U2 have posted a video of Bono speaking from the hospital where last year he underwent an emergency operation on his back — “this is actually spinal tap,” as the Irish rocker points out.
Bono injured himself during rehearsals for his band’s 360 Tour and underwent surgery last May, causing U2 to postpone American dates into June and cancel their headlining appearance at Glastonbury.
Ahead of the group’s debut performance at the Somerset festival tonight, Bono is shown convalescing in bed at the University Hospital, Munich, Germany, saying how disappointed he was to miss Glasto 2010.
In the clip posted on the group’s Web site, Bono says, “This is not very rock ‘n’ roll — this is a very different kind of rehab … [They’ve] explained to me I’m not indestructible. The drugs, by the way, are very good.”
Over footage of the group rehearsing, the frontman adds: “U2 have never played Glastonbury; I was really looking forward to that. I actually can not believe this is happening. I’m really sad, disappointed, pissed off about that.”
Bono signs off by thanking Ali, most likely a reference to his wife, Ali Hewson, who may well be holding the camera.
The Daily Blog
Posts tagged video
McDonald’s Beating Video Goes Viral.
TSA Gives Pat Down to 6-Year-Old Girl in New Orleans.
A new video on YouTube is causing an uproar, as critics question why Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at the New Orleans airport gave an intense pat-down to a 6-year-old girl.
The video shows a female TSA agent explaining the security procedure to the child’s mother and then having the 6-year-old girl spread her arms and legs for the pat-down, which includes “sensitive areas,” in the words of the agent.
The child complains and the mom asks if re-scanning might be an option. The TSA agent replies, “no.” The agent does try to calm the girl, telling her she has “pretty hair,” and appears to conduct the pat-down in a gentle manner.
The incident occurred at Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans last week.
The family in the video is from Kentucky, and the mom, Selena Drexel, tells ABC’s “Good Morning America” that they were returning from a vacation when their daughter, Anna, underwent the pat-down. Anna’s father, Todd Drexel, says his daughter started to cry afterward.Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) of Louisiana, questions why the child wasn’t taken to a private area and whether the screening was even necessary.
“A 6-year-old child shouldn’t be subjected to this kind of treatment in the first place if there’s no reason to suspect her or her parents of being criminals,” she tells CBS affiliate WWL New Orleans.
TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball tells AOL Travel News the agency “has reviewed the incident and determined that this officer followed proper current screening procedures.”
However, he notes the TSA is in the midst of planning changes in line with TSA Administrator John Pistole’s call for risk-based security screening.
“As part of this effort TSA has been actively reviewing its screening policies and procedures to streamline and improve the screening experience for low-risk populations, such as younger passengers,” the agency says in a statement.
But a congressman is questioning whether the incident seen in the video did in fact violate rules that call for a “modified” pat-down for children 12 and under.
“This conduct is in clear violation of TSA’s explicit policy not to conduct thorough pat-downs on children under the age of 13,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, says in a statement.
This is not the first time the TSA has been criticized for rigorously screening children at airports and even on trains.
Stung: NPR Execs Caught in Candid Chat With Would-be Muslim Donors.
A video made surreptitiously by a conservative sting artist shows phony, would-be Muslim donors meeting with two NPR fundraisers who are caught on the tape making candid, awkward comments about the Republican Party — and also talking bluntly about the ouster of commentator Juan Williams. The sting operation, produced by conservative activist James O’Keefe, shows NPR fundraisers Ron Schiller (who has since announced his departure from NPR) and Betsy Liley at lunch with two men masquerading as wealthy Muslim donors. That the NPR people appear to tell the supposed contributors what they want to hear is not an unusual approach for fundraisers.But against the backdrop of a possible cut off of NPR funding proposed by the GOP-controlled U.S. House, Schiller can be heard saying that “very little of our funding comes from the government.” That is correct. Then, talking about the GOP, he adds: “The current Republican Party, particularly the tea party, is fanatically involved in people’s personal lives and very fundamental Christian — and I wouldn’t even call it Christian.” In answer to a leading question about the tea party movement, he adds, “Basically, they believe in white, middle America, gun toting — it’s pretty scary. They’re seriously racist.” Schiller, who said Tuesday night his resignation as NPR Foundation’s senior vice president for development would take effect immediately, went on to say that he was proud that NPR let Juan Williams go last year after Williams said on Fox News he would be concerned if he boarded a plane with fellow passengers in Muslim garb. “He lost all credibility and that breaks your ethics as a journalist.” Schiller says. NPR, in a statement, said: “The fraudulent organization represented in the video repeatedly pressed us to accept a $5 million check, with no strings attached, which we repeatedly refused to accept. We are appalled by the comments made by Ron Schiller in the video, which are contrary to what NPR stands for. Mr. Schiller announced last week he is leaving NPR for another job.” O’Keefe’s Project Veritas gained notoriety in 2009 in another covertly made video that showed individuals posing as a pimp and prostitute seeming to get advice on gaming the tax system from a representative of ACORN, a liberal community activist organization. O’Keefe went too far last year when he and three others were charged with attempting to tamper with the phone lines in Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, received three years’ probation, a $1,500 fine and 100 hours of community service.
Kanye West fans might have to pop open a new browser if they’re looking to watch his video for ‘Monster.’ The clip, which leaked to the Internet in December, has been banned by MTV after feminist groups started a petition claiming that the video perpetuates violence against women and glamorizes misogyny.
The controversial visuals, which depict deceased women next to rappers Jay-Z, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj, is yet to surface as an official version, though it’s got feminist bloggers heated. Activists Sharon Haywood and Melinda Tankard Reist spearheaded a petition demanding that Universal Music Group and MTV pull the clip, nabbing over 1,600 signautres via Change.org.
Video of police repeatedly kicking and stomping a teenage burglary suspect has passions running high in Houston, with community activists charging the city with a cover-up and the mayor fearing that release of the footage may end up jeopardizing a pending trial of officers charged in the case.
The video taken March 24 shows a number of policemen surrounding then 15-year-old Chad Holley, who is facedown on the street after being chased by patrol cars. The officers can be seen kicking, punching and stomping Holley, and some of the blows appear to have been administered after he had been handcuffed.Twelve officers were disciplined in the case, and four have been fired and are awaiting trial on official oppression charges, ABC affiliate KTRK-TV reported. The station was given a copy of the video by local activist Quanell X and aired it Wednesday night. City officials had said they wanted the video kept under wraps until the trial began.
Mayor Annise Parker, who told KTRK she was “shocked and disgusted” when she first saw the video, nevertheless complained that the person who gave it to the TV station should be prosecuted. Later, the mayor tempered her stance.
“I was angry and frustrated,” Parker told the station Thursday. “Having slept on it, I would not have been so harsh.”
But the beating continues to stir emotions in Houston’s minority community.”That tape made me angry as hell, and I’m telling you when the people in the ‘hood see it, they will be angry also, and now it’s time to come out,” said Quanell X.
He said that the indicted officers should be facing more serious charges than misdemeanor official oppression.
“I want to know how in the hell did they do what they did to that boy on that videotape and they only got charged with official oppression,” he told the station.
At a suburban Chicago Hooters, Joseph Schmidt is a security guard. But as a video shows and this lawsuit filed by customer Livier Torres claims, Schmidt seems to have operated more like a bouncer. Organizations across America that employ security guards should pay attention to this one.
On Jan. 10, 2010, customer Torres had a beef about her Hooters bill, arguing that she had been charged for food she hadn’t ordered or received. She asked to speak to the restaurant manager. Instead the security guard, who appears as a giant next to Torres, stepped up to the plate. Almost instantly, the situation get tense between the two. Soon Schmidt has his hands around the grandmother’s throat and was pulling her hair.
Surprisingly, it was Torres who wound up in jail for misdemeanor battery, currently serving out a 200-day sentence. Perhaps her record of some previous trouble with the law did her in.
Depending on how much publicity this lawsuit gets in the media and whether Hooters settles for some big number, the role of security could undergo a major re-thinking in corporate America. Their job description and training could be radically changed. It won’t help Hooters or Schmidt that this is hardly the first lawsuit regarding the behavior of a security guard. Actually, in the loss prevention industry, the lawsuits are escalating as more sophisticated customers “know their rights.”
