Music could Die July 15th

Music could Die July 15th

Support the The Internet Radio Equality Act

Over the past decade, Internet Radio has been where new music could be heard, and where new artists were able to showcase their stuff.


http://www.savenetradio.org/musicians/index.html
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...
The concern about the recent CRB decision is that the performance royalty rates for Internet radio services is an increase of 300-1200 percent from what webcasters were previously paying, causing the majority of webcasters to close their doors come July 15th. It is simply impossible for webcasters to pay 150% of their revenue to royalties.
...
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http://www.savenetradio.org/musicians/index.html

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2007May/gee20070529005551.htm
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The Internet Radio Equality Act would reverse a decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which earlier this year handed down a decision that would raise royalty fees for Internet Radio between 300% and 1,200% over the next 5 years.

Such large increases in royalty fees are expected to cause many Internet Radio service providers to go out of business. As a result, a coalition called SaveNetRadio was established to lobby for a new law that would set royalty fees to be the same for Internet Radio as satellite radio services. Currently, satellite radio pays a royalty fee of 7.5% of revenue.
"
http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2007May/gee20070529005551.htm


http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/copyright-royalty-board/...
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Two misperceptions about Internet radio, according to Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren:

First:

...higher rates mean more money for artists. The reality is that the few Internet radio companies that opt to continue (and it will be VERY FEW) will be forced to license directly from labels. In this scenario, the artist share of the revenue will shrink to almost nothing as the monies will go directly to the label and be subject to the usual artist royalty rate (post-recoupment) of single digit percentages. So not only will this eliminate the vast majority of online stations that are the ONLY source of indie music exposure, it will take what little revenue is left from the artists.

Secondly:

...contrary to any statements by SoundExchange or RIAA representatives, Internet radio is not a highly profitable business nor will it be. For most (including Pandora), it's still a money-loser at the old rates that we are working as hard as we can (15 full time sales people are on the job) to turn profitable in a year or two. The growth figures put out by JP Morgan (recently revised downward from $500M to $150M) don't mean profitability—they mean more revenue which comes with greater costs. It's a thin margin business at best. No one's profiteering here.

For more about this situation, you can visit SaveNetRadio.org. – Wilson Rothman

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http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/copyright-royalty-board/...


Support the The Internet Radio Equality Act

Common Cause Lookup Page for Legislator Contacts U.S. Capitol Switchboard: Toll Free 877-851-6437 and 800-426-8073 or (202) 224-3121.

-- Mark Frankenberg

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Public Airwaves for the Public Good

http://www.civic.moveon.org/airwaves/?id=10433-6787274-0mqAyv&t=3
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Public Airwaves for the Public Good

The federal government is on the verge of turning over a huge portion of our public airwaves to companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast--who will use them for private enrichment instead of the public good.

These newly available airwaves are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to revolutionize Internet access -- beaming high-speed signals to every park bench, coffee shop, workplace, and home in America at more affordable prices than current Internet service. Phone and cable companies don't want this competition to their Internet service--they'd rather purchase the airwaves at auction and sit on them.

In June, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will make a major decision: Use the public airwaves for the public good, or turn them over to big companies who will stifle competition, innovation, and the wireless Internet revolution. We're urging the FCC to mandate that whoever wins the auction cannot stifle competition and innovation.

Can you sign this petition to the FCC today, and send it to your friends?
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http://www.civic.moveon.org/airwaves/?id=10433-6787274-0mqAyv&t=3


-- Mark Frankenberg

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US versus THEM.. gimme a break

US versus THEM.. gimme a break

Don't let hatemongers divide us. It's part of their plan.
Two arms, two legs, a head.. good with me from the get go:

This first one's mine:



The next two are a 1957 film about how zealots divide working people to seize power:





-- Mark Frankenberg

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How is Today's America like Nazi Germany?

Here's a quick, to-the-point set of leads for you, if you have any doubts as to the seriousness of today's problem:

http://www.uksociety.org/us_germany_parallels_1.htm
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• lack of real political opposition (weak Weimar government--weak Democratic Party)
• consolidation of massive amounts of power without a clear mandate from the people (1932 election - 2000 election)
• usurpation of leftist terminology to further a RW agenda (national socialism - compassionate conservatism)
• the use of propaganda (Goebbels - Rove, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, FoxNews, CNN)
• hatred of the French
• an appeasing British Prime Minister (Chamberlain - Blair)
• contempt for the international community (Hitler ignores the Treaty of Versailles - Bush ignores the ABM treaty and U.N. treaties on global warming, the international criminal court, landmines, chemical and biological weapons)
• hatred directed at leftists and other groups in opposition to the government (communists - war protesters)
• hatred directed at minority groups (Jews - Arabs)
• weapons of mass destruction cited as a reason to invade other countries (Hitler claims that Poland could use poison gas against Germany - Bush claims Saddam Hussein could use poison gas against the U.S.)
• a terrorist attack on the country as the final catalyst for fascism (Reichstag fire - 9/11 attacks)
• the merging of big business with government (Krupps - Halliburton)
• extreme nationalism (Nazi flags everywhere - American flags everywhere)
• a culture that emphasizes the physical over the intellectual (Aryan *supermen* - American redneckism)
• leader worship (Hitler as Der Fuhrer - Bush as God's child)
• the creation of an internal security department (Gestapo - Department of Homeland Security)
• massive build-up of military and police forces (paramilitary SS dressed in black - paramilitary cops dressed in black)
• the use *lightning* warfare (blitzkrieg - shock and awe)
• easy military victories setting the stage for other conquests (Sudentenland - Poland and France, Iraq - Syria and Iran)
• eventual disastrous conflict with the Russians (WWII - Armageddon?)

"
http://www.uksociety.org/us_germany_parallels_1.htm




-- Mark Frankenberg

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Something is Fishy in Tampa Bay

Something is Fishy in Tampa Bay.

We Have Centcom right down the street.. we have WMNF radio (88.5 FM .. www.wmnf.org) and we have a LOT of political discourse. The word Kennedy comes to mind, too..

There's a lot of dirty stuff going on in Tampa Bay.

Want to get a flavor for life in Tampa Bay? Check out this blog:
http://www.tampasbackdoor.blogspot.com/

You see,.. Not ALL of us have sold out to the dark side.

-- Mark Frankenberg

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ASK Governor CRIST to SAVE PUBLIC ACCESS TV

Please call FL Governor Charlie Crist's office at 850-488-7146, or send an electronic message, immediately, and ask him to veto House Bill 529. Ask the governor to do his job in preserving our republican government (I.E. representative democracy) by strengthening the people's access to our common, public airwaves. America needs the ability to publicly debate issues of the day on the television in a meaningful way in order to stay free.

-- Mark Frankenberg

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BUSH tries to Make U.S. Government Irrelevant

ARROGANCE.

The FOOLS who voted in the last two presidential elections as though they were wagering on the winner in a football game, the FOOLS who embrace the criminal role of America the destroyer, the pillager, the FOOLS who listen to "FAUX NOISE" and swallow every bit of it, having learned long ago to deny any doubt and just go with the flow..

The FOOLS who have enabled the selling out of our country, the leaching of capital and industry from our land; who have pushed our home to the brink of totalitarian dictatorship where torture and killing in the name of JESUS is considered patriotism..

Have stooped to the UTTER FOUL HATEFUL COWARDICE of calling a former President of the United States "Irrelevant".

The FOOLS who destabilized the Middle East by invading a sovereign, secular state thereby plunging it into squalor and religious fundamentalist terror, putting our own country into debt at the expense of our own present and future prosperity, who are working day and night to bankrupt our government and hand it over to weak leadership in order to encourage the total corporatization of governing power..

These IRRESPONSIBLE, TREACHEROUS TORIES are doing their best to make AMERICA IRRELEVANT.

DAMN THEM.

HONOR YOUR OATH.

-- Mark Frankenberg

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MAKE YOUR DAY COUNT -- R.I.P. Yolanda King

We Thank those who have passed on, for the good they did. We mourn those who no longer share this world with us.

We don't have forever. Make your time here count.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6637457,00.html
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Daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. Dies

Wednesday May 16, 2007 1:16 PM

AP Photo NY114, NY126, NY127

By ERRIN HAINES

Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - Yolanda King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, has died. She was 51.

King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. The family did not know the cause of death, but relatives think it might have been a heart problem, he said.

``She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society,'' the King family said in a statement.

Born on Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., Yolanda Denise King was just an infant when her home was bombed amid the turbulent civil rights era.

She became an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including ``Ghosts of Mississippi,'' and as Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries ``King.''

``Yolanda was lovely. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm,'' said the Rev. Joseph Lowery, One of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement. ``She was a warm and gentle person and was thoroughly committed to the movement and found her own means of expressing that commitment through drama.''

The Rev. Al Sharpton said he expressed his condolences to her brother Martin Luther King III on Wednesday. Sharpton said Yolanda King was a ``torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right.''

``Yolanda never wavered from a commitment to nonviolent social change and justice for all,'' he said. ``She was the first daughter of the civil rights movement and never shamed her parents or her co-activists.''

Yolanda King founded and led Higher Ground Productions, billed as a ``gateway for inner peace, unity and global transformation.'' On her company's Web site, she described her mission as encouraging personal growth and positive social change.

She was also an author and a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - which her father co-founded in 1957 - and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The flag at The King Center, where she was a board member, flew at half-staff on Wednesday.

Yolanda King was the most visible and outspoken among the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s four children during this year's Martin Luther King Day in January, the first since the death of their mother, Coretta Scott King.

At her father's Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, she performed a series of solo skits that told stories including a girl's first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student's recollection of the 1963 desegregation of Birmingham, Ala.

She also urged the audience to be a force for peace and love, and to use the King holiday each year to ask tough questions about their own beliefs about prejudice.

``We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other,'' she said.

When asked by The Associated Press at that event how she was dealing with the loss of her mother, she responded: ``I connected with her spirit so strongly. I am in direct contact with her spirit, and that has given me so much peace and so much strength.''

Survivors include her sister, the Rev. Bernice A. King, and brothers Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King.

Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a brief statement.

"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6637457,00.html

-- Mark Frankenberg

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Corporatist Brain: Frank Luntz

Corporatist Brain: Frank Luntz

Ever wonder why corporatists all seem to be talking about the same stuff in unison, kind of like a bunch of axe-handles bound together in common purpose (definition of "fasce", the root of "fascism", by the way)? It's because their mouthpieces.. Limbaugh, Hannity, O'reilly, Savage, Coulter, countless others... GINGRICH.. get their thinking instructions from Frank Luntz. Wanna know where to look to figure out what kind of goop is in the minds of these goose-steppers lately? Look to their programmer:

FRANK LUNTZ
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/luntz.html

-- Mark Frankenberg

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Al Arian?

What's the Story with Al Arian?



kudos St. Pete for Peace

-- Mark Frankenberg

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Why the Media Silence on Gonzales?

Why the Media Silence on Gonzales?

Maybe today we'll find out:

http://www.freep.com...
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It's Conyers' turn to question Gonzales today

May 10, 2007

By TODD SPANGLER

FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON -- House Judiciary chairman and Detroit Congressman John Conyers gets his opportunity to question Attorney General Alberto Gonzales this morning about the forced resignations of eight federal prosecutors.

Gonzales' appearance before the House committee comes three weeks after he spoke to its Senate counterpart
...
"
http://www.freep.com...

-- Mark Frankenberg

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POSADA = proof that the "War on Terror" is a Lie

POSADA = proof that the "War on Terror" is a Lie

google news:
"
Cuban fury as US court throws out anti-Castro 'terrorist' case
Belfast Telegraph, UK - 2 hours ago
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington. Cuba has condemned a decision by a US court to free a former CIA operative accused of carrying out a series of terrorist ...

Cuban Militant Still Could Be Deported Guardian Unlimited, UK - 3 hours ago From AP. AP Photo NY108. By JUAN A. LOZANO. AP Writer. HOUSTON (AP) - Attorneys for an anti-Castro Cuban militant whose immigration fraud case was tossed ...

Legal victory by militant Cuban exile in US brings both glee and rage International Herald Tribune, France - 6 hours ago By Abby Goodnough and Marc Lacey. MIAMI: An elderly exile linked to deadly bombings in Cuba and on a Cuban airliner was on his way back to Miami as a free ...

Pressure grows to prosecute Cuban exile Los Angeles Times, CA - 7 hours ago By Carol J. Williams, Times Staff Writer. MIAMI — Three months before the 1976 midair explosion of a Cuban plane off the coast of Barbados, ...

Cuban Militant's Indictment Tossed Out
Guardian Unlimited, UK - 13 hours ago
From AP. By JUAN A. LOZANO. AP Writer. HOUSTON (AP) - A judge threw out an immigration fraud indictment against a former CIA operative, drawing accusations ...
"
google news

-- Mark Frankenberg

HEAR the MUSIC
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http://donkeyod.wordpress.com/
"

"
http://donkeyod.wordpress.com/

-- Mark Frankenberg

HEAR the MUSIC
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Air America Radio Gaining in Mainstream Popularity

Air America Radio Gaining in Mainstream Popularity

If there is a rallying point for people who don't like what rich crooks are doing to our world, this could be it. Under attack since its inception a couple years ago, AIR AMERICA RADIO has a daily lineup that will cure anyone with a brain of Goebbels-itis ("conservative" corporate radio). AIR AMERICA has some GREAT people on. I would love to see Randi Rhodes, Lionel and Thom Hartmann debate corporatist shill Limbaugh. The latter would turn to dust and never be heard from again, like Joe McCarthy. AIR AMERICA RADIO is worth a look, regularly, and this effort is really worth your support.



-- Mark Frankenberg

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People move Left. Dirty Deeds move governments to the Right

Calderon,.. Sarkozy,.. I wonder if our American Intel community had anything to do with these things:

google news
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France moves right
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - 1 hour ago
The decisive victory of Nicolas Sarkozy over Socialist Segolene Royal in France's presidential elections on Sunday was the most recent example of the ...

Celebrations, Protests Greet Sarkozy Victory in France Chosun Ilbo, South Korea - 2 hours ago French voters celebrated Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential election victory well into the night, as thousands of people gathered in central Paris, ...

Women, workers backed Sarkozy Baltimore Sun, MD - 6 hours ago AP. PARIS // Nicolas Sarkozy won the women's vote and fared well among blue-collar workers, even though his rival for the French presidency was a woman and ...

Sarkozy win sends clear message: France is back Houston Chronicle, TX - 8 hours ago By JIM HOAGLAND. Nicolas Sarkozy relied on vast stores of ambition, will power and intelligence to win France's presidency on Sunday. ...

Sarkozy takes a strong stance on world stage Houston Chronicle, TX - 8 hours ago By ANGELA CHARLTON. AP. Sarkozy said in his victory speech that his France will stand up against tyranny, dictators and fundamentalist Muslim oppression of ...

Unions fire first shots in battle with Sarkozy Guardian Unlimited, UK - 9 hours ago Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday flew off for a three-day retreat in Malta to prepare for his French presidential takeover next week, while unions warned that any ...

Sarkozy retreats to plot strategy TVNZ, New Zealand - 9 hours ago French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy has disappeared on a retreat with his family to consider his government line-up and plot strategy for a crucial ...

Widespread post-poll violence in France Pakistan Dawn, Pakistan - 10 hours ago PARIS, May 7: More than 700 cars were set alight and 600 people arrested in violence that hit cities across France after the presidential election victory ...

France gives Sarkozy strong mandate for his vision Taipei Times, Taiwan - 11 hours ago French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy plans to waste no time pushing through a weighty package of pro-market, anti-crime reforms -- but his first battle is ...

Hundreds Are Arrested in Post-Election Riots Across France New York Times, NY - 11 hours ago By CRAIG S. SMITH. PARIS, May 7 — Violent protests against the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France ended early Monday after hundreds of ...

Sarkozy election turns new page in French politics Xinhua, China - 12 hours ago PARIS, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Nicolas Sarkozy's Sunday victory in the French presidential run-off has ushered in a new page in French politics as the ...

France's Sarkozy turns to forming govt, next polls Reuters Canada, Canada - 13 hours ago By Anna Willard. PARIS (Reuters) - French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy disappeared on a retreat with his family on Monday to consider his government ...

Sarkozy Win Comes From Unlikely Corners
Guardian Unlimited, UK - 14 hours ago
From AP. AP Photo PAR121, PAR108, PAR114, XFM102. By JAMEY KEATEN. PARIS (AP) - Nicolas Sarkozy won the women's vote and fared well among blue-collar ...
"
google news

-- Mark Frankenberg

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Greed sets world afire

Outside the world is tinged yellow, inside choking over the hepa filter for breathable air. Thanks for nothing, you rich crooks who are enabling our world to burn to a cinder.

http://www.bradenton.com/180/story/42755.html
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Smoke drifts south over much of Tampa Bay

Paul Videla

Bradenton -- 05/08/2007 -- Smoke blankets Bradenton early Tuesday morning, a result of ongoing brush and forest fires in surrounding counties. Manatee County residents who suffer from breathing problems are advised to stay indoors. PAUL VIDELA/pvidela@bradenton.com]]

HERALD STAFF REPORT

Residents this morning in much of the Tampa Bay area, including west Bradenton and East Manatee are smelling the distinctive odor of woods fire.

Pinellas County Emergency Communications reports the smell of smoke and haze is primarily due to wind conditions blowing smoke into the area from working brush fires in Hillsborough, Volusia and Flagler counties and also from Georgia.

People with breathing problems are urge to stay indoors if possible.

"
http://www.bradenton.com/180/story/42755.html
-- Mark Frankenberg

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Mike Gravel, Populist / Libertaran .. Free Thinker.. Worth a look:

Mike Gravel, Populist / Libertaran .. Free Thinker.. Worth a look:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Gravel
"

During his first term in the Senate, Gravel wrote a book titled Citizen Power, in which he advocated the implementation of numerous populist ideas:

• a guaranteed annual income (dubbed the "Citizen's Wage"),
• public financing of elections,
• progressive tax with no deductions or exemptions,
• steps against the military-industrial complex (which he calls the "Warfare State"),
• a national law to do away with voter registration and other barriers to voting,
• abolition of the death penalty,
• universal health care, school vouchers,
• a drastic reduction in government secrecy, and an end to what he viewed as an imperialistic foreign policy.

"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Gravel

-- Mark Frankenberg

HEAR the MUSIC
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