*Denio News*

Recent Events & Forthcoming CDs
Amy Denio & Francesco Calandrino: Venerdi' Santo (Spoot/dito produ(a)zioni)
Friends for a few years, Denio went to Alcamo Sicily to visit Francesco Calandrino in April, and this incredible recording is a document of their time together. Raw, beautiful, instrumental passages & field recordings.
Recorded on Good Friday, Easter Weekend (Venerdi' Santo). We made our own processione siciliana. CD will be available in November.

FRANCISCO LOPEZ
My dear pal Francisco Lopez wrote to say 'the long-awaited projects with the "absolute noise ensemble" just came out on a double-CD release put out by Blossoming Noise.
This includes both excerpts from the live shows of the ensemble (at Sonar Festival, Observatori Festival, Abaixadors Deu, MACBA, and Craig Pumping Station - Montreal, between 2000 and 2002), and the big guitar project (from 1992 to 2003). I played some guitar, can't wait to hear the results!

*Capodanno a Napoli!
New Year's Eve gig in Naples, Italy!
My Quintetto alla Busara accompanied Les Farfadais, a French circus in Piazza del Plebiscito, the biggest piazza in Napoli, with no rehearsal & inclement weather.
They made us wear white flannel zip-up pyjamas and winsome blue hats made of carpet fragments. Soaking wet instruments. International TV Broadcast. Delirio totale. Nonostante la pioggia, nessuna prova generale, e le cose techniche andando ai pezzi, e' andato molto bene! Prodotto di ArtScena.
Capodanno a Napoli Blog

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*Politricks*

MIDDLE EAST
Sign Petition & view video re: Palestine/Israel Peace Talks
Sign Petition to Bush & Cheney opposing Attack on Iran.

Progressive Democrats
Sign Petition for Bill to End Funding of the War in Iraq

Urge Congress to End the War in Iraq
Encourge your congressperson to end the War in Iraq within six months by co-sponsoring these bills:
H.J.Res. 73, To ReDeploy U.S. Forces in Iraq, sponsored by Rep. John Murtha.
H.R. 4232, The End the War in Iraq Act, sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern.
H.CON.RES. 197, No Permanent Bases in Iraq, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee.
The new Kucinich/Paul bipartisan bill that would allow the Iraqi parliament to vote on whether to end the occupation.
And urge them to sign the discharge petition for H.J.Res. 55, to allow a real debate on the war in the House.

ECOLOGY
Recycle CDs & broken jewels boxes at the CD Recycling Center of America

2005 Hottest Year On Record
2005 proved to be one of the two hottest years in recorded history. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just released new findings: 19 of the hottest 20 years on record have occurred since 1980. As atmospheric and ocean temperatures rise, we are facing increased ice melt and sea level rise, as well as more severe weather events. The good news is that we have solutions available today that can help curb global warming. The Climate Stewardship Act (HR 759) would reduce overall U.S. carbon emissions—one of the leading causes of global warming. Please urge your representative to protect future generations by cosponsoring this important bill today.

WashPIRG: Toxic Chemicals in Children's Products
Some toy manufacturers are falsely labeling their products "phthalate-free." Six of the eight labeled toys tested contained phthalates, which are a class of chemicals linked with a range of harmful health effects. Please take a moment to tell the Federal Trade Commission that parents and consumers need to know the truth about toxic chemicals in children's products.

Endangered Species Act
Write your Representative to continue to endorse it.


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Write to your senators and ask them to cosponsor S. 1914 (written by Senator Dianne Feinstein) to stop funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead.

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union):
Pledge to Sustain the Constitution.

True Majority:
American Nuclear Arsenal or, Happy Hiroshima Day

Working Assets: Shut Down Guantánamo Bay
Send a letter to Bush and Congress to close the camp.

MoveOn: Tell The Truth About Iraq
Sign Rep. Conyer's citizens' petition to demand answers from Bush, regarding the Downing Street Memo.
Join more than 500,000 people!

PDA Progressive Democrats of America:
Upcoming Legislative Issues

Freepress: Action Center
This site is your link to information, people and organizations that are working together to build a better media.

Common Cause: Action Page
Their motto is "holding power accountable".

INTERNATIONAL
A.N.S.W.E.R.
Extradict Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela for Due Process.

LANGUAGE
WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: 'I don't really understand. How is the new (Medicare) plan going to fix the problem?'
PRESIDENT BUSH: (Verbatim response)
'Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to that has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, supposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red.'

WASHPIRG website

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*Readings*
TruthOut Updated News & Editorials
Drudge Report Links to World News Sources
Newseum Current Headlines.
Cost of War

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke harshly of the
Bush Administration.
Manchester Guardian, March 13, 2006

Prominent Military Figure Denounces NeoCons, Iraq, War on Terror
Delta Force founder joins ranks who say there is no real threat to the US and war is based on lies
Prisonplanet.TV

Analysis of Bush Administration FY07 Budget: Highlights and Lowlights.
Union of Concerned Scientists, 13 February, 2006.

Top Politicians, Economists, Other Leaders Question 9/11

Actor Charley Sheen Questions Official 9/11 Story
Prison Planet.com. Go Hollywood!

Hugo Chavez addresses the United Nations September 20, 2006.

Some Troops Headed Back to Iraq Are Mentally Ill
Besides bringing antibiotics and painkillers, military personnel nationwide are heading back to Iraq with a cache of antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications.
San Diego Union Tribune, March 19, 2006
...and this was 18 months ago...

Lawyers Against the War charge George Bush of aiding, abetting and counselling the commission of torture

Falluja and White Phosphorus The Independent, 15 November, 2005

US Forces 'Used Chemical Weapons' during Assault on City of Fallujah
Peter Popham, The Independent UK, 8 November, 2005

News10 Sacramento Montana state police have to stop 1 vehicle per hour, according to new law. July 7, 2005

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*Videos*
Nick Nack Paddywhacked
George Bush Remix
No Bravery
2000 American Deaths
27 Funerals
Bush dynasty Nazi ties
Andy Dick as Bush's Speech Writer
Give Bush a Brain Game
Watch Bush in his Free Fall, and give him a little push if you want.
Multilingual site Bush Flash by Mark Fiore
Pack of Lies So many dead.
Especially interesting - 14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism
Neuro, a web video by Bruno Bozzetto. Imagine living near the airport...
A sobering TrueMajority video on Nuclear Proliferation

*Otherart*
Check out this beautiful/intense blog by Mazen Kerbaj, a trumpet player & cartoonist from Beirut. My friend Ricardo Arias was evacuated from Beirut last summer, having played several concerts & taught a workshop with his rubber balloon. The world is increasingly strange, and full of dark beauty.
And more chilling still, listen to Mazen Kerbaj's recording of trumpet improvisation with bombs, the night of July 15/16, 2006.

Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait by Chris Jordan. Photography.

John Cage on 'What's My Secret, 1960's.

Choir Foley. An ad for Honda, but the sound is incredible.

Create your own audio itinerary Sound Transit. I tried from Iran to Sarajevo, and the results were beautiful.

Instructions for Urban Scoring Kit, Sicilian-style.
"ragusa is a very beautiful baroque town in the south of sicily.
tourists come to visit the architectural splendors such as the cathedral of st george - the duomo, but often find it difficult to find the way, since the old town is full of narrow winding streets.
the front door of the house where our recording sessions were held is often open to have some cool breeze, tourists passing stick their nose inside and ask where they can find the duomo.
one august morning we decided to help them and put up some signs, in the wrong direction of course, leading pass the courtyard where we held our illegal concert using traditional instruments, voice, loop station, various kinds of feedback, and tapes with field recordings and non definable recordings "