Campanastan

Bieber's Blather Begets Boycott?

Semi-talented Canadian singer Justin Bieber has run afoul of the so-called Ground Zero mosque foes. He supposedly made comments about the mosque - actually, a community center with a prayer room - that aroused the ire of Andy Sullivan of the 9/11 Hard Hat pledge, who has launched a Bieber boycott.

Read all about it in Salon. Thanks to mparent77772.

Bieber supposedly made the comments in an interview with Tiger Beat , best described as a journal/site that preps adolescent girls for higher-brow reads like People.

Problem is, no one can find the interview in Tiger Beat, only this post on CelebJihad:

In an interview with Tiger Beat, the pop sensation stressed that freedom of religion is what makes America great, and went on to say that those who oppose the Mosque are motivated by bigotry.

“Muslims should be allowed to build a mosque anywhere they want,” the singer said. “Coming from Canada, I’m not used to this level of intolerance, eh.”

Bieber went on to say that Muslims are “super cool,” Christians are “lame-o-rama,” and that the mosque will help “start a dialogue” with all religions about which Justin Bieber song is the most awesome.

“I was like seven when September 11th went down, and frankly I’m surprised people are still  going on about it. Move on, already!

Seems like the Bieber interview is a hoax, and maybe Sullivan's boycotting the wrong person.

A Facebook page pronoting the mosque boycott has all of 493 followers. You go, Andy!  

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups." -- John Kenneth Galbraith

She Would Have Been 59 Today

Today would have been my younger sister Ann's 59th birthday had not five Saudi Arabian murderers taken her life on 11 September 2001. 

Here are some pictures I took at the Pentagon just a few days after 9/11. One shows the damage done to the Pentagon by American Airlines Flight 77, and the other shows an impromptu memorial we and others set up on a knoll overlooking the Pentagon. The spot was just off Columbia Pike in Arlington, VA, and shows some of Ann's favorite things: Marlboro Lights, Diet Coke, M & M Peanuts.

Niece Becky Weaver Templeman and I thought about putting a bottle of Dewar's there but figured it would be gone as soon as we turned our backs.

Here is my post about visiting the Pentagon Memorial.

At the top of this post is her name carved on the rock slab at the memorial.

Ann's murder left a gaping hole in the lives of many - not just friends and family, but co-workers and strangers as well.

Her memorial service on 17 September 2001 was quite the event. I gave the eulogy.

The hardest part was seeing my mother, there to lay her youngest to rest.

Below is a picture of Ann (left) and my older sister Ellen. I think this was taken in the Spring of 2000 or so.

Happier times prevailed then.  

But even in death Annie's still having an impact through the Ann Campana Judge.  Foundation

I miss her.

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once." -- William Shakespeare (from Julius Caesar)

Roll Over Beethoven! It's Campanastan's Fourth Birthday!

What better way to celebrate than with a song that has reached anthem status in Campanastan! As Finlandia is to Finland, so is Roll Over Beethoven to Campanastan!

The President-For-Life is not usually one for covers, but he loves ELO's version almost as much as Chuck's original. But the version by legendary UK rockers Status Quo is quite good, too. And don't forget the Beatles!

Here are all four of them. The Beatles' version is not the best I've heard.

 

 

   

 

"We don't like their sound; groups with guitars are on the way out." -- A Decca Records executive, referring to the Beatles, 1962

Congrats to the UConn Huskies!

89 wins in a row! Kudos to the UConn Huskies!

Thanks to the Christian Science Monitor.

 

"People in the States used to think that if girls were good at sports their sexuality would be affected. Being feminine meant being a cheerleader, not being an athlete. The image of women is changing now. You don't have to be pretty for people to come and see you play. At the same time, if you're a good athlete, it doesn't mean you're not a woman." -- Martina Navratilova

Mortgaging Your Children's Future: They Would If They Could (Bankers' Trust Indeed!)

From Tom Tomorrow.

 
“A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain." -- Robert Frost

Banned Music Following 9/11; Campanastan's 'Dirty Dozen' Rock Songs

As an erstwhile college DJ who once did a show called The Dirty Dozen that featured rock songs that had been banned or nearly so because of real or imagined sexually offensive lyrics I was overjoyed when I stumbled upon The History of Banned Rock and Roll, It gives a year-by-year account of banned songs, although it sseems like it's not all that complete. It is part of a larger site, Classic Bands.

But what I found especially interesting was the partial list from Clear Channel Communications that listed songs its radio stations might wish to avoid playing in the short term following 9/11. Here is the list:

Steve Miller "Jet Airliner"
Van Halen "Jump"
Queen "Another One Bites the Dust"
Queen "Killer Queen"
Pat Benatar "Hit Me with Your Best Shot"
Kansas "Dust in the Wind"
Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"
The Beatles "A Day in the Life"
The Beatles "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
The Beatles "Ticket To Ride"
The Beatles "Obla Di, Obla Da"
Bob Dylan "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
Arthur Brown "Fire"
Paul McCartney and Wings "Live and Let Die"
Billy Joel "Only the Good Die Young"
Barry McGuire "Eve of Destruction"
Steam "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey"
Drifters "On Broadway"
Shelly Fabares "Johnny Angel"
Los Bravos "Black is Black"
Peter and Gordon "I Go To Pieces"
Peter and Gordon "A World Without Love"
Elvis "(You're the) Devil in Disguise"
Zombies "She's Not There"
Elton John "Benny & The Jets"
Elton John "Daniel"
Elton John "Rocket Man"
Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls of Fire"
Santana "Evil Ways"
Louis Armstrong "What A Wonderful World"
Youngbloods "Get Together"
Ad Libs "The Boy from New York City"
Peter Paul and Mary "Blowin' in the Wind"
Peter Paul and Mary "Leavin' on a Jet Plane"
Rolling Stones "Ruby Tuesday"
Simon And Garfunkel "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Happenings "See You in September"
Carole King "I Feel the Earth Move"
Yager and Evans "In the Year 2525"
Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky"
Brooklyn Bridge "Worst That Could Happen"
Three Degrees "When Will I See You Again"
Cat Stevens "Peace Train"
Cat Stevens "Morning Has Broken"
Jan and Dean "Dead Man's Curve"
Martha & the Vandellas "Nowhere to Run"
Martha and the Vandellas/Van Halen "Dancing in the Streets"
Hollies "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
San Cooke / Herman Hermits, "Wonderful World"
Petula Clark "A Sign of the Times"
Don McLean "American Pie"
J. Frank Wilson "Last Kiss"
Buddy Holly and the Crickets "That'll Be the Day"
John Lennon "Imagine"
Bobby Darin "Mack the Knife"
Surfaris "Wipeout"
Blood Sweat and Tears "And When I Die"
Dave Clark Five "Bits and Pieces"
Tramps "Disco Inferno"
Paper Lace "The Night Chicago Died"
Frank Sinatra "New York, New York"
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Travelin' Band"
Neil Diamond "America"
Tom Petty "Free Fallin'"
Bruce Springsteen "I'm On Fire"
Bruce Springsteen "Goin' Down"
Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight"
Chi-Lites "Have You Seen Her"
Animals "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Fontella Bass "Rescue Me"
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels "Devil with the Blue Dress"
James Taylor "Fire and Rain"
Edwin Starr "War"
Lynyrd Skynyrd "Tuesday's Gone" 

Got some great songs here. I remember hearing a haunting version of Knockin' on Heaven's Door with lyrics about 9/11. I was in DC for my sister's memorial right after 9/11 and almost went off I-66 when I heard it.

So what were some of the songs that made my Dirty Dozen (all pre-1971)?

Manfred Mann 'If You Gotta Go, Go Now'
Kingsmen 'Louie, Louie'
Rolling Stones 'Satisfaction', 'Honky Tonk Women',  'Let's Spend the Night Together'
John Fred 'Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)'
Doors 'Light My Fire'
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters 'Work With Me Annie' and its sequel, 'Annie Had a Baby'
Van Morrison 'Brown-Eyed Girl'
Ohio Express/Standells 'Try It' (also version by The Attack)
Tommy James and The Shondells 'Hanky Panky' ,, 'I Think We're Alone Now'
The Kinks 'You Really Got Me'
The Isley Brothers 'It's Your Thing'
Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels 'Sock It to Me, Baby'

My favorite: Manfred Mann's version of Dylan's If 'You Gotta Go, Go Now'. When I got to WCWM-FM in 1967 we were ordered not to play this. Guess what? Fairport Convention covered this (in French), Si Tu Dois Partir. Next favorite would be the Standells' 'Try It'. Ah, the bass and the drums....

When you listen to these you will wonder what all the fuss was about. Imagine trying to ban a song today because it had the phrase, "Cross your heart with your living bra." (Judy in Disguise).

Yeah, there were others, too - just can't remember them. I'm lucky to have recalled these.

"You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire"
-- The Doors, Light My Fire 

Never Any Room at the Inn

From the Christian Science Monitor.

 
"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives." -- Abba Eban

Jon Stewart Disses 9/11 Worst Responders; First Responders Comment

You go Jon!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Worst Responders
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

 

"Senate Republicans filibuster the Zadroga bill but pass tax cuts for the wealthy, which is great news for firefighters who make over $200,000 a year." -- Jon Stewart

Brockovich's Back in Black, Minus the Boobs and Heels, and Helping Hinkley Again

Just noted this story about Erin Brockovich from NPR.

Hinkley, CA, the town depicted in the film bearing Brockovich;s name, is still wrestling with PG&E over hexavalent chromium in its groundwater.

From the story:

Brockovich famously took on utility Pacific Gas & Electric over contamination of drinking water in Hinkley, Calif., a saga chronicled in a movie that won actress Julia Roberts an Oscar in 2001. Thanks to Brockovich's efforts, in the 1990s PG&E settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit with hundreds of residents and pledged to clean up the contamination.

But it appears the plume of contaminated groundwater is spreading. And Brockovich finds herself again in Hinkley, fighting for residents who say the toxic chemical chromium 6 is still in their water supply.

Here are a couple of quotes from the story; take your pick.

You go, girl.

"We are absolutely committed to the cleanup of the plume and the control of the area." -- Jeff Smith, PG&E

"It's still not cleaned up. You are still dodging the ball. You are still not telling the truth, and you're still poisoning people." -- Erin Brockovich

Eye Candy From Honduras

Thinking you'd see a scantily-clad Honduran beauty?

Okay, so it's not what you expected, but it's eye candy to me and some villagers in Honduras. The ACJF's project to supply clean drinking water to the residents of Brisas de Cuyamel was just completed, thanks to amigos Rolando López and Alex Urelio del Cid. The village commemorated the event by painting and lettering the water tank.

 
 
"Agua es vida." -- Spanish for 'Water is life.'

Bruce the Crow, Pillar of Paris

I got this picture of the legendary Bruce the Crow as he sat in his favorite bush in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Legend says that when Bruce dies or permanently departs the area, France will elect a chaste President

 
Skies were dark and foreboding that day.

 "Duel at the bedside." -- Nicolas Sarkozy

Got a Few Hours to Kill? Read The Globe and Mail's WikiLeaks Piece and Reader Comments

So if you have some time on yours hands, my good friend Loring Grren suggests reading this excellent piece in Toronto's The Globe and Mail.

But don't stop there. Here's what Loring adds:

The Globe and Mail seems to have a higher cut of participants in their comments group. As a group, Globe and Mail responders are not obscene and most seem to have spent more than a couple of seconds contemplating their ideas.... and that's quite unusual. There are, at this moment 171 comments on this story and many more second tier replies.  They pretty well cover the full circle of thought on this interesting and developing story.

I can attest to the quality of the comments; I've read a few of them. Wish I had a few hours to kill.

"I don't look at what third-rate or fourth-rate officials say." -- Silvio 'Studs' Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister

Campanastan's PFL Invades La Ville-Lumière

If your high school French has deserted you (unlike mine, which has just gotten worse), that's City of Light, aka Paris.

Campanastan's President-For-Life is visiting this superb city on state business. Sometimes duty calls the PFL to many unpleasant places; this is not one of them.

Since the PFL's luxury jet had been sent to Russia to pick up sme 'unmentionables' United Airlines got the PFL here without any problems and the French cooperated (inasmuch as they can) by not striking.

Last time I visited, I was on the last flight from CDG before the ATC shut the place down in late November 2002, when I had tough duty in Vienna.

Luckily, I was not headed to Spain, which was plagued by an ATC "sick-in" that shut down air traffic there. 

But seriously - it's great being here, although it is chilly (daytime temperatures around zero Celsius) and snowy.

And if the Parisians were insulted by the USA's Wikileaks comments about President Sarkozy it is not apparent in their behavior towards me; it's the same as it's always been. [A secret I keep from my subjects: the PFL holds dual citizenship. It's still a sceret, as my blog is blocked in Campanastan, thanks  to the new Chinese software my IT experts have pirated.]  

By the way, the locals are very enthusiastic about my new look. But then again, a five-letter synonym for style is 'Paris'.

I am here for the UNESCO-IHP ISARM Conference and will return home late on 14 December. First-Lady-For-Life Mary Frances will join me on 9 December.

My hotel is just a stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower; this is the view from my room.

Despite the cold, it was great walking around the Cambronne neighborhood tonight. Been a while since I'd been to Paris. It's quite a place.

I am looking forward to my annual pilgrimmage to Jim Morrison's grave. He is a national icon in Campanastan.

And speaking of bullshit (was I?) I am listening to a Chinese government official on BBC talking about environmental/ecosystem degradation resulting from natural resource extraction. Uh-huh.

"There are three things you should never try to help: a man in love, a cat up a tree, or the French." -- Unknown

On This Date in 1955, Rosa Parks Stood Up By Refusing To Do So

Fifty-five years ago today, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks stood up for equality by refusing to stand up on a bus and give her seat to a white person.

She was not the first African-American to do this, but her refusal to surrender her seat ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted over a year and left the public transit system with a crippling financial deficit.

The boyoctt is often credited with being the first shot fired in the civil rights battle and launching the civil rights career of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (shown here with Parks in a 1955 picture from the Wikipedia article).

I'm glad she did what she did, when she did.

 Amazing woman!

  "People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in."-- Rosa Parks, in Rosa Parks: My Story (1992)