The first two albums I ever bought with my own cash were Kiss "Love Gun" and the Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour". Both have a very special place in my musical heart (Magical Mystery Tour is still my favorite Beatles album). Love Gun doesn't have a movie, but the Beatles ablum does, so here 'tis! Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

(note: the server for this video is slooooow, so you might want to start the player, then pause it for a few so it loads up a bit)
 
 
John Sez: No, the title above is not a simple eye-grabber to get you to read further. The proposed bill (S773) is being floated by Senator Rockefeller, and will authorize the President to take control of the internet (even to shut it down completely) if he feels that there is an internet ‘threat’ to the country or in any state of ‘cyber emergency’. Go check the tally, and you’ll find out that the US has been in a continual state of emergency since 9/11, reauthorized over and over again by congress. So, in effect, the president may use any powers defined under the Emergency Powers Act – or those defined in this pending bill, for that matter – at any time, for any reason, simply because he says it’s an ‘emergency’.

There is also a section which creates a federal license for ‘cyber security’ specialists, which also refers to mandatory oversight of certain computers and systems in the private sector; in other words federal oversight of private computers and systems run and owned by US citizens.

Let’s see…possible war with Iran/Russia/China/North Korea/Somalia/Venezuela/ Sudan, an act of ‘homegrown terrorism’, massive demonstrations and rallies against the government, the swine flu scare…all seeming justified reasons for declaring a state of cyber emergency, and all are possibilities on the horizon. Then, instead of the free-flow of news and ideas, we will be constrained by the ‘approved’ message by the ‘approved’ media, which have already proved themselves bought and sold by the powers that be.

Story from CNET:

Bill would give president emergency control of the Internet

Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.

They're not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.

The new version would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for "cybersecurity professionals," and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.

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Ok, there’s 4 new playlists to tickle (or damage, as the case may be) your eardrums. The first is some classic rock, followed by some classic R&B, a little jazz and jazz fusion, and then some heavy stuff (hardcore, classic & newer metal). Good tunes all, and worth a listen if you’re so inclined.

Enjoy!

 
 
John Sez: Many people protested Bush during his tenure; many of this many are now turning a blind eye towards the broken promises of the Obama administration. Not Cindy Sheehan. Much like she did with Bush, she has camped herself outside of the area where the sitting President is now on vacation, protesting the fact that we are still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan (which is a fact that the TV media and Obama supporters have seem to forgotten).

Although she received a great deal of media coverage during the Bush administration, it seem that she has received nary a mention on TV lately (or, at least, not that I have seen). ABC’s Charlie Gibson, who utilized her as a prime story a few years back had this to say:

“It's such a sad story. Martha Raddatz [of ABC News] wrote a terrific book about one battle that took place in Iraq, and it was the battle in which Cindy's son was killed. And you look at somebody like that and you think here's somebody who's just trying to find some meaning in her son's death. And you have to be sympathetic to her. Anybody who has given a son to this country has made an enormous sacrifice, and you have to be sympathetic. But enough already.”

Enough already, Charlie? Why, because it’s YOUR guy in the White house, or are you getting paid to dismiss the story? Shame on you, Mr. Gibson; and shame on the rest of you who thought that Ms. Sheehan was the bee’s knees when she was protesting Bush, but are now putting out of mind what she’s talking about or trying to marginalize her message. A message which reads: These wars are wrong…bring our troops home.
 
Story from AFP (posted on Raw Story):

Sheehan returns to rebuke Obama
After spending weeks dogging George W. Bush's presidential vacations, anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan is now trying to make life uncomfortable for President Barack Obama.

Sheehan used to pitch a peace camp near Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, becoming a symbol of the anti-war movement after her son Casey died in action in Iraq.

On Thursday, she and a band of anti-war protesters turned up outside the media center used by journalists covering Obama's vacation on the well-heeled east coast resort island of Martha's Vineyard.

"The reason I am here is because ... even though the facade has changed in Washington DC, the policies are still the same," Sheehan told a handful of journalists, against a backdrop of her "Camp Casey" banner.

She told US peace activists to wake up and protest Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan, and complained that despite the president's anti-war stance, US troops remained in Iraq.

"We have to realize, it is not the president who is power, it is not the party that is in power it is the system that stays the same, no matter who is in charge."

READ MORE
 
 
John Sez: Ellie Greenwich was responsible for writing  some of the greatest hits of early rock music. Be My Baby, Da Doo Ron Ron, Leader of the Pack, Then He Kissed Me, Doo Wha Diddy (diddy dum diddy doo), and many more. Her legacy continued, and she also had credits as a singer and producer and even had a Broadway show based on her music (Leader of the Pack). She was 68. Rest easy, Ellie, you brought smiles to a lot of folks.

John E. Carter was a member of two seminal doo-wop groups, The Flamingos and the Dells. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once each for the aforementioned groups. As a member of the Flamingos (who are now all deceased) he was one of the people who put together one of the most chillingly perfect tracks (in my humble opinion), I Only Have Eyes For You. He was 75. Sleep well, Mr. Carter, and thank you for the music.
 
 
John Sez: Ok, so Obama is different from Bush how?

Story from The Gainsville Sun:

Rendition to Continue, but With Better Oversight, U.S. Says
DAVID JOHNSTON

 The Obama administration will continue the Bush administration’s practice of sending terrorism suspects to third countries for detention and interrogation, but pledges to closely monitor their treatment to ensure that they are not tortured, administration officials said Monday.

Human rights advocates condemned the decision, saying that continuing the practice, known as rendition, would still allow the transfer of prisoners to countries with a history of torture. They said that promises from other countries of humane treatment, called “diplomatic assurances,” were no protection against abuse.

“It is extremely disappointing that the Obama administration is continuing the Bush administration practice of relying on diplomatic assurances, which have been proven completely ineffective in preventing torture,” said Amrit Singh, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, who tracked rendition cases under President George W. Bush.

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John Sez: Un-flippin-believeable! Bernanke is the guy who allowed (some say intentionally) this mess to happen in the first place, hasn’t fixed the problem, and told Congress that the We The People have no right or legal recourse to see what the Federal Reserve is up to. If Obama wants this man in the same position, then Obama has no interest in what is best for the American people.

Story from AP (followed by three videos to check out):

AP source: Obama plans to keep Bernanke at Fed
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press
 
OAK BLUFFS, Mass. – President Barack Obama plans to reappoint Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, a position from which he guided the economy away from its worst recession since the 1930s and, the White House hopes, toward an economic recovery critical to its legacy.

Widely credited with taking aggressive action to avert an economic catastrophe after the financial meltdown last year, Bernanke will be nominated for another term as the helm of the central bank on Tuesday. Obama plans to make the announcement on Martha's Vineyard, the Massachusetts island where he is vacationing for the week with his family.

Bernanke is expected to be at his side, said a senior administration official who discussed the nomination only on condition of anonymity because the news was not yet public.

READ MORE

 
 
I’m a music junkie, so I figured that getting high of some tunes is something best shared. So I’ve begun to post some music playlists for your aural enjoyment. Just to get the ball rolling, I’ve put up three playlists for you to groove to: Progressive rock, 80’s stuff, and a mix of some good tunes. Just click on “Playlist/Jukebox/Mixtape” on the tabs and you’ll find yourself transported to the right place. Enjoy!
 
 
John Sez: Recently, Obama has extended a contract to Blackwater (now Xe)to have them control the areal drones that are flying into Afghanistan on kill missions (you know the missions I’m talking about; every couple of days we hear a story about how a US missile strike ‘mistakenly’ hit women and children, or schools, or hospitals, and so on).

This is the same company founded by Eric Prince, who is being investigated for the murder of whistle-blowers against his company, and who thinks of himself as a modern day “Templar” on a holy quest to wipe out the Muslims from the ‘Holy Land”; the same Blackwater who indiscriminately killed Iraqi civilians; the same mercenaries who were contracted to carry out assassinations by our government; the same unsavory bunch that used post-Katrina New Orleans at a stomping ground and turkey-shoot.

Add to this mess the fact that contractors outnumber American soldiers by half in Afghanistan (and possibly in Iraq as well), and there is no doubt that this reliance (alliance?) with these mercenary groups is way out of hand.

Blackwater is being hired to do jobs that would be considered illegal according to our own rules of military conduct; what better way to not have to be held accountable by the public if you hold office than to have your own personal military, for which Congress has no oversight powers? Additionally, the amount of money being laid out to these killers-for-hire is astronomically higher that what we pay for our uniformed military, so it’s obvious that greed has a part in this play. We have vets homeless, suicidal, and not receiving the care they are supposed to from the VA because of an apparent lack of funds (personally, I think the powers that be simple don’t give a crap unless they can turn it into a partisan issue or a good sound bit), but the Pentagon, the DOD, and the Executive branch can still find the funding to hire these mercenaries at an above premium price.

If Obama is the great caregiver, the fair and honest man, the pseudo-messianic figure that some make him out to be, why is he putting these apparent villains on his payroll (and to folks who supported the Bush administration who are nodding along with my anti-Obama sentiment, let’s not forget that is was YOUR guy who brought these killers-for-hire to power and prominence)? Recently, one of Obama's top advisors was asked the same question at a press conference, and the best answer she could come up with was: trust him. I’m sorry, but I don’t. He hasn’t earned it.

As a sitting President, here is no reason to have a private Army on one’s payroll unless you intend to use them for something that is illegal (like assassinations or to cause terror in a population), or to use them against someone or something that the American military is sworn to protect (that is, the American people and the Constitution), or to generate huge sums of money- based on the amount of bloodshed that you can cause- for yourself and other ‘business associates’.

The whole idea is repugnant and morally bankrupts, to say the least, and does not speak well at all of the current and prior administrations. Considering we are footing the bill and are not speaking out against this nearly enough, it speaks very little of We the People as well.

Story from Press TV:      

'Af-Pak ' mission allows Blackwater to kill more

The Obama administration has retained services of the notorious Blackwater guards to carry out drone attacks in Afghanistan, a new report reveals.

Despite controversial records of indiscriminate civilian killings in Iraq during the Bush administration, the shadowy US-based paramilitary security company has continued its ongoing relationship with Washington under President Barack Obama.

A fresh report by the New York Times revealed on Friday that Blackwater USA has been contracted to work with the unmanned Predator drones that carry out assassinations and terrorize villages in eastern and southern Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan.

It added that Blackwater personnel also 'assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs' -- a work formerly carried out by the CIA.

Blackwater, which has changed its name to Xe Services LLC, began assisting the CIA in Afghanistan after gaining a contract to protect a new intelligence station in Kabul in 2002.

The drone assassination program under Obama's 'Af-Pak theater' mission -- which has left many civilians dead -- shows no substantive distinction to the Bush administration's hiring of Blackwater to carry out 'targeted assassinations' in Iraq with snipers and ambushes.

READ MORE
 
 
John Sez: After last year’s spanking of Georgia by Russia after the former country attempted to wrest control (as well as create an ethnic genocide incident) of South Ossetia, I wonder why Georgia thinks it could come out ahead in another confrontation with the bear.

Unless, of course,  the Georgian government was promised something by outside forces which are emboldening their actions. Hmmmm…but who (maybe the Russian subs patrolling off of our Eastern coast is a sign that the Russians think WE may have something to do with it)? And what was offered? Or are the Georgians simply out of their friken minds? 

Story from AntiWar.com:

Georgia Seizes Cargo Ships, Presses Naval Blockade on Abkhazia

Posted By Jason Ditz

The Georgian government yesterday confirmed to the Agence-France Presse that it had captured two cargo ships in the Black Sea, which it accused of attempted to break their naval blockade by visiting the Republic of Abkhazia.

Abkhazia, predictably, was none to pleased with the capture of the ships: one a Turkish tanker delivering fuel and the other a Cambodian ship with a Syrian crew which was delivering scrap metal, and threatened a “proportionate response” against Georgia for the blockade.

Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia in July 1992, and has been enjoying de facto independence ever since, though that claim has never been recognized by Georgia. Following last year’s brief Russo-Georgian War, the Russian government formally recognized Abkhazia’s independence.

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