Photos . . .

(from http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/politics/e-mail-photos-destroyed-osama-bin-laden/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)
Within two weeks of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the head of U.S. special forces issued orders that all photos of the body be either turned in or destroyed, a newly released document shows.

In an e-mail dated May 13, 2011, then-Vice Adm. William McRaven wrote the following: "One particular item that I want to emphasize is photos; particularly UBLs remains. At this point -- all photos should have been turned over to the CIA; if you still have them destroy them immediately or get them to the [redacted.]"

The e-mail was obtained by the conservative activist group Judicial Watch, which has called for the public release of photos of the raid in Pakistan that killed the al Qaeda leader. The e-mail, which was almost entirely redacted, was released under a Freedom of Information Act request.


. . . but . . .


(from http://www.corbettreport.com/osama-bin-laden-pronounced-dead-for-the-ninth-time/)
When Obama pronounced Osama Bin Laden dead in a televised announcement heard round the world May 1, 2011, he was at least the ninth major head of state or high-ranking government official to have done so.

On December 26, 2001, Fox News reported on a Pakistan Observer story that the Afghan Taliban had officially pronounced Osama Bin Laden dead earlier that month. According to the report, he was buried less than 24 hours later in an unmarked grave in accordance with Wahabbist Sunni practices.

What followed was a string of pronouncements from officials affirming what was already obvious: supposedly living in caves and bunkers in the mountainous pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Osama would have been deprived of the dialysis equipment that he required to live.

On January 18, 2002, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced quite bluntly: “I think now, frankly, he is dead.”

On July 17, 2002, the then-head of counterterrorism at the FBI, Dale Watson, told a conference of law enforcement officials that “I

Osama Bin Laden in December 2001

personally think he [Bin Laden] is probably not with us anymore,” before carefully adding that “I have no evidence to support that.”

In October 2002, Afghan President Hamid Karzai told CNN that “I would come to believe that [Bin Laden] probably is dead.”

In November 2005, Senator Harry Reid revealed that he was told Osama may have died in the Pakistani earthquake of October that year.

In September 2006, French intelligence leaked a report suggesting Osama had died in Pakistan.

On November 2, 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto told Al-Jazeera’s David Frost that Omar Sheikh had killed Osama Bin Laden.

In March 2009, former US foreign intelligence officer and professor of international relations at Boston University Angelo Codevilla stated: “All the evidence suggests Elvis Presley is more alive today than Osama Bin Laden.”

In May 2009, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari confirmed that his “counterparts in the American intelligence agencies” hadn’t heard anything from Bin Laden in seven years and confirmed “I don’t think he’s alive.”

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Tweaking. . .

. . . NOT twerking ! ! ! . . .

Paleolithic Goddess Figurine
(accordion part ) . . .



Round every corner and fade into blue
The Angelus rings, she comes into view
Nine is her number
In nine she is due
She will never fail you

Singing creation, look into her eyes
Out of her mouth she is speaking the sky
Circling heaven, higher than high
She in time is movement

Why should I move from her world vibration?
Molding this clay into
Paleolithic Goddess Figurines

Streaming to rivers, she floats on the sea
Gathers her children who sit on her knee
Showing and telling them where they are free
She is softly speaking

Holding the line when she seems unpleasant
Molding this clay into
Paleolithic Goddess Figurines

There is no real dilemma
She has her own agenda
Though there's a vulture hovering above our heads
Go on and trust the pattern
Her sun and moon are lanterns
Painting the firmament with stars

She is the vision of attention engaged
Breaking the spell of automaton rage
A circuit of heaven, a luminous wave
All is seen before her

Why should I move from her world vibration?
Molding this clay into
Paleolithic Goddess Figurines

Round every corner and fade into blue
The Angelus rings, she comes into view
Nine is her number
In nine she is due
She will never fail you


Paleolithic Goddess Figurine
written by John P. Graboski
performed by OHO- Jay Graboski, David Reeve and Ray Jozwiak






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Opening . . .

. . .the Monday Night Songwriters' Showcase this Monday evening upstairs at Brewer's Alley in Frederick MD at the embryonic grand.  Show starts at 7:30.

The featured performer this Monday (February 17) is Laura Baron. Song poet Laura is known for her powerful vocals and passionate delivery. She fills the venue with the emotion of her lyrics and the beauty of her voice. People find inspiration and a lightness of spirit in her songs of renewal, second chances and hope.

Laura performs and composes contemporary folk, blues and jazz. She often collaborates with other musicians on stage including co-writer and DC bassist Pat Quinn.

A multi-award winning singer songwriter, Laura is the recipient of three Gold Awards from the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. Her most recent CD, Scenes From The Avenue features many of her award winning songs. In 2008 she won Gold in the Jazz/Blues category for her song, Kindness Don't Rest Easy, which she performed at the Smithsonian Baird Auditorium as a part of the SAW/BWI songwriters showcase.

Monday Night Songwriters' Showcase (now in its ninth year!) is held on Monday evenings upstairs at Brewer's Alley, 124 N. Market St., in beautiful downtown Frederick, MD (except all but the first Monday of Decmber). The program starts at 7:30 pm with a piano prelude, followed by three or four songwriters doing three songs each (lots of variety). The featured songwriter for the evening goes on around 9 pm for around an hour, followed by two or three more three-song performers. Somewhere in the mix we may throw in some poetry. MCs are Ron Goad, Todd C. Walker and Tomy Wright, frequently interrupted by Rod Deacey. Tips are collected for the featured performer. You are encouraged to be generous if possible. Featured songwriters are a mix of national and regional touring performers, with many award winners from all genres. 


Not Like Me
from '2014' by Ray Jozwiak
available April 8, 2014




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An Entrepreneur. . .

. . . was opening a 'music studio' in our very own east Baltimore neighborhood (speaking of accordions).   (I always thought the term 'music studio' sounded impressive.  Sophisticated, cultured and exclusive.)  This studio was to be called the Maryland Accordion Institute.  (Talk about impressive, sophisticated, cultured and exclusive!)  The phone call was telemarketing for prospective clientele, namely wee sprites who were interested in learning to play that prince of all reed instruments, king of the Bohemian beer hall, and butt of many, many jokes - the accordion.  But, this was not the perception held by myself at the time.  Nor was it the perception held by many in a similar position at the time.  It was, quite honestly (and truly, unashamedly) an interesting and desirable proposition.  I was, indeed, VERY interested in learning to play the accordion.  DAMNED interested.  Those Sunday afternoons listening to Dad play his accordion, combined with my natural love of music, possibly even my lack of ambition and talent on the guitar, all united in my seven year old brain forming a profound hunger to learn to play the accordion.  As odd as it sounds, I did not regret at the time, nor do I now regret not pursuing the 'cool' -er musical path of playing the guitar.  It just never occurred to me that that's what I should have done.  And I never looked back.

You haven't lived . . . until you've heard forty seven accordionists playing HALLELUJAH I'M A BUM on a cold, Monday evening in November.  Kinda warms the cockles of your heart.  We used to have 'band practice', not as in a conventional 'band' of various compatible instruments rehearsing together for a performance, but a 'band' meaning a group, and 'practice' meaning just that.  And many of us most certainly needed practice. Theoretically, the concept had musical merit.  Playing with other music students promoted an understanding of time, tempo and dynamics, following a 'conductor' (of sorts) and taught cooperation, support, sympathy, patience, harmony, rhythm and accompaniment.

The configuration was four rows of metal, folding chairs of about 8 - 10 facing the conductor (an accordion teacher, most often Mr. Edward (Taylor) Krawcyk, whose back was to a row of assorted couches and chairs where the parents of the students sat to 'enjoy' the music of their progeny.  The protocol had the 'new' or less senior (accordion-wise) students in the first row, with students 'promoted' to the following rows as they progressed in skill, or sometimes when they merely 'hung in there' for a period, with or without really improving technically at all.  And the coup de gras for seriously dedicated students of the squeezebox, during each band practice, was the opportunity to perform a solo.  Only two rows of students were allowed to perform a  'solo' each week, simply because of the one-hour time limit of the weekly gathering.  The first two rows would offer solos one week, with only the 3rd and 4th rows the following week.  And Oh Boy, did I look forward to my time to 'shine' with a solo every other week.  This performance opportunity was not taken lightly, by myself at least, and much time and toil was taken in the selection, preparation and eventual performance of my bimonthly accordion solo. Yeah, that taste of public attention, appreciation, the thrill, the communication, the connection between performer and audience cannot be underestimated.  It's not ego.  It is a need.  Like a drug.  The accordion band practice refined my experience and perception of the performer/audience relationship.

After several years of accordion band practice sessions, which were really low-calibre concerts, I'm not quite sure what inspired or motivated me since nothing clear remains in my memory of the motivation, I wrote my first original composition. "You couldn't play the music so you made up your own,"  was one good-natured comment I received from the father of another accordion student at the conclusion of accordion practice on the night I chose to perform an original composition as my solo.  In fact, it was my very first original composition. The piece was entitled THE NEW YORK STRANGERS.  It was essentially, half blues and half folk song. It was not verse-chorus-verse-chorus, or verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus in structure.  It was first-part-second-part (repeat).  It had lyrics.  Very simple lyrics which I, unfortunately (and embarrassingly) do remember so will not repeat here.  It was inspired by. . . nothing in particular but the need to write an original composition.  Well, isn't that ENOUGH? The best part of the entire experience, and the finest nuance of the memory, is the look of pride on my very own father's face as I received congratulations from several listeners that evening.

There were times when I felt that I had ALWAYS taken accordion lessons.  Then there were times when I felt that I would never STOP taking them.  But through the twenty-twenty vision of hindsight, they were ten years well spent on lessons which exposed me, I can now say unwittingly, to a wealth of music theory.


Henry
©1997 Raymond M. Jozwiak
from 'Songs from Our Circle 4'




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Just Squeeze. . .

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_accordion)
The first accordion to feature a piano keyboard was probably the instrument introduced in 1852 by Bouton of Paris. Another source claimed the first piano accordion was introduced in 1854 at the Deutsche Industrieausstellung in München. It was showcased by the instrument builder Mattäus Bauer and quickly became a serious competitor to button accordions.

In the United States, the piano accordion dramatically increased in popularity between 1900-1930 based on its familiarity to students and teachers, and its uniformity, whereby accordion dealers and instructors did not have to support different styles of accordions for many European immigrant groups. The piano keyboard layout was also promoted by the fame of Vaudeville performers Guido Deiro and his brother Pietro who premiered the instrument on stage, recordings and radio. After the Deiro's success, popular chromatic button accordionist Pietro Frosini chose to disguise his accordion's buttons to look like a piano keyboard so as not to appear "old-fashioned." 

As of 1972 it could be largely said that the piano system dominated the English-Speaking North American continent, Scotland, and certain East European countries, while differing button systems are generally to be found in Scandinavia, France, Belgium and former Soviet countries. The piano accordion is also predominant in Italy, New Zealand, and Australia.
Comparison to chromatic button layout

Compared to a chromatic button layout, the advantages of using a piano layout on an accordion would be the layout's logical simplicity, the relative size of the buttons for fast legato flows, and its layout compared to standard notation. However, it has a smaller range, is too big to reach notes far apart, such as two octaves, and requires more finger movement to operate.


(We [OHO] are working on Jay's composition 'Paleolithic Goddess Figurine' and are working on adding - an accordion track!)

Paleolithic Goddess Figurine
written by John P. Graboski
performed by OHO- Jay Graboski, David Reeve and Ray Jozwiak





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Crabby? . . .

We all are, sometimes . . .



Shell Fire
by John Edward Smallshaw


I am the crab
the star on a slab.
dying,
you're frying tonight.

When you take me
you'll break me
and suck on my legs
devour me
deflower me.
I am a crab
the star on a slab.

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WTF . . .

. . . WHO not WHAT . . .

. . . can we trust? . . .

You NEVER hear the WHOLE story.   You NEVER get the COMPLETE news . . .


(from http://www.thenation.com/blog/178247/farm-bill-cuts-8-billion-food-stamps-preserves-handouts-koch-industries#)
After a conservative-led revolt against the Farm Bill, a five-year congressional funding program for agricultural and hunger programs, a deal will reportedly reach the president’s desk on Friday. The final iteration of the bill cuts $8 billion from food stamps, a key demand made by Americans for Prosperity, which aired advertisements and organized opposition to the initial Farm Bill because of the supposed waste of providing food assistance to needy families. Americans for Prosperity is controlled by the billionaire Koch brothers and their cohort. Koch groups claimed the Farm Bill serves “special interests and powerful corporations” over the taxpayers.

Yet, the final funding package contains a number of giveaways that benefit Koch Industries’ bottom line:

• Biomass Subsidies: The Farm Bill preserves $881 million in mandatory spending for biomass energy, a program that Koch Industries’ timber subsidiary Georgia-Pacific has used to to extract government subsidies. Georgia-Pacific applied and qualified for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program for its facilities in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Oregon and Florida. Lobbying reports from Koch Industries show that the company has pressured Congress on the Farm Bill, specifically on the BCAP program. Records also show that Koch Industries executive Deborah Baker asked Department of Agriculture officials to expand BCAP forestry eligibility.

• New Clean Water Act Exemption: The Farm Bill enacts a measure that ensures runoff of pesticides and other chemicals from forestry sites may not be regulated under the Clean Water Act as industrial pollution. The Farm Bill includes an amendment that would define the “EPA’s treatment of forestry operations as non-point sources of pollution under the Clean Water Act.” A bipartisan group of legislators sponsored the forestry amendment, which Wild Oregon warns will overturn “a recent court ruling that found that pollution originating from active logging roads be treated similarly to other industrial activities.” The group says the amendment poses “a serious risk not just to the [Nestucca River], but to countless other rivers and streams in Oregon that have been damaged by poor logging and road building practices.” Koch Industries’ Georgia-Pacific signed on with other companies in lobbying for this amendment to the Farm Bill.

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Koch Industries was also joined by other energy and timber corporations in lobbying for the expansion of biomass energy programs. Timber companies and their trade associations, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, came together to demand the Clean Water Act exemption.

Recipients of food stamps, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), had few resources to influence Congress. Although several grocery and convenient store industry groups pushed back against cuts on SNAP, defenders of food stamps were largely outgunned during the debate. Anti-poverty activists say the deep cuts in the food stamp program will amount to a $90 monthly reduction for many families.





So WTF . . . that's WHY not WHAT . . .
do we put up with it? ? ? !!!!!

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