THE PROCESS IN ASCAP PLAYBACK MAGAZINE

Stepping Out

The Process The infectious grooves of Detroit, Michigan's renowned rock reggae band The Process continue to gather fans in their wake. Founded in 1989 by vocalist David Asher and guitarist Garrick Owen, and joined soon after by bassist/programmer Bill Heffelfinger, the band's commitment and prowess soon established them as a force to be reckoned with. Currently holding the The Process's grooves together is P-Funk All Star drummer Gabe Gonzalez, who no doubt helped to inspire the title of the band's most recent album, Weapons of Mass Percussion. The band just won the 2007 Detroit Music Award for "Outstanding Reggae/Ska Group." Visit http://www.theprocessonline.com/.

NEW THE PROCESS ONLINE STORE

THE PROCESS has just opened an all new ONLINE MERCHANDISE STORE

At the new store you can buy THE PROCESS apparel such as T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Hoodies and Hats, as well as lots of other cool and creative THE PROCESS Stuff.

CHECK OUT THE PROCESS ONLINE STORE!

THE PROCESS Endorsed By GHS STRINGS!

THE PROCESS has just been endorsed by GHS STRINGS! We are excited by this latest sponsorship and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with GHS, whose excellent products have always been our choice.

GHS STRINGS

The Process earns Detroit Music Awards honor

The Process earns Detroit Music Awards honor
Monday, April 23, 2007
THE SAGINAW NEWS
The Process, a band that took root in Vassar and often performs around mid-Michigan, received the Outstanding Reggae/Ska Artist/Group honor at the 2007 Detroit Music Awards from the Motor City Music Foundation.
Bob Seger, Iggy Pop, Alberta Adams and Nadir were among other performers who received honors Friday at Detroit's State Theatre.
The Process -- David Asher, Bill Heffelfinger, Garrick Owen and Gabe Gonzalez -- received five nominations in this year's competition. And even though the foundation named Asher the Outstanding World/Reggae/Ska Songwriter in 2005, he went into the competition knowing The Process faced strong competition among Detroit-based groups.

The bands latest release "Weapons Of Mass Percussion" has won critical acclaim.

THE PROCESS WINS AT THE 2007 DETROIT MUSIC AWARDS!

THE PROCESS was just voted

"OUTSTANDING REGGAE/SKA GROUP" in the 2007

DETROIT MUSIC AWARDS!

THE PROCESS would like to thank our friends, fans, families and supporters.

You have stood by us through good and bad times over the years and we would like to express our love and gratitude to you.

The Awards were presented 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 20, at the State Theatre, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit.

Visit The Detroit Music Awards page to view the complete list of official winners .

Saginaw News Podcast

Catch THE PROCESS vocalist David Asher on the Saginaw News Podcast
"Catch the Muse with Sue At the News". Asher discusses developments with the band and future projects.
Go here:
Catch the Muse with Sue at The News

THE PROCESS Receives Five Nominations In 2007 DETROIT MUSIC AWARDS

Nominees for the 2007 Detroit Music Awards have been announced and voting is underway.
THE PROCESS® has just received Five Nominations in the 2007 Detroit Music Awards!
Nominations include:
OUTSTANDING REGGAE/SKA ARTIST/GROUP
OUTSTANDING WORLD/REGGAE/SKA INSTRUMENTALIST: GARRICK OWEN, (GUITAR (ELECTRIC)) - THE PROCESS
OUTSTANDING WORLD/REGGAE/SKA RECORDING: "WEAPONS OF MASS PERCUSSION"
OUTSTANDING WORLD/REGGAE/SKA SONGWRITER: DAVID ASHER, (THE PROCESS)
OUTSTANDING WORLD/REGGAE/SKA VOCALIST: DAVID ASHER, (THE PROCESS) .

The Motor City's diverse musical talents will be honored once again at the annual Detroit Music Awards, which will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 20, at the State Theatre, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit.

David Asher THE PROCESS 2007 Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqJT9867ppI

Pics from the last show

These pics are from last Friday's show at Clutch Cargos in Pontiac (with Goddesses Of the Veil). They were taken by our long time friend and former drummer Arek Aneszko. This night was Gabe's birthday!

Pete Mossener filled in on Bass for Bill who had the flu!

Congratulations to Arek and Monica on new baby Kyle!

THE PROCESS ON THE BBC!

The Process was just featured on the "On the Wire" radio program on the BBC Radio 1.








Heres a link to the playlist from Dec 30th.
And the show can be downloaded with this link: HERE
Right-click and choose "Save Target As" (assuming you are using Internet Explorer).
Thanks to our friends Steve Barker and Brian Planet Jackson at the BBC.
(Also thanks to Dr, Strange Dub at THE ECHO CHAMBER on KFAI-FM (90.3 Minneapolis/106.7 St.Paul). On 6-28-2006.

About On The Wire
On The Wire was first broadcast on 16th September 1984. Check Radio 1's playlists for that month – compare and contrast. Way back then there was no such thing as 'dance' music, hip-hop was confined to NYC and LA and the UK was in the grip of the New Romantics. Smashy and Nicey still ruled at fab FM and the London dance mafia were still with their mums shopping for shells. Reggae was apparently dead.On The Wire’s first guests were Adrian Sherwood who provided its now legendary theme tune and collaborator Keith le Blanc, who had earlier launched ‘Malcolm X’ on the world via Tommy Boy. The week after it was Depeche Mode and in the December a three hour live special with Mr. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry still fresh from torching the Black Ark a couple of years earlier.And so it went …… through the eighties as On The Wire slowly built a reputation beyond Lancashire and the North West, throughout the UK and onwards, before the internet, via cassette to the outer reaches, Greece, Sweden, Australia, Italy, USA ….. The show was fairly expansive: releasing a compilation ‘Bugs On The Wire’, putting on The Fall free at Clitheroe Castle when 2,500 people turned up, an Xmas party at the Ritz in Manchester including Sherwood with Gary Clail, 808 State, A Guy Called Gerald, Little Annie and a heavily pregnant Neneh Cherry absconding from a Bomb the Bass gig. First radio plays for in the UK for Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson and the radio premier of 808 State’s ‘Pacific State’.As the Nineties turned OTW was under threat from the BBC as new leaves were turned – but at the last minute the show was saved by the BBC board pegging the show as a ‘unique BBC product’. But the heady days of three hours on a Sunday afternoon were over as in the BBC speech and sport ruled. And so OTW has wandered the airwaves within the BBC schedules ever since, freeform radio before the term was invented.In the last few years there has been a reduced flow of luminaries through the OTW studio. Those listeners with us at the start whilst at college are now in their forties with families. Many friends have come and gone over the years but the show is ‘trodding on’. Quieter guests in the recent past have given us wonderful studio sessions, including Kelly Joe Phelps, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Jeb Loy Nichols – as the show developed a quaint obsession for Americans using two christian names. Lately Jim and Fenny in Blackburn have helmed the show whilst Steve contributes from Beijing with the invaluable help of Christiaan Virant, American exile and co-founder of the China-based nu electronic unit fm3. Andy ‘Madhatter’ Holmes and the big man, Pete Haigh, have provided years of peerless effort on the once-a-month Funkology. Jimbo, the current engineer and techno-wiz, took over from the eminent Jethro known on the net as ‘Culf’ who in turn took over from Mikey Martin who started in his early teens as the original studio wizard. Big shouts must also go to Dom and Bob, the Blood and Fire boys, and the Baked Goods team who have both blessed us with a regular supply of great tunes in their guest appearances, and lastly respect is due to Alex Fenton for his wonderful work on the website without which OTW’s inexorable march to world domination would prove impossible. After three glorious years of commercial webhosting, The On The Wire site is on the road again from whence it came - but it will never die! On The Wire was 20 years old on 16th September 2004.Steve Barker – Beijing December 2003

After St. Valentines Day Bash featuring 22 Belly Dancers

Clutch Cargo's
65 E Huron St, Pontiac, MI 48342
Presents
Friday February 16, 2007 @ 8:00
After St. Valentines Day Bash
featuring 22 Belly Dancers
Performing Live: 1592, Cowboy Messiah, The Process, 1st Dagree and special guest Liz Larin hosted by DJ Red
Special Event
18 and over welcome
$24/Advance or $28/Day of Show

FAN PICS FROM LAST SATURDAYS SHOW

These pics were taken last weekend at the bands return to homeground show at the Hamilton St. Pub in Saginaw by Pete "Rocktropoulos". It can be fun to play smaller venues when it is a warm hometown crowd as it was this night!

THE PROCESS INTERVIEW IN ROCK STARS GLUED

Check out this intereview with THE PROCESS singer
David Asher in this weeks ROCK STARS GLUED

Check out this interview with THE PROCESS singer David Asher in ROCK STARS GLUED
1. How did you come up with the name "The Process"?
MY FRIEND ERIC MCKENDREE SUGGESTED THE NAME FOR US. ORIGINALLY HE HAD WANTED TO START A COLLECTIVE OF SOME TYPE BUT NEVER DID MUCH WITH THAT IDEA, EXCEPT THAT HE DESIGNED OUR FIRST TWO ALBUM COVERS. WE KIND OF RAN WITH THE NAME AND ESTABLISHED IT.
2. How long have you been together, and how did you meet?
THE PROCESS HAS BEEN TOGETHER SINCE THE LATE 80'S. GARRICK OWEN THE GUITARIST AND I STARTED THE BAND. BILL JOINED US IN 1991 AS WE WERE MAKING OUR FIRST ALBUM. I'VE KNOWN BILL SINCE WE WERE BABIES. GARRICK WAS A YOUNGER KID WHO GREW UP AROUND THE CORNER FROM MY HOUSE. GABE (GONZALEZ FROM GEORGE CLINTON'S P-FUNK ALL STARS) JOINED 6 YEARS AGO.
3. Who were your musical interests growing up?
I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED THE BEATLES, TRAFFIC, GROUPS LIKE THAT. I STARTED TO LOVE BOB MARLEY IN HIGH SCHOOL AND THEN LATER IGGY POP.. GARRICK AND BILL WERE BIG ALICE COOPER FANS. BILL LOVES DAVID BOWIE AND CURTIS MAYFIELD AS WELL.
4. What is the music scene like in Detroit Michigan?
DANGEROUS, VIBRANT AND SUFFOCATING AT THE SAME TIME.
5. How do you promote your bands and shows? WE PROMOTE EVENTS WITH A DEVOTED NETWORK OF FANS AND FRIENDS AND EVERY TOOL AT OUR DISPOSAL. WITH PRINT MEDIA AND THE INTERNET. WE TRY AND DO IT ALL.
6. Who does your writing? One person, or do you collaborate?
MOST OF THE SONGWRITING CHORES ARE DONE BY MYSELF AND GARRICK. BILL HELPS OUT WITH THE ARRANGEMENTS AFTER THE SONG IS FLESHED OUT.
7. How hard is it for you to get your music out there being a Reggae band?
WELL WE ARE A ROCK/REGGAE BAND THAT CAN ROCK OUT QUITE HARD IF NEED BE. THE TRICKIER THING IS BEING AN "ORIGINAL" BAND. BY ORIGINAL I MEAN BEING TRUE TO YOURSELF. PLAYING REGGAE CAN MAKE US STAND OUT A BIT BUT WE PLAY THRASH, DUB, FUNK, METAL. WE PLAY MANY STYLES.
8. You had a great review in Real Detroit. How is that for you as a band to read great reviews like that?
IT DOES HELP VALIDATE SOMEWHAT BUT I THINK WE WOULD JUST PUSH ON WITH OUR VISION ANYWAY. THAT REVIEW WAS NICE BECAUSE THE ALBUM WAS A BIG RISK IN TURNS OF A CHANGE IN DIRECTION INTO HARD DUB AND TECHNO REMIXES.
9. Where do you see yourselves as a band in 5 years?
GOD WILLING WE WILL STILL BE HERE MAKING MUSIC THAT SATISFIES US AND OUR FANS. HOPEFULLY WE CAN CONTINUE TO GET OUR MUSIC TO THE PEOPLE AND FIND DISTRIBUTION THAT PAYS US WELL ENOUGH TO KEEP WORKING. I HAVE SOME PLANS TO TACKLE SOME RECORDINGS IN JAMAICA SOME TIME.
10. Make your own Concert Bill. Who would be on it, and why?
WELL ARE THEY HERE, OR BEYOND FLESH? IF HERE, STEEL PULSE OR LEE PERRY. IF BEYOND, WELL, THE WAILERS. CAN'T FORGET BUNNY WAILER IN THE HERE AND NOW THOUGH. I LOVE TACKHEAD AS WELL. HAVE TO HAVE THEM THERE!
12. Give us a little background on yourselves musically.
BILL IS CLASSICALLY TRANED, GARRICK TOOK LESSONS FOR A WHILE. I'M PRETTY MUCH SELF TAUGHT. ALL OF OUR PARENTS WERE MUSICAL. GABE GONZALEZ GREW UP AROUND GEORGE CLINTON AND P-FUNK. THEY USED TO REHEARSE IN HIS GRANDMAS BASEMENT WHEN HE WAS LITTLE.
13. How do you feel myspace has helped or hurt the music industry?
MYSPACE HAS HELPED INDEPENDENT MUSIC BY ALLOWING A TOOL FOR PEOPLE TO CONNECT. IT IS A HUGE BOOST TO INDEPENDENT ARTISTS WHO ARE TRYING TO GET HEARD BY A WIDER AUDIENCE.
14. What is a goal you would like to achieve this year?
TOURING EUROPE SUCCESSFULLY. THERE ARE SOME PLANS IN THE WORKS.
15. If you could be a super hero........What would you be and why? "WONDERMAN" LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY, A REAL LIFE SUPER HERO. WE SHOULD ALL DO WHAT HE DOES AT 70!!
16. As always, the last question........What does music mean to you?
MUSIC IS THE WEAPON OF THE FUTURE. MUSIC IS A TOOL FOR POSITIVE CHANGE. MUSIC MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME. IT IS OUR LAST GREAT HOPE.

Corey Robinson Crosses Over

Corey Bernard Robinson 11-21-1971 12-29-2006

Corey was a dear friend to THE PROCESS for many years. While we mourn with his other friends and family, we celebrate his life and the blessing he was in ours.

Remembering an artist with passion and heart
FLINT JOURNAL COLUMN
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITIONFriday, January 05, 2007
By Doug Pullen (Edited)JOURNAL COLUMNIST

Talk to people who knew Corey Robinson, and they'll tell you about his passion and heart.
Robinson, 35, a popular tattoo artist and former SSG Collective vocalist, died of congestive heart failure Dec. 29 at Hurley Medical Center.
People sing praises for Robinson, who died at Hurley Medical Center, nearly three years after a heart transplant.
Though he spent the last two years of his life in Petoskey, Robinson was a Flint product, a local music habitue, former bouncer at the Back Room (now the Loft) and vocalist for the experimental SSG Collective and Albadore Soundsystem. But he made his mark as an in-demand tattoo artist, both on his own and with Consolidated Ink and Steel. He was also a strong advocate for safety in his profession.
"If you didn't know him, he could scare the hell out of you," says Michael Absher, the local club DJ, former public radio jock and SSG frontman who bears two of Robinson's tats, including one on his butt that was applied live on a pirate radio station several years ago.
"He was a burly guy, a big bear of a dude," Absher recalls. "But he was an absolute sweetheart."
Friend and fellow Flint expatriate Johnnie Walker describes Robinson as "a big brother," whom he met "hanging out" at shows at The Lobby and other underground rock spaces in the '90s.
Later, Walker was a groomsman at Robinson's wedding. When Walker and his girlfriend moved to Petoskey a few years back, Robinson saw how good their lives were and decided to join them.
Robinson had a big heart, Walker notes, and it just grew bigger the sicker he got.
"He made friends with some Native Americans here. He'd sit there and have them sing songs and tell them what they were about," says Walker, who is organizing tonight's Flint memorial. "He was trying to learn. He knew his time was coming. He made sure he told me he loved me."
Music used to be a "fun thing" for Robinson earlier, Absher observes. But as his health problems mounted - he had hip replacement surgery last year, and was due for another - the reggae-loving Robinson's growing harmonica skills late in his life suggest it took on a more serious role.
"He had recorded some songs with Michelle (that) were on his computer. They were prophetic almost," Walker says.
A college fund is being set up for Robinson's children, Devon and Sydney.

If you'd like to share your thoughts with friends, families and fans, go to:
http://www.legacy.com/Flint/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=20504733
To hear hear Corey Robinson's Rasta chanting on "Downpressor" go to:
www.myspace.com/albadoremusic

Weapons Of Mass Percussion Review in REAL DETROIT

The Process Weapons Of Mass Percussion (Self-Released) 3 Stars If you’ve never heard The Process before, I’m not sure what I could write that would adequately prepare you. They play a bizarre combo of reggae and rap/rock with industrial production filtered through tones that could have come straight from the early-‘80s. It’s just weird enough to be intriguing and just catchy enough to be worth additional listens. - DM Read the review online

Chef Ra Crosses Over

Friends, through our friend Adam Brook I have the sad task of posting this email about the passing of CHEF RA on to you all. Chef Ra was a good friend of THE PROCESS and a warrior in the fight for freedom. I will miss seeing him at Hash Bash and miss his laughter and keen wit. Perhaps where he is now he can let Jah know we need more help to change these unjust laws. Wherever Chef Ra is you can bet freedoms flag is flying HIGH!
Peace and blessings for the new year and please take a moment to say a prayer to the MOST HIGH for Chef Ra, David
www.theprocessonline.com
www.myspace.com/theprocessmusic


-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Brook [mailto:adamlbrook@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 2:01 PM
To: minorml-talk@norml.net; minorml-news@norml.net
Subject: MINORML-TALK: Chef Ra Crosses Over

Well folks I had planned on having a Cannabis Cup at the next HASH BASH, I
have been in contact with a few growers and we were almost ready to announce
our plans but it will have to wait.....with the loss of my good friend CHEF
RA....aka James Wilson. My efforts will be going to remind people what an
activist and a friend of the HASH BASH this man was.
I am going to dedicate the next HASH BASH, #36 to the memory of CHEF RA, If
you don't know why he deservers this you should wait a few days, let us
mourn and then question my actions.......
I posted this at the High Times story on the passing of CHEF RA, so I would
expect a large crowd.
PLEASE JOIN US AT :
The CHEF RA MEMORIAL
HASH BASH (HASH BASH #36)
Saturday April 7th 2007
HIGH NOON
DIAG
U of M
ANN ARBOR, MI.
There will me a memorial at about the time RA would historically speak at
the event to honor CHEF RA.
Please send any photos or video of Chef Ra at past HASH BASHes to
adamlbrook@hotmail.com so that we can include them in our program.

Year In Review/Asher Interview

Hail Up THE PROCESS® Massive!

www.theprocessonline.com

Excerpt from Review Magazine:
www.review-mag.com
The Year in Music
By Scott Baker

And last (but certainly not least) The Process 'Weapons of Mass Percussion' became one of 46 releases in contention for a 2007 Grammy Award Nomination in the Reggae field. This group consistently has forged into creative and challenging terrain during the expanse of their two-decade career, so it is gratifying to witness such hard work and persistence paying off with national & international acclaim.
"It's been an exciting and challenging year, with the new CD being a departure from our usual releases, as well as it being a departure from standard dub or remix projects," commented Process avatar David Asher.


The Process Contenders for 2007 Grammy for 'Weapons of Mass Percussion'
by Lauren Davis

When the news hit that the reggae/rock warriors The Process secured a nomination contention in the Reggae Division for the 2007 Grammy Awards, it was the peak accomplishment for a driven band that has consistently developed new material and broken into new territory for over 20 years.

Recently I caught up with main-man David Asher to glean his reactions to this accomplishment.
Lauren: first, tell me on how you feel about the recognition:
Asher: It really is a thrill to receive recognition from the recognized establishment of the industry. After being on it's periphery for so many years, it's just a good feeling. Also knowing that we were able to achieve this as an independent artist with no major label backing is a satisfying feeling. To be fair we are well represented by a Madison Ave Law firm in New York, Jacobson & Colfin P.C. www.thefirm.com
Lauren: Had you not done music, who would you be right now?
Asher: "Can't image it. If I hadn't been commissioned by the Most High to do this work, I'm sure I would be somewhere tropical. Because it is a commission and it does involve sacrifice which most people would not be willing to deal with, in terms of free time and family."
Lauren; What is the key to staying in love with your music?
Asher: "The key for myself in staying in love with music and the creative process is the wonderful musical brothers I have been blessed with surrounding me, Garrick Owen, Bill Heffelfinger, Gabe Gonzalez and Sam Metropoulos and our fans, friends and families. I also should mention our fantastic producer Gee "Genius" Pierce. What keeps it fresh for us over the years is our creative process. We never write the same way twice in the way we approach the music. We have a formula for preproduction and production but the creative process used in writing is nearly always unique. Sometimes I write alone, sometimes with Garrick. Sometimes I write on the guitar, sometimes I plunk the melodies out on the piano. The best stuff comes to me when I'm walking around or driving in my car. Bill always brings a unique approach to the arrangements as well, so we mix it up with out too much thought about it.
Lauren: What is the most ridiculous idea you have had, that worked?
Asher: To make a remix album using bits from the news and found sounds (which became Weapons Of Mass Percussion)".
Lauren: What is the coolest aspect of the nomination, and tell me your thoughts on, (if you'll pardon the inference) the process involved?
Asher: Well it was a nomination "consideration" where we were one of 46 contenders. The coolest part for me was getting an email from Grammy Chairman (reggae) Roger Steffens wishing us good luck. Roger is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world about reggae music and I admire him a lot.
I would just like to thank our friends, fans and families who have supported us through good and bad times over the years. They are truly the ones who have enabled us to continue doing what we love. God bless em.

Former Ethiopian dictator is convicted

By LES NEUHAUS, Associated Press Writer

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam was convicted Tuesday of genocide and other charges in a rare case of an African strongman being held to account by his own country.
Mengistu, who lives in exile in Zimbabwe, was tried in absentia. He could face the death penalty at his Dec. 28 sentencing, but Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said he won't deport Mengistu if he refrains from political activity.
The trial focused on Mengistu's alleged involvement in the killing of nearly 2,000 people during a 1977-78 campaign known as the Red Terror. A panel of judges, sitting in a packed courtroom, convicted the former dictator of instigating genocide, committing genocide, illegal imprisonment and abuse of power.
Mengistu had taken power in 1974, when his military junta ended Emperor Haile Selassie's rule in a bloody coup.
Mengistu was tried along with 72 of his former aides, although there were only 34 people in court Tuesday. Fourteen died during trial and 25 were tried in absentia. All but one man were convicted of at least one charge Tuesday.
Most of those in the courtroom were family members of the defendants, and looked sullen after the verdict.
"I am very happy he has been found guilty," said Tadesse Mamo, 32, a businessman in the capital. "He killed so many of our intellectuals and our youth, most notably our emperor."
Selassie's cousin, Mulugeta Aserate, said Mengistu's men came to his family's home in June 1974 and took his father away. He was a young boy at the time, and never saw his father again.
"They told us that they were taking him to an interview, but I found out later he was summarily executed with 60 others," Mulugeta, 55, told The Associated Press.
Some experts say 150,000 university students, intellectuals and politicians were killed in a nationwide purge by Mengistu's Marxist regime, though no one knows for sure how many suspected opponents were killed in the Red Terror.
The case has been closely watched in Africa, where dictators have been known to harbor colleagues from other countries and to stymie attempts elsewhere to bring despots to justice.
It was seen as a watershed when, in March, former Liberian President Charles Taylor was brought before a U.N.-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone on charges of backing Sierra Leonean rebels, who terrorized victims by chopping off body parts during the 1991-2002 civil war.
The rebels who toppled Mengistu, however, were determined to pursue him in the courts, and began planning for trials almost immediately upon taking over in 1991, producing 8,000 pages of evidence.
When he was deposed in 1991 by rebels led by Meles Zenawi, now Ethiopia's prime minister, Mengistu fled to the protection of Mugabe's authoritarian regime in Zimbabwe, where his army had helped train guerrillas in their struggle for independence from white rule.
The trial, which began in 1994, has been complicated by requests from both sides for long breaks. Hundreds of key witnesses have also died, making it difficult for prosecutors and defense lawyers to present their cases.
Ethiopia's courts have convicted more than 1,000 people since 1994 for participating in the Red Terror, but thousands more live in exile.

Remember Love

This Christmas I find myself, like every Christmas, thinking about peace on earth. I also find myself thinking about John Lennon, who was cut down in his prime 26 years ago, just before Christmas.
Heres a review of the film "The US vs John Lennon, in the UK online rag the Independant.
It is followed by my response:
Click here to read the review online.

Reviewed by Anthony Quinn
Published: 08 December 2006
"Even as a lifelong devotee of John Lennon's music, I would have to concede that the man himself really did talk the most prodigious amount of balls. This much is confirmed in the course of The US vs John Lennon, a documentary that seeks to lionise him as peace activist and spokesman for a generation, but inadvertently has the effect of making him look a pious, publicity-crazed bore. Film-makers David Leaf and John Scheinfeld concentrate on Lennon's life in the aftermath of The Beatles' break-up in 1970, when he and Yoko Ono moved to New York and established themselves as gurus of the counterculture. Ever keen to play the rebel, Lennon spoke vociferously on behalf of the anti-Vietnam movement and black radicalism, or staged publicity stunts like his notorious "bed-in" for peace. The film interleaves contemporary news footage with a selection of talking heads - Walter Cronkite, Angela Davis, Carl Bernstein, Gore Vidal, Noam Chomsky et al - to reminisce about the political and social convulsions of late-Sixties and early-Seventies America. It is the thesis of Leaf and Scheinfeld that Lennon's involvement in this revolutionary spirit so rattled the likes of Nixon and FBI boss J Edgar Hoover that he was secretly declared an enemy of the state and put under surveillance. No hard evidence of this is brought to light, but the merest suspicion of it supposedly underpins the idea of Lennon as one of the unacknowledged legislators of the world, a role he himself was happy to endorse. Indeed, the cumulative impression you would glean here is that, before Lennon, nobody had ever picked up a guitar in protest. Dylan, a hero to Lennon and his fellow Beatles, is conspicuously ignored throughout. The most significant interviewee is Ono, whose approval of the film should strike an ominous note. While it would be too easy to blame her for the self-absorption of Lennon's post-Beatles career (no mention is made, incidentally, of his 18-month separation from her in 1973-74), it does appear that, artistically, they brought out the worst in each other. Ian MacDonald said it best, as he nearly always did concerning The Beatles, in his seminal book Revolution in the Head: "Under the ostensibly selfless holy foolery [Lennon and Ono] indulged in during 1968-70 was a core of exhibitionistic self-promotion. Behaving as if they had personally invented peace, they jetted round the world in first-class seats selling it at third-rate media-events. This was arrogant as well as silly, and the news media's derision was not only inevitable but, in the main, justified." Such perspective will be a tonic after watching this remorseless hagiography."


The word hagiography is used to describe this Lennon pic. I guess what John and Yoko did for peace really did suck and wasn't worth a damn. Yeah the war machine can just roll right on and it's a beautiful thing. It's a shame they ever even called attention to the stupid idea of peace at all. What a stupid idea "peace". "Behaving as if they had personally invented peace", that WAS arrogant. They should have just ignored the whole idea and went along with the war which did so much good for everyone. Just like the war today is so beautiful and good for everyone. Peace on Earth: this Christmas season flush that idea, war is a much better way to go! Right everyone? Since we can't bring Richard Nixon back lets re-elect Mr. Bush again. He is even better than Nixon and his war is a better one too. Bush and Nixon both did so much to make the world a better place, not like that dirty hippy John Lennon and his "hag" wife Yoko Ono, "artistically, they brought out the worst in each other". Now Bush and Cheney, they bring out the best in each other. Money, greed. oil. Those are the things that are really worth dying for. Not the silly idea of peace. What a stupid idea, who would die for that?
Happy Christmas, War is Over If You Want It.
David

Weapons Of Mass Percussion Available Online

Weapons Of Mass Percussion the new CD by THE PROCESS is now available online:

CLICK HERE TO BUY

WEAPONS OF MASS PERCUSSION