Laura Flanders is back on RadioNation with Laura Flanders. (She may have been back earlier, the NYC protest and other things have us running behind schedule.) (But then what exactly doesn't have us running behind schedule?)
The America Is Purple tour took her to Marfa, Texas. No surprise, it was a show worth listening to. (We hope Don heard the musical guest in the last hour but, in case not, we'll do a heads up e-mail to him next Saturday morning.)
What stood out to us? A guest who always stands out: Cindy Sheehan.
Sheehan's in DC with others holding a vigil. In fact, let's note CODEPINK on that:
Declare peace on Mother's Day with CODEPINK! We will be gathering in Washington DC for a 24-hour vigil outside the White House on May 13-14, and will be joined by amazing celebrity actresses, singers, writers, and moms, including Cindy Sheehan, Patch Adams, and Susan Sarandon! Bring your mother, children, grandmothers, friends, and loved ones. We will be honoring the mothers of the fallen by sending them organic roses. Click here to send your rose! We're also writing letters to Laura Bush to appeal to her own mother-heart, turning them into a book, "Letters to Laura." For event info click here, read our blogs and check out our online store for gift ideas.
When Sheehan spoke to Flanders, Patch Adams had just finished speaking to the "hundreds of mothers and fathers here" and Sheehan tied in the vigil with Julia Ward Howe's (who created Mother's Day) own actions during the US civil war in response to "the destructing and the killing" going on around her.
What needs to be done now? Sheehan offered, "We just have to realize that our children are only used to help the corporations for their colonialism all over the world. When us mothers realize that . . . that's when war is going to stop."
Flanders asked her what she thought of John Murtha's prediction that the elections in November would mean a shift in power and troops brought home and Sheehan replied, "I've been saying for a long time that I think they'll be hung by the end of this year." She pointed to the polling numbers on the war and on Bully Boy noting "this popular uprising in this country and over two-thirds of the country doesn't support George Bush."
What's going on is the adminstration's facade of lies is "falling apart and we just have to keep helping that happen."
On the subject of Mother's Day, Sheehan noted that children are raised "to use their words" instead of resorting to violence and that children need to be educated. About what?
"I didn't know this was the way it was," she said. "I knew our country did somethings that I wasn't proud of . . ."
She spoke of how recruiters promise the ones signing up the moon and then fail to deliver. Her son, Casey Sheehan, was told he would be an assistant to a chaplain.
Educate your children, she advised, on that and "watch the recruiters, the recruiters lie to them."
RadioNation with Laura Flanders airs Saturdays and Sundays (seven to ten p.m. EST). It airs on XM satellite radio and across the nation on stations that carry Air America programming.
Among Sunday night's guest are actress and activist Margot Kidder, Charlie Savage who's been following the Bully Boy's signing statements for The Boston Globe, and Mike and Wally's favorite writer, Dave Zirin.
If you miss the broadcast, Saturday and Sunday broadcasts are condensed to an hour broadcast that's available at RadioNation with Laura Flanders.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Mark Danner discusses impeachment with Larry Bensky today on KPFA's Sunday Salon
Pacifica is in fundraising mode. It's important that they do the pledge drives. They aren't NPR taking money from big corporations. Drug companies, oil companies, et al, don't donate and then dictate the content. Pacifica is independent radio.
Pledge drive isn't a time to stop listening. Things don't grind to a halt. If you don't listen, you'll miss Amy Goodman sharing some observations on the stories of the day or an interview she did or on the history of Pacifica. She's not the only one fundraising (everyone does) but we didn't realize she was apparently on all the stations fundraising. (We don't have any readers or people contributing to the edition that listen to the DC station -- if you do, write and let us know, represent your station! -- but we know she's on all the others, live. Giving of her time to demonstrate how important independent media is.)
You also get specials during this time period. There was a wonderful documentary on environmental toxins in the home that a number of us heard. We all heard Robert Fisk speaking on Iraq and journalism. You might get an extended interview from Democracy Now! (with stuff that didn't air -- Jim remembers the day Dave Zirin was a guest on the program and, after the program aired on WBAI, he stayed on the air with Amy Goodman discussing sports and their relationships with politics).
If you can't donate, you can't donate. When we started the site, we quickly learned who are readers are. Along with Common Ills members (and we are all members of the community as well) we have a lot of young readers. Not young like Rebecca's -- Rebecca's the talk of several high schools and junior highs, but college readers and college age and slightly older. We know that many of you are struggling. Ava and C.I. make a point to try to review the bulk of Friday's programming because a number of young families have e-mailed to note that Friday's means nothing but sitting in front of the TV due to the fact that money is so tight.
So we're not guilting you, but if you have money to make a donation, without taking food off your table or postponing something needed (dental work, whatever), please consider donating to keep independent media alive. Robert Fisk isn't a voice you'll hear often on NPR. Arundhati Roy isn't a voice you'll hear often. Robert Parry, Naomi Klein, go down the list of your favorites that you wish you could hear and chances are you can hear them on Pacifica.
If you can or can't donate money, if you live in a broadcast area, you may be able to donate some time as a volunteer answering the phones. They are often short handed. (C.I. swears that Philip Maldari answered the phone during one pledge drive. And C.I. didn't realize it was Maldari until after making the pledge and hanging up. "I felt like such an idiot because the polite thing to say would have been to compliment him on the fine work he, Andrea Lewis, all the regular guests and everyone behind the boards do on KPFA's The Morning Show. Hopefully the fact that I was pledging during that time period conveyed that. I was in the car, on the cell and the car was in motion during the call so I was juggling a number of things. The second I hung up, I thought, "I know that voice.") Whether they are shorthanded or have a full slate of volunteers, they are always polite as they take down your information. Our regular readers are caring people and we know they'd do a wonderful job volunteering. (You can also pledge securely online at the Pacifica site or any of the stations sites.)
Maybe you can do one or both or maybe you can't do either? One thing you can do, what everyone can do is get out the word on Pacifica. Independent media shouldn't be a secret (though a book "writer" treats it as such, we have a book discussion going up later this morning).
Everyone can get the word out. And if you're prone to guilting (to use C.I.'s term) and don't have the money and can't volunteer, you should remember that everyone can pass on the word about Pacifica. Try to tell at least one person a week if not a day. If you're circle is limited, we're thinking of one reader who sees only her child and her husband all week, you can e-mail. You can write a letter to a friend talking up Pacifica. If you post at message boards, you can mention it there.
Independent media needs public support to survive and thrive. Before the internet, you either depended upon a short wave radio or weren't part of the Pacifica listeners unless you lived in an area that had a station. Now, thanks to the internet, you can listen from anywhere in the world (provided you have computer access, capabality, etc.). Pacifica is independent media and it is now global media. The impact it has is amazing and your support (monetary, volunteering and/or getting the word out) can help build the network's reach.
If you're reading this and still haven't listened, give it a listen. With it being in pledge drive until the last week of the month (the last Friday may be when regular programming resumes), there's really only highlight we were able to find.
On KPFA today (in less than an hour from when this is going up):
Sunday Salon
Sunday, 9:00am
Hour 1: Mark Danner and others on Bush & Company...
Are their actions impeachable?
Hour 2: Gary Shteyngart in-studio on his latest work, "Absurdistan: A Novel."
Pledge drive isn't a time to stop listening. Things don't grind to a halt. If you don't listen, you'll miss Amy Goodman sharing some observations on the stories of the day or an interview she did or on the history of Pacifica. She's not the only one fundraising (everyone does) but we didn't realize she was apparently on all the stations fundraising. (We don't have any readers or people contributing to the edition that listen to the DC station -- if you do, write and let us know, represent your station! -- but we know she's on all the others, live. Giving of her time to demonstrate how important independent media is.)
You also get specials during this time period. There was a wonderful documentary on environmental toxins in the home that a number of us heard. We all heard Robert Fisk speaking on Iraq and journalism. You might get an extended interview from Democracy Now! (with stuff that didn't air -- Jim remembers the day Dave Zirin was a guest on the program and, after the program aired on WBAI, he stayed on the air with Amy Goodman discussing sports and their relationships with politics).
If you can't donate, you can't donate. When we started the site, we quickly learned who are readers are. Along with Common Ills members (and we are all members of the community as well) we have a lot of young readers. Not young like Rebecca's -- Rebecca's the talk of several high schools and junior highs, but college readers and college age and slightly older. We know that many of you are struggling. Ava and C.I. make a point to try to review the bulk of Friday's programming because a number of young families have e-mailed to note that Friday's means nothing but sitting in front of the TV due to the fact that money is so tight.
So we're not guilting you, but if you have money to make a donation, without taking food off your table or postponing something needed (dental work, whatever), please consider donating to keep independent media alive. Robert Fisk isn't a voice you'll hear often on NPR. Arundhati Roy isn't a voice you'll hear often. Robert Parry, Naomi Klein, go down the list of your favorites that you wish you could hear and chances are you can hear them on Pacifica.
If you can or can't donate money, if you live in a broadcast area, you may be able to donate some time as a volunteer answering the phones. They are often short handed. (C.I. swears that Philip Maldari answered the phone during one pledge drive. And C.I. didn't realize it was Maldari until after making the pledge and hanging up. "I felt like such an idiot because the polite thing to say would have been to compliment him on the fine work he, Andrea Lewis, all the regular guests and everyone behind the boards do on KPFA's The Morning Show. Hopefully the fact that I was pledging during that time period conveyed that. I was in the car, on the cell and the car was in motion during the call so I was juggling a number of things. The second I hung up, I thought, "I know that voice.") Whether they are shorthanded or have a full slate of volunteers, they are always polite as they take down your information. Our regular readers are caring people and we know they'd do a wonderful job volunteering. (You can also pledge securely online at the Pacifica site or any of the stations sites.)
Maybe you can do one or both or maybe you can't do either? One thing you can do, what everyone can do is get out the word on Pacifica. Independent media shouldn't be a secret (though a book "writer" treats it as such, we have a book discussion going up later this morning).
Everyone can get the word out. And if you're prone to guilting (to use C.I.'s term) and don't have the money and can't volunteer, you should remember that everyone can pass on the word about Pacifica. Try to tell at least one person a week if not a day. If you're circle is limited, we're thinking of one reader who sees only her child and her husband all week, you can e-mail. You can write a letter to a friend talking up Pacifica. If you post at message boards, you can mention it there.
Independent media needs public support to survive and thrive. Before the internet, you either depended upon a short wave radio or weren't part of the Pacifica listeners unless you lived in an area that had a station. Now, thanks to the internet, you can listen from anywhere in the world (provided you have computer access, capabality, etc.). Pacifica is independent media and it is now global media. The impact it has is amazing and your support (monetary, volunteering and/or getting the word out) can help build the network's reach.
If you're reading this and still haven't listened, give it a listen. With it being in pledge drive until the last week of the month (the last Friday may be when regular programming resumes), there's really only highlight we were able to find.
On KPFA today (in less than an hour from when this is going up):
Sunday Salon
Sunday, 9:00am
Hour 1: Mark Danner and others on Bush & Company...
Are their actions impeachable?
Hour 2: Gary Shteyngart in-studio on his latest work, "Absurdistan: A Novel."
Music Spotlight: Kat's Korner on Pink's I'm Not Dead
Without a doubt, our favorite of Kat's reviews from last week. Why? Well for one thing we love it when she weaves a tapestry into her critique. And doing so allowed her to add further weight to a critique. She's our favorite music critic, online or in print.
Kat's Korner: Pink's not dead or silent
Kat: I'm Not Dead reads the title of Pink's latest CD and, no, she's not. Not brain dead, not mute, not playing "War Got Your Tongue?" or boring everyone the way the Disney Kids do.
I can't remember which members asked me first to review this CD. I can tell you that a lot of e-mails came in on it. I was reminded of that when I read Matt Rothschild's piece on how a Florida school refuses to let a ten-year-old, Molly Shoul, perform the song.
Reading the piece, Shoul's passion for the song didn't surprise me. It's like the e-mails I've received (Goldie and West's e-mails stand out). Music matters to them. There's a parent who's posted a response. Read it to find out their view but here's how it reads to me: It's not censorship, the school was right, children are not able to grasp the concepts (e.g. the song is too mature). West is a few years over ten (but still under eighteen) while Goldie's only a few years older. But more to the point, the ten-year-olds of today are not the ten-year-olds who learned "Blowin' In The Wind" in school. To claim that ten-year-olds could grasp the Dylan classic better than Pink's is too much of a stretch for me to make. Dylan's poetic language might leave more kids today confused than Pink's very direct message in "Dear Mr. President" ("Where is your compassion?" is the message).
But it is censorship, no matter what the parent who posted a reply thinks. I can remember my own school days. A racy album cover didn't mean you couldn't bring that vinyl record in to listen to, it just meant that the teacher would prefer the cover not be brought to school and, if it was, she would confiscate the cover (while allowing the record to be played) until the end of the day when it was time for you to take your record home.
By the same token, Molly Shoul would be singing a song. She's not lip synching or dancing to a recording of the song. If "You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine" is offensive, if it is, then Molly merely sings "You've come a long way." That happened all the time at talent shows in my day. A Rolling Stones song got "pruned" -- it didn't get kicked out.
"Gay" is not a dirty word. I'd guess that any ten-year-old, that's not being home schooled, has an idea what "gay" means.
Since Bully Boy has noted his drinking and was arrested for it, he has come a long way. Might that not be a positive message for children? See, kids, you can have a drinking problem and move beyond it?
But it is censorship to tell her that she can't sing the song. I help out friends' art classes just for the fun of it. That's college and it's also public school. I was helping a friend's fourth grade class last week. The kids know Pink's "Dear Mr. President." They were rushing over to me between working on their projects to tell me about the song. Finally, my friend had to tell them to stay at their stations and they could all talk to me when I made my way around.
I think there's some innocence being projected on children that isn't actually present. I'm not sure if I knew "gay" when I was ten -- we're going back many years and, as Lou Reed once put it, "Those were different times" -- but I knew what drugs were. I knew what drinking was too.
Kids know who Pink is. And, here's the thing, you should too.
Green Day stormed the barricades and, in a sucky slump for music sales, ended up with a multi-platinum album, Grammys and some actual hits on the pop chart. Other real artists who've followed have ended up with credibility, support and attention but radio hasn't opened the gates the way it should have (and would have in a previous era). Pink's the first one since Billie Joe & company whose songs actually get heavy rotation.
She's done it the hard way. The Nation noted she started out the decade as, my term, a good time girl. I think they were attempting to underscore how things have changed. But it needs to be noted, she was a 'round way gal. Like Aretha, she didn't seem to be playing. While Britty played at rebellion (before and after the chest expansion) and Christina couldn't decide if she was the next Madonna or Mariah-Whitney combo (she still seems torn), Pink was fierce for the landscape.
You could argue that she was fierce period. Not a lot of artists, male or female, were singing songs like "My Vietnam" (from M!ssundaztood, same album on which she tried to "Get The Party Started"). While other gals were flashing their flesh while pushing their supposed purity (shades of the manufactured sixties products?), Pink, like Lady Soul, was too busy being comfortable in her own skin to give a damn.
Christina certainly has the "pipes," but she's done very little with them. Consider her Anne Murray on steroids. Britty? Let's not get that party started.
Pink has a soulful voice. It's why she caught fame as an R&B artist. And while the Disney kids were happy to pair up with fuzzy talents from Disney soundtracks (Justy and Elton?), Pink was singing a duet with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.
I got the point of The Nation's juxtaposition, I just felt it grossly short changed Pink.
I wasn't a fan though. I could admire her as a tuneful middle-finger flipped at her silly, pampered contemporaries who populate the pop charts, and the sad public that listens to them, but I didn't rank as a fan.
When Pink started popping up with interviews about "Dear Mr. President" (the news hook for the coverage of the album), I thought it would be worth picking up and figured if it had even one "Just Like A Pill" track, it would be worth the purchase.
It's got so much more to offer than just one track. Listening to it, you may regret the fact that she's apparently backed out of the Janis Joplin bio-pic because her bluesy voice beats the others now being mentioned for the role.
The album opens with "Stupid Girlz:"
Maybe if I act like that
The guy will call me back
In high school, I spent two summers as a camp counselor and what this song reminds me of is Cheryl, a sixth grader. I'm sure I went through that phase and have forgotten it but I remember Cheryl going through it. She was a very cute young girl. She had curly red hair, a pretty smile, thin, attractive.
But the Amys and Jennifers got all the attention with their blonde hair and, honestly, their playing dumb and more than budding breasts. Cheryl was smarter than any kid her age (and had the grades to prove it). But she was mooning over this dweeb named Tommy. (No offense to Cheryl, I've mooned over many a dweeb myself.) I knew Cheryl and her parents, from Church.
They were supportive and loving parents but "strict" in Cheryl's eyes. (She was forbidden, at the threat of a mouth washing, from using the term "ain't.") So one afternoon, I'm making time with Doug, a dweeb in retrospect, when my jaw drops as I see Cheryl emerge in a shirt she's tied in the middle and a pair of shorts she's taken scissors to. As I watched, she walks over to Tommy, who was Billy Idol blonde and just as mentally challenged as his look alike. She starts tossing her head back, laughing at everything he says and flattering him with lies about how smart and how cool he is. Then one of the Amys struts up in a bikini and Cheryl's forgotten.
Doug was saying something about having a stash and maybe tonight . . . But I was already headed after Cheryl to see what was going on. "Boys don't like smart girls," she told me through tears.
I grabbed her by the shoulders and told her, "You're going to be a scientist or a doctor or an astronaut and Amy's going to be lucky to be working the counter at Carl Jr.'s. Do not play stupid for any boy."
Happy ending, Cheryl became a doctor. Amy or any of the Amys or Jennifers? I never heard of them accomplishing anything. Tommy? In high school, he kept getting nabbed for stealing cars and then moved on to an attempted robbery which led to a prison sentence that his parents couldn't sweet talk the judge out of.
Cheryl's got a daughter now. Smart one, too. But instead of middle school, she had to set her daughter straight in the third grade. Whether they grow up faster now or not, they're certainly aware sooner.
On the first track, Pink's singing about something that I think most women will identify with. Maybe, like me, you'll see it in someone else or maybe you'll see it in yourself, but we've been there or know a friend who has.
And it's not an after school special. It's a song full of rage. Which is the emotion to go with that experience. That's the key to I'm Not Dead lyric wise, it's messy, it's loud, it's life. She's not playing Pretty Baby singing "Oops . . . I Did It Again." She's giving breath to some very real experiences.
(She also name checks 50 Cents and Cedric offers his guess on why here.)
"The One That Got Away" is the song Steven Tyler should be covering on the next Aerosmith album. But I doubt he could do it better than Pink who grabs a hold of that song and doesn't let go. Maggie dubbed it "Melissa Etheridge with a vocal range." Pink's got the chops. The woman can sing. But she's not leaving you exhausted as she repeatedly tries for the gold in the field of Olympic Gymnastics. She knows when to be soft in a song and when to pour on the volume. She also grasps that some songs don't require that you demonstrate every note you possess. She's a singer.
Pairing up with the Indigo Girls for "Dear Mr. President" was a smart move. They both benefit from the mix. The song that caught Molly Shoul's attention?
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye, and tell me why?
Want to argue it wasn't censorship? Again, she wanted to perform the song at her school's talent show. Pull "cocaine." Pull "whiskey" if you must. (I won't support the pulling of "gay.") But there's no reason, other than the message, that this song can't be sung.
When the Stones went on Ed Sullivan, they had to sing "Let's spend some time together" (and not "let's spend the night . . ."). Mick Jagger, back in the days before every piece of video came back to haunt you, used to claim that he hadn't sung that. He can be fact checked today. (He did sing "time.") But it happens all the time and always has. It's what the school could suggest be done with "Dear Mr. President" if they really weren't censoring Molly Shoul's song choice.
Pink means something to young people. I see it when I go to a friend's class or when I read the e-mails from younger community members. If you're not "too old" to get it, she'll probably mean something to you as well. And you can justify the purchase on the basis of the bonus track, "I Have Seen the Rain." This song was written by her father, James T. Moore, about his own experience returning from Vietnam, and the two harmonize on it. It's Betty and Wally's favorite track on the album:
Spend my days just searching
Spend my nights in dreams
Stop looking over my shoulder baby
I've stopped wonderin' what it means
Drop out, burn out, solidier ho-oh they've said I should've been more
Probably so if i hadn't of been in that crazy damn Vietnam war.
So what do you have here? You've got a singer who can sing. (That's amazing in and of itself these days.) You've got an artist who's co-written some songs that actually have something to share. (I won't say something to say, the album's like a conversation, not a lecture.) And you've got a more mature album than a forty-ish woman pushing her (now imploded) love life could muster last fall.
While her contemporaries (it's an insult to call them her peers) play at peak-a-boo sex and mistake their romances/pick ups for life traumas (that they quickly attempt to market), Pink's CD persona is that of someone with her feet firmly planted on the ground and very much of this world. If her label (LaFace) has any guts, "Dear Mr. President" will be the next single. But thanks to her stature, and her willingness to use that platform, she's already reached an audience with it. Count me as a new fan.
pink
im not dead
dear mr. president
i have seen the rain
james t. moore
green day
matt rothschild
matthew rothschild
the progressive
molly shoul
the nation
thomas friedman is a great man
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
the third estate sunday review
kats korner
the common ills
[Note: This is the fourth of at least seven reviews Kat has planned for the next few days. Saturday, she contributed "Kat's Korner: Neil Young's Living With War -- key word 'Living'" and Monday she contributed "Kat's Korner: Richie Havens: The Economical Collection." Yesterday, she contributed "Kat's Korner: Need deeper? Check out Josh Ritter's The Animal Years." She won't post tomorrow. Her next review will go up Saturday.]
I can't remember which members asked me first to review this CD. I can tell you that a lot of e-mails came in on it. I was reminded of that when I read Matt Rothschild's piece on how a Florida school refuses to let a ten-year-old, Molly Shoul, perform the song.
Reading the piece, Shoul's passion for the song didn't surprise me. It's like the e-mails I've received (Goldie and West's e-mails stand out). Music matters to them. There's a parent who's posted a response. Read it to find out their view but here's how it reads to me: It's not censorship, the school was right, children are not able to grasp the concepts (e.g. the song is too mature). West is a few years over ten (but still under eighteen) while Goldie's only a few years older. But more to the point, the ten-year-olds of today are not the ten-year-olds who learned "Blowin' In The Wind" in school. To claim that ten-year-olds could grasp the Dylan classic better than Pink's is too much of a stretch for me to make. Dylan's poetic language might leave more kids today confused than Pink's very direct message in "Dear Mr. President" ("Where is your compassion?" is the message).
But it is censorship, no matter what the parent who posted a reply thinks. I can remember my own school days. A racy album cover didn't mean you couldn't bring that vinyl record in to listen to, it just meant that the teacher would prefer the cover not be brought to school and, if it was, she would confiscate the cover (while allowing the record to be played) until the end of the day when it was time for you to take your record home.
By the same token, Molly Shoul would be singing a song. She's not lip synching or dancing to a recording of the song. If "You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine" is offensive, if it is, then Molly merely sings "You've come a long way." That happened all the time at talent shows in my day. A Rolling Stones song got "pruned" -- it didn't get kicked out.
"Gay" is not a dirty word. I'd guess that any ten-year-old, that's not being home schooled, has an idea what "gay" means.
Since Bully Boy has noted his drinking and was arrested for it, he has come a long way. Might that not be a positive message for children? See, kids, you can have a drinking problem and move beyond it?
But it is censorship to tell her that she can't sing the song. I help out friends' art classes just for the fun of it. That's college and it's also public school. I was helping a friend's fourth grade class last week. The kids know Pink's "Dear Mr. President." They were rushing over to me between working on their projects to tell me about the song. Finally, my friend had to tell them to stay at their stations and they could all talk to me when I made my way around.
I think there's some innocence being projected on children that isn't actually present. I'm not sure if I knew "gay" when I was ten -- we're going back many years and, as Lou Reed once put it, "Those were different times" -- but I knew what drugs were. I knew what drinking was too.
Kids know who Pink is. And, here's the thing, you should too.
Green Day stormed the barricades and, in a sucky slump for music sales, ended up with a multi-platinum album, Grammys and some actual hits on the pop chart. Other real artists who've followed have ended up with credibility, support and attention but radio hasn't opened the gates the way it should have (and would have in a previous era). Pink's the first one since Billie Joe & company whose songs actually get heavy rotation.
She's done it the hard way. The Nation noted she started out the decade as, my term, a good time girl. I think they were attempting to underscore how things have changed. But it needs to be noted, she was a 'round way gal. Like Aretha, she didn't seem to be playing. While Britty played at rebellion (before and after the chest expansion) and Christina couldn't decide if she was the next Madonna or Mariah-Whitney combo (she still seems torn), Pink was fierce for the landscape.
You could argue that she was fierce period. Not a lot of artists, male or female, were singing songs like "My Vietnam" (from M!ssundaztood, same album on which she tried to "Get The Party Started"). While other gals were flashing their flesh while pushing their supposed purity (shades of the manufactured sixties products?), Pink, like Lady Soul, was too busy being comfortable in her own skin to give a damn.
Christina certainly has the "pipes," but she's done very little with them. Consider her Anne Murray on steroids. Britty? Let's not get that party started.
Pink has a soulful voice. It's why she caught fame as an R&B artist. And while the Disney kids were happy to pair up with fuzzy talents from Disney soundtracks (Justy and Elton?), Pink was singing a duet with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.
I got the point of The Nation's juxtaposition, I just felt it grossly short changed Pink.
I wasn't a fan though. I could admire her as a tuneful middle-finger flipped at her silly, pampered contemporaries who populate the pop charts, and the sad public that listens to them, but I didn't rank as a fan.
When Pink started popping up with interviews about "Dear Mr. President" (the news hook for the coverage of the album), I thought it would be worth picking up and figured if it had even one "Just Like A Pill" track, it would be worth the purchase.
It's got so much more to offer than just one track. Listening to it, you may regret the fact that she's apparently backed out of the Janis Joplin bio-pic because her bluesy voice beats the others now being mentioned for the role.
The album opens with "Stupid Girlz:"
Maybe if I act like that
The guy will call me back
In high school, I spent two summers as a camp counselor and what this song reminds me of is Cheryl, a sixth grader. I'm sure I went through that phase and have forgotten it but I remember Cheryl going through it. She was a very cute young girl. She had curly red hair, a pretty smile, thin, attractive.
But the Amys and Jennifers got all the attention with their blonde hair and, honestly, their playing dumb and more than budding breasts. Cheryl was smarter than any kid her age (and had the grades to prove it). But she was mooning over this dweeb named Tommy. (No offense to Cheryl, I've mooned over many a dweeb myself.) I knew Cheryl and her parents, from Church.
They were supportive and loving parents but "strict" in Cheryl's eyes. (She was forbidden, at the threat of a mouth washing, from using the term "ain't.") So one afternoon, I'm making time with Doug, a dweeb in retrospect, when my jaw drops as I see Cheryl emerge in a shirt she's tied in the middle and a pair of shorts she's taken scissors to. As I watched, she walks over to Tommy, who was Billy Idol blonde and just as mentally challenged as his look alike. She starts tossing her head back, laughing at everything he says and flattering him with lies about how smart and how cool he is. Then one of the Amys struts up in a bikini and Cheryl's forgotten.
Doug was saying something about having a stash and maybe tonight . . . But I was already headed after Cheryl to see what was going on. "Boys don't like smart girls," she told me through tears.
I grabbed her by the shoulders and told her, "You're going to be a scientist or a doctor or an astronaut and Amy's going to be lucky to be working the counter at Carl Jr.'s. Do not play stupid for any boy."
Happy ending, Cheryl became a doctor. Amy or any of the Amys or Jennifers? I never heard of them accomplishing anything. Tommy? In high school, he kept getting nabbed for stealing cars and then moved on to an attempted robbery which led to a prison sentence that his parents couldn't sweet talk the judge out of.
Cheryl's got a daughter now. Smart one, too. But instead of middle school, she had to set her daughter straight in the third grade. Whether they grow up faster now or not, they're certainly aware sooner.
On the first track, Pink's singing about something that I think most women will identify with. Maybe, like me, you'll see it in someone else or maybe you'll see it in yourself, but we've been there or know a friend who has.
And it's not an after school special. It's a song full of rage. Which is the emotion to go with that experience. That's the key to I'm Not Dead lyric wise, it's messy, it's loud, it's life. She's not playing Pretty Baby singing "Oops . . . I Did It Again." She's giving breath to some very real experiences.
(She also name checks 50 Cents and Cedric offers his guess on why here.)
"The One That Got Away" is the song Steven Tyler should be covering on the next Aerosmith album. But I doubt he could do it better than Pink who grabs a hold of that song and doesn't let go. Maggie dubbed it "Melissa Etheridge with a vocal range." Pink's got the chops. The woman can sing. But she's not leaving you exhausted as she repeatedly tries for the gold in the field of Olympic Gymnastics. She knows when to be soft in a song and when to pour on the volume. She also grasps that some songs don't require that you demonstrate every note you possess. She's a singer.
Pairing up with the Indigo Girls for "Dear Mr. President" was a smart move. They both benefit from the mix. The song that caught Molly Shoul's attention?
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye, and tell me why?
Want to argue it wasn't censorship? Again, she wanted to perform the song at her school's talent show. Pull "cocaine." Pull "whiskey" if you must. (I won't support the pulling of "gay.") But there's no reason, other than the message, that this song can't be sung.
When the Stones went on Ed Sullivan, they had to sing "Let's spend some time together" (and not "let's spend the night . . ."). Mick Jagger, back in the days before every piece of video came back to haunt you, used to claim that he hadn't sung that. He can be fact checked today. (He did sing "time.") But it happens all the time and always has. It's what the school could suggest be done with "Dear Mr. President" if they really weren't censoring Molly Shoul's song choice.
Pink means something to young people. I see it when I go to a friend's class or when I read the e-mails from younger community members. If you're not "too old" to get it, she'll probably mean something to you as well. And you can justify the purchase on the basis of the bonus track, "I Have Seen the Rain." This song was written by her father, James T. Moore, about his own experience returning from Vietnam, and the two harmonize on it. It's Betty and Wally's favorite track on the album:
Spend my days just searching
Spend my nights in dreams
Stop looking over my shoulder baby
I've stopped wonderin' what it means
Drop out, burn out, solidier ho-oh they've said I should've been more
Probably so if i hadn't of been in that crazy damn Vietnam war.
So what do you have here? You've got a singer who can sing. (That's amazing in and of itself these days.) You've got an artist who's co-written some songs that actually have something to share. (I won't say something to say, the album's like a conversation, not a lecture.) And you've got a more mature album than a forty-ish woman pushing her (now imploded) love life could muster last fall.
While her contemporaries (it's an insult to call them her peers) play at peak-a-boo sex and mistake their romances/pick ups for life traumas (that they quickly attempt to market), Pink's CD persona is that of someone with her feet firmly planted on the ground and very much of this world. If her label (LaFace) has any guts, "Dear Mr. President" will be the next single. But thanks to her stature, and her willingness to use that platform, she's already reached an audience with it. Count me as a new fan.
pink
im not dead
dear mr. president
i have seen the rain
james t. moore
green day
matt rothschild
matthew rothschild
the progressive
molly shoul
the nation
thomas friedman is a great man
the daily jot
cedrics big mix
the third estate sunday review
kats korner
the common ills
[Note: This is the fourth of at least seven reviews Kat has planned for the next few days. Saturday, she contributed "Kat's Korner: Neil Young's Living With War -- key word 'Living'" and Monday she contributed "Kat's Korner: Richie Havens: The Economical Collection." Yesterday, she contributed "Kat's Korner: Need deeper? Check out Josh Ritter's The Animal Years." She won't post tomorrow. Her next review will go up Saturday.]
How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates.
NYT Criticque via C.I.
C.I. from Friday (and check out this morning's entry on the same topic).
NYT: Says nah-nah, we did in December, though they really didn't (Shane & Lichtblau)
Congressional Republicans and Democrats alike demanded answers from the Bush administration on Thursday about a report that the National Security Agency had collected records of millions of domestic phone calls, even as President Bush assured Americans that their privacy is "fiercely protected."
[. . .]
The president sought to defuse a tempest on Capitol Hill over an article in USA Today reporting that AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth had turned over tens of millions of customer phone records to the N.S.A. since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But Mr. Bush's remarks appeared to do little to mollify members of Congress, as several leading lawmakers said they wanted to hear directly from administration officials and telecommunication executives.
The report rekindled the controversy about domestic spying.
The above is from "Bush Is Pressed Over New Report on Surveillance" by Eric Lichtblau and Scott Shane (and the Associated Press?) in this morning's New York Times. A little less time spent trying to reassure readers that something broke in the New York Times in December (and was quickly dropped by the paper) and a little more reporting would help.
From Barton Gellman and Arshad Mohammed's "Data on Phone Calls Monitored: Extent of Administration's Domestic Surveillance Decried in Both Parties" (Washington Post):
The new report, by contrast, described a far broader form of surveillance, focused primarily on domestic phone-call records. Some of its elements have been disclosed before. The Los Angeles Times reported in December that AT&T provided the NSA with a "direct hookup" into a company database, code-named Daytona, that has been recording the telephone numbers and duration of every call placed on the AT&T network since 2001. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has sued AT&T over that and other alleged violations of privacy law, said the call database spans 312 terabytes, a quantity that would fill more than 400,000 computer compact discs.
Government access to call records is related to the previously disclosed eavesdropping program, sources said, because it helps the NSA choose its targets for listening. The mathematical techniques known as "link analysis" and "pattern analysis," they said, give grounds for suspicion that can result in further investigation.
No, that is not a typo. The Los Angelse Times article ran on December 26th. The New York Times can pat themselves on the back (three times) in print today but never note the LA Times article (which is really more along the lines of the USA Today article):
The New York Times first reported in December [. . .]
The Times also reported [. . .]
The Times has reported [. . .]
Here's three more that the paper could have run, but didn't:
The New York Times sat on the story for over a year.
The New York Times quickly killed the story and quit covering it.
The New York Times got scooped, by USA Today yesterday, on a story they can't shut up about having broken in December.
The paper killed the coverage of the NSA spying. But let a paper that's not afraid to go after more NSA stories break news and the (NY) Times wants to trot out the fact that in December (over a year after they could have broken the story), they finally printed a story. They don't want to note the Los Angeles Times or anyone else. They want to stroke themselves in print (three times) because, in December, they did something. Five months ago. They're still so damn timid when it comes to this story that they run with a point of view that is very similar to the Associated Press' breaking news coverage earlier yesterday (including phraseology -- including the "confirm or deny" that the AP was running with yesterday).
There's something really sad about a glory hog that's done nothing to advance a story they were forced to break (due to the publication of Risen's book) showing up in print five months after the fact and being unable to provide a coherent or comprehensive story because they're so busy rushing to pat themselves on the back repeatedly (and reassure readers, falsely, that they've been on the job).
Brad notes John Nichols' "White House, NSA Block Investigation of Spying" (The Online Beat, The Nation) on where the NSA scandal/investigation stood yesterday before the latest news made it into the news cycle:
With news reports exposing the National Security Agency's previously secret spying on the phone conversations of tens of millions of Americans, what is the status of the U.S. Department of Justice probe of the Bush administration's authorization of a warrantless domestic wiretapping program?
The investigation has been closed.
That's right. Even as it is being revealed that the president's controversial eavesdropping program is dramatically more extensive – and Constitutionally dubious -- than had been previously known, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has informed Representative Maurice Hinchey that its attempt to determine which administration officials authorized, approved and audited NSA surveillance activities is over.
Why?
In a letter to Hinchey, the New York Democrat who has been the most dogged Congressional advocate for investigation of the spying program, OPR Counsel H. Marshall Jarrett explained that he had closed the Justice Department probe on Tuesday, May 9, because his office's requests for security clearances to conduct the investigation had been denied.
Does the latest news change anything? Maybe. It seems to have shaken members of Congress. But it'll need actual coverage and not the paper of record doing pats on the back and acting as though the new developments are just mere follow ups on what they reported in December.
Lisa notes "Conscientious Objectors from Around the World Gather in Washington DC and New York to Oppose Global War" (Common Dreams):
NEW YORK - May 11 - From May 11th to 16th, US conscientious objectors (CO's) and CO's from around the world will gather in New York City and Washington DC for Operation Refuse War, a week of conferences, demonstrations, and actions in celebration of International Conscientious Objectors Day, May 15th.
Operation Refuse War will be an opportunity for conscientious objectors, anti-war activists, and military families to come together to share strategies and build community. Participants are coming from South Korea, Eritrea, Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, Canada, Britain, Israel, Macedonia, Bosnia, Germany, and across the United States. This week of action will highlight the difficulties that current conscientious objectors face as well as help build relationships and connections between the various communities within the anti-war movement. In addition, Operation Refuse War will bring together international and American conscientious objectors to share their experiences and ideas with the public.
Public Activities will include:
* We Will Not Kill: International Conscientious Objectors Speak Out! Thursday May 11th 2006 7pm-9pm Location: Friends Meeting House, 15 Rutherford Place, New York, NY
* Operation Refuse War: An International Conference of Resisters to Global War Washington DC, May 13-14 2006 This two day conference will be an opportunity to connect domestic and international anti war organizers
For a full schedule of events, visit operationrefusewar.org
Other Related Events in Washington DC: Lobby Day on Capitol Hill for CO Recognition (organized by the Center on Conscience & War), Eyes Wide Open Exhibit on the Mall, GI Rights Hotline Gathering, Silent March Against the War in Iraq and a number of other events.
Sponsoring organizations include the War Resisters League, War Resisters International American Friends Service Committee Youth and Militarism Program, the Center on Conscience & War, the Washington Peace Center, the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, Iraq Veterans Against the War - NYC Chapter, Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild, Fellowship of Reconciliation: Disarmament Program, Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO), and Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) (List in formation) Since the 1980s, May 15th has been celebrated as International Conscientious Objectors' Day. Each year, War Resisters' International holds activities in a country where conscientious objectors face persecution or harassment. Previous locations have included the Balkans in 2002, Israel in 2003, Chile in 2004, and Greece in 2005. In addition, a similar gathering of conscientious objectors has been held each year in Washington, DC to forward the rights of conscientious objectors in the United States. This year, CO's from the US and other countries will meet together to strengthen their common efforts.
Remember to listen, watch or read Democracy Now! today. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
the new york times
eric lichtblau
scott shane
the washington post
barton gellman
arshad mohammed
john nichols
[. . .]
The president sought to defuse a tempest on Capitol Hill over an article in USA Today reporting that AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth had turned over tens of millions of customer phone records to the N.S.A. since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But Mr. Bush's remarks appeared to do little to mollify members of Congress, as several leading lawmakers said they wanted to hear directly from administration officials and telecommunication executives.
The report rekindled the controversy about domestic spying.
The above is from "Bush Is Pressed Over New Report on Surveillance" by Eric Lichtblau and Scott Shane (and the Associated Press?) in this morning's New York Times. A little less time spent trying to reassure readers that something broke in the New York Times in December (and was quickly dropped by the paper) and a little more reporting would help.
From Barton Gellman and Arshad Mohammed's "Data on Phone Calls Monitored: Extent of Administration's Domestic Surveillance Decried in Both Parties" (Washington Post):
The new report, by contrast, described a far broader form of surveillance, focused primarily on domestic phone-call records. Some of its elements have been disclosed before. The Los Angeles Times reported in December that AT&T provided the NSA with a "direct hookup" into a company database, code-named Daytona, that has been recording the telephone numbers and duration of every call placed on the AT&T network since 2001. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has sued AT&T over that and other alleged violations of privacy law, said the call database spans 312 terabytes, a quantity that would fill more than 400,000 computer compact discs.
Government access to call records is related to the previously disclosed eavesdropping program, sources said, because it helps the NSA choose its targets for listening. The mathematical techniques known as "link analysis" and "pattern analysis," they said, give grounds for suspicion that can result in further investigation.
No, that is not a typo. The Los Angelse Times article ran on December 26th. The New York Times can pat themselves on the back (three times) in print today but never note the LA Times article (which is really more along the lines of the USA Today article):
The New York Times first reported in December [. . .]
The Times also reported [. . .]
The Times has reported [. . .]
Here's three more that the paper could have run, but didn't:
The New York Times sat on the story for over a year.
The New York Times quickly killed the story and quit covering it.
The New York Times got scooped, by USA Today yesterday, on a story they can't shut up about having broken in December.
The paper killed the coverage of the NSA spying. But let a paper that's not afraid to go after more NSA stories break news and the (NY) Times wants to trot out the fact that in December (over a year after they could have broken the story), they finally printed a story. They don't want to note the Los Angeles Times or anyone else. They want to stroke themselves in print (three times) because, in December, they did something. Five months ago. They're still so damn timid when it comes to this story that they run with a point of view that is very similar to the Associated Press' breaking news coverage earlier yesterday (including phraseology -- including the "confirm or deny" that the AP was running with yesterday).
There's something really sad about a glory hog that's done nothing to advance a story they were forced to break (due to the publication of Risen's book) showing up in print five months after the fact and being unable to provide a coherent or comprehensive story because they're so busy rushing to pat themselves on the back repeatedly (and reassure readers, falsely, that they've been on the job).
Brad notes John Nichols' "White House, NSA Block Investigation of Spying" (The Online Beat, The Nation) on where the NSA scandal/investigation stood yesterday before the latest news made it into the news cycle:
With news reports exposing the National Security Agency's previously secret spying on the phone conversations of tens of millions of Americans, what is the status of the U.S. Department of Justice probe of the Bush administration's authorization of a warrantless domestic wiretapping program?
The investigation has been closed.
That's right. Even as it is being revealed that the president's controversial eavesdropping program is dramatically more extensive – and Constitutionally dubious -- than had been previously known, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has informed Representative Maurice Hinchey that its attempt to determine which administration officials authorized, approved and audited NSA surveillance activities is over.
Why?
In a letter to Hinchey, the New York Democrat who has been the most dogged Congressional advocate for investigation of the spying program, OPR Counsel H. Marshall Jarrett explained that he had closed the Justice Department probe on Tuesday, May 9, because his office's requests for security clearances to conduct the investigation had been denied.
Does the latest news change anything? Maybe. It seems to have shaken members of Congress. But it'll need actual coverage and not the paper of record doing pats on the back and acting as though the new developments are just mere follow ups on what they reported in December.
Lisa notes "Conscientious Objectors from Around the World Gather in Washington DC and New York to Oppose Global War" (Common Dreams):
NEW YORK - May 11 - From May 11th to 16th, US conscientious objectors (CO's) and CO's from around the world will gather in New York City and Washington DC for Operation Refuse War, a week of conferences, demonstrations, and actions in celebration of International Conscientious Objectors Day, May 15th.
Operation Refuse War will be an opportunity for conscientious objectors, anti-war activists, and military families to come together to share strategies and build community. Participants are coming from South Korea, Eritrea, Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, Canada, Britain, Israel, Macedonia, Bosnia, Germany, and across the United States. This week of action will highlight the difficulties that current conscientious objectors face as well as help build relationships and connections between the various communities within the anti-war movement. In addition, Operation Refuse War will bring together international and American conscientious objectors to share their experiences and ideas with the public.
Public Activities will include:
* We Will Not Kill: International Conscientious Objectors Speak Out! Thursday May 11th 2006 7pm-9pm Location: Friends Meeting House, 15 Rutherford Place, New York, NY
* Operation Refuse War: An International Conference of Resisters to Global War Washington DC, May 13-14 2006 This two day conference will be an opportunity to connect domestic and international anti war organizers
For a full schedule of events, visit operationrefusewar.org
Other Related Events in Washington DC: Lobby Day on Capitol Hill for CO Recognition (organized by the Center on Conscience & War), Eyes Wide Open Exhibit on the Mall, GI Rights Hotline Gathering, Silent March Against the War in Iraq and a number of other events.
Sponsoring organizations include the War Resisters League, War Resisters International American Friends Service Committee Youth and Militarism Program, the Center on Conscience & War, the Washington Peace Center, the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, Iraq Veterans Against the War - NYC Chapter, Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild, Fellowship of Reconciliation: Disarmament Program, Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO), and Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) (List in formation) Since the 1980s, May 15th has been celebrated as International Conscientious Objectors' Day. Each year, War Resisters' International holds activities in a country where conscientious objectors face persecution or harassment. Previous locations have included the Balkans in 2002, Israel in 2003, Chile in 2004, and Greece in 2005. In addition, a similar gathering of conscientious objectors has been held each year in Washington, DC to forward the rights of conscientious objectors in the United States. This year, CO's from the US and other countries will meet together to strengthen their common efforts.
Remember to listen, watch or read Democracy Now! today. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
the new york times
eric lichtblau
scott shane
the washington post
barton gellman
arshad mohammed
john nichols
Love cheap thrills? Enjoy PC-to-Phone calls to 30+ countries for just 2¢/min with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice.
Blog Spotlight: Kat on Rolling Stone, Guns & Butter and more
Kat's only post at her own site last week. She was busy with reviews.
Guns & Butter and the crappy 1000th issue of Rolling Stone
If you've visited lately and wondered where the hell I've been, I've been writing reviews:
"Kat's Korner: Pink's not dead or silent"
"Kat's Korner: Need deeper? Check out Josh Ritter's The Animal Years."
"Kat's Korner: Richie Havens: The Economical Collection"
"Kat's Korner: Neil Young's Living With War -- key word 'Living'"
I've got at least three more coming (next one on Saturday). This includes the one of the Free Design. That was a sixties group, by the way. What are the other two? One is Pearl Jam, I'll say that much. The other one? I actually have two in mind. I'll wait and see which one I can finish.
Let me do KPFA's Guns and Butter because that's the main reason I'm blogging tonight. Wednesday, Bonnie Faulkner played portions of the documentary Loose Change.
First off Yarrow Mahko does the show with Bonnie. And I don't think I've ever mentioned him.
He and Bonnie produce the show. Because it's fundraising time, there was more talking to listeners and when Yarrow's name was brought up, I thought, "I don't think I've ever even noted him here." Bonnie's the host and has a great radio voice so I'm usually just talking about what's on the show and mentioning her.
On the show with Bonnie was a woman who called out the 911 commissioners during their mock "hearings." I believe that she, Bonnie and Yarrow are working on the film Blowing the Whistle on the 911 Commissioners. When the woman called the commission what it was, all these guards come over and tell her that if she does that again, they'll have to kick her out and her reply is something like, "You mean I get to do it again?"
So let me add in Rolling Stone because C.I. asked me if I wanted to grab it? We both hate it.
It is the "Special Collector's Edition" 1000th issue. Let me start by noting that those of us who subscribe probably don't appreciate the huge address label on the cover. It's slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes. Since the whole point of the cover is 3-D artwork, I don't know who they thought they were helping with that huge address label?
Now let's talk about inside. And I'm basing this on a very long conversation C.I. and I had so consider this both of our thoughts. It's an embarrassing issue.
Start with the cover where they make Bart Simpson as prominent as Kurt Cobain -- what the hell? The 3-D doesn't really work, you have to keep looking at it from different angles to make out faces, otherwise you can see part of it but the rest is blurry. But one thing you may note is all the males. Males, males, males, males and more males. Why? Well that's what they're emphasizing.
That and photos. It's hard to tell there was any writing in the magazine, ever. The "politics" article leaves out so much. You'd think, one example, they'd want to trumpet the fact that Carl Bernstein wrote an article for Rolling Stone about the CIA paying off the press? But you'd be wrong. Surely, the attention getting story they had on Patty Hearst, a two-part attention getting exclusive that really helped the magazine stand out, is discussed? Nope.
4 page story on "politics." 4 pages on the "early years" (that tells you nothing). Jann S. Wenner (publisher) writes a one page note. And then the crap begins. For 14 pages (not counting ads), you go from 1971 to 1976. And? Well first off, Rolling Stone started in 1967. So you've lost out on four years right there.
Second? Not one woman is noted. You see the back of Linda McCartney's head in one photo and that's it. Finally, page 15 a woman is the focus, Linda Ronstadt. Apparently because Jann Wenner's pissed at Carly Simon?
Carly was the cover. The one they needed, as Harriet (who goes unmentioned as do most of the people who were in charge during any of Jann's forays into politics or movies) and others pointed out, to sell the issue. Carly's nowhere. They have a large photo of James Taylor (who didn't sell in his last years as a cover subject) and a write up on him. Who cares?
Seriously. The prick won't speak of Carly and doesn't like it when she speaks of him. They were together, they were married, they wrote together ("Words Of Love," etc.), they recorded together (having hits with the duets "Mockingbird" and "Devoted To You" but they also did background vocals on album after album), they have two kids together, they toured together. He can't talk about his career and not mention Carly if he's being honest.
But he can't be honest. Which is why he whines about the damage of an interview (painting him as a drug addict and more for the next ten years -- as though his own actions didn't paint him as that because he was a drug addict for more than the next ten years). But he gets to talk. Page 16 (skipping ads) contains women . . . in the photo. It's Fleetwood Mac. So there's a photo with Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie. But do you hear from either of them?
No. You hear from Lindsey who no one needs to hear from. I'll never forget the article where he was promoting Go Insane and they let him shave years of his already made public age. Rolling Stone really pushed the nonsense of Lindsey was the "talent" and in "charge." If he was in charge, they'd never have had hits. What did he write? Two? ("Go Your Own Way" and the hideous "Big Love." -- oh almost forgot the marching nonsense that was "Tusk.") Christine wrote "Don't Stop," "Say You Love Me," "You Make Loving Fun," "Think About Me," "Hold Me," "Little Lies," "Everywhere" and more. Stevie? "Rhiannon," "Landslide," "Dreams" (the only number one hit the group ever had), "Sara," "Silver Springs," "Gypsy" . . .
But by all means, bore us all with the guy who ripped off the Mamas and the Papas anytime he penned one of his bad songs. You have to wait until Page 20 when Patti Smith becomes the next woman pictured (only the second one that they write a little jot about and, unlike the boys, she has to share a page with the great rock star Muhammed Ali). Page 22 is the next woman, Bette Midler because Bette's friends with Jann. There's no other reason for her to be representing 1979 -- The Rose was a bad film. Page 24 has a photo of Dolly Parton that's slightly larger than a postage stamp. Main photo and story goes to that great rock star Rodney Dangerfield. It's total crap.
You get Bob Marley in 1976 as the first musician of color and then have to wait until 1984 for the next (Prince and Tina Turner). As though they didn't cover Stevie Wonder? Do we need Robin Williams? Do we need Ahnuld?
It's not about music, it's not even about culture in the lowest sense because Michael Douglas, et al, were never about culture (high or low), they were cover subjects because they were friends of Jann's. One full page in the supposed music, supposed cultural magazine represents 2002. Want to know what the photos are of and the text about? The Simpsons. Who graced the cover in 1990 when they were still fresh. For 2002, that's about as "trendy" as a Yes, Dear cover today.
It's such crap. It's all male, it's all white. That's a criticism that's often made of the magazine. But it can be made more so when they choose to omit the things they actually did cover beyond the White Penis.
It's also strange what they pick as sexy covers. Where, for instance, is the best selling cover of Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray? I wouldn't pay a buck for a Sugar Ray CD but Mark shirtless in low slung pants was sexy. And that issue sold. But they don't show it. They show very little beefcake. There's no Eminem with the sick of dynamite (and nothing else).
It's just really disappointing. I remember the 25th anniversary issue -- they actually did articles and interviews for that, not an embarrassing version of US Magazine. You could grab the magazine, sit down and read it. But this won't take you more than a half-hour to go through.
It's a waste of paper and an embarrassing way to celebrate 1000 issues. Makes you think that they should probably stop the magazine at the 1001st issue.
It's a piece of trash witha 3D cover. It doesn't honor the magazine, it doesn't recap the magazine.
And I'll go ahead and say it because I doubt anyone else will: Annie Leibovitz, if you're gay, come out of the damn closet. She's supposed to have been Susan Sontag's partner. This nonsense about the Linda Rondstadt photo session is nonsense if she's gay. It would be the perfect time for her, as she's talking about the sexy photos, to say, "By the way, I'm gay." Instead, she talks about it as "two girls playing dress-up." She's photographed women in various states of dress. If there's been passion for those photos, she should have talked about that. (Maybe she will in a Vanity Fair article when her Demi Moore nude cover comes up?)
Something's made her one of the finest photographers and it goes beyond little kids playing dress up. What informed her point of view?
Jann S. Wenner is gay and out of the closet now. The only way you can tell that is because there are very few beefcake photos noted in this issue. There have been plenty on the cover. Plenty of half-naked and naked men. But you don't know that to flip through the garbage issue. Someone will say, "There's David Cassidy and Justin Timberlake!" Yes, there is. And the scratch-in-sniff photo of Prince's armpit. Don't kid yourself that this was what they did. They did a lot of half-naked men, especially in the last few years.
So it's disappointing and that's putting it mildly.
"Kat's Korner: Pink's not dead or silent"
"Kat's Korner: Need deeper? Check out Josh Ritter's The Animal Years."
"Kat's Korner: Richie Havens: The Economical Collection"
"Kat's Korner: Neil Young's Living With War -- key word 'Living'"
I've got at least three more coming (next one on Saturday). This includes the one of the Free Design. That was a sixties group, by the way. What are the other two? One is Pearl Jam, I'll say that much. The other one? I actually have two in mind. I'll wait and see which one I can finish.
Let me do KPFA's Guns and Butter because that's the main reason I'm blogging tonight. Wednesday, Bonnie Faulkner played portions of the documentary Loose Change.
First off Yarrow Mahko does the show with Bonnie. And I don't think I've ever mentioned him.
He and Bonnie produce the show. Because it's fundraising time, there was more talking to listeners and when Yarrow's name was brought up, I thought, "I don't think I've ever even noted him here." Bonnie's the host and has a great radio voice so I'm usually just talking about what's on the show and mentioning her.
On the show with Bonnie was a woman who called out the 911 commissioners during their mock "hearings." I believe that she, Bonnie and Yarrow are working on the film Blowing the Whistle on the 911 Commissioners. When the woman called the commission what it was, all these guards come over and tell her that if she does that again, they'll have to kick her out and her reply is something like, "You mean I get to do it again?"
So let me add in Rolling Stone because C.I. asked me if I wanted to grab it? We both hate it.
It is the "Special Collector's Edition" 1000th issue. Let me start by noting that those of us who subscribe probably don't appreciate the huge address label on the cover. It's slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes. Since the whole point of the cover is 3-D artwork, I don't know who they thought they were helping with that huge address label?
Now let's talk about inside. And I'm basing this on a very long conversation C.I. and I had so consider this both of our thoughts. It's an embarrassing issue.
Start with the cover where they make Bart Simpson as prominent as Kurt Cobain -- what the hell? The 3-D doesn't really work, you have to keep looking at it from different angles to make out faces, otherwise you can see part of it but the rest is blurry. But one thing you may note is all the males. Males, males, males, males and more males. Why? Well that's what they're emphasizing.
That and photos. It's hard to tell there was any writing in the magazine, ever. The "politics" article leaves out so much. You'd think, one example, they'd want to trumpet the fact that Carl Bernstein wrote an article for Rolling Stone about the CIA paying off the press? But you'd be wrong. Surely, the attention getting story they had on Patty Hearst, a two-part attention getting exclusive that really helped the magazine stand out, is discussed? Nope.
4 page story on "politics." 4 pages on the "early years" (that tells you nothing). Jann S. Wenner (publisher) writes a one page note. And then the crap begins. For 14 pages (not counting ads), you go from 1971 to 1976. And? Well first off, Rolling Stone started in 1967. So you've lost out on four years right there.
Second? Not one woman is noted. You see the back of Linda McCartney's head in one photo and that's it. Finally, page 15 a woman is the focus, Linda Ronstadt. Apparently because Jann Wenner's pissed at Carly Simon?
Carly was the cover. The one they needed, as Harriet (who goes unmentioned as do most of the people who were in charge during any of Jann's forays into politics or movies) and others pointed out, to sell the issue. Carly's nowhere. They have a large photo of James Taylor (who didn't sell in his last years as a cover subject) and a write up on him. Who cares?
Seriously. The prick won't speak of Carly and doesn't like it when she speaks of him. They were together, they were married, they wrote together ("Words Of Love," etc.), they recorded together (having hits with the duets "Mockingbird" and "Devoted To You" but they also did background vocals on album after album), they have two kids together, they toured together. He can't talk about his career and not mention Carly if he's being honest.
But he can't be honest. Which is why he whines about the damage of an interview (painting him as a drug addict and more for the next ten years -- as though his own actions didn't paint him as that because he was a drug addict for more than the next ten years). But he gets to talk. Page 16 (skipping ads) contains women . . . in the photo. It's Fleetwood Mac. So there's a photo with Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie. But do you hear from either of them?
No. You hear from Lindsey who no one needs to hear from. I'll never forget the article where he was promoting Go Insane and they let him shave years of his already made public age. Rolling Stone really pushed the nonsense of Lindsey was the "talent" and in "charge." If he was in charge, they'd never have had hits. What did he write? Two? ("Go Your Own Way" and the hideous "Big Love." -- oh almost forgot the marching nonsense that was "Tusk.") Christine wrote "Don't Stop," "Say You Love Me," "You Make Loving Fun," "Think About Me," "Hold Me," "Little Lies," "Everywhere" and more. Stevie? "Rhiannon," "Landslide," "Dreams" (the only number one hit the group ever had), "Sara," "Silver Springs," "Gypsy" . . .
But by all means, bore us all with the guy who ripped off the Mamas and the Papas anytime he penned one of his bad songs. You have to wait until Page 20 when Patti Smith becomes the next woman pictured (only the second one that they write a little jot about and, unlike the boys, she has to share a page with the great rock star Muhammed Ali). Page 22 is the next woman, Bette Midler because Bette's friends with Jann. There's no other reason for her to be representing 1979 -- The Rose was a bad film. Page 24 has a photo of Dolly Parton that's slightly larger than a postage stamp. Main photo and story goes to that great rock star Rodney Dangerfield. It's total crap.
You get Bob Marley in 1976 as the first musician of color and then have to wait until 1984 for the next (Prince and Tina Turner). As though they didn't cover Stevie Wonder? Do we need Robin Williams? Do we need Ahnuld?
It's not about music, it's not even about culture in the lowest sense because Michael Douglas, et al, were never about culture (high or low), they were cover subjects because they were friends of Jann's. One full page in the supposed music, supposed cultural magazine represents 2002. Want to know what the photos are of and the text about? The Simpsons. Who graced the cover in 1990 when they were still fresh. For 2002, that's about as "trendy" as a Yes, Dear cover today.
It's such crap. It's all male, it's all white. That's a criticism that's often made of the magazine. But it can be made more so when they choose to omit the things they actually did cover beyond the White Penis.
It's also strange what they pick as sexy covers. Where, for instance, is the best selling cover of Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray? I wouldn't pay a buck for a Sugar Ray CD but Mark shirtless in low slung pants was sexy. And that issue sold. But they don't show it. They show very little beefcake. There's no Eminem with the sick of dynamite (and nothing else).
It's just really disappointing. I remember the 25th anniversary issue -- they actually did articles and interviews for that, not an embarrassing version of US Magazine. You could grab the magazine, sit down and read it. But this won't take you more than a half-hour to go through.
It's a waste of paper and an embarrassing way to celebrate 1000 issues. Makes you think that they should probably stop the magazine at the 1001st issue.
It's a piece of trash witha 3D cover. It doesn't honor the magazine, it doesn't recap the magazine.
And I'll go ahead and say it because I doubt anyone else will: Annie Leibovitz, if you're gay, come out of the damn closet. She's supposed to have been Susan Sontag's partner. This nonsense about the Linda Rondstadt photo session is nonsense if she's gay. It would be the perfect time for her, as she's talking about the sexy photos, to say, "By the way, I'm gay." Instead, she talks about it as "two girls playing dress-up." She's photographed women in various states of dress. If there's been passion for those photos, she should have talked about that. (Maybe she will in a Vanity Fair article when her Demi Moore nude cover comes up?)
Something's made her one of the finest photographers and it goes beyond little kids playing dress up. What informed her point of view?
Jann S. Wenner is gay and out of the closet now. The only way you can tell that is because there are very few beefcake photos noted in this issue. There have been plenty on the cover. Plenty of half-naked and naked men. But you don't know that to flip through the garbage issue. Someone will say, "There's David Cassidy and Justin Timberlake!" Yes, there is. And the scratch-in-sniff photo of Prince's armpit. Don't kid yourself that this was what they did. They did a lot of half-naked men, especially in the last few years.
So it's disappointing and that's putting it mildly.
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Humor Spotlight: Wally on Hillary's faves
Wally's had another strong week but we did enjoy this best.
THIS JUST IN! HILLARY CLINTON LOVES THE BOYZ WHO CHEAT ON HER!
BULLY BOY PRESS - DC.
THIS JUST IN!
HILLARY CLINTON LOVES THE BOYZ WHO CHEAT ON HER!
ASKED TO NAME 1 THING GOOD ABOUT THE BULLY BOY SHE WENT WILD AND CRAZY AND SOFT IN THE HEAD. UNABLE TO STOP AT 1 SHE JUST KEPT TICKING OFF WHY SHE LOVES HER SOME STUPID BOYZ.
1) CHARM & CHARISMA
2) GRATEFUL TO HIM AFTER 9/11 FOR HIS "SUPPORT"
3) "GOOD COMPANY"
4) "WILLING TO TALK"
5) WHEN ASKED FOR HELP BY NYC "HE IMMEDIATELY SAID YES"
6) "ALWAYS KEPT IT ON TRACK"
7) "MADE SURE WE GOT THE RESOUCRES THAT WE NEEDED"
WHILE SHE WAS PANTING ABOUT HOW "GRATEFUL" SHE WAS TO HIM, SOMEONE FINALLY CUT OFF JOSIE LIEBERMANS MICROPHONE.
THANK GOD.
BUSY PRAISING HER BULLY BOY, SHE REALLY LOVES THE BOYS WHO CHEAT ON HER, SHE FORGOT ALL ABOUT THE ISSUE OF THE LIES FROM THE EPA THAT THE AIR WAS SAFE TO BREATHE.
CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN WORKED FOR WHICH OVAL OFFICE OCCUPANT? ONE WAG SAID HILLARY MIGHT BE CONFUSED SO SHE SHOULD BE CLUED IN THAT CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN "WASN'T AN INTERN."
SHE WAS APPOINTED BY THE BULLY BOY TO HEAD THE EPA. ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2001, CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN TOLD NYC AND AMERICA THAT THE AIR AT GROUND ZERO WAS SAFE TO BREATHE.
IN FEBURARY OF THIS YEAR U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE DEBORAH A. BATTS STATED "NO REASONABLE PERSON WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT TELLING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT IT WAS SAFE TO RETURN TO LOWER MANHATTAN, WHILE KNOWING THAT SUCH RETURN COULD POSE LONG-TERM HEALTH RISKS AND OTHER DIRE CONSEQUENCES, WAS CONDUCT SANCTIONED BY OUR LAWS."
HOW DID IT HAPPEN? WHY WERE THE PEOPLE LIED TO? PHILIP CLAPP
SAYS:
IT'S VERY SIMPLE. THE WHITE HOUSE HAD ONE PRIORITY AFTER SEPTEMBER 11TH AND THAT WAS GET THE ENTIRE FNANCIAL DISTRICT UP AND OPERATING. GET WALL STREET GOING AGAIN. AND THE DATA ON AIR POLLUTION AND THE DNAGERS WAS MUCH LESS IMPORTANT TO THEM THAN IT WAS TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. SO THEY WERE WILLING TO TELL THE EPA, "MISINFORM THE CITIZENS OF NEW YORK. EXPOSE THEM TO RISKS FOR THE BENEFIT OF WALL STREET FIRMS AND LAW FIRMS."
ONE THING IS CLEAR: HILLARY CLINTON STILL LOVES THE BOYZ WHO CHEAT ON HER. SHE CAN'T STOP SINGING THEIR PRAISES BE IT A BILLY (CLINTON) OR A BULLY (BOY). LIE TO HER, CHEAT ON HER, SHE JUST LOVES 'EM ALL THE MORE!!!
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Humor Spotlight: Betty on Thomas Friedman's visit to the Russian Embassy
Betty's latest chapter (just went up Saturday) in the continuing saga of Betinna Thomas married to the oaf that is Thomas Friedman. (It's humor, people. Or as Betty says, "It's parody.")
The joke is always Thomas Friedman. Always.
So my husband Thomas Friedman finally showed up Tuesday at one p.m. He'd been gone how many days? I was so focused on school, I had honestly forgotten he was gone after failing to read in the New York Times of him being mugged or worse.
He showed up in oversize sunglasses, smelling of Ikon vodka and wearing a shorty robe version of a trench coat. A little tipsy but heavy on the dramatics (in other words, basically the same), he stumbled around the living room in his flip flops as he hurried to the window, peaked out the curtains then went to the phone and picked it up listening for I don't know what?
"The Russians are coming," he whispered repeatedly at several points when not muttering darkly, " "Gosudarstvo i Evolutsia."
Sizing him up, I asked, "New shorty robe?"
He ignored me. Lowering his sun glasses and looking over the rims dramatically, Thomas Friedman added, "They are coming and they are coming to get me."
"Thomas Friedman, no one is coming to get you," I sighed. "I could not be that lucky. Now you just sit yourself down on the couch, watch your 'Saved by the Bell' and I'll fix you a grilled cheese sandwich, some coffee and we'll try to get you sobered enough to write that column that Gail Collins keeps screaming she must have in the next few hours."
As I turned to walk to the kitchen, the electricity went out.
"Betinna!" he yelled. "They are coming!"
In the darkness, I could make him out, perched on the sofa, holding a throw pillow at the ready to defend himself. I had to laugh as I pictured an army of KGB agents swarming the apartment while Thomas Friedman held them at bay with a non-lethal pillow fight.
"Gosudarstvo i Evolutsia," he muttered again, honestly creeping me out.
"I'm going to the kitchen, to fix that grilled cheese," I declared turning back towards the kitchen.
Suddenly, he was right next to me, his chunky fingers digging into my upper arm.
"We have no power!" he hissed in my ear, the alcohol on his breath so intense that even I felt a little intoxicated.
"Fortunately," I reminded him, "the stove, like you, runs on gas."
Throw pillow raised at the ready to do maximum non-damage, Thomas Friedman tip-toed into the kitchen with me still muttering "Gosudarstvo i Evolutsia."
As I fixed the grilled cheese, he darted to the window over the sink and peered out giving me a report, "I count ten maybe twelve. They are down below on the street. Dressed as construction workers."
"They are construction workers," I corrected.
He threw back his head and laughed loudly.
"Betinna, you are so simple," Thomas Friedman declared. "When they place you in the gulag, you will not see things so innocently. All this time, we have been worried about Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Brazil when what we should have been worried about was a reunited Russia, out to crush the world and destroy our very concept of life, liberty and the pursuit of globalization."
"Brazil," I said buttering the bread, "Because Luis Inacio Lula da Silva is going to spearhead the free software movement?"
Thomas Friedman sighed, shook his head and replied, "Yes, Betinna, that and the fact that I do not believe the Lambada is honestly dead."
"The Lambada?" I asked laughing as I put the sandwich in the skillet.
"Do not scoff," Thomas Friedman insisted, "it is the forbidden dance."
I quickly gave up on the idea of making coffee both because the power was out and because it was obvious there was no sobering him up.
Thomas Friedman lumbered around the kitchen to illustrate his point about the 'forbidden dance.'
"There is revolution in these movements," he said quite seriously.
"Plop it down at the kitchen table, Ricky Martin, your sandwich is ready."
Thomas Friedman sat down and began tearing into his sandwich, smacking his lips with delight while he told me he had been held prisoner by "the Russians" for the last five days and how naive we had all been (even Thomas Friedman?) to assume that we had entered into a phase of friendly relations. He predicted the return of bomb shelters, cold war, and the imprisonment of
Yakov Smirnoff and Tatu which were both acts designed to lull us into a false sense of security and lowered expectations.
"That is when they will come for us," he said quite seriously.
In the midst of all of this, the electricity came back on. Thomas Friedman leaped to his feet, throw pillow at the ready, looking around for the non-existant KBG officers he expected to come storming across the linoleum. It was obvious to me that the current conditions in Iraq, the war he helped cheerlead, had finally caused him to crack up.
Pushing him down the hall to the office, I told him he had a column to work on.
"But Betinna, the Russians --" he began.
"You can write all about it in your column," I interrupted. "Just don't sound to nutso, I'd like us to be able to afford a real vacation for Labor Day."
Ten minutes later, he handed me "The Post-Post-Cold War" and asked me to read it before he e-mailed it to Gail.
"It is in code," he declared seriously.
"Well good," I said giving it a quick once over, "at least this time, readers will have a valid reason for not being able to grasp it."
He ignored me and went to the hall closet. Checking it out, for moths?, he finally nodded, told me that if anyone came by I was to say I hadn't seen him, then stepped inside, shut the door and remained inside until Thursday.
I e-mailed the column to Gail who called later.
I thought she was going to ask me, "What is this crap?"
But instead, it turned out that she just wanted to talk about Tom Cruise whom she was convinced had cracked up as a result of his divorce from Nicole Kidman.
"It surely does not help him," she informed me, "Seeing Nicole cavort with that strapping young man in the Chanel ads."
"Gail," I told her, "I see now you how you rose to your current position."
She took it as a compliment. Which explains how so much crap makes the op-ed pages of the paper.
Around six p.m., Yuri V. Ushakov was knocking at our front door. He handed me Thomas Friedman's silk shorty robe and explained that in the missing days, Thomas Friedman had entertained the Russian embassy with humorous tales of a world that was flat, McDonalds as the global equizaler and much more. He did not know, Ushakov said, that the "New York Times" had a humor columnist but now he was very interested in checking out my husband's writing.
It had been a time filled with laughter and vodka, Ushakov informed me, until they had made the mistake of inviting Yegor Gaidar to meet Thomas Friedman. Apparently Gaidar had raised the issue of private properties impact on liberal societies once too often for Thomas Friedman's tastes. The next thing they knew, he was screaming and running stark naked out of the embassy.
At first everyone had laughed because "we love a jolly fat man in my country as much as you do in yours." However, as minutes turned to hours and then a full day, they began to wonder that they might not be dealing with America's print version of Chris Farley and began to worry.
"No, need to worry," I explained after thanking him for returning the shorty robe, "the joke is always Thomas Friedman. Always."
When he sobers up, I intend to ask him what all that talk about Nicky K before he left was about?
thomas friedman
the new york times
nicholas kristof
thomas friedman is a great man
the common ills
mikey likes it
gail collins
He showed up in oversize sunglasses, smelling of Ikon vodka and wearing a shorty robe version of a trench coat. A little tipsy but heavy on the dramatics (in other words, basically the same), he stumbled around the living room in his flip flops as he hurried to the window, peaked out the curtains then went to the phone and picked it up listening for I don't know what?
"The Russians are coming," he whispered repeatedly at several points when not muttering darkly, " "Gosudarstvo i Evolutsia."
Sizing him up, I asked, "New shorty robe?"
He ignored me. Lowering his sun glasses and looking over the rims dramatically, Thomas Friedman added, "They are coming and they are coming to get me."
"Thomas Friedman, no one is coming to get you," I sighed. "I could not be that lucky. Now you just sit yourself down on the couch, watch your 'Saved by the Bell' and I'll fix you a grilled cheese sandwich, some coffee and we'll try to get you sobered enough to write that column that Gail Collins keeps screaming she must have in the next few hours."
As I turned to walk to the kitchen, the electricity went out.
"Betinna!" he yelled. "They are coming!"
In the darkness, I could make him out, perched on the sofa, holding a throw pillow at the ready to defend himself. I had to laugh as I pictured an army of KGB agents swarming the apartment while Thomas Friedman held them at bay with a non-lethal pillow fight.
"Gosudarstvo i Evolutsia," he muttered again, honestly creeping me out.
"I'm going to the kitchen, to fix that grilled cheese," I declared turning back towards the kitchen.
Suddenly, he was right next to me, his chunky fingers digging into my upper arm.
"We have no power!" he hissed in my ear, the alcohol on his breath so intense that even I felt a little intoxicated.
"Fortunately," I reminded him, "the stove, like you, runs on gas."
Throw pillow raised at the ready to do maximum non-damage, Thomas Friedman tip-toed into the kitchen with me still muttering "Gosudarstvo i Evolutsia."
As I fixed the grilled cheese, he darted to the window over the sink and peered out giving me a report, "I count ten maybe twelve. They are down below on the street. Dressed as construction workers."
"They are construction workers," I corrected.
He threw back his head and laughed loudly.
"Betinna, you are so simple," Thomas Friedman declared. "When they place you in the gulag, you will not see things so innocently. All this time, we have been worried about Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Brazil when what we should have been worried about was a reunited Russia, out to crush the world and destroy our very concept of life, liberty and the pursuit of globalization."
"Brazil," I said buttering the bread, "Because Luis Inacio Lula da Silva is going to spearhead the free software movement?"
Thomas Friedman sighed, shook his head and replied, "Yes, Betinna, that and the fact that I do not believe the Lambada is honestly dead."
"The Lambada?" I asked laughing as I put the sandwich in the skillet.
"Do not scoff," Thomas Friedman insisted, "it is the forbidden dance."
I quickly gave up on the idea of making coffee both because the power was out and because it was obvious there was no sobering him up.
Thomas Friedman lumbered around the kitchen to illustrate his point about the 'forbidden dance.'
"There is revolution in these movements," he said quite seriously.
"Plop it down at the kitchen table, Ricky Martin, your sandwich is ready."
Thomas Friedman sat down and began tearing into his sandwich, smacking his lips with delight while he told me he had been held prisoner by "the Russians" for the last five days and how naive we had all been (even Thomas Friedman?) to assume that we had entered into a phase of friendly relations. He predicted the return of bomb shelters, cold war, and the imprisonment of
Yakov Smirnoff and Tatu which were both acts designed to lull us into a false sense of security and lowered expectations.
"That is when they will come for us," he said quite seriously.
In the midst of all of this, the electricity came back on. Thomas Friedman leaped to his feet, throw pillow at the ready, looking around for the non-existant KBG officers he expected to come storming across the linoleum. It was obvious to me that the current conditions in Iraq, the war he helped cheerlead, had finally caused him to crack up.
Pushing him down the hall to the office, I told him he had a column to work on.
"But Betinna, the Russians --" he began.
"You can write all about it in your column," I interrupted. "Just don't sound to nutso, I'd like us to be able to afford a real vacation for Labor Day."
Ten minutes later, he handed me "The Post-Post-Cold War" and asked me to read it before he e-mailed it to Gail.
"It is in code," he declared seriously.
"Well good," I said giving it a quick once over, "at least this time, readers will have a valid reason for not being able to grasp it."
He ignored me and went to the hall closet. Checking it out, for moths?, he finally nodded, told me that if anyone came by I was to say I hadn't seen him, then stepped inside, shut the door and remained inside until Thursday.
I e-mailed the column to Gail who called later.
I thought she was going to ask me, "What is this crap?"
But instead, it turned out that she just wanted to talk about Tom Cruise whom she was convinced had cracked up as a result of his divorce from Nicole Kidman.
"It surely does not help him," she informed me, "Seeing Nicole cavort with that strapping young man in the Chanel ads."
"Gail," I told her, "I see now you how you rose to your current position."
She took it as a compliment. Which explains how so much crap makes the op-ed pages of the paper.
Around six p.m., Yuri V. Ushakov was knocking at our front door. He handed me Thomas Friedman's silk shorty robe and explained that in the missing days, Thomas Friedman had entertained the Russian embassy with humorous tales of a world that was flat, McDonalds as the global equizaler and much more. He did not know, Ushakov said, that the "New York Times" had a humor columnist but now he was very interested in checking out my husband's writing.
It had been a time filled with laughter and vodka, Ushakov informed me, until they had made the mistake of inviting Yegor Gaidar to meet Thomas Friedman. Apparently Gaidar had raised the issue of private properties impact on liberal societies once too often for Thomas Friedman's tastes. The next thing they knew, he was screaming and running stark naked out of the embassy.
At first everyone had laughed because "we love a jolly fat man in my country as much as you do in yours." However, as minutes turned to hours and then a full day, they began to wonder that they might not be dealing with America's print version of Chris Farley and began to worry.
"No, need to worry," I explained after thanking him for returning the shorty robe, "the joke is always Thomas Friedman. Always."
When he sobers up, I intend to ask him what all that talk about Nicky K before he left was about?
thomas friedman
the new york times
nicholas kristof
thomas friedman is a great man
the common ills
mikey likes it
gail collins
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Empresas de telecomunicaciones ayudaron a la NSA a espiar a millones de ciudadanos estadounidenses
Empresas de telecomunicaciones ayudaron a la NSA a espiar a millones de ciudadanos estadounidenses
Maria: Buenos dias. De parte de "Democracy Now!" seis cosas que vale hacer notar este fin de semana. Paz.
Empresas de telecomunicaciones ayudaron a la NSA a espiar a millones de ciudadanos estadounidenses
Según un informe de "USA Today", tres de las mayores empresas de telecomunicaciones del paÃs le proporcionaron a la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional (NSA, por sus siglas en inglés) los registros de las llamadas telefónicas de decenas de millones de ciudadanos estadounidenses. Una fuente que tenÃa conocimiento directo del programa lo calificó como "la mayor base de datos que haya sido creada en el mundo", cuyo objetivo es almacenar un registro de "todas las llamadas realizadas" dentro de Estados Unidos. El gobierno de Bush ha insistido en que su programa de espionaje se centra únicamente en llamadas internacionales. Las empresas -AT&T, Verizon y BellSouth- fueron contratadas tras los atentados del 11 de septiembre. Únicamente una importante empresa de telecomunicaciones se negó a participar en el programa. Se informó que la empresa, Qwest, le habÃa solicitado a la NSA que obtuviera la aprobación del tribunal de Vigilancia de Inteligencia en el Extranjero (FISA, por sus siglas en inglés) antes de entregarle los registros. La NSA se negó a hacerlo. A pesar de que el programa no implica la vigilancia directa de las conversaciones telefónicas, contiene registros detallados de a quiénes llamaron las personas y cuándo lo hicieron. Al menos una empresa ya habÃa sido implicada en el programa; en una demanda presentada por Electronic Frontier Foundation este año, el ex técnico de AT&T Mark Klein dijo que AT&T ha estado trabajando con la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional para espiar a los ciudadanos estadounidenses. Además de suscitar nuevos cuestionamientos acerca del alcance del programa de espionaje de la NSA y de las empresas involucradas, esta revelación también genera cuestionamientos acerca del nuevo candidato a director de la CIA, Michael Hayden, debido a que él dirigÃa la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional en el momento en que el programa de espionaje fue implementado. Hayden se negó a hablar con "USA Today" sobre este asunto.
Fiscal General británico pide cierre de Guantánamo
El Fiscal General británico pidió que se cerraran las instalaciones de la prisión estadounidense de la BahÃa de Guantánamo, en Cuba. En un discurso en Londres, Lord Peter Goldsmith dijo: "La existencia de Guantánamo continúa siendo inaceptable".
Secretario del Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano rechaza a contratista que criticó a Bush
Mientras tanto, el Secretario del Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano, Alphonso Jackson, está siendo vigilado tras revelar que canceló un acuerdo propuesto con un contratista del gobierno que criticó al Presidente Bush. Según la revista especializada "Dallas Business Journal", Jackson dijo que el contratista habÃa sido seleccionado para un contrato publicitario del gobierno. Sin embargo el contratista finalmente no fue seleccionado, luego que le dijo a Jackson que no le simpatizaba el Presidente Bush. Jackson dijo: "¿Por qué debo recompensar a alguien a quien no le simpatiza el Presidente, para que pueda utilizar los fondos para hacer campaña en contra del Presidente? Lo lógico es que no obtengan el contrato. Eso es lo que yo creo". En respuesta, los congresistas demócratas Barney Frank de Massachusetts y Henry Waxman de California, pidieron una investigación exhaustiva sobre las decisiones de Jackson en lo que refiere a contratos. En una carta dirigida a Jackson, los congresistas escribieron: "Si esta información es correcta, sus comentarios y acciones fueron impropias y muy probablemente ilÃcitas. Los contratos federales deben ser otorgados en virtud de los méritos, y no de si al contratista le cae bien o no el Presidente Bush".
Casi la mitad de los niños menores de cinco años pertenecen a minorÃas raciales
En otras noticias, un nuevo censo demuestra que casi la mitad de los niños estadounidenses menores de cinco años pertenecen a minorÃas raciales o étnicas. Según el informe, los latinos son la minorÃa que crece más y a ritmo más acelerado en Estados Unidos. El año pasado, los latinos representaron casi la mitad del crecimiento de la población del paÃs.
Renuncia Dusty Foggo, tercer funcionario al mando de la CIA
El tercer funcionario de más alto rango en la CIA, Kyle 'Dusty' Foggo, renunció sólo dÃas después de la inesperada renuncia del Director de la CIA, Porter Goss. El FBI está investigando si Foggo ayudó al contratista de defensa Brent Wilkes a obtener contratos con el gobierno. Foggo y Wilkes son amigos de la infancia, tan cercanos que cada uno llamó a su hijo con el nombre del otro. Wilkes fue acusado de sobornar al ex congresista republicano Duke Cunningham con prostitutas, limusinas y cuartos de hotel, asà como también se le acusó de arreglar juegos de póquer privados a los que asistÃan Foggo y otras personas. Mientras tanto, un número de republicanos de alto rango -entre los que se encuentra el Presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, Dennis Hastert- están expresando sus preocupaciones con respecto a la decisión del Presidente Bush de postular al general de cuatro estrellas Michael Hayden para convertirse en el director de la CIA. Hayden reconoció que estaba siendo criticado durante una breve ceremonia en la Casa Blanca: "AnsÃo reunirme con miembros del Congreso durante el proceso de confirmación, entender mejor sus preocupaciones y trabajar con ellos para hacer progresar la comunidad de inteligencia estadounidense". Y agregó: "Es simplemente demasiado importante que esto se haga a la perfección". Un portavoz del Presidente de la Cámara de Representantes dijo el lunes que el paÃs "no debÃa permitir que un militar dirija la CIA, una agencia civil". A los republicanos también les preocupa que la audiencia de confirmación de Hayden se centre en su rol en la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional (NSA, por sus siglas en inglés), donde aprobó el plan del Presidente Bush de llevar a cabo ilegalmente vigilancia a nivel nacional sin órdenes judiciales. A comienzos de este año, el informante de la NSA Russell Tice, estuvo conversando con Democracy Now y criticó la participación de Hayden en la operación de espionaje. Tice dijo: "Sin lugar a dudas el general Alexander, el general Hayden y Bill Black sabÃan que esto era ilegal".
Decenas de miles protestan en Grecia contra guerras de Estados Unidos
En Grecia, el sábado decenas de miles de manifestantes marcharon en Atenas para condenar la invasión a Irak, y el posible ataque de Estados Unidos a Irán. Según un informe de prensa, un grupo pequeño de manifestantes lanzó bombas de combustible y piedras a la policÃa, frente a la embajada de Estados Unidos. La policÃa antidisturbios respondió lanzando gases lacrimógenos.
Maria: Good morning. Now in English, here are eleven news stories from Democracy Now! Peace.
Telecom Companies Helped NSA Spy on Millions of US Citizens
Three of the country's largest telecom companies have provided the National Security Agency with the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans. This according to a report in USA Today. One source with direct knowledge of the program called it "the largest database ever assembled in the world" whose goal is to collect a record of "every call ever made" within the United States. The Bush administration has insisted its spy program focuses solely on international calls. The companies -- AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth -- have been under contract since after the 9/11 attacks. Only one major telecom company declined to participate in the program. The company, Qwest, reportedly asked the NSA to get FISA-court approval before it would hand over the records. The NSA refused. Although the program does not involve the direct monitoring of phone conservations, it amasses detailed records on who people have called and when they’ve called them. At least one company had already been implicated in the program. In a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation earlier this year, former AT&T technician Mark Klein said AT&T has been working with the National Security Agency to spy on Americans. In addition to raising new questions about the extent of the NSA spy program and the companies involved, the disclosure also raises new questions about CIA Director-nominee Michael Hayden. Hayden headed the National Security Agency at the time the spy program was implemented. He declined USA Today's request for comment.
UK Attorney General Calls For Guantanamo Closure
Britain's Attorney General has called for the closure of the US prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In a speech in London, Lord Peter Goldsmith said: "The existence of Guantanamo remains unacceptable."
HUD Secretary Turns Down Contractor Who Criticized Bush
Meanwhile, Housing and Urban Development Department Secretary Alphonso Jackson is coming under scrutiny after he revealed he cancelled a proposed deal with a government contractor who made critical comments of President Bush. According to the Dallas Business Journal, Jackson said the contractor had been selected for a government advertising contract. But the contractor was ultimately not selected after he told Jackson he didn’t like President Bush. Jackson said: "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe." In response, Democratic Congressmembers Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Henry Waxman of California called for a full investigation of Jackson’s contract decisions. In a letter to Jackson, the Congressmemembers wrote: "If this account is accurate, your comments and actions were improper and most likely illegal. Federal contracts should be awarded based on merit, not on whether a contractor likes or dislikes President Bush."
Nearly Half of Children Under 5 Racial Minorities
In other news, a new census report shows nearly half of US children under five years old are racial or ethnic minorities. According to the report, Latinos are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States, accounting for nearly half of the country’s growth last year.
CIA’s Third Highest Official, Dusty Foggo, Resigns
The number three man at the CIA, Kyle 'Dusty' Foggo, has resigned just days after the unexpected resignation of CIA Director Porter Goss. The FBI is investigating whether Foggo helped defense contractor Brent Wilkes win government contracts. The two are childhood friend and so close they have named their children after each other. Wilkes has been accused of bribing former Republican Congressman Duke Cunningham with prostitutes, limos and hotel rooms and arranging private poker games attended by Foggo and others. Meanwhile a number of top Republicans, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert, are voicing concern over President Bush's decision to nominate four-star General Michael Hayden to become the head of the CIA. Hayden acknowledged his critics during a brief ceremony at the White House.
Gen. Michael Hayden: "In the confirmation process I look forward to meeting members of the congress and better understanding their concerns and working with them to move the American intelligence community forward," Hayden said. "This is simply too important to get absolutely right."A spokesperson for House Speaker Dennis Hastert said the country "should not have a military person leading the CIA, a civilian agency." Republicans are also concerned that Hayden's confirmation hearing will center on his role at the National Security Agency where he approved President Bush's plan to illegally conduct domestic surveillance without court warrants. Earlier this year NSA whistleblower Russell Tice appeared on Democracy Now and criticized Hayden's role in the spy operation. "Certainly General Alexander and General Hayden and Bill Black knew that this was illegal," Tice said.
Tens of Thousands Protest in Greece Against U.S. Wars
In Greece, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Athens on Saturday to condemn the Iraq invasion and a possible U.S. attack on Iran. According to press account, one small group of protesters fired petrol bombs and stones at police outside the U.S. embassy. Riot police responded with tear gas.
democracy now
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iraq
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Maria: Buenos dias. De parte de "Democracy Now!" seis cosas que vale hacer notar este fin de semana. Paz.
Empresas de telecomunicaciones ayudaron a la NSA a espiar a millones de ciudadanos estadounidenses
Según un informe de "USA Today", tres de las mayores empresas de telecomunicaciones del paÃs le proporcionaron a la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional (NSA, por sus siglas en inglés) los registros de las llamadas telefónicas de decenas de millones de ciudadanos estadounidenses. Una fuente que tenÃa conocimiento directo del programa lo calificó como "la mayor base de datos que haya sido creada en el mundo", cuyo objetivo es almacenar un registro de "todas las llamadas realizadas" dentro de Estados Unidos. El gobierno de Bush ha insistido en que su programa de espionaje se centra únicamente en llamadas internacionales. Las empresas -AT&T, Verizon y BellSouth- fueron contratadas tras los atentados del 11 de septiembre. Únicamente una importante empresa de telecomunicaciones se negó a participar en el programa. Se informó que la empresa, Qwest, le habÃa solicitado a la NSA que obtuviera la aprobación del tribunal de Vigilancia de Inteligencia en el Extranjero (FISA, por sus siglas en inglés) antes de entregarle los registros. La NSA se negó a hacerlo. A pesar de que el programa no implica la vigilancia directa de las conversaciones telefónicas, contiene registros detallados de a quiénes llamaron las personas y cuándo lo hicieron. Al menos una empresa ya habÃa sido implicada en el programa; en una demanda presentada por Electronic Frontier Foundation este año, el ex técnico de AT&T Mark Klein dijo que AT&T ha estado trabajando con la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional para espiar a los ciudadanos estadounidenses. Además de suscitar nuevos cuestionamientos acerca del alcance del programa de espionaje de la NSA y de las empresas involucradas, esta revelación también genera cuestionamientos acerca del nuevo candidato a director de la CIA, Michael Hayden, debido a que él dirigÃa la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional en el momento en que el programa de espionaje fue implementado. Hayden se negó a hablar con "USA Today" sobre este asunto.
Fiscal General británico pide cierre de Guantánamo
El Fiscal General británico pidió que se cerraran las instalaciones de la prisión estadounidense de la BahÃa de Guantánamo, en Cuba. En un discurso en Londres, Lord Peter Goldsmith dijo: "La existencia de Guantánamo continúa siendo inaceptable".
Secretario del Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano rechaza a contratista que criticó a Bush
Mientras tanto, el Secretario del Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano, Alphonso Jackson, está siendo vigilado tras revelar que canceló un acuerdo propuesto con un contratista del gobierno que criticó al Presidente Bush. Según la revista especializada "Dallas Business Journal", Jackson dijo que el contratista habÃa sido seleccionado para un contrato publicitario del gobierno. Sin embargo el contratista finalmente no fue seleccionado, luego que le dijo a Jackson que no le simpatizaba el Presidente Bush. Jackson dijo: "¿Por qué debo recompensar a alguien a quien no le simpatiza el Presidente, para que pueda utilizar los fondos para hacer campaña en contra del Presidente? Lo lógico es que no obtengan el contrato. Eso es lo que yo creo". En respuesta, los congresistas demócratas Barney Frank de Massachusetts y Henry Waxman de California, pidieron una investigación exhaustiva sobre las decisiones de Jackson en lo que refiere a contratos. En una carta dirigida a Jackson, los congresistas escribieron: "Si esta información es correcta, sus comentarios y acciones fueron impropias y muy probablemente ilÃcitas. Los contratos federales deben ser otorgados en virtud de los méritos, y no de si al contratista le cae bien o no el Presidente Bush".
Casi la mitad de los niños menores de cinco años pertenecen a minorÃas raciales
En otras noticias, un nuevo censo demuestra que casi la mitad de los niños estadounidenses menores de cinco años pertenecen a minorÃas raciales o étnicas. Según el informe, los latinos son la minorÃa que crece más y a ritmo más acelerado en Estados Unidos. El año pasado, los latinos representaron casi la mitad del crecimiento de la población del paÃs.
Renuncia Dusty Foggo, tercer funcionario al mando de la CIA
El tercer funcionario de más alto rango en la CIA, Kyle 'Dusty' Foggo, renunció sólo dÃas después de la inesperada renuncia del Director de la CIA, Porter Goss. El FBI está investigando si Foggo ayudó al contratista de defensa Brent Wilkes a obtener contratos con el gobierno. Foggo y Wilkes son amigos de la infancia, tan cercanos que cada uno llamó a su hijo con el nombre del otro. Wilkes fue acusado de sobornar al ex congresista republicano Duke Cunningham con prostitutas, limusinas y cuartos de hotel, asà como también se le acusó de arreglar juegos de póquer privados a los que asistÃan Foggo y otras personas. Mientras tanto, un número de republicanos de alto rango -entre los que se encuentra el Presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, Dennis Hastert- están expresando sus preocupaciones con respecto a la decisión del Presidente Bush de postular al general de cuatro estrellas Michael Hayden para convertirse en el director de la CIA. Hayden reconoció que estaba siendo criticado durante una breve ceremonia en la Casa Blanca: "AnsÃo reunirme con miembros del Congreso durante el proceso de confirmación, entender mejor sus preocupaciones y trabajar con ellos para hacer progresar la comunidad de inteligencia estadounidense". Y agregó: "Es simplemente demasiado importante que esto se haga a la perfección". Un portavoz del Presidente de la Cámara de Representantes dijo el lunes que el paÃs "no debÃa permitir que un militar dirija la CIA, una agencia civil". A los republicanos también les preocupa que la audiencia de confirmación de Hayden se centre en su rol en la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional (NSA, por sus siglas en inglés), donde aprobó el plan del Presidente Bush de llevar a cabo ilegalmente vigilancia a nivel nacional sin órdenes judiciales. A comienzos de este año, el informante de la NSA Russell Tice, estuvo conversando con Democracy Now y criticó la participación de Hayden en la operación de espionaje. Tice dijo: "Sin lugar a dudas el general Alexander, el general Hayden y Bill Black sabÃan que esto era ilegal".
Decenas de miles protestan en Grecia contra guerras de Estados Unidos
En Grecia, el sábado decenas de miles de manifestantes marcharon en Atenas para condenar la invasión a Irak, y el posible ataque de Estados Unidos a Irán. Según un informe de prensa, un grupo pequeño de manifestantes lanzó bombas de combustible y piedras a la policÃa, frente a la embajada de Estados Unidos. La policÃa antidisturbios respondió lanzando gases lacrimógenos.
Maria: Good morning. Now in English, here are eleven news stories from Democracy Now! Peace.
Telecom Companies Helped NSA Spy on Millions of US Citizens
Three of the country's largest telecom companies have provided the National Security Agency with the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans. This according to a report in USA Today. One source with direct knowledge of the program called it "the largest database ever assembled in the world" whose goal is to collect a record of "every call ever made" within the United States. The Bush administration has insisted its spy program focuses solely on international calls. The companies -- AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth -- have been under contract since after the 9/11 attacks. Only one major telecom company declined to participate in the program. The company, Qwest, reportedly asked the NSA to get FISA-court approval before it would hand over the records. The NSA refused. Although the program does not involve the direct monitoring of phone conservations, it amasses detailed records on who people have called and when they’ve called them. At least one company had already been implicated in the program. In a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation earlier this year, former AT&T technician Mark Klein said AT&T has been working with the National Security Agency to spy on Americans. In addition to raising new questions about the extent of the NSA spy program and the companies involved, the disclosure also raises new questions about CIA Director-nominee Michael Hayden. Hayden headed the National Security Agency at the time the spy program was implemented. He declined USA Today's request for comment.
UK Attorney General Calls For Guantanamo Closure
Britain's Attorney General has called for the closure of the US prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In a speech in London, Lord Peter Goldsmith said: "The existence of Guantanamo remains unacceptable."
HUD Secretary Turns Down Contractor Who Criticized Bush
Meanwhile, Housing and Urban Development Department Secretary Alphonso Jackson is coming under scrutiny after he revealed he cancelled a proposed deal with a government contractor who made critical comments of President Bush. According to the Dallas Business Journal, Jackson said the contractor had been selected for a government advertising contract. But the contractor was ultimately not selected after he told Jackson he didn’t like President Bush. Jackson said: "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe." In response, Democratic Congressmembers Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Henry Waxman of California called for a full investigation of Jackson’s contract decisions. In a letter to Jackson, the Congressmemembers wrote: "If this account is accurate, your comments and actions were improper and most likely illegal. Federal contracts should be awarded based on merit, not on whether a contractor likes or dislikes President Bush."
Nearly Half of Children Under 5 Racial Minorities
In other news, a new census report shows nearly half of US children under five years old are racial or ethnic minorities. According to the report, Latinos are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States, accounting for nearly half of the country’s growth last year.
CIA’s Third Highest Official, Dusty Foggo, Resigns
The number three man at the CIA, Kyle 'Dusty' Foggo, has resigned just days after the unexpected resignation of CIA Director Porter Goss. The FBI is investigating whether Foggo helped defense contractor Brent Wilkes win government contracts. The two are childhood friend and so close they have named their children after each other. Wilkes has been accused of bribing former Republican Congressman Duke Cunningham with prostitutes, limos and hotel rooms and arranging private poker games attended by Foggo and others. Meanwhile a number of top Republicans, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert, are voicing concern over President Bush's decision to nominate four-star General Michael Hayden to become the head of the CIA. Hayden acknowledged his critics during a brief ceremony at the White House.
Gen. Michael Hayden: "In the confirmation process I look forward to meeting members of the congress and better understanding their concerns and working with them to move the American intelligence community forward," Hayden said. "This is simply too important to get absolutely right."A spokesperson for House Speaker Dennis Hastert said the country "should not have a military person leading the CIA, a civilian agency." Republicans are also concerned that Hayden's confirmation hearing will center on his role at the National Security Agency where he approved President Bush's plan to illegally conduct domestic surveillance without court warrants. Earlier this year NSA whistleblower Russell Tice appeared on Democracy Now and criticized Hayden's role in the spy operation. "Certainly General Alexander and General Hayden and Bill Black knew that this was illegal," Tice said.
Tens of Thousands Protest in Greece Against U.S. Wars
In Greece, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Athens on Saturday to condemn the Iraq invasion and a possible U.S. attack on Iran. According to press account, one small group of protesters fired petrol bombs and stones at police outside the U.S. embassy. Riot police responded with tear gas.
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