Friday, June 3, 2011
660 रेड मोल्ली - फोक तरिओ
Artist: Red Molly
Listeners: 2 855
Playcount: 23 560
Search artist
Search
Biography:
Red Molly is a folk trio consisting of Laurie MacAllister (vocals, guitar, banjo), Abbie Gardner (vocals, guitar, Dobro, lap steel guitar), and Carolann Solebello (vocals, guitar, precision acoustic bass, mandolin). They perform original works composed by each of the group members, as well as covers of other songwriters including Hank Williams, Gillian Welch and Ryan Adams. Their fans are known as Redheads. Red Molly was formed late one night at the 2004 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Abbie, Carolann, and Laurie, solo singer/songwriters, were the last ones left at a song circle. They liked the way they sounded together and decided to form a band. There are many theories of where the name comes from but on their website they state that it has nothing to do with the character from the Richard Thompson song 1952 Vincent Black Lightning but was inspired by Emmylou Harris's album Red Dirt Girl. Their career started to take off in 2006. They were the top vote getters in the 2006 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist Showcase. WUMB in Boston named them Top New Artist of the Year and picked their Album Never Been to Vegas one of their Top 10 Albums of 2006. They appeared in John Platt's Under the Radar series in New York a showcase for up and coming musicians. In 2007 they toured with Pat Wictor and Ellis, the other winners of the Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist showcase, on the Falcon Ridge Preview tour and performed with them in the Most Wanted Song Swap at the Festival itself. In 2010 they have played Merlefest and have been invited back to the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival as a headliner. Their album Love and Other Tragedies reached number 15 on the Americana Charts on June 30, 2008. Their next album James reached #4 on the Americana charts in May of 2010 and # 1 on the Folk DJ chart. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.
United States top singers.
Artists similar to Red Molly
Amy Speace's Music Raina Rose's Music Mark Erelli's Music Edie Carey's Music
Jess Klein's Music Girlyman's Music Bearfoot's Music Doria Roberts's Music
Eddie From Ohio's Music Rose Polenzani's Music Antje Duvekot's Music Uncle Earl's Music
We're About 9's Music Joe Crookston's Music Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem's Music Sarah Jarosz's Music
Sometymes Why's Music Jeff Talmadge's Music Salamander Crossing's Music Brooks Williams's Music
Chris Pureka's Music Donna Hughes's Music Vance Gilbert's Music Laurie Lewis's Music
Kate Wolf's Music Sarah SIskind's Music Rose Cousins's Music Cathi Bruns's Music
Sierra Hull's Music Ruth Notman's Music Ollabelle's Music Bill Staines's Music
Christine Kane's Music Pieta Brown's Music Tres Chicas's Music Town Mountain's Music
Blue Highway's Music Chris Stuart & Backcountry's Music Tim Grimm's Music Romi Mayes's Music
Cordelia's Dad's Music Megson's Music Jon Redfern's Music Marla Hansen's Music
Jonathan Byrd's Music Erica Wheeler's Music Equation's Music Adam Carroll's Music
Gordon Bok's Music Laura Love's Music Beatbeat Whisper's Music Terence Martin's Music
Dala's Music Kasey Anderson's Music Hem's Music Haley Bonar's Music
Danny Schmidt's Music Blaze Foley's Music Mountain Heart's Music Rebecca Loebe's Music
joy kills sorrow's Music Danny Barnes's Music Red Guitar's Music Yarn's Music
Alison Brown Quartet's Music Matt the Electrician's Music David Grier's Music The Donnis Trio's Music
Leslie Mendelson's Music Shawn Camp's Music Scott Miller's Music Coyote Grace's Music
Holly Near's Music Peter Case's Music Michael Miller's Music Andrew McKnight's Music
Butch Ross's Music Joe Pug's Music Railroad Earth's Music Sally Spring's Music
Brad Yoder's Music Split Lip Rayfield's Music Gurf Morlix's Music Stacey Earle's Music
Martha Scanlan's Music Marybeth D'Amico's Music James Talley's Music She Tells Lies's Music
Molly Venter's Music Murry Hammond's Music Trampled By Turtles's Music Joe Ely's Music
Lissa Schneckenburger's Music Frontier Folk Nebraska's Music Chuck Pyle's Music Chris Rosser's Music
The Takers's Music Ron Block's Music South Austin Jug Band's Music Ferron's Music
Fan club of Red Molly
{this->name}'s avatar
relsqui {this->name}'s avatar
supermorgan {this->name}'s avatar
dlynn555 {this->name}'s avatar
chaos1588
{this->name}'s avatar
hyzerfool {this->name}'s avatar
jostoff {this->name}'s avatar
naturesnetwork {this->name}'s avatar
zigdon
{this->name}'s avatar
scissorknot {this->name}'s avatar
einsamerwolf456 {this->name}'s avatar
progreviews {this->name}'s avatar
emanningbx1
{this->name}'s avatar
stevezzzz {this->name}'s avatar
markinmaine {this->name}'s avatar
thfenderbosch {this->name}'s avatar
gpunx
{this->name}'s avatar
Mummenschanz2 {this->name}'s avatar
icculuss1714 {this->name}'s avatar
sjrash {this->name}'s avatar
jebean
{this->name}'s avatar
woodsguy {this->name}'s avatar
Sharpston {this->name}'s avatar
jwojchi {this->name}'s avatar
JustMarian
{this->name}'s avatar
crwllmsn {this->name}'s avatar
faraway99 {this->name}'s avatar
Oldsong {this->name}'s avatar
gazeeboy
{this->name}'s avatar
CritterBend {this->name}'s avatar
tierneco {this->name}'s avatar
afowler {this->name}'s avatar
NicoleSimon
{this->name}'s avatar
equus52 {this->name}'s avatar
Andrew5580 {this->name}'s avatar
rrota {this->name}'s avatar
cosi22
{this->name}'s avatar
Kevin_Jim {this->name}'s avatar
idiomisme {this->name}'s avatar
Kelli_wwr {this->name}'s avatar
monanotlisa
{this->name}'s avatar
des3dhj {this->name}'s avatar
carotearoa {this->name}'s avatar
LaValerina {this->name}'s avatar
lotuslost
{this->name}'s avatar
Conain {this->name}'s avatar
Apocalypse510 {this->name}'s avatar
devinher {this->name}'s avatar
bebal
{this->name}'s avatar
SnowBeltFolkie {this->name}'s avatar
eaglemjb
Red Molly Lyrics.
Popular Songs Of Red Molly
This is a list of Red Molly most-listened-to songs on Last FM, ordered by song popularity.
* May I Suggest
* Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning
* Wichita
* Honey On My Grave
* Beaumont Rest Stop
* Summertime
* The Mind Of A Soldier
* Troubled Mind
* You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive
* Old Dancing Fool
* The Last Call
* The End Of The Line
* Black Flowers
* Falling In
* Gulf Coast Highway
* Jezebel
* Is The Blue Moon Still Shining
* Foreign Lander
* Tear My Stillhouse Down
* Can't Let Go
* Yellow House
* Lookin' For Trouble
* Oh My Sweet Carolina
* Poor Boy
* Are You Lonesome Tonight (Elvis Presley Cover)
* Sentimental Gentleman From Georgia
* Make Me Lonely Again
* Caleb Meyer
* Wayfaring Stranger
* Coal Tattoo
* This Farm Needs A Man
* Blue Night
* Long Gone Lonesome Blues
* Ohio
* Long Ride Home
* She's Got You
* So Are You To Me
* It's Goodbye And So Long To You
* Seven Years
* Mary Of The Wild Moor
* Darlin Corey
* When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder
* Annabelle
* Long Island Cowboy
Information
Music Videos Wizard is a web application for music lovers. It bundles many services such as Last FM, You Tube and DBpedia. It offers different features which are accessible from the Applications menu. This web application is meant to be a research platform on Internet social networks as well as an entertainment tool.
Selected Mashup Of the Day on Prgrammable Web.
Follow musicvideoswiz on Twitter
Close
Hide
Red Molly Channel
Red Molly - May I Suggest
Rated: 0.00/5
Play/Pause [Stop] Previous trackRewindNext track Repeat trackAuto repeatRandomize playlist Mute On/Off
Close
Hide
MusicVideosWiz - Powered By Audio Scrobbler
Red Molly Lyrics & Videos 2008 - 2011 ©
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
671 Let’s Talk: Conversations that make a difference
First Edition
6 Super Secrets
7 Things Everyone Should
Know About Their Loved Ones
9 Excuses, Excuses…
It’s Not About Being Perfect;
It’s About Getting Started
It’s Not About Being Perfect;
It’s About Getting Started
17 Family Baggage
Check It At The Door
Check It At The Door
20 Hindsight. Insight.
What Families Wish They
Had Done Differently
Had Done Differently
It’s a win-win conversation
Most of us wait for a tragedy to talk to the people we love about big issues, like aging, money, and health. We wait because these conversations are awkward and because, quite honestly, we don’t want to think about such things. But waiting is risky. You can suddenly find yourself in the midst of a crisis, trying to have these conversations when it’s hard to think straight, emotions are blinding, time is short and options are limited. Having honest conversations now lets you know what your parents or other loved ones want, gives you the chance to get important documents and policies in place and helps ensure they live life on their terms and as fully as possible. Such talks can also bring unexpected insights and intimacy. They can bring understanding and even resolution.
When you know what matters most to those you care about, you can engage accordingly — making changes if necessary now, and making the right choices when decisions need to be made later. Let’s Talk was written to encourage you to have these talks and to guide you through the process — offering suggestions on how to start the conversation and a list of issues to cover — so that it all goes more smoothly.
You will find helpful tips and advice from the experts and from people who have been down this path already. Whatever your relationship with your parent — good, bad, indifferent or complicated — we hope you’ll find a way to talk. It won’t be perfect.
You may not cover everything. But any conversation, any preparation, is far better than none at all. Don’t forget this applies to you as well.
Our contributor: Virginia Morris
An award-winning journalist, Virginia Morris has devoted her career to researching and writing about health care, medical research and related social and political issues. Her book, How to Care For Aging Parents, has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Today Show, and Good Morning America, and won the Books For a Better Life Award. Notably, it has also been hailed as an “excellent resource” by the Family Care Alliance and as “Indispensable” by AARP. In this A-to-Z guide, Ms. Morris offers practical help and tender reassurance. She lives with her husband and two children in New York.
Don’t wait. Take the time to talk.
Be brave. Be patient. Be open. Be present.
People are waiting for someone else to start the conversation.
–Genworth Caregiver Services Study, Summer 2008
–Genworth Caregiver Services Study, Summer 2008
It’s natural to dodge the topic of aging, to feel that it’s not your place to bring it
up and to worry that you might offend or upset your parent or loved one. But when you say, “Let’s talk,” the underlying message is, “I want to know what you think. I am here for you.
up and to worry that you might offend or upset your parent or loved one. But when you say, “Let’s talk,” the underlying message is, “I want to know what you think. I am here for you.
You are not alone.” When you say, “Let’s talk,” what you are really saying is, “I care.” It’s the ultimate gift. Do it gradually if possible, and be respectful, but make a commitment to do it.
Now. It is never too soon to talk, but it can become too
late quite suddenly. A loved one’s health status can change overnight, and it almost always happens long before anyone expects it. So it’s vital to know a person’s wishes and to have necessary plans, documents and insurance in place.
late quite suddenly. A loved one’s health status can change overnight, and it almost always happens long before anyone expects it. So it’s vital to know a person’s wishes and to have necessary plans, documents and insurance in place.
If you delay, good care may be prohibitive and insurance may no longer be an option. Also, you will most likely find yourself making decisions without any idea of what this other person truly wanted. Talking now allows you to be proactive rather than reactive. It is so much easier to talk early, when there is no crisis, when the discussions are about some distant possibility — some theoretical “what if” scenario. The simple truth is that this conversation will only get harder as those involved get older and their health and circumstances change. Also, it’s important to do this now, today, because these conversations always take time — usually more time than anyone expects. It can take months just to open the door, and even more time to take any sort of action.
But, you say, your parents are still young and healthy. Maybe they are only in their 50s or 60s and living it up. That’s OK. In fact, that’s great! You don’t need to get their opinion of local nursing homes just yet. Instead, ask them what they look forward to, what they hope for and how their goals in life have changed over the years. Find out if they feel prepared for the future, if they have necessary legal documents and if there’s anything they worry about. This is the perfect time to talk with them about aging and the care they may need in maintaining their quality of life. Start the conversation now!
If, on the other hand, your parent already needs extensive care, then talk about what might come next. You should still plan ahead. And now, more than ever, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to learn more about them while you still have a chance.
When?
Who should talk? Everyone.
No one regrets the times they talked, the times they asked questions, listened and made plans. It’s vital that people over 40 discuss certain subjects with their parents, yet quite often it’s the parents who put the tough topics on the table. The important thing is that you don’t wait for someone else to do it. This is your job. Talk with your parents. Talk with your spouse. Delve into this with a sibling, a friend or perhaps a beloved aunt or uncle. The more we communicate, the more we learn. The only regrets are the conversations we didn’t have, the opportunities we missed.
Who? What? When?
1. How things are now
Is this person already facing challenges that you are not aware of? Do you have a clear and realistic view of his or her current daily life? Are there things that can be done now to make life easier for them?
2. Option A and Option B
We all need a plan, no matter what our age. If there is a crisis, how will this person get help? Who will let you know there’s a problem? Who will you call in an emergency? Do you have contact information for relatives, neighbors, friends, doctors, lawyers and local service providers?
3. Legal issues
Pretty much every adult should have an up-to-date will, a durable power of attorney (giving someone the authority to make financial and legal decisions on their behalf), a living will (outlining wishes for end-of-life care) and a power of attorney for health care (like a regular power of attorney, but geared specifically toward medical decisions). Be sure your loved ones have these documents, and you should know where they are kept.
4. No place like home
Most people want to stay in their own homes, but it’s not always an option. If necessary, could the house be made more accessible (first-floor bedroom, ramps, etc.)? Where would your mother want to live if she couldn’t stay at home? What if your father couldn’t live with other family members? What if one of them becomes widowed? What options are available? What matters most to them? The answers may surprise you.
5. The cost of care
Long term care (care at home or in an assisted-living facility or nursing home) can easily run from $50,000 to more than $100,000 a year, depleting hard-earned savings. Some options to consider are long term care insurance, family and retirement income planning
and protection.
6. The medical maze
Make sure one doctor oversees and coordinates
all care, especially as your loved one ages. As care becomes more complex, multiple doctors could inadvertently prescribe conflicting treatments. At this point, you should get to know your parent’s physician and stay in touch. Know what health insurance policies are in place and how to access them.
all care, especially as your loved one ages. As care becomes more complex, multiple doctors could inadvertently prescribe conflicting treatments. At this point, you should get to know your parent’s physician and stay in touch. Know what health insurance policies are in place and how to access them.
7. Life’s closing scene
It’s a hard fact of life that many people end up, confused and afraid, largely because family members weren’t prepared to make tough choices. The best way to avoid this is to talk, in some depth, about your loved one’s fears, preferences and hopes, and how they want decisions handled. Then brace yourself to follow those wishes.
What?
Listen
Learn
My father talks to me or my wife, Tracy, on the phone at least once a week, and he has dinner at our house most weekends. It never occurred to me that we needed to talk about anything because we talk so often already. But one night my uncle was talking about their grandfather, who lived with them for many years, and he was saying what a pill he was. My father said something offhanded about how he would never live with his kids. Tracy and I were baffled. We always assumed he would live with us if it came to that.
At first, I didn’t think he meant it. But I brought it up a few days later and he said flat out, no, he would never live with any of his kids. We’ve talked about it since, and it’s been eye-opening. We discussed where he might live — he doesn’t like the idea of being alone with an aide so we’ve considered other options, assisted living or a full-life center. I’m still hoping he’ll change his mind and decide he could live with us, but I don’t sense that’s going to happen. But it’s been an interesting process. I’ve learned a lot about him.
- Ben, age 49
genworth.com/lets-talk
genworth.com/lets-talk
Listen. Ironically, the most important thing about talking is listening. When you have these conversations, start by asking questions. And then listen. Really listen. This will help get the conversation going and, even more important, it will let you know what your parent (or other loved one) is thinking, which may be very different from what you are thinking. You might be focused on legal documents, while your parent is wondering who will care for her dogs in a crisis. Listening is valuable because you now know what matters to her, and once you’ve listened and addressed her concerns, she will be more willing to listen to you.
Open your heart and your mind. Most likely, you will learn something new.
1. Ask questions. Then pause. Give them time to respond. Make sure they have finished before you begin talking. True understanding comes from being still long enough to absorb the meaning and intent behind what people tell you.
What are their fondest memories? Biggest regrets? What do they want/dread
as they grow older? What are their hopes and fears and goals? What matters most to them now? If you have a specific issue to address, learn what they think before you begin expressing your thoughts.
as they grow older? What are their hopes and fears and goals? What matters most to them now? If you have a specific issue to address, learn what they think before you begin expressing your thoughts.
2. Wait. That might mean counting silently to five, but it also might mean letting them think on it and then continuing the conversation several days later. These are big issues; give it time.
3. Be open. You might not know this person or this situation as well as you think you do. We don’t know what it is to be our parents’ ages.
We don’t know how they feel or what life looks like at that stage. Also, we all slip into prescribed roles within our families. Occasionally, our notions of who a loved one is clouds our vision of who they actually are, what they think and more importantly, how they feel. Plus, with time, their needs and wishes have probably changed.
Things you can do today to become a better listener.
3
genworth.com/lets-talk
It’s a Journey
Connect · Believe · Discover · Learn · Reminisce · Prepare · Grow · Explore · Share
As with most things in life, the first step is the hardest. How you enter this terrain will depend on you, the person you are talking with, the nature of your relationship and your situation. Find what works for you. If one thing doesn’t work, try something else. Here are a few ways to break the ice:
Warm ways to break the ice
Be Opepen
If you have an open and direct relationship, then don’t beat around the bush. Just come out and say that you’d like to talk about these issues and ask if they would mind talking to you about them. Everyone thinks about these things. Everyone worries at 2 a.m. about what the future holds. Go ahead and talk.
Discscussss sosomeoeone
elseelseelseelse
’
s
situation
Chances are, you or your parents know someone who is already dealing with some aspect of aging. Talking about their experience and choices, and what is good or bad about their situation, can be a useful launching point.
Be Reflecleclective
Some time when you’re together, ask them about their past, their childhood, their parents. Learn about them. And then, as part of that conversation, move on to the future. What do they want most? How do they perceive the future? What worries them? Are they prepared?
MeMe
n
tion an articleclecle
oror webeb site you saw
Give them a clipping, or a link to a Web site with information about planning ahead, family conversations and long term care costs, and then move forward from there. Hand them this resource guide.
genworth.com/lets-talk
670 Suicide is NEVER the answer, getting help is the answer.
Suicide.orgSuicide is NEVER the answer, getting help is the answer. If you are suicidal, have attempted suicide, or are a suicide survivor, you will find help, hope, comfort, understanding, support, love, and extensive resources here. I Love You. And I will never stop fighting for you, Kevin Caruso Suicide.org Founder, Executive Director, Editor-in-Chief Senior Writer, Forum Administrator
|
|
Suicide.org
659 Jennifer Dunn Memorial
Jennifer Dunn Memorial
|
|
Suicide.org
658 The Wall of Angels Suicide Memorials
The Wall of Angels
Suicide Memorials
We will always remember and honor those who died by suicide.
They are very special people.
They are angels.
We miss them.
We love them.
---------------------------------------------------------------
And by honoring the suicide angels,
we also honor all suicide survivors.
we also honor all suicide survivors.
Suicide survivors are heroes and angels on earth.
We love them.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
657 On the Death of Gil Scott-Heron Ain't No New Thing By RANDY SHIELDS
The commanding voice that named the names, that directed a musical letter of rage (air mail special) to whitey on the moon, and lived to see a revolt (if not a revolution) televised in Egypt, has died. Gil Scott-Heron died Friday afternoon at age 62 in NYC's St. Luke's Hospital.
I don't know what age I was when I first heard Scott-Heron wittily and boldly lambaste Nixon and Spearhead Agnew and Ronnie Raygun and Attilla the Haig and Marlin Perkins and Papa Doc Bush -- they and their America didn't mean shit to him (and me and millions of other Americans) and it felt damned good to hear it. One of his favorite targets was Americans' greatest religious experience: getting something for nothing -- specifically, the ripping off of black art, music and culture by (mostly) white capitalists while its creators often died paupers.
He declined the title of "Godfather of Rap" and it was easy to see why. I was blown away by NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" the first couple weeks I listened to it -- the anger, the violence, fighting back against racist cops, the clarity about who your enemies are, the cheapness of life worn like a badge. But I found that I couldn't keep listening to it indefinitely -- the music, especially, was both depressing and boring. And that's what Gil Scott-Heron and his brilliant longtime collaborator Brian Jackson figured out: they created a poetic, free-flowing, typically flute and percussion-driven platform for Scott-Heron's AK-47 mouth to artistically and scathingly say that America was a racist war-loving hypocritical slag heap, deluded by fake movies, fake history, fake images and fake media. Scott-Heron and the multi-instrumentalist Jackson maxed out beat poetry and music to what they always should have been, with fabulous hypnotic grooves and the occasional tasty solo. Scott-Heron ra-ta-tatted against injustice, but you kept on listening, for decades, because the hooks and creativity are always present whether moving through funk, soul, R & B, free jazz, African or Caribbean beats. Drugs, violence, poverty, inequality, opportunistic "leaders" and sellouts, addiction, defeat and lives that never got off the ground were frequent subjects. But the really unforgivable sin was musical boredom.
I saw Scott-Heron perform two years ago at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia. To see the creator of "Storm Music" and "The Bottle" perform in an intimate club was a thrill. He had a voice and presence that you paid attention to -- his baritone was born to deliver Shakespeare, as bassist Ron Carter once said. He and his rockin' pianist, blistering lefty lead player and the smoking rhythm section were so relentlessly good that I didn't even miss my favorite song, "Storm Music," or "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." The new songs, from "I'm New Here," were instantly embraced. And "The Bottle" swung mightily that night. And he was hilarious, both that night and on his recorded offhand pot shots against the ruling class, something that isn't often noted when he's written about.
That Philly show fell in a time period, the fall of 2009, where I also saw James McMurtry and Iris DeMent. Interestingly (maybe) is that Scott-Heron did not perform "The Revolution Will Not be Televised," DeMent did not perform "Wasteland of the Free," and McMurtry did not play "We Can't Make It Here," all absolutely classic songs pointedly critical of America. I'm sure these artists had different reasons for not playing these tunes but I took it as a bad omen. The impression it made on me was that now that the Big Bad Bush was gone it was time to STFU about America. It was time to start feeling good about America because an uncouth goon from Texas was replaced by a smooth-talking intelligent Wall Street stooge. Protest and anger were uncool. Nothing as pseudo-glorious as Reagan's Morning (Thunder) in America but, rather, some weak-ass liberal Sleepytime tea time in America. Scott-Heron had also spoken favorably about Obama.
That Philly show fell in a time period, the fall of 2009, where I also saw James McMurtry and Iris DeMent. Interestingly (maybe) is that Scott-Heron did not perform "The Revolution Will Not be Televised," DeMent did not perform "Wasteland of the Free," and McMurtry did not play "We Can't Make It Here," all absolutely classic songs pointedly critical of America. I'm sure these artists had different reasons for not playing these tunes but I took it as a bad omen. The impression it made on me was that now that the Big Bad Bush was gone it was time to STFU about America. It was time to start feeling good about America because an uncouth goon from Texas was replaced by a smooth-talking intelligent Wall Street stooge. Protest and anger were uncool. Nothing as pseudo-glorious as Reagan's Morning (Thunder) in America but, rather, some weak-ass liberal Sleepytime tea time in America. Scott-Heron had also spoken favorably about Obama.
So, after two years of Obama, I muse: the working class of America, especially blacks, can get as much action on their concerns from sending a letter to whitey on the moon as they can from having America's first black president in the White House.
In the jumbled world of confusing musicians with leaders, I thought about how Scott-Heron canceled a planned show in Israel in 2010 (why did he ever schedule it?) -- persuaded by activists that it would be similar to playing in apartheid South Africa -- and how two weeks ago I saw my first keyboard hero, Ray Manzarek (of the Doors), at the Sellersville Theater, pleased with his acid-tested spirituality, telling the crowd that Christians and Muslims and Jews should put away their religious books and just love each other and, by the way, he and Robby Krieger are looking forward to playing as the Doors in Tel Aviv this summer because "the Israelis are so cool." I'm so damned glad we agnostics don't have to put away any of our books.
(Hey, Ray, how about you and Robby do something that truly breaks on through: be on the next Free Gaza flotilla and play a Gaza concert if and when you "break on through" the illegal Israeli blockade -- maybe you can see how "cool" the IDF is. Maybe you can grab Jim Morrison from out of the ether, where you said he resides, and bring your interstellular spirituality down to earth where it might mean something. It says in the Uncool Book that faith without works is dead.) Oh well, as a sometime Zionist, sometime Christian troubadour once admonished us, "Don't follow leaders and watch the parking meters." He never explained the parking meter thing though I assumed he was warning us not to take up the drunken dares of friends to vault over the meters after the bars close.
Anyway... Gil Scott-Heron, don't rest in peace as everyone is advising you to, rage on wherever you are, be witty and scathing, be the fighter you are, be bold when no one else will, whether you're in heaven or hell, I'm sure that things can be better in both places. And I give you the next to the last word: "It ain't no new thing -- America is always the same old shit."
Now, are those words from many years ago too negative and cynical, too unhopey and unchangey? Well, decades after Gil Scott-Heron urged people to send their unaffordable, unpaid "doctor bills to whitey on the moon," he lived to see 45 million Americans without any health insurance and 47 million on food stamps. He railed against ghetto poverty in 1970 and 41 years later lived to see the greatest inequalities in wealth since the Great Depression. And he lived to see the first black POTUS, a Nobel Peace Prize-winner who's currently slaughtering innocent dark-skinned people in five different countries. America can't make clothes, shoes, toys, electronics, peace or justice but we make a hell of a lot of irony.
Randy Shields can be reached at music2hi4thehumanear@gmail.com.
656 You Can Hear It, If You Want To 100 Years of Robert Johnson By DAVE MARSH
Somebody asked if Robert Johnson ever got to Chicago. I looked for the fact in a few places and then realized that what I was going to get was somebody's version but that it was more complicated than anybody's version. I'm not sure I have a version, certainly not one I'm married to, but if I did, this is what it would be.
There is no truth about hardly anything about Robert Johnson's travels. There are lots of stories. One is that he got as far north as Detroit and maybe even did a radio broadcast there.
If we could get our friend Greg Aldering to use his telescope for a beneficial human purpose in addition to the mere discovery of how new universes are formed, that broadcast is still out there, some minuscule distance--less than a thousandth of a parsec--out there, and you could hear it. If it exists.
In a certain sense, the Robert Johnson of our post-rock folklore never existed, and will always exist. The guy those mythologists found didn't smell unwashed or have bad breath and his back didn't ache and his fingers never scabbed and his shoes had soles and he was unhappy existentially but if he had another nickel he could get his ashes hauled so it was pretty close to happiness. And you can hear that. If you want to. If you want, you can hear something else, too.
One of those Robert Johnsons was in Chicago. Another one of them didn't get there 'til Johnny Shines did. And another not until Steven Lavere or whoever it is bought the copyrights. And another one, maybe further back, maybe more recent, never left the Delta--he left Mississippi, because you only have to cross the river to do that. But did he leave it riding in a Terraplane or did he swim it alongside Stagolee during the '27 flood or a weekend before he died? That's worth knowing too and you have just as much chance of being certain of the answer.
It's the same as figuring out a simple construct like "Homer was blind." He was? To what?
Dave Marsh (along with Lee Ballinger) edits Rock & Rap Confidential, one of CounterPunch's favorite newsletters, now available for free by emailing: rockrap@aol.com. Dave blogs at http://davemarsh.us/
655 The Arab World Views the American President With Contempt Who Cares What Obama Says? By ROBERT FISK
This month, in the Middle East, has seen the unmaking of the President of the United States. More than that, it has witnessed the lowest prestige of America in the region since Roosevelt met King Abdul Aziz on the USS Quincy in the Great Bitter Lake in 1945.
While Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu played out their farce in Washington – Obama grovelling as usual – the Arabs got on with the serious business of changing their world, demonstrating and fighting and dying for freedoms they have never possessed. Obama waffled on about change in the Middle East – and about America's new role in the region. It was pathetic. "What is this 'role' thing?" an Egyptian friend asked me at the weekend. "Do they still believe we care about what they think?"
And it is true. Obama's failure to support the Arab revolutions until they were all but over lost the US most of its surviving credit in the region. Obama was silent on the overthrow of Ben Ali, only joined in the chorus of contempt for Mubarak two days before his flight, condemned the Syrian regime – which has killed more of its people than any other dynasty in this Arab "spring", save for the frightful Gaddafi – but makes it clear that he would be happy to see Assad survive, waves his puny fist at puny Bahrain's cruelty and remains absolutely, stunningly silent over Saudi Arabia. And he goes on his knees before Israel. Is it any wonder, then, that Arabs are turning their backs on America, not out of fury or anger, nor with threats or violence, but with contempt? It is the Arabs and their fellow Muslims of the Middle East who are themselves now making the decisions.
Turkey is furious with Assad because he twice promised to speak of reform and democratic elections – and then failed to honour his word. The Turkish government has twice flown delegations to Damascus and, according to the Turks, Assad lied to the foreign minister on the second visit, baldly insisting that he would recall his brother Maher's legions from the streets of Syrian cities. He failed to do so. The torturers continue their work.
Watching the hundreds of refugees pouring from Syria across the northern border of Lebanon, the Turkish government is now so fearful of a repeat of the great mass Iraqi Kurdish refugee tide that overwhelmed their border in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf war that it has drawn up its own secret plans to prevent the Kurds of Syria moving in their thousands into the Kurdish areas of south-eastern Turkey. Turkish generals have thus prepared an operation that would send several battalions of Turkish troops into Syria itself to carve out a "safe area" for Syrian refugees inside Assad's caliphate. The Turks are prepared to advance well beyond the Syrian border town of Al Qamishli – perhaps half way to Deir el-Zour (the old desert killing fields of the 1915 Armenian Holocaust, though speak it not) – to provide a "safe haven" for those fleeing the slaughter in Syria's cities.
The Qataris are meanwhile trying to prevent Algeria from resupplying Gaddafi with tanks and armoured vehicles – this was one of the reasons why the Emir of Qatar, the wisest bird in the Arabian Gulf, visited the Algerian president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, last week. Qatar is committed to the Libyan rebels in Benghazi; its planes are flying over Libya from Crete and – undisclosed until now – it has Qatari officers advising the rebels inside the city of Misrata in western Libya; but if Algerian armour is indeed being handed over to Gaddafi to replace the material that has been destroyed in air strikes, it would account for the ridiculously slow progress which the Nato campaign is making against Gaddafi.
Of course, it all depends on whether Bouteflika really controls his army – or whether the Algerian "pouvoir", which includes plenty of secretive and corrupt generals, are doing the deals. Algerian equipment is superior to Gaddafi's and thus for every tank he loses, Ghaddafi might be getting an improved model to replace it. Below Tunisia, Algeria and Libya share a 750-mile desert frontier, an easy access route for weapons to pass across the border.
But the Qataris are also attracting Assad's venom. Al Jazeera's concentration on the Syrian uprising – its graphic images of the dead and wounded far more devastating than anything our soft western television news shows would dare broadcast – has Syrian state television nightly spitting at the Emir and at the state of Qatar. The Syrian government has now suspended up to £4 billion of Qatari investment projects, including one belonging to the Qatar Electricity and Water Company.
Amid all these vast and epic events – Yemen itself may yet prove to be the biggest bloodbath of all, while the number of Syria's "martyrs" have now exceeded the victims of Mubarak's death squads five months ago – is it any surprise that the frolics of Messrs Netanyahu and Obama appear so irrelevant? Indeed, Obama's policy towards the Middle East – whatever it is – sometimes appears so muddled that it is scarcely worthy of study. He supports, of course, democracy – then admits that this may conflict with America's interests. In that wonderful democracy called Saudi Arabia, the US is now pushing ahead with a £40 billion arms deal and helping the Saudis to develop a new "elite" force to protect the kingdom's oil and future nuclear sites. Hence Obama's fear of upsetting Saudi Arabia, two of whose three leading brothers are now so incapacitated that they can no longer make sane decisions – unfortunately, one of these two happens to be King Abdullah – and his willingness to allow the Assad family's atrocity-prone regime to survive. Of course, the Israelis would far prefer the "stability" of the Syrian dictatorship to continue; better the dark caliphate you know than the hateful Islamists who might emerge from the ruins. But is this argument really good enough for Obama to support when the people of Syria are dying in the streets for the kind of democracy that the US president says he wants to see in the region?
One of the vainest elements of American foreign policy towards the Middle East is the foundational idea that the Arabs are somehow more stupid than the rest of us, certainly than the Israelis, more out of touch with reality than the West, that they don't understand their own history. Thus they have to be preached at, lectured, and cajoled by La Clinton and her ilk – much as their dictators did and do, father figures guiding their children through life. But Arabs are far more literate than they were a generation ago; millions speak perfect English and can understand all too well the political weakness and irrelevance in the president's words. Listening to Obama's 45-minute speech this month – the "kick off' to four whole days of weasel words and puffery by the man who tried to reach out to the Muslim world in Cairo two years ago, and then did nothing – one might have thought that the American President had initiated the Arab revolts, rather than sat on the sidelines in fear.
There was an interesting linguistic collapse in the president's language over those critical four days. On Thursday 19 May, he referred to the continuation of Israeli "settlements". A day later, Netanyahu was lecturing him on "certain demographic changes that have taken place on the ground". Then when Obama addressed the American Aipac lobby group (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) on the Sunday, he had cravenly adopted Netanyahu's own preposterous expression. Now he, too, spoke of "new demographic realities on the ground." Who would believe that he was talking about internationally illegal Jewish colonies built on land stolen from Arabs in one of the biggest property heists in the history of "Palestine"? Delay in peace-making will undermine Israeli security, Obama announced – apparently unaware that Netanyahu's project is to go on delaying and delaying and delaying until there is no land left for the "viable" Palestinian state which the United States and the European Union supposedly wish to see.
Then we had the endless waffle about the 1967 borders. Netanyahu called them "defenceless" (though they seemed to have been pretty defendable for the 18 years prior to the Six Day War) and Obama – oblivious to the fact that Israel must be the only country in the world to have an eastern land frontier but doesn't know where it is – then says he was misunderstood when he talked about 1967. It doesn't matter what he says. George W Bush caved in years ago when he gave Ariel Sharon a letter which stated America's acceptance of "already existing major Israeli population centres" beyond the 1967 lines. To those Arabs prepared to listen to Obama's spineless oration, this was a grovel too far. They simply could not understand the reaction of Netanyahu's address to Congress. How could American politicians rise and applaud Netanyahu 55 times – 55 times – with more enthusiasm than one of the rubber parliaments of Assad, Saleh and the rest?
And what on earth did the Great Speechifier mean when he said that "every country has the right to self-defence" but that Palestine would be "demilitarised"? What he meant was that Israel could go on attacking the Palestinians (as in 2009, for example, when Obama was treacherously silent) while the Palestinians would have to take what was coming to them if they did not behave according to the rules – because they would have no weapons to defend themselves. As for Netanyahu, the Palestinians must choose between unity with Hamas or peace with Israel. All of which was very odd. When there was no unity, Netanyahu told us all that he had no Palestinian interlocutor because the Palestinians were disunited. Yet when they unite, they are disqualified from peace talks.
Of course, cynicism grows the longer you live in the Middle East. I recall, for example, travelling to Gaza in the early 1980s when Yasser Arafat was running his PLO statelet in Beirut. Anxious to destroy Arafat's prestige in the occupied territories, the Israeli government decided to give its support to an Islamist group in Gaza called Hamas. In fact, I actually saw with my own eyes the head of the Israeli army's Southern Command negotiating with bearded Hamas officials, giving them permission to build more mosques. It's only fair to say, of course, that we were also busy at the time, encouraging a certain Osama bin Laden to fight the Soviet army in Afghanistan. But the Israelis did not give up on Hamas. They later held another meeting with the organisation in the West Bank; the story was on the front page of the Jerusalem Post the next day. But there wasn't a whimper from the Americans.
Then another moment that I can recall over the long years. Hamas and Islamic Jihad members – all Palestinians – were, in the early 1990s, thrown across the Israeli border into southern Lebanon where they spent more than a year camping on a freezing mountainside. I would visit them from time to time and on one occasion mentioned that I would be travelling to Israel next day. Immediately, one of the Hamas men ran to his tent and returned with a notebook. He then proceeded to give me the home telephone numbers of three senior Israeli politicians – two of whom are still prominent today – and, when I reached Jerusalem and called the numbers, they all turned out to be correct. In other words, the Israeli government had been in personal and direct contact with Hamas.
But now the narrative has been twisted out of all recognition. Hamas are the super-terrorists, the "al-Qa'ida" representatives in the unified Palestinian leadership, the men of evil who will ensure that no peace ever takes place between Palestinians and Israeli. If only this were true, the real al-Qa'ida would be more than happy to take responsibility. But it is not true. In the same context, Obama stated that the Palestinians would have to answer questions about Hamas. But why should they? What Obama and Netanyahu think about Hamas is now irrelevant to them. Obama warns the Palestinians not to ask for statehood at the United Nations in September. But why on earth not? If the people of Egypt and Tunisia and Yemen and Libya and Syria – we are all waiting for the next revolution (Jordan? Bahrain again? Morocco?) – can fight for freedom and dignity, why shouldn't the Palestinians? Lectured for decades on the need for non-violent protest, the Palestinians elect to go to the UN with their cry for legitimacy – only to be slapped down by Obama.
Having read all of the "Palestine Papers" which Al-Jazeera revealed, there is no doubt that "Palestine's" official negotiators will go to any lengths to produce some kind of statelet. Mahmoud Abbas, who managed to write a 600-page book on the "peace process" without once mentioning the word "occupation", could even cave in over the UN project, fearful of Obama's warning that it would be an attempt to "isolate" Israel and thus de-legitimise the Israeli state – or "the Jewish state" as the US president now calls it. But Netanyahu is doing more than anyone to delegitimise his own state; indeed, he is looking more and more like the Arab buffoons who have hitherto littered the Middle East. Mubarak saw a "foreign hand" in the Egyptian revolution (Iran, of course). So did the Crown Prince of Bahrain (Iran again). So did Gaddafi (al-Qa'ida, western imperialism, you name it), So did Saleh of Yemen (al-Qa'ida, Mossad and America). So did Assad of Syria (Islamism, probably Mossad, etc). And so does Netanyahu (Iran, naturally enough, Syria, Lebanon, just about anyone you can think of except for Israel itself).
But as this nonsense continues, so the tectonic plates shudder. I doubt very much if the Palestinians will remain silent. If there's an "intifada" in Syria, why not a Third Intifada in "Palestine"? Not a struggle of suicide bombers but of mass, million-strong protests. If the Israelis have to shoot down a mere few hundred demonstrators who tried – and in some cases succeeded – in crossing the Israeli border almost two weeks ago, what will they do if confronted by thousands or a million. Obama says no Palestinian state must be declared at the UN. But why not? Who cares in the Middle East what Obama says? Not even, it seems, the Israelis. The Arab spring will soon become a hot summer and there will be an Arab autumn, too. By then, the Middle East may have changed forever. What America says will matter nothing.
Robert Fisk writes for the Independent, where this column originally appeared.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)