11 Popular Songs the CIA Used

You know how much I like lists. I thought this list was pretty interesting.

11 Popular Songs the CIA Used to Torture Prisoners in the War on Terror

By Tom Barnes

Imagine you are chained with your hands between your legs, crouching. You’re isolated in a small, dark room with earphones you can’t take off. Queen’s “We Are the Champions” has been playing on repeat for 30 hours now at full volume, and you’ve lost your ability to think. It could go on for months.

Music torture has been common practice for the CIA ever since it began its “enhanced interrogation program” in the early 2000s. The process is designed to “create fear, disorient … and prolong capture shock” in prisoners.

Sgt. Mark Hadsell, a member of the U.S. Psychological Operations team, described the efficacy of the tactic: “If you play it for 24 hours, your brain and body functions start to slide, your train of thought slows down and your will is broken. That’s when we come in and talk to them.” 

Any torture method is of debatable merit — music torture was, in part, popular because it seemed more palatable to the public. But to hear about the experience of people who’ve been subjected to these songs is to see just how terrible it is to have a beloved song turned against you.

Here are 11 songs that have been turned into torture devices.

1. “The Real Slim Shady” by Eminem

2. “Take Your Best Shot” by Dope

3. “Dirrty” by Christina Aguilera

4. “Zikrayati (My Memories)” by Mohamed el-Qasabgi

5. “Babylon” by David Grey

6. “I Love You” by The Barney Theme

7. “Saturday Night Fever” by the Bee Gees

8. The Meow Mix theme

9. “The Beautiful People” by Marilyn Manson

10. “F*%k Your God” by Deicide

11. “We Are the Champions” by Queen

There are several songs listed above that would push me over the edge.

Just What I Need To Read

Every time I see a saying I have to save it. I may not need it right than, but it never fails that there will be a time I need to read it.

This us what I need right now.

Happy Birthday, Pamela!

I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my wonderful niece, Pamela.

I love her so much!

Have a great day, Pamela.

Do you remember these?

Multicolored Transparent Glitter Stacking Point Crayons 

I have been looking for these! I’ve tried to Google it to find them, but could remember the name of them.

I remember having some of these when I was a little kid. It never failed that I lost at least 1 or 2 of the lead in the pencil so I would have to throw it away.

I just might have to order me some of these pencils to relive my childhood.  Hopefully this time I will not lose any of the leads in the pencil.

The 10 Best Elvis Presley Songs

I saw this article and I had to share it.

My favorite is #2.

Readers’ Poll: The 10 Best Elvis Presley Songs

By Andy Greene
January 21, 2015 at 1:50 PM

Had Elvis Presley lived, he would have turned 80 years old this month. It’s hard to imagine Elvis doing concerts in 2015, but Leonard Cohen is a few months older and manages to do three-and-a-half hours without breaking a sweat. Hell, Chuck Berry is 88 and still at it. If Elvis had managed to lose the weight and get healthy, there’s no reason why he couldn’t still be shaking his hips onstage. Sadly, that’s not the way his life worked out. But he’s still the king of rock & roll, and to celebrate his birthday we asked our readers to vote for their favorite Presley song. Here are the results.

10. “Mystery Train”

Just months before Sam Phillips and Colonel Tom Parker sold Presley’s contract to RCA for $40,000, Elvis went back into Sun Studios and cut this cover of a 1953 Junior Parker song. Backed by guitarist Scotty Moore, bassist Bill Black and drummer Johnny Bernero, Presley quickened Park’s original bluesy version. The new take peaked at Number 11 on the Billboard Country Chart, but a few months later RCA would release “Heartbreak Hotel” and completely eclipse everything that Presley released before. Still, “Mystery Train” endures as one of Elvis’ most beloved songs.

9. “Kentucky Rain”

Elvis began the 1970s on very strong footing when he released Eddie Rabbit and Dick Heard’s mournful “Kentucky Rain” as a single in January of 1970. The song hit Number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than a million copies, though it only stayed in his live show for a few weeks.

8. “An American Trilogy”

The Civil War was over 100 years in the past when Elvis began singing “An American Trilogy” in 1972, but the scars still ran deep throughout America. The song was the work of Nashville pro Mickey Newbury, who tried to unite the two sides of the country together by combining “Dixie,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “All My Trials” into a grand patriotic medley. Somehow he pulled it off in a mere four-and-a-half minutes, and the resulting tune became a highlight of Presley’s concerts during the last five years of his life.

7. “Heartbreak Hotel”

Many Americans first learned of Elvis Presley when “Heartbreak Hotel” came across their radios in early 1956. Presley’s previous success was mostly regional, but with the help of his new label RCA, he recorded a song that would stay on top of the Hot 100 for seven straight weeks. It even got him invited onto TV, kicking off a nationwide Elvis hysteria that, in many ways, has yet to die down.

6. “Love Me Tender”

Few entertainers have ever had a year like Elvis Presley’s 1956. Single after single flew up the charts, massive crowds of screaming girls followed him wherever he went and parents became convinced he was corrupting the young. His final Number One of the year was “Love Me Tender,” a ballad written by Ken Darby. He played the song on The Ed Sullivan Show shortly before a movie of the same name hit theaters.

5. “Can’t Help Falling in Love”

Fans at the final Elvis concerts knew the opening notes of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” meant it was time to get ready to go. The dreamy song, which was written for his 1961 movie Blue Hawaii, ended every single one of his post-comeback shows. The sweet ode to true love was the perfect way to wrap up the evening. It has since been covered by everybody from Bob Dylan to U2 to UB40, who turned it into a huge hit in 1993.

4. “Jailhouse Rock”

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote “Jailhouse Rock” specifically for Elvis Presley’s 1957 movie of the same name. It’s unclear if Elvis realized exactly what they meant by lines like “You’re the cutest jailbird I ever did see/I sure would be delighted with your company,” but the suggestion of inter-inmate romance also flew by most listeners and the song ended up knocking “Wake Up Little Susie” off the top of the charts.

3. “In the Ghetto”

Elvis spent much of the 1960s churning out cheesy B-movies and lifeless soundtracks while new acts like the Beatles and Bob Dylan made him seem like a relic. His brilliant 1968 comeback special shot him back to the forefront, and he took his newfound energy into the studio to cut “In the Ghetto.” It’s a song about the vicious cycle of poverty and despair in America’s inner-cities, and it eventually hit Number Three, cementing the fact that Elvis was back.
2. “If I Can Dream”

Just two months after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Elvis Presley stepped into the Western Recorders studio and laid down this moving tribute to the civil rights hero. It was the stirring climax to his 1968 comeback special, and he belted it out with incredible passion. The song rose to Number 12 on the Hot 100, and today many see it as one of the greatest vocal performances of his career.

1. “Suspicious Minds”

Elvis was just two years into his marriage with Priscilla when he recorded “Suspicious Minds,” but things were already falling apart. It’s clear he poured some of that disappointment, particularly over his own failings as a husband, into the song. Written by Mark James, it became his first Number One hit in seven years and was a regular highlight of his live show.

© 2015 ROLLING STONE

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-elvis-presley-songs-20150121#ixzz3PVfZwq7f
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Les Brown

I “liked” Les Brown on Facebook.  I like what he posts. Here was the one I read today.

Give yourself some compassion. We all make mistakes. There are some things that if we had to do over again, we would do differently. 

Ask yourself…What did I learn? What is my stretch goal? Where do I go from here? If you can answer these questions…give yourself a break. You Deserve! ~ Les Brown

Saying for the Day

Top 5 Regrets People Make on Their Deathbed

I saw this a Facebook and wanted to share it.

While I was reading it, I was thinking to myself, why am I not doing any of this I my life now?

I especially like the last part of this article,  “Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.”

I need to choose happiness.

Nurse reveals the top 5 regrets people make on their deathbed

May 21, 2014

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them. When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

Credits: This article first appeared on inspirationandchai.com via Real Farmacy.

Please send in your article/s to earthweareone@gmail.com – until then.

With Love, we are one.

©2014 Earth. We are one. Setup by Revolt Visual

My Mom, Lydia M. Garza

Fifth time posting… with a twist.

Today’s post is similar to the one I posted last year at this time. But I still feel the same exact way.

I miss you mom and I love you so much!

Lydia M. Garza (1940 – 2010)

January 10, 2015, it’s been five years since my mom, Lydia M. Garza died. It’s hard to believe that it has already been three years. Sometimes it feel longer and other times it feels like it just happened.

My life changed on January 10, 2010. I never knew that you could miss a person so much. This was the person who could make me happy, make me sad and make me mad. Oh, how she could press the buttons to set me off. What do they say, she knew what buttons to push because she put them there?

There are days when I can get through it without getting too sad when I think of you. But then there are other days when all I want to do is hide under my blankets. But on those days when I have happy memories of you, it makes me smile. Like when I made your Green Jell-O for the holidays. Or when I was going through all the treads you had for your sewing… did you really need all those different colors of white thread??

*The twist… This was the first time that Joe was not with us when we went to visit our mom. Joe died August 28, 2014.

Today, my dad and me went to visit my mom at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Here is a picture of her grave site when we went there for her birthday on November 17, 2011. Once again we will get yellow roses for her like we did for her on January 10, 2010.

Until we meet again mom, I miss you and I you more that I can say!

IF ROSES GROW IN HEAVEN

If roses grow in Heaven Lord
Please pick a bunch for me.
Place them in my Mother’s arms
and tell her they’re from me.
Tell her I love her and miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
Place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for a while.
Because remembering her is easy,
I do it everyday,
But there is an ache within my heart
That will never go away.

Side note:
I can only imagine my mom and brother laughing at the sight of my dad and me in the truck during our 100 mile round trip around San Antonio.

He 73, half-deaf, half selective hearing and pushing me to the point of having a stroke.

I Smell Cake*… Here we go again

Stuart Scott
(July 19, 1965 – January 4, 2015)

A longtime anchor at ESPN, died Sunday morning at the age of 49.

Among the features of the new ESPN studio in Bristol is a wall of catchphrases made famous by on-air talent over the years. An amazing nine of them belong to one man — from his signature “Boo-Yah!” to “As cool as the other side of the pillow” to “He must be the bus driver cuz he was takin’ him to school.” (From ESPN.com)

Rod Taylor
(January 11, 1930 – January 7, 2015)

Legendary actor Rod Taylor died of natural causes Wednesday, his rep tells PEOPLE. He was 84. 

The Australia-born movie star appeared in more than 50 Hollywood films throughout his career, from The Time Machine and The Train Robbers to The Catered Affair. More recently, he voiced Pongo in Disney’s family-favorite101 Dalmatians and played Winston Churchill in Inglourious Basterds.  (From People magazine)

Andraé Crouch
(July 1, 1942 – January 8, 2015)

He was 72, a gospel musician who bridged the worlds of church and mainstream music for more than 50 years, died Thursday.

2015 is starting off as a rough year for the stars and entertainers that we gave grown up with.

*“My Cake” is the sixth episode of Scrubs’ fourth season. J.D.‘s father dies and he and his brother Danhave to cope with it.

“I smell cake! If Uncle Bernie died, someone’s gonna have to go on a beer run!”— Dan Dorian