Rastamia - Introducing Rastafari (2006) - Document

An hour long documentary introducing the cultural, historical and spiritual aspects of Rastafarianism as explained by a group of followers in the City of Miami. The film delivers a message of hope and reconciliation by systematically explaining away the myths behind Rastafarianism as viewed by outsiders, resulting in a clearer understanding of this hybrid culture.

Im Copyright Crimical, apparently ?


Yes, atleast according to Myspace content filter!

Story starts around 3 years ago. I was mc'ing for a local dnb crew Large Amount Of Soul aka L.A.O.S who scored a big hit in dnb circles called Panda Style.

Things went nicely and i voiced a some small parts to JayEm's beat which was almost instantly signed to danish Spin Recordings label. It came out as 10" on 2008 and tune is called Strong. Small 2 minute clip has been on my myspace player ever since.. That is, until 17th of November, 2009.

I logged in to myspace to actually upload some new promo clips for forth coming Intergalaktik releases that are coming out in week or two only to find out that i got a mail from MySpace help.. Whats that ? Oh, it said that i have material in my player that WMG has copyrights to. WTF?! Warner Music Group. So this huge company is now stating that they own a copyrights to a tune that I have voiced, JayEm produced and published by small independent dnb label. On the other hand, tune in question is registered to Teosto and NCB under mine and JayEm's names. Plus Spin hasnt informed anyone from L.A.O.S about re-licensing.

So, after going thru myspace "Copyright Camp"  and filing a counter claim, i decided to call up local Warner office. After few calls, i was directed to their " Digital Key Account Manager" and after a brief chat with the guy, i got this reply (freely translated)

Yeah, i've heard that these things happen, you are not the first one how have reported similar issue. Give me your myspace url and I'll add you to the whitelist in MySpace.  It will take about a day to get your account cleared.
Lets see how things will progress from this point.  Reading stuff like this: http://torrentfreak.com/copyright-drama-prevents-artist-from-sharing-music-on-myspace-091007/ doesnt really raise my hopes up.  But lets see how things turn out. I'll keep all my two readers posted.

In meanwhile, check out the new releases from Intergalaktik Label on .. tadaa! Myspace! http://www.myspace.com/intergalaktiksound

Gay Issue #2

(New York, NY - 3, September 2009) Gargamel Music is pleased to confirm that four-time Grammy nominated Reggae artist and icon, Buju Banton will kick off his hotly anticipated Rasta Got Soul US Tour on September 12th in Philadelphia.

We are disappointed by the hasty cancellation of a few shows by Live Nation/House of Blues and Goldenvoice/AEG, but fans will be happy to know we have over 30 confirmed shows that are definitely playing and we are working to replace the canceled dates. Now our team is primarily concerned with setting the record straight on the grossly inaccurate portrait of Buju being painted by certain organizations and systematically relayed to the masses and the media.

Buju Banton was all of 15-years-old when he wrote "Boom Bye Bye" in response to a widely publicized man/boy rape case in Jamaica. It was not a call to violence. The song was re-released on a popular dancehall rhythm in 1992 and caused a huge uproar after receiving commercial radio play in the States. Following much public debate back then, prominent gay rights leaders - and Buju - decidedly moved on. For the record, it is the only song he ever made on the subject - and he does not perform it today.

Those who have followed Buju Banton's musical journey and have actually listened to his extensive catalog, know of his development into a world-class singer, songwriter and performer who can quietly sell out such prestigious venues as the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York and Brixton Academy in London. He does not advocate violence. There has never been a shred of violence at any of his live shows. In fact, he commonly preaches against violence - against all people.

Buju's consistently positive messages of peace, love and enlightenment have never been lost in the music. His 1995 Grammy-nominated album 'Til Shiloh marked a spiritual and musical transformation that yielded the classic narratives "Untold Stories," "Wanna Be Loved" and "Murderer," which personified the horrific increase in gun crimes in Kingston's inner city. His Grammy-nominated Inna Heights (1997) garnered him numerous comparisons to the late, great Bob Marley.

Long before Hollywood raised its collective consciousness about Darfur, there was Buju Banton wailing about the genocide happening in "Sudan" on 1999's Unchained Spirit. His Friends For Life (2003) and Too Bad (2006) projects were both acknowledged with Grammy nods for Best Reggae Album. Buju's latest Roots Reggae opus, Rasta Got Soul (2009), has already been welcomed with critical acclaim in the US, Europe and Japan.

The artist's love for humanity is not just demonstrated in words but also in deeds. Twelve years ago he responded to the AIDS crisis in Jamaica by launching Operation Willy, an organization focused on raising monies for HIV positive babies and children who lost their parents to the disease. For three years he served as a celebrity spokesperson for Upliftment Jamaica, a US-based non-profit committed to working with underprivileged youth back home.

Yet none of these personal and professional accomplishments matter much to a gay lobby hell bent on destroying the livelihood of a man who has spent an entire career making amends -- his way. Sadly, their 17 year fixation on waging war against one artist has prevented them from turning this initiative into a larger, more fruitful discussion that could perhaps effect real change. 
If you search for "We Support Buju Banton" in facebook, you will find two groups. Check out "the other" and read up what sort of comments people leave to the wall.

Just Sickening.

Generation M Manifesto

This is not my entry but its interesting never the less. Its similarry thought provoking as posts i've been republishing from TED


Dear Old People Who Run the World,
My generation would like to break up with you.
Everyday, I see a widening gap in how you and we understand the world — and what we want from it. I think we have irreconcilable differences.

You wanted big, fat, lazy "business." We want small, responsive, micro-scale commerce.

You turned politics into a dirty word. We want authentic, deep democracy — everywhere.

You wanted financial fundamentalism. We want an economics that makes sense for people — not just banks.

You wanted shareholder value — built by tough-guy CEOs. We want real value, built by people with character, dignity, and courage.

You wanted an invisible hand — it became a digital hand. Today's markets are those where the majority of trades are done literally robotically. We want a visible handshake: to trust and to be trusted.

You wanted growth — faster. We want to slow down — so we can become better.

You didn't care which communities were capsized, or which lives were sunk. We want a rising tide that lifts all boats.

You wanted to biggie size life: McMansions, Hummers, and McFood. We want to humanize life.

You wanted exurbs, sprawl, and gated anti-communities. We want a society built on authentic community.

You wanted more money, credit and leverage — to consume ravenously. We want to be great at doing stuff that matters.

You sacrificed the meaningful for the material: you sold out the very things that made us great for trivial gewgaws, trinkets, and gadgets. We're not for sale: we're learning to once again do what is meaningful.
There's a tectonic shift rocking the social, political, and economic landscape. The last two points above are what express it most concisely. I hate labels, but I'm going to employ a flawed, imperfect one: Generation "M."
What do the "M"s in Generation M stand for? The first is for a movement. It's a little bit about age — but mostly about a growing number of people who are acting very differently. They are doing meaningful stuff that matters the most. Those are the second, third, and fourth "M"s.
Gen M is about passion, responsibility, authenticity, and challenging yesterday's way of everything. Everywhere I look, I see an explosion of Gen M businesses, NGOs, open-source communities, local initiatives, government. Who's Gen M? Obama, kind of. Larry and Sergey. The Threadless, Etsy, and Flickr guys. Ev, Biz and the Twitter crew. Tehran 2.0. The folks at Kiva, Talking Points Memo, and FindtheFarmer. Shigeru Miyamoto, Steve Jobs, Muhammad Yunus, and Jeff Sachs are like the grandpas of Gen M. There are tons where these innovators came from.
Gen M isn't just kind of awesome — it's vitally necessary. If you think the "M"s sound idealistic, think again.
The great crisis isn't going away, changing, or "morphing." It's the same old crisis — and it's growing.
You've failed to recognize it for what it really is. It is, as I've repeatedly pointed out, in our institutions: the rules by which our economy is organized.
But they're your institutions, not ours. You made them — and they're broken. Here's what I mean:
"... For example, the auto industry has cut back production so far that inventories have begun to shrink — even in the face of historically weak demand for motor vehicles. As the economy stabilizes, just slowing the pace of this inventory shrinkage will boost gross domestic product, or GDP, which is the nation's total output of goods and services."
Clearing the backlog of SUVs built on 30-year-old technology is going to pump up GDP? So what? There couldn't be a clearer example of why GDP is a totally flawed concept, an obsolete institution. We don't need more land yachts clogging our roads: we need a 21st Century auto industry.
I was (kind of) kidding about seceding before. Here's what it looks like to me: every generation has a challenge, and this, I think, is ours: to foot the bill for yesterday's profligacy — and to create, instead, an authentically, sustainably shared prosperity.
Anyone — young or old — can answer it. Generation M is more about what you do and who you are than when you were born. So the question is this: do you still belong to the 20th century - or the 21st?
Love,

Umair and the Edge Economy Community
PS. I've re-formatted the original text a bit to make it easier to read on my blog, not other changes were made. Original article here: http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2009/07/today_in_capitalism_20_1.html

Rest In Peace Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson


Rest in Peace Steely!

Steely of music production duo is dead
Tuesday, 01 September 2009

Wycliffe Johnson, popularly known as Steely of the dancehall reggae production duo, Steely and Clevie, has died. RJR News is receiving information that Steely died on Tuesday morning in a New York Hospital from complications following a heart attack.

Our news centre understands that Steely was recuperating from Tuberculosis and kidney related problems.

Steely and Clevie have worked with artistes such as The Specials, Gregory Peck, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man, Sean Paul and No Doubt.

Steely debuted as a keyboardist with Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion collective in the 1970s.

Steely and Clevie first played together at Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark Studios during the late 1970s.

In 1986, the duo was the house band at King Jammy's Studio, which became the centre point of late-1980s reggae, by which time Steely & Clevie were established production leaders with an immense slew of 12-inch and dub singles.

The duo formed the Steely & Clevie label in 1987.

Notting Hill 2009 @ YouTube (UPDATED #2)

Carnival over! And as usual, everyone of us who stayed at home are feeling that we missed it all ;)

To relief the pain i'm scrouring thru youtube to find footage of what did happen. Here's a what i've found so
far:

Channel One












Jah Observer





Aba Shanti I
























Gladdy Wax

Ras Alcohol in da houz!

Ras Alcohol!

Lately i've seen few idren to refer to 'ras alcohol' when they talk about people or rasses who drink - in degregating way. And well, i have no shame to admit that i like to drink beer and occasionally something stronger too. So this topic had me thinking of how I see the mighty alcohol.

First, i know what alcohol does to people and it aint pretty. Of which, im sure, most of you know it too. My mother is drunkard, so was my uncle. I used to drink quite heavily when i was yute. But at some point i stopped consumption of all alcohol based products,  including vinegar and fermented products. That phase lasted around 6 or 7 years during which i didnt even willingly socialize with anyone who was drunk. It was abomination to the I. But them something changed...

One of the reasons why i quit was the feeling that i was not in control of myself when intoxicated. If someone was suggesting  something stupid, i was the first one to jump into a well. I had no control of what i said and well, i did not like myself when i was drunken. But things change and now i know my limits and i know how to behave. And i've come to realize alot about alcohol, and people too.

I see that people are not really aware of themselves, drunken or sober. Ordinary people are just passengers in vehicle called there lifes. Even "good people" are like that. Autopilot is in full control and when you pour wrong kind of gasoline to the engine, accidents are bound to happen.

For the I, rastafari trod is about self improvement thru guidance of the most high God. Jah Rastafari! Part of Self improvement is evaluation of the I. Consciousness of I's actions. Realizing this, i have now a newly found fate that i can 'hold my liquer'. Im not passenger anymore. But i also need to point out that this self improvement isnt because i need to drink or to justify my habbit.

But then, weed is also a mind altering substance. It can mess up your life as much as beer too. In this perspective, my personal belief is that no substance is evil by its own definition. Only rationale - to justify not to drink - in this topic is bingi tradition and what the I holds as a moral truth. And  when you extend your own decizions to others, its a question of how you treat your bredrins.

What we really need is to actually learn to respect other people before burning the  fire. Their decisions are their's, our's ours.

Jah Nuh Dead

I got a riddim cd last week from I bredrins called Temppeli up from Jyväskylä, Finland.  I've been listening to the tunes for every day now and one thing's for sure. Matti Kauhu, Heikki Acid Root & Ras Shemi will do some serious uplifting in roots scene when they start to publish their music. Its just that excellent.

So I've been writing some lyrics to the tunes and noticed i got some heavy vibes from Burning Spear. Here's something to share so far:






Jah Nuh DeadJah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Jah Live On
In The Hearts
In The Hearts and Minds of Man
Who Walk the Righterous Road
With the Bible in His Hand
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Nuh Dead
Jah Jah Live On
In the Thoughts
In the Works and Thoughts of Sistren
Who Hail the King of Creation
Again and again and again

And last thing, i've seen few websites with certain text in the past too but this morning i got a link to a site i havent visited before.  If you havent had the opportunity to read the early writings of rastafari movement, you can do it right now by clicking on title below the book covers:

The Wisdom Of Rastafari - "by Rastafarian Group" 
The Holy Piby - Robert Athlyi Rogers
Fitz Balintine Pettersburgh
 
The Promised Key - G.G. Maragh

Isä meidän ja ne muut.

Quick apology about the language first. Matter revolves around translations and Finnish so thats what im going for too.


Lainaus Isä meidän - rukouksesta
anna meille meidän syntimme anteeksi,
niin kuin mekin anteeksi annamme niille,
jotka ovat meitä vastaan rikkoneet.
Ja perään tiukka kysymys:

Jos me annamme anteeksi meitä kohtaan rikkoneille, miksi me anomme anteeksi antoa Jumalalta synneistämme? "Me" sanalla tarkoitan tässä kollektiivista Suomen jumalaa pelkäävää ev.lut. tapakristitty.

Eikö rikkeemme toisia kohtaan ole syntiä ? Entä "ne muut" ja "heidän rikkeet".

Gay issue

After the work today, i picked up a new issue of City magazine that had an article about Akuliina Saarikoski. She's titled as "Finland's most famour activist". And attention whore (pun intended) as i am, i wanted to write a small piece about the things i started to think.

Well, for starters, it goes without saying that "majority" of people consider Rastafari as homophobic. Names like Peter Tatchell made that a "world wide news" when he started his compain against "murder music" and went after the likes of Buju Banton, Sizzla & Capleton. So, i must be a phobic too right? Outright false accusation if you ask me.  My personal take on the matter is that i don't absolutely any interest of what is happening within your and your family, bedroom, officeplace or where ever. Its your business and mine's mine. So what's the deal then ? Back to Akuliina's interview with few chosen quotes (bolds are questions presented and 'scuse if i didnt succeed in translation)

Why having an  hetero culture offends you ? 
Hetero culture's idea is to assimilate all abnormalities into itself. At this time, only accepted way of living  is to model the hetero family model: 2 adults, row house, dog, kid or two.

To what extend, government can affect people's sexuality?
 .... (Love) Partnerships should be agreement between people, not between people and government. Problems start only when other partner is significantly in lower position than the other. For example, this happen other partner is very young and almost always between a man and a woman.
If i would draw a conclusion of what is being said here, she's opposing a partnership between  man and woman because the hetero culture is trying to assimilating all that is different and make it acceptable in the eyes of other heteros.  So, what is the alternative ? Have gays to be what they want to be. I fully support this sort of thing, its basicly a struggle for a freedom. But then, Akuliina goes on defining that partnership between man and woman is "allmost always a cause of problems" and that is her attack vector to demolish hetero culture. She talk's about converting people to gay culture.

And thats where i personally draw the line. Maybe its the vibe laid down by the interviewer but i get the feeling from the interview that Akuliina's (and possible other gay activists) view is that all hetero sexuals are stereotypicly a single minded entity that does not accept alternative way of living and love and thus she feels that she has a right to use same tactics as hetero culture. Assimilate and integrate.  And this is the exact reason why "i have problem with gays". But bare with me, i openly admit that what i just wrote, is a stereotypic view of a hetero sexual man. My wife might think otherwise but atleast i do think that our communion is working one, problems we have are between a Partner and a Partner, not between a man and a woman.  What we do, what we look like, who we decide to support and who we dispice are based on the actions and words of said person. His or her sexuality excluded. Maybe it's a privilege of being so well integrated into heterosexual culture?

Same time, different media. One blogger wrote about city of Helsinki's instructions on how to prevent racism. He quotes part of these instructions about how to identify a racism.

Racism in all its forms is prohibited in all city functions. Racism is a ideology that divides people on basis of their race and/or  culture unto different groups.
Its questinable if this definition of racism valid if culture is taken into consideration on this subject. Think about, if you define a culture, its already a "division of people".  Maybe you have opion about that, do share *wink* *wink*.  But the reason why i wanted to drag that matter into "Gay Issue" is quite obvious, atleast to me ;) So, lets iterate it once more:

Racism divides people into groups on basic of their race or culture.
What it is then, when gay activist declares that hetero that Women and Men together are a problem to start with and such behaviour should be destroyed thru acts of terror (on Akuliina's behalf, she makes it clear that such stamement was just populist, not a real treat against hetero couples). Maybe she's right but the angle Saarikoski is using is as revolting to me as any downpressor racist, fundamentalist or terrorist.  What she's quilty of in my eyes: grouping of people with non-heterosexual values into something that is a better human being compared to those of us that are heteros. In my eyes, she's as guilty as any homophobic of the same segregation of people into different groups.

This Is Way I Hate Gays.

Dennis Brown, Crown Prince Of Reggae, In Memoriam

Ten years ago, on 1st of July, 1999, Dennis Emmanual Brown lost his life  and world lost one of the most successfull and prolific reggae icons.  Without the likes of him and Bob Marley, i doupt the the penetration of reggae music wouldn't be what it is today. Where Bob's lyrics where slightly more easier for the western people, Dennis walked his own path delivering lovers tunes and rootical vibes praising the allmighty Jah Rastafari (personal opinion, feel free to disagree). 
These days, we see lots of fussing and fighting, even amongst the rastafari and new barriers and walls are being build everyday. In that contrast, a meditation from DEB is in order:
No man is an island
No man stands alone
Treat each man as your brother
Remember each man’s dream as your own

Even thou i'm a day late, i setup a collaborative playlist on Spotify to share his works. If you have spotify account, feel free to drop by and listen the tracks and if you have anything to add into the list, please do so.
Bro Joseph, your legacy shall live on! Rastafari.

More about war in middle east.

I was googling for some Richard Feynman quotes this morning and ended up in a website DaylightAtheism.  There was a writing by the author of a site that was quoting few Rabbi's about how could peace be archived in Gaza strip. One of the quotes, from Manis Friedman of the Chabad-Lubavitch moveme, was quite disturbing:

I don't believe in western morality, i.e. don't kill civilians or children, don't destroy holy sites, don't fight during holiday seasons, don't bomb cemeteries, don't shoot until they shoot first because it is immoral.

The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle).

The first Israeli prime minister who declares that he will follow the Old Testament will finally bring peace to the Middle East.

Original article here: http://www.daylightatheism.org/2009/06/why-there-is-war-in-the-mideast.html

And if you are wondering what was the quote of Feynman i was looking for:

"Know how to solve every problem that has been solved."

That quote made me feel warm inside =)

Sending love to the TTOI California!

Greetings in that divine name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ , who has been revealed to us, in that wonderful personality of his Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie the 1st.

Greetings through the Twelve Tribes of Israel , which was once lost and scattered abroad, and has now been founded in the Island of Jamaica by our beloved Prophet brother Gad, and functioning world wide.

I also greet you in that orthodox faith, which is not a function of writs and writes, but a mystical co-operating function of one's heart, in plain words, to be born again. 


Much love and raspects to the cali ttoi house! 

Sometimes I feel ashamed to call myself Rasta.

Here's a quote, translated from finnish to english to catch a wider audience. In some essence, reading something like this makes me feel ashamed to be associated with any other dreadlock.

Here in the western world there are alot of feminists, some even with dreadlocks. Some of them are women that have been left (by their men) many times because they treat their men like doormats. New boom is that these women are driving a sort of "womans liberation in rastafari". In reality empresses live peacefully in trinity, with their families and are quite satisfied and do not understand where order has vanished when they try to drive things without consorting and support from their kingman.

Review: Anthony B - Rise Up

In the portable.

The thing is, i havent really been a big fan of any recent jamaican production be it dancehall or roots. Later even more so. Anthony B - Rise Up is exception! This album has been in my celly for couple of weeks now and i still find myself cueing it to my playlist.  And belive me, that happens very rarely with any artist or genre. Riddims sound abit thin here and there but as said, playing mostly on a celly. Im sure tunes sound better on a soundsystem. Nothing new in Anthonys flow and the lyrics are at times a bit overused. And ofcourse there is bunch of familiar riddims but im so bad remembering any names. Back to basics right?

So whats so good about it then?

Its really good album as a whole and each tune stands in its own. I dont follow new music so much but i think this is kinda rare these days. Ofcourse its up to each and everyones personal taste but for me, Rise up is breath of fresh air! Lots of feats on the tunes and they are not the  obvious choices either.  Horace Andys hook on the Enter The Kingdom Of Zion raises the atmosphere quite nicely and later, Lukie D touches my musical nerve in the right way. Good tunes from from a let go. And like a cherry on a top, lovers cut of a lost love and beyond called Weeping Willow.

For those of you with a spotify account, you can listen the album here

Free flow meditations #2

Ises Itinually!

Odd 15 adults and lots of kids gathered today in the Kaisaniemi park to talk about how to get together in Ifficial level. And like i was kinda predicting in my blog entry last night, one of the biggest questions was  about bowing down to babylon if we people would form a religious community.  Word religion is definetly intimidating to people and maybe rightfully so too.

Allthou there are quite a bit of legal rulings on how a group of people can actually form a religious community and what sort of pressure would that cause to individuals with their own sprititually, i think the biggest question we are facing is that do we have the qualities that it takes to work together for common goals?  Or even if the goals are not common, do we want to help out each other thru our personal works. It takes humbleness, comprimising and respect to make anything like what we are visioning for everybody that wants to get involved.

Obviously, its no-ones intention to "form a religion" here. And everyone who shared their thoughts in the gathering today, made it very clear that its not a new mansion we are trying to build, or even join any existing ones. But its We, as Rastafari people need to come together and try to make our works for the benefit of us, here and now and future generations.  Do we have that courage, humbleness, will to compromise and motivation to work for betterment of our own society with our own rules? If the answer is yes i have another question for you.

We will lay down our own roots and no matter what others call it, its still your roots, your dirt, your nutriants and your trunk that matters to you, so why would it be a bother if someone points a finger at you can says "religion" when you know for Iself that its the works I's do that matters.  Having a legal status only enables as to do the works better.

But then, its still about the dogma that heavily dictates our actions. I can see that with every bredrin of mine, even if they might disagree with that.  I can see that in my own actions too so im not blaming anyone. But i want to reach each one of you and again, ask a question. Are we so narrow minded that we can't find ways to work together - personal vibes left aside ?

But atleast one concrete thing was settled today. On His Majesty's Earthstrong, 23rd of July, nyahbingi. So come one, come all and let as rally round, cetralize and organize!  We really can make things happen if we take things into our own hands.


*edit*

Ps. I wanted  to wish good Journey to I sis Empress Earthbaby!  I know you are sitting in the plane already halfway across the planet to the hills, we will see when you head back home! Blessings!

Free flow meditations ..

Lets first start with some techno babble. I've installed this new software called Spotify already like 3 months ago or so. Played with it but at the time i didnt find to be so usefull to already existing stuff. Then last night, i was hanging out late with our neighbours and one guy was playing music from spotify.  Dunno, has it changes abit or something but it had quite a different feeling to it. And to this night in time and space.. I've been listening to quite a lot of very nice uk production. What a really nice supprise!

Few weeks ago a bredrin of the mine send invitations to gather around in Helsinki and try to get something ifficial thing going on. From what i've heard, quite a lot of families are going to attend. Lets see what will be the outcome of the rally.

One topic that people are going to talk about for sure is that should the families try to organize somesort of society and gain a sort of legal status as a religion. Basicly meaning that if there's certain amount of kids in single district, they would get "rastafari" as choice of religion for "religion class".. 1 roots hour in week. This sort of a thing is bound to raise some discussions.

There's the obvious question is ofcourse and in boiled down form: is rasta a religion. But its obvious so lets think of a another angle. And its just a  hypothesis.

Am I afraid of so called "rooting down" if i wouldnt want to be part of that sort of a movement ?

 Gosh, dub in the background is making my head dizzy - vibronics, forward ever. And it seems to have disoriented my direction of thought.  But as i really want people to share the feelings back - here, in private mails, hint! - heres a question for you. No matter what you think, put it outside the box and let me know what "rooting down" means for you..

Anyway, one thing is for sure, nothing bad can come of what is happing tomorrow.  Raspect for all the princes, princesses, queens and kings who attend tomorrow, in spirit or present.

Blog ends with Ranking Joe's Zion High streaming from spotify. And special bigups for Vilhelm from Tulitauko Sound for first establishment called emBASSY and bringing Ranking Joe. 2 heavy nights still coming, one with finnish dubstep crew Clouds and their live set + Mungos Hifi and later in the summer Kenny Knotts + Helsinki roots embassy =)

Ranking Joe in Helsinki (shot by Riinah):

I read "god" here and "god" there, but I'd like to see your definitions of God.


Been abit quite lately but there was one conversation this morning in Bloodandfire website that got me writing some thoughts.

Discussion was started out about people question the motives of repatriation and led to a question presented by one  member of the board.

Quote:

I read "god" here and "god" there, but I'd like to see your definitions of God. Yes, who (or maybe what) is God?

Please define God
I didnt meditation on this much but i got me writing down my feelings. This is what was written.


Was this addressed to me? All i can say on this matter is that if you don't know what god is, its futile to understand it from the words of others. But i can try - and propably fail.

God is a manifestation in the I, in my heart, actions and thoughts. Concept that motives and helps thru the times when its required, Its personal thing, not a communal. Even thou the most visible part of a god is religion, the essence that is visible to me as a person is how god manifests thru My works and how it affects those. In that matter, i have no will to describe what god is for others nor can i describe what God really is, like is he/she/it a person? Spirit or a ghost ? Living ? Dead.. All those points doesn't matter for me because i feel god is within me, i and i. Rastafari.

Thats my definition of God. I don't claim that this is the right definion, that would be arrogance and it would lead to conflicts, religious wars and what not.. But it is the vision that i currently have, life is learning experience - so maybe even tomorrow i could say that there is no god at all. Just people with their own minds, some positive, some negative, some who are easier to be influenced by those who want the power over people and those who do not. And finally, i don't see His Majesty as a god but a vessel, an icon that God used to reveal itself to me. And for this simple, i do not even want to go into depate that would dictate what is the real god.

But on the contrast, writings like Kebra Negast, Fatha Negast, Testaments, Psalms, all "holy" writings, they describe people who wrote them, people who edited/translated them and how their personal manifestation of god was visible to them. That was the reason why I mentioned god in the first place as Kebra Negast tells a story of Queen of Shaba and how that story reflects and affects the people whom's historical (true of false) story it is. Those writings might not be what i accept as true identify or meaning of God but they are writings that do affect the image of God as communal figure of one particular time and thru that exposition and natural way of human learning (relying on work done by others before me as a starting point for my own work), it also affects how i as a person view God.  
Epic Fail ?
You tell me. Feel free to drop in your comments on this matter. Knowing that someone actually reads my ramblings would definetly encourage me to write more often.



Btw, i added a linke to this post which leads to Myspace, to a profile of  King Alpha Records. There's a toon in the page called Soul-Live-Jah. All I can say is that even the tips of my dreads tingle when i listen to that tune. Massive respect to Jah Zebi for putting the works forward! Truely forward!

http://www.myspace.com/kingalpharecords

On or off topic ?

At this point its pretty safe to say that im not just going write about things that fit 100% under the label rasta.  And that also kinda reflects my life - I wouldn't be honest with myself if i would say that yeah i'm this and that. 

So yeah, thing i wanted to share is a website, or youtube channel - Improv Everywhere. Their slogan is We Cause Scenes. And i just love that. Bunch of people that dont know each other - gather around doing something really different that causes people to stop and think - maybe smile, or get angry. It all really depends if you are a uptight or more relax person. But its civil disobediance in the most fun form.

So, please do check them out, lots of laughs quaranteed and if you feel like tickling your mind too:  Think about what we consider as norms of society, how we should act, what we should were so that we would blend in, cuz aint that what everyone wants to do. Blend in.

Improv Everyone on Youtube

About Israel & Gaza war.

I met a guy few weeks ago that was reading this blog and he presented me an interesting question - what is my view on the war between Palestine and Israel.

At that time, i had actually been thinking of writing something down about the topic but didnt have anything to say.  This urge to write my personal opinion was also prompted by some forum discussions that where going on in one site that i also frequently follow. 

So this morning, on my way to work, im checking out the news and one politician from christian party had made comments about a comic in green party's magazine. This comic portraied that david's star has started to resemble nazi swastika and according to him this is racism  against jewish people.  While i kinda understand that and cannot completely deny the rationale behind that, it also raised some thoughts about the conversation i had with that guy few weeks back and discussions on net that i've partaken.

It seems that for some people anti-semitism and anti-zionism are one and the  same. As for my background, being a member of Twelve Tribes of Israel organization, this kind of assumption puts me into a tricky spot cuz well, my sympathy in this on-going war goes to the people of Palestine.  So how could I, with clear consciousness by against Israel and yet claim to be part of Israel?

Because no matter how much Israel goverment pushes their propaganda that they are in war between Hamas and themselves - the real problem is still that goverment of Israel is the cause of suffering in Palestine by their actions of expanding borders to Gaza strip.  And one more thing about propaganda, news here in Finland always use phrasing that its war between Hamas and Israel, not Palestine and Israel.  According to what i know about Palestinian goverment, Hamas was and still major party in Palestine goverment and gained the position thru demographic voting.  This is minor issue but wording news like that play a big role in Israeli propaganda war.

Does this make me anti-semetic or anti-zionist?   I hope im neither but 1300 deaths, half of those have been women and children, doesnt make me a big fan of goverment of Israel.

After checking out the comic on green party's magazine, i found myself reading some articles in Jerusalem Post and ended up in wikipedia where i found something interesting. The topic was about Satmar Hasidic jews, who, according to wikipedia article are one of biggest and most influential hasidic sects. Let me quote few parts of the page

Before World War II all Hasidic rabbis as well as many prominent non-Hasidic Orthodox leaders, believed that God had promised to return the Jewish people to the Land of Israel by means of the actions of the Jewish Messiah, and that any activity on behalf of the Jews themselves to create or instigate this redemption would be punished.
one of the core citations from classical Judaic sources cited by Reb Yoel for his opposition to modern Zionism was that of the Three Oaths mentioned in the Talmud (Kesuboth 111A) which discusses a passage from the Song of Songs in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) in which God made the Israelites promise "to wait for Him before arousing His love":
"King Solomon in Song of Songs thrice adjured the 'daughters of Jerusalem' not to arouse or bestir the love until it is ready.' The Talmud explains that we are bound by three strong oaths not to ascend to the Holy Land as a group using force, not to rebel against the governments of countries in which we live, and not by our sins, to prolong the coming of moshiach"
In keeping with the three oaths, Satmar Hasidim were strongly opposed to the creation of modern Israel through violence and antagonism against gentile nations such as the Ottomans and Britain. In the years following the Holocaust, Rabbi Teitelbaum undertook to maintain and strengthen this position, as did many other Torah Jews and communities. Rabbi Teitelbaum declared that the State of Israel was a violation of Jewish teachings. This was both because of the Zionists' violation of the traditional belief that Jews must wait for the Messiah to re-create Israel, and also because its founders included many personalities who were both hostile to Orthodox Judaism, or simply indifferent to it. Rabbi Teitelbaum believed the creation of the State of Israel, against the oaths described in Ketubot, constituted a form of impatience. In keeping with the Talmud's warnings that impatience for God's love and redemption can lead to grave danger, the Satmar Hasidim have often interpreted the constant wars and terrorism in Israel as fulfilment of that prophecy.

They see opposition to Zionism as an expression of love of the Holy Land, protecting it from the defilement of bloodshed and war (and not only from secularism, as many assume).
In this light, can we still assume that anti-semitism and anti-zionism is one and the same ? I don't think so.






Heaving reading eh ? I'll end this entry by sharing a song i wrote few weeks ago. It doesnt have very optimistic view on current world topics but bare with me, i just need a outlet to ventilate ;)

World is a ghetto, It dont care if we live or die
So i say, World is a ghetto, one less mouth to feed, one more mama cry  ( oh don't ask me why )

Knife problem,guns and ammunition.
world Hunger and over population
war in gaza strip in middle east
Life aint no eazeeh
Fundamentals and new world order
Fire in the streets pure slaughter people fed up get ready for the takeover ( for the takeover )
Times are so serious In the ghetto
Life is getting harder yet,my people cant let go
I hear a gun shot a bust and your friend is dead now
robbing and looting killing and shooting
life is a struggle in the ghetto

Declare yourself

One of the things i've found in the internet that i can fully endorse to every person that i know and don't know is a site called TED. It stands for Technology, Entertainment & Design.  Having said that, it doesnt sound like it has any interested to average joe schome even to me.  But it really is.

TED is a yearly conference that gathers thinkers and doers all around the world to give a short - max 20 min speech of their life.  These speeches are recorded and can be viewed from TED.com.

That said, ted prize portraied UN's Universal Decleration of Human rights few days ago in their site and since the topic of human rights is more relevant than ever, i wanted to share that vibe too.


And while im at it, ted affiliate CharterForCompassion.com provides this video.

Main character on that last video is Karen Armstrong who won TEDPrize for 2008. Her 20 minute speech in TED can be viewed here.

Call is out for everyone to share these videos.