Apr 24, 2013

will the re-addition of Mick Taylor to the Rolling Stones as a "guest" finally unshackle Mick Jagger from Keith Richards.....

will the re-addition of Mick Taylor to the Rolling Stones as a "guest" finally unshackle Mick Jagger from Keith Richards.....

 

copied from The National......

 

Mick Jagger's latest bid to break orbit from Keith Richards


Mick Jagger, the frontman of the Rolling Stones, has, according to Keith Richards, been unbearable for 30 years. Richards made this not altogether shocking revelation last year in Life, his appropriately named autobiography. He would also describe his love-hate relationship with Jagger as being "like a marriage with no divorce".
Looking at the band's output over that same period, it's hard to disagree. The creative spark that once propelled the Stones to the top of the world was extinguished years ago, replaced by an efficient, profitable but largely cheerless union of two of rock and roll's greatest figures.
Indeed, Tattoo You, released in 1981, marked the band's last truly great album. There have been high points since - notably, patches of 1983's Undercover and fragments of 1994's Voodoo Lounge - but the modern era has been largely fallow, a time when Jagger and Richards may have stopped fighting, but they also stopped loving each other, too.
Periodically, Jagger has tried to break free from the ties that bind, only to find out that Richards was right all along: theirs is a marriage from which there is no escape. Or is there?
Last week Jagger announced his latest bid for liberation, this time as one-fifth of a fledgling supergroup called SuperHeavy.
Despite the band's big name, Jagger is the outright star of an otherwise middleweight combination, in which the other members are Dave Stewart, most famous for being one-half of the Eighties duo Eurythmics; AR Rahman, the composer of the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack; Damian Marley, known in these parts for cancelling his appearance at the Womad music festival last year, and Joss Stone, once a platinum-selling teenage prodigy, but most recently in the news for being the subject of a thankfully foiled murder plot.
Miracle Worker, SuperHeavy's first single, broke cover late last week (an album will follow in September) and while the reactions of Jagger's most ardent fans have generally been warm, the song has yet to seriously trouble the download charts in either the US or the UK. Which is a shame. The track, an odd and not particularly innovative mishmash of styles, features vocals by Marley, Stone and Jagger (whose opening salvo is to declare that "there's nothing wrong with you that I can't fix" - a message for Richards, perhaps?) is, nevertheless, hookey enough to warrant a place on a longish list of tracks to wile away the summer to.
According to a video posted on the SuperHeavy website, the idea for the band came to Stewart when he was in the Caribbean where, he explains in the slightly absurd manner of a mystic rock star: "I went to the top of a hill and when I got [there] a light was kind of coming through the leaves on the trees and I had this flash of how there could be a fusion of music from different parts of the world ... I never actually thought it would happen."
But happen it has, and SuperHeavy could well be Jagger's smartest move for a generation. Of all his work outside the Stones, his one-hit 1985 collaboration with David Bowie is most fondly remembered.
Now with SuperHeavy, Jagger might once again have the creative forces surrounding him to ease the burden of expectation we continue to place on the greats of a bygone era, although only time will tell whether the unusual mix of a performer-producer (Stewart), composer (Rahman), dancehall-reggae star (Marley) and soul singer (Stone) will end up delivering that elusive success or even the fusion to which Stewart alluded to.
One thing we do know: Jagger won't be distracted by his supergroup for long, especially when his best buddy-worst enemy is waiting patiently for him to roll home to the Stones. Even if we hurt the ones we love the most, we can't help returning to them either.

Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/mick-jaggers-latest-bid-to-break-orbit-from-keith-richards#ixzz2RPG8kxJZ
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the role of the US Secret Service in the murder of President Kennedy--Mark Lane Speaking at Barnes and Noble in Charlottesville

copied from facebook.....I would love to hear Mark Lane....

Dear Friends:

Exciting news. I have been invited to speak at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, June 8 at 1:00 PM. I will be speaking about my two most recent books, Last Word and Citizen Lane. The admission is, of course, free. The address is the Barracks Road Shopping Center, at 1035 Emmet Street.

First of all, please come if you can.

Second, please notify everyone on your lists about the talk. I will be discussing a subject that we have not previously fully explored -- the role of the US Secret Service in the murder of President Kennedy.

Sincerely,

Mark
Mark Lane
The Lane Group, LLC
4 Old Farm Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903

 

I'm Muslim, and I hate terrorism

copied from CNN opinion.......
 
 
Part of complete coverage from
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I'm Muslim, and I hate terrorism

updated 8:29 AM EDT, Wed April 24, 2013
A woman makes a peace sign gesture at a protest in Los Angeles, California, against religious hatred.
A woman makes a peace sign gesture at a protest in Los Angeles, California, against religious hatred.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Dean Obeidallah says "despise" is not strong enough to convey how much he hates terrorism
  • He says Islam is being wrongly defined by a tiny group of morally bankrupt terrorists
  • American Muslims have denounced terror over and over, he says, but public hasn't heard
  • Terrorists are motivated by politics, he says. Not one Muslim he knows supports terror
Editor's note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the co-director of the upcoming documentary "The Muslims Are Coming!" and co-host of a new CNN podcast "The Big Three" that looks at the top three stories of the week. Follow him on Twitter @deanofcomedy.
(CNN) -- I'm an American-Muslim and I despise Islamic terrorists. In fact, despise is not even a strong enough word to convey my true feelings about those who kill innocent people in the name of Islam. I hate them with every fiber of my being.
I'm not going to tell you, "Islam is a religion of peace." Nor will I tell you that Islam is a religion of violence. What I will say is that Islam is a religion that, like Christianity and Judaism, is intended to bring you closer to God. And sadly we have seen people use the name of each of these Abrahamic faiths to wage and justify violence.
The unique problem for Muslims is that our faith is being increasingly defined by the actions of a tiny group of morally bankrupt terrorists. Just to be clear: The people who commit violence in the name of Islam are not Muslims, they are murderers. Their true religion is hatred and inhumanity.
The only people terrorists speak for are themselves and the others involved in their despicable plot. They do not represent me, my family or any other Muslim I know. And believe me, I know a lot of Muslims.
Dean Obeidallah
Dean Obeidallah
'God, don't let it be a Muslim'
Group accused of posting anti-Muslim ads
We hate these terrorists more than non-Muslims. How can I say that? Because they harm innocent people in the name of our religion and consequently we suffer a backlash because of their acts. It can be anything from a spike in hate crimes to people viewing Muslims as less than fully American because of our faith. We are the ones called to answer for the sins of people we detest.
Since the Boston bombing has renewed for some concerns about Muslims, I wanted to candidly answer three questions I have been asked repeatedly over the years:
1. Why do some Muslims commit terrorism?
I'm not a terrorism expert but I will share the view of those I have spoken to in the Muslim community. There can be no doubt that some Muslims wrongly believe that their terrorist act is sanctioned by Islam. But to us their true motivation is not religious, but rather political.
Islam is simply used by terrorists as a way to recruit support.They then engage in terrorism to bring attention to their grievances or to achieve their political agenda, just as other terror groups have done in the past.
The recent statement of the Islamic militant group in the Caucasus region denying involvement in the Boston bombing makes this very point. They expressly tell us that they have a specific political agenda: "The Caucasian Mujahideen are not fighting against the United States of America. We are at war with Russia, which is not only responsible for the occupation of the Caucasus, but also for heinous crimes against Muslims."
2. Why don't Muslims denounce terrorism?
Just to be clear: American Muslims and U.S. Muslim organizations have unequivocally denounced terror attacks. Not just once, but over and over.
But that doesn't matter if you haven't heard it. And despite our best efforts to get this message out there, what attracts more media attention: A Muslim denouncing terrorism or footage of an explosion?
Does that mean that we will stop denouncing terrorism? Of course not. But we will have to be more creative in our efforts to attract media coverage to make this point to our fellow Americans.
3. Why don't Muslims stop blowing stuff up?
I have never blown up anything, except maybe a model toy tank when I was a kid. Nor has any other Muslims I've met in person or even on Facebook. But still we are charged by many with the task of policing a religion of more than a billion people.
Although this may not change some people's perception, statistically Muslims have not been the ones involved in most terror plots in the United States. In fact, since 1995, 88% of the domestic terrorist plots have been by right-wing groups, ecoterrorists and anarchists, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress. But still, 12% were Muslims.
Believe me, we wish that number were zero. But here's the brutal truth: Neither law enforcement nor the American Muslim community can stop every radical or criminal who happens to be Muslim. A "lone wolf" can devise his or her evil plan in secret, making detection almost impossible.
But we are trying. As L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca testified before Congress in 2011, seven of the past 10 al Qaeda plots in the United States were foiled by tips from the American Muslim community.
And just this past Sunday, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly told CNN's Fareed Zakaria that his department has a strong working relationship with the New York City Muslim community.
And it's not only American-Muslims working with law enforcement to stop radicals, but Canadians as well. Just this week we saw an Islamic terror plot prevented because of tips from the Canadian-Muslim community to law enforcement
It is my hope that in time, Muslims will not be defined to my fellow Americans by the handful of terrorists, but by the millions of others who are involved in all aspects of American life. Well-known American Muslims range from former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, TV personality Dr. Oz, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison to police officers, teachers, judges, deli workers, cab drivers and the millions of American Muslims in between.
These people, not the terrorists, are the true Muslims.
Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah.