| August 28th, 2004 04:19 PM |
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| nankerphelge |
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - A generation ago, reggae anthems by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh preached concepts of "one love," legal marijuana and social justice.
But today's version of Jamaica's native music is more likely to advocate casual sex, opulent dress and sometimes, critics say, violence against gays.
The issue of homophobia in dancehall reggae took center stage this past week after Grammy-winning artist Beenie Man was booted from a concert associated with Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards in Miami.
MTV pulled the Jamaican from the roster after Florida gay rights groups threatened to protest because of past Beenie Man lyrics like "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays" and "Queers must be killed."
"These lyrics only incite hatred and violence toward gays and lesbians," said Brett Lock of Outrage!, a London-based gay rights group leading boycotts of Beenie Man and several other artists.
The episode has drawn mixed reaction in reggae's birthplace, where homophobia frequently surfaces and issues of sexuality are rarely discussed publicly.
Beenie Man's manager, Clyde McKenzie, said the artist was not promoting violence and suggested the protests were timed to capitalize on the recent success of dancehall - a type of reggae infused with hip-hop influences.
"This wouldn't be happening right now if it weren't for the music's popularity," he said.
But some have been less sympathetic.
"You are earning money from selling songs that preach death for your fellow Jamaicans," read an anonymous letter published in Friday's Gleaner newspaper, Jamaica's largest.
Other artists criticized for anti-gay lyrics include Buju Banton, Bounty Killer and Elephant Man. Banton's music has called for burning homosexuals.
Beenie Man, whose real name is Anthony Moses Davis, is on tour to promote an album, and he issued a statement through his record label earlier this month offering his "sincerest apologies to those who might have been offended, threatened or hurt by my songs."
In a 2002 interview with The Associated Press, he said, "I don't support homosexuality because I'm not homosexual, but I don't hate gay people. ... Jamaicans come right out and say, 'We don't deal with homosexuals.' ... That's why the music is homophobic? I don't understand."
When he played early Saturday in the Cayman Islands before more than 1,000 people, he did not perform any songs with anti-gay lyrics.
Lack of tolerance toward gays is not new in the Caribbean. Last month, more than 100 protesters in the Bahamas shouted anti-gay chants at homosexual cruise passengers as they stepped off their chartered ship.
J-FLAG, Jamaica's sole gay rights group, says it has received dozens of reports of abuse against gays this year, and it cites dancehall lyrics as a factor.
"These artists are Jamaica's role models. If you grow up hearing songs saying 'burn gay people,' of course that's going to have an effect," said a J-FLAG spokeswoman, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution.
Others note that much of Jamaican music is free of homophobia, and popular artists like Sean Paul, Burning Spear and Luciano do not use anti-gay lyrics.
"Dancehall is just one corner of the music. I wish people would focus on the positive message reggae has spread throughout the world," said Barbara Blake-Hanna, a Jamaican author who writes on culture and the Rastafarian faith.
Reggae's move away from the social activism of the 1960s and 1970s to today's more graphic, sexually suggestive songs began shortly after Marley's death from cancer in 1981.
By then, violent crime fed by poverty and a growing drug trade had spread across this small island nation, giving birth to a grittier style of reggae.
"It's now reached a point where these lyrics are not only harmful to the music business but pose grave danger to Jamaica's international reputation," said Roger Steffens, a noted reggae historian.
And what would the late king of reggae think about today's music?
"I think Bob would be righteously angry," Steffens said. "It's everything he never wanted to see."
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| August 28th, 2004 04:22 PM |
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| gypsy |
"No Steelie, No Cry" |
| August 28th, 2004 06:17 PM |
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| Soldatti |
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| August 31st, 2004 02:55 PM |
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| nankerphelge |
Dog gives birth to kitten
Date: August 30 2004
People have flocked to a small village on the outskirts of Cambodia's capital after a man claimed that his ten-year-old pet dog has defied nature and the ancient tradition of her species reviling cats and given birth to a kitten.
Owner Te Huot told Deutsche Presse-Agentur that his dog, called Knou, gave birth to a grey tabby kitten after he was visited by a forest monk who claimed that the dog had mated with a tiger.
He said it was only the second time in the dog's life that she had given birth, and that the first time, five years earlier, she had produced normal canine puppies.
However, he claimed that last Tuesday, Knou went into labour at his Chhbar Ampou village home and produced a single kitten.
The phenomenon has brought crowds thronging to Te Huot's home to burn incense and give donations towards the dog and its tiny kitten, which Te Huot says is a sign from the gods.
"This animal cries like a cat, and its face is like a cat, but its feet are bigger than a cat's and look more like a dog's feet," local media quoted Te Huot as saying.
However, one visitor on Friday was less than impressed.
"It is a kitten," the man told DPA. "I only went to see what it looked like, but when the owner told me I had to pray to the dog, I left. I don't believe him that this kitten came from his dog."
Animal husbandry experts also cast doubts on the ability of a dog to give birth to a cat, but sheer curiosity value still saw hundreds of Cambodians mobbing the bemused new canine mother in a rush to witness the alleged strange birth for themselves.
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| August 31st, 2004 03:04 PM |
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| jb |
Not even a "I don't know the answer" ..why? |
| August 31st, 2004 03:19 PM |
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| steel driving hammer |
Hey! Stand up! RUTHLESS PEOPLE!
Hey! Stand up! RUTHLESS PEOPLE! Real and evil!
They love the smell of the killing, the flesh
Gorging 'til they've had their fill of success
Dealing their mother to get into paradise
Pay Jesus special protection, and ain't it wise?!
Hey! Stand up! RUTHLESS PEOPLE!
So deceitful! I wanna tell you'
Hey! (Come on!) Stand up'Get on your feet!
RUTHLESS PEOPLE! Real and evil! What I say'
Greedy forever and ever, success
Greedy and ever so clever, a mess
Given the right on to creep into paradise
They'll even blackmail St. Peter then pay the price!
Hey! Stand up'Get on your feet!
RUTHLESS PEOPLE! Greed and evil! Oh yes!
You can have it if you want it
It might take the rest of your life
If you want it you can have it
To a balancing act on a knife
You can have it if you want it
If you think it's cheap at the price
If you want it you can have it
But sweat your sweet soul out of lives!
RUTHLESS PEOPLE!
RUTHLESS PEOPLE!
RUTHLESS PEOPLE!
RUTHLESS PEOPLE!
You better watch your back now!
Hey!
RUTHLESS PEOPLE!
Ruthless, ruthless, ruthless, RUTHLESS PEOPLE!
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| August 31st, 2004 03:30 PM |
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| jb |
Babie Steel Magnolia!!! Congrats on Bush's rise in the polls..he is unstoppable and should have a 8-10 point lead after his speech thursday night...The republicans are simply to smart to be beat...we(the dems) are pathetic wankers who think that b/c 250k morons marched in New York, the country is fed up with Bush when in reality, millions of Americans now think Kerry, a guy who volunteered and served his country, is unpatiotic, while the AWOL Bush and deferment baby Cheney, are viewd as strong leaders...only in America Babie Steel!!! P.S.-Did you make it to the "Hannitization" tour? It's available now on DVD on Fox News' website. Go Baby Steel Magnolia!!!! Do it for the crazy Bastard!! |
| August 31st, 2004 03:34 PM |
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| steel driving hammer |
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| August 31st, 2004 03:36 PM |
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| jb |
quote:
steel driving hammer wrote:
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| August 31st, 2004 03:43 PM |
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| F505 |
Bill 'shut up' O'Reilly is the greatest asshole I have seen in many years  He was just on Dutch tv. He displaces Ed Sullivan who was the greatest talkshow asshole so far. |
| August 31st, 2004 03:49 PM |
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| jb |
quote:
F505 wrote:
Bill 'shut up' O'Reilly is the greatest asshole I have seen in many years He was just on Dutch tv. He displaces Ed Sullivan who was the greatest talkshow asshole so far.
Agreed, but he along with the Fox News channel continually promote the republican agenda and discredit the so-called liberal agenda....and it is working very well!!! This race is all but over as Bush now leads in almost every poll and has gained the lead again in key states like Fl,Pennsylvania, Mich, and almost ties in Ohio,,,all this after Kerry's convention and before his big speech thursday night!!! Bush in a landslide... |
| August 31st, 2004 03:52 PM |
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| F505 |
So he is the Republican Michael Moore? |
| August 31st, 2004 04:01 PM |
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| jb |
quote:
F505 wrote:
So he is the Republican Michael Moore?
No..he is subtle and clever..supposedly 'Fair and balanced", but only a fool would not realize he along with Fox news is an extension of the republican national committee.. |
| August 31st, 2004 04:03 PM |
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| F505 |
quote:
jb wrote:
No..he is subtle and clever..supposedly 'Fair and balanced", but only a fool would not realize he along with Fox news is an extension of the republican national committee..
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| August 31st, 2004 04:07 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Recommended re-reading.
1984 - George Orwell
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Technological Society - Jacques Ellul
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| August 31st, 2004 04:22 PM |
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| Joey |
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
Recommended re-reading.
1984 - George Orwell
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Technological Society - Jacques Ellul
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