The Renovation of Tyranny

Let me start, very clearly, by saying that I do NOT believe that Saddam Hussein was any sort of a saint, or a hero. The man was a shit, plain and simple-- Mean spirited and megalomaniacal, in a way that 3rd world dictators are when they come to power without any system of checks and balances. . .I have no doubt in my mind that he was guilty of horrendous crimes against the Kurds, and against Shiite insurgents. he tortured and killed people, without mercy, and without due process.

That having been said. . .

Saddam Hussein was not executed for gassing the Kurds--that trial was never completed, and he was not found guilty for that crime.

Hussein was executed for the slaughter at Dujail, which he had his soldiers kill pretty much the whole village after an assassination attempt while he was visiting there. he was pretty ruthless and brutal, but then again, despots usually are.

The things that strike me as unjust are this:

1) Hussein was removed from power and subsequently arrested by an illegally occupying government. Considering the absence of WMD's (used as the justification for the invasion of Iraq), there was no legal justification for the US military to remove him from power and subsequently arrest him and hold him for trial.

2) The tribunal which tried Hussein could hardly be described as a just and impartial tribunal. It's by-laws prevented anyone but Hussein's political opponents from serving as a judge. This seems hardly just or fair.

3) The charges that he was executed for were based around a brutal retaliation against an attack upon him and his allies. Who are we, who have pretty much bombed the crap out of the country of Afghanistan, killing countless civilians, in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks guilty of anything less than Hussein's "crimes against Humanity" in Dujail? If the killing of innocents in retaliation for politically motivated terrorist attacks is the litmus test for hanging a leader, then we had better start looking closer to home.

4) One could say that he deserved to be executed for other things, such as the genocide against the Kurds--and that may well be, however, Hussein was not found guilty for those crimes. . .that verdict had not (and now never will) come in. If that HAD been grounds for execution, then his co-conspirators, the US government under the Reagan and Bush SR. administrations, who supported him before, during, and after the massacre of the Kurds in 1988 should be held accountable as well, as they acted in collusion by not only providing the technology for the WMD's used in those attacks, but assisted in covering those acts up, making public statements to lay blame at the feet of the Iranians, rather than the Hussein regime, who was our ally at that time.

To be honest with you, the whole thing makes me pretty sick. Not because I am against the Death penalty, which I am not, if it can be applied justly and impartially (which it usually fails to do), nor because I think that Hussein was "innocent". the fact is, I think he was a ruthless dictator who has the blood of countless innocents on his hands. . .

The whole thing makes me sick because our country, which is supposed to stand for truth, justice, fairness, etc has been a party to yet more criminal behavior. . .the execution of someone without a fair trial, without reasonable due process, is NOT something for us, as Americans, to be proud of. Justice has NOT been served by the death of this man. We have only dug our hole deeper. . .We have only befouled the precepts that we claim to promote.

it seems very clear to me that we have not removed Tyranny, but have renovated it into something with a better image. . .we have simply replaced it with a form of tyranny that is more acceptable to our western sensibilities--a tyranny that most of us are able to sleep with at night.

Most of us, not all of us. . .

and not me.

Bedrock--Free Are the Young (Remastered)

It has taken me some time to get around to one of my “pet projects”. . . the Remastering of the 1991 Bedrock album “Free Are the Young”. Planning for this has occurred in numerous stages, initially starting with looking to remix/re-record some of the tracks in the mid-90’s at Crow’s Nest Studios (which had by then upgraded to ADAT). I had grand designs of re-recording vocal tracks, adding processing to the guitars, blah blah blah to try to make a more polished and professional sounding mix, but all of these were cost prohibitive at the time.

More Recently, I started trying to bring the idea of remixing/remastering the album to life in the fall of 2004. I tried to find some of the cleanest versions of tape that I could get, even to the point of trying to track down the original ½” Reel to Reel 8 track master tape and converting the tracks to Wav files, and remixing the entire project. (obviously unsuccessful—those tapes are gone with the wind). I had to settle for one of the mass duplicated tapes that we made in 1991, but fortunately, the tape itself (though a 3^rd generation copy) was relatively pristine. My master tape, and the DAT remix master that we did in 1993, did not make it out of Tennessee with me, and are probably lost forever.

So, thanks to Mark Walden (who sent me the Bedrock tape), a never before used cassette player (thanks to Sam for that one—he says “what’s a cassette?”), and the wonderful technology in my home studio, I was able to significantly improve the eight songs that we recorded in November of 1991.

These are NOT perfect, by any means, as the original recordings and mixes were not perfect. They are not perfect, because the performances are not perfect. They are, however, a little more “listen-to-able”, which is a good things. Hopefully newcomers to the music will be able to see them for what they are, a group of fledgling musicians first attempt in a studio. Old friends and family will hopefully be able to appreciate them for their nostalgic value.

For me, while the listening and mastering process was enjoyable, it was also very, VERY painful on two levels:

First of all, it was somewhat painful, in the same way that an old snapshot of a bad haircut is painful. . .you know the kind. . .the yearbook Photo with the 80’s hair-do and the turned up collar, large white triangle shaped earrings, and blue eye shadow, or for the guys, the little cheesy moustache that you worked so hard to grow, but the cat could easily lick off with milk? It was painful in that embarrassed, “what was I thinking,” kind of way. . .realizing now that we really WEREN’T all that good. I still think we had A LOT of potential, and A LOT of raw talent, but not much sense. We were, after all, still pretty young—early 20’s. I have no technological tricks in my studio that will cure insufferable naiveté, or egregious pretentiousness

Secondly, it was also pretty painful to listen to the music of that time period. . .to again become intimately acquainted with it, and to remember not only the feelings of that time, but also the grief and loss associated with the ending of so many hopes and dreams, as well as the ending of so many of those relationships.

Overall, I am glad I have done this, for posterity’s sake, as well as for some kind of closure. It was wonderful working with you my friends, Derek and metal, as well as the other long lost members of Bedrock: Maynard, Percy, Davey G., Natchy. Special thanks also to all of the members of the Bedrock “Family” who made us feel like we were ten feet tall!

To hear the new remasters, Click HERE

What Am I Going to do with This Girl?

Olivia is upstairs going to sleep to the new CD I just burned for her. . . I can hear it thru the baby monitor.

she decided that she liked it when we were listening to it today--she often likes to look at the album artwork on itunes--she saw this one and decided that she LOVED it:

She says "Who is that creepy guy?" (her eyes aglow)

I say "That's Eddie. he's on all their albums."

Olivia Says "I like creepy Eddie--He's creepy. .just like Gollum. . .Daddy, will you make me this CD?"

"Sure Baby, whatever you want."

So, my little girl is upstairs going to sleep to Iron Maiden.

What am I going to do with these children?

Ubuntu is FINISHED!!!

Friends and Loved ones!!!

It is that time of year again! After a couple of months of challenging yet satisfying work, I have completed my latest Album!!

I have updated my website at www.thomasjwilson.com which now includes all 11 Tracks from "Ubuntu". You can reach the Ubuntu page directly at www.thomasjwilson.com/ubuntu.

All here with us is well, kids are growing, we are continuing to enjoy our time together, and each day is full of challenges, laughter, love, and excitement. We are looking forward to a Holiday season full of Love!

Please take some time and visit the site, and take a listen to "Ubuntu". . .when you have a second, drop a line and tell me what you think.

Thanks to all who continue to support me as a person. You are my "fan base" and this is my Holiday present to YOU!

Lots of Love!