Columbine High loses 60% of ’99 staff:
So what? I’m surprised that not more of the 1999 staff have left. Why does the media have to keep dragging Columbine back into the spotlight? Can’t they just leave these people alone? Around the start of every school year since April 20, 1999, some news outlet has to do some update on the staff and students at Columbine. Stop picking the carcass of Columbine and let these people get on with their lives.
Anyway, I caught the Fozzy show in Charlotte last night. For those of you that don’t know, Fozzy is a band fronted by WWF wrestler Chris Jericho. They do mostly covers of heavy metal classics. So we got to the club around 8. It was an all-ages show and they meant it. They had underage kids who were obviously WWF fans and people in their 30s like me who are classic metal fans. Some of the people in their 30s though were dressed like it was 1985. Even if I could still fit into my skin-tight snakeskin pants, I wouldn’t wear them today.
Sat at a table up in the balcony. I’m too old to be down on the floor anymore. But that didn’t stop me from having an obstructed view. People kept standing in front of me all night long. Once the show started I had a pretty good view.
The opening act was a band from South Carolina called Thread. They were pretty good if you’re into Creed type rock. The lead singer needs some work, though. His voice was great, but his moves were stiff on stage. He kind of danced like Elaine on Seinfeld. And his attire was very un-rockstar-like. They left the stage at about 9:45.
I went back downstairs and bought myself a Fozzy “We are huge rock stars” T-shirt. Fozzy took the stage at 10:30 and opened with a blistering version of Judas Priest’s “Freewheel Burning”. They did songs from their first CD like Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry, Dio’s Stand up and Shout and Krokus’ Eat the Rich. And they did songs off the new CD like Accept’s Balls to the Wall. They also did some songs that aren’t on either CD like “Wrathchild” from Iron Maiden, “TNT” by ACDC, and Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law”. I would say there were about a good 100 people in the club. Most of them up near the stage.
Halfway through the set WWF wrestlers Matt Hardy and Lita showed up. The fans, for the most part, left them alone or treated them with respect. You go Charlotte.
Of course, there was the one really drunk guy who was thrashing about like he was having a seizure, but he was “dancing”. He ended up knocking drinks out of people’s hands. He’s lucky he didn’t get the crap beaten out of him.
During a break in the act, one of the guitarists says “jelly donuts” for no apparent reason. That became a running gag for the rest of the night. At points, even the crowd was chanting “JEL-LY DO-NUTS”.
They closed out with Motley Crue’s “Livewire” at which point a mosh pit was formed in which their pig-like mascot Arthur started moshing too. They came back for an encore and did one of their originals “To Kill a Stranger” and then closed everything with the best version of the Scorpion’s “Rock You Like a Hurricane” I’ve ever heard. During that entire song, Matt Hardy kept making gestures like the wrestler named The Hurricane. WWF fans will get that and think that’s funny.
We didn’t stick around to try to get autographs or anything because it was midnight and I had to work today. But I did buy the new CD on the way out from Arthur himself. I may have gotten some of the song orders screwed up, but I’m doing this off the top of my head. It was a kick-ass show. I felt like it was 1985 again. I was banging my head and pumping my fist all night. This is how rock shows should be. If you get the rare opportunity to go see Fozzy in your town, don’t pass up the chance. You can check out their website at FozzyRock.com.
Over the weekend, I read a commentary from Chicago Tribune columnist Julia Keller. It was kind of a wishy-washy piece about that Boston rag publishing the Daniel Pearl pictures and linking to the video on their website. I can’t link the article since the Tribune asks you to register, but I’ll post snippets from the article and then my comments.
The three-minute-or-so video of the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl was posted this week on the Web site of a popular and respected newspaper
Respected? If it was, it’s not anymore.
And then, so swiftly that it takes the viewer by surprise, comes what seems to be Pearl’s decapitation. The qualification is necessary because there is no way to independently verify the video. Pearl’s executioner, who is not seen, then brandishes the severed head for several seconds
Let that sink in for a minute.
Given the video’s grotesque content, why would the Phoenix, for which Pearl once worked, post a link to it?
I didn’t know he once worked for that rag. That makes it even a bigger slap in the face.
why would the Phoenix, for which Pearl once worked, post a link to it? The Phoenix, after all, is a responsible news organization, an alternative weekly with a circulation of approximately 118,000 that was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1994, one of only two alternative weeklies ever to receive journalism’s top honor (the other was The Village Voice).
To gain national media attention and sell a few more issues. Then again, the Pulitzer isn’t what it used to be.
In an interview, Mindich (the publisher) expressed dismay that the U.S. government had apparently taken pains to suppress the video. In fact, he added, the government should have aided widespread dissemination of the video, so that Americans could fully comprehend the murderous virulence of the anti-Semitism among Islamic extremists.
I don’t understand why our government hasn’t expressed their outrage. I don’t understand why President Bush didn’t get on the air and say, `This is completely intolerable.’”
No one has to say that this is intolerable. Most people with any amount of sanity know that this is a despicable act.
“If Daniel Pearl had his choice, he’d want it seen.”
I highly doubt that, since you didn’t try to get his widow’s permission.
Mindich said he was aware of the brave new journalism world that he has helped initiate by instructing his Webmaster to link to the video.
“It was literally an instant from decision to execution. I just thought, `Wow. I can do this immediately.’ I felt empowered.”
Like a six-year-old with a new toy. This one just happened to garner national media attention.
Mindich said. It will remain indefinitely on the Phoenix site, he added. “I don’t see any reason to take it down.”
How about respect for Daniel Pearl’s family? No? I didn’t think so.
This is nothing more than an ego trip for Mindich so he can see his own name in national print. Stephen M. Mindich, you are nothing more than a sensationalist scumbag. Spitting on the memory of Daniel Pearl. Edward R. Murrow is spinning in his grave. I hope you rot in hell.
I know I said I wasn’t going to post in the afternoon anymore, but something has pissed me off so bad I couldn’t wait until tonight.
I am so disgusted once again. According to this article from Fox News, an “alternative” (read: left-wing extremist rag) newspaper in Boston has printed pictures from the Daniel Pearl video. Including one of Pearl’s severed head. This “newspaper” has also linked to the Pearl video from their website. The publisher is using the CBS defense, stating that America needs to see this video to see how much these terrorists hate Jews and Americans. And something occurred to me while thinking about this that didn’t occur to me the time I wrote about CBS showing the video.
We don’t need to see how much they hate Americans and Jews. We all saw how much they hate us on September 11, 2001, when we saw the World Trade Center towers collapse live on TV. We got the point. There is no need to keep torturing this poor man’s family. Of course, the publisher of this rag hides behind the first amendment. But we all know the real reason for the publishing of the pictures and of the linking to the video. They want to sell more papers by appealing to the lowest common denominator. They want people talking about them. And look, here we are, talking about them. Notice I haven’t mentioned the paper or publisher by name. This is definitely a case of making the news instead of reporting it. This is right out of the National Enquirer handbook.
The publisher also says…
“The general public goes to films that are far more gory, and for no purpose other than to affect emotions.. “This is the real world, an enormously important event, the picture speaks a thousand words.”
True, but the general public realizes that these are not real people being killed in movies. We’re not talking about something that has a story, and a plot, and character interaction, and a happy ending. We’re talking about someone who was kidnapped, held hostage, and then brutally murdered. Someone who had a wife and a baby on the way. So now this rag is celebrating the baby’s birth by publishing pictures of its father’s severed head. Happy Birthday.
My question to you Mr. Publisher guy is, if someone in your family had been brutally killed, and it was videotaped, would you be showing it in your newspaper and on your website? I seriously doubt it. There’s a special place in hell for people like you.
Finally, my tax dollars are being used for something I want them to be used for. According to this article, the FBI is intently trying to get the Daniel Pearl video off the Internet. According to the article, the FBI has asked sites to voluntarily remove the video. One website that was asked to remove the video, stated on their site…
The FBI contacted our host to inform them that they were going to sue us for putting on the Pearl video on 5-18-2002. We had no other choice than deleting the video. Our host left us the choice to decide what to do and didn’t delete anything like it’s described in the wired article. This just shows once again how the “big people” decide what we can or can’t see. Don’t we have to right to decide that ourself? We live in a censored world.
So I went to this website and let me tell you what kind of crap they’re offering?
Horror scene from world war II, bodies floating in the sea
Indian extremist killings
Columbine shooting images of shooters (of course)
Rotting corpse covered with flies
Snowboarded makes a very bad landing
Body modification: having your tongue split
And they also offer links to rape sites and other gore sites.
Now according to this article from Wired, the ACLU is getting their nose all bent over this. From the article…
Barry Steinhardt, the associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he “can’t imagine what argument the government is making that they can prohibit a website from publishing” the videotape.
“It’s clearly not obscene,” Steinhardt said. “I’m sure it’s macabre and horrible, but it’s not obscene. The publication on a website of this videotape is protected under the First Amendment.
Not obscene? Excuse me??? Nothing is more obscene than watching a member of your family die. This isn’t free speech. This is an abomination of free speech. Why isn’t the ACLU trying to protect the Pearl family? As I’ve said before and I’ll say again. Videos and pictures showing the actual deaths of actual people for mere entertainment value should be put in the same class as child porn. And should also have the same penalties. You may be saying to yourself “Isn’t that a little severe?” My answer to that is if you’re not checking out these pics, then you have nothing to worry about. Otherwise, if you are one of these twisted freaks that are into these pics, well, I hope you make it on to your favorite site someday…the hard way.
What’s the word for more pissed than pissed? You know, I don’t like to post twice in one day, so I must really be pissed. And you know what? You’re damn right, I’m pissed.
Check out this article from Fox News. The lowest of the low in national media, The National Enquirer, has gotten their filthy paws on crime scene photos of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Columbine gunmen. The pictures are of the two of them lying side by side after they killed themselves. What is the point in this? Do we really need to see their corpses? Do the families of the victims need to have this dragged back into the limelight? I guess I’ll be getting more hits again from mutants looking for more death photos. The Enquirer has reached a new low even for them. There is no reason why these pictures need to be published. Except to sell issues and make money by appealing to the lowest of all audiences.
On the Enquirer website they say that the pictures show that they did not kill themselves, but Harris shot Klebold. Now, according to the Fox News article, other media outlets have the photos but refuse to print them. Now if the photos actually suggested that Harris shot Klebold I think a more legitimate media outlet (if there is such a thing) would have already reported that. The site also goes on to say…
Our issue that goes on sale Friday reveals a top legal authority’s penetrating analysis of the never-before-seen photos, tells why legal, religious and medical experts and even parents of some of the Columbine victims are applauding the publication of the photos… and more!
Please. No respectable religious, medical, or legal leaders would see any reason for the publication of these photos. And I seriously doubt any of the parents want these pictures published. I’m sure they’re more concerned about trying to get on with their lives. I’m sure they relive that day enough without having more reminders.
No one should profit from the death of others. And the Enquirer is not only profiting off the deaths of Harris and Klebold, but off the other victims as well. Like I’ve said before, the Son of Sam law prevents murderers from profiting off their crimes. There also should be a law that prohibits making money from other people’s deaths. This is not free speech. This is just abuse of the Constitution. I will not buy this issue. I will not look at these photos. And if you do? Well, you just made yourself a little bit more stupid.
A year ago, I did an entry about keeping the Dale Earnhardt autopsy photos out of the Orlando papers. Then on 2/25/02 I wrote an entry about how I hope that the Daniel Pearl video never sees the light of day and how videos like the “Faces of Death” series have no place in society. Well, some sick, twisted freak is at it again.
Now, according to this article, some jackass took pictures of the late TLC singer Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes while she laid in the morgue and then posted them on the internet. According to the article, one of the website’s employees defended their readers’ rights to view the photos. Rights??? What fucking rights. No one has the right to view someone’s death photos. The people who get off on this shit don’t deserve any rights. What about the rights of the families not to have these photos splashed across the internet?
My dad just died recently and because of cancer, his face was horribly disfigured. I know I wouldn’t want his morgue photos shown in public. Luckily, someone is bringing this travesty to the public’s attention. According to this article, Dale Earnhardt Inc. is going to have their drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Park, and Michael Waltrip will all have a black stripe under their left headlight in tonight’s race. Pit crews will also wear a stripe under their left eye in honor of Lisa Lopes.
There is no place in society for ghouls and grave robbers and death merchants who take these pictures and film these videos in our society. There is a limit to freedom of speech, and these pictures and videos should be looked on with the same disdain as child pornography. I urge anyone who is reading this to please drop an e-mail to your local congressional representative to have something done about this. I know I am.
Check out this article from CNN where Andrea Yates’ husband blames the government, the insurance companies, the judicial system, and everyone else for what his wife did. Maybe he should try looking in the mirror. After each child, she had, she suffered from postpartum depression. And after each child, he wanted another one. Even after the doctor strongly advised her not to have any more children because her depression was so bad. But he kept insisting on more children. He’s as much responsible for the deaths of his children as she is. But in today’s society, no one is to blame. It’s always someone else’s fault. If it were up to me, they’d both be strapped to the table with a needle in their arms.
So I’m reading this article about the Andrea Yates sentencing. Nothing that I haven’t read already. Until I get down towards the bottom, where I see this….
A human rights group has filed a complaint with state regulators over Yates’ psychiatric treatment, contending that she received “shoddy” mental health care before drowning her children.
Yates was in a psychotic state caused by premature release from care, use of inappropriate drugs and overmedication, according to CCHR Texas’ complaint filed with the state Board of Medical Examiners.
Shoddy mental health care? Excuse me? She was told time and time again not to have any more children. But she kept on having them, no thanks to her husband, who should also be convicted as far as I’m concerned. This is nobody’s responsibility except her and her husband. If they’d let me, I’d push the plunger myself if they sentence her to death.
UPDATE: The jury has given her life in prison. Way to puss out. You suck Texas.
We all know about Wall Street Journal Reporter Daniel Pearl being kidnapped and brutally murdered in Pakistan. And we all heard about how the killers videotaped his death. One minute he was talking like he was being interviewed, and the next someone had slashed his throat. All while being videotaped. The tape was sent to a Pakistani journalist, and it eventually found its way to the U.S. State Dept. Which leads me to believe there are multiple copies of this tape. I hope none of the copies will find their way into the wrong hands. I’m specifically speaking of people who trade these kinds of videos underground.
We’ve all either heard about or seen snuff videos, where a film is shown of actual people dying actual deaths. And there are various websites that also show MPEGs of people being brutally killed or maimed. Without delving into the subject of who gets off on this sick shit, I hope for the sake of everyone, the Daniel Pearl video never sees the light of day. He had a wife and an unborn child who will never know her father. I’d hate to think if she grew up and accidentally stumbled upon his death video somewhere.
Back in the 80s, a man who, I believe, was a Pennsylvania senator by the name of Budd Dwyer called a press conference to talk about being indicted. In the middle of the press conference that was broadcast live on local TV, he took out a pistol, stuck it in his mouth, and pulled the trigger. I happened to be home from school and watching at the time. I was horrified and never wanted to see anything like that ever again. But Budd Dwyer made himself into somewhat of a celebrity that day because since the tape was only shown once on TV it is very rare to get a copy of it, but it is out there. There are even some sites that claim to carry the surveillance video from the Columbine High.
Luckily, not all famous deaths make it to light. When Brandon Lee was accidentally killed during the filming of the movie The Crow, the film containing his death was destroyed.
My point is this. Videos involving anyone’s death just for the sake of shock viewing should be banned. I’m all for freedom of speech, but there is no intrinsic value to any of these tapes. Every one of those people whose death you may see on tape had a mother, or husband, or child that really cared for them, and they have to relive it every time one of those videos is shown. They need to be banned and banned now. There needs to be some kind of law not unlike the Son of Sam law which states convicted felons cannot profit from their illegal activities through books and movies, etc. There needs to be a law which states no one can profit through the exploitation of someone’s death on video or film or any other viewed medium.