justice

MAY 15, 2013 - JTMP blogged about the musical astronaut Chris Hadfield yesterday, and today I have come across an awesome performance he did with Barenaked Ladies on Earth, and him on the ISS. There was a children's choir also, and they knocked it out of the park. Chris sings about looking down at the precious blue ball of Earth, and his longing to get back to it. He wants us to remember we very lucky to have this precious Earth, not to take it for granted, and to take care of it.

The song is a celebration of 15 nations coming together in peace, science, and cooperation  with the ISS, or the International Space Station. Check out more info about the ISS on NASA's ISS website here.  Check the video out below. The song is called, "Is Somebody Singing?"

MAY 14, 2013 - Musician and former guitarist for the Drive-By Truckers Jason Isbell opened up about his battle with depression and addiction on NoDepression.com, and talks about his struggle with Jack Daniels and his personal demons. He is releasing a new album called "Southeastern" and comments on his approach to making it saying, "I have a lot of friends who make great records but they won’t turn loose of the reins. And they wind up making the same record over and over. ... I understand you want to keep those things close to your chest, but after going through the process of recovering from alcoholism, I think I was able to ... a little bit more familiar with that idea of turning over control to somebody else." JTMP urges our supporters to contact their elected officials and ask for more funding for addiction and mental health treatment. Many cities and states have inadequate funding for these important issues.

Read the great blog by Michael Bialas on NoDepression.com here.

MAY 9, 2013 - An organization calling itself "Heartbeat" wants to use music to bring young Israelis and Palestinians together in peace, and use music as a tool to bring this about. They mission is to use musicians to build understanding and to transform conflicts. They talk about how "fear, violence, ignorance and a pervasive lack of trust" has led to the current political and social atmosphere between Israelis and Palestinians. They state, "Most Israelis and Palestinians have only encountered the other side through televised reports of extremist violence, soldiers at checkpoints, or politicians..." Heartbeat intends to use music as a bridge to break this divide, and bring people together. Heartbeat believes, and so does JTMP, that "Music has an amazing ability to connect people, build trust and inspire hope in the darkest of places.  Modern, popular music has long been the voice of change all around the world and a powerful means for youth expression and nonviolent action. By bringing together young Jewish and Arab musicians and strengthening their voices, we are working to build a global culture of trust, compassion, and respect." Read more on the Heartbeat website here.  (photo credit: Heartbeat.fm)

MAY 8, 2013 - Ever wonder what it would take to motivate someone to become active in their community? How about FREE TICKETS to a Foo Fighters show? Seems like it would work great to me! In fact, an organization calling itself the Global Citizen Ticket aims to do just that. By teaming up with bands such as the Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen, the Vaccines and more, they give away free tickets to a show. Interested activists go to the Global Citizen Ticket website, get assigned to specific projects that affect the poor in their area, take action and earn points, and then use those points to enter into the drawing to win those free tickets when one of the participating bands comes to town. 

Global Citizen Ticket say they want to be a "tool to amplify and unite a generation's call to justice. It's a place for you to learn, act and bring an end to extreme poverty...Every person has a part to play in writing the story of the end of extreme poverty. Become a Global Citizen, and start your journey today..."  Watch a PSA video from them below, and start your journey of activism as a Global Citizen on the Global Citizen Ticket website here.

APR 29, 2013 - Michael Smith from the New Republic has a cool article out about that many Washington, DC politico wonks are musicians and play in bands on the weekends frequently. He writes about how many people who by day work in the many think tanks and government agencies in Washington, DC moonlight on the weekends in bands at local venues. One of the many musician wonks that play music on the side is Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist Tom Toles who plays drums in 2 different bands. Read the entire article on the New Republic website here.

APR 26 2013 - Former member of the Dead Kennedys and musical-activist Jello Biafra is featured in an interview on the Guardian website, and weighs in on Occupy, Obama and social networking, and says, "I think that anyone who declared that Occupy was a failure was very much mistaken. I knew it would have a ripple effect, like throwing a big piece of concrete into a lake and just watching the waves ripple. In a way, Obama owes Occupy big time for saving his ass in the 2012 election. Occupy brought the issue of inequality and Grand Theft Austerity, as I call it, right to the forefront." Read the whole interview on Guardian here.  (photo credit: Catherine Anderson)

APR 22, 2013 - Yoko Ono has been hard at work in the anti-fracking activist world recently. She formed "Artists Against Fracking", which JTMP is proud to be a part of; and now Yoko has written a post for HuffPo and is saying, "Let's Give Clean Water a Chance". Using a variation of her and her husband's "Give Peace a Chance" slogan, she has written a blog abut the recent Riverkeeper's Fisherman's Ball and to protest fracking:

Yoko Ono: "I was proud to be a part of the gathering of hundreds of clean water supporters at the recent Riverkeeper's Fishermen's Ball...It was a true celebration of the power of the grassroots movement for clean water and sustainable energy. People all over New York have channeled that understanding into action. Because of this grassroots resurgence, we have seen amazing things transpire. And it is not about to stop...The anti-fracking movement is an organic one, driven by people's experiences and valid concerns about having a harmful and contaminating practice invade their land, homes and communities. For me, it started when gas companies visited my town in upstate New York to pitch a natural gas pipeline that would provide infrastructure for future fracking...I did not want to see my land destroyed."

Don't forget about JTMP Green here, and check out some awesome pics of Yoko with RFK Jr. and more, and read the entire post on HuffPo here.

APR 22, 2013 - Many musicians have showed their support for Boston following the tragedy there. Many musicians Tweeted out their support such as Miley Cyrus Tweeting, "Sending peace and many blessings to Boston", or Pink Tweeting, "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the explosions in Boston" and Kelsie Kimberlin also joined in the support and Tweeted, "Catching up. My heart goes out to Boston and all those affected. Peace and love are the answer." The Dropkick Murphys Tweeted, "Boston your in our prayers in California...be safe everyone! Unbelievable.", and one of my favorite bands that are from Boston the Pixies Tweeted, "BOSTON, we are with you." Read more Tweets from musicians supporting Boston after the tragedy there on MTV.com here, and also on Rolling Stone here.

APR 17, 2013 - Rolling Stone has an interview of Roger Waters out, and in it he discusses that he is mulling over the possibility of ceasing his Israeli boycott stance, and has written a open letter to musicians saying that they should reconsider their Israeli boycott stance also. The Israeli Boycott by musicians is very popular, and is in response to the illegal settlements and the way Palestinians are treated by the IDF. Waters says that the illegal settlements are "an impregnable obstacle to peace", and he is "thinking all of this through extremely carefully" but he cares more about the outcome, which he hopes is peace in the region. He says he wants a "solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, and end to the occupation, security and right to lead a decent life for all citizens of Israel." Read more and see the video interview on RollingStone.com here.  (photo credit: Eddie Berman/CC)