This band's most-streamed songs will be no surprise to fans both committed and casual. But what about the rest? Continue reading…

Following the U.S. government's overreaching decision to impose sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, EFF joined more than 50 civil society organizations in calling for the U.S. to lift the sanctions.  The U.S.’s sanctions on Francesca Albanese were formally issued in July 2025, pursuant to Section 1(a)(ii)(A) of President Trump’s Executive Order 14203, which was imposed by the U.S. on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in February for having “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” Under this Executive Order, the State Department is instructed to name specific people who have worked with or for the ICC.  Rapporteur Albanese joins several ICC judges and the lead prosecutor in having their U.S. property and interests in property blocked, as well as restrictions on entering the country, banking, and more.  One of the reasons cited in the far-reaching U.S. sanction is Albanese’s engagement with the ICC to investigate or prosecute nationals of the U.S. and Israel. The sanction came just days after the publication of the Special Rapportuer’s recent report to the UN Human Rights Council, “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide.” In her report, the Special Rapporteur “urges the International Criminal Court and national judiciaries to investigate and prosecute corporate executives and/or corporate entities for their part in the commission of international crimes and laundering of the proceeds from those crimes.”  As a UN Special Rapporteur, Albanese’s role is to conduct independent research, gather information, and prepare reports on human rights situations, including documenting violations and providing recommendations to the Human Rights Council and other Human Rights bodies. Special Rapporteurs are independent experts chosen by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. They do not represent the UN or hold any formal authority, but their reports and findings are essential for advocacy in transnational situations, informing prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, or pressuring counties for human rights abuses.  The unilateral sanctions imposed on the UN Special Rapporteur not only target her as an individual but also threaten the broader international human rights framework, undermining crucial work in monitoring and reporting on human rights issues. Such measures risk politicizing their mandates, discouraging frank reporting, and creating a chilling effect on human rights defenders more broadly. With the 80th session of the UN General Assembly opening in New York this September, these sanctions and travel restrictions present an amplified impingement on the Special Rapporteur’s capacity to fulfill her mandate and report on human rights abuses in Palestine. The Special Rapportuer’s report identifies how AI, cloud services, biometric surveillance, and predictive policing technologies have reinforced military operations, population control and the unlawful targeting of civilians in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. More specifically, it illuminates the role of U.S. tech giants like Microsoft, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, and IBM in providing dual-use infrastructure to “integrate mass data collection and surveillance, while profiting from the unique testing ground for military technology offered by the occupied Palestinian territory.”   This report is well within her legal mandate to investigate and report on human rights issues in Palestine and provide critical oversight and accountability for human rights abuses. This work is particularly essential at a time when the very survival of Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip is at stake—journalists are being killed with deplorable frequency; internet shutdowns and biased censorship by social media platforms are preventing vital information from circulating within and leaving Gaza; and U.S.-based tech companies are continuing to be opaque about their role in providing technologies to the Israeli authorities for use in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians, despite the mounting evidence.  EFF has repeatedly called for greater transparency relating to the role of Big Tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft in human rights abuses across Gaza and the West Bank, with these U.S.-based companies coming under pressure to reveal more about the services they provide and the nature of their relationships with the Israeli forces engaging in the military response. Without greater transparency, the public cannot tell whether these companies are complying with human rights standards—both those set by the United Nations and those they have publicly set for themselves. We know that this conflict has resulted in alleged war crimes and has involved massive, ongoing surveillance of civilians and refugees living under what international law recognizes as an illegal occupation. That kind of surveillance requires significant technical support and it seems unlikely that it could occur without any ongoing involvement by the companies providing the platforms.  Top UN human rights officials have called for the reversal of the sanctions against the Special Rapporteur, voicing serious concerns about the dangerous precedent this sets in undermining human rights. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called for a prompt reversal of the sanctions and noted that, “even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN member states should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures.” Similarly, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric noted that whilst Member States “are perfectly entitled to their views and to disagree with” experts’ reports, they should still “engage with the UN’s human rights architecture.” In a press conference, Albanese said she believed that the sanctions were calculated to weaken her mission, and questioned why they had even been introduced: “for having exposed a genocide? For having denounced the system? They never challenged me on the facts.” The United States must reverse these sanctions, and respect human rights for all—not just for the people they consider worthy of having them. Read our full civil society letter here.

WHAT THE HELL IS HARLEY DAVIDSON DOING? #bikernews

The threat posed to America's First Amendment free speech rights by tyrannical speech restrictions in Europe and the UK is real and requires attention.

“If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.” -Leonard Ravenhill How true is this statement! Today’s hirelings (John 10:12) have been set up as a judgment upon the people that have put them in their positions, tickling their ears.  They are preaching a message in stark …

The king is back indeed. For the first time in over four years, new music from Luke Bell has hit streaming platforms, and there is plenty more where that came from. Thirty Tigers, a Nashville-based music, marketing, distribution, and management company, announced today The King Is Back, an aptly named 28-track project that includes all of Bell’s unreleased material and will ultimately be his only posthumous album. Slated for release in its entirety on November 7,  The King Is Back is comprised of songs that were tracked between 2013 and 2016, and it was assembled by a handful of people that were integral to Bell’s life and career such as his mother Carol Bell, sister Jane Bell, and manager Brian Buchanan, among others. To kick things off, the title track and lead single off of the record, “The King Is Back,” hit streaming platforms today, and it is not a release you want to miss. With understated yet potent instrumentation that backs up Bell’s clever and often allegorical lyricism, this new one makes it feel as if Bell is picking up right where he left off. And while the song content takes on a new meaning than it was initially intended given the circumstances, it is clear from the opening lyrics that this was the perfect one to release as the lead single. Bell’s mother Carol shared some valuable insight into the new track: “‘The King Is Back’ captures the feeling of being back on top after a low period. Luke’s friend and bandmate Steve Daly said Luke hadn’t mapped out any solos or spots for big hooks, he’s simply said that whatever they played needed to sound cocky, as if something was about to happen. Like ‘The Bullfighter,’ this song is about a state of mind and it’s multilayered. We can all relate to the feelings of relief and excitement when we wake up feeling strong after a period of feeling poor and hungry. We can all relate to waking up ready to seize the day after a period of hopelessness.” Now, without further ado, give “The King Is Back” a listen for yourself here: Man, it’s good to hear some new music from Luke Bell again. And if this news gets you anywhere near as fired as it gets me, then you’ll be glad to know that a double vinyl package is available for pre-order, and you’ll be supporting a good cause if you buy it, too. Accomplishing more than just keeping the spirit and music of Luke Bell alive, all proceeds from The King Is Back will raise money for the The Luke Bell Memorial Affordable Counseling Program, “a non-profit organization founded by Carol and Jane Bell that supports Big Horn Basin residents by providing vouchers for up to ten sessions with a therapist of the individual’s choice.” Carol adds: “It’s a meaningful way for Luke to give back to his community. A lot of Luke’s songs feature brave, cocksure characters who are hiding some kind of pain, and I think Luke was writing about himself, even though the songs weren’t always autobiographical. I also see traces of Luke in funny songs like ‘Orangutang,’ which might be about a Wyoming kid who wound up in Nashville, feeling like an ape who just escaped the zoo. The willingness to be silly and ridiculous, for the sake of fun — that’s very much like Luke, too. He changed the way we see the world. He helped us see people we didn’t always notice before, and he helped remind us how much they matter.“ For anyone who has made it this far and may not be familiar with the story, Luke Bell was a respected songwriter and musician who built a cult following in his short lived career behind the strength of his old school honky-tonk sound and the captivating tales of larger-than-life characters, much like himself, that he told through his songs. Born in Kentucky and raised in Wyoming, Bell spent most of his adult life as a drifting musician, spending time in Austin, New Orleans, and Nashville, among plenty of other places, and recorded three albums between 2012 and 2016. The third record, his self-titled project Luke Bell, is the only one available on streaming services, which in some ways, contributes to the mysterious nature of Bell’s life and career. Bell struggled with severe bipolar disorder and substance abuse issues throughout his life, and although he touched countless people with his kindness and eccentric personality over the years, he was no stranger to trouble and despair, and largely lived his life outside of the public eye. At just 32 years old, amidst a change in his bipolar medication, Bell was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona on August 20, 2022, and he was found dead nine days later. While the cause of death was ultimately reported to be a fentanyl overdose, his volatile mental issues undoubtedly played a large role in the tragedy. Fortunately, certain groups and individuals within the country music community have done what they can in the years since to ensure that Luke Bell, and the incredible music he left us, do not go unforgotten. Notably, in addition to the album, filmmakers Kevin Romeo and Matt Bakken are in the process of creating a documentary about Bell’s life titled Where Ya Been? The Odyssey and Elegy of Luke Bell, which will include plenty of never before seen footage and first-person accounts of Bell’s life from family, friends, and other acquaintances. In the meantime, before the documentary is finished or The King Is Back is released on November 7, be sure to stay on the lookout for more singles released off of the record. And if you want to hear some Luke Bell songs live, a special AmericanaFest tribute show will taking place in Nashville this coming week. If you’re in town, you won’t want to miss it. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Western AF (@westernasfuck) The King Is Back Tracklist 1) Rattlesnake Man 2) Don’t Mind If I Do 3) Long Gone Love 4) Cold Stew 5) Daydream Blues 6) I’m Not 7) Black Crows 8) On Our Own 9) All I’ve Got 10) Dark House of Fools 11) Ready for Love 12) Horse Flies 13) Guitar Man 14) Hand to Hold 15) Blue Freightliner 16) Hard Time 17) Rounder 18) Stag 19) Roofer’s Blues 20) River 21) Bottom of the Sea 22) The King Is Back 23) Irrigator’s Blues 24) Orangutang 25) Waste of Time 26) Seven and Steady 27) The Party Song 28) Tiger’s MouthThe post The Late Great Luke Bell Lives On In Aptly Titled Posthumous Single, “The King Is Back,” With 28-Track Album To Follow first appeared on Whiskey Riff.