Tuesday, December 20, 2016

The Christmas Bombings of Vietnam 1972

I was 17 years old in 1972 and I was pissed off.  It was getting near Christmas and every day that I turned the news on the radio I would hear about another flurry of bombing raids on northern Vietnamese cities by hundreds of US bombers.  Hospitals were being bombed.  Civilian neighborhoods were being destroyed and Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger and the rest of the war pigs were getting ready for their particular holidays.  I recall going to a protest in downtown Frankfurt against the bombings.  Particularly galling was the targeting of the hospitals.  Indeed, Bach Mai hospital was attacked more than once, killing more than 25 doctors and an unknown number of patients.  Here is a recollection from Vietnam Veteran Against the War Barry Romo, who was in Hanoi during the bombings.
http://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=2204

Friday, December 16, 2016

Elvis Costello on SNL in 1977


Elvis Costello played Saturday Night Live in place of the Sex Pistols, who were having trouble getting visas.  He was allowed to play on the condition he not play the song "Radio, Radio," which criticizes the industry.  So, he played "Radio Radio."