Everyone has their own taste when it comes to music.

What may be considered music to one’s ears, may be considered simply torturous to others. Just because I feel that Michael Bolton sounds like a cat getting skinned alive, and that his music is some sort of cruel joke to all of mankind, doesn’t mean that some other tone deaf person has to agree with me.

One thing is for certain, whether it is the sweet voice of Bonnie Raitt or the overrated raspy voice of Bruce who stepped in it Springsteen… if it is played at decibels to make you feel that your ears are going to bleed and it is played over and over… it can be quite torturous no matter who it is.

Everyone is aware that the prisoners at Gitmo (Guantánamo Bay) were needlessly tortured by water boarding along with other degrading and unspeakable acts. 

One of the methods used was music played repeatedly and at ear piercing levels. The songs used and some of the artists who made that music are not too happy to say the least. How would you feel if one of your songs was used to torture someone? I am sure you would be horrified.

Well, Michael Stipe of REM, along with twenty or so other artists have aired their disgust, and have banned together and formed Close Gitmo Now.   

A little info on Gitmo first, before we get into which performers are saying Gitmo has to go.

Gitmo has held nearly 800 detainees in it’s history. An alarming majority of those detainees were never charged, nor went to trial. Only THREE of those detainees have ever been convicted of a crime.To keep Gitmo open is costing tax payers MILLIONS.

So what did the spokesman for the CIA say when it came to using music as torture?
He said nuh-uh.

George Little, a CIA spokesman said:

“music was used only for security, rather than “punitive purposes”

And in a 2005 CIA document, it stated,

“loud music or white noise was needed “to mask sound and prevent communication among detainees”

So what tunes and artists made it to the Gitmo “top 20″?

According to the National Security Archive, they used anything from the Meow Mix jingle, to the Barney theme song. They used such artists as Marylin Manson to Britney Spears. Although the Meow Mix jingle and the Barney theme song both make me cringe and is enough to drive anyone buggy, at ANY volume… I wonder if the Meow Mix or the Barney people have a problem with the fact their music was used at Gitmo? I haven’t heard anything from either of them and I have to say, if they don’t have a problem with it, then I have a problem with them.

Why would they use the Meow Mix jingle and the Barney theme if it was just “to mask sound and prevent communication among detainees”?
And why were detainees subjected to “variable light patterns” while this music was played? Is the CIA going to say they wanted to have a disco effect for the detainees? Although it really wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

If the CIA claims are true, then why didn’t they just use classical music at non dangerous levels without light patterns? The term liar liar pants on fire comes to mind.

Another little pesky factor besides the CIA not having the permission of the artists to use their music, is the fact that the artist’s music was used as an interrogation tool.

So which artists are pissed and saying close Gitmo now ?
Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown, REM, Pearl Jam, Roseanne Cash just to name a few.

Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Brown

Roseanne Cash recently appeared on The Daily Show with John Stewart to tell everyone about the petition they have created which people can sign at www.closegitmonow.org

The BBC recently reported:

REM call for Guantanamo closure

Rock bands including Pearl Jam and REM have joined a coalition of musicians to support the US president’s efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.

The National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, which also includes former military officers, launched on Tuesday.

Many of the artists who have signed up are angry that their music was used as an interrogation tool in the jail.

But CIA spokesman George Little said music was used only for security, rather than “punitive purposes”.

In a statement, REM said: “We have spent the past 30 years supporting causes related to peace and justice. To now learn that some of our friends’ music may have been used as part of the torture tactics without their consent or knowledge, is horrific. It’s anti-American, period.”

Other artists to sign up to the coalition include Jackson Browne, Steve Earle, Roseanne Cash, Billy Bragg, Bonnie Raitt and Rage Against The Machine.

On behalf of the campaign, the National Security Archive in Washington is filing a Freedom of Information Act request seeking classified records that detail the use of loud music as an interrogation device.

‘Terrify and punish’

A report published in November 2008 by the Senate Armed Services Committee report, has already made several references to the technique.

In one case interrogators played records to “stress” a prisoner, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who believed music was forbidden.

In 2003, he was questioned while being “exposed to variable lighting patterns” and repeated plays of a song called Let the Bodies Hit the Floor by the band Drowning Pool.

Jayne Huckerby, from New York University’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, said loud music was also played at clandestine prisons run by the CIA.

Following an early information request, Ms Huckerby received a CIA document dated December 2005 in which the agency explained that the use of loud music or white noise was needed “to mask sound and prevent communication among detainees”.

She argued that such sounds were not a “benign security tool,” but a way “to humiliate, terrify, punish, disorient and deprive detainees of sleep, in violation of international law”.

According to the National Security Archive, tracks by AC/DC, Britney Spears, the Bee Gees and Marilyn Manson were used at Guantanamo.

The Meow mix cat food jingle, the Barney theme song and an assortment of Sesame Street tunes also were played into detainees’ cells.

But the CIA insisted any music was played “at levels far below a live rock band”.

And Major Diana Haynie, a spokeswoman for Joint Task Force Guantanamo, said loud music has not been used with detainees since the fall of 2003.

Barack Obama pledged to close the Guantanamo detention camp by January, but Republican opposition in Congress has made fulfilling that promise look less likely.

 

So one of the reasons that Gitmo remains open is due to Republican opposition?
Although I am certianly not surprised by this…. WHY ARE THEY OPPOSED?
What reasons could the Republicans have to want to keep Gitmo going?

The NY Times stated that the estimated annual cost to operate Guantánamo Bay is anywhere from $90 million to $118 million. There are 226 detainees left at Gitmo. That is a cost of $400.000 to $520.000 per detainee. To incarcerate a prisoner in a supermax prison would be $75,000 in the US. Is anyone paying attention to this simple math? Get the facts

At a time when the US is in such an economic mess due to the carnage that was left behind by the lovely Bush administration, perhaps the millions of dollars spent on keeping Gitmo open can be used elsewhere? Ya think?

Now before our comment section turns into a shouting match between Republicans and Democrats…..
and people telling me to get my facts straight, (I only report what is out there) remember that this article is about how horrible it was to use an artist’s music to torture people AND the fact that their music was used without their consent. Not to mention what it costs to keep Gitmo going.

So if you have a comment about Close Gitmo Now or the musicians who started the petition, then that is fine. But if you want to argue about what Obama has done or not done to clean up Bush’s mess that he left behind, or the BS spin and scare tactics that the Republicans are using when it comes to the health care plan, (you know who you are, you silly teabaggers) OR if you are a Michael Bolton fan, then please go argue elsewhere. *SNICKER*

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Church of Scientology lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve

Not a good week for the cult of Scientology!
On the heels of Scientology’s spokesman Tommy Davis’s disastrous interview on ABC’s Nightline last week, comes more news of Scientology’s downward spiral.

It has just been announced, that France has convicted Scientology of fraud. This news must have Scientology’s cult leader David Miscavige in quite the tizzy. Still nothing to say Miscavige?
David Miscavige is obvioulsy playing a “Where’s Waldo?” in all this breaking news.

The cult was also fined more than 600,000 euro. This is equivalent to $900,000 US. Almost a cool million. The court convicted the cult library (SEL bookshop) as well as SIX LEADERS. Scientology was found guilty of pressuring members to pay large amounts of cash by using harassment tactics, and also illegally dispensing vitamins.

Four of the leaders were given suspended sentences which can be anywhere from ten months to two years and the other two leaders were given fines.
Of course Scientology is going to appeal this verdict. Which is no surprise there.

Although prosecutors were going for an all out ban on Scientology in France, the court recently denied the ban. But even though Scientology has not been banned from France, this latest PR flap can’t be good news for Scientology, who desperately tries to hide all negative PR from it’s members.

The Infinate Complaceny Blog Webiste did a wonderful break down of the story (Much thanks to Jonny Jacobsen):

Here is a summary of the verdict and sentences in the Paris trial of Scientology. I have laid it out in the same style I used for What the Prosecution Wants to give you an idea of how far the court followed their recommendations.

Perhaps the most important feature of the judgement is what the court did not do: it made no ruling that would restrict the activities of either the Celebrity Centre or the SEL bookshop.

But the following individuals and organisations were convicted of organised fraud against some, but not all the alleged victims (of which more below):

The Association Spirituelle de l’Eglise de Scientologie CC (ASES), the Celebrity Centre, was convicted of organised fraud against the plaintiffs Aude-Claire Malton and Eric Aubry.

 It was fined 400,000 euros and ordered to pay for the details of the conviction to be published in the major French and English-language news outlets including Le Monde, Le Figaro, Libération, the Herald Tribune and Time Magazine.

Scientology’s network of bookshops Scientologie Espace Liberté (SEL) was also convicted of organised fraud against the Malton and Aubry. It was fined 200,000 euros and ordered to pay for the publication of the conviction in the same newspapers.

These were the sentences for the individual defendants charged on this count, against either Malton, Aubry or both plaintiffs:

Alain Rosenberg, the managing director of the Celebrity Centre, was convicted of organised fraud against Malton and Aubry; and of complicity in the illegal exercise of pharmacy. He received a two-year suspended prison sentence and a 30,000-euro fine

Didier Michaux, the bookshop’s star salesman, was convicted of organised fraud against Eric Aubry – but cleared on the same charge relating to Aude-Claire Malton. He received an 18-month suspended sentence and a 20,000-euro fine

Jean-François Valli, the other bookshop salesman, who also did work for the Celebrity Centre, was convicted of organised fraud against Aude-Claire Malton – but cleared on the same charge relating to Aubry. He received an 18-months suspended sentence and a 10,000-euro fine

Sabine Jacquart, who was president of the Celebrity Centre, was convicted of organised fraud against both Malton and Aubry; and of complicity in the illegal exercise of pharmacy. She received a 10-month suspended sentence and a 5,000-euro fine

Aline Fabre, who supervised the Purification Rundown at the Celebrity Centre, was convicted of the illegal exercise of pharmacy. She was fined 2,000 euros

Marie Anne Pasturel, who acted as an intermediary for G&G in France, taking orders for the vitamins required for the Rundown, was convicted of the illegal exercise of pharmacy and fined 1,000 euros.
All the defendants charged in relation to Pierre Auffret and his company Parangon – the Celebrity Centre, the bookshop SEL, Rosenberg, Jacquart, Valli, Michaux – were acquitted.

The court took into account the fact that Auffret himself had not filed a complaint: and he had insisted to investigators that any payments he had made were made willingly.

Neither Alain Rosenberg nor Anne Marie Pasturel attended the hearing.

Despite the guilty verdict and the fines, Maître Patrick Maisonneuve for the Celebrity Centre and Maître Louis Pamponet for the bookshop SEL (I think it was him) both looked extremely relieved – presumably because there was no attempt by the court to restrict the activities of either organisation.

FYI…
Alain Rosenberg, the managing director of the Celebrity Center in France, is an OTVII on Scientology’s Bridge to Total Freedom. He is one step away from the highest level on their bridge, which is OTVIII.
It’s amazing that his “OT powers” which have control over MEST (which is short for matter, energy, space and time) seemed to be totally on the fritz, and failed miserably during this court case.
Looks like you “pulled this in” Alain. Looks like the court was the one who was “at cause”.

To read more about Rosenberg and the case go here.

So back to this verdict..
So although France found them guilty and issued fines, France is not going to restrict Scientology’s activities?
So does that mean there will be more court hearings and fines down the line?
Hopefully….. that’s if more victims come forward and fight the cult.

Scientology was convicted of “illegal exercise of pharmacy”, but France is still going to allow Scientology to resume with their Purification Rundown? I am afraid I don’t understand.
Is Scientology going to continue to illegally dispense vitamins in hopes that more deaths and court cases will not occur in France?

The Purification Rundown for all of you who do not know what that is… is a Scientology program used to rid the body of toxins. (so they claim)
It involves ingesting LARGE doses of niacin vitamins and oil, running on a treadmill and sitting in a sauna for hours at a time daily. This regiment can last for FIVE weeks. It has NEVER been proven to have ANY beneficial qualities, nor does it have any scientific data to back up it’s claims of the regiment being successful with removing ANY toxins from the body at all. In fact it has been said that it is nothing but quackery and that large amounts of niacin can prove to be very dangerous to the liver.

The Purification Rundown, (also know as Narconon and Criminon) needs to be looked into extensively by the US Government and ALL Governments. Narconon goes into towns and sets up centers and claims they can cure drug addiction. They not only lie about their success rates with trumped up numbers, they talk towns into funding them with tax payer’s dollars. They also use the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard’s tone scale. 

This program has gone under the names Second Chance, HealthMed Clinic and The NY Rescue Workers Detoxification Program (after 9/11) just to name a few. There are many other front group names they have used world wide.

The recently reported tragic deaths of those people in the sweat lodge in Arizona, received a lot of media coverage. It’s a wonder why our Government has not looked into the many deaths which have been related to this particular program.

Of course people are afraid to speak out against Scientology, never mind bring them to court. Hopefully this latest conviction in France will sway not only Scientology members to come forward with their stories, and perhaps file cases, but I hope it prompts non Scientology members who have also done The Purification Program through Narconon in hopes of being helped with their drug addiction. Second Chance and Criminon inmates also should be interviewed about this program.

I am sure Scientology will be on full damage control and looking for any Narconon or member success stories they can shove in people’s faces through the media, in light of France’s conviction. But please know that any success stories you hear, does not stack up against the fail rate of this program in any stretch of the imagination.

This news from France is especially bad on top of the latest Nightline stories that we just saw in recent days, and it was also announced today by the NY Post, that Tommy Davis tried to stop Nightline from airing these programs one hour before they were to air, made a scene and was asked to leave. Read about it here.
Wish there was film on that little hissy fit!

And oh yes….. not to mention the very recent defection of one of Scientology’s long time members, celebrity Paul Haggis. Again welcome out Paul!

Scientology members…. are you paying attention?

To France….
you almost had Scientology completely on the run. But this is good news too. 
Although the fines and sentences are nothing more than slaps on the wrist to a multi million dollar BUSINESS, and they will be able to continue to do what they were doing to bring them to court in the first place, at least it’s a start in the right direction of unveiling the illegal activities of this abusive cult.

We need a LOT more of that going on, especially here in the United States.

Early Photo of Cake With Former Band Members

Cake is a band that emerged out of Sacramento CA. Cake is not your typical band.

Wikipedia describes their music as:

often classified as alternative rock or indie rock, it combines multiple musical genres, such as funk, rockabilly, pop, jazz, rap, and country. Cake’s music features droll lyrics rife with word play and syncopation, catchy distorted guitar riffs (courtesy of guitarist Greg Brown until 1998, and bass player Victor Damiani until 1997), prominent use of a Moog, and a solo trumpet (played by Vince DiFiore).

Their bigger hits have been “The Distance”, “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”, and “Nugget,” a real kick ass song. Their remakes of “I Will Survive” and especially Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” are simply
fabulous.

You may have heard some of Cake’s songs and not even known it. Their music has turned up in movies such as Me, Myself and Irene, I Love You Man and An American Werewolf in London. The instrumental part of their song “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” is used by NBC’s show Chuck.

In the past, Cake’s tunes have also showed up in the episodes of The Sopranos, Smallville, and  Friends. Their music has been used globally in French, German, Italian, and Japanese films. And even for the Power’s Whiskey Irish Grand National promos.

One trip to their website, and you will see that they are also involved in making a difference in the world. At every concert, they award someone with a tree. For instance, when they did a show in Buffalo NY, they awarded someone a tree for doing the most push ups! They have a page on their website which is called the Cake Tree Gallery. There you will find photos of previous tree winners proudly pictured with their trees. There is a now to link that will help you plant that tree too.

Need advice on ANYTHING? They have a page for that too! Just email cakeadvice@yahoo.com with your questions. I have read some pretty funny stuff there.

Or maybe you would like to participate in their latest poll question on their website?

“Are insurance companies an integral component of the health care product in the United States?”

How about a ride to their next gig? They also have a “carpool web page” so you can hook up with others going your way to their next gig. Their website also lists article links of stories that interest them; from the current health care situation, the impact on the environment from cellphones, using rechargeable batteries, and a link where you can listen to Killer Whales. Of course this is only a smidgen of what is on their site. You can also catch up with Cake on MySpace with their 7,000+ friends.

When Cake performed gigs from Buffalo to Syracuse NY, the band 
members all traveled by train. And last year they decked out their Sacramento studio with solar panels.

They even recorded the installation and posted a video on YouTube.

So it was really no surprise to hear when Cake announced that their latest album was made totally with solar energy.

But wait, there’s more…