System of a Down Not Worried About Government Pressure
Band Photo: System Of A Down (?)
Launch Radio Networks reports: With the controversy growing over George W. Bush's possibly illegal wiretapping of U.S. citizens, it is not too far-fetched to imagine politically outspoken artists such as SYSTEM OF A DOWN being seen as enemies of the state. But SYSTEM vocalist Serj Tankian says he's not particularly worried about the government trying to silence his band. "People always ask us this question — are you pressured in any way, or are you threatened in any way by an intelligence agency or certain organizations?" he said. "And I would say, well, if someone wanted to kill us, they could, you know. I mean, it's not that hard. I think the pressure that I see that we receive is based on commercial ways of doing things, the channels and the way that the machine goes. Those are the pressures that you get."
Tankian and AUDIOSLAVE guitarist Tom Morello kick off a new season of their monthly radio program, Axis Of Justice, tonight (Friday, January 13) with an appearance by famed political writer and activist Noam Chomsky. Information on where to hear Axis Of Justice can be found at axisofjustice.org. A recording of the show will also be archived at the site.
The radio program is an offshoot of Axis Of Justice, a non-profit organization formed by Morello and Tankian to bring together musicians, fans, and grassroots political groups to fight for social justice, peace and human rights.
SYSTEM OF A DOWN has yet to announce 2006 tour plans in support of last year's two album releases, "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize".
Source: Blabbermouth
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86 Comments on "SOAD Not Worried About Government Pressure"
6. writes:
Eh, I'm a parrot and can mimic whatever my friends say but not really know what it means and have no basis for my statements cause I could really care less about Iraqis anyway, end of story.
And soad would suck even if they didn't sing about bleeding heart liberal politics.
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9. writes:
11. writes:
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18. writes:
I personally don't like either of these bands, but I think that what they are doing is great! They are trying to make people like you think instead of just not caring. We are the ones that can make a difference. But when you just don't care they will keep F**ckin' you! It will only get worse before it gets better. Pantera Rules!!!!!!!
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27. writes:
If Bush has done anything it's polarize the moderates......there is no such thing anymore as a conservative democrat or a liberal republican.....They cease to be!!!
People either became "Cheese eating surrender monkies" OR "Uneducated, bible beating, rednecks".....In everyones eyes you ARE one or the other.
I myself was content with some of Bush "Seniors" and Reagans accomplishments (erradicating our cold war enemies was impressive even if most of Reagans social values were Disney-esque circa 1940....and I thought the first Iraq war went rather well, we destroyed Iraq's military might without taking many casualties, and our world image remained as the "the worlds police" rather "marauding invaders".
Bush has done nothing but mock trample and destroy everything his 3 predecessors made into a stable and functional country.
Today we live in a world where our president puts his unqualified FRIENDS into jobs they can't perform, surrounds himself with corrupt underlings, throws us into unjustifiable wars and the absolute lack of concern with New Orleans is chilling.....
Now he's bringing us back to the Nixon era and further with his use of "executive privilege" on this wire tapping nonsense. f*** Bush.
I repeat: "The man who would choose security over freedom deserves neither." Thomas Jefferson
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28. writes:
bush is a f***in douche, he cant put system of a down to an end cause he cant kill them cause that would be murder and he cant make them disband or prevent any of there albums from bein sold cause that is against one of those amendments the one bout free speech so y would he even bother
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30. writes:
I'm just amazed at the fake pity some ppl have on others. Remembermetal?, what would you have bush do about the ppl of New Orleans? I live in Texas and we got an influx of refugees in my area and they moved in, used up their government relief dollars and 2 month later most of them STILL didn't have jobs and had not bothered looking for them cause they didn't have them in NO before the hurricane. I know 2 apartment complexes right off the top of my head in my town that are running "super specials" cause they opened their doors to the "poor defenseless evacuees" and when their relief funds ran out they had to be evicted cause they are LAZY! For some (I'd go so far as to say most) of those ppl, the hurricane was the BEST thing that ever happened to them because they got to stay in apartments that were roach free and got free food and money handed to them. Being in a natural disaster absolutely DOES NOT entitle a person to one god damn thing! Here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area where I live, we had a LARGE number of reports of crime by the "mistreated" ppl of NO soon after they started coming here. I didn't hear about this from a third party, it happened where I live. So those of you kids on this board who live with mommy and daddy and pretend to care about ppl you know NOTHING about need to pack up your little cars, drive your little asses down to NO and put your f u c k ing money where you mouths are. Otherwise your a coward and a hypocrite.
Now on the subject of the war, on the one hand I will tell all you little bleeding hearts the same thing I just said. Either go to Iraq and fight against your own military or quit b****ing about the war because not a one of you gives one god damn about the Iraqis. On the other hand, I think the war had gotten out of hand and I'd like to see our boys and girl come home cause I will tell you straight up I don't give a f u c k about the Iraqis. But I have 2 buddies over there and they totally believe in what they are doing and the fact that they live that s h i t makes their words carry more weight than ANY of you ppl.
Now I address remembermetal? by name because he (she?) at LEAST gives a reason for the point of view stated. But all the rest of you have to say is f u c k bush! But most of you have nothing to back up your rants, which makes me think you are all a bunch of sheep just following the crowd, and I thought we as metal fans didn't do that s h i t.
Former Contributor
31. writes:
First off I must say that I'm happy to have a rational conversation with someone on the other side of the political spectrum, fun stuff....And just so it's clear where my politics lie, as much of a democrat as I am, I would quite happy with McCain as our next president.
First of all the refugees you speak of are a minority, as in most are fixing their life as best they can. Only a highly visable few aren't working toward some kind of new life. The reason they are news worthy at all is because their behavior is uncharacteristic and it gets better ratings than good news.
Secondly, I find it hard to blame people who were down and out to begin with economically speaking, for having trouble finding a job. The education system in the south (including my neck of the woods, Louisville, is deplorable) How can you get a job if you can't afford an education? let alone food....Plus our economy and job market haven't been so hot since 1999.
Thirdly, If I lost my girlfriend, apartment, job, family, friends and worldly possessions to an act of nature I'd be hitting the bottle and crying for a few months on end too. Thats an entire life history turned into salty sewage water, drift wood and bloated corpses.
I'm a far cry from raging bleeding heart liberal but I knew this war was going to have negative ramifications weeks before it became a reality in 2003. Once the fleets were mobile I knew Bush wouldn't bring the troops home, so I cheered on the troops(still do) and hoped for a Desert Storm 2....We did not get that......
As it turns out our leaders had alot of information saying that no WMD's or Al Queda linked terrorists were there. The administration based the whole war on a single piece of intel that fit what they wanted to hear and they launched the Tomahawks.
Now 1/5 of the world is screaming "Jihad!" at us, 2/3 of the world hate or fear us and our own country is more divided than it's been since Vietnam.
32. writes:
But I have a question. What could Bush do about New Orleans? It's not like he could make it all go away. Everyone blames Bush for it, but the truth is that it was more of the mayor's fault than Bush's. It's his job to maintain the maintence of the city, not the president's. They had no back up communications; all of the telephone and communication lines were at ground level, so when the city flooded, no one could communicate. Additionally, all the water pumps were at ground level too, which makes no sense because in the case of a flood, then the water pumps are flooded also.
The mayor should have taken much better precautions to prepare the city for a hurricane than he did. It was only obvious that New Orleans would be struck by a hurricane some time soon.
In any case, I heard on the news that after the hurricane struck New Orleans it took the governor of the state a week to get down to New Orleans to investigate the problem. Bush was down there the next day. How come everyone blames Bush for something that he could do little about? I have never heard the governor or Louisianna and the mayor of New Orleans blamed once for all this garbage, (even though this problem was not soley one person's responsibility) yet I have heard Bush blamed 10000000000 times. And the only reason ever given was that all the troops were in Iraq so they couldn't help with evacuations. That was it.
Bush was not much at fault for the disaster in New Orleans, but he is still a pretty crappy president. I agree with RememberMetal?. I think that McCain would have made a much better president, too bad all the hardcore polarized republicans made Bush the presidential nominee, because McCain was too bad a$$ for them to handle. The nomination of Bush actually hurt the Republican party because McCain would have been more moderate and reached out to the Democrats, and he'd have made the GOP look good, as opposed to the sh** it appears to be now. As a result we'll probably have some dumb broad like Hillary Clinton for president in 2008.
Former Contributor
34. writes:
I fear even Hilary would be better than Bush.....
I'm not blaming Bush for the disaster itself, I'm placing blame on him for ---hiring unqualified personnel---- (AKA friends of his that lack job-experience) into FEMA who monitor potential disasters (like oncoming hurricanes) and existing ones and respond ASAP to the needs of the many, as quickly as possible.
Half of that agency has resigned, been forced into retirement or have been fired....Some are in pretty nasty legal entanglements as well.
I'm not saying Bush is to blame for all of America's woes, but his poor decision making skills and an incredible lack of foresight has shattered Americas faith in this president, and destroyed the America's once respectable world reputation.
35. writes:
It is nice to see some decent dialogue for once. I am new to the whole political spectrum of things. A few years ago I could care less about anything. WIth a newly started family things tend to start to bother a person. By reading and interacting with people like yourselves it helps the rest of us who don't know too much ,but the basics, to develop into the people that this country needs to turn it around in the future. People can b**ch and moan about things, but the fact of the matter is people are too content with their little corner of the world to give a sh!t about the rest of it. I fully support the troops in Iraq for what they are being told to do. To have the weight of another human's death on your shoulders is something that no one should have to endure. But these are the times we live in and there is always a chance of this happening if you sign up. Everyone in this country is going to have to make sacrifices if it is going to change and until everyone can realize this it isn't going to get any better. I would happily give up all I have to better the well being of the people in this country. And when we, if we, get it right then advance on the rest of the world peacefully. This country needs to focus more on education, universal health care, a new energy source and respect for each other and there opinions and beliefs. The only ones that can make a difference is US!
37. writes:
post 30 is right. none of you kids have 1 fukkin clue. you don't even know any real facts, you repeat the sh** you hear from the fa**ot loving, baby murdering, left wing idiotarian media. get out into the real world for once. and post 35, you might be the most ignorant one of all. you sound like one of those knows nothing college idiots. fukkin sheep piss me off. get your fukkin head out of your ass, moron. or, get a belly window, so you can absorb reality.
Former Contributor
39. writes:
Yeah...people who get a college education don't know anything....at all....They may as well be inbred baby lambs....They aren't motivated, they don't absorb knowledge, they don't get good jobs and they certainly can't think for themselves. People who go to college don't become doctors, lawyers or physicists.....
Them thar people is dummies, ain't they Jeb?
Have fun with your job managing illegal immigrants at your local Walmart, or cleaning horse stalls.....
! you are call people who disagree with you sheep, but the odds are that you're only following the religious and political example of your friends and or parents....Find me an attitude and behavior more sheep like than that if you can.
!, I'll bet your either a 19 year old pimply virgin or a 42 year old born-again with a fat wife, herpes scars, a dead end job and a history of thinking daddy's never been wrong about anything.
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40. writes:
Well wire tapping is'nt constitutional, but then this is a new time and new times call for desperate measure.
I mean with tarrorism and a new osama video where he claims he plans to attack again i don't feel so safe ... Ok i'm not to big on bush .... personaly i thought howard Dean was the best canadate out of kerry and bush, but b****ing about the president does nothing .... even when bush leavs the white house the government will still suck .... I don't think presidents unless unusually cqualified can change things much.
i hate bush cause he is an elitist pig.
Rap sensation kenya west said that bush hates black people .... he was only half right ... bush hates poor black people .... he makes me sick .... also how he appoints all his buddies in high positions within the government ... thats like if i became president and apointed all my stoner friends positions with in the cabinet .... i would'nt trust one of them as a manager of a super market let alone the country.
The government also takes an obcene amout of bribes the judges probably as well.
And all you f***ing bush bashers (Agony, begotten and pshyth) please when you say bush sucks or f*** bush give some reasons you hate him or you just seem like ignorant morons or an anarco punk .... i went to a punk show once and on the pack of some pricks denim jacket the idiot wrote crush the capitolists as if they were some high school foot ball team.
I hate kids like that who claim to hate corperations but then they go to hot topic every weekend and every thing they own is from a corrperation or a company .... only making the rich richer.
41. writes:
maybe it's just my logic in constant overdrive but if our government is really taking time to listen in on the phone conversations of bands like SOAD, some one should buy them a radio. these guys hold very little back on the air so if dubbaya and company are curious, they should just take a listen. the only point where i might care aout bush's polocies is if he starts WW3. that's the wonderful thing about working in a theatre, so long as society can move on, we can still help entertain and should a draft get instated... there are theatres in canada.
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42. writes:
ok, I only say "f*** Bush" to brief all my thoughts, I could say f*** Bush for not having a good reason to send troops to war, for having us fight Iraq just because they LOOK like they'd know who Osama is, when in truth Hussein would've killed Osama as much as we did, and Osama hated Hussein as much as we did. The fact that this war is not fought to preserve or give freedom, but for oil that Hussein didn't wanna sell. And yes, Hussein deserves to die, I'm glad he's out of power. But Kim Jeong Il is by far the worst dictator to ever walk earth, and Maybe I'd have supported Bush if we went to Korea first instead of Iraq. I also say f*** Bush for not responding fast enough to Katrina refugees, for being a complete and utter retard in everything he does, as well as cheating in the first election...I'll say more on this when my dad's done b****ing about me on the computer....and sh** like that
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43. writes:
*continues*
If we went to Korea first...Cuz think of it, N Korea is the one ACTUALLY MAKING/IN POSSESSION OF WMDs...Now we HAVE evidence of N Korea making Nukes, we had proof that Iraq had given the stuff to N Korea, but what was left in Iraq wasn't enough to make sh**. But we went to Iraq anyway, because of oil and whatever beef Bush Sr. had with Hussein and Bush Jr wanted to finish. Iraq was just a grudge W had with Hussein, he doesn't give a sh** about anything else...He played on the fact that we as Americans see mid-eastern people, and since Osama became enemy #1, we looked at everyone in a head wrap as the enemy...I say this as someone who believes in what is said in the Qur'an...But lets face it, when we saw Osama's picture and saw every other middle eastern person, we all assumed the same thing, so when Bush said hussein, Middle east, WMDs, and Osama in the same sentence, we figured it added up and went along with it, waved our flags as we went into Iraq thinking it was for the revenge of 9/11, when Hussein had nothing to do with it...You know who helped Osama with this? Reagan and Bush Sr. when we were still "fighting" the Russians...Then Bin Laden bit the hand that fed him CIA training, weapons, and intelligence with the '93 WTC attacks, and the more successful 9/11...Bush just doesn't wanna admit it was Reagan's/his Daddy's fault that 9/11 happened...But somehow, we still went to Iraq for all this sh** above and "Human Rights" but if you really wanna give people freedom, start with N Korea, kill lil' Kim Jeong Il then go to Iraq, I bet Bush would have more support if he went to Korea instead
I'm not one of the "sheep"...But I've observed the Bush administration in its entirety, and all I see from him is sh**...So no I not only say "f*** Bush" because it seems to be the trend, I say f*** Bush because all I've mentioned above...And trust me, WE ALL know/love people who have left us to fight for "freedom", and some have left us and won't come back sadly, but they died...So I'm not just some "bleeding heart Liberal" that talks completely out his ass...And I also have Family and Friends' Family who are coming out of Katrina, and they aren't all being lazy good-for-nothings...My family found work here in DC area, and my friends' families have work and live here on their own...And yes there are a few who are taking advantage of the handouts the government has given out, like welfare...But FEMA and Bush f***ed up...Its not his fault the Hurricane came, but its his fault for not responding fast enough...So again I say f*** Bush...I say it short and sweetly not because its cool to do, but because it's my honest view on him....So please don't assume so quickly
44. writes:
(43/43) by Azazel_Begotten
"I also say f*** Bush for . . .cheating in the first election..."
Cheating? How the f*** did he cheat? Because he won Florida by 537 votes? Cheating my ass. He rightfully won that state; Gore was just too p***y too admit it. Gore just b****ed around for vote counts in Democratic areas so he could win the state. He managed to bring it down from 2000, but If Bush had counted republican areas, it would have stayed around 2000 votes.
Member
48. writes:
I love SOAD, and I hate Bush, even though I live in Canada. Bush is a retard, Duh, I think
I'm gonna bomb a poor country and make it worse just cause they have some oil that I want. And another thing, Bush could've found Osama by now, he just wants an excuse to keep his troops in Afganastan. I'm surprised no one's put a bullet through that guy's head yet. System Rulez!
Member
52. writes:
Why would SOAD have to worry about government pressure, there have been alot of shows and music that have put Bush down over the years. The creators of South Park made a show in 2001 called "That's My Bush" and it got cancelled after 8 episodes. I'm just sayin' that Bush has more to worry about than some music against him; he has Osama who's still out there, North Korea saying they can bomb Seattle (and I believe them) and a sh** load of other stuff. Calm down Bush, it's just a some songs.
56. writes:
give me a break...everytime a metal band gets a lil bit above ground ..the ones who were there first when they where underground....start B****ing about how they suck now...system are just trying to grow a lil bit..as musicians..and as a musician i understand...its not there fault they are "selling out"..its the worlds fault for realizing they kick ass....bummer...
57. writes:
I hate George W. Bush, he is is fudge packing, c***sucking, di-ck licking, cheating, lying, back stabbing, muther fu ckin, A$SHOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW the latest albums from SOAD are not par with toxcity or self titled, even both of the latest together are not even up to the hight of them. sorry?
58. writes:
rekoms top, well said. A band shouldn't sound the same on every album, that would be boring, and SOAD have been changing on each album alot. On the other hand, Simple Plan aka WORST BAND EVER haven't changed their whiney b****y sound since they came out, and they haven't even changed their look either, they're still the same fags they always were. But personally, for System's next album they should go back to their old sound. And alot of people hate SOAD for Mezmerize/Hypnotize, but I don't freak out if a band changes.
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63. writes:
Anyone watching the Grammy's on Wed. Feb. 8? My two favourite bands are nominated, System Of A Down and Mudvayne. I know System is gonna take the grammy for best hard
rock....but Mudvayne are against Slipknot and Rammstein, their pretty popular. Oh well, those are the only awards I'm gonna watch. Also might watch the red carpet arrival, cause Mudvayne never show up looking normal, can't wait to see what they wear.
Writer, Reviewer
65. writes:
well they should'nt be worried, our president is the worst ever he could of stopped 9/11 if it was al gore our country would be much much diferrent. trust me on this one the voting was rigged gore won far and square and george tampered with it.
f*** GEORGE W. BUSH
f*** MALL CORE
f*** THE VOTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Member
66. writes:
I don't even live in the U.S. and I still think Bush is an idiot. A huge chunk of the middle east hate the U.S. because of him, he's making you guys look bad. And now Stephen Harper (also an idiot) is now Prime Minister of Canada (where I live) and he's friends with
Bush. So now all of North America is going to hell, thanks too Bush.
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71. writes:
I hate to burst your bubble but only 2 million more people voted for Bush vs Kerry....It's not that most of us liked Kerry so much as hated Bush and his silverspoon-fed, christian fanatic a$$ kissing, war-having, eavesdropping elitists.....A tremendous chunk of Americas moderate and liberal population is very much like Canada and various countries in Europe....
Alot of Americans are paranoid, Christian to the point of being blind, under-educated, indifferent or swayed by their friends and families views....Or just sincerely conservative....Thats why the election went as it did.
Former Contributor
Member
74. writes:
How did you come up with that one sevenchurches, did your dad help you out with that.
bradisp***ed, why does a country even need a massive army. You see Canada, we have a very small army, but we're not getting bombed by terrorists. If every country was more like Canada than people wouldn't need to say they wanted world peace because they'd already have it. You're the ones getting threatened by Kim Jong Il and Osama, none of it is directed at us, and Bush and your whole government has no one but them selves to blame for all of that.
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77. writes:
hey b rad
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Member
78. writes:
Oooooh. wow.............you can make a hand. Go show someone who cares. Or, here's a better idea, go shove that finger up your ass. You just randomly started insulting me with stupid stuff like B-fag, and you like dudes. Have a reason for choosing your enemies, don't just pick fights with random people. You wouldn't last too long in my high school.
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Member
81. writes:
bradisp***ed have you ever been to Canada? It's alot different than you think. We're just like America except we don't have the risk of being bombed everyday. If you ever went to the corner of Jane and Finch in Toronto, you wouldn't last 10 minutes there, some 8 year old kid got shot while in his apartment, sleeping. Our country has gotten very bad when it comes to violence, because your american guns are being smuggled across the border.
Now bradisp***ed, once again, leave me the f*** alone you prick. Just go get some tampons, they'll make you feel way better and you won't be such a d*** head all the time.
Supporter
Member
83. writes:
I don't really care where you grew up. And by the most boring sh** you've ever experience you mean no hillbillies walking around and no streets full of "gangstas" and wiggers, right? And your country having the murder capital of the world in it is not something to be proud of. And I'm sure there's another city in the world with more murders. India has had more murders than any other country. And learn how to spell capital right.
Supporter
Member
85. writes:
Oh my god, now you're using gangster slang like aint and da. Okay, I don't even know why we started arguing in the first place. Lets just stop and in the future if you or me post something the other person doesn't like, we'll just say I disagree or i agree. Our arguements are going no where and now we've sunk so low we're making fun of eachothers home countries. Before you started insulting me, I didn't hate you all, but now it has to end, okay?
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1. spanky g-fresh writes:
wire-tapping isnt illegal, besides I dont think the government would tap a sh**y bands line anyway