The FCC Strikes Again!

Posted on September 29, 2009

So,  I haven’t’ mentioned it here yet because i’ve been too busy to write much in the way of blog posts recently – get at me on twitter for regular updates if you’re interested in that – but I’ve been doing a weekly show on OzcatRadio.com every monday night.  The show is called ‘To the Roots’ and I play protest music from all genres and all over the world.  For now it’s pretty heavy on hip hop, folk, and celtic music just ‘cuz that’s the bulk of my personal music library but I want to flesh it out more and I especially want to play independent music from folks like me who put out our own stuff for the love of the music instead of just the love of money.

The problem i’m running into is they’re subject to FCC rules that prohibit profanity, which wipes out most of my hip hop collection.  after all it’s hard to say “fuck the police” if you can’t say “fuck.”

The upshot is that I need more music and especially more music without curse words.   So if you know someone i should be playing and where i can download radio-edited versions of their stuff please hit me up; and that goes double if you’re the artist.  I’ve spent enough years in this business to understand how much independent artists need radio play – that’s part of why i started doing the show in the first place – so hit me up with your mp3s and if i like it i’ll play it.

The Police State strikes again.

Posted on May 18, 2009

Just in case anyone who reads my blog still has illusions about the federal government respecting our fundamental human right to free speach, free assembly, and protest (rights recognized by, but not in any way originating with the first amendment of the bill of rights); here’s yet another wakeup call.  This one from the DesMoines Register, a mainstream publication not known for their radical sympathies.

FBI infiltrated Iowa anti-war group before GOP convention

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090517/NEWS/905170341

By WILLIAM PETROSKI
© 2009, Des Moines Register and Tribune Company
May 17, 2009

An FBI informant and an undercover Minnesota sheriff’s deputy spied on political activists in Iowa City last year before the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Confidential FBI documents obtained by The Des Moines Register show an FBI informant was planted among a group described as an “anarchist collective” that met regularly last year in Iowa City. One of the group’s goals was to organize street blockades to disrupt the Republican convention, held Sept. 1-4, 2008, where U.S. Sen. John McCain was nominated for president.

The undercover Minnesota deputy who traveled to Iowa City was from the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department, which infiltrated a group known as the “RNC Welcoming Committee” that was coordinating convention protest activities in St. Paul.

The undercover officer accompanied two activists from the Twin Cities who attended the University of Iowa in April 2008 for a Midwest campus anti-war conference.

Read more

Tristan Anderson Critically wounded by IDF

Posted on March 13, 2009

I just got forwarded a message that a friend of mine has been critically wounded by the Israeli military while protesting for Palestinian rights. Apparently he was shot in the head with a tear gas canister and is currently in the hospital. He’s hardly the first American to be wounded by the IDF – just a few years ago Rachel Corrie was run over by a bulldozer that was destroying Palestinian homes in the West Bank to make room for yet another illegal Israeli Settlement in the tiny strip of land that is all the Palestinian people have left of their country.

Just imagine what the American response would have been if a Palestinian soldier had willfully run down and killed an American citizen or shot an American citizen in the head, and then compare it with the complete indifference from Bush and Obama both in response to these assaults. That right there should tell you everything you need to know about the stranglehold that the Zionist lobby (as opposed to the mythical “Jewish” lobby – plenty of Jewish folks oppose Zionism and most hard-core supporters of Israel in America are fundamentalist Christians) has on American politics.

Here’s the full article on what happened to Tristan.

13th Friday 2009, Ni’lin Village: An American citizen has been critically injured in the village of Ni’lin after Israeli forces shot him in the head with a tear-gas canister.

Tristan Anderson from California USA, 37 years old, is currently being taken to Israeli hospital Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv. Anderson is unconscious and has been bleeding heavily from the nose and mouth. He sustained a large hole in his forehead where he was struck by the canister.

“The Israeli soldiers were standing on the hill looking over us firing tear-gas canisters straight into the crowd. Tristan was hit and fell to the ground. He had a large hole in the front of his head and his brain was visible. I tried to stop the bleeding, but he was bleeding heavily from the head, nose and mouth.” Ulrika Jenson (Sweden) – International Solidarity Movement

“Tristan was shot by the new tear-gas canisters that can be shot up to 500m. I ran over as I saw someone had been shot, while the Israeli forces continued to fire tear-gas at us. When an ambulance came, the Israeli soldiers refused to allow the ambulance through the checkpoint
just outside the village. After 5 minutes of arguing with the soldiers, the ambulance passed.” Teah Lunqvist (Sweden) – International Solidarity Movement

Contact:
Ulrika Jenson (English and Swedish) – +972 598 521 158
Teah Lunqvist (English and Swedish) – +972 598 531 036
ISM Media Office – 02-297 1824 or +972 598 503 948

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) http://palsolidarity.org/ is a Palestinian-led non-violent resistance movement committed to ending Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land. We call for full compliance with all relevant UN resolutions and international law.

For specific media inquires such as interview requests, photo usage, etc. please email the ISM Media Office at media [at] palsolidarity.org

Other sources are now reporting the following related details: Ulrika Jenson, an International Solidarity Movement activist, said troops fired tear gas canisters into the crowd from a hill above.

“Tristan was hit and fell to the ground,” Jenson was quoted as saying in an ISM statement. “He had a large hole in the front of his head, and his brain was visible.”

Why the protests?
“Ni’lin was 57,000 dunums in 1948, reduced to 33,000 dunums in 1967, currently the town’s land is 10,000 dunums and will be 7,500 dunums after the construction of the Wall.”

“Ahmed Mousa (10) was shot in the forehead with live ammunition on 29th July 2008. The following day, Yousef Amira (17) was shot twice with rubber-coated steel bullets, leaving him brain dead. He died a week later on 4 August 2008. Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22), was the third Ni’lin resident to be killed by Israeli forces. He was shot in the back with live ammunition on 28 December 2008. That same day, Mohammed Khawaje (20), was shot in the head with live ammunition, leaving him brain dead. He died three days in a Ramallah hospital.”

Tristan’s Reporting:

Tristan’s 2004 Posts From Iraq | Tristan Speaking in 2004 About His Trip to Iraq During First Year of War | Tristan’s 2006 Report Back From Oaxaca

Recent Coverage By Tristan: Berkeley Oaks Tree Sit | 2008 Reclaim The Streets Protest | 2008 Iraq War Protest | 2008 Chevron Protest |Fossil Fools Bike Ride | Anti-War Bike Ride | More Of Tristan’s Indybay Reports Over the Years