The ABC/Melissa Lawrence incident » CounterPunch
via CounterPunch
Written by BP Markus
A television news crew crossed the line from simply reporting the news to becoming predatory on the public, and their actions had terrible consequences for someone they initially hoped to interview. Providence resident Melissa Lawrence’s teenaged daughter Ny’asia was shot in the back on Sunday. This week as the girl recovered from the bullet wound, the alleged shooter turned himself in. A team from local ABC affiliate WLNE went to interview Lawrence about it. But the ugliness that unfolded on camera provides a pretty clear picture of how news reporting in the United States is devolving from a public service into a self-serving cesspool of sensationalism, and leaving carnage along the way.
In video footage of the incident that went viral (see above), WLNE reporter Abbey Niezgoda can be seen approaching Lawrence in her front yard and asking her a very original question, “how do you feel about that?” But Lawrence didn’t want to be interviewed. At one point, Lawrence threw a rock at the cameraman and missed, but the interactions leading up to that moment are edited out. The brilliantly observant Niezgoda then asks into her mic, “Are you gonna throw rocks?” The team still didn’t leave. Lawrence goes in search of a bat. A smirk can be seen spreading over Niezgoda’s face as Lawrence goes inside.
It’s hard to tell what exactly went down, because the footage is heavily edited. What’s clear is although Ms. Lawrence made it abundantly obvious she didn’t want to talk, the news team refused to go.
When Lawrence emerges with a bat, Niezgoda implores, again into the mic, “Why are you attacking us, ma’ame,” as Lawrence desperately shouts, “Get away from me!” For the record, Lawrence wasn’t attacking them with the bat. She never raised it. Instead she held it at her side. She was trying to convince them to, you guessed it, get away from her.
Apparently the rocks and bat didn’t give this crew the hint they needed, so Lawrence ordered her two pit bull terriers to go after them. I’ve seen it described in news reports they “attacked” Niezgoda. They didn’t, actually. Instinctively, two or more dogs that mean to attack will surround first, then do harm. All Lawrence’s dogs did was herd a waddling, ridiculous 24-year-old reporter away from their home. If they were out to hurt her, they would have brought her down like a limping wildebeest. I’m no Cesar Millan but I know enough about dogs to know that.
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Menace II Society – 20 Years Later
Menace II Society , the Los Angeles-based gangsta flick, was released 20 years ago today. Like other Black films of the time, I have memories of going to see it in the theater with my family in South Central. The new wave of movies written and directed by Black directors had extra meaning to us; it was our community that was being depicted on film. The parking lot that Doughboy shot his brother’s murderers at in Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood is the same parking lot I’ve spent countless hours waiting in a car for my mother and grandmother to finish shopping and taking care of business. Watching Black Hollywood reflect our lives on the silver screen was like watching artistic cinematic home videos from the inner city. There were a number of guys like Menace’s O-Dog that lived in my hood; my family kept a protective grip on our young men so we wouldn’t turn into carbon copies of him. We still grew up with these films and watched them on VHS every other weekend at home, coming up in the ’90s.
20 years later, I’m still here in Los Angeles. South Central (now referred to as South Los Angeles by the city to distance itself from the gang-culture stereotypes) is not as gritty and wild as I remember in childhood, but is still plagued by the same issues and the same broken conditions. A new generation of young men and women in my age group have come to prominence to report on the ills of the hood, as what could be heard on albums by artists like Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock. Missing from today’s generation is a film component to the inner-city’s voice, which was very visible during the ’90s. Menace is a classic because it was honest. Caine and O-Dog were never going to be like the Huxtables; they never were going to be the picture-perfect model of black excellence and sophistication- their goals were to live and survive. It was important for America to understand the psychology of abrasive people, but even more important, to understand the conditions that create abrasive people. I turned out nothing like the lead characters in Menace, but I still learned from them and I understand their perspective.
Watch the theatrical trailer for Menace II Society :
In the early stages of production, Allen and Albert Hughes (twin directors of the film), cast Tupac Shakur to play O-Dog. Issues on the set lead to Shakur being fired and later a physical altercation and lawsuit between the brothers and the acclaimed rapper. Watch Allen Hughes elaborate on the incident in a January 2013 interview on Sway’s Universe:
-Griff X
Kanye West – “New Slaves” & “Black Skinhead”
Needless to say, this is Mr. West’s moment of redemption. Watch him perform “New Slaves” and “Black Skinhead” on Saturday Night Live; they are the first promotional songs from his upcoming album Yeezus (available June 18).
March Against Monsanto
LOS ANGELES
Location: Pershing Square
We are assembling at Pershing Square between 9-11am. Then we March to Spring St and the Rally will be held there.
Event Day Agenda: MAM
10am-Assemble at Pershing Square
11am- March begins! We will be starting at the corner of 5th and S. Hill St and march North to First, then head East to Spring St. where the Street is blocked off and assemble there for the Rally.
12-1pm-Assembly on Spring St. finished Rally begins. We have 4 speakers scheduled but, this may change.
3pm-(approx)- The rally ends but, all participants are welcome to stay and spend time gathering information flyers, meeting new people and sharing their own info.
5pm-Disband and March ends.
{All times except the start of the march are tentative based on the amount of people and time it takes to march together.}
For more info visit the March Against Monsanto website.
*A Tribe Called X does not support the ‘Non-Violence’ statement published by Occupy Monsanto and March Against Monsanto. People aren’t arguing for the right to be violent; they’re concerned about organizers running to snitch to a para-military force (law enforcement) instead of defusing the situation themselves (as I’ve seen done successfully numerous times with Occupy). If any activist is truly against violence and truly an advocate for peace, he or she will not run to an agency of violence for defense. It’s common sense. I support autonomy.*
-X
Ray Manzarek of The Doors, Dead at 74
I’m very sad to report that Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist for The Doors, just passed away. Manzarek was a vocal band member after the ’60s, often giving interviews on The Doors and his time with Jim Morrison. The following message was posted to The Doors Facebook page not long ago:
Ray Manzarek, Founding Member of The Doors, Passes Away at 74
Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, passed away today at 12:31PM PT at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74. At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by his wife Dorothy Manzarek, and his brothers Rick and James Manczarek.
Manzarek is best known for his work with The Doors who formed in 1965 when Manzarek had a chance encounter on Venice Beach with poet Jim Morrison. The Doors went on to become one of the most controversial rock acts of the 1960s, selling more than 100-million albums worldwide, and receiving 19 Gold, 14 Platinum and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. alone. “L.A.Woman,” “Break On Through to the Other Side,” “The End,” “Hello, I Love You,” and “Light My Fire” were just some of the band’s iconic and ground-breaking songs. After Morrison’s death in 1971, Manzarek went on to become a best-selling author, and a Grammy-nominated recording artist in his own right. In 2002, he revitalized his touring career with Doors’ guitarist and long-time collaborator, Robby Krieger.
“I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today,” said Krieger. “I’m just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him.”
Manzarek is survived by his wife Dorothy, brothers Rick and James Manczarek, son Pablo Manzarek, Pablo’s wife Sharmin and their three children Noah, Apollo and Camille. Funeral arrangements are pending. The family asks that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, please make a memoriam donation in Ray Manzarek’s name at http://www.standup2cancer.org
Ironically, I was planning on going to a book signing in Hollywood within a couple weeks For Doors’ drummer John Densmore’s new book The Doors: Unhinged. He supposedly elaborates on the band’s break-up and how greed instigated the split. In light of Manzarek’s passing, it’s unsure whether the book signing will continue. I’ll update as soon as I find out.
As a huge Doors fan, I’m very saddened to hear about Ray’s passing. R.I.P.
Watch Ray break down some of The Doors’ hits:
The Doors – “The End” (Live at The Hollywood Bowl – 1968)
What’s going on with System of A Down?
In high school my most favorite band, tied with the Roots, was System of A Down. They were unapologetically eccentric and cleverly managed to inform and entertain in a naturally mutual manner. They directed heavy criticism towards the ills of the American government before September 11, before George W. Bush was even inaugurated. They continued to provide a critical voice after 9/11 as well. Their sophomore album Toxicity (released September 4, 2001), went on to sell at least 3 million copies in the United States alone. There hadn’t been a band in the industry that politically militant and successful since Rage Against the Machine.
Steal This Album, originally considered a collection of outtakes, became my soundtrack for unabashed rebellion as a teen. And it’s been nearly 8 years since Mezmerize/Hypnotize was released when I was in college. System members turned to solo projects and side-projects to keep them occupied over the years and have made many fans happy recently by reuniting for tour. However, something strange happened on Facebook very early in the morning today. At 2:48 am (Pacific) the bassist Shavo allegedly posted the following message to his wall:
ok….. Ill come clean.. Its not us(meaning Daron,John Or Shavo!! Its Sej, who doesn’ want to do a new album!!!! so please stop harassing us about it!!! We are just waiting for SERJ! Now He might hate me for exposing the truth but i Had too.. Sorry folks!!! we’re trying to get a new album out, its just not passing Serj’s RULES! . Kinda funny, since we started the band and now he’s holding us back!! I think we should should release another album again??? As for me.. I’m ready to release one with someone who wants to be the singer of SYSTEM. not soeome we have to beg to be a part of SYSTEM!! So with that in mind, what do you guys w should do? Just remember, Hes been holding us back for 7 years so far.. wanna wait another $-5 years? or shall we release a record without Serj? u tell us?????
In the comments section he added:
we’re tired of waiting!!!! NO disrespect to Serj System has to go on!!!!! who agrees??????????? … Daron, John and I have been waiting to release another album!!!! help us!!!
Fans responded with mixed opinions as Shavo allegedly continued to interact with them in the comments section. The exchanges can be seen here.
He continued:
I dont want to make a record without him… but if he’s not down? should the 3 of us just sit and wait?? Not cool!!!!!!!! i want the fans from all over the world including Brazil to tell us what they think.
No System? or System with with a new singer whos just as good if not better? PLUS new System songs and tours???? please give me ur opinion people!!! is SYSTEM better with no singer or someone who is excited to be our new singer?? you decide.. cause im confused!!!
The last post regarding this issue:
no diss to Serj.. If he wants to be in the band then he’s welcome but if he’s not? what do you expect us 3 to do.?? we really want anorther System Record! wish Serj was down but if hes not, then im going ahead and making a System record without him!!! im furious that he let us down like this, but we gotta do something to keep this great band alive!!! agreed????????
Some fans in the comment sections assumed that Shavo’s account had been hacked and that it wasn’t really him airing out the dirty laundry. In a May 10th post Shavo stated:
No one dare say R.I.P. system! WE WILL NEVER BREAK UP!! U hear????? Stop with anti SOAD remarks. Or ill never post again. Patience people!! None means no record or more shows. I’m sure u don’t want that. So let us mAke our own decisions please!!
SOAD drummer, John Dolmayan, playfully responded asking “system broke up? why didnt you tell me?”
Shavo’s frustration from 10 days ago match the frustration in the alleged posts made today, although it’s easy for people to imitate others on the internet. I too thought that his account was hacked until I saw this message posted to System of A Down’s official Facebook page at 12:08pm (Pacific):
Earlier today, Shavo posted a few statements on his personal Facebook page that do not reflect the sentiments of System Of A Down as a collective band. These were misleading statements that were made during a temporary state of bad judgment on his part alone. To be clear, the full band lineup of Serj, Daron, Shavo and John will be performing all scheduled tour dates. With respect to new SOAD music, although we have not agreed on a timetable for a new album, we all believe that having the four of us do it together is the way to be true to the band and our fans.
So, this leaves a lot of fans asking, ‘What the hell is going on?’ Were both accounts hacked? Is System of A Down having a very public break-up? Are they not breaking up at all? When will a new album be released?
We’ll just have to wait and see.
No matter what, I wish them the best and hope that they continue to share their music and art with fans.
-X
UPDATE: The links to Shavo’s posts have been deleted since the original time of this post. No new statements have been released by System of a Down since yesterday.
Los Angeles local DJ R-Tistic put together a 79-minute mix comprised of West Coast tracks from 1981 to 2012.
From his website:
“The Timeline” is a mix of 500 songs, all performed by West Coast based artists, put together by DJ R-Tistic. The 79 minute mix starts in 1981 with Captain Rapp, and ends in 2012 with Kendrick Lamar. It highlights some of the most important movements and songs that cover this time period. You will hear early Electro, G-Funk, Mob Music, Underground, Hyphy, Jerkin, Chicano, and several other styles that were most prominent on the West Coast.
“The Timeline” contains songs from the West’s highly respected legends, along with unsung heroes from the 80′s and early 90′s, one-hit wonders, and new rappers who are currently making their mark in the Rap game.
This mix is sure to incite memories as you come across songs that haven’t been heard in years. It will also educate many on the diversity of the West Coast Rap scene, and display how it has evolved throughout the years.
The intro was produced by DJ R-Tistic, and it features Ricky Harris, who performed on several notable skits on Snoop Doggy Dogg’s “Doggystyle,” one of the best selling Rap albums of all time.
