Ras John's Reggae12.com and VitalVibes.com BLOG

Lot's of New Concerts Streaming at VitalVibes.com

2012-01-20T05:39:00.000-08:00

Start you off with this one: http://previewnet.com/mobilestream/Bob_Marley_and_the_Wailers_Queen_Elizabeth_Sports_Center_Nassau_Bahamas_Dec_15_1979_Part_One.mp3
The description is in the link - very nice show!
LOTS MORE AT www.VitalVibes.com and for just REGGAE www.Reggae12.com/streams/
Here's recent press release:

Meatloaf, Elton, Zappa and more are New Additions to the Vital Vibes Concert Archives

With over 200 concerts now available in the on-line music archives at www.VitalVibes.com, #1 Music Fan Johnny Hitviews continues to add new performances to the diverse collection of non-commercially available concert recordings.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VitalVibes.com

PRLog (Press Release) - Jan 17, 2012 -
Johnny's Hitviews first stealth recordings took place at the famed Fillmore East in Greenwich Village, NYC back in the 70's. The list of shows included the Allman Brothers, Mountain, The Who, The Doors, Poco and lots more. Johnny didn't get recordings of all of them sadly but he became a major fan of LIVE music.

Over the years since, Johnny Hitviews has dedicated his life to music and in particular, archiving every great concert recording he could find. His interest in being able to share all this wonderful music led to the creation of www.VitalVibes.com.

"I know there are a lot of people like me out there who love hearing a band live. You can't buy any of these recordings but they are too good not give fans a chance to hear. My hope is that listening to these concerts will acquaint people with artists they have not heard and be a reminder of how great these artists are for past or current fans. Then, hopefully, they will use one of the links on the site for emusic, or itunes or amazon to buy some music." said Johnny.

The list of shows includes major stars like Bob Dylan, Elton John, Frank Zappa, Ryan Adams, The Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, AC/DC and John Lennon to name a few plus many more both mainstream and more obscure. Genres go from Classical to an extensive Reggae collection from partner sites www.RadioReggae.com and www.Reggae12.com.

"We have one of Led Zeppelin's first shows in the U.S. just a few weeks after Woodstock. We have my favorite Bob Dylan show in peak form at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC. Then there is the recent performance by U2 at Glastonbury. They are all great to hear and we will keep adding more shows." stated Johnny Hitviews.

Visit www.VitalVibes.com a trip through time and music genres through Johnny Hitviews concert archives. The site is free to use. You are encouraged to use links on the site to purchase music and other items.

"Enjoy the Vital Vibes at the site and support the artists by buying their commercial releases - they deserve it, they have brought and continue to bring us so many good times!" concludes Hitviews.

RasJohnMon Calling ALL Reggae Music Fans in South Florida

2012-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

Looks like South Florida is going to be the place for LIVE Reggae Music for a few weeks in early 2012. The annual Marley Family Bash is taking place on Key Biscayne on March 3. The weekend before you can catch Third World and Inner Circle at Knight Concert Hall in Miami. BUT they saved the BIG Show for Last. The finale of this trio of great Reggae Music shows will be on March 11 just west of Fort Lauderdale at the Central Broward Regional Park: Ali Campbell's UB40 and Toots and The Maytals will headline a full day of music and food and fun in the sun.

UB40 must have hit South Florida sometime in the past because they have been everywhere over a career that has sold over 70 million records. Ali Campbell is a founding member and lead singer on most of the band's many big hits. Their version of "Red Red Wine" is probably the best known but they have a deep catalog of well established material with many of the hits remakes of classic Reggae tracks. Great music and high energy performances have put them on the biggest stages in the world including their classic performance at LIVE 8. Ali Campbell recently split off on his own seeking to freshen things up. His new incarnation of UB40 brings renewed energy to the band's music and some choice new material. Ali is one of the top champions of Reggae Music and it is going to be very exciting to see him here in a beautiful outdoor venue at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill.

If it was only Ali Campbell's UB40 it would be a great show but you also have one of the true icons of Reggae Music, Toots Hibbert (Toots and The Maytals) also performing. Toots is a contemporary of Bob Marley and he is generally credited with naming the Reggae Music genre with his 1968 song "Do the Reggay". His band's performance in the Jimmy Cliff movie, The Harder They Come, elevated him to International stardom and he has never stopped. Recent years have seen the release of several big selling albums and his 2005 "True Love" won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album of the Year. I have seen him at Reggae SumFest in Jamaica and a few years back at the Lagerado Music Festival just a few miles from where he will be playing on March 11.

Add to that massive invasion of talent all kinds of great food and craft vendors plus more BIG names in Reggae Music - you're going to be sorry if you miss this show. Gates open at 12 noon on Sunday, March 11 and the music will start at 2pm. If you are a fairly big Reggae Music fan you will know most of the other performers: U-Roy, John Holt, Wailing Souls, Ambelique, Mical Rustle (the Ali Campbell of Grammy winner Black Uhuru), Dancehall Diva Lady Saw, Etana and The Code Red Band. Google any of these artists and you'll see, if you don't already know - this is BIG time. IRIE Mon is all I can say! It's happening and it's going to be right here, just a short drive from anywhere in South Florida - a whole day of body moving, uplifting, soulful, rockin' Roots Reggae!

Advance tickets are only $30 for the next couple of weeks - Ticketmaster.com has them. Don't miss this show - it's going to be an awesome Sunday in the park. Bring the whole family! Kids under 12 are FREE - you probably won't be able to find a more enjoyable day in the park the rest of the year! See you there.

More info at www.IconsOfReggae.com.

Joe Higgs at Berkeley

2011-10-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

If you don't know Joe Higgs, he was Bob Marley and The Wailers vocal coach on their rise to stardom. When Bunny Wailer retired from touring with Bob and Peter, Joe Higgs took over for him. Higgs was one of the real pros of the Jamaican music scene and was always available to mentor up and coming singers.

Find the Berkeley show and two others at www.VitalVibes.com

Here's the bio from his website (www.JoeHiggs.com)

The Father of Reggae

Joseph Benjamin Higgs

June 3, 1940 - December 18, 1999

Joe Higgs was hugely influential in the birth of ska, rock steady and reggae forms of Jamaican music, and was widely respected as a composer, arranger, and performer, but perhaps most of all as a teacher. Among those he tutored were Bob marley, Derrick Harriott, Peter Tosh, Bob Andy, The Wailing Souls and Bunny Wailer. One of the first recording artists in Jamaica, his debut single, made with partner Roy Wilson, was "Oh Manny Oh," which sold over 50,000 copies in Jamaica in 1960. It led to his signing by Edward Seaga, who later became Jamaica's Prime Minister during the 1980s. Seaga arranged for Higgs to be booked on local shows, alongside Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and other foreign stars. In 1964 he recorded "There's A Reward" for producer Coxone Dodd's Studio One, a song that became an instant classic of suffering and hope.

Although Higgs claimed to have received no royalties from its sales, he was sanguine about the fact, claiming "I realize that the only person that can give me my reward and what I'm entitled to is the Almighty." It was in Higgs' Trench Town backyard that the young Bob Marley received years of private tutoring in vocal technique and stage craft from Higgs, years before he began recording with his group, The Wailers. Marley later admitted that "Joe Higgs was a genius," crediting him for his international musical success. In 1972, Higgs won the Jamaica Tourism Song Competition (presented by the Jamaica Tourist Board) with "Invitation To Jamaica," whose prizes included a trip to New York, where he performed for the first time. The bouncy tune was uncharacteristic of Higgs' more normal roots sound, which mixed rhythmic jazzy scat singing with heartfelt lyrics that expressed deep political awareness and a keen sense of history and classical lliterature.

Songs like "So It Go" and "Freedom" kept him on the local charts. In 1973 when Bunny Wailer quit The Wailers, Higgs was asked to accompany his former students, Marley and Tosh on their debut American tour as opening act for Sly and the Family Stone. They played critically acclaimed shows from New York to Boston to San Francisco and were chief among the first wave of musicians who brought the music to U.S. awareness. In 1974, another set of former students, The wailing Souls, joined with Higgs briefly to form the group Atarra. But it was his allignment with emerging superstar Jimmy Cliff, hot off his success in the landmark film "The Harder They Come," that brought Higgs mainstream attention as Cliff's bandleader and co-vocalist, often before huge crowds in venues like New York's Central Park and Madison Square Garden. Higgs' first solo album came out in the mid '70s called "Life Of Contradiction," and featured jazz guitarist Eric Gayle, solidifying Higgs' reputation as he often reminded audiences as the jazz connection for Jamaican music.

In the compelling 1977 reggae documentary film "Roots, Rock, Reggae," Higgs told director Jeremy Marre that "Reggae is a confrontational sound; Freedom - that's what it's asking for; Acceptance - that's what it needs." "Unity Is Power" followed in 1979. His 1983 single "So It Go," which called attention to the plight of the poor who have no mentors in high places, caused Higgs political problems with the ruling party in Jamaica, and so he left for Los Angeles, where he lived in self-imposed exile until his death. His later albums included 1990s "Blackman Know Yourself," backed by The Wailers Band. The collection featured Joe's most famous composition "Stepping Razor," which had become a signature song for the 6-foot 4-inch Peter Tosh. "The give away line," the slightly built Higgs always told people, "is 'Don't you watch my size, I'm dangerous.' There's no way no six-foot-something guy could write that!" At the time of his death, Higgs was working on an autobiography with this writer, and had been working on a cross-cultural project recorded at U2's studio in Dublin, to be titled "Green On Black," uniting Gaelic artists like Sharon Shanon and Donald Luney with Higgs, in lengthy Irish-jazz improvisions. His last L.A. appearance was Father's Day in Long Beach at the Old School Reggae Jam. His actual last show was in Brekley on June 26, 1999 at Ashkenaz. Prior to that he played Palookaville in Santa Cruz...

- by Roger Steffens

The Doors in Stockholm

2011-10-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Classic Concert Performance! The audio quality is intermittent - between mostly decent to somewhat distorted or too low volume on the Morrison vocals on part one. Part two good throughout. Overall this is a great example of The Doors in Concert and a good quality show. Enjoy!
Here's the link: http://previewnet.com/mobilestream/THE_DOORS_Sept_20_1968_Konserthuset_Stockholm_Sweden_Part_Two.mp3
Go to the complete archives at www.VitalVibes.com

Curtis Mayfield's Last Concert Performance - NICE ONE!

2011-10-11T15:39:00.001-07:00

This is a beautiful show from one of American Music History's BEST Artists. Sadly his FINAL concert but great performance to exit the stage with.

Curtis Mayfield - July 7, 1990 - Summerstage in Central Park

1. Superfly
2. Its Allright
3. I'm So Proud
4. Freddie's Dead
5. Pusherman
6. Billy Jack
7. We've Gotta Have Peace
8. People Get Ready
9. Give Me Your Love
10. band intros> Do Be Down
11. To Be Invisible
12. Don't Worry, If There's A Hell Below (We're All Gonna Go)
13. When Seasons Change
14. audience cheering & fade out

Curtis' last show ever.. On August 14, 1990, he became paralyzed from
the neck down when a lighting rig fell on top of him at a concert in
Brooklyn, NY. He died December 26, 1999 at the age of 57.

Enjoy this and zillions of great vibes at www.VitalVibes.com

New Additions - some cool shows!

2011-10-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

First, a band I didn't know and can't believe I missed for all of these years: Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad. We just added a great sbd from the Aggie Theater in Ft. Collings, CO. This show is from 2006 - best news for me - they are playing nearby in about a month.

Next we have a real nice Grateful Dead show from 1978, Ryan Adams at the Blue Note, Columbia MO in 2001, the very COOL Solar Circus at the Arrowhead Ranch in Parksville, NY 1990 and The Slackers in 2002 at Lee's Place in Toronto. PLUS a half dozen other great shows you should check out - among them, Rasta Rafiki, Umphrey's McGee, Jauntee, Tim Reynolds, JJ Grey, and Winton Marsalis with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

Get the FULL Listing: www.VitalVibes.com

Enjoy!

Shady Groove is Pick of the Day

2011-09-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

Here's our pick for this Fall 2011 Friday:

SHADY GROOVE with Melvin Seals
Don Quixotes - Felton, CA
May 22, 2010

FIND THE ARCHIVE LISTINGS AT www.VitalVibes.com

CD 1 - Set 1
01.How Sweet It Is (7:02)
02.Stop That Train (7:29)
03.That's What Love Will Make You Do (10:03)
04.Sugaree (15:13)
05.Get Out of My Life Woman (10:26)
06.He Ain't Give You None (10:00)
07.The Harder They Come (7:33)

CD 2 - Set 2
01.Cats Under the Stars (11:05)
02.It Stoned Me (12:10)
03.Tore Up (6:29)
04.Midnight Moonlight (8:38)
05.Catfish John (11:03)
06.Waiting For a Miracle (9:34)
07 Rhapsody In Red (10:35)
08.Tangled Up In Blue (9:13)

Whole show w/ Shirley and Cheryl
Source: SBD > Tascam DA-P1 Transfer: Tascam DA-P1 > Cool Edit Pro > TLH > Flac Soundboard mixed by Dave Jackson Taped by Jeff Flint

The Start of Posts About HOT Vital Vibes YOU Don't Want to Miss!

2011-09-28T18:39:00.001-07:00

The first selection we are going to spotlight is a Red Haired Texas Soul Reggae Rocker that I had the pleasure of seeing at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He doesn't look the part but he will capture your attention after the first few bars of a song. This is definitely worth a listen and we recommend his either of his albums of solid tunes.

Cas Haley - The Loft At Gilley's - Dallas, TX - Dec 12, 2010

Source: Soundboard > Marantz PMD661 (24/44.1)
Lineage: PMD661 > Sound Forge Pro 10 (fades/normalize/bitrate) > CD Wave (tracking) >
Trader's Little Helper 2.6.0 (flac v1.2.1) > foobar2000 (id3 tags)

Runtime: 46min

** 16-bit/44.1khz **

01. Intro
02. Will I Find
03. Better
04. Connection
05. Here I Come
06. Sir Duke
07. Blue And Lonesome
08. Release Me
09. Take A Chance
10. Got My Mojo Working
11. Let It Out
12. Easy
13. Legalize It

Notes: Opened for Toubab Krewe.

Add Some Music to Your Day

2011-06-05T12:28:00.001-07:00

Music can be a great way to lift your Spirits and improve your day. Vital Vibes is an ever expanding collection of great music - most of which you won't find anywhere else. There are hours of mood elevating vibes for you to enjoy.

I have always loved music, particularly LIVE music. I have been blessed with the great good fortune of having hundreds of wonderful live music experiences. Being a teenager in the late 1960's was definitely a blessing for a big music fan - living near NYC also helped. Got to see the George Harrison Bangladesh Concert and the John Lennon One to One Show. Got to see Bob Marley & The Wailers three times - Beacon Theater, Apollo Theater and finally Madison Square Garden. Got to see lot's of other great REGGAE shows at S.O.B.'s and other small clubs. Early on, there was an amazing night in Greenwich Village when I saw The John Mayal Blues Band, Steve Miller Band and headliner The Grateful Dead at the Cafe Au Go Go (seated about 120 people)... Then headed to the Village Theater that was to become the Fillmore East to see the late show: Richie Havens, Chambers Brothers and headliner The Doors! This was all in one night in 1967, I think, for a total ticket cost of about $18. Magic.

Anyway, blessed I am and the Vital Vibes continue to flow into my life. Thanks is all I can say. Here (at www.VitalVibes.com) I'll share some of the great moments in music I have been lucky enough to capture. I'll be interested to hear about your great music moments and life adventures as well. Rock On!

New Home for Reggae PositiVibes

2011-05-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

We have a new website that hopefully everyone will enjoy. www.Reggae12.com. It was for a long time reggae.com but we sold that at a very nice price and launched RadioReggae.com. That is still there but wasn't doing too well in the search engines so, time for something new: Reggae12.com. Visit and see what you think - we think a new design will be soon come. But the positiVIBES are all there!

Also check VitalVibes.com and ReggaeNing.com for more...

Be Happy

2011-03-28T04:58:00.000-07:00

Tell everyone you know: "My happiness depends on me, so you're off the hook." And then demonstrate it. Be happy, no matter what they're doing. Practice feeling good, no matter what. And before you know it, you will not give anyone else responsibility for the way you feel -- and then, you'll love them all. Because the only reason you don't love them, is because you're using them as your excuse to not feel good.
--- Abraham

You Are a Creator!

2011-03-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

The Eternal Laws of the Universe steadily hold the promise of expansion and joy. Understanding the Laws will reawaken within you the knowledge of your purpose and your own personal power as you remember how to access the power of the Universe that creates worlds.

If this time-space reality has within it the ability to inspire a desire within you, it is absolute that this time-space reality has the ability to yield you a full and satisfying manifestation of that same desire. It is Law.
--- Abraham

Getting Everything You Want

2011-03-23T05:25:00.001-07:00

If you are willing to let your improved emotional state be the evidence of your progress, then the progress will continue; you will continue to feel even better, and the tipping point will come where physical evidence can be seen. But if you look too soon for the evidence, and you do not yet find it, you will lose Vibrational ground.
The need to see the immediate evidence of progress is the most significant hindrance to most people. When you attempt to take score of your progress too soon, you move further from the results you seek.
There is no desire that you hold that is for any other reason than you believe you would feel better in the having of it. Whether it is a material object, a pile of money, a relationship, a physical state of being—every desire is wanted because you want to feel better.
When you discover the power of feeling better first, by the deliberate focusing of your mind away from problems, struggles, irritants, and any other manner of unwanted things—and focus your mind upon the simplicity of your own breathing—you will have found the key to the power of allowing.
--- Abraham

Excerpted from the

This is 26 of 32 practical expanded quotes excerpted from Abraham’s new Getting into the Vortex Guided Meditation CD and User Guide that will be available everywhere on Nov. 15, 2010.

Be in your Prime!

2011-03-22T03:49:00.000-07:00

Is Abraham saying that you could reach what you consider to be a prime human physical condition and that you could maintain it for as long as you remain physically focused in this body? The answer is, absolutely yes. And it doesn't mean reach your prime and then jump off a cliff the same day, either. It means, reach your prime and bask in the deliciousness of that. Now, why is other than that the more consistent experience? Because most everybody is looking around and vibrating in response to what they are seeing. So, what is the solution? Look around less. Imagine more. Look around less. Imagine more. Until your imagery is the most familiar vibration that you have.
--- Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in Boca Raton, FL on Saturday, January 16th, 1999 # 20

What's your LIFE purpose?

2011-03-21T14:41:00.001-07:00

http://www.peacefulwarrior.com/life-purpose-calculator

Reggae World International - Some Irie Friends from Around the Planet

2011-03-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Reggae Classics BBC - Part One

2011-02-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

01. Bob Marley & The Wailers - July 21, 1979 - Harvard Stadium, Boston, MA

2011-02-18T18:53:00.000-08:00

Gregory Isaacs -Exclusive Interview with Gregory

2010-10-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

January 2010 Burning Spear Concert Stream Featured at New RadioREGGAE.com

2010-10-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 09, 2010 – Fort Lauderdale – October 9, 2010 – The move of Ras John’s Reggae.com to www.RadioREGGAE.com has been completed and a January 2010 Burning Spear concert is the first featured Stream of the Week. On the site, visitors will find over one hundred hours of Ras John Roots Reggae Music Mixes featuring new and old artists. Streams of dozens of classic Reggae concerts are also available including Bob Marley & The Wailers with their stirring 1973 BBC performance and rare rehearsal recordings. All of the features, interviews and PositiVIBES that have been popular since 1995 with Reggae Music fans from around the world have been relocated to the new Radio REGGAE location.
Ras John, known for his promotion of a positive, conscious and loving attitude to all races, religions and cultures around the world, will soon be launching a site grounded specifically in Spiritual overstanding. Ras John's praised music mixes that have introduced hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to Reggae Artists new and old will be the featured content at RadioREGGAE.com. His mission is to keep the One Love Spirit of Reggae music burning bright and drawing in new fans for the upbeat, life supporting Reggae riddum. As Ras John has said, “Good Reggae Music has a beat that soothes the body and a message that uplifts the soul.”
Ras John has also recently launched three companion sites to www.RadioREGGAE.com. These sites include a new ning network, Reggae World International that can be reached with the URL www.REGGAEning.com and a site with music mix streams optimized for mobile devices at www.VitalVibes.com. Also in the mobile realm is Ras John’s ADVA Mobile site that is accessed by texting “getreggae” to short code 88704.
The Ras John Internet sites are managed by Florida based company PreviewNet LLC. For more information, contact jb@radioreggae.com or (954) 284-4507. RadioREGGAE.com will continue to partner with artists and labels in promoting new releases and also welcomes submission of stories, articles and pictures for possible inclusion on the site.
# # #
PreviewNet is a marketing and promotion company long involved in spreading the PositiVibes of Reggae Music and the many talented artists the genre has inspired. PreviewNet also provides sales and marketing support for numerous enterprises and is an expert in the emerging area of social media.

BREATH

2010-09-16T17:43:00.001-07:00

Your voice can make a real difference!

2010-09-12T09:23:00.000-07:00

Your voice can make a real difference!

Each and every one of us has a special connection to nature. Whether it's the mountain trails we hike with friends, the flowing rivers we fished as children, or the rocky shores where we seek peace and tranquility.

That's why we're urging you to do two important things right now:

· Take action to protect the lands and waters we cherish and cannot live without by sending a message to your senators asking them to support oil spill response legislation (S. 3663). Tell them that a new future is possible if we work together to pass this bill.

· Speak out in the national dialogue about conservation in America launched by President Obama to gather insights and ideas from citizens across the country to create a road map that will ensure the lands and waters we cherish today will be around for our children and grandchildren tomorrow.

Just as we rely on nature, nature relies on us to keep it strong and healthy.

And when you take a moment now to complete those two actions, you'll help address the impacts of the oil spill and the long term problems in the Gulf of Mexico that preceded it.

You'll also help invest in America's land and water by fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the primary funding source for protecting our national, state and local parks.

That's part of why The Nature Conservancy strongly supports pending legislation (S. 3663) in the U.S. Senate. If passed, it would be the most important bill in decades for the protection of our lands and waters. Read more about why this legislation is so important.

So please, complete both actions right now. 1) Tell your senators they must act now to seize this historic opportunity (with S. 3663) and 2) Speak out in the national campaign to collect your ideas about how to help our natural resources.

Thank you for your support and for all you do to preserve life on Earth.

Sincerely,

Robert Bendick
Director of U.S. Government Relations
The Nature Conservancy

p.s. Please forward this email to your friends and consider sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. The more people who take action and share an idea, the more we can all do together to help our natural world.

Reggae World International, a ning international web-based community, now accessible through URL www.REGGAEning.com

2010-08-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Reggae World International (RWI) is an international community of Reggae Music artists, fans and music industry professionals with members from over 40 different countries. Founder, Rasjohnmon, stated “a big obstacle for us was the long URL address – www.ReggaeWorldInternational.ning.com – our new community entrance at www.REGGAEning.com really simplifies things for members and visitors.” This change is of great importance in the marketing of the community.

Ning is an online platform for people to create their own social networks, launched in October 2005. Ning was co-founded by Marc Andreessen and Gina Bianchini. Ning is Andreessen's third company (after Netscape and Opsware). The word "Ning" is Chinese for "peace" (simplified Chinese: 宁; traditional Chinese: 寧; pinyin: níng), as explained by Gina Bianchini on the company blog. “The RWI ning community is “livicated” to spreading a positive message of peace and unity among all people, a nurturing Spirit for the planet and all its creatures. RWI is an international community of peaceful warriors linked by a passion for life, love and REGGAE Music!” explained Rasjohnmon when asked about the objectives of the community.

The RWI website is free for members. Each member is provided with easy to use tools to create their own custom web page within the community. The options available are considerably greater than other social networks. Members can publish videos, graphics, event listings, blog postings and their own advertising and interactive apps. Options exist for each member to create their own merchandise store, games and even have their own internet radio program. One of the founding members John Brodie commented, “The ning platform is definitely the most dynamic social networking option where all members have the opportunity to be creators of a very interactive and powerful web experience.”

John Brodie produced a short video to promote the community and their “long” URL address prior to the new option of going to REGGAEning.com. The video can be accessed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XkK_fpwFa0 . The RWI site is in its early growth stage and will be expanding rapidly as new members bring access to travel, specialty foods, new music releases from around the world, support for new and unsigned artists and a wealth of music industry contacts and expertise. For more information, visit the site at www.REGGAEning.com or email reggae@previewnet.com.

California: Latino Voters League, Black Police Officers Endorse Marijuana Depenalization Initiative

2010-08-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

Sacramento, CA: Representatives from the Latino Voters League (LVL) and the National Black Police Association have offered formal endorsements of Proposition 19, The Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Initiative of 2010. If passed, the measure would legalize the private adult possession and cultivation of marijuana, and allow local government the option to regulate the plant's commercial production and sale.
"The so called 'war on drugs' has been a gigantic failure, and approving Proposition 19 in November in California will hasten its demise," Antonio Gonzalez, coordinator of the Latino Voters League (LVL), announced at an August 13 press conference. "[A]pproving Proposition 19 will strike a blow to violent gangs and Mexican cartels that prey on our communities by removing their profit incentive. Parents worried about drug use today among their teenage children should support Proposition 19 because it will reduce the availability of cannabis among underage persons by controlling it and regulating it in the same way alcohol is controlled."
The LVL is a "nonpartisan organization dedicated to mobilizing Latino voters around progressive issues."
Last week, at its national conference in Sacramento, The National Black Police Association also endorsed the measure. The National Black Police Association has some 15,000 members nationwide. "[Passage of Prop. 19] means that we will be locking up less African American men and women and children who are using drugs," the group's Executive Director Ron Hampton said. "[Under the present policy,] blacks go to jail more than whites for doing the same thing."
According to a report published in July, African Americans are arrested for marijuana possession offenses in California's 25 largest counties at more than twice the rate of Caucasians.
The California state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had previously expressed its "unconditional support" for Prop. 19.
California voters will decide on the measure this November. According to the most recently released statewide poll on the measure, 50 percent of Californians support Prop. 19 while 40 percent oppose it.
For more information, please visit: http://yeson19.com.

Bob Marley and the Wailers LIVE!

2010-08-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

A memoir from JB - webmaster of Reggae.com and RadioReggae.com

My first experience of Bob Marley and The Wailers was in 1973. I was in an apartment in New York City and I remember I was sitting in the living room on the floor and talking with friends sitting on the couch across a coffee table in front of me. It was then that I heard a beat and a voice from the turntable playing music in the next room. I was distracted from the conversation and got up from the floor and made my way to the turntable. The party disappeared into the background and I had to know more about this music that called out with an intensity I had not heard before. The spinning label said “Catch A Fire” and the band was Bob Marley and The Wailers. A friend had seen the band playing a double bill with Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band at Max's Kansas City a few weeks earlier in July. He had told me both bands were going to be big but he had no idea what he had witnessed.

The next day, I went out and bought "Catch A Fire" and "Burnin'" and listened to nothing else for several days. 60's and 70's rock had owned my turntable before - much of it was music with a message. Marley took this to a new level of passion with a riddum that could not be resisted. The songs presented stories of persecution but always filled with hope. Many of the songs were filled with a Spiritual energy that made them feel like hymns from the inner city. They were songs from the Concrete Jungle telling a story that would inspire not only Bob's friends and neighbors in Kingston, Jamaica but people of all walks of life, races, nationalities and levels on the economic ladder. Bob Marley's lyrics are enlivened by compassion and a determination to refuse to settle for a less than satisfactory status quo. Get up stand up, stand up for your rights! Who the cap fits, let them wear it. Jammin' and easy skanking, every ting gonna be all right.

If you got to see Bob live, you know. I have been lucky enough to see most of the top acts of the 60's and 70's live but the Marley shows were special... they were on a different plane. The first show I saw was the RastaMan Vibration Tour in late April 1976 at the Beacon Theater on Broadway in NYC. The Beacon was a top Rock concert Hall and drew fans from New York University, Columbia University the boroughs and Jersey. All the shows were sold out with fans of the Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, Doors, Jefferson Airplane and the like who had all be captured by Marley's Reggae Vibe. Lot's of trips to Jamaica were planned those nights.

All this time, I was buying up Reggae records from other artists - I figured if Bob's stuff was this good, there had to be other great stuff out there too. Culture, Joe Higgs, Burning Spear, Third World, Ras Michael, Lee Perry, Big Youth, U-Roy, The Heptones, Jimmy cliff... the list and my music collection grew and grew. I knew BIG TINGS A GWON.

When I heard Bob Marley and The Wailers were going to be at Madison Square Garden, I waited on line over night to get tickets. I got a ticket for myself and my little sister - I'd taken her to one of the last shows at the Fillmore East when she was 13-14 years old - I hadn't wanted her to miss being in that theater and this was the same kind of thing - I wanted her to get to see Bob. That night, as we walked in the Garden it was transformed into a magical place. It was a little like the energy being there for a Grateful Dead show but much deeper and more mystical - there was a natural mystic blowing through the air, can't keep them down - if you listen carefully now you will hear. It was a totally mixes audience from Rastas in Regal Garb to yuppies in jeans and t-shirts to N.Y's hip and connected "cool" crowd - it was the hot ticket in town that June 17 night in 1978. On another page you can see the ticket stub and program cover. I shot some great Bob Marley pictures at the Garden - the Ras John Reggae logo is from one of the shots I go that night as are the two stage shots you'll find. The memory lives on.

I was working at NBC and later Westwood One where I got to know Timothy White and Roger Steffens who worked with me at The Source (NBC Rock Radio Network) and then when Timothy was doing Rock Stars for Westwood One. Timothy wrote one of the best books on Marley, “Catch A Fire” and Roger “Rojah” Steffens is probably Bob’s biggest fan along with being a serious historian of Reggae Music with Marley front and center of course. There’s so much thing to say… it is quite an amazement and joyous wonder how this reluctant Messiah from the hills of JA went on to have such a monumental impact on so many peoples lives. He spawned a whole culture. Robert Nesta Marley brought the world together with Music and delivered powerful messages - Robert Marley's lyrics and riddums - when it hit you feel no pain. I got to see Peter Tosh a couple of times, with one of those times a very special night sitting right by the stage with only a couple of hundred other people at NYC’s Bottom Line. It was a great show with the Tamlins providing harmony but no match for the mystical power of Bob.

I got to see The Wailers next in October of 1979 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. Walking along the street one day in the City, I saw a poster – you can see it on another page here – Betty Wight (a soul/gospel singer) and Bob Marley and The Wailers at The Apollo. I was not going to miss it – it was one of the few times Bob got to play to a predominantly Black audience in the States – Bob played every show like he had something to prove and won the heart and soul of the crowd each night. The Legend LIVE show that is on DVD from Santa Barbara, CA takes place about a month later and demonstrates the power of the band as well as anything I’ve seen on recordings except maybe the Roxy Show CD. You can get more info on other pages here. I headed home after the show by myself, thanking Jah for the privilege of being there and wondering yet again of the magic and wonder of the world we live in.

I was to see Bob Marley and the Wailers one more time and at that time, I had no idea that this was to be Bob's second to last live performance ever. The album Uprising was released in May 1980 and the band completed a major tour of Europe, where they played their biggest ever concert, to a hundred thousand people in Milan. The U.S. portion of the tour kicked off at Madison Square Garden in NYC. The atmosphere in The Garden was again mystical, other worldly - there's really no other way I can think to explain it - I have been to lots of concerts and event at The Garden - it is strange because the cavernous space somehow felt smaller, more intimate. There was definitely that Natural Mystic in the air - in my memory, the two Garden shows are merged into one extended vision of intense energy and a spacey, trippy haze. That's not just because mass quantities of upful herb were being toked in the huge building - it is because the event and the audience together produced this mystic magical vibe that was inescapable. When the band launched into the opening of Natural Mystic, the attention of the thousands of people lucky enough to be in NYC that night and at the show was immediately riveted on the stage. Moments later Bob came dancing and skanking out to center stage. For the next hour and a half, this Spiritual Warrior, musician, artist, poet - a reluctant Messiah by the name of Robert Nesta Marley again captivated the masses with his powerful positive and vibrant energy. By the time the encore of Could You Be Loved finished, the audience was filled with satisfied souls celebrating what they had just witnessed. By the time the co-billed Commodores hit the stage, they were left to play to an almost empty arena.

The next day Bob would collapse on a run in Central Park. It was thought he was suffering from exhaustion but it was to sadly turn out to be much more serious. In July 1977, Bob had been diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of malignant melanoma. He did not realize it yet but the disease had spread thorough his body. Bob wanted to press on - he was still on a mission, a mission of taking his Jah inspired message to the world - but, on September 23, 1980, Bob Marley was to play his final concert ever at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. A pretty good recording of this show exists and it is testament to his power as an artist - although he was already very sick, the sold out crowd in Pittsburgh still got to see one last, stunning show. That last night, Bob ended the show with an acoustic version of Redemption Song (the recording of the song from that night is the final track on Marley Songs of Freedom 4-cd box set). There would be a three song encore but Redemption Song was poetically perfect as a closing note. "There was a feeling of a whole era coming to a climax. Everyone felt he knew something was going to happen," said Rita Marley. "Redemption Song is like a final statement in a career, a summation of all of the themes and thought that had created it" - to quote the liner notes for Songs of Freedom. "We've got to fulfil the book."

National Friendship Day

2010-08-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Today is National Friendship Day. For the past 75 years, people around the country and the world have taken time on this day to honor and celebrate that most special relationship: friendship.

As such, we wanted to let you know about our own group of friends: Friends of The Nature Conservancy.

Comprised of members who support the Conservancy on a monthly basis, Friends of The Nature Conservancy allows members to provide the consistent, long-term support that is essential to effective conservation. It is one of the easiest ways to have a significant impact.

Your monthly gift will make a lasting difference for our natural world. The sustained support of our friends helps us achieve remarkable results, including to:

Help bring together the leaders of six island nations to launch the Coral Triangle Initiative
Protect the 4,528-acre Shasta Big Springs Ranch in northern California, which will help protect one of the most productive salmon streams in the state
Transfer more than 3,000 acres in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to indigenous communities to expand their ancestral territory
Work with partners to reconnect 25 square miles of floodplain forest to Louisiana's Ouachita River

Plans like these require long-term planning and long-term support. They require commitment. They require friends.

So on this National Friendship Day, please join Friends of The Nature Conservancy today.

Thank you for your commitment to our work and the natural world that sustains us all.

Sincerely,

Begoña Vázquez-Santos
Director of Membership
The Nature Conservancy

p.s. In honor of National Friendship Day, send your friends a free nature ecard. Or if you're on Facebook, please become our Facebook friend too!

Pristine Sierra Lake Saved From Developers

2010-07-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

Years of rumors, threats and intrigue over a little-known Sierra gem, Independence Lake near Truckee, ended last week when the Nature Conservancy closed a $15 million deal to purchase the lake and nearly 2,500 forested acres that surround it.

The result is that the Nature Conservancy will preserve public access, rebuild facilities, and probably develop a walk-in campground.

In the 1980s, the Disney Corporation attempted to buy the lake and convert it into a gated, high-end condo development. More recently, in a little-known saga, a Silicon Valley billionaire tried to add it to his personal empire for $22 million. Shortly after, the Nature Conservancy stepped in to reach a deal with Sierra Pacific Power Company.

The lake has some of the largest brown trout in California, in the 20-pound class, along with 10- to 15-pound cutthroat trout, and is home to one of the world's last two wild populations of Lahontan cutthroat in lakes. In addition, believe it or not, several people have reported sighting a ghost wearing a plaid shirt at the window of a former caretaker's home at the entrance to the lake.

Independence Lake is a deep azure jewel, 2.4 miles long at an altitude of 6,949 feet, nestled in a Sierra canyon north of Truckee. There are no signs to the lake, and it is just remote enough via dirt roads that it can be difficult to find.

The biggest point of contention - the conservancy will not allow motors on boats - has broken a few hearts of anglers who have fished for the lake's elusive giant trout. Though the gate at the small dirt ramp appeared to be opened or locked at random over the years, some Truckee residents have fished the lake with small boats and motors for generations.

"This is our way to prevent or greatly reduce introduction of invasive aquatic species, especially quagga and zebra mussels," said Michael Conner of the Nature Conservancy. "With no motors, you also get a nice serene lake.

"We learned that there are very few Sierra lakes where you can drive up and not hear a motorboat," Conner said. "So you will have a different experience here, quiet, just nature. We think we will serve many uses and have even a more positive user experience."

In June, the feeder creek at Independence has a natural run of cutthroat trout that heads upstream to spawn, when bears emerge from the forest to try to catch them, with bald eagles diving in to scavenge easy leftovers. It's like a scene in Alaska or Yellowstone, and there's nothing else like it in California.

JOIN THE NATURE CONSERVANCY AND HELP SUPPORT THEIR VERY IMPORTANT WORK! http://www.nature.org/

Funding: Northern Sierra Partnership as well as the California Wildlife Conservation Board, California Resources Agency, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, California Trout, Truckee-Donner Land Trust, Trout Unlimited and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., among others.

Tom Stienstra's Outdoors Report can be heard Saturdays on KCBS (740 and 106.9) at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. E-mail him at tstienstra@sfchronicle.com.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/19/SP5F1DG9ES.DTL&feed=rss.tstienstra#ixzz0v6djU1VV

Image & Marley Make "Marijuanaman"

2010-07-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

Official Press Release

A HERO FOR A NEW GENERATION

Berkeley, CA - 1 July 2010 - Grammy Award-winning musician Ziggy Marley is adding another title to his already impressive resume: comic book author.

The first issue of Ziggy's book, MARIJUANAMAN, will hit store shelves across the country on April 20, 2011. In support of his book, Ziggy will be making an exclusive one-day-only appearance at Comic-Con International. On Saturday, July 24, Ziggy will be signing MARIJUANAMAN posters with publisher Image Comics from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at booth #2729. Joining him will be artist Jim Mahfood (MIXED TAPES) and co-writer Joe Casey (GODLAND, OFFICER DOWNE).

Five-time Grammy winner and Reggae icon Ziggy Marley's early immersion in music came at age ten when he sat in on recording sessions with his father Bob Marley. For the next decade, as front man to Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers, Ziggy released eight best-selling albums, garnering three Grammys, with such chart-topping hits as "Tomorrow People" and "Tumbling Down." Ziggy's first solo album, DRAGONFLY, was released in 2003, to much critical acclaim. His second solo release, LOVE IS MY RELIGION, won a Grammy in 2006 for Best Reggae Album. His third solo release, FAMILY TIME, scored him a Grammy in a new category: Best Musical Album For Children.

Now, Ziggy is blazing into the comic world with his latest project, MARIJUANAMAN. Ziggy's new superhero, Marijuanaman, is from a planet that is in desperate need of THC. Marijuanaman seeks to save Earth's marijuana fields from destruction by the drug company PharmeXon, and thus saving his home planet from destruction.

"I have been reading comics since I was a little boy in Jamaica,” Ziggy declares. “I am very excited to be a part of Image Comics, Comic-Con, and the comic book community."

Don’t miss Ziggy Marley's appearance at Comic-Con International 2010, where he will be signing limited edition Marijuanaman posters at Image Comics, booth #2729, on Saturday, July 24, 2010, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The first issue of MARIJUANAMAN will be in stores April 20, 2011. Find out more at www.marijuanamancomic.com.

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of four major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

Withdraw Nomination of Michele Leonhart to be DEA Administrator

2010-07-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

Following Recent Raids, Medical Marijuana Advocacy Groups Call on President Obama to Withdraw Nomination of Michele Leonhart to be DEA Administrator

Obama's DEA Head Must Follow Stated Medical Marijuana Policy, End Obstruction of Marijuana Research, and Base Marijuana Rescheduling on Science Rather than Ideology

CONTACT: Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director, 202-483-5500 or director@norml.org

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, a coalition of organizations supportive of medical marijuana patients and providers (see list of organizations below) are calling on President Obama to withdraw his nomination of Michele Leonhart to serve as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Ms. Leonhart, who is currently the DEA's acting-administrator, has not demonstrated that she is capable of leading the agency in a thoughtful manner at a time when fourteen states have enacted medical marijuana laws and science is increasingly confirming the therapeutic benefits of the substance.
"It is clearly time for President Obama to insist that his appointees adhere to current Justice Department guidelines regarding state laws regulating the medical use of marijuana, and that marijuana be fairly evaluated by all federal agencies, based on science, not ideology," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the nation's oldest marijuana legalization lobby. "The Obama administration should be working with us to eliminate criminal penalties for the responsible use of marijuana by adults, regardless of whether it is medical use or otherwise."

Under Leonhart's leadership, the DEA has staged medical marijuana raids in apparent disregard of Attorney General Eric Holder's directive to respect state medical marijuana laws. Most recently, DEA agents flouted a pioneering Mendocino County (CA) ordinance to regulate medical marijuana cultivation by raiding the very first grower to register with the sheriff. Joy Greenfield, 69, had paid more than $1,000 for a permit to cultivate 99 plants in a collective garden that had been inspected and approved by the local sheriff.
Informed that Ms. Greenfield had the support of the sheriff, the DEA agent in charge responded by saying, "I don't care what the sheriff says." The DEA's conduct is inconsistent with an October 2009 Department of Justice memo directing officials not to arrest individuals "whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana."

Ms. Leonhart has also demonstrated that she is unable to be objective in carrying out the duties of the administrator as it relates to medical marijuana research. In January 2009, she refused to issue a license to the University of Massachusetts to cultivate marijuana for FDA-approved research, despite a DEA administrative law judge's ruling that it would be "in the public interest" to issue the license. This single act has blocked privately-funded medical marijuana research in this country. The next DEA administrator will likely influence the outcome of a marijuana rescheduling petition currently before the agency. It is critical that an administrator with an open mind toward science and research is at the helm.

# # # # #

The following organizations are calling on President Obama to withdraw the nomination of Ms. Leonhart if she does not end the attacks on individuals acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws and commit to making decisions related to medical marijuana based on science, not a personal anti-marijuana bias:
California NORML
Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

Made in Jamaica

2010-07-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

Banjo Africa with Bela Fleck

2010-07-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

A car that runs 200 miles on compressed air.

2010-07-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Fela in performance (1971)

2010-07-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

NORML's Upcoming Just Say Now! National Conference in Portland, Oregon

2010-07-16T07:20:00.001-07:00

Dear NORML Members and Supporters,
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws invites you and your like-minded friends and family members to attend the organization's 39th annual national conference in beautiful, cannabis-tolerant and hemp-friendly Portland, Oregon, Thursday, September 9 - Saturday, September 11.
The national NORML conference is America's largest and oldest gathering of cannabis law reform activists.
With the call to legalize cannabis growing stronger and louder every year in America, this year's apropos conference title and theme: Just Say Now!
The NORML 2010 conference is convening at the historic landmark The Governor Hotel in downtown Portland, right in the middle of the 'free ride zone' for the City's famous and efficient transit system.
Like all previous NORML conferences, leading cannabis law reform activists, elected policymakers, lawyers, doctors, medical researchers, business leaders and educators will deliver speeches, papers and presentations regarding numerous aspects of cannabis.
You can review some of this year's cutting edge conference topics here. Also, you can view past NORML conferences here.
Good News, Bad News Situation...
Bad news first... so popular are NORML's national conferences that a single alert from NORML in March effectively sold out the entire large block of the host hotel's discounted rooms.
The good news however is that steeply discounted hotel room rates have been negotiated for the overflow with a nearby, NORML-supportive hotel ($99/night as compared to $160/night at the host hotel).
Whether traveling from afar or from the greater Eugene-Portland-Seattle area, to make sure that you can attend this year's Just Say Now! national conference, please register online. This year's conference — based on how fast The Governor's rooms sold out — looks to be another sell out, so please do not delay registering for the conference online or by calling toll-free @ 888-67-NORML.
Jack Herer Memorial Expo Hall And Conference Sponsorships Available
Vending tables and unique conference sponsorship packages are available. Check out the information online, call the toll-free number or email norml2010@norml.org for more details.
Previous NORML conferences have been sponsored by physicians, lawyers, accountants, cultivation experts, medical cannabis wellness centers and delivery services, insurance companies specializing in medical cannabis, cannabis education centers and 'colleges', medical delivery device makers, hemp and clothing retailers, as well as pro-reform organizations.
Learn, Love, Enjoy and Focus
Lastly, September 9-11 is a most propitious weekend to convene a NORML conference in Portland, a city with great nightlife (the Northwest Music Festival will be going on when we're in town), a-m-a-z-i-n-g local microbrews and wines, wonderful eateries, arts & crafts and scenery.
Speaking of scenery and local color, September 11-12, Oregon's largest pro-cannabis public event, Hempstalk, is also happening at a nearby state park on a large lawn, surrounded by 100-foot tall evergreens, at the confluence of two mighty northwest rivers, creating a lovely setting for a large pro-cannabis festival and celebration (featuring speakers, music, vendors, food and crafts). Our out-of-town guests may want to stay an extra day to attend Hempstalk.
Worried about the cost of renting a car, getting around Portland, parking and gas prices? Don't be as this is one US city where a car is absolutely not necessary — from the airport to hotel to around town events — Portland's transit system removes much of these concerns and costs.
Whether as a not-to-be-missed yearly cannabis law reform activity, a professional junket or part of one's annual vacation to see amazing places, with really kind folks, please register ASAP for NORML's 39th annual conference in Portland, Oregon this September.
Kind regards,
Allen St. Pierre
Executive Director
NORML / NORML Foundation
Washington, D.C.

Can't Let My Love Go - Alison Hinds / Shaggy

2010-07-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

Nature Conservancy's Green Outside Party Kit

2010-07-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

Are you hosting a backyard BBQ this summer? Check out The Nature Conservancy's Green Outside Party Kit and learn 5 ways you can throw an environmentally friendly backyard bash.

1.Food

2.Drinks

3.Lawn and Garden

4.Furniture

5.Decorations and Supplies

1) Green Food

When it comes to the goodies you serve at your party, there are 3 things to keep in mind: eat local, organic and vegetarian (or vegan).

A summer BBQ without hamburgers or hot dogs, you say? It ain't easy. But eating vegetarian still tops the list of ways you can help the planet. So get creative with your local veggies — shish kebobs are a fun party food and can be made entirely of whatever vegetables are in season. And really, can you think of a vegetable that doesn't taste good grilled?

Speaking of grilling…gas, propane or electric grills all burn more efficiently and cleaner than charcoal or wood.

(Note: if you really can't stomach the idea of a meat-free summer party, make sure you buy meat that's local and organic — it'll cost more, but it's worth it, for your health and the planet's.)

2) Green Drinks

It's 85 degrees outside — don't let you guests go thirsty! Whether it's beer or wine, the greenest rule of thumb is to buy local. Supporting a local microbrewery or winery means you'll significantly reduce the carbon footprint of shipping and transportation of beverages.

When it comes to beer, opt for glass bottles from a local brewery and serve them from a cooler so you're not wasting energy every time you open the fridge. Glass is 100% recyclable and one of the most widely accepted recycled materials! Or ask your guests to bring their own reusable cups and consider having a keg of local beer (kegs are returnable, refillable and recyclable!).

If you're a wine-lover, support local or sustainable wineries, and go organic (a few liquor companies are starting to make organic liquor, too!). And give your guests something to talk about by serving wine from innovative packaging, like Tetra Packs, instead of traditional bottles. These boxes can be recycled and are lighter to ship.

For the kiddos at your party, fill up pitchers with water, homemade lemonade and iced tea instead of buying huge quantities of personal-sized beverage containers. You can garnish the pitchers with mint leaves from your garden!

3) Green Your Lawn and Garden

A backyard BBQ is the perfect time to replace your gas-guzzling lawn mower with an environmentally friendly reel mower. Cutting the grass for one hour with a gasoline-powered mower creates about as much air pollution as a 100-mile car ride. So trim your lawn in style by using a push mower, which is better for the planet and gives you a great workout!

Consider sprucing up your garden by planting native plants a few weeks before the party. Native plants require much less water and fertilizer than non-native plants do. Tight on space? All you need is 4x4 foot area to plant a square foot garden — you'll be able to serve your crops at the party.

4) Green Furniture

The best way to be eco-friendly about your outdoor furniture is to buy used. Need patio chairs and tables? Scour local yard sales (or "tag sales") to find inexpensive items that were probably headed to the dumpster anyway.

But if you want to invest in something new, look for furniture made from recycled materials or sustainably harvested wood. There are a slew of options out there these days — like Adirondack chairs made from recycled plastics to tables made from reclaimed lumber. If you buy new, make sure your furniture is FSC-certified. Find places to buy green furniture at the website Eco-Business Links.

5) Green Decorations and Supplies (don't forget the little things!)

Get creative! Reuse past party decorations, make your own, or pick fresh flowers from your garden to top your table. If you're looking to add extra color or aromas to your greenery, potted plants or herbs can do the trick.

Tableware is often the prime suspect in party waste. Take the reusable route for plates, cups, utensils and napkins. Try substituting a tablecloth with an old bed sheet. And avoid using disposable cups! A Styrofoam cup will always be a Styrofoam cup.

Summertime is often synonymous with pesky insect bites. Prevent your guests from turning into mosquito meat by cleaning out your rain gutters and eliminating standing water sources, all common mosquito breeding grounds. And keep a few eco-friendly insect repellents on hand.

Make post-party clean up a breeze by placing clearly labeled compost, recycling and trash bins around your backyard. It will save you time while encouraging your guests to be eco-conscious at their next summer BBQ!

Magic-Flight Device - Awesome Dude!

2010-06-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

ReggaeWorld

Positive Vibes, Cool Runnins Travel and Irie Good Times to a REGGAE Beat!

A message to all members of ReggaeWorld

You got to check this out - really cool!
http://www.vapeworld.com/affiliates/idevaffiliate.php?id=118_8

No waste... more healthy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZp9kprZF0c

Vaporization is an alternative to smoking. Rather than using a flame to burn the herb at about 900 degrees, which produces carcinogenic and toxic by-products, a vaporizer heats the material in a way that the active materials contained in the plant are extracted into a vapor. Operating at a much lower temperature, using a vaporizer result in no combustion eliminating 99.9% of harmful carcinogens that are normally present in smoke (Tar, Carbon Monoxide, etc). There is also NO second hand smoke, or irritating, harmful effects produced by using a vaporizer. The vapor produced from vaporizers is inhaled by the user through a tube or a balloon/bag. With no combustion to worry about vaporizers can be used in places where public bans have been issued against smoking. In addition, vaporizers can be a much more effective, healthy, safe way to administer medicinal herbs.

One of the most recent studies on the technique of vaporization and herbs by the University of California in San Francisco published in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Neurology examined the effectiveness of a vaporizer compared to using combustion with a flame. The results were astonishing with the effectiveness of the vaporization technique removing an unquantifiable amount of harmful toxins and carcinogens as well as using up to 60% less herb for the same effect as compared to using a flame. That goes to show you that a vaporizer will pay for itself in a very short time.

Visit ReggaeWorld at: http://reggaeworldinternational.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Pot Compounds Inhibit Oral Cancers, Study Says

2010-06-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

Syracuse, NY: The administration of the plant cannabinoids delta-8-THC and delta-9-THC inhibit cellular respiration and tumor growth in human oral cancer cells, according to preclinical trial data published in the June issue of the journal Pharmacology.

Investigators at the State University of New York (SUNY), Upstate Medical University in Syracuse assessed the anticancer properties of delta-8-THC and delta-9-THC in the human oral cancer cell line Tu183, which is highly resistant to conventional anticancer drugs.

Researchers reported that the administration of THC resulted in a "rapid decline" in cellular respiration in malignant cells. By contrast, investigators found that the administration of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide was "ineffective" as an anticancer agent.

"These results show the cannabinoids are potent inhibitors of Tu183 cellular respiration and are toxic to this highly malignant tumor," researchers concluded.

Last year, investigators from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island reported that the moderate long-term use of marijuana in humans "was associated with a significantly reduced risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma."
A 2008 scientific review published in the journal Cancer Research previously reported that cannabinoids inhibit the proliferation of a wide range of cancers, including brain cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lymphoma.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Cannabinoids inhibit cellular respiration of human oral cancer cells," appears in the journal Pharmacology.

Response to Jason Rubin at MoveOn.org

2010-06-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

Jason Ruben of MoveOn.org asked us for our thoughts on world around us today. Here's JB's response:

Greetings Jason,

Thanks for the invitation to share some ideas. First and foremost, I am disappointed in our government. The Republicans have become the party of NO and the Democrats are with too few exceptions, weak and impotent legislators. What happened to the great politicians taking up a cause and then using all of their oratory and political skill to SELL the idea to the American public – we can only reclaim greatness with a Dream and a Mission. It is clear that energy independency and the phasing out of fossil fuels should be that mission. It calls for the rebuilding of the country’s infrastructure with new technologies and hardware – this could create millions of jobs, products and services for us to export, help restore the ecology of the planet, reverse global warming – with some American ingenuity, it could solve all kinds of problems and build a better world where we live more in balance with nature and each other.

To really get closer to some kind of utopia, we still need to find ways to end hate and conflict – I think the best thing for us to do to contribute to that is to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq – let them hire all the Blackwater Halliburton ops they want but get our US funded troops out NOW! We should strictly limit our military adventures to UN run operations. The use of the military should primarily be reserved for assisting in relief efforts and disaster recovery.

While there are many secondary issues, one other area where a change in policy can have far ranging benefits is in drug policy. We should decriminalize marijuana at the very least – regulate it, tax it – but eliminate the thugs and drug lords and the whole chain of decay that it creates. If we did the same for cocaine and other popular but illegal drugs, think of the far ranging benefits – yes, you would have some new problems but you would put vast hordes of criminals out of business overnight, free up our courts and prisons that are clogged with drug offenders – most of whom never infringed on anyone else’s rights. We would save vast amounts of money now wasted on an ineffective drug war, generate new tax revenue and we could spend money on education and treatment for people.

Last is business and the economy. Capitalism is a great system to build prosperity and provide a vehicle for personal achievement. Rewarding innovators and hard workers and risk takers is crucial to building a better world. The problem is that not everyone has integrity and a determination to strive to do nothing that will negatively affect others. This is where regulation must come into effect – the rules of the game. Sports have rules designed to protect players and fans – business needs the same. There are plenty of rules now but some important rules that should have been in place were not. Wall Street is always going to be a little like Las Vegas – it’s all about betting BUT, the house cannot be allowed to cheat the players. So much of what happened in our recent financial meltdown was the result of the house outrightly deceiving and cheating the players – fixing the tables to distort the odds and then cashing in. Big time cheating – more than the mob ever dreamed of in the old days of Las Vegas.

This gets us back to our opening statements. Disappointment in the government. It seems we have very few people with the courage and principles to simply stand up for what they think is right. The new Tea Party fringe will say anything because sensationalism is driving their bus but the established, respected government officials with far too few exceptions don’t seem willing to stand up for anything – they seem to think it is easier to get reelected by standing for nothing. Sadly, to a lesser degree, the same can be said for our President. What better time than with this oil disaster in the Gulf is there going to be to rally the American people around a new energy policy – he addressed it in his speech the other night but not with near the amount of force he should have. I think he has been doing a good job but I would like to see him really step up and DEMAND that things get done – use his office to sell the ideas to the American public and get everyone to write letters and call representatives and demand action. I believe the American people are a smart group and that with an intelligent and ongoing appeal the time is right to take decisive action on all of these issues. Let’s hope we have some leaders around with the courage and determination to make it happen. That is what has made this country great BIG Dreams and determination to make them a reality.

The Original Jews Came Out of Ethiopia

2010-06-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZEDr8Hl6-Q

Some thoughts inspired by this video from Ras Henry:

Let me remind you that there is lots of historical and archeological evidence indicating that the original/original Jews came out of Black Africa, specifically what's today called Ethiopia. Of course, when it comes to historical/archeological stuff going back thousands of years in this particular area (just south of Egypt) EVERY BODY/GROUP has their own interpretation...not a lotta objective fact or evidence. The Rasta/Jewish connection extends back to the beginnings of Rastafarianism in the early 20th century, and the fastest growing Rasta sect calls themselves the 12th Tribe. Israel airlifted almost 20,000 Ethiopian 'Jews' to the homeland about 15 years ago...remember? There is NO OFFICIAL explanation within the official Jewish history about how such a large and organized and LONG-standing semitic culture could exist seemingly independent of all the known Jewish diasporas unless....unless....unless, like the likely path that 'modern man' took out of Africa (southern Ethiopia's Rift Valley don't u know...) the Ethiopian Jews were the ORIGINATORS!

But, things get confusing with this old history...Rasta's fervently believe that Moses and Abraham were BLACK...Steel Pulse sings a wonderful song called 'Not the King James Version' that 'correctly' interprets the Bible, and they find even more evidence of Jew=Black=Jew in the Old Testament. Go figger...but I'm sorta convinced that almost anyone can find a basis for any far out claims about history, culture and religion and civilization itself IF they base these beliefs/facts on selective readings and interpretations of biblical sources. Give Thanks & Praises, anyway..................

Ras Henry

Montego Bay Community Embraces Reggae Sumfest 2010

2010-06-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

Kingston, Jamaica:-Business interests are expecting this year’s Reggae Sumfest to bring a significant jolt to the Montego Bay economy, which should also extend to the wider Jamaica. It is being seen as a welcome ease to the current economic crunch and a catapult for more growth.
Each year, the world- renowned Festival draws thousands of overseas visitors into the city and its environs, and with this influx, there comes a remarkable upswing in commerce and its related benefits. Visitors have been known to travel from as far as Australia to attend the Festival, spending on Jamaican products liberally as they seek to enjoy every aspect of the Jamaican brand. From as far back as 2003, it was predicted that significant foreign exchange would flow into the island during the time of the festival. This year’s Festival should bring substantial benefits to a wide variety of business interests primarily in the second city, but extending to other areas of the island.

“We expect Reggae Sumfest to be a major contributor to the economic landscape for this year,” states Johnny Gourzong, Executive Director of Summerfest Productions, producers of Reggae Sumfest. “This Festival causes people to not just spend on it, but to spend in preparation for it, and in several other endeavours related to it, and this year should be no different.”

This reality has been duly noted by the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, which has over 200 members ranging from small family-run enterprises, to large scale businesses such as hotels and resorts. They all thrive from the boom in the various forms of trade which are direct spin-offs from the Festival, during a period that has traditionally been considered slow in that part of the island.

Data from the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce also indicate that villas, hotels, and guest houses become fully booked, restaurants, cook shops, and cafes get unprecedented patronage, clothing stores, beauty salons and countless other businesses get the spike in activity before, during, and even after the Festival. In addition, the benefits are not confined to the second city, but spread widely to the major towns across the island. The fashion industry is one example, as the clothing stores, the tailors, dressmakers and those that provide accessories get major orders to fill within the period.

With the line-up this year that includes American R&B star Chris Brown, international superstars Shaggy and Beenie Man, Jah Cure, Etana, Queen Ifrica and Mavado, the package again promises to be an excellent lineup, and the expected benefits to the country should follow.

Reggae Sumfest is the most celebrated and supported Reggae festival in Jamaica, and attracts the world’s leading musicians and performers. In its near 20 year history, the show has boasted a superb entertainment package, loaded with the best performances, food, music, and culture. This year’s Festival runs from July 22-24 at Catherine Hall, St James.

Red Stripe is back as the main sponsor of Reggae Sumfest, after a one-year hiatus. The brand now joins a growing list of sponsors which includes Digicel, Iberostar, JTB, and Wisynco, for the 18th staging of the country’s premier Reggae Festival.

**For More Information Contact** :
Carlette DeLeon Headline Entertainment

Jamaica : 8 Haughton Avenue, Kingston 10, Jamaica WI Tel: 876.469.4577,876.754.1526 , Fax: 876.906.3634	US : 221 South State Road 7, MB# 4237 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33317 Tel: 305.748.4602

Cool Runnin Vibes on the Web!

2010-06-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

New Jersey International Reggae Fest

2010-06-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Newark, NJ (Ms. RAINE INC.): With an illustrious history of bringing the biggest and brightest names from the islands to the Garden State for an unforgettable annual Caribbean festival, the New Jersey International Reggae Fest is celebrating their 10th Anniversary with an enormous colorful fete at the Edison Park Complex in Newark on Sunday, August 15th. With a line-up that includes the best of classic Reggae, Dancehall, and Roots, the NJIRF 2010 promises to be another remarkable showcase of Caribbean music and cultural.

Launched in 2000 in Newark, the New Jersey International Reggae Fest has earned a reputation for being the state's signature staging for Caribbean entertainment. Dancehall pop icon Sean Paul; Billboard Soca artist Kevin Lyttle and Soca King Machel Montano; Dancehall luminaries Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, and Capleton; and Reggae icons Beres Hammond, John Holt, and Barrington Levy are among the many stellar performances that the NJIRF has brought to the Garden State over the past decade. Last year's monumental staging at the Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium featured, among others, Platinum selling Hip Hop artists Fabolous and Rick Ross. The event draws approximately 10,000 people from up and down the eastern seaboard to Newark for an incident-free famiy fun-day that includes live music, authentic Caribbean cuisine, native arts and crafts, and a variety of cultural activities representative of the vast array of Caribbean nations.

For this year's staging, NJIRF event producer G City Enterprise and sponsors RoadblockRadio.com, and Jeawin Entertainment, will take the Reggae Fest to the Edison Park Complex (located at the Prudential Arena). NJIRF 2010 features a line-up that includes Reggae's legendary singers Freddie McGregor and Cocoa Tea, internationally acclaimed Dancehall artist Cham (formerly Baby Cham), and Roots Reggae lions Tarrus Riley, Gramps Morgan, and Duane Stephenson. From McGregor's Big Ship Label super producer/artist Stephen McGregor, Chino, and Laden will also be among the endless list of talent from the various genres of Caribbean music that will commemorate the NJIRF's 10 year anniversary.

"This is a big milestone for the Reggae Fest," states New Jersey Reggae Fest founder, promoter, and producer Kacy 'G City' Rankine. "We started out in 2000 with a relatively small array of mainly local artists and performers. Over the past 10 years we have had the world's biggest Reggae, Dancehall, Hip Hop, and Soca entertainers under the New Jersey Reggae Fest umbrella. This year, we are not only celebrating the past 10 years, but we are looking forward to what the next 10 years has in store."

The 10th Annual New Jersey International Reggae Fest will be held on Sunday, August 15th at the Edison Park Complex (located at the Prudential Arena) - 162 Mulberry Street in Newark, NJ. Featured Acts include Cocoa Tea, Freddie McGregor, Cham, Duane Stephenson, Gramps Morgan, Stephen McGregor, Chino, and Laden. More Acts to be confirmed. Limited $39.99 early bird tickets are available until July 4th. General Admission is $54.99. VIP tickets and special group discounts are also available. All tickets are available at www.roadblockradio.com and local Caribbean outlets. For a full listing of ticket outlets, visit www.roadblockradio.com .

New Jersey International Reggae Fest 2010 is sponsored by G City Enterprise, CCB International, Race Entertainment, BankyHype.com, RoadBlockRadio.com, Jeawin Entertainment, and Street Music Promotion.

For information regarding tickets and vending, contact G City Enterprise 973-573-8154 or visit www.roadblockradio.com

For media inquiries, contact Ms. RAINE INC. 347-492-3977 or media@msraineinc.com

Bob Marley in Concert 1980 - Dortmund, Germany - Pt. 9

2010-06-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

Bob Marley & The Wailers LIVE in Concert

2010-06-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Bob Marley was a hero figure, in the classic mythological sense. His departure from this planet came at a point when his vision of One World, One Love -- inspired by his belief in Rastafari -- was beginning to be heard and felt. The last Bob Marley and the Wailers tour in 1980 attracted the largest audiences at that time for any musical act in Europe. The message and Spirit shall endure.

· Bob Marley Live Concert 1980 Dortmund, Germany - Pt. 1 (The I-Three's)

· Bob Marley Live Concert 1980 Dortmund, Germany - Pt. 2 (The I-Three's)

· Bob Marley Live Concert 1980 Dortmund, Germany - Pt. 7

Bob Marley Live Concert 1980 Dortmund, Germany - Pt. 8
Bob Marley Live Concert 1980 Dortmund, Germany – Pt 9
Parts 10, 11 and 12 available at www.RadioReggae.com·

Song List: 1. Natural Mystic 2. Positive Vibration 3. Revolution 4. I Shot the Sheriff 5. War/No More Trouble 6. No Woman, No Cry - Bob Marley 7. Zion Train 8. Exodus 9. Could You Be Loved 10. Work 11. Natty Dread 12. Get up, Stand Up 13. Coming in from the Cold 14. Lively Up Yourself

While this is an enjoyable show, it is certainly not the best Marley show available. For an audio only release, the pick is definitely Live at the Roxy, Hollywood, California, May 26, 1976 - The Complete Concert. For a video DVD release, it’s got to be The Legend Live.

Washington, DC: Proposed Medical Marijuana Sales Tax Plan Could Yield $400,000 For City

2010-06-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Washington, DC: Members of the DC City Council are anticipated to vote on a proposal to impose a six percent sales tax on cannabis sold at city-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.

The District of Columbia's top financial officer estimates that the new tax could raise over $400,000 in funding over five years. Total tax revenue could be much higher depending on how many District patients register with the city to use cannabis medicinally.

In May, District lawmakers unanimously passed legislation calling on DC Health Department officials to oversee the creation of up to five facilities to dispense medical cannabis to authorized patients. Under the plan, patients with qualified illnesses and a recommendation from their physician will be able to possess and purchase medical cannabis from authorized dispensaries.

Patients are not allowed to engage in the home cultivation of marijuana under the DC plan.
City council members are scheduled to vote on the proposed sales tax measure on Tuesday, June 15.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500.

Caribbean Music Festival in NYC

2010-06-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

If you're going to be in NYC, don't miss this year's Caribbean Music Festival in New York. This Free Concert Series starts Thursday June 10 and will feature a free concert every Thursday until July 8th.

Petition to L.A. Clubs and Venues!

2010-06-02T05:44:00.000-07:00

Greetings brothers and sisters,

Have any of you noticed that it is very difficult to find live conscious music in L.A. these days? Give thanks that Steel Pulse makes regular visits, but what about Burning Spear, Israel Vibrations, The Congos, Pablo Moses, or Ras Michael and the sons of Negus who lives right here in L.A.? It’s not that they don’t have fans here, or that they don’t like playing in L.A., we just have to demand it.

There is a reggae group out there that has revived Bob Marley’s messages of one (universal) love, equality, and social responsibility with a funky reggae/jazz fusion sound. This group of technically trained brothers and sisters call themselves “Groundation”. “Groundation" comes from the Rasta term "Grounation” which are gatherings based on using music to attain common vibration, with the focus on manifesting positive energy to effect social change. Groundation embodies the 21st Century version of this ideal.

The group is from Sonoma in Northern California and has been performing for ten years with much love from Europe, and very little from the southern half of it’s own state. This is a true example of a man is not honored in his own town. Is SoCal so devoid of consciousness that we can only appreciate rumpshakin music? I don’t believe so. I do, however, believe that many of us have resolved to talk and not take action. Trust me, if you see this group live, there is no way you will be able to stand still, and you will leave uplifted, enlightened, and motivated to change the world. I have added links from their site www.groundation.com with mp3 samples of their music. And before you ask, no, I am NOT on their payroll.

I'm sure most would agree that Los Angeles is a place that needs conscious music desperately. Our youth are under the spell of mindless nonsense "sung" over sampled tracks that promote sex, violence, and promiscuity. They don't know their history, have no pride in their heritage, and are virtually unconscious. The sad thing is, their parents are listening to the same music

It is up to us to guide the youth. I believe a good start would be demanding more venues and festivals provide conscious artists. I have created a petition that I will pass on to the promoters of these events to show that L.A. has a conscious and a desire for conscious artists. The first artist I would like to start with is Groundation. Please support conscious music by following the link below and signing my petition. The children are depending on you. And remember, a closed mouth never gets fed. Give thanks.

Don't talk about it, be about it.

Melody Washington, aka Empress Ashaki

http:../../..www...ipetitions...com/..petition/..groundationinla../

http://www.groundation.com/backup/mp3samples/each_one_mp3.html

http://www.groundation.com/backup/mp3samples/young_tree_mp3.html

http://www.groundation.com/backup/mp3samples/we_free_mp3.html

Tag! Your There!

2010-06-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a bet for a next BIG thing and one that will probably stick around as we go MOBILE more and more. Last week Microsoft put out the first release version of their new TagReader app for mobile devices. Read all about it: http://tag.microsoft.com/consumer/index.aspx

It's easy to use. Download the free Microsoft TagReader app to your mobile phone by going to http://gettag.mobi on the phone. Once the Microsoft TagReader is downloaded and installed on your phone, open the app. Click the SCAN button and TagReader will open your phone's camera. Center a TAG in your viewfinder and take a picture (try and get a nice clear image). Once you take the picture, TagReader will decode the TAG, open your phone's Internet browser and take you to the designated web location.

We put up a short list of tags at http://Tag-Guide.com

After you SCAN a TAG, it will be stored in the HISTORY of your TagReader. To open the link anytime, just open TagReader and click on the main screen instead of the SCAN button - the Option window will open that includes HISTORY. You can also right click on the TAG you want and print it to take with you.
To get you started, take a tag to REGGAE Mobile.!

Sister Carol - Dread Natty Congo

2010-05-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Marijuana May Extend Life Expectancy Of Lou Gehrig's Disease Patients, Study Says

2010-05-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Seattle, WA: Cannabis therapy may reduce symptoms and prolong survival in patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS aka Lou Gehrig's disease), according to a scientific review published online last week by the American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine.
Investigators at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle and Temple University in Pennsylvania reviewed preclinical and anecdotal data indicating that marijuana appears to treat symptoms of ALS as well as moderate the course of the disease.

Authors wrote: "Preclinical data indicate that cannabis has powerful antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. ... Cannabis also has properties applicable to symptom management of ALS, including analgesia, muscle relaxation, bronchodilation, saliva reduction, appetite stimulation, and sleep induction. ... From a pharmacological perspective, cannabis is remarkably safe with realistically no possibility of overdose or frank physical addiction. There is a valid, logical, scientifically grounded rationale to support the use of cannabis in the pharmacological management of ALS."

They added, "Based on the currently available scientific data, it is reasonable to think that cannabis might significantly slow the progression of ALS, potentially extending life expectancy and substantially reducing the overall burden of the disease."

Investigators concluded, "There is an overwhelming amount of preclinical and clinical evidence to warrant initiating a multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of cannabis as a disease-modifying compound in ALS."

Writing in the March 2004 issue of the journal Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis & Other Motor Neuron Disorders, investigators at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco reported that the administration of THC both before and after the onset of ALS symptoms staved disease progression and prolonged survival in animals compared to untreated controls. To date, however, no clinical trials have assessed the use of marijuana or any of the plant's cannabinoids on patients diagnosed with ALS.

Lou Gehrig's Disease is a fatal, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by the selective loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord, brain stem, and motor cortex. An estimated 30,000 Americans are living with ALS, which often arises spontaneously and afflicts otherwise healthy adults. An estimated 70 to 80 percent of patients with ALS die within three to five years following the onset of disease symptoms.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Cannabis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: hypothetical and practical applications, and a call for clinical trials," will appear in the American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine.

Welcome to www.REGGAE.com.wmv

2010-05-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

Rockin with Toots & The Maytals

2010-05-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

Toots and The Maytals have been really kicking it for the last few years and you can be lucky enough to catch them with Toots in top form in L.A. at the Key Club on May 16, 2010 just a couple of days before the release date of his new album - you couldn't ask for a better shot of drum and bass driven Reggae Music from a living legend!

“Flip & Twist” Toots latest album - released 4/20/2010 - features Toots singing, R and B, funk, gospel, blues and country in his own inimitable Jamaican style. Toots the inventor of the word “reggae” was voted by Rolling Stone Magazine one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time in 2009…when you hear “Flip & Twist” you will see why. Visit the site www.TootsAndTheMaytals.com to purchase and maybe even get a free track.

www.REGGAE.com has put up a really nice concert recording from The House of Blues in Chicago from April 2, 2010 - find it on the Toots Artist Feature page at www.REGGAE.com/artists/toots

Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are considered legends of ska and reggae music. Their sound is a unique, original combination of gospel, ska, soul, reggae and rock. Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, the leader of the group, was born in May Pen in the Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. He was the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing gospel music in a church choir, but moved to Kingston in 1961 at the tender age of sixteen.

In Kingston, Hibbert met Henry “Raleigh” Gordon and Nathaniel “Jerry” McCarthy, forming a group whose early recordings were attributed to “The Flames” and, possibly, “The Vikings”. Having renamed the group the Maytals, the vocal trio recorded their first album, “Never Grow Old – presenting the Maytals”, for producer Clement “Coxsone” Dodd at Studio One in 1962-63. With musical backing from Dodd’s house band, the legendary Skatalites, the Maytals’ close-harmony gospel singing ensured instant success for the 1964 release, overshadowing Dodd’s other up-and-coming gospel trio, The Wailers. The original album augmented by studio out-takes from the Studio One sessions was re-released by Heartbeat/Rounder Records in 1997, and is essential listening for Maytals and Skatalites fans.

After staying at Studio One for about two years, the group moved on to do sessions for Prince Buster (released in 1974) before recording their second album produced by Byron Lee in 1965 . However, the band’s musical career was rudely interrupted in late 1966 when Hibbert was arrested and imprisoned on drugs possession charges.

Following Hibbert’s release from jail towards the end of 1967, the band officially changed their name to Toots and the Maytals and began working with Chinese-Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, a collaboration which produced three classic albums and a string of hits throughout the late sixties and early seventies – “Do the Reggay”, a 1968 single widely credited with coining the word reggae, “Pressure Drop”, “54-46 was my number” and “Monkey Man”, the group’s first international hit in 1970 . The group was featured in one of reggae’s greatest breakthrough events – The Harder They Come, the 1972 film and soundtrack starring Jimmy Cliff, named as one of Vanity Fair’s Top 10 Best Soundtracks of all time.

Following Kong’s death in 1971, the group continued to record with Kong’s former sound engineer, Warwick Lyn; produced by Lyn and Chris Blackwell of Island Records, the group released three best-selling albums, and enjoyed international hits with Funky Kingston in 1973 and Reggae Got Soul in 1976.

Toots and the Maytals’ compositions would be given a second airing in 1978-80 during the reggae-punk and ska revival period in the UK, when The Specials included “Monkey Man” on their 1979 debut album and The Clash produced their version of “Pressure Drop”. Having toured throughout the world for many years, Toots and the Maytals disbanded in the early 1980s, but reformed in the early 90s to continue touring and recording successfully. Sublime recorded cover versions of some Maytals songs in the 1990s as well.

The band recently won the 2005 Grammy award for best reggae album True Love, an album consisting of re-recorded versions of their classics alongside popular and legendary musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards, as well as popular artists today such as No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots, and Shaggy.

Toots and the Maytals remains a relevant influence on today’s global music scene with artists from Amy Winehouse to Sublime re-recording classic tracks. Toots recieved another Grammy nomination for his 2008 release “Light Your Light. In recent years Toots has toured with The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow and Los Lonely Boys.

Always recording when not touring “Flip & Twist” will be release on 4/20/10 on Toot’s own D & F Music label. Look for Toots on the road spring and fall in the US and summer in Europe.

REGGAE STARS PUT STAMP OF ISLAND MAGIC ON DISNEY CLASSICS

2010-05-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

DISNEY REGGAE CLUB

Ziggy Marley, UB40, Toots, Sly & Robbie, Matisyahu, and More Contribute Newly Recorded Tracks

Set for release June 8

The magic of Disney meets the magical isle of Jamaica, as Walt Disney Records readies an album of classic Disney songs newly recorded by a cross-section of top reggae musicians. The Disney Reggae Club features songs from immortal Disney animated films – from "The Little Mermaid" to "Jungle Book" – recorded by such esteemed artists as Grammy winning reggae legend Toots (of Toots & the Maytals fame), five time Grammy winner Ziggy Marley, reggae's most prolific and long lasting production team Sly & Robbie, multiple Grammy winner Cedella Marley, Grammy winner Burning Spear, legendary British band UB40 and Hasidic rapper Matisyahu. The album is set to arrive in stores and at online retailers June 8.

Artists and tracks included on the album are:

“Circle of Life” (from “The Lion King”) Performed by Matisyahu
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (from “The Lion King”) Performed by Cedella Marley
“The Bare Necessities” (from “The Jungle Book”) Performed by Steel Pulse
“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (Desmond Dekker’s reggae classic also featured in “The Lion King”) Performed by Morgan Heritage
“What a Wonderful World” (Louis Armstrong classic) Performed by Ziggy Marley
“True to Your Heart” (from “Mulan”) Performed by The Wailing Souls
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (from “Toy Story) Performed by Sly & Robbie
“Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” (from “Song of the South”) Performed by Toots
“I Wan’na Be Like You” (from “The Jungle Book”) Performed by UB40
“Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat” (from “The Aristocats”) Performed by Michael G & the Easy Star All-Stars
“Kiss The Girl” (from "The Little Mermaid") Performed by Burning Spear
“Under The Sea” (from "The Little Mermaid") Performed by Gregory Isaacs
“Find Yourself” (from "Cars") Performed by Yellowman

"The genius of Disney songs is that they are timeless and adaptable to every musical genre," said executive producer Brian Malouf. "Reggae is so joyous and spirited, we knew these songs would lend themselves perfectly. I’m happy to say the artists, many of them true legends of reggae, all jumped at the chance to participate. “

Third World on-line Rehearsal coming up May 8

2010-04-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

THIRD WORLD BAND PERFORMS IN ANTIGUA DURING "SAILING WEEK!"

At 9:00 pm on Thursday, April 29, 2010, blue and red lights illuminate the streets as Antiguan police drove ahead of Third World Band, escorting them from their hotel to Shirley Heights where they were scheduled to perform at the "Sunset From The Heights" concert, one of the many activities planned for the 43rd Annual Sailing Week.

As the bus drove into the venue, which is perched on a hill and surrounded by beautiful blue water and lush greenery, the band was ushered to the back stage area. As they walked through the crowds, fans chanted "they are here," took pictures and clamored to touch their favorite band member. Once backstage the group prepared for their performance but not before autographing beach balls, which were provided by sponsor Ocean Potion, for fans.

Now 9:45pm, it was Showtime! The lights were dimed and the silent crowd, now realizing that the band was getting ready to go on, began clapping. Opening with "Feel A Little Better," the 4000+ voices at the venue sang along. Without pause they continued as the band sang "The Spirit Lives," a tribute to the people of Haiti. Long after the cameras have left the devastated country and people have return to "business as usual," the Reggae Ambassadors continue to honor the earthquake stricken country.

As the energy and temperature rose as they performed "96 Degrees" the signed beach balls were thrown into the crowd. While that was a pleasant surprise the highlight was when lead singer, Bunny Rugs brought on stage female reggae artists Nadine Sutherland, Timberlee and D'Angel - who attended the show to support the band - to assist in singing "Try Jah Love" and "Now That We Found Love." Also backstage enjoying the music was the Minister of Tourism, John Maginley.

The band wrapped up their performance with "Moving Up," leaving their fans with these encouraging words "we're moving up, Jah Jah children dem a moving up!"

Up next, the informal online only rehearsal which will be streamed live on www.ination.tv/thirdworldbandlive and www.thirdworld.com on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. EST for Caribbean and U.S. audiences, and re-broadcast May 9, 2010 at 1:00 a.m. EST for audiences in Europe and Africa.

The live-streamed broadcast will feature the worldwide premiere of the video for their new single, "The Spirit Lives," a dedication to the people of Haiti and a preview of the making of the video for single "By My Side," featuring Tessanne Chin. Fans will also get a behind the scenes look at the band's rehearsal, receive information of their upcoming performances and more. As an added bonus, the band members will interact with fans via special chat rooms. Additionally, fans will be able to enter to win an all expense paid trip to Third World's December 27, 2010 concert in Kingston, Jamaica.

Julian Marley Contributes To The Rich Legacy of the U.K. Reggae Music Scene

2010-04-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

U.K. Based Marley Proudly Pays Forward his Family Heritage

London, England - In the Spirit of his father Bob Marley, Julian "Ju Ju" Marley is the next generation of Reggae pioneers proudly paying it forward in his home town of London, England. Along-side a list of Reggae luminaries that have spawned out of England such as Aswad and Steel Pulse, Julian "Ju Ju" Marley firmly plants his roots in London, inherently influencing the U.K. music scene with his rich legacy.

Born in London, England to Lucy Pounder on June 4, 1975, Julian Marley has been blessed by his father's great talent and by the unique perspective that comes with an upbringing in a multicultural community. As the only son of Bob Marley born and raised in the U.K., Julian has credited his British upbringing as a deep influence on his musical career.

Julian reflects, "Growing up in London remains a large part of who I am today. Musically, I have become increasingly aware of how self-motivating the history of the U.K. Reggae scene has been on my work. I feel privileged to be a part of the musical roots that my father laid in England, and as the next generation of British born reggae artists, I look forward to relating the cultural gifts that have been bestowed on to me back onto the U.K. music scene through my musical creations, visions and contributions."

Reggae and Bob Marley in particular, have always had a unique part in British popular culture since the 1970s. The masterpiece that was Bob Marley's Exodus was recorded in the U.K. and transformed Bob Marley's career. Resonating with audiences around the world, the legendary Marley influenced an array of musicians, including some of today's largest British pop icons including, The Police.

Transcending musical genres, Julian Marley has become a spiritual, moral, musical visionary with an international mission. Just as his father, "Ju Ju" Marley ranks higher in the consciousness movement of music than most international reggae artists of today.

In 2009, Julian Marley's fame rose to new heights with the success of his Grammy Award Nominated release entitled, Awake (Ghetto Youths / Universal). Julian's Awake world tour with his band The Uprising flourished in 2009, and stemmed into a major North American, Caribbean and European run that included the Raggamuffin 2010 tour of Australia and New Zealand. Marley's continually expanding performance dates will see the reggae singer-songwriter headlining venues throughout Europe in 2010, with Julian and The Uprising scheduled to perform close to one dozen dates in the U.K., including several performances in his home town of London, England in July and August of 2010.

For more information on Julian Marley please visit:

www.myspace.com/royalmarley and www.ghettoyouths.com

Katie Washington - She's Notre Dame's first black valedictorian

2010-04-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

Katie Washington - She's Notre Dame's first black valedictorian

(WBBM) -- History is being made at the University of Notre Dame this spring.

In the 161 years the University of Notre Dame has been awarding degrees, never had there been an African-American as valedictorian. Until this year.

She’s Katie Washington of Gary, Indiana. She carries a 4.0 GPA majoring in biology and minoring in Catholic social teaching.

According to the Northwest Indiana Times, Washington plans to continue her studies at Johns Hopkins University and follow in her father’s footsteps into medicine.

Washington says she’s humbled by the honor of being named valedictorian.

More information from Notre Dame University:

Katie Washington, a biological sciences major from Gary, Ind., has been named valedictorian of the 2010 University of Notre Dame graduating class and will present the valedictory address during Commencement exercises May 16 (Sunday) in Notre Dame stadium.

Washington, who earned a 4.0 grade point average, has a minor in Catholic Social Teaching. She has conducted research on lung cancer at the Cold Spring Harbor labs and performed genetic studies in the University’s Eck Institute for Global Health on the mosquito that carries dengue and yellow fever. She is the co-author of a research paper with David Severson, professor of biological sciences.

Washington directs the Voices of Faith Gospel Choir at Notre Dame, is a mentor/tutor for the Sister-to-Sister program at South Bend’s Washington High School and serves as the student coordinator of the Center for Social Concerns’ “Lives in the Balance: Youth Violence and Society Seminar.”

Upon graduation, Washington plans to pursue a joint M.D./Ph.D program at Johns Hopkins University.

Congrats!

It Is About Humanity

2010-04-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Despite the name, Earth Day is really about humanity.

Our planet has existed for billions of years and will continue to exist, no matter how much oil and coal we burn, no matter how much carbon pollution we dump into our atmosphere.

It's the survival of human civilization as we know it that's uncertain. Human consumption of fossil fuels threatens the conditions that we require to live on Earth -- conditions that only occur thanks to a carefully balanced set of circumstances so delicate and rare that they are now shockingly vulnerable to the impact of our newly powerful civilization. These conditions can change, and our actions on this planet are changing them every day. That is a scientific fact that no amount of political rhetoric can alter.

Taking on climate change is a huge challenge -- for America and the world. But the solutions are within our reach. We have the technology. We know the way forward. Now we have to get started on a scale that will matter.

As with so many global crises, the world is looking to America for leadership. In this case, leadership means action from the United States Congress -- and I am pleased to say that we are far closer than we have ever been. Since Earth Day last year, a landmark clean energy and climate bill has passed the House of Representatives, and as I write this, key Senators are reaching across the aisle to finish the job.

If the Senate steps up and passes strong legislation, success will be within reach.

But the forces of opposition are very powerful. And if we did nothing, we would fail - by falling prey to the cynicism of corporate lobbyists and the misinformation of self-serving politicians and pundits whose blatant disregard for scientific fact endangers us all.

So this Earth Day, I ask all of you to join together to take action to address climate change. Call your Senator at the number below and tell him or her to support comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation.

Just call our toll-free Repower America hotline at 1-877-55-REPOWER (1-877-557-3769), and enter your zip code. You'll be connected to one of your Senators. When you've finished your call, click here to report it.

Over the past 40 years, Earth Day has helped strengthen our awareness, sense of urgency and will to preserve the environment we rely on. It has served as a national reminder to reduce pollution, celebrate nature and make our air and water cleaner.

But today our task is even greater. Beyond careful stewardship of our natural resources, we must act to prevent a potential global catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude. We must aggressively respond to the threat of global climate change.

We created this crisis -- and we can solve it. That starts with strong action from Congress. This is a fight that we must not lose -- for the sake of every human being on the planet and for the generations to come.

Remember, Earth Day is about people -- and our future on this planet.

Thank you,
Al Gore
Founder

The Climate Protection Action Fund

One Heart One World

2010-04-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

Earth Day 2010. Each year the sense of urgency seems to increase. Originally, it was just a common sense, positive idea. Now the concern seems all the more real. It's volcanic ash - which could actually slow global warming, I guess. Earthquake and tsunami - things we don't have much apparent control over. Then there is coal miner deaths which combine all kinds of bad things - bad safety precautions for people harvesting a foul dirty substance that would be the most expensive energy choice if all the antidotes for its bad byproducts were included in its cost. Then there are the people who refuse to believe our cars and waste dumping and chemicals for everything are not responsible for anything bad - it's all good! With population growth and standard of living growth, we will make life unsustainable on the planet unless we change lots of the things we are doing. That can be a choice or that can be a future reality we loose control over. The balance of Nature will eliminate us from existence unless we protect that balance. A good site to visit: http://earthday.nature.org/

It's nice that Avatar was a big as long as a lot of the millions that saw it got the message that we are not MASTERS of the World, we are dynamically linked to everything in the world and the well being of the whole is essential to the well being of the parts.

4/20 Pot Day 2010 and NORML

2010-04-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

Special 4/20 message from NORML's Executive Director Allen St. Pierre

Dear NORML supporters and fellow lovers of liberty,

Happy 4/20!

While the ravages and costs of cannabis prohibition are largely defined by one's geography—these days America is a hodge-podge of varying cannabis penalties, ranging from West Hollywood California where a medical cannabis patient can access the herb 24/7 from a vending machine; in Indiana, if caught with just a little cannabis on one's person, they're getting arrested, prosecuted and likely going to jail—this '4/20' celebration in 2010, as is NORML tradition, is a combination of both the serious and silly!

There will be dozens of major 4/20 'protestivals' today from New York City to Seattle, to the expected largest one in the nation I'm speaking at in Denver Colorado. Major newspaper articles and stories on TV will abound by day's end. In fact whole television networks such as G4, Comedy Central, Spike and Current TV will devote some or all of their programming today to celebrating cannabis and, implicitly, the herb's reform.

Also today, NORML launches a new advertisement for 4/20 on Times Square's largest electronic billboard calling out New York City politicians and law enforcement for having one of the highest—and most racially disparate—cannabis arrest rates in the United States. The advertisement will run 18 times a day until late May, and will be seen by an expected 1.5 million Times Square visitors.

These protestivals and public celebrations of cannabis culture in North America is a greatly anticipated and celebratory annual event at NORML since the mid 1990s, but the serious political message of this wonderfully creative day (beyond the obvious one of 're-legalize cannabis now!') for this specific year is to direct as much NORML membership and public attention as possible to donate and support the voter initiative on the ballot in California this very November that will effectively legalize cannabis for adult use, cultivation and sales.

Going into our 40th year, NORML's staff and board of directors have made the passage of California's voter initiative to legalize cannabis the number #1 political priority for the organization.

To this end, the thousands of donations and $4.20 memberships received today by the NORML Foundation (or NORML) will be donated to TaxCannabis2010, the organization behind California's legalization ballot.

I'm personally donating $420 in support of this very important political initiative in California—the state where 1 out of 8 Americans live, the 7th largest economy in the world if it were a country and with by far the largest delegation in the US Congress—in memory of my friend, the recently passed author-activist Jack Herer, the 'Emperor of Hemp'.

TaxCannabis2010 has a goal of raising $42,000 by the end of today, with committed support from stakeholders from NORML like you and I, we can reach this unique dollar amount.

Become a member and send a special 4/20 animated e-card to a friend, family member or sweetie.

Thanks for all of your enduring support for NORML, cannabis law reform and for this important 4/20, TaxCannabis2010!

Please have a safe and hempful 4/20!

Cannabem liberemus,

Allen St. Pierre

Executive Director

Member, Board of Directors

NORML / NORML Foundation

Washington, DC

director@norml.org

(when) 7 nines collide: a rap about reggae music and other topics in the tropics

2010-04-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

(when) 7 nines collide

by rich stewart

an exclusive reggae.com excerpt:

introduction

Neville Itchwell is a record producer par excellence and rastafarian, who as a youth endured the plantocracy of the sugarcane fields. He is the focus and act I begins on a hot night, the first night after the death of a legendary reggae artist. After much reflection on the day's news, Neville drifts off and has a most interesting dream. It begins on the day of Jamaica's Independence and concludes near the end of the second millenium.

act 1

(just past midnight)

may 12, 1981

ninety-nine degrees Fahrenheit

burn the oil in the dead of the night

concrete jungle in the bloody heat

one drop rumble in the bloody street

those who languish in torn garments wail

revolutionaries croon in jail

shadows in the valley recognize

tuff gong rebel pose no compromise

(reggae beat creates a sense of shock

an inner music solid rock)

curious outsiders look on as

locksman dig on up that ghetto jazz

inspiration from the torch is passed

trumpet first might just as well be last

natty dread vibration: positive

life is one big road wake up and live

catch a fire watch the tables turn

hear the music see the fires burn

cultivation a la joseph hill

elbows rest upon one window sill

timeless flow from the sacred cup

vines of consciousness climb up and up

reggae beat creates a sense of shock

mystic vibes of cognizance unlock

natural mystic locksman turns the key

if you listen closely you will see

vestal octave bares twelve tones of flesh

rhythms tangle in a twelve tone mesh

babylon the bandit double faults

those who feel it dance a reggae waltz

one fine day you're here the next you're gone

scholars reason on and on and on

topics in the tropics getting deep

i and i drift off to get some sleep

surrealistic dreams have taken hold

a journey into dub starts to unfold

fold fold fold fold fold fold fold fold fold fold

act II

(the dream)

as we are from this time here on in

a music revelation will begin

(when) the stage of seven nines collide

a universal rhythm will preside

and so the DUB of (when) 7 nines collide begins...

Criminal Marijuana Prohibition Is A Failure

2010-04-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

By any objective standard, marijuana prohibition is an abject failure.

Nationwide, U.S. law enforcement have arrested over 20 million American citizens for marijuana offenses since 1965, yet today marijuana is more prevalent than ever before, adolescents have easier access to marijuana than ever before, the drug is on average more potent than ever before, and there is more violence associated with the illegal marijuana trade than ever before.

Over 100 million Americans nationally have used marijuana despite prohibition, and one in ten – according to current government survey data – use it regularly. The criminal prohibition of marijuana has not dissuaded anyone from using marijuana or reduced its availability; however, the strict enforcement of this policy has adversely impacted the lives and careers of millions of people who simply elected to use a substance to relax that is objectively safer than alcohol.

NORML believes that the time has come to amend criminal prohibition and replace it with a system of legalization, taxation, regulation, and education. http://www.norml.org/

The Case For Legalization/Regulation

Regulation = Controls

Controls regarding who can legally produce marijuana
Controls regarding who can legally distribute marijuana
Controls regarding who can legally consume marijuana
Controls regarding where adults can legally use marijuana and under what circumstances is such use legally permitted

Prohibition = the absence of controls – This absence of control jeopardizes rather than promotes public safety

Prohibition abdicates the control of marijuana production and distribution to criminal entrepreneurs, such as drug cartels, street gangs, drug dealers who push additional illegal substances

Prohibition provides young people with easier access to marijuana than alcohol (CASA, 2009)

Prohibition promotes the use of marijuana in inappropriate settings, such as in automobiles, in public parks, or in public restrooms.

Prohibition promotes disrespect for the law, and reinforces ethnic and generation divides between the public and law enforcement. (For example, according to a recent NORML report, an estimated 75 percent of all marijuana arrestees are under age 30; further, African Americans account for only 12 percent of marijuana users but comprise 23 percent of all possession arrests)

Go to the http://www.norml.org/ site to find out more.

Roger Steffens Invades Mexico

2010-04-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know, Roger (Ras Rojah) Steffens is the world's leading authority on the life and work of Bob Marley. For many years he has toured the world showcasing parts of his world renowned archives with fans new and old. He has long been a friend of REGGAE.com and our REGGAE crew and we look forward to sharing contributions from him here, on the main website (www.REGGAE.com) and on the new Reggae Mobile. Get the MOBILE Version REGGAE.com - text 88704 and enter getreggae.

Now, let me turn you over to Rojah and his tale of the Steffens' Mexican Invasion!

MEXICO CITY, FEB. 18-23, 2010
How to even begin to describe one of the most incredible trips of our lives? Why not the Beginning itself? It came in Calgary, Alberta last August, where we met the Mexican reggae band, Rastrillos, (the Plow, with overtones of stir-it-up radicalism), and its charismatic leader, Xopi Loti. After their well received set, Xopi asked me why I had never done my “Life of Bob Marley” presentation in Mexico. “No one invited me,” I replied. “Well,” he said, with ingratiating assurance, “I’ll organize it for you!”
Six months later, we arrived on a sparkling Thursday evening at Mexico City’s international airport. Meeting us were the two promoters with whom Xopi connected us – a beautiful Portuguese woman named Marta and her partner Guillermo (“Memo”), whose huge smiles made us feel immediately welcome.

We landed about seven p.m., through a clearing storm that colored the tumble of clouds deep orange and…green! A spectacular sight like nothing I’d ever seen before. After clearing customs quickly, we jumped into Memo’s SUV, and headed in heavy traffic into the very heart of the city, the historic Zopolo, filled with five hundred year old churches and public buildings and glorious museums. We were immediately struck by the ubiquitous police presence, one or more seemingly on every street corner, and in cars whose blue and red lights were constantly swirling, emergency or not. It definitely had the feel of a police state, but the upside was that, especially in daytime, the crowded, throbbing avenues were considered safe for everyone. (see attached picture and discover the venue that received the heaviest, most obvious police protection in the entire city!)

Our hotel, the Catedral, was just a couple of minutes from the main plaza, down grey-old narrow streets lined with bookstores and a Museum of Caricature, not to mention the adjoining ancient Aztec ruins, partitioned off by a fence of high iron gratings.
Our first dinner was in a hundred year old, very rococo traditional restaurant, with a six man band in 13th century costumes, complete with tights and poufy knickers in rich burgundy shades, singing like budding Pavarottis beneath huge paintings of Mexican grandees and a convent full of nuns feeding the poor.
Afterwards we were taken to a radio station for a 10 – 11 pm interview with a man who introduced himself as an Ethiopian-Jamaica named Keira, who devoted an hour to promoting our Saturday evening event.
At eight the next morning, Zopi and Marta picked us up and took us to a complex that housed the National Cinematheque and the Public Radio Station for a radio show, a tv taping, and two lengthy press interviews. Mid-afternoon we headed to a popular internet station with a huge Central American audience. At each stop we spoke of the contents of the show, and asked everyone to wear their Marley clothing so I could photograph them for what I hope will be a Great Wall in the reggae museum, where the 3,000 pictures we’ve taken all over the world can be displayed with the names of the locations of each printed on the bottom of each shot.
Our venue was very impressive, the 800 seat Teatro Hildalgo, facing a forest-like park filled with hundreds of vendors, part of an enormous underground economy, with a direct view of Latin America’s tallest building, the Latin America Tower. I felt if we could fill even half of the Hidalgo, I’d consider it a success. Marta said the tickets were going well, however, and not to worry.

The day of the show we returned to the Cinemateque compound to do Zopi’s radio show, “Reggaevolution,” with his posse of heavy reggae lovers. He turned over the whole two hours to me, and prompted me with some probing questions, and we had lots of laughs too. When we offered tickets in a trivia contest, the phones exploded with life. “Zopi is our Moctezuma,” said one of his friends, “He’s the jefe of Mexican Reggae, everybody knows him!” As usual in these opportunities, I played a mixture of unreleased Marley and foreign reggae discoveries, roots amalgams from New Zealand, Tuva and Hawaii among them, to much amused approval. Now, at 2:30 in the afternoon, it took us four times as long to return to the hotel, as it had taken to get to the station that same morning. We saw firsthand the mad gridlock of the city’s infamous streets. People weave in and out but never signal, and horns are a near constant aural presence.

Finally back at the hotel, we had a quick bite, then met Zopi and grabbed a cab to go to the theater. Our driver, a broad faced man named Luis, let me sit up front with him so I could take pictures. Immediately I noticed “Rastaman” decaled upon his dashboard. “Do you like reggae?” I asked. He pushed a button, an up popped that word on his radio. I reached in my bag, where I always carry some copies of an unreleased Marley dub collection, and gave him a copy of it. He reached into his pocket with a secret smile and handed me a scrap of newspaper folded over several times. I opened it and discovered a rich green bud of “Mota,” the slang word here for ganja. And all this within the first two minutes. Nice omen.
We crept slowly toward the Hildalgo, and when we arrived shortly after six, two hours before the show, and an hour before the doors were scheduled to open, the line already filled the courtyard and was spilling out onto the street. About one out of every three persons was wearing a Marley t-shirt, and once I set up my books to sell in the lobby, I ventured outside to take pictures of the folks in the Marley gear.
I was immediately surrounded by hordes of young people who all wanted autographs and a picture with me, to tell me stories of what Bob meant to them, thanking me for coming. There was an endless stream of “shake the hand that shook the hand of Bob Marley. It took me almost an hour to “work the line,” which now was stretching almost to the end of the block with people arriving in droves! The doors opened, and a new line began to buy the books and magazines I had brought along, including, sadly, the final issue of the Beat, out of business after 28 years. And of course, everyone wanted me to sign the things they bought. Within the first ten minutes everything was sold out – some $700 worth of stuff. So then I had to start signing fliers and all sorts of clothing, sometimes in existential places. Dozens of lovely young senoritas asked if they could hug me. When I looked up again, the line seemed to be 200 people long. For two hours, all I did was greet fans and still I didn’t get to everyone when it came time to start the show. Later Mary told me that as she sat mid-house behind the computer on which our show is stored, waiting for things to begin, she had to sign a bunch of autographs too.

When I walked onstage, the house was filled to the brim, with standing room only, and it seemed that virtually everyone was under 30. The tall, dark-haired Zopi served as a most compassionate emcee and translator, with an impressive capacity to remember large chunks of information as he spoke at my side between the film clips. Together we told Bob’s life story in English and Spanish. The audience’s attention was rapt and deeply respectful, enthusiastic in all the right places, and most of my jokes received ripples of laughter, putting my fear of bi-lingual presentations to rest forever (providing one has a sensitive interlocutor, such as the striking Zopi, of course).

Perhaps the biggest laugh of the night came with the Carlos Santana story, just before the final film clip, the tale of how he had returned about six years ago to Mexico City, the first time he had performed there in 18 years. A man gave him two spliffs after his show (which was presented by our promoters), and Carlos pocketed them without a second thought. Returning to the States through Houston, he was busted. When the city cops arrived to bring him to jail in the city, they turned out to Hispanics, and when they saw who was busted, and for what a pathetically tiny amount, they started cussing out the customs guys something terrible. Carlos told me a couple of days later that when the cop put the handcuffs on him, he was crying and apologizing. And when they put him in the police car and began driving, they wanted to make things a little easier for him so they turned on the radio – and on came Bob Marley…singing “I Shot the Sheriff.” I wish you could have heard the roar!

At the conclusion, the applause was prolonged, and ended in a Zopi-encouraged standing ovation. Then it was back to the lobby, and another swell of hundreds of people all wanting my attention, and it took another hour to satisfy them all. “You don’t understand,” Marta told me, “in Mexico you are a superstar.” Immodestly, I have to admit I certainly never felt anything even slightly approaching that status before this unforgettable evening. The love that was made manifest was truly overwhelming. It took me several minutes to collect myself before the show started, and I ended up leaving in a euphoric state of shock. And understood physically for the first time what it must be like for a rock star to be swallowed up whole by besieging fans, and why Elvis and Michael never went out in public. It was fun and flattering and filled with affection, but it was ultimately a little frightening too. It took me a couple of days to come back to earth, and Mary and I shake our heads when we look back on that evening and wonder how something like that could ever happen to us. But as I said on stage that night, I realized fully that this was a measure of the respect and affection that Mexico has for the Reggae King, and I’m merely a vessel to carry that spirit forward to many nations. Jah knows how this ever came to be, I was caught up in the flow, but the sense of mission is now more urgent than ever. A whole new, Hispanic, world is opening to us, and Memo and Marta are talking about arranging tours of Mexico, as well as Portugal and Spain, in the next year. The gigantic festivals that Memo produces annually draw over one million people, and he has incredible connections all over the world, so maybe it’s time for me to learn Spanish and bring the words and works of the Prophet to a part of the world I’ve never known. The whole South American continent beckons to us, and Marta could be a superb translator for Brazil. The possibilities are endless!

Nas, Damian Marley and K'naan Making Good Vibes

2010-04-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

Nas & Damian Marley Make A Surprise Appearance With K'naan At NYC's Irving Plaza

The Distant Relatives shocked the audience by joining K'naan on stage for his show at Irving Plaza last night in New York. The duo performed "As We Enter", which is the lead single from their upcoming collaborative project Nas & Damian "Jr Gong" Marley are Distant Relatives (in stores May 18).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyfZipQG6Rc

Watch the official Distant Relatives album trailer below

Go in the studio with two musical legends as they explore their common African ancestry through their music. Oliver Stone makes a surprise appearance as he joined the pair in studio to offer his insight. Additional commentary is provided by Busta Rhymes, Ethiopian Hip-Hop sensation K'Naan, & the prolific poet Saul Williams.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAgV-EIIby4

THIRD WORLD PERFORMED TO SOLD OUT CROWDS IN ST. THOMAS AND BRITISH VIRGIN ISLAND

2010-03-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

In the wake of announcing their 35th anniversary celebration tour, Third World embarked on a rigorous schedule for 2010 that has them traveling to Spain, Belgium, Poland and Australia. In typical Third World fashion, the reggae ambassadors set the tone for what fans could expect when they performed to sold-out crowds in St. Thomas and British Virgin Islands on March 26th and 27th respectively.

No strangers to the Virgin Islands, a place that is a second home to the group, the band was welcomed with open arms. And even though the band performed on the island four months earlier, media outlets requested that the band make themselves available for radio and television interviews and fans clamored to purchase tickets - a true testament of their loyal fan base.

Upon their arrival on Thursday, March 25th, the group was whisked away to 105 JAMZ, where Stephen "Cat" Coore was interviewed by radio personality Ras Reg. On Saturday, March 26th, lead singer William "Bunny Rugs" Clark took the airwaves by storm when he visited 105 JAMZ, interviewed by DJ Rashidi and 103.5FM, interviewed by DJ Eddie. Later that afternoon, Cat and Richard "Bassie" Daley interviewed with DJ Avalanche. The interview was simulcast on 105JAMZ and Kiss 101.3FM. During sound check, TV2 stopped by to interview the guys for the evening news. During the interviews, the guys spoke about the 35th Anniversary Tour, their upcoming album "Patriots", who they collaborated with on the album and what could be expected from the shows.

With the media and fans onboard, it was show time. The newly opened Jumbies was the venue for the first show. The waterfront property, which was open and airy, set the tone for the night as the group took their place on stage. Opening with their single "The Spirit Lives," a tribute to Haiti, the group proved that they still have staying power after 35 years in the business and why this monumental anniversary is cause for a celebration. Screams, cheers, round of applause and shouted sentiments fueled the energy of the band as they belted out hit singles "Reggae Ambassadors," "Committed," "Try Jah Love," "Sense of Purpose," "96 Degrees" and more. While it was hard to decipher the crowd favorites, there was no guessing that fans were having a blast.

Showing no signs of fatigue and raising the temperature to about 120 degrees in the shade, the fans were treated to a solo drum performance by drummer Tony "Ruption" Williams. His high energy, hip swinging and dread tossing rendition was thoroughly enjoyed by the female patrons. This was followed by Cat's performance of "Cello." The crowd watched in utter amazement and was clearly mesmerized. Thereafter, Third World wrapped up their set but was brought back on stage at the request of screaming fans.

On Saturday, March 27th the group repeated their performance, this time at the famous Foxy's Outback located in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands. The outdoor venue was filled with locals and tourist alike, some of who attended the previous night's performance. With the same energy, Third World drowned patrons with the uplifting and positive lyrics of their songs. Fans sang along while dancing and celebrating the music. Prior to their performance, fans got a treat as the band members hung out at the beach with locals and tourists. Gracious host and owner of One Love Bar and Grill, Seddy, delighted in the presence of the band and welcomed the crowd that gathered.

The diversity of the crowd was a testament to the fact that Third World had crossed all color and age lines over the years. The feel good music offered fans an escape that can only be experienced through the good vibrations that the group has been dedicated to for over 35 years.

Reminiscent of the lyrics to their single "Committed," if re-worded, it speaks of the love, admiration and respect that Third World has for music and their loyal fan base. So as they embark on this joyous occasion, they leave their fans with this: "I've got my life invested in you [music and fans] right now, can't turn my back on all the things we shared, everything has its value, everything has its price, all my assets I'll cash them in just for you [music and fans]. I am committed to keeping this love [music] alive, I am committed to staying in love with you [music and fans]."

To view more photos, visit www.thirdworldband.com

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

FACEBOOK

www.facebook.com/thirdworld35thanniversarytour

TWITTER

www.twitter.com/thirdworldanniv

WEBSITE

www.thirdworldband.com

CONTACT

MANAGEMENT AND BOOKINGS

Victor Lewis

VicRae Inc.

347-216-6885 347-216-6885 (U.S.A)

876-582-3970 (Jamaica)

Skype: VicRaeInc.

vicraeinc@gmail.com

MEDIA/PUBLICITY

Triple 7 Entertainment LLC

201-981-6960 201-981-6960 (U.S.A)

876-475-5841 (Jamaica)

media@triple7entllc.com

Recklessly Helping Out in LA

2010-03-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

Rekkless Says Charity Begins At Home In the shadow of the Hollywood sign, Rekkless Taylor rap duo "D" and Rekkless Says Charity Begins At Home"Jizzle" donate clothes, food, and in honor of Jizzle's AKA "Oso", teddy bears to those seemingly forgotten sleeping in the streets of downtown LA's skid row. Also involved in benefits for Haiti, the brothers hailing from a Gary Indiana Jackson size family of nine found the number of displaced people resorting to sleeping in the streets in a city known for its wealthy disturbing and unbelievable. "This is not Haiti, but you see people living in tents, sleeping bags and cardboard at night as a last resort, turned away because the available shelters are full and they have nowhere else to go. Most disturbing are the high number of disabled and women sleeping in the streets in a society known for it's wealth. We hope to bring creative solutions by attracting a spotlight to this unbelievable problem." Taylors Do Something About It: Enlist Celebrity Friends, Set to Announce Launch of Extended Solutions "Oso", Spanish for bear and "D.O" decided to play their part by giving what they can to most help those that call downtown streets of LA home. The brothers expect to announce an expansion to their initiatives by enlisting fellow entertainment celebrities that also call Los Angeles home. "D.O", and the large frame of brother " Jizzle", AKA "Oso", matched with a big heart, named teddy bear by fans, can be seen in the downtown night leaving care bears and packages for those asleep, to inspire hope in improving their current living conditions. For interviews, contact: r3kkless@yahoo.com http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=87876483&albumId=2808214

Still a Ways to Go!

2010-03-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie, 1968
ADDRESS TO THE UNITED NATIONS

Here is our opportunity and our challenge. If the nuclear powers are prepared to declare a truce, let us seize the moment to strengthen the institutions and precedures which will serve as the means for the pacific settlement of disputes among men.

Conflicts between nations will continue to arise. The real issue is whether they are to be resolved by force, or by resort to peaceful methods and procedures, administered by impartial institutions. This very Organization itself is the greatest such institution, and it is in a more powerful United Nations that we seek, and it is here that we shall find, the assurance of a peaceful future.

Were a real and effective disarmament achieved and the funds now spent in the arms race devoted to the amelioration of man's state; were we to concentrate only on the peaceful uses of nuclear knowledge, how vastly and in how short a time might we change the conditions of mankind. This should be our goal.

When we talk of the equality of man, we find, also, a challenge and an opportunity; a challenge to breathe new life into the ideals enshrined in the Charter, an opportunity to bring men closer to freedom and true equality. and thus, closer to a love of peace.

The goal of the equality of man which we seek is the antithesis of the exploitation of one people by another with which the pages of history and in particular those written of the African and Asian continents, speak at such length.

Exploitation, thus viewed, has many faces. But whatever guise it assumes, this evil is to be shunned where it does not exist and crushed where it does. It is the sacred duty of this Organization to ensure that the dream of equality is finally realized for all men to whom it is still denied, to guarantee that exploitation is not reincarnated in other forms in places whence it has already been banished.

As a free Africa has emerged dunng the past decade, a fresh attack has been launched against exploitation, wherever it still exists. And in that interaction so common to history, this in turn, has stimulated and encouraged the remaining dependent peoples to renewed efforts to throw off the yoke which has oppressed them and its claim as their birthright the twin ideals of liberty and equality. This very struggle is a struggle to establish peace, and until victory is assured, that brotherhood and understanding which nourish and give life to peace can be but partial and incomplete.

In the United States of America, the administration of President Kennedy is leading a vigorous attack to eradicate the remaining vestige of racial discrimination from this country. We know that this conflict will be won and that right will triumph. In this time of trial, these efforts should be encouraged and assisted, and we should lend our sympathy and support to the American Government today.

Last May, in Addis Ababa, I convened a meeting of Heads of African States and Governments. In three days, the thirty-two nations represented at that Conference demonstrated to the world that when the will and the determination exist, nations and peoples of diverse backgrounds can and will work together. in unity, to the achievement of common goals and the assurance of that equality and brotherhood which we desire.

On the question of racial discrimination, the Addis Ababa Conference taught, to those who will learn, this further lesson:

That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned:

That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation;

That until the colour of a man's skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes;

That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race;

That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained;

And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Afnca in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed;

Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will;

Until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven;

Until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil.

The United Nations has done much, both directly and indirectly to speed the disappearance of discrimination and oppression from the earth. Without the opportunity to focus world opinion on Afnca and Asia which this Organization provides, the goal, for many, might still lie ahead, and the struggle would have taken far longer. For this, we are truly grateful.

But more can be done. The basis of racial discrimination and colonialism has been economic, and it is with economic weapons that these evils have been and can be overcome. In pursuance of resolutions adopted at the Addis Ababa Summit Conference, African States have undertaken certain measures in the economic field which, if adopted by all member states of the United Nations, would soon reduce intransigence to reason. I ask, today, for adherence to these measures by every nation represented here which is truly devoted to the principles enunciated in the Charter.

I do not believe that Portugal and South Africa are prepared to commit economic or physical suicide if honourable and reasonable alternatives exist. I believe that such alternatives can be found. But I also know that unless peaceful solutions are devised, counsels of moderation and temperance will avail for naught; and another blow will have been dealt to this Organization which will hamper and weaken still further its usefulness in the struggle to ensure the victory of peace and liberty over the forces of strife and oppression. Here, then, is the opportunity presented to us. We must act while we can, while the occasion exists to exert those legitimate pressures available to us, lest time run out and resort be had to less happy means.

Words of Haile Selassie I

SKA ROCKSTEADY REGGAE: History of REGGAE Music Pt 3

2010-03-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

Part Two: SKA ROCKSTEADY REGGAE

Ska's large brass ensembles gave way to smaller groups and the debt to American Soul music became greater as Ska morphed into Rocksteady. Vocals came to the fore, and the tempo slowed; perhaps, as local folklore says, because the especially hot summer of 1966 led dancers to call for slower songs. Sam Cooke and Curtis Mayfield's Impressions were almost godlike in their influence. Many younger artists, like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Toots Hibbert, made their first recordings during the Ska era, but only came into their own with Rocksteady.

Rocksteady was over almost before it began, but its artistic flowering produced many great records in a compressed time span. By 1968, Rocksteady was giving way to Reggae, but pinpointing the first Reggae record is no easier than pinpointing the first Ska or Rocksteady record. Unlike its predecessors, Reggae owed little to Fats Domino, the Impressions, or any American music. It was the heartbeat of an island just seventeen degrees from the equator, and it was the sound of country come to town. "Ivan Martin," played by Jimmy Cliff in the film The Harder They Come, was. the quintessential country boy adrift in Kingston 's mean streets. "Until Reggae," said producer lee Perry, who was himself from the country, "it was all Kingston , Kingston , Kingston . Then the country people come to town and they bring the earth, the trees, the mountains. That's when Reggae music come back to the earth."

Rocksteady, like Soul music, had the commercial discipline of white pop music, but Reggae rejected that discipline, and its retrieval of the Africanness in Afro-Caribbean music went hand-inhand with the rise of Rastafari. The Burrus, who'd lived communally in Jamaica since slavery and held fast to their African roots, shared housing in the low-rent west Kingston district of Dungle with the Rastafarians, who believed that a black king would be crowned in Africa and lead the lost tribes out of Babylon . The music, the beliefs, and the dress of the Rastas influenced the sound, the spiritual agenda, and the look of Reggae.

The music played out against a disintegrating social backdrop. Jamaica had become independent from Great Britain in 1962, but, as the promise of Independence faded, Reggae became politicized and angry. By the time this set closes in 1975, the music was past making compromises with the tourist trade and long past hoping to get on American radio.

The Trojan Records collection "Dawning of a New Era" chronicles a time during the late 60's when Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae were all blending and evolving, drawing in new fans worldwide. The 2-disc set pulls together prime records from 1968-69, a period when Skinheads were still largely an underground youth movement and not a violent newspaper headline.

The great thing about this set of tracks is you don't get stuck with more copies of Desmond Dekker's hits but rather, you get rare and in demand records. Many of the tracks on this set have never been issued since their original small pressings nearly thirty-five years ago. And with artists of the caliber of Rico Rodriquez, Lloyd Charmers, The Tennors, Lester Sterling, the Ethiopians and Tommy McCook featured, this collection is a great addition to your collection if you like Ska and the Skinhead sound.

The Skinheads were a youth movement that sprang up from the working class youth in Britain. They were seasoned with some angst that came from tough neighborhoods and they choose the Ska beat and Reggae sounds coming out of the West Indies and Black neighborhoods as their own. The beat suited their aggressive and sometimes angry attitude and here are the roots of bands like The Clash and punk rock. The Skinhead interest in Reggae in particular pushed the music into the awareness of the public at large and helped many Reggae artists break into the Pop charts in England. The Skinhead Movement only lasted about four years but it was an important key to mainstream success for Reggae Music.

Much of this "history" is included in the notes for "This is Reggae Music: The Golden Era 1960-1975" - a four CD set that provides a great musical overview of the genre - the selections and sound quality are excellent through out - a vital Ras John Reggae.com Pick! From the booklet included with the four CD box set, "This Is Reggae Music: The Golden Era" (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00064LOV4?tag=sistamaureesrast&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00064LOV4&adid=1PDH24Y48547AAWJJB4H&)

An IRIE REGGAE Lifestyle

2010-03-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

REGGAE.com’s slogan for several years has been “Get a Hit of PositiVibes at REGGAE.com”. That slogan and basic theme sets the tone for what we will call the REGGAE Lifestyle. The mission is one of promoting the unity of all peoples with a message of peace and love combined with a realization that all is not right with the world but with belief in the power of Jah Spirit to lift us up and determination, all challenges can be set asunder! The words and music of Bob Marley and other REGGAE and World Music artists continue to inspire and raise people up in Spirit and consciousness. This “One Love” philosophy is central to the site as an editorial and content direction. Because this powerful Spirit has been so intertwined with REGGAE Music, the music has transcended race, creed and culture. From Jamaica to Japan and Ethiopia to all parts of Europe… anywhere you go, you can expect to hear the vital vibrations of REGGAE Music as it spreads upful and bright feelings like a warm glow from a tropical sunset. The music has come to be connected with good times and good feelings of people coming together in a celebration of life. It’s a REGGAE Lifestyle.

How did this REGGAE Lifestyle come to be? REGGAE Music was born in the concrete jungle of the Kingston, Jamaica slums at the same time that there was a dramatic explosion of creativity in Rock Music, other music and culture during the 60’s. With songs like The Wailers “Get Up Stand Up”, REGGAE Music quickly became a cornerstone of the rallying cry for a whole generation of teenagers and young adults moving toward the more humanistic, anti-racist, anti-establishment lifestyle that grew out of the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Reggae Music emerged as a major force in modern culture with films like “The Harder They Come”, the early top hits like Millie Small’s “My Boy Lollipop” and then the emergence of Bob Marley to the world stage in the early 1970’s. The generation that followed the pot smoking Woodstock Nation with urban street smart Punk Rockers found just as much for them as the previous generation had in the powerful lyrics and rhythms of a music that had grown out of the ghetto. A new generation of fans was conquered. Today REGGAE Music’s influence has penetrated every corner of the globe and Bob Marley is one of the most recognizable people ever to inhabit the planet. TIME Magazine picked Bob Marley’s EXODUS album as The Album of the 20th Century. Today as for the last thirty plus years, REGGAE Music is the soundtrack for college dorm rooms, backyard barbecues, pool parties and laid back clubs and bars from Tokyo to the tropics. It’s more than MUSIC, it’s a LIFESTYLE.

REGGAE.com and REGGAE mobile embrace the REGGAE Lifestyle and will be reflecting its many aspects from music and videos to exotic and fun travel adventures… Meet and Greet Artist Special Packages, Ras John Excursion Videos (short videos featuring clubs, beaches, hotels and music snippets from around the world – send us your photos, articles and short videos for us to feature), we’ll have an International calendar of events, lots to come and lots of fun – Everything Tropical, Upful and Bright supporting a positive, compassionate and IRIE partying world. Reggae.com is the #1 Reggae Music website averaging over 150,000 hits daily. It is your link to vital vibes, exotic destinations, cultural insight and you will always find streaming audio to give you the prefect soundtrack for vacations, parties and everyday good times. – One Love Mon!

Day-O: History of Reggae Pt. 1

2010-03-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

The following is from the booklet included with the box set, "This Is Reggae Music: The Golden Era" (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00064LOV4?tag=sistamaureesrast&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00064LOV4&adid=1PDH24Y48547AAWJJB4H&)

Nineteen-fifty-seven. The United States was in the grip of Calypsomania. and some were even going so far as. to predict that the calypso would soon eclipse Rock n’ Roll. Before it all blew over, Robert Mitchum, Maya Angelou the Norman Luboff Choir, and many others had made Calypso albums. Calypso, of course, was Trinidadian, but the two big Calypso era hits, "Banana Boat Song” and "Jamaican Farewell," were Jamaican; so Calypso was reckoned to come from Jamaica.

As the craze subsided, a Billboard magazine reporter sniffed out a free vacation and went to Kingston to see what the Jamaicans liked. To his surprise, it was rare R&B; not Calypso. "Local observers,” he wrote, "note that the local musical product is developing into a hybrid in which the strongest elements are calypso and rock & roll.” Understandably, the writer missed the pan-African underground springing up in Kingston’s slums, but ten years later pan-Africanism would merge with American R&B and Caribbean music in those same back alleys to forever change global music.
Around 1960, Ska evolved from Jamaican R&B. The Billboard article mentioned that Fats Domino was the most in demand artist on the island, so it was probably no coincidence that Ska arrived on the heels of three influential American releases: Fats Domino's "Be My Guest" (1959), Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City" (also 1959), and Rosco Gordon's "Surely I Love You" (1960). All three worked the offbeat for all it was worth. Bill Black's Combo figured somewhere in the equation, too. Black's greasy instrumental hits featured a hugely upfront four-to-the-bar beat, and sold so well in Jamaica that he toured there - to the surprise of many who found out that he was white.

It's axiomatic that there are no facts in Jamaica , only opinions, so no one knows what "Ska" means and no one agrees on what was the first Ska record. But around 1960, Jamaican drummers began hitting the second and fourth beats in unison with the piano and guitar, while the bass played walking quarter-notes. That was Ska. Local musicians called it "Upside-down R&B." It had an underground following in England, but not in the United States. One giant Ska hit, Millie's "My Boy Lollipop," rode into the charts on the back of the British Invasion, and when it exited, Ska exited along with it.

'Whatever was happening in Jamaica didn't go away when Millie hit the remainder bins. The local industry was building inexorably. The 1951 Billboard article mentioned that there was just one record press on the island (not one pressing plant, but one press) although local entrepreneur Ken Khouri claimed to have two presses running by 1954· Around 1957; Khouri built a studio, and Dada Tawari opened the Caribbean Record Company with mastering facilities. From that point, the Jamaican industry was self-sufficient, albeit geared toward faux calypso LP’s for tourists.

"Alongside the tiny manufacturing industry, there were open-air deejays known as sound systems. “A cliff face of speaker boxes, each big enough to raise a family in, powered by amplification of intercontinental capability," is the way journalist Lloyd Bradley described them. There was life-and-death competition among the system operators to source the rarest American R&B and the best technology.

The systems were essential to the dissemination of music because the island’s two radio stations, RJR (launched in 1950 as a branch of British Rediffusion) and the government's JBC (which started in 1959), played it as safe as the BBC mothership; The payoff for the sound system operators, came in prestige and drink sales. Three sound system men ruled the early Sixties: Duke Reid, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, and Prince Buster. Both Reid and Dodd began operating from family liquor stores. The idea of producing records occurred first to Reid, who cut some instrumentals at Khouri's studio circa 1957. Around the same time, Dodd realized that Jamaicans didn't like rock 'n' roll, and began recording the kind of R&B that the Americans were no longer producing. In 1958, Chris Blackwell launched R&B Records (the precursor of Island ) and future Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga launched WIRL (West Indies Records Ltd.).

From the booklet included with the four CD box set, "This Is Reggae Music: The Golden Era" (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00064LOV4?tag=sistamaureesrast&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00064LOV4&adid=1PDH24Y48547AAWJJB4H&)

A Hit of PositiVibes - A Meditation

2010-03-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

A
Daily Meditation

Lord,
make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where their is sadness, joy;

O divine
Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand,

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

It is in dying [to self] that we are born to eternal life.

Prayer
of Saint Francis of Assisi
From
Eknath Easwaran's very excellent book Meditation:
Commonsense Directions for an Uncommon Life (Nilgiri Press)...

Third World Still Going STRONG!

2010-03-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

New York, New York - March 11th: On March 2nd, 2010 Third World was nominated for an International Reggae and World Music Award (IRAWMA) in the category for Most Outstanding ShowBand/Group. This is IRAWMA's 29th staging and is produced yearly by Martin's International & Associates. "The primary objective of Martin's International & Associates is to promote reggae and world beat music as an art form and, each year, honor entertainers and others associated with world music for their contributions to the industry and to humanity internationally. IRAWMA is a vehicle of expression for the voiceless peoples of the world. More than 20 million fans viewed the 26th, 27th, and 28th IRAWMA on television."

When asked about the nomination, band member Richard "Rugs" Daley responded, "To respond by saying we are enthused would be an understatement. We have been so well received since announcing our 35th Anniversary Celebration tour and now this. It is just such an honor to be recognized. It makes doing what we do that much more rewarding." The nomination comes on the heels of the band's 35th Anniversary celebration which commenced with a performance on January 30, 2010 at Turn-Key Productions 14th staging of Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival. The band will celebrate their milestone anniversary with a tour that will take them to Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, the United States and Caribbean.

In addition, the band will release their upcoming album "Patriot" featuring artists such as Damian Marley, Stephen Marley, Dean Frazier, Junior Reid, Marcia Griffith, Tessanne Chin, Michael Rose, Taurus Riley, and Toots.

One of the longest running Reggae band - Third World is an institution that produces and performs music that is cutting edge, positive, progressive and internationally relevant. Formed in 1973, the group has released a total of 22 albums as well as solo projects from Lead Singer Bunny Rugs and Guitarist Cat Coore. This does not include their new unreleased album entitled "Patriots" which will be released in early 2010. They have received numerous awards, including an Award in 2009 from Brooklyn Academy of Music ("BAM"), the 1986 "United Nations Peace Medal," 1992 and 1996 Jamaica Music Industry Awards for Best Show Band and 10 Grammy nominations. Additionally, the group has worked and collaborated with top acts such as the Jackson Five, Bob Marley and The Wailers and Stevie Wonder.

For management and bookings, please contact Victor Lewis of VicRae Inc. by calling 347-216-6885 (USA), 876-582-3970 (Jamaica), Skype: vicraeinc or email vicraeinc@gmail.com. For media inquiries, please contact Triple 7 Entertainment LLC by calling 201-981-6960 (USA), 876-475-5841 (Jamaica) or email media@triple7entllc.com

Rough on the Surface

2009-11-24T05:14:00.000-08:00

It really hits you when you have spent a few weeks traveling and enjoying the beauty of this world to come back to ordinary reality. By ordinary reality I don't mean what is really real, just what most everyone thinks is real. Tossed and turned by the wind, waves, current and storms constantly churning at the surface of the sea.

Some people have big powerful ships that insulate them from all but the big storms. Others have less bold and brash boats but still travel in reasonable comfort and assurance of getting through the day without drownling. Saddly, a lot of people float around in small, fragile boats and all too many cling to life rafts just trying to stay afloat.

Then there are the ones not dependent on the size or power of the boat - they have become master seamen who are one with the sea and neither fight or embrace it - they just live it moment by moment anticipating the changing forces and accepting each storm as a test of skill and joyfully soak in the energy of the bright sunny days with equal involvement.

You can extend the metaphor in all directions and you will still find the parallels and maybe some insights into life at the surface of life. You are at the helm of your ship - plot a bold and life embrassing course!

The surface is only a very small part of what is here of course.

checking in

2009-11-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

Have decided to get into blogging a bit more. Who's out there?
Who's reading? Who knows. But REGGAE.com gets a few million hits a week so, maybe you jumped over to the BLOG to check it out.

The last piece was on Obama winning the election. That was a year ago. Still lots of hope but inevitably reality has set in and you realize that no matter how much people want to change, change is hard and usually slow. We live in a "want it now" world where people have forgotten that patience is a virtue.

Some things seem very clear. We need to really get going with alternative energy and stop burning oil. Coal we have got to keep away from - it's dirty and dangerous and more destructive to the environment than oil by a long shot. We should really go for bio-diesel - recycling cooking oil to fuel buses and trucks - there's a good idea. Wind, solar - every roof in sunny climates should have some solar cells and we should be able to sell electricity back to the power companies as easily as buying it.

Health Care - no brainer that we need to do something! What? That's the hard part. There are so many options and it is a huge capitalist industry - not saying that is bad in and of itself but it seems to have lost a focus on taking care of people and only is focused on profits. There has got to be some balance. Provider costs are out of control, insurance costs are out of control and legal costs are out of control. It is a vicious cycle. If we can get a health care bill that fixes some of the problems without creating too many new ones ... guess we will have to see what happens and hope for the best.

The World is always full of change and energy pushing and pulling. Just returned from a stay with friends in Maui. The pace is slower than is possible in S. Florida to say the least. There are many very pretty vistas in FL but nothing compared to the grandeur of the beauty in the Hawaiian Islands. In FL for a while but heading back to the club soon where we can make our own riddum on a quiet stream a little removed from the torrential flow of the river of humanity.

Jah Bless and Guide,
One Love, Ras John

Finally the election is over!

2008-11-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

Best part is, for the most part, things seem to have worked out very positively. Obviously there are millions of people who are not so sure. I believe that four years from now, most of them will be able to say things worked out reasonably well. It is not going to be easy though, no matter how talented a group of people President Obama surrounds himself with. And we are all going to have to make some sacrifices too. Let's start putting the fear mentality and division behind us and get the CHANGE to a brighter, more compassionate and prosperous new day going!
JB - webmaster REGGAE.com

Take the reggae ride: Album a journey through reggae, roots and ska

2007-02-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

By Lucas Peerman Pulse Editor

This CD will reinvent your idea of what you thought reggae and ska 'should' sound like by exposing you to the next evolution of creativity within the genre. All of these artists have taken ideas based on ska and reggae, and combined them with their own love of hip-hop, Latin, roots and rock music.

With the above statement, producer John-Michael Vasquez describes his latest project, "Reggaenomics 101," a compilation of 14 reggae-esque songs from artists from around the country.

Five artists featured on the album will perform at CD release parties today in El Paso, Friday in Las Cruces and Saturday in Albuquerque.

"This album is another way for these artists to spread their music. The CD release parties, really, were an excuse just for us to get together," said Vasquez, the saxophone player for local band Liquid Cheese, which will perform at the parties. Other bands performing here and in El Paso are Radio La Chusma (El Paso), Fighting Chance (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), Over the Line (Las Vegas) and Warsaw Poland Bros. (Phoenix).

Liquid Cheese, a seven-member reggae/ska/Latin band with a complete horn section, has shared a stage with each of the bands featured on "Reggaenomics 101." From Shakedown (Sacramento, Calif.) to Soapbox Paradox (East Lansing, Mich.) to B.P.M. (Montgomery, Ala.), the album isn't only a tribute to great music, but an indication of how many miles Liquid Cheese has put on its traveling school bus.

Silence isn't an option on the bus as the sound system is always in use. Many times, the music coming through is from fellow reggae bands, which ultimately was the inspiration for "Reggaenomics 101."

"(The songs) are from the CDs that we listen to on the bus. These are the songs on our iPods," Vasquez said.

Some of the songs have a guitar-laden rock feel ("Love to Get Love" from Shakedown). Some go for an old-school Marley vibe ("Robin Hood" from B.P.M.). Others incorporate a DJ for a hip-hop sound ("La Junta" from La Junta). And one band even offers an acoustic organ solo ("Enjoy" from Over The Line).

Besides a focus on the upbeat (an element of reggae/ska), "what all these songs have in common is there's no genre to put them in," Vasquez said.

The album, which took about two years to produce, does feature six New Mexico bands, including Las Cruces band No Regrets and Danny Winn and the Earthlings from Albuquerque.
"Reggaenomics 101" will be available online at iTunes and other music-downloading services, as well as 2,400 stores around the country, Vasquez said.

Bands will also take copies of the album with them on tour to sell around the country. That way, every band on the CD will get their sound out to reggae fans across the country.

"We want to put the music into people's hands who might not have heard these bands otherwise," Vasquez said.

Lucas Peerman can be reached at lpeerman@lcsun-news.com

Reggae Rebellion

2007-02-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

By Patrick S. Pemberton
ppemberton@thetribunenews.com

Selwyn Brown, left, and David Hinds have been part of Steel Pulse from the beginning. The reggae veterans will perform at The Graduate in San Luis Obispo on Monday.
When The Police added reggae rhythms to songs like “I Can’t Stand Losing You” or “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da,” chances are they were fusing a little Steel Pulse into their music.
Back in the ’70s, The Police opened for Steel Pulse, a British reggae act that curiously found its initial audience among punk rock fans.

While Steel Pulse didn’t blend punk, rock and reggae as blatantly as The Police, they clearly related to the punks.

“A common factor was that we were both against what the system was about, politically and socially,” said David Hinds, lead singer of the band since its inception in 1975.
Steel Pulse has always fought the system, whether recording songs about injustice or suing a New York City cab service for discrimination. (The class action suit is still pending, Hinds says.)
“It’s nothing contrived or anything like that,” Hinds said. “We just see the world as it is and we just sort of point out what’s going wrong.”

When the band started out, it couldn’t land gigs in the Caribbean because of its Rastafarian beliefs, so it gravitated toward punkers, touring with acts like The Clash, Generation X and XTC.
Songs like “Ku Klux Klan,” “Not King James Version” and “Taxi Driver” (inspired by their lawsuit) typify the band’s politically-charged lyrics. To add impact to their songs, the band is known for wearing costumes — like Klan robes – during their shows.

The band’s most recent album, “African Holocaust,” featured roots reggae paired with lyrics about global warming, war and race.

Hinds spoke to The Tribune about punk, Klan robes and Bob Marley from a hotel in Kansas City, Mo.
Q: How did the audiences react to reggae when you did a punk show?
A: They reacted in a positive way. The positivity sort of backfired from time to time, where they sort of more than appreciated it. They started spitting and throwing beer on the stage, which is their way of saying, “Yeah, we totally approve of what you’re doing.”
Q: The Police obviously have a reggae influence. What do you think of their reggae sound?
A: I thought reggae needed more of a contemporary kind of groove to it. It was a bit too laid-back to move forward amongst the other music in the scheme of things. I think after a couple of hits from Bob Marley and certain bands that had pace in their music, like The Police, reggae started to realize that it had to step up the beat on the tracks. The Police is one of the bands that, to me, contributed a certain energy to reggae music. And I always appreciated the lyrical content of The Police.
Q: I read somewhere that back in the Island Records days, you were pressured to become more commercial. I think there’s even one story where you guys were asked to be more like Eddy Grant.
A: That was asked of us as well when we in the middle of recording the “Earth Crisis” album. But when the album got released, the company changed its tune for a while.
Q: What did they say?
A: During that period of time Eddy Grant was in New York, getting a lot of positive publicity and write-ups, so they were getting a bit nervous about Eddy coming back to town and making things happen. We were a different band with a different approach, and we had a different image than Eddy Grant. But they weren’t aware of that because larger companies cannot see this and the actual ins and outs of the music other than looking at statistics. As you know, Eddy Grant, although he’s still producing music out there, did not have the same longevity that we had. No disrespect to Eddy — he’s an excellent musician in his own right. ... But at the end of the day, it’s perseverance, and we persevered.
Q: How did you guys have to compromise through the years?
A: We started to dilute the lyrics somewhat and also the grooves behind the lyrics. So instead of writing an album with 10 political songs, you sort of write an album with seven political songs, and then three poppy-sounding ones. You tried to match what was going on, realizing that after the death of Marley that reggae music was losing its popularity. So we started trying to get a bit of funk or R&B kind of sound into what we were doing. It backfired more than it benefited us.
Q: Some people didn’t like that?
A: Our hard-core fans weren’t too appreciative of it. We lost an audience for quite a while.
Q: Do you still dress in the Klan robes?
A: You know something, we don’t, but I’m thinking it’s about time that we do that now because I’ve been watching the news since I’ve been in the U.S. about the Klan on the rise again.
Q: Did it conjure up any feelings when you had those guys in the robes onstage?
A: The whole idea when we started that was to be thought-provocative — to be very controversial. We thought instead of just singing this s---, why don’t we act it out? We did that with so many things. I used to come on the stage dressed in a prison uniform with a ball and chain on my legs.
Q: When you think of reggae, Bob Marley is obviously at the top of the hierarchy. Is it kind of hard to get away from the shadow that he cast?
A: It’s hard, but who wants to get away from that shadow? I don’t want to get away from that shadow. Mike Tyson was always in the shadow of the greats, like Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali and all those guys, and he’s probably got an attitude about that. But when I look at the world of Bob Marley and what he stood for and the amount of people he reached with the music and how he came from the same background as I did and my parents did (his parents were Jamaican), and had a similar struggle to get his music exposed, it’s an honor to be under the shadow of Bob Marley. I like to believe we’re still catching up, so it gives me incentive to keep going.
Q: How did a British reggae band wind up performing at the White House for the 1993 inauguration festivities?
A: That’s a good question. You’re gonna have to ask the man who hosted “An Inconvenient Truth.” It was his idea, really. Al Gore was an admirer of Steel Pulse music back in the day.
Who knows — maybe if Hillary wins it, we’ll get out there again.
Reach Patrick S. Pemberton at 781-7903.

Uganda: Celebrating Bob Marley's Birthday

2007-02-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

February 11, 2007Posted to the web February 12, 2007
Kampala

THE Tuff Gong reggae theme night at Ange Noir discotheque has not only made one year, but also a mark as the biggest reggae night on the entertainment scene. Jamaica and the UK bowed down and came to Kampala last Saturday to celebrate the Tuff Gong night.
And since Bob Marley is credited to be the father of reggae music, icon of Rastafarianism, prophet and angel of life, his music took centre stage.

And what comes off better than a collection of internationally recognised reggae artistes from Jamaica and the UK playing Bob Marley's music? Aswald's Brinsley Holns passionately mastered the lyrics and vocals to the mark and when he nearly lost his voice after singing 12 songs, it was not a surprise. The biggest surprise was when an excited Jamaican reggae veteran, Matic Holns' Henry "Buttons" Tenyue, blew the trombone during the Jeckaki band session, cementing the "one love" reggae theme.

For the uninitiated, there were lessons to learn. Like what to reply when someone says "Jah!" and how to chorus "Yes Rasta!" The ladies, who turned up in the bright Rastafarian colours, red, green and yellow, were optic nutrition.

The dancehall duo of Peter Miles and Mesha were explosive. And Bebe Cool's Pan-Africanism was noticed when he performed his new song, In Prison for no reason, that echoes the trials of African great men like Nelson Mandela.

2006 Reggae Grammy Winner Ziggy Marley - Citizen of Earth

2007-02-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

Michael A Edwards - Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Grammy winner Ziggy Marley

As happy as he is about the result, Ziggy Marley is n't all that hung up on the Grammys or on awards in general.

"I try not to get excited or put too much emphasis on the whole award ting," he said, speaking by phone to the Observer in the wake of his announcement as the winner of what for many is still music's cherished recognition.

"If people ask, is Love Is My Religion that win the Grammy. This give me another platform to get the message out, that's what is most important" he said, in reference to the title of the album and the lead-off single, a modest hit. And what exactly is the message?

"I'm really trying to make an evolution within the song, within the music to try to get us to being better people. If you really check it, the concept of God was never meant to divide people. Its really been about love from the beginning, that is what I read in the Bible and what Yeshua teach - love one another."

As even the Grammy winner will acknowledge, love another is a hard sell in an era increasingly fraught with conflicts motivated by divergent religious beliefs. "Yeah," he says. "It a get worse."
Initially hesitant, Ziggy offers this perspective on why inter-faith conflicts now seems intractable. "Well is generation after generation keep educating their children the wrong way, everybody pushing their own political view of the thing under the guise of religion and keep people divided. It jus keep the passin' on from one to the next, and each generation it get worse."

There are, of course, other things to reflect on, and one of the album's other interesting tunes, On A Beach In Hawaii, (writtenon an actual visit to the Pacific island group some years ago), provides a neat vehicle for introspection. Against a somewhat plaintively strummed guitar, he manages to pull past, present and future together, reflecting on what it means to be a Marley and the inherent tension that poses vis-a-viz the search for a personal identity. "Is really a love song," he says, in an almost self-deprecatory manner, " but it have a whole heap a different layers to it."

Ziggy Marley confides that such distance from his native land is not merely welcome but occasionally necessary. "Even though I born in Jamaica, and I love Jamaica, still, it's good to experience Earth, because that's the one thing we all have in common, we are from Earth. So, as a human being and as an artiste, it's part of my journey and my development."
The journey takes him next to China, virgin territory in more than one respect. "It's my first trip. I know the people and I know about the culture, but this is my first time actually going there and that's the thing that really excite me - being able to get dis message to a lot of different people."

And a timely trip it is, as only recently Universal Music China (As reported in the Sunday Observer, February 11), is making a significant promotional push behind a Chinese-language verison of Legend, the disc that cemented his father's standing as a global icon, though the same reports have it that the name Bob Marley has little cachet-as yet-among the average Chinese.
It is, however, recognised by Grammy voters. This win marks the third time in five years that a Marley scion has taken the Reggae Grammy, and with brother Stephen's solo debut, Mind Control, now on the streets, there could well be a repeat next year. Dynasty? As he said, Ziggy's not too hung up on awards, but the win does beg the question, "Does he believe that the panel chose his album based on his lineage?

"Listen to the music," he answers, " and then you can judge for yourself."

And the 2007 Winner is ZIGGY MARLEY – Love is My Religion.

2007-02-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

Reggae Grammy Winners - Best Reggae Album Grammy

Reggae Grammy Nominees for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards
A diverse selection of artists were nominated for the music industry's most highly coveted award. A 3 time award winner (nominated as a solo artist for the first time), a controversial artist allegedly black-listed from the industry, a Hasidic Jew, a British reggae band gainfully employed as one of reggae most successful groups named afer an unemployment form and a pair of twins (riddim twins that is) were selected by the National Academy of Recording Sciences (NARAS) as nominees for the Best Reggae Album (Vocal or Instrumental) award. The Awards show airs Feb. 11th, 2007.

The illusive Soca Grammy didn't make it into the categories for 2007 however Haitian superstar Wyclef Jean and Latina diva Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" were nominated for the "Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals" award. Busta Ryhmes an American-born rapper of Jamaican heritage is nominated for the "Best Rap Solo Performance" category.

The 2007 Nominees were:
o Too Bad - Buju Banton [Gargamel Music, Inc.]
o Love Is My Religion - Ziggy Marley [Tuff Gong Worldwide] - WINNER
o Youth - Matisyahu [Epic/Or/JDub]
o Rhythm Doubles - Sly & Robbie [Taxi Records]
o Who You Fighting For - UB40 [Rhino Entertainment]

Past Winners
Year Artist - Album
2005 Damian Marley (2 Awards)
*also won "Best Urban/Alternative Performance" Welcome To Jamrock

2004 Toots and The Maytals - True Love
2003 Sean Paul - Dutty Rock
2002 Lee "Scratch" Perry - Jamaican E.T.
2001 Damian Marley - Halfway Tree
2000 Beenie Man - Art And Life
1999 Burning Spear - Calling Rastafari
1998 Sly And Robbie - Friends
1997 Ziggy Marley And The Melody Makers - Fallen Is Babylon
1996 Bunny Wailer - A Tribute To Bob Marley's 50th Anniversary
1995 Shaggy - Boombastic
1994 Bunny Wailer - Crucial! Roots Classics
1993 Inner Circle - Bad Boys
1992 Shabba Ranks - X-tra Naked
1991 Shabba Ranks - As Raw As Ever
1990 Bunny Wailer - A Tribute To Bob Marley
1989 Ziggy Marley And The Melody Makers - One Bright Day
1988 Ziggy Marley And The Melody Makers - Conscious Party
1987 Peter Tosh - No Nuclear War
1986 Steel Pulse - Babylon The Bandit
1985 Jimmy Cliff - Cliff Hanger
1984 Black Uhuru - Anthem

Hawaiian Music Star, Maker of Hybrid Hits, Seeks a Bigger Stage Beyond Waikiki

2007-02-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

February 7, 2007

By NATE CHINEN
HONOLULU — Henry Kapono spends most Sunday afternoons here, on the beachfront patio of Duke’s Waikiki restaurant at the Outrigger Waikiki hotel. His standing engagement has become something of an island institution over the years. It’s a bar gig, maybe not what you might expect from a Hawaiian music veteran of Mr. Kapono’s stature. But he throws himself into it nonetheless, routinely playing for two hours without a break, to stoke the fires of a dancing-and-drinking crowd.

During one recent show a catamaran bobbed in the surf behind Mr. Kapono as he segued from “I Can See Clearly Now,” the reggae war horse by Johnny Nash, to “Every Day in the Islands,” one of his own hybrid Jawaiian (a mixture of Jamaican and Hawaiian) tunes. His four-piece band was crisp. The festive scene was typical, and true to the image Mr. Kapono paints in a song called “Duke’s on Sunday,” which Jimmy Buffett borrowed as a closer for his last album.

But you won’t find Mr. Kapono at Duke’s on Feb. 11, because he’ll be in Los Angeles for the 49th Grammy Awards. He is among the nominees for best Hawaiian music album, for “The Wild Hawaiian” (Eclectic), which somehow represents both the most traditional and the most radical work of his career. Whether you regard him as a front-runner or as a long shot depends partly on your definition of Hawaiian music, a controversial issue ever since the category was established a few years ago.

“The Wild Hawaiian” is a Hawaiian rock album. More specifically, it’s an album of songs in the Hawaiian language, against a whiplash of percussion and distorted guitars. At times, its sound suggests Jimi Hendrix or Carlos Santana, artists Mr. Kapono often covers at his Sunday gig. Lyrically, it reaches further back: in some cases, to venerable Hawaiian chants. Not surprisingly, its release last year caused a bit of a stir.

“The Hawaiians were taken aback when they first heard it,” said Alaka’i Paleka, the program director and morning host of KPOA (93.5 FM), a Maui radio station that has three tracks from the album in rotation. “It was rocking some songs that weren’t rocked before. The response — it was shock.” Using the Hawaiian term for elder, she continued, “Some of the kupunas were not happy with the style.”

Over lunch at Duke’s with his wife and manager, Lezlee Ka’aihue, and their 6-month-old twins, Mr. Kapono, 58, described the album in less controversial terms: as a cultural outreach and the result of personal introspection.

“My mom and dad spoke fluent Hawaiian; they were both pure Hawaiians,” he said, recalling his upbringing as Henry Ka’aihue. (Kapono is his middle name.) “But they would never speak it to us. When they were growing up, they were forbidden to speak the language, and punished for it. So they never taught us the language. That was the case for my generation.”

Mr. Kapono is a product of the 1960s, though it was in the ’70s that his career took flight, when he teamed up with Cecilio Rodriguez, a fellow guitarist and singer. As Cecilio and Kapono, the duo made a string of breezy acoustic pop albums that resonated deeply at home and beyond, though perhaps not as well nationally as Columbia Records would have liked. (“They didn’t know what to do with C & K,” Mr. Kapono said of the label. “We were two brown-skinned guys with long hair singing contemporary music.”)

Cecilio and Kapono were Hawaii’s answer to Simon and Garfunkel, though it’s important to note that they too sang in English. Many of the duo’s best-loved songs — originals like “Friends” and “Sailing,” as well as covers like “All in Love Is Fair,” by Stevie Wonder — qualify as Hawaiian music only on a technicality. But for several generations of listeners, those songs embody the sound of Hawaii, at least in part.

After the breakup of C & K in the early 1980s, Mr. Kapono embarked on a successful solo career. About a decade ago he set out to make his first Hawaiian-language album, using traditional instrumentation. “I did a recording,” he said, “and when I listened back, it was missing something. It just didn’t have that power.”

He shelved the idea to focus on other projects, including Kapono’s, a restaurant and club that opened in 2001 and closed early last year. Along the way, he began playing the electric guitar for the first time since high school, and something clicked.

Motivated by the desire to carry Hawaiian culture to a new generation, Mr. Kapono conceived of “The Wild Hawaiian.” The risk of being misunderstood was clear.

“This is something so new and so different that if there’s any repercussions, the only guy they’re going to point to is me,” he said. “So I put a lot of thought into doing this. I’m real proud of it. It’s made me really learn more about myself as a Hawaiian and as a human being.”

Asked to elaborate, he pointed to lessons inherent in the songs: “Na Ali’i,” the chant that opens the album, preaches respect, while “He’eia,” another chant, conveys passion. The rest of the songs have given attributes, right up through “Ke Aloha O Ka Haku,” a song of prayerful forbearance that Queen Lili’uokalani composed in 1895 while she was imprisoned at Iolani Palace after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.

“Once I got to that point,” Mr. Kapono said, “I realized that this whole album is about moving forward.”

Of course moving forward means different things to different people, Grammy voters included. When the Hawaiian music category was introduced in 2005, after more than a decade of intense lobbying by local factions, the nominee list included legends like the Brothers Cazimero and Keali’i Reichel, both perennial favorites at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, Hawaii’s version of the Grammys.

But the 2005 Grammy went to “Slack Key Guitar Volume 2” (Palm), a compilation devoted to the acoustic style with nonstandard guitar tuning that originated in the islands. It was a safe, bland choice, and it set a precedent. In 2006 four of the five nominees were slack key albums; this year three such albums are in the running, along with “The Wild Hawaiian” and a strong traditional offering by the singer Amy Hanaiali’i.

If Mr. Kapono wins, it will signal a reconsideration of what constitutes authenticity in Hawaiian music. Not because he plugged in — the electric guitar has its origins in Hawaiian music, after all — but because he cross-pollinated cultures with such panache.

The album has been noticed for that very reason, just as Mr. Kapono had hoped. On Saturday, before he heads to Los Angeles, he is scheduled to perform “Na Ali’i” on the Pro Bowl halftime show, which has been given the theme of “Wild Hawaii.” The production will include pyrotechnics, about 200 hula dancers and more than 750 contemporary dancers. (Cheyenne, the namesake star of an MTV reality show, will also perform.)

“I know what it is,” Mr. Kapono said of his Hawaiian heritage. “I know how rich it is, I know how beautiful it is. So that’s what I want to take forward. And the generations to come, I want them to take that forward. I want them to dream. I want them to have hopes. That’s how we build a foundation for new things.”

From the Underworld of Jamaica to the London Stage

2007-02-08T05:53:00.000-08:00

By MICHAEL BRUNTON for TIME Magazine

It was a tough ticket the night the film The Harder They Come premiered at the Carib Theater in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1972. A crowd of some 10,000 turned up and a near-riot ensued. Like all those who got in, the island's Prime Minister and his wife were jammed two or more to a seat, while instead of a red carpet entrance, director Perry Henzell's wife, Sally, had to be bodily lifted in over the heads of the crowd. Just 6 at the time, Henzell's daughter Justine wasn't allowed to attend, even though some of her earliest memories are of being on set while her father shot the film that was to become a milestone of Jamaican culture and one of cinema's most unlikely survival stories. Thirty-five years on, Justine Henzell, in London this week for the opening night of a musical version of The Harder They Come at the Theatre Royal, remembers what the fuss was all about. "Jamaicans had never seen themselves on the big screen before," she says. "In those days we hardly ever saw ourselves on TV or commercials, let alone in a feature film."

Beyond Jamaica, audiences were less excitable when the film opened. What, after all, were they to make of a radical slice of experimental cinema verite shot by an unknown director in Super 16 mm, about a Jamaican boy who leaves the idyllic poverty of the countryside for the squalid poverty of Kingston to follow his dream of becoming a recording star, only to die in a hail of bullets on the beach? Although Henzell's film was a sharp critique on the closed, cutthroat circle of corruption between the island's music industry, police, and drug dealers, what eventually made the rest of the world take note was the film's blistering soundtrack, which was a breakthrough moment for reggae music. As well as the songs like "Many Rivers To Cross" and "You Can Get It If You Really Want" that were written and sung by young singer Jimmy Cliff, (who also played the lead character, Ivan), the soundtrack showcased Toots and the Maytals' "Pressure Drop," Desmond Dekker's "Israelites," the Melodians' "Rivers of Babylon." Before the world knew or cared about Bob Marley, here was reggae's defining mix of roots rhythms and social consciousness. For the decade before Marley's best-of album Legend in 1984, The Harder They Come was nothing less than the world's best-selling reggae album.

The success of the soundtrack helped sustain Henzell's film at the box office, where it has remained a cult staple of festivals and late-night college specials ever since. But after he struggled through the 70s to finance and shoot a still more experimental follow-up, No Place Like Home, the director's career stalled completely when the negatives went missing in a New Jersey warehouse. "It broke his heart when he lost that footage," says his daughter Justine. "He'd put all his time energy and money into it and then it was gone." So Henzell gave up on filmmaking and started writing books, which, like 1982's The Power Game, proved to be just as distinctive, well-reviewed and as un-lucrative as his movie career. A few years ago, the missing film was discovered in New York City and in 2006, Henzell finally licked No Place Like Home into shape and got it shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. In a poignant coda, the film had its Jamaican premiere on Dec. 1 — the day after Henzell, 70, died of cancer.

Over the years, Henzell had received various offers to stage The Harder They Come. "But he turned them all down," says Justine, "because they meant having to relinquish creative control — something Perry found very hard to do." But when Kerry Michael and Dawn Reid, directors of Stratford's Theatre Royal, on a trip to Jamaica four or five years ago, knocked on his door, they were only too pleased to have his creative input. So the musical version of The Harder They Come, as adapted by Perry Henzell and directed by Kerry Michael and Dawn Reid, opened last March at Stratford's 460-seat Theatre Royal, a plush Victorian-era playhouse with a modern mission to foster black and community productions. Against expectations, the musical's short-run became a word-of-mouth success and broke all their box office records, so now the show is being restaged there as a tribute to the late director but also with an eye on making the journey from the East End of London to the West End stage — a delicious and not so unlikely prospect for a theatreland that is high as a kite right now on musicals and nostalgia.

To get there, the production has sidestepped all the problems of making the music carry the plot by keeping the 17-strong cast and band onstage throughout. Between them, in thickest Jamaican patois and the merest whiff of ganja smoke, they summon the saucy spirit of the Kingston dancehall one minute, the legend of the outlaw the next. Best of all they rip through glorious renditions of hit after hit. Make room, Mamma Mia! For as sure as the sun will shine, The Harder They Come is gonna get its share.

Link to TIME: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1586884,00.html

Bob Marley's Sons to Hold JA Peace Concert

2007-01-31T06:52:00.000-08:00

Bob Marley JA Peace Concert
Associated Press
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Four sons of Bob Marley will hold a concert promoting peace to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the musician's birth, a family spokesman said yesterday.

The Feb. 10 concert, called "Smile Jamaica," will be held in the reggae superstar's birthplace of Nine Miles, in St. Ann parish, spokesman Jerome Hamilton said.

The concert shares the name of a 1976 show staged by the government of former socialist Prime Minister Michael Manley to promote harmony among politically aligned gangs, and will feature Stephen Marley and his brothers Ky-Mani, Damian and Julian, Hamilton said.

"They are trying to push a message of peace although it won't be as hard-core as when Bob did it," he said.

Hamilton said Los Angeles-based Ziggy Marley, the most famous of the musician's children, was not able to attend and rarely visits Jamaica.

Ziggy Marley won four Grammys with the Melody Makers, a band that included brother Stephen and sisters Sharon and Cedella until they disbanded in 1999.

Marley's children and Rita Marley, the singer's widow, perform across the globe. Rita, who often accompanied her husband's band with her soul trio, the I-Threes, is expected to attend the St. Ann parish concert.

The February date coincides with Bob Marley Week, a celebration of the singer's birth on Feb. 6, 1945, and falls within the height of Jamaica's tourism season.

Marley rose from the gritty shantytowns of Kingston to global stardom in the 1970s with hits "No Woman, No Cry" and "I Shot the Sheriff." His lyrics promoting "one love" and social revolution made him an icon in developing countries worldwide. A devout Rastafarian, Marley died of cancer in Miami in 1981 at age 36.

Since his death, the music world and Rastafarian community have celebrated the birthday anniversary of the musician, whom some even consider a prophet.

Director of the reggae classic 'The Harder They Come' moves on to new adventures

2006-12-03T09:13:00.000-08:00

Perry HenzellDirector of the reggae classic 'The Harder They Come', Jamaica's first home-grown feature film...
Perry Henzell, film director and writer: born Port Maria, Jamaica 7 March 1936; married 1965 Sally Densham (one son, two daughters); died Treasure Beach, Jamaica 30 November 2006.

The Harder They Come (1972) is a rough-hewn classic, the first and still the best home-grown Jamaican feature film. It is based on the life of Ivan Rhyging, a self-styled ghetto Robin Hood who died in a shoot-out with police in 1948, but the film's director, Perry Henzell, added an extra element by turning the gunman into an innocent country youth desperate to succeed in the cut-throat Kingston reggae world.

In Ivan, played by the local singer Jimmy Cliff, Henzell created a Jamaican rebel archetype; inspired by such an image, the Island Records boss Chris Blackwell - who had part-financed the movie - seized upon it in promoting his new signing, Bob Marley. In some ways the groundwork for Marley's eventual success was laid by the film having one of the best soundtrack albums ever released, an indispensible accompaniment to chic dinner parties of the early 1970s, introducing Jamaican music to the white album market; Henzell had personally chosen the record's reggae gems.

In making The Harder They Come, Henzell was influenced by such essays in realism as Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers. "But I felt most realism was boring, very serious," he said. "I wanted to make realism lighter. I also realised I couldn't possibly write dialogue that was as good as what I heard people saying all around me. I was interested in capturing that poetry. That's sort of a cinéma vérité technique.

The Harder They Come, said the director, was "two movies really: on one hand, it was for people who were well-educated and who wanted a glimpse into another side of life. But in the Caribbean and Africa and Brazil, it would be for the poor, for people living in slums. The impact of The Harder They Come on Jamaica was enormous.

When the film was first shown in Kingston in 1972, it provoked riots by people unable to get into the sold-out Carib cinema.

But it was a different story when it opened later that year in London. "It was a difficult sell," said Henzell.

The first night the cinema was empty. Not one critic had gone down there to review it. I had to print up thousands of flyers and literally stand outside the underground station in Brixton and hand them out. That turned the tide. The film took off. Time and time again, everywhere, the film would just have died without a lot of hard work.

After a similar push in the United States, The Harder They Come ran as a midnight movie in Cambridge, Massachussetts, for seven years.

The film's enduring themes have stood the test of time. Earlier this year, a critically acclaimed stage musical of The Harder They Come, produced by Henzell, became the longest-running show ever at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. Henzell missed most of this triumph, needing to travel to New York for treatment following a worsening of the cancer from which he had been suffering since 2000.

Henzell was a man who exuded an almost supernatural calm; he was always effortlessly congenial company, with a permanent twinkle of humour in his enquiring eyes. Both his parents were of old Caribbean stock, his father managing a sugar estate on the Jamaican north coast, where his only son and three daughters were born. After attending Shrewsbury School and McGill University in Montreal, Perry Henzell became a floor manager for BBC television in London.

In 1959, learning that television was about to start up in Jamaica, he returned to the island. There he set up Vista Productions, which over the next decade made hundreds of commercials, honing his directing skills. English commercials directors like Ridley Scott would use Vista's facilities.

By 1969 Henzell was ready to begin filming his first feature. Funded by relatives, as well as by Chris Blackwell, The Harder They Come was not finally completed until 1972, shot at weekends or in one or two-week bursts. During those three years cast members died, and were replaced by lookalikes, a method also employed when Jimmy Cliff was unavailable for a reshoot of the pivotal knife-fight scene.

Despite the film's success, Henzell made little money from it. His next feature, No Place Like Home, was intended to remedy that. But this story of an American film crew who travel to Jamaica to shoot an advertisement, and the subsequent love affair that develops, a conscious effort to present a different side of Jamaica from his first film, landed Henzell in an even more parlous state. Although the tale was probably apocryphal that he left the film's completed print in a New York taxi after consuming rather too much of the "herb" of which he could be fond, it added immeasurably to the director's mystique. (His own explanation was that a Manhattan storage facility had misplaced the reels.) Whatever, No Place Like Home remained unfinished.

Virtually bankrupt, Henzell retreated from the film business, to I-topia, his Jamaican country retreat. Working at night by oil-lamp - I-topia only recently acquired electricity - Perry Henzell wrote The Power Game, a dystopian vision of an unnamed Caribbean island (it was clear that it was Jamaica). Published in 1982, it is as riveting to read as The Harder They Come is to watch. More recently he wrote Cane, a novel about the 18th-century Jamaican sugar-trade, dividing his time between I-topia and Jake's, the award-winning boutique hotel established by his wife Sally in Treasure Beach on the south coast.

In 1988, with assistance from Toots and the Maytals, Henzell wrote a musical about the life of Marcus Garvey, the prophet of black consciousness; the show enjoyed a run in Kingston. Some 10 years ago, he attempted to make a sequel to The Harder They Come, arguing that the Ivan character had not been killed but only badly wounded in the gunfight that ends the original film. But when Jimmy Cliff turned out to have a similar idea and a competing script of his own, the plan foundered. Efforts to make a television series, Star Reporter, about a Jamaican journalist, were also scuppered.

Yet around the same time as Henzell's cancer was first diagnosed, a forgotten print of No Place Like Home turned up in New York - one of the actors turned out to be a young Grace Jones. As well as readying the musical of The Harder They Come, Henzell found funding to finish his second film.

The Jamaican premiere of No Place Like Home was held last night, the day after his death.

Chris Salewicz

Perry Henzell, film director and writer: born Port Maria, Jamaica 7 March 1936; married 1965 Sally Densham (one son, two daughters); died Treasure Beach, Jamaica 30 November 2006.

The Harder They Come (1972) is a rough-hewn classic, the first and still the best home-grown Jamaican feature film. It is based on the life of Ivan Rhyging, a self-styled ghetto Robin Hood who died in a shoot-out with police in 1948, but the film's director, Perry Henzell, added an extra element by turning the gunman into an innocent country youth desperate to succeed in the cut-throat Kingston reggae world.

In Ivan, played by the local singer Jimmy Cliff, Henzell created a Jamaican rebel archetype; inspired by such an image, the Island Records boss Chris Blackwell - who had part-financed the movie - seized upon it in promoting his new signing, Bob Marley. In some ways the groundwork for Marley's eventual success was laid by the film having one of the best soundtrack albums ever released, an indispensible accompaniment to chic dinner parties of the early 1970s, introducing Jamaican music to the white album market; Henzell had personally chosen the record's reggae gems.

In making The Harder They Come, Henzell was influenced by such essays in realism as Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers. "But I felt most realism was boring, very serious," he said. "I wanted to make realism lighter. I also realised I couldn't possibly write dialogue that was as good as what I heard people saying all around me. I was interested in capturing that poetry. That's sort of a cinéma vérité technique.

The Harder They Come, said the director, was "two movies really: on one hand, it was for people who were well-educated and who wanted a glimpse into another side of life. But in the Caribbean and Africa and Brazil, it would be for the poor, for people living in slums. The impact of The Harder They Come on Jamaica was enormous.

When the film was first shown in Kingston in 1972, it provoked riots by people unable to get into the sold-out Carib cinema.

But it was a different story when it opened later that year in London. "It was a difficult sell," said Henzell.

The first night the cinema was empty. Not one critic had gone down there to review it. I had to print up thousands of flyers and literally stand outside the underground station in Brixton and hand them out. That turned the tide. The film took off. Time and time again, everywhere, the film would just have died without a lot of hard work.

After a similar push in the United States, The Harder They Come ran as a midnight movie in Cambridge, Massachussetts, for seven years.

The film's enduring themes have stood the test of time. Earlier this year, a critically acclaimed stage musical of The Harder They Come, produced by Henzell, became the longest-running show ever at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. Henzell missed most of this triumph, needing to travel to New York for treatment following a worsening of the cancer from which he had been suffering since 2000.

Henzell was a man who exuded an almost supernatural calm; he was always effortlessly congenial company, with a permanent twinkle of humour in his enquiring eyes. Both his parents were of old Caribbean stock, his father managing a sugar estate on the Jamaican north coast, where his only son and three daughters were born. After attending Shrewsbury School and McGill University in Montreal, Perry Henzell became a floor manager for BBC television in London.

ALL SEAFOOD WILL RUN OUT BY 2050, SAY SCIENTISTS...

2006-11-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

Overfishing May Harm Seafood Population
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

WASHINGTON (AP) - Clambakes, crabcakes, swordfish steaks and even humble fish sticks could be little more than a fond memory in a few decades. If current trends of overfishing and pollution continue, the populations of just about all seafood face collapse by 2048, a team of ecologists and economists warns in a report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

"Whether we looked at tide pools or studies over the entire world's ocean, we saw the same picture emerging. In losing species we lose the productivity and stability of entire ecosystems," said the lead author Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"I was shocked and disturbed by how consistent these trends are - beyond anything we suspected," Worm said.

While the study focused on the oceans, concerns have been expressed by ecologists about threats to fish in the Great Lakes and other lakes, rivers and freshwaters, too.

Worm and an international team spent four years analyzing 32 controlled experiments, other studies from 48 marine protected areas and global catch data from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's database of all fish and invertebrates worldwide from 1950 to 2003.

The scientists also looked at a 1,000-year time series for 12 coastal regions, drawing on data from archives, fishery records, sediment cores and archaeological data.

"At this point 29 percent of fish and seafood species have collapsed - that is, their catch has declined by 90 percent. It is a very clear trend, and it is accelerating," Worm said. "If the long-term trend continues, all fish and seafood species are projected to collapse within my lifetime - by 2048."

"It looks grim and the projection of the trend into the future looks even grimmer," he said. "But it's not too late to turn this around. It can be done, but it must be done soon. We need a shift from single species management to ecosystem management. It just requires a big chunk of political will to do it."

The researchers called for new marine reserves, better management to prevent overfishing and tighter controls on pollution.

In the 48 areas worldwide that have been protected to improve marine biodiversity, they found, "diversity of species recovered dramatically, and with it the ecosystem's productivity and stability."

While seafood forms a crucial concern in their study, the researchers were analyzing overall biodiversity of the oceans. The more species in the oceans, the better each can handle exploitation.

"Even bugs and weeds make clear, measurable contributions to ecosystems," said co-author J. Emmett Duffy of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences.

The National Fisheries Institute, a trade association for the seafood industry, does not share the researchers alarm.

"Fish stocks naturally fluctuate in population," the institute said in a statement. "By developing new technologies that capture target species more efficiently and result in less impact on other species or the environment, we are helping to ensure our industry does not adversely affect surrounding ecosystems or damage native species.

Seafood has become a growing part of Americans' diet in recent years. Consumption totaled 16.6 pounds per person in 2004, the most recent data available, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That compares with 15.2 pounds in 2000.

Joshua Reichert, head of the private Pew Charitable Trusts' environment program, pointed out that worldwide fishing provides $80 billion in revenue and 200 million people depend on it for their livelihoods. For more than 1 billion people, many of whom are poor, fish is their main source of protein, he said.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation's National Center for Ecological Synthesis and Analysis.

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Associated Press Writer John Heilprin contributed to this report.

Marijuana may help stave off Alzheimer’s

2006-10-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

Active ingredient in pot may help preserve brain function

Updated: MSNBC - 4:31 p.m. ET Oct 5, 2006

WASHINGTON - Good news for aging hippies: smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer’s disease.

New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana’s active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.

THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer’s patients, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

The researchers said their discovery could lead to more effective drug treatment for Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of dementia among the elderly.

Those afflicted with Alzheimer’s suffer from memory loss, impaired decision-making, and diminished language and movement skills. The ultimate cause of the disease is unknown, though it is believed to be hereditary.

Marijuana is used to relieve glaucoma and can help reduce side effects from cancer and AIDS treatment.

Prince Charles, Government of Jamaica to Fund Trench Town Housing

2006-10-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

published: Daily Gleaner - Monday | October 2, 2006

The Prince of Wales, in partnership with the Government of Jamaica, is set to unveil a massive housing development plan for Trench Town, a British newspaper reported yesterday.

According to the Sunday Times, Prince Charles through his architectural charity, The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, has drawn up plans to redevelop the community by replacing concrete high-rise buildings with traditional lime-washed single-storey houses surrounded by palm trees.

According to the foundation's website, this charity was established to teach and demonstrate in practice those principles of traditional urban design and architecture which put people and the communities of which they are a part, at the centre of the design process.

The report said 3,000 people are to benefit from the redevelopment. The plans are to be unveiled by his representatives here this month.

Construction of the first street could begin as soon as December. The foundation, according to the report, will fund a row of 20 homes, at a cost of £250,000 or approximately J$30.2 million. The Government is expected to provide an initial £2.5 million or J$307.5 million to fund the entire project.

Development is set to take place near reggae icon Bob Marley's old home, Culture Yard, in the community.

The Gleaner made efforts to contact Member of Parliament for the community, Dr. Omar Davies, and the Minister of Information and Development, Colin Campbell, for further details on the project, but was unsuccessful.

This is the second such project geared at redeveloping the often-neglected Kingston community. Residents are currently benefiting from the National Housing Trust's Inner-city Housing Project. Recently, 252 units were handed over to residents of the community by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

Several of Jamaica's reggae superstars, including the legendary Marley, grew up in Trench Town. The community, however, has been plagued by political and gang violence, poverty and high levels of unemployment for several years.

Construction of the first street could begin as soon as December. The foundation, according to the report, will fund a row of 20 homes, at a cost of £250,000 or approximately J$30.20 million.

Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terror Threat

2006-09-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

September 24, 2006
Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terror Threat
By MARK MAZZETTI

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 — A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks.

The classified National Intelligence Estimate attributes a more direct role to the Iraq war in fueling radicalism than that presented either in recent White House documents or in a report released Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee, according to several officials in Washington involved in preparing the assessment or who have read the final document.

The intelligence estimate, completed in April, is the first formal appraisal of global terrorism by United States intelligence agencies since the Iraq war began, and represents a consensus view of the 16 disparate spy services inside government. Titled “Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States,’’ it asserts that Islamic radicalism, rather than being in retreat, has metastasized and spread across the globe.

An opening section of the report, “Indicators of the Spread of the Global Jihadist Movement,” cites the Iraq war as a reason for the diffusion of jihad ideology.

The report “says that the Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse,” said one American intelligence official.

More than a dozen United States government officials and outside experts were interviewed for this article, and all spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a classified intelligence document. The officials included employees of several government agencies, and both supporters and critics of the Bush administration. All of those interviewed had either seen the final version of the document or participated in the creation of earlier drafts. These officials discussed some of the document’s general conclusions but not details, which remain highly classified.

Officials with knowledge of the intelligence estimate said it avoided specific judgments about the likelihood that terrorists would once again strike on United States soil. The relationship between the Iraq war and terrorism, and the question of whether the United States is safer, have been subjects of persistent debate since the war began in 2003.

National Intelligence Estimates are the most authoritative documents that the intelligence community produces on a specific national security issue, and are approved by John D. Negroponte, director of national intelligence. Their conclusions are based on analysis of raw intelligence collected by all of the spy agencies.

Analysts began working on the estimate in 2004, but it was not finalized until this year. Part of the reason was that some government officials were unhappy with the structure and focus of earlier versions of the document, according to officials involved in the discussion.

Previous drafts described actions by the United States government that were determined to have stoked the jihad movement, like the indefinite detention of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay and the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, and some policy makers argued that the intelligence estimate should be more focused on specific steps to mitigate the terror threat. It is unclear whether the final draft of the intelligence estimate criticizes individual policies of the United States, but intelligence officials involved in preparing the document said its conclusions were not softened or massaged for political purposes.

Frederick Jones, a White House spokesman, said the White House “played no role in drafting or reviewing the judgments expressed in the National Intelligence Estimate on terrorism.” The estimate’s judgments confirm some predictions of a National Intelligence Council report completed in January 2003, two months before the Iraq invasion. That report stated that the approaching war had the potential to increase support for political Islam worldwide and could increase support for some terrorist objectives.

Documents released by the White House timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks emphasized the successes that the United States had made in dismantling the top tier of Al Qaeda.

“Since the Sept. 11 attacks, America and its allies are safer, but we are not yet safe,” concludes one, a report titled “9/11 Five Years Later: Success and Challenges.” “We have done much to degrade Al Qaeda and its affiliates and to undercut the perceived legitimacy of terrorism.”

That document makes only passing mention of the impact the Iraq war has had on the global jihad movement. “The ongoing fight for freedom in Iraq has been twisted by terrorist propaganda as a rallying cry,” it states.

The report mentions the possibility that Islamic militants who fought in Iraq could return to their home countries, “exacerbating domestic conflicts or fomenting radical ideologies.”

On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee released a more ominous report about the terrorist threat. That assessment, based entirely on unclassified documents, details a growing jihad movement and says, “Al Qaeda leaders wait patiently for the right opportunity to attack.”

The new National Intelligence Estimate was overseen by David B. Low, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats, who commissioned it in 2004 after he took up his post at the National Intelligence Council. Mr. Low declined to be interviewed for this article.

The estimate concludes that the radical Islamic movement has expanded from a core of Qaeda operatives and affiliated groups to include a new class of “self-generating” cells inspired by Al Qaeda’s leadership but without any direct connection to Osama bin Laden or his top lieutenants.

It also examines how the Internet has helped spread jihadist ideology, and how cyberspace has become a haven for terrorist operatives who no longer have geographical refuges in countries like Afghanistan.

In early 2005, the National Intelligence Council released a study concluding that Iraq had become the primary training ground for the next generation of terrorists, and that veterans of the Iraq war might ultimately overtake Al Qaeda’s current leadership in the constellation of the global jihad leadership.

But the new intelligence estimate is the first report since the war began to present a comprehensive picture about the trends in global terrorism.

In recent months, some senior American intelligence officials have offered glimpses into the estimate’s conclusions in public speeches.

“New jihadist networks and cells, sometimes united by little more than their anti-Western agendas, are increasingly likely to emerge,” said Gen. Michael V. Hayden, during a speech in San Antonio in April, the month that the new estimate was completed. “If this trend continues, threats to the U.S. at home and abroad will become more diverse and that could lead to increasing attacks worldwide,” said the general, who was then Mr. Negroponte’s top deputy and is now director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

For more than two years, there has been tension between the Bush administration and American spy agencies over the violence in Iraq and the prospects for a stable democracy in the country. Some intelligence officials have said the White House has consistently presented a more optimistic picture of the situation in Iraq than justified by intelligence reports from the field.

Spy agencies usually produce several national intelligence estimates each year on a variety of subjects. The most controversial of these in recent years was an October 2002 document assessing Iraq’s illicit weapons programs. Several government investigations have discredited that report, and the intelligence community is overhauling how it analyzes data, largely as a result of those investigations.

The broad judgments of the new intelligence estimate are consistent with assessments of global terrorist threats by American allies and independent terrorism experts.

The panel investigating the London terrorist bombings of July 2005 reported in May that the leaders of Britain’s domestic and international intelligence services, MI5 and MI6, “emphasized to the committee the growing scale of the Islamist terrorist threat.”

More recently, the Council on Global Terrorism, an independent research group of respected terrorism experts, assigned a grade of “D+” to United States efforts over the past five years to combat Islamic extremism. The council concluded that “there is every sign that radicalization in the Muslim world is spreading rather than shrinking.”

Made in Jamaica, A Powerful Portrait of the Reggae Music Movement

2006-08-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

Toronto International Film Festival presents the worldwide premiere of Made in Jamaica, a powerful portrait of the reggae music movement

TORONTO – August 28, 2006

The Toronto International Film Festival features the worldwide premiere of Made in Jamaica, a feature length documentary telling how a small island nation of only three million people has made music that resonates around the world. The first screening, for Press & Industry, takes place at the Royal Ontario Museum, on Tuesday, September 12, 2006, at 2:30PM.

Made in Jamaica tells how reggae became such a worldwide phenomenon and provides a powerful portrait of the leaders of the movement. Filmmaker Jerome Laperrousaz tells how reggae music sprang into life in the 70s, making Jamaica one of the first third world countries to make itself heard on an international scale. The reggae sound became a celebration of life and a universal message of hope.

But the movement did not stop there. Now a new generation of reggae artists has emerged, influenced by their predecessors, but creating a new and equally as important brand of music. Dancehall, emerging from reggae, is drawing large crowds from across the world. At its core, dancehall is influenced by religion. But like rap music, its message contains lyrics about sex, violence, and social issues, including much on women’s rights. Its messages are important, powerful and straightforward.

The film features the best reggae and dancehall artists ever assembled. Extensive interviews throughout, with names such as Toots (2005 Grammy award winner), Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer, Blessed, Tanya Stephens, Elephant Man, Koolant and Third World, the film describes how they have struggled to leave their native ghetto to achieve international fame and create a musical phenomenon in the process. In essence, it is about how they are the embodiment of the “Jamaican Dream”.

Standouts include the story of Lady Saw, who has collaborated with music sensations No Doubt and is routinely called “The First Lady of Dancehall”. She was born in St. Mary in 1972 and in 1994 she recorded the single Want it Tonight.

Also featured is Capleton, a 2006 Grammy award nominee. He is one of the best reggae music deejays of his generation. He has produced numerous dancehall classics and is constantly topping the charts.

Also featured in the film are some standout live performances. Laperrousaz weaves between the interviews, a selection of the beautiful and uplifting music of reggae and the grinding sounds of dancehall. The performances from many of the featured artists capture the spirit and struggle of Jamaican music and provide the perfect complement to the illuminating interviews.

Filmmaker Jerome Laperrousaz has 25 years of family history in Jamaica. In 1980 he directed Prisoners in the Street: ‘Third World’ (Cannes Festival selection), which highlighted Jamaican reggae through the experience of the group Third World. His past films include Continental Circus (Jean Vigo and Academy Award selection for foreign production) and Human in which he cast Terence Stamp and Jeanne Moreau. He has a special talent for exposing the sensitive and personal and this is especially evident in Made in Jamaica. He is able to capture the recording studios of Kingston alongside the pulsing sounds of Ochos- Rios and the morning light of the Blue Mountains in all its full glory.

Made in Jamaica (a co-production between Lawrence Pictures and Herold & Family), is making its worldwide premiere at Toronto International Film Festival. The film will be a treat for fans of reggae and dancehall and for those unfamiliar, it will be the perfect introduction.

Hill Penned Socially Conscious Lyrics

2006-08-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

BEFORE the start of the US-led invasion of Iraq, the reggae group Culture recorded an album called "World Peace."

Lead singer and songwriter Joseph Hill penned lyrics that reflected the concerns of many people around the world as the threat of war loomed:

We can’t take another war/ We want world peace/ Every day the children are crying/ Mamas and fathers are dying/ Nuff man gone to war and na return . . . " he wrote in World Peace.

By the time the album was released in 2003, the fighting had begun.

In a career that spanned three decades, such socially conscious lyrics, backed by roots rhythms and delivered in what was once described as "one of those distinctive Jamaican voices that recalls the village elder passing on centuries of tradition," earned Hill a place of respect in the world of reggae music.

Hill died on Saturday in Berlin, where the group was performing. He was 57. The cause of death was not immediately known. The group planned to continue the tour with Hill’s son Kenyatta singing lead vocals in his father’s place, according to a website posting by Jim Dooley, a Hill biographer.

Though not as famous as Bob Marley, Hill belonged musically to the same generation as Marley, part of the first line of reggae artists who early in the history of the genre found international success.

"People early on understood his talent and responded to it," said Chris Wilson, vice president of artists and repertoire for Heartbeat Records, which released Culture’s last album, "World Peace." "Many artists . . . live in their own rarefied world. He was always of the people . . . He was so concerned about what was going on in the world around him."

Hill was born January 22, 1949 in the Jamaican parish of St Catherine. He came of age musically during what has been dubbed "the golden age" of reggae, with contemporaries such as Marley and Burning Spear.

At Studio One, a recording studio in Jamaica, Hill began his career with the group Soul Defenders. As a vocalist he released a single, "Behold the Land." But his work with a trio formed with his cousin Albert Walker and Kenneth Dayes in 1976 was groundbreaking.

The group’s first album, "Two Sevens Clash," was based on a prophesy of Black Nationalist Marcus Garvey. Garvey had predicted that an apocalypse would erupt on July 7, 1977. The album was a hit in Jamaica and Britain.

In a 1987 review in the Los Angeles Times, writer Don Snowden described "Two Sevens Clash" as one of the best reggae albums ever recorded. In 2002, Rolling Stone included the album on its list of the 50 coolest records of all time.

From the start, Hill distinguished himself as the group’s frontman. Snowden described Hill’s sound as "rich and dark, liquid yet grainy, his voice sounded the way Guinness stout looks."

In the group’s early recordings, Hill also set himself apart from other artists by singing lead vocals and then recording second lead vocals. On those second lead vocals, Hill offered spoken word-style commentary on what he sang in the first. The effect was a textured sound and a rich conversation.

"It really was like poetry or early rap," Wilson said. "I think as he got older he felt more compelled to make his statement (declarative), rather than have sort of the Greek chorus. Those two voices melded together."

Hill viewed music as having a purpose, one that did not change over the years.

"Our message was a positive one," Hill said in a 2003 article in New Times Broward-Palm Beach. "From a very young age, I was aware of the roots and beauty of the country. I also noticed when the community began to collapse and what a dangerous thing that was. I began to see the corruption out there, and what I saw came out in my lyrics."

The lyrics of Hill, who was a Rastafarian, also resonated with listeners in Jamaica because they drew upon the island’s proverbs and sayings.

But his fame was international and his audience included people "who could have been the children of the people he first was writing for," Wilson said. After concerts "they would come up to him as if he were a spokesman for their generation." — Los Angeles Times.

Bank of Jamaica Issues Commemorative Bob Marley Coins in Gold and Silver

2006-08-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006
* KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -

Bob Marley's records long ago went platinum.

Now the Caribbean island nation's most famous son is being revived in gold and silver, as the Bank of Jamaica released a new round of commemorative coins bearing the late reggae superstar's dreadlocked likeness.

The 1,000 gold and silver coins, which were produced by the British Royal Mint, are being sold for $100 US ($111 Cdn) each, bank spokeswoman Jacqueline Morgan said Wednesday.

"We've received quite a bit of interest already," Morgan said from the Jamaican capital of Kingston.

Though the coins were intended to mark the 60th anniversary of Marley's birth in 2005, the bank is just now offering them for sale, said Morgan, who didn't offer a further explanation.

Born in Jamaica's rural St. Ann parish, Marley rose from the gritty shantytowns of Kingston to global stardom in the 1970s with hits like No Woman, No Cry and I Shot the Sheriff. His lyrics promoting "one love" and social revolution made him an icon in developing countries worldwide.

Marley, who died of cancer in Miami at age 36 in 1981, remains one of Jamaica's most beloved national heroes.

It is the second time the Bank of Jamaica has issued coins bearing Marley's likeness in the reggae icon's homeland.

"The coins to commemorate his 50th birthday have totally sold out," Morgan said.

Ziggy Marley brings message of peace to war-torn Israel

2006-08-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

By Jo-Ann Mort
Special to the Tribune
Published July 31, 2006

RA'ANNA, Israel -- Ziggy Marley's bus arrived at a Tel Aviv hotel, but few people recognized the Jamaican reggae star. Scores of people milled around the lobby in the hotel, where practically every guest is an Israeli fleeing the country's north.

Entire families are crammed in rooms for long stays.

Shai and Orit Erera and their 8-month-old daughter, from Haifa's suburbs in northern Israel, are there for 10 days, subsidized by Shai's company, IBM. Unfamiliar with Marley's music, Shai said he is glad nonetheless that night life continues. "When you pass the Haifa line, it's like going abroad."

Marley, whose wife is Israeli, is in the country to perform a weekend concert originally scheduled for Achziv Beach -- within shooting range of the Lebanese border -- and a second concert in a Tel Aviv nightclub. But after the Katushya rockets fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon landed in Israel's northern cities, organizers moved the concert further south, collapsing two nights into one.

They decided on a beach on the Sea of Galilee -- until Katushya rockets hit nearby Tiberias, so they moved even farther south, to Ra'anna, an upscale, suburban-style city of 70,000 about half an hour from Tel Aviv.

A week earlier, Ra'anna saw starkly different gatherings: two large funerals took place in the military cemetery for local soldiers killed in Lebanon.

Crowds are sparse

Last Thursday, 7,000 people filled the park. In Israel, Thursday nights mark the beginning of the weekend, and often, conscript soldiers, most of whom are in their late teens and early 20s, get leave to let off steam. But now, few soldiers are among the crowd of mostly high school and university students, Baby Boomers and young families with children.

Summer is time for outdoor concerts and festivals in Israel. But cultural performances are sparsely attended these days, even in safe spots such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and they are canceled in the north.

Marley's concert appears to be an exception. It's overflowing. Israelis want to encourage foreign talent to appear here, especially during difficult times.

And rock music provides a lifeline and an escape.

"It's important for us to feel part of the bigger agenda of the world. It brings a lot of energy," says Hanan Pomagrin, a 39-year-old architect from Tel Aviv who's not upset by the change of venue or worried by the rocket attacks. "In the Middle East, you can't make plans for maybe more than two hours ahead."

Eldad Elazar, 26, a film student from Sderot, where Qassam rockets, lobbed by Palestinian militants in Gaza, keep falling, says he's ready to fight if Israel calls up more reserve soldiers. Elazar, who wants to be the "Spike Lee of Israel," is of Ethiopian descent. A number of Israeli Jews from Ethiopia are in the crowd.

Amit Dadun is here with two childhood friends. He lives near Afula, where the Katushyas have hit. "It's a little weird being here, but we need to continue." He adds: "We came here to forget about the war and now you come and remind us."

But it's Marley who reminds the crowd, with an extremely political set. He sings about the war in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.

In a song called "Shalom, Salaam," he asks, "Who will take the blame for my children dying from tanks and suicide bombers?" referring both to Israeli tanks in Gaza and Palestinian suicide bombers in Israel.

Adina Kruger, a religious university student from Be'er Sheva, is here in spite of the message. "I don't like people from outside making peace for Israel. I came for music, not to talk to him," she says, referring to Marley.

Feelings of guilt

She has several family members and friends serving now in Gaza and Lebanon, including her brother-in-law.

"He planned to come to the concert. I feel guilty by being here because I know so many soldiers who are out there."

But Rotem, who wouldn't give her last name, a female soldier on weekend leave from her duties in a northern bomb shelter, thinks otherwise.

"It sounds like a cliche, but it's nice to be at an event for peace," she says with a sigh.

The colors of the Jamaican flag flash on the stage; Marley comes back for an encore. He introduces the song his father, Bob, made famous by dedicating "something special to Israel and for Lebanon, too," to "all the mothers, women, sisters who lost children in this terrible war."

Thousands of Israelis join in for "No Mother, No Cry," as they leave the war in their region -- at least in song -- for the shantytowns of Jamaica.

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ctc-tempo@tribune.com