Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono gives peace prize to Mordechai Vanunu

By Reuters

LONDON - Veteran peacenik, artist and musician Yoko Ono has given Mordechai Vanunu a peace prize founded in her late husband's memory, an award she hopes will keep the Israeli nuclear whistleblower safe.




Vanunu was barred by Israel's highest court in July from leaving the country, with judges ruling he remained a threat to national security despite serving 18 years in jail for leaking atomic secrets to a British newspaper.

Vanunu was abducted by Israeli agents and convicted of treason in 1986 after discussing his work as a nuclear technician with the Sunday Times.

His revelations led independent experts to conclude Israel had between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons - a superpower arsenal - and all but blew away the Jewish state's policy of "strategic ambiguity" over its non-conventional capabilities.

"It's possible that somebody might attempt to murder him, that's the main concern," Ono told Reuters in an interview to announce the award.

Supporters fear for Vanunu's safety in Israel, where most people despise him as a traitor and see the country's presumed nuclear capability as an insurance policy against numerically superior Middle East foes and a repeat of the Nazi Holocaust.

In an interview conducted by an Israeli intermediary and broadcast by the BBC in early June, Vanunu said he spoke out because he wanted to save Israel from a "new Holocaust."

But he has also questioned Israel's right to exist.

Ono said she hoped Vanunu could collect the award in person at a New York ceremony next month, to be held in the week her late husband, the murdered Beatle John Lennon, would have turned 64.

"Hopefully he can come and receive the award himself. He did complete his sentence, it's not as though he's a criminal," Ono said of Vanunu.

Even if he can't, the Tokyo-born artist stressed the symbolic importance of recognizing his plight.

"It's possible that he can't come - the point is that it's another statement, a statement that the whole world can share and think about," she said.

Ono also gave a $50,000 award to New Yorker magazine correspondent and author Seymour Hersh, whom she described as "a staunch seeker of truth" with his investigative journalism.

The biennial LennonOno prize was first given in 2002, when Israeli Zvi Goldstein and Palestinian Khalil Rabah each won for artistic contributions to peace in their homeland.

Ono, wearing a close-fitting black jacket, silky black trousers and her usual dark glasses, defended the power of peaceful symbols, acts and protest in the face of war.

"People power is stronger than the power of institutions," she said.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/478559.html

September 23, 2004 -- Liverpool Echo

Yoko gives £10,000 to Echo fund

Yoko Ono gave £10,000 ($18,300) to the Echo's Sunrise Fund charitable trust.

John Lennon's widow renewed her support after visiting the city to launch the Liverpool Biennial arts festival.

Last December she agreed to be a patron of our appeal and urged readers to get involved in raising money for this year's chosen charity, Barnardo's Keeping Children Safe project. The charity helps young people deal with family break-ups, sexual abuse, depression and the death of relatives.

Yoko said, "Helping children and families is such an important thing that I would like to put my own money into it. Barnardo's is a really important charity and needs all our support. They must be brought up in an environment of safety and security, that is their basic right. John and I were family people with family values. Seeing families being apart and children being in pain is heartbreaking. Anything we do to improve the lives of young people in Merseyside is such a beautiful thing. By helping one another we help ourselves because being charitable is about bringing people together. We should all be as one. I ask Echo readers to join me in helping abused children in Merseyside by pledging their support to the Sunrise Fund."

September 23, 2004 -- Liverpool Echo

Lennon's sister in Ono blast

John Lennon's sister today labelled Yoko Ono offensive and tactless and demanded the removal of her art work from the city centre.

Ono says the work, which depicts women's private parts, is dedicated to John and his love for his mother Julia who died in a road accident when he was 18.

The images were placed by the Liverpool Biennial around Church Street and at the former St Luke's church.

But Julia Baird, Lennon's sister, said today: "The work is called My Mummy Was Beautiful. John's mother was beautiful and she was my mother too.

"She would have been offended, as would John, by the public display of gratuitous female nudity, particularly on the frontage of St Luke's church."

But Liverpool Biennial chief executive Lewis Biggs said, "The artwork is there at the invitation of the peace centre at St. Luke's, in recognition of John and Yoko's work to promote peace."

YOKO ONO GETS 'STONED'

YOKO ONO has proposed that a 'PEACE OBELISK' be erected in REYKJAVIK, ICELAND.

The obelisk will be filled with all of the wishes that people have tied to the 'Wish Tree' – a piece of artwork that Ono has exhibited across the world over the past decade.

She has saved the messages collected so far and is asking people to send more messages to be added to the new project.

The words 'Imagine all the people living life in peace' (taken from late husband John Lennon’s 'Imagine') and 'A Dream You Dream Together Is Reality' (from Ono’s 'Grapefruit') will be carved into the outside of the obelisk in many languages.

Ono said of the project: "This is the time there is a race between the people of the world: the ones who yearn for peace and the ones who believe in destruction. It is a time when we must ask all our politicians to rethink their strategies, and use the power of negotiation rather than the power of destruction to solve matters concerning the future of humanity and our planet."

The artist proposed that the 'Peace Obelisk' be erected in Iceland, because of the country’s location between the continents of Europe and America.

Through Reykjavik Art Museum and in consultation with Ono, work is underway for the design of the 'Peace Obelisk' and the selection of the site for the work within the city. The obelisk is aimed to be finished in 2005.

Ono added: "We can still make our choice to heal our planet and, together, enjoy its health and beauty for many centuries to come. Send your prayers and your vote for life, to the Peace Obelisk in Iceland."

October 31, 2004 -- NY Post

Stella Gets A Yoko Go

Yoko Ono may hate Paul McCartney - but she holds no grudges against his daughter, Stella. During an interview with Pat O'Brien for "The Insider," O'Brien noticed Ono was wearing Stella McCartney sunglasses.

Ono replied: "Ah yes, I love her because I know her from before she was born so to speak, and she was a good friend of Sean's, and to me the kids are nice. Stella, I just bless and get some stuff from her place. She is doing a great job."
http://www.nypost.com/gossip/33036.htm

October 31, 2004 -- Cox News Service

Ono takes her political message to the dance floor

At 71, avant-garde artist and musician Yoko Ono has found a new canvas for her politically charged work -- the dance floor.

Just before 11 states get set to vote on proposed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, Ono has released 12 dance club mixes of "Everyman Everywoman."

The original track -- "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him" -- was included on "Double Fantasy," the final album Ono made with husband John Lennon before his 1980 assassination. The song was intended as an uplifting, reassuring statement about finding one's soul mate. Ono has now advanced the lyrics to include same-sex relationships, adding the words: "Every man has a man who loves him" and "Every woman has a woman who loves her."

The new version is No. 2 on the Billboard dance chart.

Remix artists Basement Jaxx, Dave Aude, Ralphi Rosario, DJ Vibe and the Passengerz have all recorded interpretations for the Mind Train Records release.

Ono said this week that, even while she's endured hatred and bigotry as a Beatle-marrying Japanese American woman, radical visual artist and musician, the current resistance to the notion of legalized same-sex unions surprises even her.

"It was a real educational experience for me," Ono said from Los Angeles. "After I recorded 'Everyman,' I had even close friends say to me, 'Did you really have to do that?' They were very uncomfortable that I was making this statement. I was hearing, 'Well, I'm a Catholic' or whatever. The truth is, I'm upset that gays can't get married. It's unfair. Plus, it's an insult to women. Marriage is only for procreation? Really? What about the woman who wants to get married and not have kids? Should they not get married either?"

Early on, Ono said Lennon understood the universality of the track. Just before he died, Lennon gender-bent the song's lyrics by recording his own cover of "Every Man Has a Woman."

"As a feminist, John understood that the song was about equality," said Ono. "I wanted to show that women are one-half of the equation. We're not just the childbearers or whatever. I think that's what John liked about it."

Twenty-four years ago, Ono said she was concerned about racism and sexism at the time she wrote "Every Man" on an antique piano in the couple's "white room" inside their home at the Dakota in New York City. She regrets overlooking same-sex relationships.

"I have a lot of gay friends and now it's like, 'Why didn't I think of this before?' " Ono said.

Still, the singer said she didn't release "Everyman Everywoman" solely so it could garner airplay in gay and lesbian nightclubs. With a No. 2 single on her hands, Ono's statement has transcended the gay community.

"You don't get to No. 2 by just being played in gay clubs," said ED's Records owner Jason Jones. His Atlanta shop, which caters to club DJs, had one copy of "Everyman" left in stock Thursday. "This is being played everywhere. It's a very mainstream record."

"That's what I wanted," Ono said. "I'm really singing this for the heterosexual community. The gays already know what I'm singing about. I'm trying to educate the straights. Until we realize that we're all one people, entitled to the same things, we're not going to move forward." And even if those 11 states vote Tuesday to ban gay marriage? Ono thinks change is inevitable.

"One day it will happen anyway," she said.

"Heterosexuals aren't getting married at the rate they used to," she said with a laugh. "If the churches want to stay in business, they'll have to begin marrying gay people!"

Yoko Ono Has No. 1 Dance Song in U.S.
Thu Nov 4

NEW YORK (AP) — Yoko Ono isn't known for her voice, but it's still a hot commodity. The famously off-key singer and wife of John Lennon has the No. 1 single on the dance chart.

"Everyman.../Everywoman... (Basement Jaxx Club Mix)" is a mix of techno beats and her screeching vocals. It's her second No. 1 dance song this year.

Ono says once she allows someone to remix her song, she is hands-off and gives them rein to create beats and rework the song. But she isn't planning on grooving to any of her beats in the clubs soon.

"I don't think I'm the type of woman who can walk into a club by myself. I'm inhibited, I suppose," told AP Radio.

Ono, 71, is already working on her next single, a version of "Give Peace A Chance." She says she's says she's putting contemporary beats on it and she updated the words after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Это второй № 1 в этом году у "творческого нуля"!!!!!!!!

Не удивляюсь, результат закономерен.

November 6, 2004 -- The Insider

Click http://insider.tv.yahoo.com/video/ to see an online interview with Yoko Ono from the US televison show "The Insider" with Pat O'Brien. This will be available for a limited time.

Все так спорят, хорошая Йоко или нет. Хочу высказать свое мнение по этому вопросу.
* * *
А как Джон ее боготворил, расхваливал, жалел, когда остальные Битлы грубили ей! После таких молитв Джона - Йоко - суперхорошая, великая Художница(с большой Х) + режиссер, неординарная личность, хорошая жена, защитница мира во всем мире и все т.п.
А когда мы отдельно читаем о ней - скандальная личность, которая в свое время бросила Киоко, а потом возвращала ее судебными процессами; а также, как некоторые считают, развалила Битлз; выступала на каких-то сомнительных хеппеннингах в пользу не пойми чего, разрезая на себе одежду; отказала Полу в этом бардаке "Леннон - МакКартни". Еще не известно, ради ли денег она вышла за Джона?
Короче,я ничего не могу понять:хорошая Йоко или нет. Но, вы знаете, я очень доверяю Джону и его выбору. Ради нее он развелся с Синтией(но не только из-за этого). Раз он ее выбрал, значит, Йоко - положительная. Вот вам мой ответ на вечный вопрос "Хорошая Йоко или нет?"

!!!

!

Значит, просто оказалась в нужное время в нужном месте, вот и все. Захотела - и получила, мужчинам и не понять, как их охмуряют.

Ну как не понять...Путь к сердцу мужчины лежит либо через желудок либо через другой сенсор...

Вообщем выбор Джона надо уважать в любом варианте имхо, вне зависимости от личного отношения к Йоко. Она весьма неординарная линость, со странностями, собственно как и Джон. И ничего нет такого в том, что они решили быть вместе... :).

А на тему того, что его охмурили... Я в это не верю совершенно, он не тот человек. Т. е. на мой взгляд, только можно говорить разьве что о том, что Джон сам это допустил, понимая что происходит :).

Dimon, у тебя какой-то уж очень узкопрофессиональный (как у врача, я конечно, понимаю, но все же) взгляд на этот конкретный случай. Ведь известно, что Ёка покорила бедного Джона не через желудок и не через "другой сенсор"...

hipnik Дата: 13.09.01 20:20:59

=Как бы ее не ругали , но я думаю Ono толантлевый авангардист.=
=Hipnik=
Да, она тОлант - левый только.

2JohnLenin! Кому достоверно известно и чем доказано?
(ПсихоАНАЛитические выкладки в виде-того что Джон был закомплексованным и нуждался в мамочке(япона мать в данном случае) не канают)).

2Dimon! Да при чем тут какие-то психоАНАЛитические выкладки? Тебе самому наверняка известна масса книг, где описано, КАК именно Ёка покорила Джона...