.bandcamp.com/track/oblivious

[poisonxplanet]

This has been making the rounds on Facebook today and I wanted to share it. Words can be very powerful. They can be used to change minds and alter our culture, they can be used to educate and empower, but they can also be used to shame, demean, and break our spirits. They can be used as a weapon despite the old "sticks and stones..." adage. Sometimes you think it is a weapon that will only cut deep on your target, when in truth its indiscriminate, hurting people far and wide.

In an ideal world people wouldn't insult each other as much as we do, and if they did they'd stick to relatively harmless words that don't infer an inferiority based upon race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or identification, or in this case, disability. Its not hard to clean up your dialog to leave out what I believe to be obsolete vernacular. 

Ann Coulter dropped the 'R' word to insult and demean the president, but hurt thousands more in the process. Not that we should expect anything more from her. She's a hateful person. But hopefully others can read this and learn from her bigotry that is sadly so commonplace in our own dialog with one another.

[poisonxplanet]

The spark to ignite change is expression. If no one shares their ideas how is anything supposed to change? The problem is that people are so inundated with what governments, churches, and corporations are trying to feed us that many people shut themselves off to the ideas presented by artists, musicians, and their subcultural peers. As an assertion of their individuality they elect to reject anyone with an idea to share as a preacher, and they elect to restrain their own voices so as not to be branded as one. This is a backward solution as it allows all the forces around us to still impose their agendas while stifling ourselves under the assumption that if we're punk, we all get it. If you watch a thriving scene, particularly one with a political undercurrent, you will see bands, zines, and blogs composed by people expressing ideas, and people taking ideas to action. If you are looking around your own scene and no one is vegan, no one is political, and all you see is apathy the first question you might need to ask yourself is, “who is speaking up about these things?” 

The Death of Ideas

“Don't speak to me

I don't want to be preached to

My thoughts are my own

I'll keep them to myself”

The death of ideas

The death of ideas

The death of ideas

The death of ideas

Enforce your individuality

By staying self contained

And you wonder why nothing changes!

“Don't speak to me

I don't want to be preached to

My thoughts are my own

I'll keep them to myself”

The death of fucking ideas

[poisonxplanet]

Visit Original Link

This is the original test version of Who's to Blame. I had written a piece that had more in common with a poem than traditional lyrics or an essay and I had mentioned to the other guys in the band at the time that I wanted to do a spoken word track. I had never done anything like that before and it was intimidating and sort of awkward to attempt on the fly at a practice. I felt like I needed to try the idea out myself and then present it to the guys so they could hear what I had in mind.

I read the words aloud like a poem several times in my room, going from extremely uncomfortable and stumbling until it had a combined level of confidence and cadence. Each time I recorded it on my phone and deleted the awful attempts. I used a free program called Audacity to merge my vocal track recorded on my phone with the intro to Eyes Wide Open off of 'Oblivious'. This version of the track is what I brought to practice one night and said, "I want to try doing this. What do you think?" They were all about it. We recorded it for real as one of the bonus tracks for 'Ugly Truths vol 1' on CTW Records. In a way it is also a nod to 'Kinky Sex Makes the World Go Round' by DK which used one of their own songs, distorted and pushed heavily to the background, as the backdrop for a spoken word/skit piece, which is similar to what we did with the recorded version.

'Who's to Blame?'

Born and raised to ignore our surroundings  Born and raised to never question  We consume and shit and we never think  "My actions cause immense suffering"  You would never beat an animal for fun  You would never torture an animal for sport  But you'd close your eyes and you'd turn your back  When faced with the realities of factory farms  Pens and cages, festering in their own filth  Pens and cages, restricting their movement and instinctual behavior  A life of torment and discomfort is all they know  "And you say turn it off, I don't want to know."  You absolve yourself of this injustice  You absolve yourself from guilt  "That animal was going to die anyway!"  You didn't torture these animals  You didn't wield the killing knife  You didn't fire the bolt gun  You didn't take their lives  But as you look to your table  You should be asking yourself,  "Who's to blame?"  Who's to blame?  Who's to blame?

Go Vegan.