Michael Franti and Radio – Live Music From Saturday’s Mothers Day Concert

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Michael Franti and Radio performed for over an hour on Saturday afternoon at the “Mothers Day – Speak Out For Peace Concert” in Golden Gate Park last weekend.
Here are “We Don’t Stop” and “Feeling Free/What’s Goin On” (Franti’s “Feeling Free” with the famous “What’s Goin On” in the middle of it). It’s kinda long, so, for those of you who would like to hear the Issac Hayes cover, but don’t want to wait for it, I’ve created an “What’s Goin On – Extended Version” that only contains the last two thirds of the song (it stands up great on its own, actually.)
Please let me know which mixes you like best.
Special Thanks to Michael Franti for giving me a badly needed dose of hope, energy and rejuvination over the weekend!

Michael Franti and Radio – We Don’t Stop – Live In Golden Gate Park
Michael Franti and Radio – We Don’t Stop – Live (Small – 10 MB)
Michael Franti and Radio – We Don’t Stop – Live (Hi-Res – 118 MB)
Audio – Michael Franti and Radio – We Don’t Stop – Live (MP3 – 4 MB)

Michael Franti and Radio – Feeling Free/What’s Going On – Live In Golden Gate Park – Complete Version
Michael Franti and Radio – Feeling Free/What’s Going On – Complete (Small – 24 MB)
Hi-res currently unavailable — too big!
Audio – Michael Franti and Radio – Feeling Free/What’s Going On – Complete (MP3 – 10 MB)
Michael Franti and Radio – What’s Going On – Extended version – Live In Golden Gate Park
Michael Franti and Radio – What’s Going On – Extended version (Small – 14 MB)
Michael Franti and Radio – What’s Going On – Extended version (Hi-Res – 73 MB)
Audio – Michael Franti and Radio – What’s Going On – Extended version (MP3 – 7 MB)

Michael Franti Speaks To The Crowd At Saturday’s Mothers Day Concert

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Michael Franti had a little heart to heart talk with the audience in-between songs during Saturday’s “Mothers Day Speak Out For Peace” Concert In San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park last weekend.
(Near-complete transcription available below.)

Michael Franti on May 10, 2003 – Complete

Michael Franti on May 10, 2003 – Words – Complete (Small – 10 MB)
Michael Franti on May 10, 2003 – Words – Complete (Hi-Res – 149 MB)
Audio – Michael Franti on May 10, 2003 – Words – Complete (MP3 – 5 MB)
Press and others that just need a short clip of “some good stuff” from Franti’s talk.
I’ve created “edited” versions:

Michael Franti on May 10, 2003 – Edited version (First half.)

Michael Franti on May 10, 2003 – Words – Edited (Small – 5 MB)
Michael Franti on May 10, 2003 – Words – Edited (Hi-Res – 59 MB)
Audio – Michael Franti on May 10, 2003 – Words – Edited (MP3 – 2 MB)

Martin Luther King says that “peace” is not merely the absence of war, but it’s the presence of justice.
And now, we’ve invaded Iraq, and, at best, it’s just good old fashioned colonialism. You invade a country. We use its people. We use its resources, and we occupy the nation. At worst, it could turn into the next Palestine. It could turn into the next Berlin. They’re talking about possibly dividing up Iraq into three separate portions — dividing up the people by ethnic groups and ruling it militarily.
They’ve suggested this man “Kabala” to run the nation, and he was busted for stealing 200 million dollars from the people of Jordan, because he was running these illegal banks in Jordan, and he’s the guy who Tommy Franks says “That’s our guy!” He seems qualified. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison, and he escaped and went and lived in England for a while. And now he’s back.
So, President Bush spends a billion dollars to go have a little tea party on this aircraft carrier and pose for a lot of pictures. And they say, “Well, things are gonna be different. We’ve liberated the people of Iraq.” And I look around here in San Francisco. I see people holding up signs on the street corner that say “I’m a U.S. Veteran. Please give me change.” And they’ve spent 76 Billion dollars of our change to fight this war in Iraq, but they can’t take care of Veterans back home.
And it’s been a big challenge to me in my heart to think, that now, those of us who have been setting up food stands and coming out to events like this for years and years, are going to now have to have bake sales and put on concerts to send money to support the people of Iraq. And I have a lot of ambivalence about that. And it’s a very difficult time right now. It’s a big challenge for all of us to find continued love in our hearts. And, I just want you to know that we’re all in this together, and that as long as a few of us like this can hold on to hope, there’s still hope in the world.

Heading Out To Golden Gate Park Today

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Today at 1pm there will be a big peace concert in the park.
(Complete music schedule below.)
I’ll be singing a really short song around 12:30 pm with my friend Audrey Howard.
(We’re doing harmonies on a cover of Green Day’s Life During Wartime.)
It would be great to have a big turn out for this thing.
I will be video taping portions of it, and audio recording the whole thing.
DJ Praxis will be holding it together all day – MP3 of “dem bonez” — and most likely spinning while the sun sets after the main show is over.
Michael Franti (Spearhead) goes on at 2:30 pm.
Free Peoples is headlining, and they go on around 4:30 pm.
Here’s more about them:

Free Peoples is a Bay Area-based band playing a style fusing bluegrass, folk and jazz. The members come from various projects local to Los Angeles and San Francisco, most notably, Trichromes, Buzz, Spirit Level and Top Four Flights. Tim Sawyer is on lead vocals and Guitar. Johnny Downer plays lead guitar and vocals. Michael DiPirro is on bass and vocals.
Special Guest on Free Peoples new self titled cd includes; Tony Trischka on banjo, Tom Rozum on Mandolin, David Phillips on Dobro and Chad Clouse on fiddle.
Mike D can also be seen with his other project, The Trichromes, featuring Billy Kreutzmann of the Grateful Dead.

(Complete music schedule below.)
Directions
Public Transit: 5 Fulton to 30th Avenue. It is a very short downhill block to J.F.K.
Drive and you’re there!
If you are driving the park is open for traffic west of 19th Avenue and it
is easiest to find the meadow if you enter from Fulton St. and 30th Avenue.
Complete Music Schedule
12:30 pm Lisa Rein and Audrey Howard (like if you blink, you’ll miss us 🙂
12:45 pm Ara Avakian (singer/songwriter) &
Eric Hellweg (singer/songwriter)
1:00 pm DJ Praxis
1:20 pm Irina and MNO – World Music Meets Electronica Laptops + live
1:40 pm Pushing Destinations hip-hop
2:00 pm Andrea Pritchett
2:30 pm Michael Franti
3:00 pm Red Guard
3:35 pm Raz K

Xeni Jardin’s Warblogging Panel At Etech 2003

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Here is complete audio and video footage of the Warblogging panel at Etech 2003.
This panel was hosted by Boing Boing’s Xeni Jardin and included: Doc Searls, Dan Gillmor, Technorati’s David Sifry and BBC News Producer and warblogger Stuart Hughes calling in from England
There’s web-sized video in two parts and three parts, and MP3s of the audio in three parts.
This was easily one of the week’s most riveting panels.
In Two Parts (larger file sizes):
Warblogging Panel At Etech 2003 – Part 1 of 2 (Small – 54 MB)
Warblogging Panel At Etech 2003 – Part 2 of 2 (Small – 60 MB)
In Three Parts:
Warblogging Panel At Etech 2003 – Part 1 of 3 (Small – 32 MB)
Warblogging Panel At Etech 2003 – Part 2 of 3 (Small – 43 MB)
Warblogging Panel At Etech 2003 – Part 3 of 3 (Small – 39 MB)
Audio – Warblogging Panel At Etech 2003 – Part 1 of 3 (MP3 – 21 MB)
Audio – Warblogging Panel At Etech 2003 – Part 2 of 3 (MP3 – 26 MB)
Audio – Warblogging Panel At Etech 2003 – Part 3 of 3 (MP3 – 23 MB)
Descriptions go with the photo directly below them.
Xeni Jardin

Stuart Hughes (from England via Telephone)

Crowd Shot (Jesse, Steve Jensen – middle, Kevin Burton – far right)


Stuart Hughes (from England via Telephone)


Doc Searls (left), Dan Gillmor

Doc Searls

Crowd shot. (Robert Kaye and Joey deVilla in the middle there.)

Pensive Xeni

Happy Xeni

David Sifry



Public Domain Dedication
This work is dedicated to the
Public Domain. (Take it and run, baby!)

US Troops Open Fire On Iraqi Protesters

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Two Killed In New Iraq Demo Shooting
By Chris Hughes In Al-Fallujah with Pictures by Julian Andrews for The Mirror.

I watched in horror as American troops opened fire on a crowd of 1,000 unarmed people here yesterday.
Many, including children, were cut down by a 20-second burst of automatic gunfire during a demonstration against the killing of 13 protesters at the Al-Kaahd school on Monday…
A machine gun post at one of the corners swivelled round, taking aim at the crowd which pulled to a halt.
We heard no warning to disperse and saw no guns or knives among the Iraqis whose religious and tribal leaders kept shouting through loud hailers to remain peaceful. In the baking heat and with the deafening noise of helicopters the tension reached breaking point.
Julian and I ran towards the compound to get away from the crowd as dozens of troops started taking aim at them, others peering at them through binoculars.
Tribal leaders struggled to contain the mob which was reaching a frenzy.
A dozen ran through the cordon of elders, several hurling what appeared to be rocks at troops.
Some of the stones just reached the compound walls. Many threw sandals – a popular Iraqi insult.
A convoy of Bradley military jeeps passed by, the Iraqis hurling insults at them, slapping the sides of the vehicles with their sandals, tribal leaders begging them to retreat.
The main body of demonstrators jeered the passing US troops pointing their thumbs down to mock them.
Then came the gunfire – and the death and the agony.
After the shootings the American soldiers looked at the appalling scene through their binoculars and set up new positions, still training their guns at us.
An angry mob battered an Arab TV crew van, pulling out recording equipment and hurling it at the compound. Those left standing – now apparently insane with anger – ran at the fortress battering its walls with their fists. Many had tears pouring down their faces.
Still no shots from the Iraqis and still no sign of the man with the AK47 who the US later claimed had let off a shot at the convoy.

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Come To This Saturday’s Free Concert For Peace in Golden Gate Park

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I’ll be talking about this all week long because I’m helping out a bit to organize the event. Do me a big favor and SHOW UP if you’re in town, ok? It might even be worth making a trip for, if all works out like I think it’s going to…
Michael Franti (Spearhead) will be performing!
(Download Spearhead’s new single there, “Bomb the World”!)
We still haven’t gotten all of the confirmations in yet, so I can’t say yet who else might be playing. (And there may still be room in the lineup for you too — if you’ve got only a song or two and minimal setup requirements 🙂
Here’s the “official” info so far (including an ever-growing list of all the organizations supporting this event):
Mother’s Day SPEAK UP for PEACE
A multi-cultural Mother’s Day program of music, poetry, dance and personal
testimony about the war and the path to world peace.
Saturday May 10 in Golden Gate Park. San Francisco
1-5PM
BRING OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS HOME NOW
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE
US OUT OF IRAQ
As Bush prepares to state officially that the war in Iraq is over, we must continue our effort to promote peace and kinship among people at home & around the world as the solution to international conflicts, Not military aggression. Equally we must stand up for our communities and remind our leaders that we will not be distracted from the crises at home by continuous crises abroad.
All over the world, mothers represent creation and nurturing. In the spirit of Mother’s Day, we are calling on mothers and other members of our community to speak out against war and in favor of peace.
We are putting together a great program for a great day in the park with music culture and personal testimony
to celebrate Mother’s Day and to nourish us all for the struggle ahead. PLEASE CONSIDER BEING A PART OF THE DAY! & RSVP Quickly
For Mother’s Day – SPEAK UP for PEACE
Bring our sons and daughters home now!
Another world is possible.
US out of Iraq!
On Saturday, May 10th, beginning at 1:00 p.m., a broad coalition of peace and social justice organizations will sponsor a Speak Up for Peace rally and cultural celebration in Lindley Meadow in Golden Gate Park (off JFK Drive).
A diverse group of people who have been deeply and personally affected by the war in Iraq will make short statements. Music and spoken word culture will be provided by renowned artists such as Michael Franti, Diskart Namin, Andrea Pritchard and many more. This family-friendly gathering is free, though contributions will be greatly appreciated.
Sponsors:
A Jewish Voice for Peace, Bay Area United Against War, Code Pink,
Not in Our Name, United for Peace & Justice,
Endorsers:
American Friends Service Committee SF
Bethany United Methodist Church
California Peace Action
Campus Anti-War Network
Catholics for Peace
Chinese Progressive Association
Coffee House Teach-In’s
Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
Companeros del Barrio
Filipinos for Global Justice not War Coalition
Freedom Socialist Party
Global Exchange
Harvey Milk Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual & Transexual Democratic Club
International ANSWER
Labor Committee for Peace and Justice
Out Against the War
Peace and Freedom Party
Pride at Work, AFL-CIO
Radical Women
SF Labor Council,
AFL-CIO
Socialist Action
Socialist Organizer
Socialist Viewpoint Magazine
US Labor Against War
Vanguard Foundation
and many more
For more information: (JVP) 510 465 1777 (BAUAW) 415-824-8730; (Code Pink) 415-575-5555; (UfPJ) 415-565-0201; (NION) 510-444-NION

Previously Sealed McCarthy Docs Released To Public

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This just in on the AP wire:
Closed-Door McCarthy Transcripts Unsealed
The transcripts themselves are available at:
http://govt-aff.senate.gov/psi.htm

The senators who oversaw the project, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Carl Levin, D-Mich., unveiled the transcripts Monday in the very room that McCarthy used to hold some of his hearings.
“We hope that the excesses of McCarthyism will serve as a cautionary tale for future generations,” Collins said. Levin recalled organizing an anti-McCarthy petition as a student at Swarthmore College.
Senate Associate Historian Donald Ritchie, who assembled the volumes, said McCarthy and his chief counsel, Roy Cohn, used the closed-door sessions like grand jury proceedings.
“Anybody who stood up to McCarthy in closed session, and did so articulately, tended not to get called up into the public session,” Ritchie said. “McCarthy was only interested in the people he could browbeat publicly.”
Copland, brought before the subcommittee because he had been hired by the State Department to lecture overseas, was one of those never called back for a public session.
When McCarthy asked whether he had ever been a communist sympathizer, Copland replied, “I am not sure I would be able to say what you mean by the word ‘sympathizer.”’
…McCarthy was angered when Eslanda Goode Robeson cited the 15th Amendment, which gave blacks the right to vote, as well as the Fifth Amendment in refusing to answer whether she was a member of the Communist Party.
“The 15th Amendment has nothing to do with it,” said McCarthy.
Robeson replied: “(Y)ou see, I am a second-class citizen in this country and, therefore, feel the need of the 15th. … I am not quite equal to the rest of the white people.”
Robeson finally said a truthful answer would incriminate her. McCarthy brought her back to testify in public.
“McCarthy thrived on the Fifth Amendment,” Oshinsky said. “He liked nothing better than to ask people very pointed questions, and they would take the Fifth, so he could call them ‘Fifth Amendment communists’ and talk about a larger conspiracy.”

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Why Is Clear Channel Still Allowed To Own Stations When It Clearly Feels That Money Is More Important Than Public Safety?

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This isn’t only unfortunate, I believe it’s illegal. Unless all of the FCC safety precautions have been de-regulated along with everything else.
I would so love to publish more details about how 1) this was able to happen and
2) what steps Clear Channel has taken to see that it never happens again.
If Clear Channel isn’t doing everything in its power to convince the FCC that it’s revising whatever policy it needs to so that someone is always on-hand to answer the telephone, it seems to me that the company has clearly demonstrated reckless disregard for the safety of people living in the “markets” it owns.
Anyone in the Minot, North Dakota area that’s interested in working with me on this?
Why Worry About Who Owns The Media?

It’s like something out of a nightmare, but it really happened: At 1:30 on a cold January night, a train containing hundreds of thousands of gallons of toxic ammonia derails in Minot, North Dakota. Town officials try to sound the emergency alert system, but it isn’t working. Desperate to warn townspeople about the poisonous white cloud bearing down on them, the officials call their local radio stations. But no one answers any of the phones for an hour and a half. According to the New York Times, three hundred people are hospitalized, some are partially blinded, and pets and livestock are killed.
Where were Minot’s DJs on January 18th, 2002? Where was the late night station crew? As it turns out, six of the seven local radio stations had recently been purchased by Clear Channel Communications, a radio giant with over 1,200 stations nationwide. Economies of scale dictated that most of the local staff be cut: Minot stations ran more or less on auto pilot, the programming largely dictated from further up the Clear Channel food chain. No one answered the phone because hardly anyone worked at the stations any more; the songs played in Minot were the same as those played on Clear Channel stations across the Midwest.

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Top Blair Advisor Admits Real Reason For Invading Iraq (I’ll Give You One Guess)

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This goes nicely with the article I just posted, where the Shrub Administration admits that a threat of WMDs wasn’t ever really there.
U.S., U.K. Waged War on Iraq Because of Oil, Blair Adviser Says
By James Kirkup for Bloomberg.

The U.S. and U.K. went to war against Iraq because of the Middle East country’s oil reserves, an adviser to British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
Sir Jonathan Porritt, head of the Sustainable Development Commission, which advises Blair’s government on ecological issues, said the prospect of winning access to Iraqi oil was “a very large factor” in the allies’ decision to attack Iraq in March.
“I don’t think the war would have happened if Iraq didn’t have the second-largest oil reserves in the world,” Porritt said in a Sky News television interview.
Opponents of the war, including some members of Blair’s Labour Party, have said that the conflict was aimed at securing Iraqi reserves to benefit Western economies and oil companies. U.S. and U.K. leaders have repeatedly rejected that, saying the war began because Iraq held illegal weapons and threatened other countries.

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