Cut and paste to Linux console

[chipschap]

I'd like to cut and paste between X-windows and EMACS in a Linux console (as in 
a Ctrl-Alt-F1 console). I put together the following small hack, which seems to 
work for my environment. But my question is, surely this has been done before? 
But I can't find it. Can anyone point me to a better way?

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;; Display assumed to be :0. This should become defcustom.

(defvar conclip-display)
(setq conclip-display ":0")

(defun conpaste ()
"Insert X-windows selection in console at point"
(interactive)

;; Insert X-windows selection at point in an emacs
;; console. (A real console, as gotten by 
;; Ctrl-Alt-F1 etc.)

;; Load in .emacs (or equivalent)
;; (load-library "/whatever path you use/conclip.el")
;; or .elc if byte-compiled. Also maybe define a 
;; global key sequence, like C-c C-y perhaps.
;; xsel must be installed. In Ubuntu, sudo apt-get xsel.

 (insert 
   (shell-command-to-string 
     (concat "xsel -b -o --display " conclip-display)))
)

(defun concopy ()
"Copy from console to X-windows clipboard"
(interactive)

;; Copy the current region to the X-windows clipboard.
;; As above, xclip is required, and this would be best
;; tied to a sequence like C-c C-w.

  (shell-command-on-region (point) (mark)
   (concat "xsel -b -i --display " conclip-display))
)
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