Tag: justice

DEC 3, 2013 - USA Today has an article out today about how the French government has charged Bob Dylan with the crime of "incitement to hatred" because Bob somewhat "compared Croatians to Nazis", and lumped them all together with the evil of the Confederacy slavery, KKK and the Nazis in a 2012 Rolling Stone interview. This is what Bob said, you be the judge:

"Blacks know that some whites didn't want to give up slavery -- that if they had their way, they would still be under the yoke, and they can't pretend they don't know that. If you got a slave master or Klan in your blood, blacks can sense that. That stuff lingers to this day. Just like Jews can sense Nazi blood and the Serbs can sense Croatian blood." 

A Croatian group in France caught wind of the it eventually and filed a complaint against Dylan in French court. Bridgette Bardot has also faced many charges of "inciting hatred" in France for speaking her mind, and even though half my ancestry comes from France, I feel this goes too far and infringes on free speech. I am sure we will not see Bob in jail anytime soon though. Just like Bardot, Dylan will just be fined heavily. Bob has millions like Bardot and he will just pay the fine and move on. Comments? Start a conversation on our JTMP Facebook Page!  (photo credit: Bob Dylan/CC)

DEC 2, 2013 - I watched the new Magnolia Pictures film "Marley" about the life of reggae music artist Bob Marley on VH1 Palladia on my DVR over the weekend, and it was awesome. The director, Kevin MacDonald, takes you on a journey to really let you know who the man was behind the music you know so well. I have always had respect and admiration for Bob Marley and what he accomplished in his short life, but after seeing this film I realized he was in my opinion the greatest activist musician ever. From handing out wads of cash to any poor person who would wander into his villa, to getting the two political candidates running for office in the violent and deadly 1970s Jamaican politics to hold hands and call for peace between the two sides on stage at one of his concerts, he was truly an outstanding individual.

Bob had a unique perspective on life, being born as a so-called "mix-raced" child. His father, Norval Marley, was European, who had a brief affair with Cedella Booker. His father never played a role in his life, and the rejection hurt Bob and he wrote the song "Cornerstone" with the lyrics, "The stone that the builder refuse, will always be the head cornerstone..." that many believe he was referencing to. He eventually discovered music, and formed "The Wailers" and became hugely popular and successful in Jamaica. Bob wanted to spread the word of Reggae, love and spirituality through his music, and make it accessible for the entire world. So, he set up a new band called "Bob Marley and the Wailers", and like a preacher on a revival tour he took the world by storm. Whirling on stage like a wizard or a priest, he captivated millions of people all over the world with his great music and message of hope and love. He still affects millions of people's lives to this day. 

When the 1970s politics got violent and deadly, Bob cooperated with the Jamaican government and held a "Peace Concert" and stopped the bloodshed. He held another peace concert in Zimbabwe when they got their independence, being attacked with tear gas while on stage. He spoke about activism many times in his songs such as "Get Up, Stand Up", but he seemed to me not a person that wanted to take sides, he just wanted everyone to work out things peacefully and just get along. His main message was get active and get involved in non-violent action and "Stand up for your rights"; like registering to vote and voting. Watch this great film "Marley" from Magnolia pictures (the trailer is below) and I think you will agree he is an amazing person, and deserves the title of "Greatest Activist Musician of All Time". It is making the rounds on VH1 Palladia and Netflix, or you can order the Blu-Ray or DVD at the official film's site here.  (photo credit: Ueli Frey/CC)

DEC 2, 2013 - JTMP wants to remind everyone that tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, a project set up to urge the community to come together and give to charities, will be tomorrow. President Obama's special assistant Jonathan Greenblatt, wrote a post on the White House blog explaining it and endorsing it. The campaign, started by United Nations Foundation and 92d St Y, asks individuals, businesses and whomever to remember to be thankful for the plenty you have and to give back to the community especially during the holiday season. Part of the fun is, instead of taking a "selfie" photo with your cell phone, take an "un-selfie" (unselfish, get it?) with you holding a sign telling everyone what you will do that day to make a difference in the world, and use the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #UNselfie". Check out the Giving Tuesday website here.

NOV 26, 2013 - I found this small clip of a skit by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood at the CMA Awards poking fun of the rollout of the Affordable Health Care Act, or the "AHCA" as I like to call it. Many folks call it "Obamacare", but the two poked fun of the horrendous rollout of the website part of the health care exchanges to the tune of an old George Strait song. Maybe if the Teabagger Republican governors would have cooperated more with the federal government on the exchanges, and worked for their constituents instead of a political party (a small one I might add), then maybe the rollout would have been smoother. Watch for the reaction of Taylor Swift, who is a big President Obama supporter. Lets hope they get it all fixed in the next few weeks, and get the federal exchanges humming as well as the state exchanges, where enrollment is surging.  Those are the states where the governor cooperated and didn't suffer from OHDS: Obama Hatred Derangement Syndrome. The website is actually handling a fair clip of people, and will get better. If you do not have health insurance either thorough Medicaid or your employment, many will find they will be covered by Medicaid, qualify for subsidies to help pay for it, or find a cheap health insurance plan through the exchanges for as little as $20 a month. You may need it one day. Visit HealthCare.gov today to see your options.

NOV 21, 2013 - A new "supergroup" calling themselves Kings of Chaos has formed featuring many musicians we all love from various bands, such as Joe Elliot from Def Leppard, and Slash from Guns N Roses, and many others. Leading the band's fight against senseless and brutal slaughter of dolphins, featured in the movie we blogged about earlier called "The Cove", is activist-musician Matt Sorum. Using his band's first concert kicking off their tour in LA, he allowed animal rights activist Ric O'Barry, who has been out in front on this issue, to speak before the show to the audience and make people more aware and active on this issue. Listen below to Ric speak about his organization the Dolphin Project that is doing great work in this field, and check out their Facebook Page here. If you wish to leave a comment or start a conversation, check out the Justice Through Music Facebook site here. Check out the Kings of Chaos website here.