JTM now has a new online voter registration form that you can fill
in right from your computer. It tells you exactly where to send the form to
ensure that you are properly registered. Please feel free to put
this linkable voter registration button on your site to help us register a
record number of voters this election. We will be partnering with several
youth voter organizations this election that will be using this form and we
will add those names here as they join with us.
Justice Through Music was at the 2010 Lilith Fair, an event to call for more opportunities for women in the music industry, and more airtime for songs from women musicians and bands. The event took place at Merriwether Post Pavilion in Maryland, and brought together people from DC, Virginia, Maryland, and even Pennsylvannia.
The event is the brainchild of Sarah MacLachlan, and featured local musician Corrin Campbell. Other acts were Butterfly Boucher, Lissie, Nneka, Beth Orton, Missy Higgins, Sara Bareilles, Cat Power, Courtyard Hounds, and the Indigo Girls. It was an all day 3-stage event, and JTMP was there to video the event. The event also raised proceeds for WEAVE, a organization dedicated to helping women that face sexual and physical abuse. You can find out more about this organization by going to www.weaveinc.org.
Below are videos from the event. Check back later for more videos. You can also see pics from the event at our Facebook Fan Page, and see all of our videos on our YouTube Channel.
Displaced musicians from African nations, such as the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and even Iraq, Iran and Syria are creating new musical genres and writing songs about their experience of war in their homeland, and about their exile in seeking political asylum. “WOMAD” (World of Music, Arts and Dance) highlight these musicians and their songs around the world in festivals that speak to the concerns of the Diaspora. You can see great pics and find out more information by going to the WOMAD web site.
STING WEARS SHIRT
ON EARTH DAY FOR
PROJECT MIGRATION
Sting wearing Project Migration shirt on Earth Day 2010
When JTMP was at Earth Day 2010, we noticed the shirt Sting was wearing, and it turns out he was promoting a good cause. He was wearing a shirt from "Project Migration", an organization that sells shirts, wristbands, and other clothing and the proceeds help women and their children in Africa get access to healthcare, clean water, and things they need to live healthy lives. JTMP received a shirt and wristband from them, and we urge our supporters to visit this organization's website and support them and the cause.
Shirt and Wristbands
Please Visit www.ProjectMigration.org and help out if you can, thanks. Special thanks to Project Migration, and look for promo videos with our footage we donated to them to help out with the cause. Check back later for these videos.
"Super Lawyers" David Boies and Theodore Olson team up to show that gay marriage is a civil rights issue, and not a political issue, and overturn Prop 8 in California. In videos below, you will see and hear why this is not a conservative or a liberal issue, it is a human rights issue.
Above is the music video "Prop 8" by Op-Critical, which JTMP released in February calling for the overturning of Prop 8. Please watch these great video clips of The Rachel Maddow Show explaining the judge's ruling.
The great activist and folk singer Pete Seeger has lent his time and creativity to a good cause, solar power. He has written a song called, "Song For Solartopia", advocating renewable energy, and calling attention to a great organization called Solartopia. Solartopia is an organization calling for the use of renewable and non-polluting sources of fuel. You can find out more information by going to their website, http://www.solartopia.org, and the video of Pete is below.
From Freedom To Create's Website: "The Freedom to Create Prize celebrates the power of art to fight oppression, break down stereotypes and build trust in societies where the social fabric has been ripped apart by conflict, violence and misunderstanding. History shows that prosperous societies are founded upon creativity. Societies that encourage artistic expression build strong foundations for economic, political and cultural development. They will lead tomorrow's world.
Established in 2008, the Freedom to Create Prize is a celebration of the courage and creativity of artists around the world who use their talents to build the foundations for open societies and inspire the human spirit. It is open to artists in all creative fields. Each year, US$125,000 in prize money is awarded across three categories: Main, Youth and Imprisoned Artist."
JTMP has been hard at work trying to do the very thing they are talking about, fighting oppression and expanding civil rights, and we are going to apply for this prize. Wish us good luck! Thanks to all our supporters through the years.
JTMP has been hosting "Countdown To Zero" here in DC, and we are also working with TakePart.com to spread the word about the new START treaty, and urging our supporters to sign this petition calling on the US Senate to ratify the new START treaty. Please sign this petition, and contact your 2 US Senatorsurging them to ratify this treaty.
Author Tad Daley, who just released his book "Apocalypse Never" which deals with the dangers of nuclear proliferation, was recently interviewed by Terry McNally on his Free Forum Radio Show on KPFK in Los Angeles. It has become a hot issue with the release of his book and also the release of the new film "Countdown To Zero" by Magnolia Pictures. The show was a full hour, and also included Valerie Plame discussing the film. JTMP urges our supporters to read Tad Daley's book, and see this great documentary; and then contact your Senators urging them to ratify the new START Treaty.
CleanWaterNotDrilling.org has called attention to how the aftereffects of the Bush/Cheney administration's energy policy has devastated the clean water in the upper New York area, and calls for a slower process of issuing licenses and a more thorough process of understanding the potential impacts of gas development, on our water, air, health, and our communities. Most of the damage comes from the process known as "hydrofracking", that involves pumping large amounts of water and hundreds of toxic chemicals into the bedrock, which poisons the wells that people depend upon for drinking water. They have a good video below showing the damage done. JTMP urges everyone to contact your elected officials and urge them to ban this practice, and close the "Halliburton loophole" that lets these energy companies get around the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts.
Artists and musicians have seen an increase in US-Cuban cultural exchanges, and travel by musicans, artists and writers between the 2 countries has expanded markedly under the Obama administration. Read more about it on NewYorkTimes.com.
JTMP HELPS LAUNCH
COUNTDOWN TO ZERO
IN DC WITH TICKETS
AND AD IN LOCAL PAPER
JTMP, in conjuction with Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media, has launched "Countdown To Zero" in DC at the E Street Cinema, the new documentary about nuclear proliferation, and calls for nuclear disarmament and a world with zero nuclear weapons. JTMP was on hand at the screening to hand out FREE tickets to our loyal supporters, and to help moviegoers on what we can do after watching the film, such as SIGN THE DECLARATION at GlobalZero.org that declares we want to start the process of ridding the world of nuclear weapons by a certain date. We also urge everyone to sign the petition urging for the ratification of the new START treaty that was signed by President Obama and President Medvedev in Prague Czech Republic, but is pending in the Senate and faces an uncertain future. JTMP also urges everyone to write a letter to both of your Senators urging them to ratify this important treaty.
At the screening of the documentary on Friday night and all through the weekend, we are seeing sellout audiences and a large response from people who are concerned about this issue. We can create a lot of buzz and stir if everyone goes out and sells the theaters out, and it runs for as long as possible to reach as many people as possible. For theaters, showtimes and tickets for a city near you visit GlobalZero.org's website.
E Street Cinema, Washington, DC JTMP and Global Zero.org passing out tickets for the movie
JTMP also was part of an ad in the popular local DC paper, The Washington City Paper. The ad was a quarter-page, and was in the movie section right near a review of the documentary. The paper is very popular in DC and free, so we are reaching thousands of people. The ad informs readers of things we can do after seeing the film to help bring about a nuclear weapon free world, such as texting ZERO to 77177, or going to TakePart.com/Zero.
Our Ad in the Washington City Paper that reaches thousands in DC
Also on hand was author Tad Daley, who has just released a book five years in the making titled, "Apocalypse Never", dealing with the horrors of the early nuclear detonations and testing in the 1940s and 1950s, and the current dangers of nuclear proliferation; and on how we can start the journey to a nuclear weapon free world. You can find more information on the book by going to his website, DaleyPlanet.org, and purchase the book on Rutgers University's Website.
Tad Daley at the screening of "Countdown To Zero" promoting his new book, "Apocalypse Never".
Many musicians and groups have come out in support of this documentary, and urge their fans to see it and be a part of the movement to a nuclear weapon free world. Pearl Jam allowed their song, "The Fixer" to be played at the ending credits. Other bands and musicians include REM, Nine Inch Nails, and more. Many groups are also creating music videos urging their fans to see the movie, including The BoDeans, and Op-Critical. The music video "Countdown" by Op-Critical is below:
JTMP will have more posts, pictures, and even video coming out often so check back regularly for news on this awesome event., and visit our YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
COUNTDOWN TO ZERO LAUNCHES FRIDAY
IN DC - CHECK BELOW
FOR SHOWTIMES AND TICKETS
The thought provoking film about nuclear proliferation, "Countdown To Zero", debuts in Washington, DC this Friday at 10 PM EST, and JTMP will there to host it. Author Tad Daley ("Apocalypse Never") will be there to speak, as well as information on how people can get involved with this cause after they leave.
THEATER: E Street Cinema - 555 11th Street NW Washington, DC 20004
(entrance on E Street between 10th and 11th Street) (202) 452-7672
Many bands and artists, such as Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame, Pearl Jam, REM, Weezer, OK Go, Tom Morello, Mayer Hawthorne, Neon Indian, Fanfarlo, Jay Electronica, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and Circa Survive are throwing their support behind a new film called Countdown to Zero, a film about the dangers of nuclear proliferation, and presents a case to rid the world of all nuclear weapons.
All of the artists are urging their fans to see this film, which educates people on the history of atomic bombs, to near-Armegeddon situations throughout history where we came very close to a nuclear weapon launch. The film interviews many leaders and experts, that detail the threat we are facing with nuclear proliferation and today's political climate.
Help out by visiting TakePart.com, or by texting "zero" to 77177. Things we can do include petitions urging U.S. Senators to ratify the New START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), as well as building support for a declaration to eliminate all nuclear weapons, spearheaded by anti-nuclear weapon campaign Global Zero.
PEARL JAM'S
"THE FIXER"
ON COUNTDOWN TO
ZERO SOUNDTRACK
Pearl Jam has allowed their song "The Fixer" to be played at the ending credits of the new movie "Countdown To Zero" that is being hosted by JTMP this Friday, a special screening at the E Street Cinema in Washington, DC. In addition, many musicians are recording PSAs on TakePart.com urging everyone to take action and join the push for zero nuclear weapons.
There are also numerous music videos coming out to call attention to the film. Last week Op-Critical released "Countdown", a music video featuring clips from the film, and next week The BoDeans will debut their new video “Headed for the End of the World” in support of the film. Check out the Op-Critical music video below, or go to our YouTube Channel by clicking here.
JTMP EXCLUSIVE!
COUNTDOWN TO ZERO
SCREENING ON JULY 23RD
IN WASHINGTON, DC
We are helping to promote the new anti-nuclear proliferation movie "Countdown To Zero" at our exclusive screening on July 23 in Washington, DC at the E Street Cinema, hosted by JTMP. This film exposes the dangers of nuclear proliferation, and clearly shows that the only way to assure that a catastrophe with one of these horribly powerful weapons never happens is to call for a total ban on all nuclear weapons by all nations. Please mark your calendars and please make it there on Friday, July 23rd at the E Street Cinema!
We are making hundreds of free tickets available to JTMP supporters, VR members and affiliates for the opening weekend, July 23-25. These tickets will go fast so if you want to go on our dime, go to www.jtmp.org/ctzdctickets and reserve your ticket now. JTMP will have a table set up at each screening where you can pick up your reserved ticket.
This is one way we can say thank you to you for all your support over the years.
JIMMY BUFFETS TO HOLD
BENEFIT FOR GULF VICTIMS
BLAMES BUSH FOR SPILL
Gulf area resident and legendary musician Jimmy Buffet will play a benefit concert on Sunday for victims of the oil spill, and in a Fox News interview said, "To me it was more about eight years of bad policy before (Obama) got there that let this happen. It was Dracula running the blood bank in terms of oil and leases," he said. "I think that has more to do with it than how the president reacted to it.". The Dracula of course being the Bush administration, and Cheney's secret meeting with energy executives.
LAUNCH OF
COUNTDOWN
BY OP-CRITICAL With scenes from the new movie "Countdown To Zero", JTMP and Op-Critical team up for a call to destroy and ban all nuclear weapons once and for all. In the video you will see the horrors of what these things do, and why we need to get rid of them.
What you can do:
Watch the Video Below
Help us spread the word.
Donate to Justice Through Music at Network For Good:
Watch The New Movie
"Countdown To Zero"
This film is from Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media. Find our Facebook Site "Countdown To Zero DC" on Facebook (or click here) and check your local theater listings, or you can check out the movie's showtimes and theaters by clicking here. Go to:http://www.takepart.com/countdowntozero and sign the Declaration:
"WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, believe that to protect our children, our grandchildren and our civilization from the threat of nuclear catastrophe, we must eliminate all nuclear weapons globally. We therefore commit to working for a legally binding verifiable agreement, including all nations, to eliminate nuclear weapons by a date certain."
Join and support groups that are trying to ban nuclear weapons, and contact your elected officials and tell them you support the new START Treaty. Physicians for Social Responsibility: http://www.pfsr.org
Friends Committee: http://www.fcnl.org
Voters For Peace: http://www.votersforpeace.us
Audio Engineering: Dave Hanbury - House of Jam Studios
Mastering: Dave Vinatea - New York
IRANIAN MUSICIAN KNOWN AS
BOB DYLAN OF IRAN
MOHSEN NAMJOO
Mohsen Namjoo, an Iranian musician recently played at the National Endowment for Democracy's award ceremony, for the 2010 Democracy Award. This year the award went to the Iranian people and their Green Movement. Several Congresspeople were there, as well as activists and journalists. Mohsen was given a 5 year jail sentence 1 year ago, and is afraid to go back home or he will face arrest and detention, for some of his songs upset the Islamic Regime. You can watch a video performance of him below, and check back for more information on him and other musicians.
Countdown To Zero Premieres July 23rd in New York and DC
Countdown To Zero- a new documentary film which follows the history of the Atomic Bomb from its creation to its place in today's world. Written and directed by Lucy Walker (The Devil's Playground, Blindsight) and produced by Lawrence Bender (Inglourious Basterds, An Inconvenient Truth) it features interviews with such important figures as Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pervez Musharraf and Tony Blair. It makes a compelling case for worldwide nuclear disarmament, an issue more topical than ever with the Obama administration working to revive this goal today.
After strong showings at Canne and Sundance, Countdown To Zero is scheduled for wide release in late July, and the premiere in Washington DC is going to be something special. Visit our Facebook page to see the preview, find links to reviews, and become a fan to keep up to date on special announcements on guest speakers and advance ticket sales!
Musicians have come together under a project called "The Sound Strike" calling for a boycott of performing in Arizona in response to the new SB 1070 law that was recently signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer. The group is growing and their latest statement is below:
PRESS RELEASE
Los Angeles, California, May 25, 2010
We are reaching out to get your ear for a minute about this critical situation in Arizona.
If you haven't heard, the Arizona state legislature passed a bill (SB 1070) that was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer that legalizes and sanctions racial profiling. Straight up.
It forces the cops to hunt down and target anyone they "reasonably suspect" that may be undocumented. And if the people they harass don't have proof that they were born in the U.S., they can be detained and arrested. This must be stopped.
Fans of our music, our stories, our films and our words can be pulled over and harassed every day because they are brown or black, or for the way they speak, or for the music they listen to. People who are poor like some of us used to be could be forced to live in a constant state of fear while just doing what they can to find work and survive. This law opens the door for them to be shaked down, or even worse, detained and deported while just trying to travel home from school, from home to work, or when they just roll out with their friends.
Some of us grew up dealing with racial profiling, but this law (SB 1070) takes it to a whole new low. If other states follow the direction of the Arizona government, we could be headed towards a pre-civil rights era reality. This unjust law was set into motion by the same Arizona government that refused to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. day as a national holiday.
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, they arrested her. As a result, people got together and said we are not going to ride the bus until they change the law. It was this courageous action that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. What if we got together, signed a collective letter saying, "we're not going to ride the bus", saying we are not going to comply. We are not going to play in Arizona. We are going to boycott Arizona!
Signed,
Zack de la Rocha
To see the latest list of performers that have signed on and to find out more info go to: http://www.thesoundstrike.net
MOBILE BANNER
CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF
IRANIAN FREEDOM AT RALLY
RALLY MARKS ONE YEAR MARK
OF FRAUDELENT ELECTIONS
A rally to mark the one year anniversary of the fraudelent elections in Iran was held in DC on June 12, 2010 in Washington DC. It started with a rally at the Interests Section of Iran, followed by a march past the White House, and then speeches at Freedom Plaza. The rally was sponsored by the Solidarity Committee to Protect the Iranian People's Will and Iranian-American Youth, and featured speakers such as Rudi Bakhtiar and Roxana Saberi. Our Mobile Banner Campaign was present the whole day, calling attention to the human rights abuses in Iran, such as detaining politcial prisoners and arresting journalists. There were calls for freedom in Iran to speak out, release of all political prisoners, and free and fair elections.
There was also a musical performance by Hatef, and a "I Am Neda" photography event.
Here are some photos of the event:
You can watch videos of the event below, and for more information go to:
September 11, 2009 — Post election events in Iran 2009 set to the music of Mohammad Reza Shajarian's new Song "FIRE LANGUAGE", By KHORSHIDBAMDAD on YouTube.
(CNN) -- A year after a fierce crackdown silenced erupting street protests, not many Iranians living in the country can defy the hardline Islamic government without fearing for their life. But Mohammad Reza Shajarian, is using his voice like never before. "Art by its nature is a form of objection," the legendary musician said in an interview during his tour of the United States. "It can object against love, life, or governments and when art becomes rebellious, it can intimidate governments."
Shajarian, 69, sparked his a high-profile protest last year when he publicly objected to state TV and radio broadcasting one of his most popular anthems, "Iran, Ey Saraye Omid" (Iran, the land of Hope), to celebrate the contested re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The song was first performed by Shajarian back in the early days of the 1979 revolution when a popular movement dethroned the Shah. Shajarian was outraged the current Iranian government used his work to drum up patriotic support. "I'm not going to allow my own work to be used against me," said Shajarian, an outspoken critic of the hardline regime.
HBO works to get film on dissident seen in Iran By DAVID BAUDER (AP)
NEW YORK — HBO has aggressively sought to get its documentary on Iranian dissident Neda Agha Soltan seen by as many people as possible within Iran as the anniversary of her death during anti-government demonstrations approaches.
The film, "For Neda," was shown online and through Voice of America in Iran even before its debut on U.S. television this week, an unusual step for a cable network that traditionally guards exclusivity of its material for its paying customers.
The 27-year-old Iranian music student was shot in the heart last June 20 during a Tehran protest. Fellow demonstrators recorded images of her dying on their cell phones, and she quickly became a symbol for the crushed movement to protest Iran's questionable election results.
"I didn't want these brave people who came out on the streets and risked their lives so courageously to feel that the world had moved on and it's been forgotten," said Antony Thomas, who wrote and produced the documentary. Read the rest of the AP Story here.....
(AFP) – 2 days ago
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama on Thursday urged the world to support the Iranian people in their fight for "freedom," one year after disputed elections triggered major demonstrations.
Samantha Power, an adviser to Obama who focuses on human rights, read a statement in Obama's name at a reception by the National Endowment for Democracy honoring last year's protesters in Iran. "It is the responsibility of all free people and free nations to make it clear that we are on the side of those who seek freedom, justice and dignity, as surely as hope and history are," Obama said in the statement.
To honor the memory of Neda Agha-Soltan, and to show solidarity with the Iranian people and their "Green Movement", Amnesty International and The Airborne Toxic Event have joined up to launch "Neda Speaks". Actress and Spokesperson for Amnesty International Nazanin Boniadi and Mikel Jollett, lead singer for The Airborne Toxic Event, launched the project with a release of a video and song by the band. (Watch below)
Mikel calls attention to the struggle of the Iranian people for freedom, and how the tragic death of Neda galvanized and came to represent that human struggle. He also mentioned how technology has played a role in history saying, "We believe that the viral video of Neda’s death was a sea-change in political power in the world. It was the first viral video to change the course of history, a symbol that the power of broadcasting is no longer simply in the hands of governments and corporations, but in the hands of people. It is in the hands of anyone with a cell phone camera and an internet connection. It is in your hands right now."
The project calls us all to: 1) Send out a message via your various social media
2) Tweet: I am Neda www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXN_yCSbUYk #neda r/t
3) Change your Facebook/Myspace/Imeem status to "I am Neda"
4) Upload picture and/or video of yourself holding a sign saying "I am Neda"
Then visit NedaSpeaks.org to learn more about the struggle for human rights in Iran and to participate in specific political actions that Amnesty International has crafted urging the release of political prisoners.
Please watch the video below, and you can read the full announcement of the project by going to Amnesty International's website by clicking HERE.
Check out The Airborne Toxic Event's website by going HERE, and support this band who is helping out with a good cause. You can also find this band on iTunes.
One of the "breakout" sessions at the CFA Conference was entitled "Health Care" Lessons Learned and Next Fights", and featured Ethan Rome from HCAN (Health Care For America Now). He spoke about a co-worker who told him that her parents had put their son on their policy, noting how we have made real progress on Progressive change in this country. He spoke about the recent health care reform bill is a huge victory, and we should feel good about it. Progressives all across America took on the right wing, the Chamber of Commerce, and the lies and nonsense that were spread…and we won.
He talked about how the fight has just began, and that we need to take up more challenges and fight on.
The next speaker was Jennifer Ng'andu, from the National Council of LaRaza. She talked about people struggling to pay for health care and also facing the expenses of daily life of just trying to get by. She stressed how we need to keep on educating people on managing their health care issues. She talked about the health care and the immigrant issue, and how they transect. She remarked about how politicians can support immigrants and fight for their rights without facing extreme backlash. She also pointed out how the discussion is not to repeal the health care legislation, but to "repeal and replace"; we have changed the narrative, and that is a victory.
Next to speak was Diane Archer, from Institute for America's Future. Diane talked about implementation of the next steps we need to take to ensure we keep the health care reform victories we have and make it stronger. She remarked on how the health care insurance companies and the big pharma have 32 million new customers, and their efforts to kill the recent health care victories we have obtained, and to prevent future health care reform. She thinks we need a strong federal government to fight for consumer's rights, as opposed to leaving it to the states and "exchanges". She spoke about how the health insurance companies are threatening to leave the individual market in 2011 if they are forced to use at least 80% of premiums towards health care. She said we should call their bluff and fight on.
The conclusion I came away with is that we did indeed achieve a major victory, but we need to work hard to keep it, and fight on to achieve more health care reform; especially single-payer or a public option.
JTMP HELPS LAUNCH
Help us spread the word.
