At this moment, there are currently no plans to add more dates to the Banshees' mini-tour. However, they have not yet ruled out the possibility of shows in the UK and Europe later in the year.

The Senate Commerce committee, headed by Senator Fritz Hollings, is scheduled to convene today for a hearing on digital copy protections. Senator Hollings, along with Walt Disney Chairman Michael Eisner, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) President Jack Valenti and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) President and CEO Hilary Rosen, believes that copy-protection controls should be embedded into all future consumer electronic devices and PCs.
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Related Stories:

• Security Systems Standards and Certification Act: The DMCA's Evil Twin Brother - September 10, 2001

Last year, a California appeals court overturned a lower courts injunction which barred individuals in California from posting the DeCSS utility. In its decision, the court ruled that the posting of DeCSS is "an expressive means for the exchange of information and ideas about computer programming," and as such, is protected under the First Amendment. Last week, however, a setback was dealt by California's Supreme Court when it vacated that decision and granted a review in the case. Will we ever be fully free to publish information or ideas without fear of being sued or imprisoned?

If you plan on being in the Philadelphia area this coming Monday, March 4, 2002, there will be a live taping of Justice Talking. The one-hour show will take a look at the subject of copyright laws in the digital world. "From Napster's file swapping to Bunner's unlocking DVD sounds and pictures, what does the future hold for intellectual property in a digital world?"

Reserve your seats by visiting www.justicetalking.org/web/tickets.asp, or by calling (215) 898-7757. Seats are limited.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is reporting that music CD shipments in 2001 fell 10.3 percent. According to the numbers, total U.S. shipments dropped from 1.08 billion units in 2000 to 968.58 million in 2001. And once again, Hilary Rosen (President and CEO of the RIAA) is blaming it on online piracy and supposedly rampant CD copying. Nevermind the slowing economy and the thousands of laid off people, the Sept. 11 attacks, the poor selection of quality music being offered, or the ridiculously high prices.

It seems that Microsoft's new Windows Media Player 8 is logging songs and movies that customers play. Each time the player is used to play a CD or watch a movie, it creates a list on the computer of what has been played - a goldmine for marketing companies. At this time, Microsoft has no plans to sell the data collected by Media Player 8. However, such plans shouldn't be ruled out. Apparently (conveniently?), there is no easy way to clear out the log without crippling Media Player. Nice.

19 April 02 - Roseland - NYC = on sale ?
21 April 02 - Vic Theatre - Chicago = on sale March 9 (unconfirmed)
25 April 02 - Warfield - San Francisco, Ca = on sale March 9 (unconfirmed)
27 April 02 - Coachella Festival - Indio, Ca = on sale March 2 (confirmed)

The line-up for Coachella 2002 has been announced, and it's looking good. As always, the line-up is "subject to change." Tickets go on sale Sat. March 2 and are $75 per day. There will also be a limited amount of 2-day passes for $125.

Sat. 27 April:
Bjork, The Chemical Brothers, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Sasha & Digweed, Groove Armada, Cake, Jack Johnson, Pete Yornm, Jurassic 5, The Beta Band, Queens of the Stone Age, G Love & Special Sauce, The Charlatans UK, KRS-One, Cornershop, Jimmy Van M., Lee Burridge, International Noise Conspiracy, Z-Trip, Pharcyde, Folk Implosion, The Vines, Citizen Cope, Kosheem, Forest for the Trees, Princess Superstar, Saul Williams

Sun. 28 April:
Oasis, The Prodigy, Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Paul Oakenfold, Belle & Sebastian, Tiesto, Mos Def, BT, Dilated Peoples, Ozomatli, Saves the Day, Galactic, Sandra Collins, Christoper Lawrence, DJ Dan, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Pete Tong, Zero 7, Blonde Redhead, The Mars Volta, DJ Peretz, Elbow, Triple Threat, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Fairview, Ping Pong Bitches, Rock Steady Crew, Medusa, Cut Chemist

If you grew up watching Looney Tunes cartoons, then you know that the person who gave life to characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and Road Runner among others was Chuck Jones. Sadly, Jones passed away on Friday, February 22, of congestive heart failure. I remember, as a kid, spending up to 3 hours per day watching his characters come alive. Thank god for re-runs. He was 89.
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19 April 02 - Roseland - NYC
21 April 02 - Vic Theatre - Chicago
25 April 02 - Warfield - San Francisco, Ca
27 April 02 - Coachella Festival - Indio, Ca

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The U.S. will soon have the ability to "vaporise enemy troops and vehicles Star Wars-style" using its new laser of death. According to the Pentagon, the laser is being developed because of "the need for a more sophisticated and deadly weapons system." Is it just me, or is the U.S. starting to resemble the Empire from "Star Wars?"
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Not sure how effective this will be, but there is currently a petition online to impeach (p)Resident G. W. Bush. Only problem is that those who sign it recognize him to be our President and legitimizes Bush's claim that he is, too.

First used temporarily during April 2000 to monitor protesters during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings, Washington police are now building what will be "the nation's biggest network of surveillance cameras to monitor shopping areas, streets, monuments and other public places in the U.S. capital." The system will link together hundreds and thousands of cameras throughout the city, with images viewable on computers already installed in squad cars, at the command post, and "to the largest extent, over an intranet or even the Internet." Eventually, the system will include "video feeds from shopping malls, apartment buildings, and other privately owned businesses." The plans will stretch far beyond what is already in use in other cities. Say hello to the ever-pervasive Big Brother.

This past Tuesday, (p)Resident Bush announced his goal of reducing drug use in the U.S. by 25 percent over the next five years. Meanwhile, without warning to the District Attorney, police, or health department, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) raided at least 9 sites related to legal cannabis clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area that same day. Coincidence? Outraged citizens, dozens of patients who use medical marijuana as well as District Attorney Terence Hallinan and 4 city supervisors confronted DEA head Asa Hutchinson at the Commonwealth Club, protesting their raid.

Dozens of patients with state-defined illnesses rely on medical marijuana to relieve their day-to-day suffering. Medicinal marijuana treatment was overwhelmingly voted into place on the state and local level and is regulated by the health authorities.

Ever since Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr attempted to get customer sales records from two Washington area bookstores in 1998 regarding Monica Lewinsky's affair with former President Clinton, the government has increasingly demanded that bookstores reveal what books their customers have purchased and are reading. This might seem harmless at first, but this demand could eventually erode buyers' privacy and First Amendment rights as protections normally accorded to materials, such as books and newspapers, have evolved to include the institutions that provide those materials. Will the U.S. be included among the countries where one can get in trouble for what one reads?
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We're sure many are aware that record companies are beginning to ship music disks that are dysfunctional. Yes, dysfunctional! These round disks consumers are buying, in many instances, won't play on computers, in their cars, and even on certain other CD players. Since these disks "may bear the 'CD' trademark and are sold alongside ordinary CDs, consumers are being fooled into purchasing inferior products." Fortunately, Philips has come out in defense of consumers in response to this problem.
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(p)Resident Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been nominated for the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, I kid you not. They were nominated for their so-called war on terrorism. Nevermind the countless thousands of innocent Afghani's who've died as a result of U.S. bombings.
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For all you writers out there, beware! The FBI has begun broadening its definition of terrorism by equating the posting of stickers with it. The bureau has defined such acts as "eco-terrorism" and the perpetrators as "eco-terrorists."