The Los Angeles Times reports:
In a prominent nod to one of the festival's lead sponsors, the logo for this year's Lollapalooza concerts in Chicago includes the tag line, “delivered by AT&T.” But Sunday's headliner Pearl Jam complained that AT&T delivered less than the band's full performance during its Lollapalooza webcast. The powerhouse telco turned off the audio during the song “Daughter” while singer Eddie Vedder was railing against President George Bush. That bit of censorship -- which AT&T says was a mistake -- gave a bit of fuel to the forces arguing for “Net neutrality” regulations.
The Pearl Jam live feed from Lallapalooza follows the censored AT&T webcast
The censored edited words that Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder was singing to the tune of Pink Floyd's “Another Brick in the Wall”:
George Bush, leave this world alone
George Bush, leave this world alone
George Bush find yourself another home
AT&T's excuse was that it was trying to block “excessive profanity” which makes sense only if “George Bush” is profane. Okay, it makes sense, but something tells me that was not what the corporate hacks had in mind. Of course, while AT&T now admits a mistake was made, the company also says that it was made by monitors hired by another vendor. Maybe a bit too convenient for the band which released the following statement on their website:
“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.”
And the folks over at Save The Internet believe this is what is at stake with Net Neutrality:
AT&T routinely rails against Net Neutrality as a “solution without a problem.” They say Net Neutrality regulations aren’t necessary because they wouldn’t dare interfere with online content. At the same time they tout plans to become gatekeepers to the Web with public relations bromides about “shaping” Web traffic to better serve the needs of an evolving Internet.
Such spin needs to be held up to the light of experience. AT&T’s history of breaking trust with their customers includes handing over private phone records to the government, promising to deliver services to underserved communities and then skipping town, pledging never to interfere with the free flow of information online while hatching plans with the likes of Cisco, Viacom, RIAA and MPA to build and deploy technology that will spy on user traffic.
The moral of this story is never trust AT&T at their word. The company acts in bad faith toward the public interest and will do whatever it can get away with to pad it’s bottom line — including sacrificing the freedoms its users have to choose where they go, what they watch and whom they listen to online.
Hopefully this serves as a wake-up call to the American people of the vast propaganda campaigns being waged against us by our government, corporations and especially the corporate owned media. In other words, it was no accident that Vedder chose to sing his anti-Bush lyrics to the tune of “Another Brick In The Wall”:
We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
“The Wall (Deluxe Packaging Digitally Remastered)” (Pink Floyd)
“Live at the Gorge 05/06” (Pearl Jam)
And this little “mistake” was the last straw for me regarding AT&T. I will begin the process of transferring my cell phone number to another carrier today. Any suggestions? And for those who think boycotting a corporation is ineffective it is worth noting that my decision will cost the company at least $700 over the next 12 months and perhaps more than $10,000 over the next decade. It doesn't take long for a few fed up people to make a difference. Just don't forget to let AT&T know why you are taking your business elsewhere.
