New president, same old war against press freedom in Iraq
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New president, same old war against press freedom in Iraq
Is it audacious to hope that a new president promising change might at least put an end to America's unwarranted and indefinite jailing of journalists without charges in the Iraq war zone?
Apparently so.
While President Obama came to office promising the world that America would once again respect the rule of law and the cause human rights, with a high-profile (and not yet fulfilled) promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, a new commander-in-chief has meanwhile done nothing to halt the U.S. miltary's abhorrent practice of jailing journalists without trials, evidence, habeas corpus, etc.
The most recent case is that of Ibrahim Jassam (pictured at top, Reuters photo):
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Each time I report on a journalist imprisoned for committing journalism, a few readers call me a hypocrite for not turning the spotlight on my own country. Here is one case nobody should ignore.
Ibrahim Jassam, 31, is an Iraqi freelance photographer. Since Sept. 2, 2008, when U.S. soldiers seized him at his home near Baghdad, he has been held without charge in American military prisons. He’s currently at Camp Bucca, in the southern part of the country, according to Lt. Col. Patricia Johnson, a U.S. Marine Corps spokeswoman in Iraq. Jassam is a security threat, Johnson said, “as the result of his activity with an insurgent organization.”
No details of that alleged activity were offered. Journalists often make contact with opposition forces in the course of their work. Last November, the Central Criminal Court of Iraq ruled that Jassam is not a security threat and asked the Americans to release him. The American response has been to politely ignore the court and keep the photographer in prison as his first anniversary in jail approaches.
Like Bilal Hussein, the Pulitzer Prize-winning AP photographer written about frequently in this space (and eventually freed), Jassam has worked recently for a major Western news organization, Reuters. In the Bilal Hussein case, the photographer's ability to get pictures of the Iraqi insurgents -- part of his job -- and transmit them to the world got him falsely branded as a terrorist, and for all we know that is also what happened here as well. But when a man is detained on "secret" evidence, as if in some kind of backwards or totalitarian nation, it's really hard to speculate on the question of why.
Here's more info from the San Francisco Chronicle, which I credit for this ballsy headline (on Page 1, no less):
"U.S. Take on Detained Journalists Hypocritical":
In the world community, where Washington periodically assails other nations' press crackdowns, the U.S. detentions have opened the government to accusations of promoting a double standard.
Since 2001, the United States has jailed 13 foreign reporters in Afghanistan and Iraq for at least several weeks as suspected terrorists or insurgents, and many others for shorter periods, said the Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization of media representatives. None has been charged or given a trial to confront the evidence against them, the group said.
None of this has prevented Obama from coming out with the same pablum about press freedom that George W. Bush use to issue every year on World Press Freedom Day:
In every corner of the globe, there are journalists in jail or being actively harassed: from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, Burma to Uzbekistan, Cuba to Eritrea.
...to U.S.-occupied Iraq -- oops, I added that last part. Leading press organization have written to Obama seeking action on the case of Jassam, to no avail of course. This isn't something the president has to get past a GOP filibuster; as commander-in-chief all he would have to do is (proverbially) click his heels three times and order the man's release. But Obama has given the military and the intelligence community carte blanche to continue operating as it has done for the past eight years, even when those policies are recognized around the globe as harmful to human rights. If this all weren't bad enough, the Pentagon continues to contract with a private firm to rate the work of reporters seeking to embed with military units in Afghanistan, a chilling abuse against the 1st Amendment that the president pledged back on Jan. 20 to defend and uphold:
WASHINGTON — Contrary to the insistence of Pentagon officials this week that they are not rating the work of reporters covering U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Stars and Stripes has obtained documents that prove that reporters’ coverage is being graded as “positive,” “neutral” or “negative.”
Moreover, the documents — recent confidential profiles of the work of individual reporters prepared by a Pentagon contractor — indicate that the ratings are intended to help Pentagon image-makers manipulate the types of stories that reporters produce while they are embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, it was Obama who said:
Comments (197)
Shame on the US military for trying to gain an advantage in their fights. They should fight and die for the right of photographers like Jassan to create propaganda that results in more US casualties. The military's job is to die, and they should not try to influence anyone's perception of them to try to gain an advantage, or to reduce the numbers of those deaths.— Mr. Smith
There's no evidence of propaganda; Jassan was trying to exercise that very freedom that the US military purports to defend.— will- If only KSM had carried a camera with him, he would have even more American leftists barking for his release and wanting to give him a Pulitzer or Nobel prize.— Mr. Smith
- Gee, Will, maybe you should trade in your computer for a flak jacket and go over there, since you appear to have more intel on the insurgency than those already there on the ground...— AngryWhiteMale
- Nice post, Will - jailing people without providing evidence was a (negative) hallmark of the Bush administration. But I do think that in the war for "hearts and minds" it makes sense for the Pentagon to monitor coverage. Even if there's evidence to connect the rating of journalists to unwarranted detention (which it doesn't seem there is), just simply evaluating coverage makes sense.— Talking point sleuth
With the administration and state run media's attack against ordinary American citizens expressing opposition to a government occupied healthcare system, it's really hard to get all excited about this situation.— jmc- ---}}} If only KSM had carried a camera with him, he would have even more American leftists barking for his release and wanting to give him a Pulitzer or Nobel prize. {{{--- You gotta love the logic of ARTs. All A-rabs = KSM, and should be waterboarded accordingly. I mean, clearly, this dude Jassam plotted an attack on the U.S., right?— Talking point sleuth
- ---}}} With the administration and state run media's attack against ordinary American citizens expressing opposition to a government occupied healthcare system, {{{--- Ah yes - the endless string of "Mommy, mommy, those mean people in "the media" are sooooooo unfaaaaiirr," whining continues unabated.— Talking point sleuth
- "If only KSM had carried a camera with him, he would have even more American leftists barking for his release and wanting to give him a Pulitzer or Nobel prize." Good thinking, wingnut. Anyone arrested by the US military is the equal of KSM, because the US military is always right and always tortures the correct person with the Bushco-approved methods. Or not. The US government's hypocrisy is still at full power: "If we do it, it's not (fill in the blank)." Torture, terrorism, fascism, murder, war crimes, etc. Being part of the American government is like a blanket pardon from the Baby Jeebus himself.— NoOneYouKnow
Comment removed.- I read that in this one cia report there is a redacted section that shows evidence of some of the most heinous cia abuses yet: they forced detainess to read "attytood". Those that survived were subjected to a reading by Will of his seldomly self-referenced "Tear Down This Myth". Apparently that was indeed the final nail in the coffin for many of them.— Dopespotter
- I'm just wondering who the GOP's "great, white hope" will be in 2012 now that Sanford and Palin have been exposed as frauds? Yeah, the GOP isn't full of racists. lol— chasing history
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- "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." - The Who— Captain Awesome
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- thanks for the footnote there, Captain Awesome. We really needed you to help us out with that obscure quote. you're a genius, dude!— TR
- chasing history, do you take pride in exposing yourself for the intellectually vapid, clueless, ignorant moron that you are?— Jack Klompus
- Will- You are a clown. Do some research instead of jumping on a bandwagon steered by real writers who choose to lean towards into a cause because it happens to be popular for the moment. These "journalists" are often the couriers between the bad guys and assorted Mid-Eastern TV networks after they film an attack on my brothers who are the only ones brave enough to stand in between you and them. @ NoOneYouKnow-- One of your saviors(Pelosi) was fully aware of the methods being used. Do research moron! At some point, everyone will realize that this batch of idiots is the same as the last batch.— ihatesand
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I'm wondering when Will will post a story about the ACLU paying photographers to take pictures of 45 cia operatives many of them outside their homes , then showing these photos to Gitmo detainees , isnt this treason by the ACLU ? and why is the press not all over it ? .— PAEnglish- TR, sadly, there are people out there who don't have a clue about the musicial genius of Daltrey and Townsend. Darn kids.— Captain Awesome
- do you take pride in exposing yourself for the intellectually vapid, clueless, ignorant moron that you are?....says the guy who voted for the Great White Dope, I'll take that as a compliment!— chasing history
- The Who were a bit before my time but made some great records , dont mind some Stones stuff , didnt like the Beatles at all .— PAEnglish
- "do you think i'm a raving idiot? just got off the boat step in line, sign this form - you ain't got a hope baby ain't got a hope - you ain't got a hope what a liar - deny what a liar" - The Clash dedicated to BHO— Talking Point Stooge
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- And in other news: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CINDY SHEEHAN TAKES TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD TO PROTEST OBAMA'S WAR... YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— WriteWinger
- PAEnglish--they are all before my time as well, but the Who, Stones, and Beatles are all fantastic.— Captain Awesome
bryanc 9.4%, 16% what is the difference?? I'm just glad Obama has been able to get away on vacation.— bird11- Think Bunch might have posted a blog if Bush did the following:..... "One of President Obama's golfing buddies Monday was a top donor to his campaign and the president of a bank at the center of a U.S. investigation into illegal tax shelters. Robert Wolf, the president of UBS Americas, a Swiss-based bank, joined Obama at the elite, and difficult, Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs. Deputy press secretary Bill Burton described the two men as "friends." According to news reports, Wolf and Obama met late in 2006 as the then-Illinois senator was about to launch his presidential bid. Wolf raised more than $250,000 for Obama's presidential bid, according to a Post report last year. But Wolf's firm was caught up last year in a Senate probe of financial firms that attempted to shield millions of dollars in offshore accounts from U.S. taxes. Last August, the Post reported, "The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations completed its report on UBS's role in helping wealthy investors shield money from federal taxes. Bank spokeswoman Rohini Pragasam said the donations were "categorically not connected" to the Senate inquiry. The bank also is under scrutiny by the IRS and the Justice Department." ...... but don't worry it's not like this guy is setting policy ....."In February, 2009, Wolf was appointed as a member to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide the president and his administration with advice on counsel in fixing America's economic downturn" .....oops, nevermind.— bird11
- The UE rate has been faulty for years. Its nothing new.— RG
- "there are people out there who don't have a clue about the musicial genius of Daltrey and Townsend" Sorry if this is being too picky Cap'n, but Pete's name is Townshend...with an "h". After all, we wouldn't want to call his band The Wo, now would we. ;^)— legatus
- Love The Who but like them or not you have to respect the Beatles - Lenin and McCarthy were just made for each other. And don't forget the Stones - who would have ever thought the Stones could do it all these years...good old Fred and Barney.— bird11
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- bryanc - what are you complaining about?? Those two articles are almost carbon copies except for the President's names. Very poor evidence of any bias in the media.— bird11
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- "Please tell me you are kidding." - Actually I think the term is sarcasm. Bryanc, lets talk family members. What are the odds the press would have honored Bush's request if they were told "It is our strong hope and desire that you all, during this family vacation, will respect the privacy of (Jenna and Barbara). This is a strong request by the first family," ...... If this had been a Bush vacation the media would have found a why to blame Hurricaine Bill on him.— bird11
- I was talking with some friends about the Beatles the other day. Their early work is brilliant in its simplicity, while their later work is brilliant in its complexity....I also have to say that I put CCR in any discussion of all-time great rock and roll bands. I think they're the best rock band to ever come out of the US.— Captain Awesome
- Captain - for top U.S. R&R band I have to go with Aerosmith. Their early stuff Toys in the Attic, Rocks, Draw the Line ...awesome stuff. (This in no way is demeaning CCR - also great)— bird11
- Bunch is one of those reflexive liberal journalists who actually thinks that freedom of the press is the only right protected in the Constitution. And he apparently thinks that right should prohibit those who are covered by the press from evaluating whether the coverage was fair, accurate, negative, or positive from the point of view of the person or entity covered. That is, the press should be immune from scrutiny and evaluation. Where did he study U.S. civics?— pj katauskas
bryanc, does this count? http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=49931 Speaking of great bands, don't forget Pink Floyd, he's awesome! "Now watch this drive."— one_eyed_jack- "And journalists were taken to the first hole moments after Obama's first drive but in time to capture him walking down the lush green fairway at an Oak Bluffs golf course.".....sounds like our President may have some first tee jitters and didn't want anybody to see his tee shot. Like I say if your scared buy a dog ...oh wait he already did that.— bird11
- bird11, I dig some of Aerosmith's stuff (Pump was the first album I ever owned) but I'm not a diehard fan. That stretch in the late 90s where they were churning out soft rock hits (Cryin', Amazing, and that song from the Armegeddon soundtrack that makes me want to drink turpentine) really turned me off to them. Although the video with Liv Tyler and Alicia Silverstone ain't bad....— Captain Awesome
- captain - the early stuff is better, late 90's became very bubblegum. Because ""you ain't seen nothin' till you're down on a muffin then you're sure to be a-changin' your ways"— bird11
- Vito and the Salutations...now there was a power group....— AngryWhiteMale
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I worry that the (very proper) concern over Obama's many missteps on national security, where he seems to have decided that he can fend off attacks by the likes of Cheney by mainly doing exactly the same as Cheney would have done, which does not seem to be working by the way, will blind my fellow liberals to the very many excellent steps reversing Bush-Cheney policies on the environment and other largely domestic issues; although, when he gets away from the national security game, the foreign policy makes sense to me. At this point, even the war in Afghanistan still has some validity, although perhaps losing it after this election become final.- Comment removed.
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- I think The Doors have to be included in any mention of great U.S. bands.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
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- Yankee: Agreed. If I was creating a Mount Rushmore of US rock and roll bands, I'd have The Eagles, The Doors, CCR, and Springsteen (I know a lot of the people who post here can't stand his politics, but he still rocks imo).— Captain Awesome
- While not everybody's cup of tea I have to throw my favorite band into the mix - the good old Grateful Dead. They have very little commercial success but they played every year for 30+ years to packed houses.— bird11
- bryanc-A similar arc for the J.Giels band.they broke on the scene with three albums that flat out rocked but then the singer,Peter Wolf,became involved with Faye Dunaway & for whatever reason,they just lost their edge.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
- Captain - I can't see a Mt. Rushmore of U.S. Rock without Duluth, Minnesota favorite son Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan.— bird11
- Currently it would have to be Wilco.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
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- Yankee - I think you sell J.Giels short - they rocked the entire 70's it wasn't until Love Stinks and Freeze frame that they became bubblegum (and coincidentally popular). Wolf put out a few very good solo albums after leaving J. Giels - which he left because he didn't want to be fronting songs like Centerfold the rest of his life. Saw their brief reunion tour at the Tower and they still jammed.— bird11
- Let's not forget Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Van Halen, The Allman Brothers, The Doobie Brothers, Nirvana and Metallica. And last but not least, even though I'm not a fan of their music, you cannot leave out a quintessentially American band...The Beach Boys.— legatus
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- It's funny to watch Democrats discuss terrorism.— legatus
- legatus - while you may just be expanding the term "American" to include all of north America I believe Neil Young is a Canadian. Which of course begs the question is CSNY a band without a country???— bird11
- You're right birdie, my mistake. Delete Neil Young, add Jimi Hendrix.— legatus
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- Where is msl to tell us about how the Amish school shootings demonstrate that rural America is comparable in violence to urban America. According to this link, the 25 most dangerous schools in PA are all in Philadelphia. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/Persistently_dangerous_schools.html— legatus
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- bird11-You got me thinking about J.Giels,this calls for a walk over to a.k.a. at lunch time.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
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- Genius, Howard Stern had some guy on a couple months ago who wrote a book detailing all how much material Zeppelin ripped off from other people. Don't get me wrong, they're still a great band, but it was pretty interesting stuff. I don't have speakers on my laptop at work, but it looks like this site compares their stuff against the alleged "source" material: http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/26428/led_zeppelin_rip_off_artists_.html?cat=33— Captain Awesome
- Check out the "Full House" (live) album, Yankee. Good stuff. In fact, I always thought of Geils as more of a live act than a studio band.— legatus
- legatus - be fair 5 city schools were dropped from the list. OK so 10 were added but 5 were dropped.— bird11
- Wilco is a great band, going back to when most of them were in Uncle Tupelo....I am also eagerly awaiting the new record from Alice in Chains (easily in my top 10 all-time favorite bands).— Captain Awesome
- legatus - Blow Your Face Out (also live) is worth owning just for Wolf's rap going into "Musta Got Lost". Another great live album performer is Bob Seger - Live Bullet is outstanding.— bird11
- Wow, who knew republicans actually liked good music (except for the Doobie Bros). I thought you all listened to Abba all day. Why on earth would John McCain actually admit that Dancing Queen was his favorite song? That was the day he officially lost me.— one_eyed_jack
- one.eyed.jack-Give McCain a break,he was kinda tied up when a lot of good bands were around.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
- I never listened to Blow Your Face Out, bird...I'll have to check it out. In the 70s, I must've seen Geils about 10 times as a preliminary act, and once as the headliner. They never disappointed. I agree that Live Bullett is a great album. Some bands are just made for the live stage, and Seger is one of them.— legatus
- one-eyed - in McCain's defense he was a prisoner of war from '67 to '73 and when he returned to the States the billboard top songs were 1973 -"Tie a Yellow Ribbon" - Tony Orlando, 1974 - "The Way We Were" - Commie Streissand 1975 - "Love Will Keep Us Together" - Captain & Tennille ...and after that disco starts. McCain probably felt he was back in the Hanoi Hilton just listening to the radio - doubt the V.C. tortured him as bad.— bird11
- legatus-Full House was good,and I agree, they were a tremendous live band.Saw them in Philly anumber of times,including the day after Duane Allman died & they had a tribute to him.Also saw them a few times in NYC.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
- legatus - both Blow Your Your Face Out & Live Bullet were recorded at Cobo Hall in Detroit. We must be old if we can remember when rock and roll was actually played in Detroit.— bird11
- Wilco is probably the best American Band out there right now. I would have said the White Stripes, but Jack seems to be invloved in numerous projects right now. In terms of musical prowess, the Beach Boys and Jimi Hendrix cannot be matched for an American band. In terms of musical depth and breath (recordings and toruing), Pearl Jam and the Grateful Dead deserve mention.— chasing history
- We're old because we remember Cobo Hall, where Dave Bing lit things up!— legatus
- "Wow, who knew republicans actually liked good music" All those who live outside of the bubble that many Democrats inhabit.— legatus
- All those who live outside of the bubble that many Democrats inhabit.....lol, like when Reagan wanted to use Born in the USA for his '84 campaign song? talk about being in a bubble.— chasing history
- Chasing history - you're exactly right. No one said that bubbles don't exist on both sides.— legatus
- FWIW, nowadays I'm partial to Kings of Leon.— RG
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- "Wow, who knew republicans actually liked good music" - Chasing, I love a lot of Democrats. Like I said the Grateful Dead are my favorite band and they are THE MOST Democratic band of all time. They all participate in song writer and actually vote amongst themselves on what they are going to record and what projects they are going to do. It is also why they are most often referred to as appearing "rudderless" in their career. Rudderless can be quite entertaining even when running a country - just look at the last 8 months.— bird11
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- Me too RG, but I'd say Green Day is the best current American band. And if you want to check out something new, try Cage the Elephant.— one_eyed_jack
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- I think what our president is discovering is that it's easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys when you are criticizing someone else's decision. When you're the boss, those black & white decisions become an ugly shade of grey.— Why??
- Funny Americans rave about English Bands and brits prefer American , myself I'm a big Springsteen fan , never heard an Eagles song I didnt like and will listen to Garth Brookes anytime— PAEnglish
- No REM fans ?— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
- It is also why they are most often referred to as appearing "rudderless" in their career.....perhaps to an outside observer, but I always felt that they did what THEY wanted to do, not the record company. I was never a Deadhead, but I did attend 30+ shows from Boston to Miami from '83 to '94. I really respected their dedication to their fans (no pun intended) and their committment to making music.— chasing history
- "The Military's job is to die" Wow. This must be from a right-wing nutjob. No lady, the military's job is to protect us and to fight in just wars....meaning not going to war based upon evidence concocted by a crooked administration.— rightwingsheeple
- No REM fans?.....I visited Athens while on vacation this year. Went by the 40 watt club and paid my respects.— chasing history
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- Nah, more like when Governor Christie Whitman wanted to use Springsteen's "Born to Run" as the official song of New Jersey....thanks for proving my point!— chasing history
- Genius, the evidence that guy played on Stern was pretty d@amning, but whatever. They do indeed rock. When I first started getting into them, I was amazed that how many songs I knew even as just a casual fan....although I have to admit that I can't stand Stairway to Heaven. Oh, and Lynyrd Skynyrd needs to be included in any discussion about great American rock and roll bands.— Captain Awesome
- "Great band. I'm dipping into dirty blues rock" Goign to see KoL two saturdays from now in E rutherford. I always considered them Southern garage rock, but your description fits as well. After I convince the wife on buying a new laptop, I'll try and check out FHJ on iTunes.— RG
- "No REM fans?" I saw them on the Monster tour and thought it was the worst concert I've ever seen. I thought Out of Time was their last really great album.— Captain Awesome
- "This must be from a right-wing nutjob" Too bad you didn't have the acuity to realize that he was speaking sarcastically...tongue in cheek. Sheeeesh.— legatus
- "myself I'm a big Springsteen fan"...PAenglish, we were banging heads earlier this week, but this makes you ok in my book.— Captain Awesome
- Well chasing,you like Wilco & you like REM,I'll try to see the good side of you going forward.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
- I'll try to see the good side of you going forward....as I will with you. Did you see Wilco in Wilmington this summer?— chasing history
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- "with all of those bands continuing what Guns N Roses started." G-d if Axl weren't such an egomaniacal d-bag.— RG
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- when Velvet Revolver got together and came out with Contraband, I thought American rock and roll might see a revival....please stop talking music, I'm feeling sick.— chasing history
- I consider Velvet Revolver as the next GnR album after the Use Your Illusion albums came out. Chinese Democracy stunk.— Captain Awesome
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- speaking of supergorups, Josh homme, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones are randomly showing up and performing as Them Crooked Vultures.— RG
- I missed the Wilco show in Wilmington,heard it was good.Haven't seen them since they played at Delaware & Spring Garden.Good show (My Morning Jacket opened ) but such a crummy venue.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
- Figures that all you rightwingers would love you some big-haired, tight-pants, weenies. Give me some 'ol Social Distortion or some Southern Culture on the Skids. And the only metal band I could ever stand was Living Color.— Talking point sleuth
- (Repeating myself - post never appeared) While this discussion is great and I can talk music all day (not to mention the benefits of R&R joining R's & D's) I was wondering if anyone heard about the journalist being held by the U.S. in Iraq. I think his name is Ibrahim Jassam. OK enough about Bunch's topic.....Surprised that no one has mentioned U2. Great band and Bono is one of the very few "activist" entertainers that doesn't make me ill. I guess you people just hate the Irish.— bird11
- Haven't seen them since they played at Delaware & Spring Garden.....Festival Pier? I've seen them many times since that show. If I remember correctly, Jeff was making fun of the music coming from Katmandu.— chasing history
- "Surprised that no one has mentioned U2." Older stuff is absolutely classic, the newer stuff is hit or miss.— RG
- You're right, he was goofing on Katmandu.I think that was the last time,unless I saw them at the Factory later.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
- Any rockabilly fans??? Can't get enough Reverend Horton Heat.— bird11
- Captain Awesome , Saw Springsteen live at Wembley during his Born In The USA world tour , fantstic show , then at Leeds Castle for His Tunnel Of Love Tour then again at Milton Keynes Bowl for the Human Touch tour , the guy was brilliant each and every time . My other favourites are Journey , Styx , Blue Oyster Cult , and AC/DC with a little ZZ Top thrown in . Best British bands are Def Leppard , Saxon , Whitesnake , Queen , and Status Quo . Also the Two tone scene back in the 80's gave us The Jam , and The Specials .— PAEnglish
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- Bird , yeah U2 were great in the early days , I think they lost their way a little though . Rockabilly ? ever heard of Matchbox ? . Nowadays they would never get a show in this country , they always played with a big rebel flag as a backdrop , made great music though .— PAEnglish
- "Haven't seen them since they played at Delaware & Spring Garden"....is there any self-respecting Philadelphian who ever calls Delaware Ave. by its name for over a decade Columbus Blvd.— bird11
- saw U2 at Grendel's Lair in the late 70's(?) - think they may have also played Dobbs - two great South Street venues when you could actually find good music in Philly 7 nights a week.— bird11
- ---}}} saw U2 at Grendel's Lair in the late 70's {{{--- Oh brother, that's scary. There's a strong possibility that I drank a beer next to a dancing birdie at one point in my past. And yes, I'd say that Living Colour was definitely a funk variant of metal. But then again, I was never exactly a connoisseur of metal.— Talking point sleuth
- "There's a strong possibility that I drank a beer next to a dancing birdie at one point in my past." and that's a bad thing why???— bird11
- bird-Any familiarity with the Blue Comet ? Grendel's Lair,wow,saw Hound Dog Taylor there once & a couple of others whose names escape me right now.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
- yankee - the only Blue Comet I ever knew of was in Glenside - few blocks down from the Keswick. Doubt you are talking about that place. Where in the city was/is the Blue Comet you are referring to??— bird11
- Bingo,it's in Glenside & a mecca (at least it was )for rockabilly.Brian Setzer showed up a few times, The Phantom Drifters (great name,so so band )played there & a host of others.If I remember correctly,it was once a month on Sundays.— (reeducated)Yankee Air Pirate
- and TPS when it comes to funk there is nothing better than the P-Funk (although Sly & the Family are close). George is definitely my favorite Clinton.— bird11
- Yankee - Blue Comet opened just as I was moving out of Wyncote (can only have so many ex-wives in one town) and I didn't find out about the Sunday shows until about 2005/2006 and only made the trip a few times - heard it closed early this year.— bird11
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- bryanc--yeah, it was at the Spectrum. That was before people bought tickets online, so my girlfriend at the time and I camped out in the parking lot of the Moorestown Mall so we could be among the first in line to get tickets.— Captain Awesome
- "Give me some 'ol Social Distortion" TPS, I wouldn't picture you as a Social D fan. I saw them a couple of years ago when they were touring in support of their new album.— Captain Awesome
- PAenglish, I saw Springsteen when he first reunited with the E-Street band and saw him when he was in town a couple of months ago (dedicating Thunder Road to Harry Kalas was awesome). I'm going two nights when he returns in October....bird, I have a couple of Horton Heat albums.— Captain Awesome
- Sorry for the multiple posts in a row. I was very fortunate to work as an assistant manager for a music store all through college (retail stinks, but it wasn't a bad gig at the time). One of the best perks about the job was that I got free tickets to almost any show I wanted and had backstage passes to a ton of shows. The coolest show I ever went to was Pantera and White Zombie at the E-Center (or whatever it's called now). After the show, the bands and everyone with backstage passes went over to the aquarium where we got to feed the sharks. How many people get to say they fed a shark with Rob Zombie and Phil Ansalmo (sp?)?— Captain Awesome
- Captain I was at the Spectrum to see Springsteen the night John Lennon was murdered. Talk about a combination of great/sad/eerie. And I remember those sleep outs for tickets (not that anybody slept) as a great party followed by the disappointment when you got your tickets 17 miles from the stage even when you were one of the first 10 people in line. One of the advantages to being a deadhead were the Dead ticket pre-sales by mail - I can still remember getting together my #10 envelope with the 3X5 index card and the postal money order and going over the paperwork 500 times so it wouldn't be rejected.— bird11
- Captain - my scam was writing the music review for my college newspaper. I can still remember the looks of disdain from the serious writers when I fired up a bone in the press box at the Spectrum - the start of my distaste for the journalistic profession.— bird11
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"Both George Bush and his father were seriously criticized by the media for golfing during a time of war." . . . . . If only they'd been criticized for warring during a time for golf.- Van Halen YES!! Van Hagar NO! One of many college jobs I had was working the front desk and security at the Hilton down by the stadiums (now the Holiday Inn). Van Halen stayed there during an early 80's tour and in the same night I had the fun of carrying an inebriated Roth to his room and playing Ms. Pacman with Eddie and Valerie Van Halen.— bird11
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- "I believe Neil Young is a Canadian." . . . . . Oh my, birdie's a birther.
- bird--wow. What was Bruce like that night when Lennon was shot? Press credentials can be a wonderful thing. I don't know if any of you remember a mag called Lap Dance that was out a couple of years ago? It was kind of like a local version of Lap Dance. I freelanced for them during their short existence so I had press credentials. I got to go to some very cool events because of it.— Captain Awesome
- Skynrd was a great band. Any time I'm in Jay's Elbow Room in Maple Shade, I say I can't leave until I hear the 15-minute live version of Free Bird on the juke box....speaking of Van Halen, Swifty, Hagar and Michael Anthony have a new band called Chickenfoot. They joined up with Joe Satriani and Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. It's not bad.— Captain Awesome
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- Swifty, don't forget Free Bird, the greatest blues ever writ.
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- "Was that next to "Shaved"?"...LOL, but your reaction was part of the problem with the magazine's business model. It tried to be a competitor to Maxim but they couldn't get any big-name advertisers because whenever you said the name, you had to quickly follow up with an explanation that it wasn't a sleezy skin rag. But like I said, I got to cover some pretty cool events for it, even though I wrote everything under a pen name so I didn't catch flack from my Real Job. I got on the guest list for Hollis Thomas' birthday party when he was still with the Birds and went to Hair of the Dog (black tie charity event downtown) with a couple of the girls who model for the magazine. Also did a piece of the SS United States and a serial killer who axed a bunch of people in Chicago during the world's fair before he was caught and executed here. I remember turning on the radio a couple years ago and hearing Anthony and Glen talking about it on WIP. I can't check it at work but the mag's website was www.lapdancemag.com. It think it's still up.— Captain Awesome
- Captain what I remember was Springsteen announcing it - and the it may only have been that he had been shot not necessarily that he was dead - and there being that confusion of what did he just say in the crowd and Springsteen saying something like I don't know what to do but to keep playing. Hard to believe close to 30 years have already passed but as you know in those days at a concert the outside world was a rumor - nobody had cell phones let alone texting and the internet at their disposal. Of course the worst was confirmed when we got to our car in the parking lot. Weird night.— bird11
- Posted by Captain Awesome 09:55 AM, 08/27/2009 "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." - The Who.............hard to believe this whole discussion started with that simple post.— bird11
- Based on the post of the last few days would it be stereotyping to say that the average Attytood reader is an old white guy.— bird11
- Outta my brain on the 5:15— bird11
- True story... P: Find Iraq on a map. Conservative: You're BIIIIIIIased (HTML deleted)— Dr Squid
- Awww another person disappointed by Obama. He disappointed gays with his inaugural pray leader, anti-war people by not getting us out by now and now jounalists. He's given billions to corporations and little has trickled down to those voters who thought he was going to pay thier gas bills. If fact the poor will be eventaully hurt more when taxes and program cuts are needed to pay for the handouts to the wealthy. There has been no movement on gun control or abortion rights and the big health care fix has become a disaster. As time goes by more and more of his supporters will become disappointed. The only ones who won't feel like they have not received what they were promised will be those who are too politically uninformed to relize that they have been used.— towman
- Alright birdie, ever see any concerts at Geno's Empty Foxhole? And what was the name at that place somewhere near the corner of Broad Street and Pine? - I remember that I saw Taj Mahal and Howlin' Wolf there in the mid-80's - but not much else from that entire decade. And please, how could you put Sly in the same sentence as the Parliaments? Make my funk the P-funk, I want's to get funked up.— Talking point sleuth
- ****TORTURE ALERT***** *******TORTURE ALERT******** . FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Colorado State University has withdrawn recognition of a sorority after an investigation into several alleged incidents of hazing, including being deprived of sleep and being made to eat cat food. University officials on the Fort Collins campus temporarily suspended Zeta Phi Beta sorority in April and permanently withdrew recognition Aug. 5. A police report obtained by The Rocky Mountain Collegian newspaper says pledges told authorities they were forced to eat cat food and perform "strenuous physical activity" that made one student seek medical attention."— bird11
- *****RACISM ALERT****** ******RACISM ALERT****** the rest of the hazing story..."Colorado State spokeswoman Dell Rae Moellenberg says university police investigated the allegations and contacted the district attorney, who won't file any charges. A call for comment to the sorority's national office wasn't immediately returned. Zeta Phi Beta's Web site says the sorority was founded in 1920 by students seeking to depart from the traditional coalitions for black women." A bet white girls would have never lost their charter.— bird11
- tps, I thought Living Colour's first album was really good. Some people here probably don't like them because they are, you know, different. hahaha— one_eyed_jack
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- ---}}} they assuredly are not metal. Any band that records a song like "Glamour Boys" cannot be considered metal. Not even close. {{{--- Wikipedia: --snip-- Living Colour is an American funk metal band from New York City, formed in 1983.... Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by heavy metal, funk,.... --snip-- So, there you go, Jack. "Assuredly," then can't be considered metal... LOL! Well, at least by bryanc, anyway, one can only assume because they were.....well, you know.... different.— Talking point sleuth
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- Nice, sloboat. At the time of Kennedy's death, use Kopechne's death as the topic of jokes. Stay classy.— Talking point sleuth
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- Your concern for the Kopechne family is touching, sloboat. And your outrage about Kennedy's poor taste in humor is like a beacon slicing through the darkness of liberalism.— Talking point sleuth
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- But sloboat, you missed the funniest part of that article. You know, the part where one of your fellow right wing lunatics uses the death of Kopechne as the basis for crude, partisan-inspired hilarity... --snip-- The crowds gathered to pay respects to this titan of the Senate - hailed as one of the greatest Americans who ever lived, by many highly qualified media professionals - had nothing but scorn and contempt for the obsession of right-wing extremists with Mary Jo Kopechne, who tragically died of advanced political expediency before most American voters were born. “I think I speak for most women when I say that I would be happy to drown in seven feet of water, if it would further the magnificent career of a lion like Ted Kennedy,” said a defiant Melissa L., aspiring sycophant. --snip-- Stay classy, right wing lunatics, stay classy.— Talking point sleuth
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- Will...you and your marxist President are on a "witch hunt " at the CIA. Title of your new book...an auotbigrapghy-Tear Down the Myth-Obama and Will are communists!"— Dr. Michael
- there is little room for nuance. "Here in Rome Ted Kennedy is nobody." says the Vatican official.— Dr. Michael
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- No, Idiot, I don't think that Duran Duran or Bolton are metal bands. Now Kenny G, John Denver, and Barry Manilow, however.....— Talking point sleuth
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