Aftermath News

‘Everything to live for’: school student Hannah Bond hanged herself not long after showing her father the cuts on her wrists as part of her ‘emo initiation’

Daily Mail | May 7, 2008

by ANDREW LEVY

A girl of 13 killed herself after becoming obsessed with a fashion which links death with glamour, an inquest heard.

Emo fans wear dark clothes, practise self-harm and listen to “suicide cult” rock bands.

Two weeks before her death, she started following U.S. band My Chemical Romance.

One of their songs contains the lyrics: “Although you’re dead and gone, believe me your memory will go on.”

Hannah, described as a model pupil, had started cutting her wrists but told her father it was part of an initiation into the Emo fashion.

Coroner Roger Sykes said yesterday that Hannah’s death was “not glamorous, just simply a tragic loss of a young life”.

Hannah’s mother Heather told the inquest she had researched the trend since her daughter’s death.

“There are websites that show pink teddies hanging themselves,” she said.

“She called Emo a fashion and I thought it was normal.”

She added: “Hannah was a normal girl. She had loads of friends. She could be a bit moody but I thought it was just because she was a teenager.”

Hannah’s father Ray, a karate teacher, said: “Two weeks before, I saw the cuts. I asked her about them and she said it was an Emo initiation.

“She promised me she would never do it again.”

Hannah gave her name as Living Disaster on her page on social networking website Bebo.

The page is decorated with a picture of an Emo girl with bloody wrists after slashing herself.

Another picture shows a child’s exercise book scrawled with the words: “Dear Diary, today I give up. . .”

The inquest in Maidstone, Kent, heard Hannah had been with her boyfriend at a friend’s house on the evening of September 22 last year.

She had been angry when she was told she was not allowed to sleep over and when she got home in East Peckham she went straight to her room, saying: “I want to kill myself.”

The inquest was told Hannah had not used drugs or alcohol before her death but Vanessa Everett, her head teacher at Mascalls School, said self-harm had become commonplace among other Emo fans.

Recording a verdict of suicide, Mr Sykes said: “The Emo overtones concerning death and associating it with glamour I find very disturbing.”

•The Emo phenomenon began in the U.S. in the 1980s. It is a largely teenage trend and is characterised by depression, self-injury and suicide.

Followers wear tight jeans with studded belts and wristbands. Their hair is dyed black and worn in long fringes to obscure their faces.

Emo - from the word emotional - is a reference to the angst-filled lyrics and melancholy themes of the rock music central to the culture.

One of the foremost of these “suicide cult” bands is My Chemical Romance, from New Jersey.

Their first single, Welcome to the Black Parade, from the album The Black Parade, was released in 2006 and became a huge hit, going to number one in Britain.

The concept album follows the story of a character called The Patient, who dies of cancer.

The Black Parade is a nickname for the place where Emo fans believe they will go when they die.

CNET | Apr 4, 2008

by Greg Sandoval

The Web enables anyone to communicate with the masses, even serial killers.

Charles Manson, convicted murderer and leader of the infamous Manson Family, has released the digital album One Mind over the Web.

Manson, who ordered the deaths of actress Sharon Tate and seven others including Tate’s unborn son, has issued the album under the Creative Commons license, which means anyone can listen or copy it as long as they don’t use it for commercial purposes.

Charles Manson Sings

It’s doubtful that anyone would want to buy Manson’s music. Indeed, one of the reasons that Manson sent his minions to Tate’s house to kill everybody in it was that he thought it was occupied by a record producer who had rejected his music.

Shortnews | Jan 3, 2008

The Recording Industry Association of America has said that an Arizona resident whose computer contains almost 2,000 songs ripped from CDs he bought legally is in violation of copyright law for creating the collection.

Jeffery Howell is accused of sharing the songs, but industry officials said he should not have made the copies from his CD collection onto his computer. The RIAA recently won a $220,000 judgment from a woman who downloaded 24 songs.

Lawyer Ray Beckerman said, “Recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation.” Beckerman, who has experience in such cases, has attacked the RIAA’s position.

Maddonna seen wearing her “Kabbalah Bracelet”.
Diamond Vues | Sep 19, 2007

by Judah Gutwein

Nowadays, you almost cannot be considered a true Hollywood celebrity if you are not chic enough to run around with a simple red string tied around your wrist.

These red strings have become so coveted, they are begining to usurp the more “traditional” diamond jewelry worn on the wrists of many celebrities.

These red strings are called “Kabbalah Strings” and are designed to ward off the “evil eye”.

In reality, today’s “red strings,” are nothing nothing more than crass commercialism and a complete perversion of this old Jewish custom related specifically to red string which was wrapped around the tomb of the Jewish matriarch, Rachel.

Here is one typical, albeit modernistic explanation to the “Red String” phenomena:

“Long ago, the ancient Kabbalah scholars revealed a powerful technology of protection. Its purpose is twofold: to protect us from the envious looks of others, and to help us eliminate feelings of jealousy and resentment in ourselves. The technology is the red string; a strand of Red wool worn around the left wrist.

The teachings of Kabbalah do not include prohibitions or commandments. Instead, the kabbalah speak of positive and negative energies. The negative energies of jealousy and envy emanate through the eyes—which gave rise to the very vivid and very ancient term, the Evil Eye.

. . .

Related

Madonna Toasts Jewish New Year with Israeli President
Local media in Israel reported Sunday that Madonna toasted the Jewish New Year with Israeli President Shimon Peres and declared herself an “ambassador for Judaism.” The singer, raised a Roman Catholic, arrived September 12 in Israel to attend a conference on Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. The 49-year-old performer met Peres on September 15 at his official Jerusalem residence. The two exchanged gifts, with Madonna receiving a lavishly bound copy of the Jewish Bible. She gave Peres a volume of “The Book of Splendor,” the guiding text of Kabbalah. Madonna, who has taken the Hebrew name Esther, had been seen wearing a red thread on her wrist in a Jewish tradition to ward off the evil eye. Jewish tradition holds that Kabbalah is so powerful and complex that only bona fide students over age 40 may begin to approach it.

Madonna, showing off the Illuminati Pyramid on her back

Anna Nicole, Britney & MInd Control
Freeman joins Kory Kortis on Esoteric Science Roundtable for a discussion of current events involving Anna Nicole, Britney Spears, Madonna, … all » Walt Disney and much more. Could our top pop stars be mind controlled slaves for the Illuminati.

Anna Nicole, Britney, and Mind Control
Madonna is in reality a mind-controlled slave who has appeared in numerous underground porn and ritual porn movies; including Madonna performing an actual blood sacrifice. During an Arsenio Hall show, Madonna, who as a guest acted dissociative, was picked up by the cameras during the show kissing her Baphomet ring. In the ritual performed at the MTV Awards, Madonna dressed in a Worshipful Master’s top hat, raised the two Mouseketeers, Britney and Christina, to their new level within the order with a lesbian wedding sealed with a kiss.

Madonna Another Slave of The Martinist Illuminati

Hollywood Illuminati

“Confessions” tour mock crucifixion.  As Madonna sings the song, “Live to Tell” she is suspended from a large mirrored cross, complete with a crown of thorns, as images of the impoverished flash on giant video screens. The imagery is unquestionably interpreted as being Jesus. In fact, Rolling Stone magazine’s review of the opening proclaims in the headline: “In her first trek in two years, material girl plays Jesus, pole dancer, jockey and dominatrix.”  (from The Watchman Fellowship “Madonna, It’s Not Your Cross to Bear”)

365 Gay.com | Sep 14,  2007

Some Israeli gays are criticizing Madonna for taking part in a conference in Tel Aviv put on by Kabbalah when Israeli leaders of the mystic Jewish sect  have been vocal in their opposition to homosexuality.

Mainstream Judaism has been critical of the Kabbalah movement but Orthodox rabbis embraced Kabbalah leaders when they joined in voicing outrage over Worldpride in Israel and gay pride marches in Jerusalem.

Last year Rabbi David Basri, head of the Kabbalah’s Magen David Yeshiva in Jerusalem blamed gays for an outbreak of bird flu.

Basri said the outbreak was God’s punishment for the promotion of same-sex marriage.

“The Bible says that God punishes depravity first through plagues against animals and then in people,” Basri said in a religious edict.

In 2004 he lashed out at gays on the eve of pride celebrations in Jerusalem.

“This is not a disease or a deviation, but a straight-out abomination. Even animals don’t behave this way… There is no place in the Holy City for such a phenomenon,” he said.

Several hundred Kabbalah followers from around the world took part Thursday in Jewish New Year observances in a Tel Aviv hotel. In addition to Madonna other celebrities included Moore and her husband, Ashton Kutcher.

Madonna was raised a Roman Catholic but has become a follower of Jewish mysticism in recent years. She  has adopted the Hebrew name Esther and wears a red thread on her wrist to ward off the evil eye.

Pearl Jam Daughter (Lollapalooza 2007) See For Yourself…

You Decide

What happened to us this weekend was a wake up call, and it’s about something much bigger than the censorship of a rock band.

PearlJam.com | Aug 8, 2007

After concluding our Sunday night show at Lollapalooza, fans informed us that portions of that performance were missing and may have been censored by AT&T during the “Blue Room” Live Lollapalooza Webcast.

When asked about the missing performance, AT&T informed Lollapalooza that portions of the show were in fact missing from the webcast, and that their content monitor had made a mistake in cutting them.

During the performance of “Daughter” the following lyrics were sung to the tune of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” but were cut from the webcast:

- “George Bush, leave this world alone.” (the second time it was sung); and

- “George Bush find yourself another home.”

This, of course, troubles us as artists but also as citizens concerned with the issue of censorship and the increasingly consolidated control of the media.

AT&T’s actions strike at the heart of the public’s concerns over the power that corporations have when it comes to determining what the public sees and hears through communications media.

Aspects of censorship, consolidation, and preferential treatment of the internet are now being debated under the umbrella of “NetNeutrality.” Check out The Future of Music or Save the Internet for more information on this issue.

Most telecommunications companies oppose “net neutrality” and argue that the public can trust them not to censor..

Even the ex-head of AT&T, CEO Edward Whitacre, whose company sponsored our troubled webcast, stated just last March that fears his company and other big network providers would block traffic on their networks are overblown..

“Any provider that blocks access to content is inviting customers to find another provider.” (Marguerite Reardon, Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: March 21, 2006, 2:23 PM PST).

But what if there is only one provider from which to choose?

If a company that is controlling a webcast is cutting out bits of our performance -not based on laws, but on their own preferences and interpretations - fans have little choice but to watch the censored version.

What happened to us this weekend was a wake up call, and it’s about something much bigger than the censorship of a rock band.

The complete version of “Daughter” from the Lollapalooza performance is posted below for any of you who missed it. We apologize to our fans who were watching the webcast and got shortchanged. In the future, we will work even harder to ensure that our live broadcasts or webcasts are free from arbitrary edits.

If you have examples of AT&T censoring artist performances around political content, it’s a good thing for everyone to know about. Feel free to post examples on the official Pearl Jam Message Pit.

Related

Is the NSA spying on U.S. Internet traffic?
Salon exclusive: Two former AT&T employees say the telecom giant has maintained a secret, highly secure room in St. Louis since 2002. Intelligence experts say it bears the earmarks of a National Security Agency operation.

AT&T sued over NSA spy program
AT&T has been named a defendant in a class action lawsuit that claims the telecommunications company illegally cooperated with the National Security Agency’s secret eavesdropping program.

How Ma Bell Fought for Your Privacy - 80 Years Ago
Once upon a time, nearly eighty years ago, AT&T fought at the Supreme Court to stop the government’s warrantless surveillance of Americans’ private communications. How times have changed. AT&T has desperately tried to avoid accountability and has sided with the government’s claims that no one should be able to sue to stop the dragnet surveillance of millions of ordinary Americans.

Reuters | Jun 25, 2007

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Web radio broadcasters across the United States were preparing for a ‘Day of Silence’ on June 26 to protest the U.S. government’s plans to boost royalty payments to artists and record companies by more than 300 percent, when their music is played online.

“These proposals will bankrupt the industry,” Jake Ward, a spokesman for the lobbying group SaveNetRadio Coalition, said on Monday. “They’re killing the Golden Goose.”

The ‘Day of Silence’ is being organized by SaveNetRadio Coalition, whose 14,000 members include: Yahoo Inc., Viacom Inc, and RealNetworks Inc.

SaveNetRadio said the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board’s March decision to boost royalty rates will kill the fledgling industry, if goes into effect on July 15. It is hoping the ‘Day of Silence’ will help raise public awareness of the issue.

The organization said the proposal also requires additional administrative fees which the organization estimated could cost Webcasters around $1 billion.

Police have detained 10 Russian Orthodox activists, who distributed leaflets urging people to boycott Madonna’s concert in Moscow. The activists staged the protest in the center of the city near Red Square, Echo Moskvy radio reports. The activists, dressed in yellow sport shirts with the inscription “Madonna Go Home!”, claimed that the pop diva’s concert offends the feelings of believers. They plan to distribute 10, 000 leaflets calling people not to visit her concert.

Source

Madonna to Dine with President Putin in Moscow 
Madonna has made an appointment to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin when she arrives in Moscow her September concert, reports say. A source close to the singer, who is scheduled to perform in Moscow on September 11 as part of her Confessions world tour, revealed that she had been eager to meet the Russian president for quite some time, and while he wasn’t too sure about it, having daughters who are huge fans of the queen of pop certainly seems to have lent a helping hand.

Source

Syd Barrett, one of the original members of legendary rock group Pink Floyd, has died at the age of 60 from complications arising from diabetes. The guitarist was the band’s first creative force and an influential songwriter, penning their early hits. He joined Pink Floyd in 1965 but left three years later after one album. He went on to live as a recluse, with his mental deterioration blamed on drugs. “He died very peacefully a couple of days ago,” the band’s spokeswoman said.

Source

Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett (2nd right) with other members of the band, from left, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright.
Photo: AP

Floyd ‘true to Barrett’s legacy’ 
When Pink Floyd released their career retrospective Echoes in 2001, almost one fifth of the songs were written by Syd Barrett despite him having left the band more than three decades earlier. He was the band’s co-founder and initially its undisputed leader and principal songwriter - he even came up with the name, reportedly inspired by US bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. But he departed the group while battling mental illness after just one album, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, which he had largely written.
Source

Shine on you crazy diamond
Syd Barrett, the most famous recluse in rock, is dead. It would be easy to mourn the founder of Pink Floyd as a casualty of drugs and mental illness, says Nick Kent - but his songs will inspire musicians for generations
Syd Barrett’s musical career lasted barely seven years - from 1965 to early ‘72 - and the past 32 years saw him resolutely refusing to record new music or venture near a concert stage. But Barrett, who died of cancer last Friday at the age of 60, will go down in history as one of the most uniquely inspired creative talents to have sprung up from the pop revolution that gripped Britain in the late 20th century. More specifically, he was the golden boy of the mind-melting late-60s psychedelic era, its brightest star and ultimately its most tragic victim.
Source