BLACK EYED PEAS - WHERE IS THE LOVE?

What’s wrong with the world, mama
People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that’ll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin’
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and the Crips and the KKK

But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you’re bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that’s exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y’all, y’all

People killin’, people dyin’,
Children hurt can you hear them cryin’?
Can you practice what you preach?
Would you turn the other cheek?

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
‘Cause people got me, got me questionin’
Where is the love (Love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love?

It just ain’t the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don’t belong
Nations droppin’ bombs
Chemical gasses fillin’ lungs of little ones
With ongoin’ sufferin’ as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin’ really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin’ wrong
In this world that we livin’ in people keep on givin’ in
Makin’ wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin’ each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin’ on but the reason’s undercover
The truth is kept secret, it’s swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where’s the love, y’all, come on (I don’t know)
Where’s the truth, y’all, come on (I don’t know)
Where’s the love, y’all

People killin’, people dyin’,
Children hurt can you hear them cryin’?
Can you practice what you preach?
Would you turn the other cheek?

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
‘Cause people got me, got me questionin’
Where is the love (Love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love?

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I’m gettin’ older, y’all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin’
Selfishness got us followin’ the wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo, whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead in spreading love we spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That’s the reason why sometimes I’m feelin’ under
That’s the reason why sometimes I’m feelin’ down
There’s no wonder why sometimes I’m feelin’ under
Gotta keep my faith alive ’til love is found
Now ask yourself

Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
‘Cause people got me, got me questionin’
Where is the love?

Sing with me y’all

One world, one world
(We only got) One world, one world
(That’s all we got) One world, one world
And something’s wrong wit it (Yeah)
Something’s wrong wit it (Yeah)
Something’s wrong wit the wo-wo-world, yeah
We only got (One world, one world)
That’s all we got (One world, one world)

RISE AGAINST - RE-EDUCATION (THROUGH LABOR)

To the sound of a heartbeat pounding away
And the rhythm of the awful rusting machines
We toss and turn but don’t sleep
Each breath we take makes us thieves
Like causes without rebels
Just talk but promise nothing else

We crawl on our knees for you
Under the sky no longer blue
We sweat all day long for you
But we sow seeds to see us through
Because sometimes dreams just don’t come true
We wait to reap what we are due

To the rhythm of a time bomb ticking away
And the blare of the sirens combing the street
Chased down like dogs we run from
Your grasp until the sun comes up

We crawl on our knees for you
Under a sky no longer blue
We sweat all day long for you
But we sow seeds to see us through
Because sometimes dreams just don’t come true
Look now at what they’ve done to you

White needles buried in the red
The engine roars and then it gives
But never dies
Because we don’t live
We just survive
On the scraps that you throw away

I won’t crawl on my knees for you
I won’t believe the lies that hide the truth
I won’t sweat one more drop for you
‘Cause we are the rust upon your gears
We are the insect in your ears
And we crawl all over you

We sow seeds to see us through
Our days are precious and so few
We all reap what we are due
Under this sky no longer blue
We bring a dawn long overdue
We crawl all over you

The top two stories on the New York Times at the moment:

Georgia and Russia Nearing All-Out War - NYTimes.com

As Russia moved in more forces and continued aerial bombing, it appeared determined to occupy the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

In Phelps’s First Event, Gold Medal and a World Record - NYTimes.com

The American pulled away from the field in the final lap to win the 400-meter individual medley in 4:03.84.

It just goes to show that just because the Olympic Games are going on, it doesn’t mean that the world stops functioning or fighting.

I’m not really sure what I should be writing about … the “uplifting” story of Michael Phelp’s first of a possible 8 gold medals, or the depressing story of yet another war about to explode, especially one involving one of the few military superpowers in the world.

I wonder if I will live to see a day when there is not some sort of armed conflict going on in the world … just one day is all I ask, because one day could lead to two, and two days could lead to a week, and two weeks could lead to a month, and two months could lead to a year, and so on …

But somehow, I just don’t think it will happen in my lifetime.

Laptops fair game for airport customs searches

Customs agents at U.S. airports don’t need any evidence of wrongdoing to search the contents of passengers’ laptop computers, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

Reinstating child pornography evidence against a passenger at Los Angeles International Airport, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said a computer is no different from a suitcase, a car or any other piece of property subject to search at an international border.

Although police need probable cause - specific evidence of criminal activity - to search someone on the street, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that no such evidence is necessary for a border search. Courts have also ruled that an international airport is the equivalent of a border.

Border agents would need grounds for suspicion before conducting a body search, but a “piece of property simply does not implicate the same dignity and privacy concerns as highly intrusive searches of the person,” the court said. Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote the 3-0 decision.

Hopefully, when this makes it to the Supreme Court (and I’m sure it ultimately will), they’ll make the right decisions with regards to privacy.

It’s reasonable to ask someone to turn on their laptop to ensure that it’s not a bomb, but what reason could someone possibly have for looking at files stored on the computer without some sort of probable cause?

To me, despite the Ninth Circuit’s decision (which is surprising, since the Ninth Circuit is usually one of the more “liberal” Courts of Appeal), this smacks of a direct violation of a person’s Fourth Amendment rights.

For those that aren’t familiar, the Fourth Amendment states:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

In today’s age of electronics, I’d call a person’s laptop to effectively be “papers, and effects” … even if the defendant in this case is a pervert carrying child porn, the Customs officials should have never looked at the the files on the laptop without probable cause.

And nowhere, in any of the articles that I’ve found thus far, has there been any indication that this was the case. Instead, they’re claiming that “hey, we can open your luggage to make sure you’re not carrying drugs, so that means we can search all of your business and/or personal documents on your laptop at will as well.”

Talk about a slippery slope … once again I think that Blackstone’s Formulation should rule the day. As a reminder, Blackstone’s Formulation states, “it is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer.”

BAD RELIGION - AMERICAN JESUS

I don’t need to be a global citizen
‘Cuz I’m blessed by nationality
I’m a member of a growing populace
We enforce our popularity
There are things that seem to pull us under and
There are things that drag us down
But there’s a power and a vital presence
It’s lurking all around

We’ve got the American Jesus
See him on the interstate
We’ve got the American Jesus
He helped build the President’s estate

I feel sorry for the Earth’s population
‘Cuz so few live in the U.S.A.
At least the foreigners can copy our morality
They can visit but they cannot stay
Only precious few can garner our prosperity
It makes us walk with renewed confidence
We got a place to go when we die
And the architect resides right here

We’ve got the American Jesus
Bolstering national faith
We’ve got the American Jesus
Overwhelming millions every day

He’s the farmer’s barren fields (In God)
The force the army wields (we trust)
Expressions on the faces of the starving millions (Because he’s one of us)
The power of the man (Break down)
He’s the fuel that drives the Klan (Cave in)
He’s the motive and the conscience of the murderer (He can redeem your sin)

He’s the preacher on T.V. (Strong heart)
The false sincerity (Clear mind)
The form letter that’s written by the big computers (And infinitely kind)
The nuclear bombs (You lose)
The kids with no moms (We win)
And I’m fearful that he’s inside me… (He is our champion)
Yeah!

We’ve got the American Jesus
See him on the interstate
We’ve got the American Jesus
Exercising his authority
We’ve got the American Jesus
Bolstering national faith
We’ve got the American Jesus
Overwhelming millions every day, yeah!

One nation, under God…

Two songs, as relevant in 2008 as they were in 1992 (when the album came out), if not earlier, when I’d see 4 Non Blondes playing at the I-Beam in the Haight.

4 NON BLONDES - DEAR MR. PRESIDENT

I’m looking outside of my windows
The view that I see
Is a child and mama
And the child is begging for money

Tell me why, tell me why
The woman is blind is she so broke
The kid’s dealing crime

It’s such a beautiful city
But the world is burning it down

Yea yea yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea yea yea
It’s such a beautiful city
But the world is it burning down

I go to my room to turn on the T.V
I sit myself down
And I start laughing hard
‘Cause this man he’s asking for money
He sats “if you send me lots of cash I’ll send you
Stuff to make you rich fast”

It’s such a wonderful country
But the man he’s burning it down

Yea yea yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea yea yea
It’s such a wonderful country
But the man he’s burning it down

Yea yea yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea yea yea
And it’s burning down
And it’s called the U.S of A.

One day I’m going to have lots of money
But I’ll have to give up
For this rich society
Oh please Mr. President will you lend me a future
‘Cause you’ll just get it back
From the little blind woman
With the kid on the corner
And the people all over, doin’ crack

Yea yea yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea yea yea
It’s such a wonderful country
But the man he’s burning it down

Yea yea yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea yea yea
And it’s burning down
And it’s called the U.S of A.

I’m walking outside on a sunny day
With no one around
And I wonder what’s wrong
The I hear this loud piercing siren
Oh my God, the bomb has just dropped
And everybody climbed right on top
Screaming, what a wonderful country
But the man he’s burning it down

Yea yea yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea yea yea
It’s such a wonderful country
But the man he’s burning it down

Yea yea yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea yea yea
And it’s burning down
And it’s called the U.S of A.

4 NON BLONDES - WHAT’S UP

Twenty-five years and my life is still
Trying to get that great big hill of hope
For a destination
I realized quickly when I knew I should
That the world was made up of this brotherhood of man
For whatever that means

And so I cry sometimes
When I’m lying in bed
Just to get it all out
What’s in my head
And I, I am feeling a little peculiar

And so I wake in the morning
And I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream from the top of my lungs
What’s going on?

And I say hey, yeah, yeah, hey yeah, yeah
I said hey, what’s going on?
And I say hey, yeah, yeah, hey yeah, yeah
I said hey, what’s going on?

And I try, oh my God do I try
I try all the time, in this institution
And I pray, oh my God do I pray
I pray every single day
For a revolution

And so I cry sometimes
When I’m lying in bed
Just to get it all out
What’s in my head
And I, I am feeling a little peculiar

And so I wake in the morning
And I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream from the top of my lungs
What’s going on?

And I say hey, yeah, yeah, hey yeah, yeah
I said hey, what’s going on?
And I say hey, yeah, yeah, hey yeah, yeah
I said hey, what’s going on?

And I say hey, yeah, yeah, hey yeah, yeah yeah yeah!
I said hey, what’s going on?

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Twenty-five years and my life is still
Trying to get that great big hill of hope
For a destination.