anti-[everything]

Lame-ass band Pearl Jam is whining that AT&T censored their dramatic protest of the Bush administration's policies...and I use "protest" in the loosest sense possible. Being the rebels they are, they ingeniously played a cover song and inserted a couple devastating new lines:

During the performance of "Daughter" the following lyrics were sung to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" but were cut from the webcast:

- "George Bush, leave this world alone." (the second time it was sung); and

- "George Bush find yourself another home."

Oh! Take that George Bush! I bet that'll topple his regime! I bet he cried himself to sleep over that.

Pearl Jerks also said:

This, of course, troubles us as artists but also as citizens concerned with the issue of censorship and the increasingly consolidated control of the media.

What should also trouble them is that they're so unoriginal as artists that they have to recycle a decades old song and tack on those two boring lines as protest.

What I find most ironic about the whole outrage over this is that Pearl Jam is 100% corporate rock. Here's big label band that is playing a huge corporate-sponsored affair that is streamed over a corporate sponsor's network and they're crying about consolidated corporate media? They are corporate media! Even worse, they're the fucking product and being a willing participant in that media world has put them right where they are! If they were really concerned about corporate media, maybe they'd start their own label, quit cooperating with the major label hype machines that fill those consolidated corporate networks, and actually take a stand. I doubt that will happen because what really matters is getting paid and you can't play big venues and get big record sells without MTV and the rest of the corporate music industry convincing half-wits your music is worth buying.

Let's face it. I doubt Pearl Jam and the millions of "artists" like them would be nearly as popular if it wasn't for the massive amounts of corporate dollars spent to make them #1. Yeah, I know it's been a long time since they were considered good.

They were never good.

Here's a shot of their record releases, note the labels (Source: AllMusic.com):

Here's a shot of the corporate sponsors of Lollapalooza:

Sponsors Bring Joy?

I guess the message is that it isn't really music, art, etc., that bring people together. It's the benevolence of our corporate sponsors and their profit motive. Let's all bask in their generosity of giving music to suckers.

What the fuck do people expect when music and concerts are just vehicles for transmitting advertising messages and product loyalty?

Music in general would be better off if bands actually worked to kill corporate music and the leeches that run it. Of course, they won't. Instead they'll collect their checks and act surprised that the big corporate machine doesn't give two shits about music, especially when it threatens sales and profits.

Pearl Jam is as full of shit as AT&T.

Technorati Tags: AT&T, corporate rock, music, Pearl Jam

Blackwater security firm banned from Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's Interior Ministry has revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security firm whose contractors are blamed for a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead. The U.S. State Department said it plans to investigate what it calls a "terrible incident."

In addition to the fatalities, 14 people were wounded, most of them civilians, an Iraqi official said.

The article refers to Blackwater and similar organizations as "security firms." The truth is, they're mercenaries.

It will be interesting to see who comes to Blackwater's defense. I doubt they will actually be banned from Iraq and that the Bush administration will pressure (i.e., force) the Iraqis to allow the corporate death squads to remain active within their borders.

Iraqi authorities have issued previous complaints about shootings by private military contractors, according to a July report from the Congressional Research Service.

"Most recently, a news article discussing an incident in which a Blackwater guard shot dead an Iraqi driver in May 2007 quoted an Iraqi official's statement that the Iraqi Interior Ministry had received four previous complaints of shootings involving Blackwater employees," the congressional service report said.

The Congressional Research Service report cited other concerns, such as "the apparent lack of a practical means to hold contractors accountable under U.S. law for abuses and other transgressions and the possibility that they could be prosecuted by foreign courts."

The reported added, "Iraqi courts do not have jurisdiction to prosecute contractors without the permission of the relevant member country of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq."

Contractors fall under Justice Department and FBI jurisdiction for alleged crimes, said a Pentagon official, who confirmed the accuracy of the congressional report.

If Iraq was a truly sovereign nation, it would throw all of these private armies out of its borders. Hell, if they were truly sovereign, they'd probably toss out the "Multi-National Forces in Iraq" too. But, no one really believes the occupied nation is actually a sovereign state, do they?

Technorati Tags: Blackwater mercenaries, Iraq

Clinton unveils mandatory health care insurance plan

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton announced a $110 billion health care reform plan Monday that would require all Americans to have health insurance.

...

A Clinton adviser compares the plan's so-called "individual mandate" -- which requires everyone to have health insurance -- to current rules in most states that require all drivers to purchase auto insurance, according to The Associated Press.

In her plan, Clinton said families would receive tax credits to help pay for coverage. The tax credit would be designed to limit the premiums to a percentage of a family's income.

Here's another reason not to vote for Clinton. No, I'm not afraid of national healthcare. What I'm afraid of is corporate shills that will "solve" the healthcare crisis in this country by legislating in the interests of the insurance industry. Clinton's plan would require us to purchase coverage from the very industry that works tirelessly to drive down quality of care and drive up quality of profits. All this plan will do is force more citizens and tax dollars into the hands of the insurance industry. Let's be clear: the insurance industry operates to maximize profits, not coverage. Who's being subsidized here? Right-wing critics will decry this plan as "socialized" healthcare, but the only beneficiaries of this plan are corporations. Sounds like capitalism to me; the ruling class will always legislate in its favor.

Americans don't need universal insurance coverage. We need quality, universal health care.

Technorati Tags: healthcare, Clinton, politics, insurance