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David Choe on Howard Stern: Gambling for Facebook Millions

Marina Galperina — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:20:24 +0000

After turning down every media outlet so he can go on the Howard Stern show, artist David Choe talks jerking off in a Japanese prison, naturally. Then, about the time Facebook paid him for murals in stock that’s now worth more $200 million and how much of it is left. Listen.

Here’s the tease: David Choe was actually offered a handsome sum of $60,000 to paint murals all up and around Facebooks HQ offices. He and everyone else though Facebook was a joke, but being a gambling man — he won his first million in Vegas — Choe took the stocks. Facebook’s $5 billion IPO caused it to skyrocket recently. He hasn’t held on to all of it, but “I’m doing ok,” he says.

Here’s the audio.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

Send In Your N00dz 2.0: Support Golshifteh Farahani!

Marina Galperina — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:46:04 +0000

Back when Ai Weiwei was being interrogated over preposterous charges of pornography, Ai’s supporters started tweeting their breasts and crotches at him in support. Now, a similar protest is brewing for Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who was allegedly banned from Iran for posing topless for French magazine Madame Le Figaro.

N00dz are being coordinated at the growing Support Golshifteh Facebook page, formed “to say NO to religion, tradition, culture and anti women’s law. Viva freedom !!!”

Notably, the actress is the only one to nip-slip in the ad campaign against Iran’s restrictive policies against women. If you watch carefully (below). Consider it… a punctuation.

David Choe’s Facebook Office Murals Now Worth $200 Million

Marina Galperina — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:12 +0000

In 2005, artist David Choe painted graffiti-style murals inside and around Facebook’s first headquarters in Palo Alto, California, though he considered the idea of Facebook “ridiculous and pointless.” They offered to pay him his couple of thousand dollars in shares instead of cash. He said, sure. Now, those shares are worth $200,000,000 now that the company has gone public. Take that, Damien Hirst.

According to Choe, “they cut the walls out of all my paintings and sent them to all the Facebook offices around the world.” He also doodled on Zuckerberg’s laptop. Not a bad payday, huh?

Some video:

NYPD Being Investigated for Facebook Ranting

Bucky Turco — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:50:51 +0000

Internal Affairs Bureau thinks that at least 20 of the racially-tinged remarks that were posted on Facebook, about the West Indian Day Parade and the community who attends it, came from NYPD officers. No shit, really?

The running commentary was eventually deleted, but not before it was screengrabbed and then published for all the world to see.

Some of the officers predicted this would happen, with some of them requesting the group be set to private and others saying it was a matter of time before IAB officers, whom they referred to as “rats,” read the rants. Right they were. (Photo: Azi Paybarah/flickr)

NYPD Use Worst Forum Possible To Air Their Crude Prejudices

Bucky Turco — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:05:26 +0000

In September, a whole bunch of police officers chimed in on a Facebook group called “No More West Indian Day Detail,” and proceeded to say some really vile things about the annual parade and the people who attend it, which was all in public view until the comments suddenly disappeared.

The angry and boorish postings were discovered by a team of defense attorneys who used them in a trial to show the jury the attitudes held by many officers and later provided them to the New York Times.

At its peak, the group attracted about 1,200 members, proving that either the NYPD is really dumb or city cops just don’t give a fuck. Here’s some snippets of what was said:

“Drop a bomb and wipe them all out.”
“Let them kill each other.”
“It’s not racist if it’s true.”
“Filth.”
“Why is everyone calling this a parade. It’s a scheduled riot.”
“Welcome to the Liberal NYC Gale, where if the cops sneeze too loud they get investigated for excessive force but the ‘civilians’ can run around like savages and there are no repercussions.”
“Bloodbath!!! The worst detail to work.”

Yeah, but what did they really think? (Photo: Mike Dougherty/flickr) UPDATE: Gothamist got hold of the ranty excerpts and you can read them in the embedded document below.
No More West Indian Day Detail 9.7.11 612 Pm

End Days: An IRL “Like” Button

Marina Galperina — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:32:47 +0000

You want to push it, push it real good. I know. Consider the philosophical implications of this IRL Facebook “Like” button first, before you start cooing over its cleverness. Yes, pressing a physical representation of a button that has become an integral part of all your Internet meanderings would be very, very cathartic. However, this actual machine courtesy of artist Mario Klingemann calibrates nothing — it simply logs the number of times it’s been pressed. It’s a glorified clicker meter. Yet…

It draws you in with familiarity. It calls, “LIKE ME!” With every “click,” the participants of this interactive art project enter a meaningless cycle of pushing a button to push a button. It’s a means to its own end and vice versa. It’s a infinite loop of nothingness. It’s the Black Hole of conceptual art.

It could very well be the Doomsday device. Yes, it’s clever and it’s going to be at the Ultra Social exhibition as a part of the UAMO Festival in Munich.

Facebook Censors Nirvana Album Cover

Marina Galperina — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:00:08 +0000

The cover art of the Nevermind re-issue was removed from Nirvana’s official Facebook page due to terms of use violation, specifically, the baby wiener. The censorship hoopla and its reverberating outrage plays out so well in terms of album promotion that it’s a little suspicious, mm-hmm.

As the 20th anniversary of the classic album revives suicide-powered idolatry throughout the Internet, the photographer of the original “controversial” cover wants to re-shoot baby Spencer Elden — one of Shepard Fairey’s art elves — all grown up, all nude. Kurt would have loved all this hype. Not.

Zuckerberg Is a Snitch: Facebook Search Warrants Surge!

Marina Galperina — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:00:59 +0000

Since 2008, Facebook has provided detailed access to at least 24 personal profiles to the FBI, DEA and ICE, without the consent and often the notification of the users or their friends, which may not be constitutional. The number of Facebook search warrants granted by judges has already doubled since last year.

By contrast, Twitter actually fought a federal ruling that would have prevented them from notifying users of their subpoenas. The “dumb fucks” who use Facebook should be really, really, really careful.

Then again… Really? There are downsides to transplanting your entire existence into a searchable database? What, you mean like these recent reports of creeping lawyers “friending” struggling home-owners to serve foreclosure notices in Australia? Or maybe this disturbing little ditty of modern day McCarthyism — Israeli authorities are now using Facebook to black-list pro-Palestine activists.

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have… the signs of the times.

Proof the Bilderberg Meetings Are Evil

Bucky Turco — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 02:09:50 +0000

The co-founders of both Facebook (Chris Hughes) and LinkedIn (Reid Hoffman) were among the 2011 attendees according to this supposedly leaked list, which also includes bankers, CEOs, media moguls, government officials, heads of state, and royalty.

This year’s conference of international overlords ran from June 9 -12 and you can see who else made it to the shadowy off the record gathering below:

Belgium
Coene, Luc, Governor, National Bank of Belgium
Davignon, Etienne, Minister of State
Leysen, Thomas, Chairman, Umicore

China
Fu, Ying, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
Huang, Yiping, Professor of Economics, China Center for Economic Research, Peking University

Denmark
Eldrup, Anders, CEO, DONG Energy
Federspiel, Ulrik, Vice President, Global Affairs, Haldor Topsøe A/S
Schütze, Peter, Member of the Executive Management, Nordea Bank AB

Germany
Ackermann, Josef, Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank
Enders, Thomas, CEO, Airbus SAS
Löscher, Peter, President and CEO, Siemens AG
Nass, Matthias, Chief International Correspondent, Die Zeit
Steinbrück, Peer, Member of the Bundestag; Former Minister of Finance

Finland
Apunen, Matti, Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA
Johansson, Ole, Chairman, Confederation of the Finnish Industries EK
Ollila, Jorma, Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell
Pentikäinen, Mikael, Publisher and Senior Editor-in-Chief, Helsingin Sanomat

France
Baverez, Nicolas, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Bazire, Nicolas, Managing Director, Groupe Arnault /LVMH
Castries, Henri de, Chairman and CEO, AXA
Lévy, Maurice, Chairman and CEO, Publicis Groupe S.A.
Montbrial, Thierry de, President, French Institute for International Relations
Roy, Olivier, Professor of Social and Political Theory, European University Institute

Great Britain
Agius, Marcus, Chairman, Barclays PLC
Flint, Douglas J., Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings
Kerr, John, Member, House of Lords; Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell
Lambert, Richard, Independent Non-Executive Director, Ernst & Young
Mandelson, Peter, Member, House of Lords; Chairman, Global Counsel
Micklethwait, John, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
Osborne, George, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Stewart, Rory, Member of Parliament
Taylor, J. Martin, Chairman, Syngenta International AG

Greece
David, George A., Chairman, Coca-Cola H.B.C. S.A.
Hardouvelis, Gikas A., Chief Economist and Head of Research, Eurobank EFG
Papaconstantinou, George, Minister of Finance
Tsoukalis, Loukas, President, ELIAMEP Grisons

International Organizations
Almunia, Joaquín, Vice President, European Commission
Daele, Frans van, Chief of Staff to the President of the European Council
Kroes, Neelie, Vice President, European Commission; Commissioner for Digital Agenda
Lamy, Pascal, Director General, World Trade Organization
Rompuy, Herman van, President, European Council
Sheeran, Josette, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme
Solana Madariaga, Javier, President, ESADEgeo Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics
Trichet, Jean-Claude, President, European Central Bank
Zoellick, Robert B., President, The World Bank Group

Ireland
Gallagher, Paul, Senior Counsel; Former Attorney General
McDowell, Michael, Senior Counsel, Law Library; Former Deputy Prime Minister
Sutherland, Peter D., Chairman, Goldman Sachs International

Italy
Bernabè, Franco, CEO, Telecom Italia SpA
Elkann, John, Chairman, Fiat S.p.A.
Monti, Mario, President, Univers Commerciale Luigi Bocconi
Scaroni, Paolo, CEO, Eni S.p.A.
Tremonti, Giulio, Minister of Economy and Finance

Canada
Carney, Mark J., Governor, Bank of Canada
Clark, Edmund, President and CEO, TD Bank Financial Group
McKenna, Frank, Deputy Chair, TD Bank Financial Group
Orbinksi, James, Professor of Medicine and Political Science, University of Toronto
Prichard, J. Robert S., Chair, Torys LLP
Reisman, Heather, Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc. Center, Brookings Institution

Netherlands
Bolland, Marc J., Chief Executive, Marks and Spencer Group plc
Chavannes, Marc E., Political Columnist, NRC Handelsblad; Professor of Journalism
Halberstadt, Victor, Professor of Economics, Leiden University; Former Honorary Secretary General of Bilderberg Meetings
H.M. the Queen of the Netherlands
Rosenthal, Uri, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Winter, Jaap W., Partner, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek

Norway
Myklebust, Egil, Former Chairman of the Board of Directors SAS, sk Hydro ASA
H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
Ottersen, Ole Petter, Rector, University of Oslo
Solberg, Erna, Leader of the Conservative Party

Austria
Bronner, Oscar, CEO and Publisher, Standard Medien AG
Faymann, Werner, Federal Chancellor
Rothensteiner, Walter, Chairman of the Board, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG
Scholten, Rudolf, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG

Portugal
Balsemão, Francisco Pinto, Chairman and CEO, IMPRESA, S.G.P.S.; Former Prime Minister
Ferreira Alves, Clara, CEO, Claref LDA; writer
Nogueira Leite, António, Member of the Board, José de Mello Investimentos, SGPS, SA

Sweden
Mordashov, Alexey A., CEO, Severstal Schweden
Bildt, Carl, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Björling, Ewa, Minister for Trade
Wallenberg, Jacob, Chairman, Investor AB

Switzerland
Brabeck-Letmathe, Peter, Chairman, Nestlé S.A.
Groth, Hans, Senior Director, Healthcare Policy & Market Access, Oncology Business Unit, Pfizer Europe
Janom Steiner, Barbara, Head of the Department of Justice, Security and Health, Canton
Kudelski, André, Chairman and CEO, Kudelski Group SA
Leuthard, Doris, Federal Councillor
Schmid, Martin, President, Government of the Canton Grisons
Schweiger, Rolf, Ständerat
Soiron, Rolf, Chairman of the Board, Holcim Ltd., Lonza Ltd.
Vasella, Daniel L., Chairman, Novartis AG
Witmer, Jürg, Chairman, Givaudan SA and Clariant AG

Spain
Cebrián, Juan Luis, CEO, PRISA
Cospedal, María Dolores de, Secretary General, Partido Popular
León Gross, Bernardino, Secretary General of the Spanish Presidency
Nin Génova, Juan María, President and CEO, La Caixa
H.M. Queen Sofia of Spain

Turkey
Ciliv, Süreyya, CEO, Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S.
Gülek Domac, Tayyibe, Former Minister of State
Koç, Mustafa V., Chairman, Koç Holding A.S.
Pekin, Sefika, Founding Partner, Pekin & Bayar Law Firm

USA
Alexander, Keith B., Commander, USCYBERCOM; Director, National Security Agency
Altman, Roger C., Chairman, Evercore Partners Inc.
Bezos, Jeff, Founder and CEO, Amazon.com
Collins, Timothy C., CEO, Ripplewood Holdings, LLC
Feldstein, Martin S., George F. Baker Professor of Economics, Harvard University
Hoffman, Reid, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn
Hughes, Chris R., Co-founder, Facebook
Jacobs, Kenneth M., Chairman & CEO, Lazard
Johnson, James A., Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC
Jordan, Jr., Vernon E., Senior Managing Director, Lazard Frères & Co. LLC
Keane, John M., Senior Partner, SCP Partners; General, US Army, Retired
Kissinger, Henry A., Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.
Kleinfeld, Klaus, Chairman and CEO, Alcoa
Kravis, Henry R., Co-Chairman and co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis, Roberts & Co.
Kravis, Marie-Josée, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, Inc.
Li, Cheng, Senior Fellow and Director of Research, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution
Mundie, Craig J., Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation
Orszag, Peter R., Vice Chairman, Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.
Perle, Richard N., Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Rockefeller, David, Former Chairman, Chase Manhattan Bank
Rose, Charlie, Executive Editor and Anchor, Charlie Rose
Rubin, Robert E., Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury
Schmidt, Eric, Executive Chairman, Google Inc.
Steinberg, James B., Deputy Secretary of State
Thiel, Peter A., President, Clarium Capital Management, LLC
Varney, Christine A., Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust
Vaupel, James W., Founding Director, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Warsh, Kevin, Former Governor, Federal Reserve Board
Wolfensohn, James D., Chairman, Wolfensohn & Company

The Guardian Used Stolen Facebook Photos of ‘Lesbian Blogger’

Marina Galperina — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:01:31 +0000

Amina Arraf, the rebel blogger behind A Gay Girl in Damascus, was reportedly kidnapped by the Syrian police. The Guardian reported the story with “her” photos. Now, the real woman whose face has been plastered all over the news is very upset with Facebook.

In this video, Londoner Jelena Lecic complains at length about how Facebook’s useless privacy settings did not protect her from the forced association with this “gay activist” stranger, without expressing much sympathy for the captured blogger herself.

Of course, there is a possibility that the blogger never existed at all. If she is real, the Guardian should have known better than to think that a lesbian dissident would use her own photos on her blog while living in a police state where her orientation is considered “criminal.”

Update: Fake.