Fear Not! We'll Always Have Paris. Forever.
Peace for Paris pic.twitter.com/Lh1PQ91ncY
— banksy (@thereaIbanksy) November 13, 2015As we said last night, Paris holds a special place in our hearts here at Thrasher's Wheat.
And -- no matter what -- We'll Always Have Paris. All of us. Forever. No one can take Paris away from any of us. But we are not "Charlie" -- never were -- because we are all Parisians as we suffer for our brothers and sisters.
A bit more on the latest "newz" from Paris, below. (As always, this isn't as bad as it looks. It's not good, but it is definitely not something to get paralysed in fear over, for sure.)
But first, our fond memories of Paris in the summer of 2013. It was a very hot summer night in Paris. Literally. Temperatures on the rail were as hot as the night of transcendent music.
So while out on the road in the summer of 2013 following the Neil Young and Crazy Horse Europe Concert Tour, we came across quite a range of Neil Young fans from around the world.
And we heard lots of Neil stories.
But here's a Neil story that really stuck with us and gives us lots of hope.
Here's the scene. Paris in the hours and minutes leading up to the night's Neil Young and Crazy Horse concert. We were hanging out on the floor of the venue, sitting amongst a big mix of Neil fans from around the city, country and world. Young & old and everything in between.
We found ourselves sitting amongst a group of young-ish fans in their teens and early 20's. We tried to strike up a conversation but none of the group spoke English. We tried to make a little small talk with what language we had in common to pass the time. Eventually a mutual friend joined the group and we asked them to translate for us.
"Is this your 1st Neil concert?" Yes, they all nodded.
"Have you heard the latest Neil CD?" No, they all nodded.
"Any favorite Neil Young songs?" No, they all shrugged.
"Anyone have any Neil music on your phones or iPods?" No, they all nodded.
Hmmm. "OK, so let us get this straight. You're not familiar with Neil's music, right? And his English lyrics aren't widely understood by your generation here in France?
So why are you here?"
Our new translator friend condenses the responses as so: "We are here because we've heard that Neil Young's music is important. And we have come tonight to find out why."
A Neil Young concert can be a gathering of the vibes. Those who get Neil. Those who see the vista and hear the muse. Those without fear in their minds and love in their hearts. Literally tears of joy to find the answer blowin' in the wind.
Neil Young
"Rockin in the free world while the answer is blowin' in the wind."
So hot that Neil played the end of the concert with an iced towel around his neck before tossing into audience in an attempt to cool things down.
For us -- Paris was the best Alchemy show we've seen thus far. That includes the 2012 dates, as well.
The crowd was on fire singing, dancing and hanging on every lyric and note.
The "Rockin in the Free World" finale was a total surprise and blowout and the Paris crowd loved it.
For those who attended the Paris concert of Neil Young & Crazy Horse this past weekend, you know it was one their hottest gigs ever -- literally and figuratively.
Stage temperatures were approaching over 90 degrees Fahrenheit and Crazy Horse was on fire.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Paris, June 6, 2013
(Click photo to enlarge)
To begin to describe the exhilaration in the moments after the lights came up as all the rusties raced to the center rail to share stories, we collided with all of our new and old rustie friends. For us -- with a Ralph Molina's drumstick in one hand and a guitar pic played by Neil Young on Ol Black in our pocket -- our vibrational energy was off the charts into stratospheric levels of euphoria.
But then something truly magically happened.
Up comes our newest Neil rusty friend Jacqueline clutching the cherished iced towel that Neil had tossed into the crowd. Still cool and wet, rusties gathered to touch, feel and cool down collectively. And then we all hugged.
Never before has our body and soul ever experienced so much vibrational love energy. It flowed. It exploded. it raced thru our veins with a shot to the heart.
It was as if the energy of Ralph's drumming, Billy's pounding bass, Poncho's chunky chords and Neil's love hit us all like a lightening bolt from the heaven's above. A magic jolt ... if you will.
It was truly a love and only love moment.
Trying to find peace of mind
Spirit come back to me,
Give me strength and set me free
Let me hear the magic in my heart.
The Alchemy Boys in all of their ragged glory splendor
Can you feel the magic in our hearts?
As we said last night, Paris holds a special place in our hearts here at Thrasher's Wheat.
It was a mistake to pull the plug on the global "LIVE EARTH" broadcast last night. The show must go on. That is what the victims would have wanted. Stopping the show is what the T's wanted to do. So score another ONE for the T's again.
Every time you react in fear, terrorism wins. The only way to defeat fear (aka "terrorism") is with fearlessness.
BUT.
At this point, all of the "newz" seems to be 2nd or 3rd hand reports. More than 24 hours later, where is the surveillance footage from Paris cameras that would have caught all of these acts? Where are the eyewitnesses and hostages who actually saw something? Why was the media reporting on the number of terrorists killed before any official or police statement? Why are the passports of suicide bombers intact and pristine? Kind of like the 911 hijacker "magic passport".
Odd, indeed.
Maybe just "synthetic terrorism"
?(Don't take our word for it. Do some independent, non-mainstream media research. You will be shocked by the truth but it will make you stronger.)
In fact, this Paris event was all but predicted back in January of this year on The Economist Magazine cover.
It is a huge disappointment that the French intelligence was unable to stop what seemed to be an open secret, widely chattered about. Many were issuing explicit November warnings, but alas to no avail. You don't suppose French authorities allowed this event to proceed for ulterior motives, do you? Who would ever believe anything so nefarious?
Just as 911 precipitated the Patriot Act in the USA, these events will be used to usher in a French equivalent of Patriot Act. Don't fall for it France. This is a ruse to be used to take away your freedoms. Trust us when we say this from experience.
This is the price of freedom. These T's are simply cowards and have nothing. Their desperation is quite evident that we're in the end game now. This is no time to fear.
Actually, there is nothing to fear. It's all an illusion.
We are not "Charlie" -- never were -- because we are all Parisians.
And so begins the bombing as French war planes attack the ISIS "capital" of Raqqa in retaliation. That didn't take long.
"Whosoever shall give up his liberty for a temporary security deserves neither liberty nor safety."
~~ Benjamin Franklin
"Give me Liberty or give me Death!"
~~Patrick Henry
"I'd Rather Die Free Than Live a Slave" - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2634510/
Like Charlie said:
"Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you - enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and what to feel! Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural!
Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!"
And -- no matter what -- We'll Always Have Paris. All of us. Forever. No one can take Paris away from any of us.
Liberté, égalité, fraternité, rouillé
solidarity,
Paris
Paris - June, 2013
A Rustie Trifecta
Ralph Molina's drumstick & Neil Young's towel & guitar pic
Paris concert of Neil Young & Crazy Horse
It was The Magic Love of A Very Hot Night in Paris: A Neil Young Story, for sure.
More Concert Reviews of Neil Young & Crazy Horse in Paris, 2013.
Labels: neil young, paris, synthetic terrorism
by thrasher@PermaLink: 11/15/2015 03:38:00 PM
19 comments
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19 Comments:
Thrash,
Recently I've found some of your comments to be slightly heavy handed, petty and somewhat paranoid, but on balance I gave you the benefit of doubt thanks to your many years of great service to your/our community.
But, with your comments on this post I believe you've gone way over the line. Your timing, tenor and tone are completely tone deaf, and as I "glanced" over your thoughts I was dumbfounded and disappointed with your lack of editorial restraint and reflection.
I shall take a break for a few and will re-read your post later, as hopefully I misinterpreted your thoughts.
_________________________________________________
"I won't deceive you, I just don't believe you"
Thanks for stopping by TD.
Yes, please come back and let us know what YOU think.
So when is the right time?
Actually, it's beyond too late. The bombing has already started.
But, yes, please consider and we look forward to your specific thoughts.
Thrash,
My specific thoughts are that the French Government didn't allow these attacks to take place so they could then bomb ISIS strongholds. Sadly, the type of cowardly attacks that just took place in Paris by radical islamist suicide bombers cannot completely be stopped by a free society.
I'm a proud liberal, but I don't believe that our government or the French government (or yes, even the Israeli government) would knowingly allow this type of terror to take place if they could stop it.
Maybe I'm naïve, but I do have a level of trust and respect for our democratic governments and I don't believe that they would put the lives of their citizens intentionally at risk to escalate international aggressions. I'm a cynical person by nature and do believe in conspiracy theories from time to time, but to believe that our government would knowingly let our friends and neighbors be slaughtered in our restaurants, streets and concert halls is a dreadful delusion I truly can't begin to imagine.
I know you believe in freedom, but it seems as though your definition of freedom differs from mine.
May we all be safe in the days and years to come.
This comment has been removed by the author.
This comment has been removed by the author.
TDaze - thanks for comment. Sincerely. In many respects, we're all incredibly naive about what is truly going down. But mark our words when we say that we're being played for fools, so pay attention and wake up. The hour is getting late...
From https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/is-posting-support-for-paris-on-facebook-narcissistic-or-heartfelt/2015/11/15/d82ed0d2-8bec-11e5-ae1f-af46b7df8483_story.html
"As #prayforparis spread and was used by people farther and farther from the tragedy, it wasn’t long before people began to question the veracity of those prayers, calling out a double standard. If we pray for Paris, many asked, why are we also not praying for the people of Beirut [or for the 200+ on a plane that was blown out of the sky over Egypt/Israel border last week], who suffered losses in an Islamic State attack, or any other place in the world where innocent people die? Are we only praying for Paris because it’s a romantic, lovely place where many Westerners vacation? That was one of several dialogues about the propriety of social media empathy that emerged in the wake of the attacks, and is still evolving.
Another #prayforparis question to consider: Why are we praying for Paris at all?
The question didn’t come from a lack of empathy for its wounded and dead. Rather, it was a way of pointing out that many using the hashtag were perhaps praying for their idea of Paris — crepes, the Louvre, baguettes — rather than the complicated reality of Paris. Many in France perceive themselves as a secular nation besieged by religious fundamentalists, so a call for prayer showed a jarring disconnect.
“The terrorists pray. Good people think,” was one common sentiment on Twitter. Another response that quickly went viral was a drawing by French cartoonist Joann Sfar, who posted a series of drawings reacting to the attacks, with one frame in English that read: “Friends from the whole world, thank you for #PrayforParis, but we don’t need more religion! Our faith goes to music! Kissing! Life! Champagne and joy! #Parisisaboutlife.”
A third group of commenters discouraged people from posting anything — because in their view, any Paris-related post would inevitably be more narcissistic than sympathetic. (In the case of people posting smiling vacation selfies in front of touristy Parisian landmarks, they may be right.) One essayist, Jamie Khoo, argued that the redundant messages of empathy lend themselves more to image-crafting than support for a grieving nation. In an Elephant Journal story called “Why I’m Not Turning my Facebook Photo Blue, White and Red,” she said, “I feel that just changing my photo, writing a few words and hashtag minimizes (even cheapens) the tremendous, horrific reality of what is going on all around the world, not just in Paris.”
“It irritates me how other people treat it like an art or photo contest,” one Facebook commenter wrote.
Predictably, those who have participated in these rites responded angrily to what they saw as trying to police their emotional expression. Who is to say that posting a beautiful photo or a message of solidarity isn’t a valid enough way to care?
and to clarify. We're not suggesting the French gov't was directly involved in this act.
What we're saying is that there were many indications that something would happen in November in Paris, i.e Economist cover linked above.
As with 911, Boston Marathon, etc, active emergency drills were being held simultaneously.
The Guardian,
“That morning, the emergency services in Paris had actually done a training exercise for a major terrorist attack. We were well prepared.”
A training exercise coinciding with a terrorist incident?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/15/paris-attacks-medic-we-were-treating-war-wounds-made-by-war-weapons
From ScoopFeed: CIA Director Was In France Talking With French Secret Services on Oct. 28th of This Year. Funny isn’t it how all the talk right now is about the “shared mission” we face in the wake of the Paris attacks just two weeks after their “shared mission” conference.
http://scoopfeed.net/
It just sort of seems that a lot of folks were in the know on this except for the innocents of Paris.
Just Friday morning, security officials in France’s Jewish community were informed of the very real possibility of an impending large terrorist attack in the country, according to Jonathan-Simon Sellem, a freelance journalist and a representative of French citizens in Israel.
The Jewish community, already on high alert ahead of several planned high-profile events Sunday, had been told that after several minor attacks in France this month, a large terrorist event was thought to be on the horizon.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-france-defense-experts-see-parallels-to-israel/
A Note About the Paris Attacks: The World Needs Love
November 14, 2015 by Wes Annac
It seems appropriate to write something about the Paris attacks, but like other people, I didn’t feel like I had much to say about it at first; there was only shock, hurt and disbelief.
Like so many other things have, this tragedy reminds us that there’s an unfathomable level of evil in this world that rears its ugly head too often.
I didn’t immediately start researching and writing about the attacks like you’d expect a writer who wants to raise social awareness to do, because I was trying to wrap my head around how people can be so evil and ruthless and not care about the lives they’ve taken and the lives they’ve changed forever.
http://goldenageofgaia.com/2015/11/14/a-note-about-the-paris-attacks-the-world-needs-love/
this is the best Thrasher's Wheat ever and that is saying a LOT. read every link. thank you Thrasher. keep up the great work. everything is interconnected you know
Thrasher, Higgins,
I read the links, and your posts, the conspiracy theories don't stand up, besides being preposterous they're rife w/ factual inaccuracies and contradictions ... remember, its truly about love and only love ... can't have peace until you know the enemy with whom to make peace, its way too late in the game to just put our heads in the sand or point the finger opportunistically in the wrong direction...
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Peace
Thrasher,
Sorry to be terse.
I do love most of your work, but...
Paris conspiracy theories?
Kindly post those elsewhere if you must.
Please stick to the music and the facts here.
Lest weeds take over the wheat field.
Thanks Grey Rider.
Yes, things have gotten a bit weedy here in the garden of late admittedly so. More harvesting to be had.
Funny, but one of the 1st things that happens when one gets too close to "the truth" is one gets labeled a "Conspiracy Theorist".
An interesting term and always interesting to see who starts tossing it around. The designation is intended to stop all fact based discussion by relegating the topic to left field. Did you know...
The CIA Coined the Term Conspiracy Theorist In 1967
Specifically, in April 1967, the CIA wrote a dispatch which coined the term “conspiracy theories” … and recommended methods for discrediting such theories. The dispatch was marked “psych” – short for “psychological operations” or disinformation – and “CS” for the CIA’s “Clandestine Services” unit.
The dispatch was produced in responses to a Freedom of Information Act request by the New York Times in 1976.
The dispatch states:
2. This trend of opinion is a matter of concern to the U.S. government, including our organization.
***
The aim of this dispatch is to provide material countering and discrediting the claims of the conspiracy theorists, so as to inhibit the circulation of such claims in other countries. Background information is supplied in a classified section and in a number of unclassified attachments.
3. Action. We do not recommend that discussion of the [conspiracy] question be initiated where it is not already taking place. Where discussion is active addresses are requested:
a. To discuss the publicity problem with and friendly elite contacts (especially politicians and editors) , pointing out that the [official investigation of the relevant event] made as thorough an investigation as humanly possible, that the charges of the critics are without serious foundation, and that further speculative discussion only plays into the hands of the opposition. Point out also that parts of the conspiracy talk appear to be deliberately generated by … propagandists. Urge them to use their influence to discourage unfounded and irresponsible speculation.
b. To employ propaganda assets to and refute the attacks of the critics. Book reviews and feature articles are particularly appropriate for this purpose. The unclassified attachments to this guidance should provide useful background material for passing to assets. Our ploy should point out, as applicable, that the critics are (I) wedded to theories adopted before the evidence was in, (II) politically interested, (III) financially interested, (IV) hasty and inaccurate in their research, or (V) infatuated with their own theories.
***
4. In private to media discussions not directed at any particular writer, or in attacking publications which may be yet forthcoming, the following arguments should be useful:
a. No significant new evidence has emerged which the Commission did not consider.
***
b. Critics usually overvalue particular items and ignore others. They tend to place more emphasis on the recollections of individual witnesses (which are less reliable and more divergent–and hence offer more hand-holds for criticism) …
***
c. Conspiracy on the large scale often suggested would be impossible to conceal in the United States, esp. since informants could expect to receive large royalties, etc.
Here are screenshots of part of the memo:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-23/1967-he-cia-created-phrase-conspiracy-theorists-and-ways-attack-anyone-who-challenge
Thrasher
fuck the doubters
keep up the great work
thank you.
I like tacos.
@ Jonathan: That's probably as relevant as anything any of us has contributed to this post. Well done! PS: I don't like tacos, I do like pizza...
_________________________________________________
Regarding doubters, Kipling said it best:
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
but make allowance for their doubting too
@TDaze - allowing for doubt.. but can you change your mind?
"When you get weak, and you need to test your will
When life's complete, but there's something missing still
Distracting you from this must be the one you love
Must be the one whose magic touch can change your mind
Don't let another day go by without the magic touch
Distracting you (change your mind)
Supporting you (change your mind)
Embracing you (change your mind)
Convincing you (change your mind)
When you're confused and the world has got you down
When you feel used and you just can't play the clown
Protecting you from this must be the one you love
Must be the one whose magic touch can change your mind
Don't let another day go by without the magic touch
Protecting you (change your mind)
Restoring you (change your mind)
Revealing you (change your mind)
Soothing you (change your mind)
You hear the sound, you wait around and get the word
You see the picture changing everything you've heard
Destroying you with this must be the one you love
Must be the one whose magic touch can change your mind
Don't let another day go by without the magic touch
Destroying you (change your mind)
Embracing you (change your mind)
Protecting you (change your mind)
Confining you (change your mind)
Distracting you (change your mind)
Supporting you (change your mind)
Distorting you (change your mind)
Controlling you (change your mind)
Change your mind (change your mind)
Change your mind, change your mind (change your mind)
Change your mind (change your mind)
The morning comes and there's an odor in the room
The scent of love, more than a million roses bloom
Embracing you with this must be the one you love
Must be the one whose magic touch can change your mind
Don't let another day go by without the magic touch
Embracing you (change your mind)
Concealing you (change your mind)
Protecting you (change your mind)
Revealing you (change your mind)
Change your mind, change your mind (change your mind)"
Some more thoughts on the ability to change one's mind when faced with irrefutable evidence - http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2009/03/battle-raged-on-open-page-can-you.html
we can. we have. how about you? specifics please.
Thrash,
My heart and mind are always open, as the only time I'm truly confident is when I allow for doubt. Remember, my favorite Neil lyric is:
Take my advice
don't listen to me
Personally, I like that you responded by quoting the song "Change your Mind" and linking to a topic discussing Neil's music, instead of (in my opinion) far out conspiracy theories.
I respect your right to believe what you believe and question what you want to question politically, I just don't think a Neil Young blog is the place for some radically wild theories during terribly sad times. To me, everything on this site should be directly (or at a minimum) indirectly related to Neil and his music.
So, as a recent example of when I changed my mind, it was yesterday. I'll mention it by referencing a few Neil tunes:
I'm "looking for a leader" because after a certain speech yesterday, I'm now "wondering".
Thnx TDaze.
A freind told us we hit a bad chord here. Maybe so...
When we blog about love and war
We don't really know what we're saying...
***
When I sing about love and war
I don't really know what I'm saying
I've been in love and I've seen a lot of war
I've seen a lot of people prayin'
They pray to Allah and the pray to the Lord
But mostly they pray about love and war
Pray about love and war
Pray about love and war
Seen a lot of young men go to war
And leave a lot of young brides waiting
I've watched them try to explain it to their kids
And I've seen a lot of them failing
They try to tell them and they try to explain
Why daddy won't ever come home again
Daddy won't ever come home
Daddy won't ever come home
I said a lot of things I can't take back
But I don't really know if I wanna
Sang songs about love, sang songs about war
Since the backstreets of Toronto
I sang for justice and I hit a bad chord
But I still try to sing about love and war
Sing about love and war
Sing about love and war
Saddest thing in the whole wide world
Is to break the heart of your lover
I made a mistake then I did it again
And we struggled to recover
I sang in anger hit another bad chord
But I still try to sing about love and war
Sing about love and war
Sing about love and war
Love and war
When I sing about love and war
I don't really know what I'm saying
I've been in love and I've seen a lot of war
I've seen a lot of people prayin'
They pray to Allah and the pray to the Lord
But mostly they pray about love and war
Pray about love and war
Pray about love and war
Love and war
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