BMTH live in Jakarta 2024

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This time around Ravel gets it right and BMTH (Bring Me The Horizon) are headlining the Nexfest festival in Jakarta which also features Babymetal. In this format there is no seating - which makes for a much more intimate experience - although you do have to arrive really early if you want to pick a spot right up close to the stage.  We arrived about six hours before BMTH were scheduled to start their performance and bought plenty of drinks to stay hydrated in the tropical afternoon heat (mind you, some of those were Iceland vodka mix!) This was a gig I had long been looking forward to - especially after the debacle last year. Not everyone likes BMTH of course. For deathcore fans the band sold out. For metal heads the band is not purist enough. And for the wider mainstream audience, the band is too heavy. You can't please everyone of course but there are few bands in the rock world which can match the sheer emotional velocity of BMTH. To bring metal and even aspects of metalcore t...
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George Bush: hypocritical on China?

Ahead of the Olympic Games, Bush is saying that China should allow its citizens to freely express their opinions and worship as they choose.

Now that’s all very well.

But does Bush practice what he preaches? Or is he simply a hypocrite?

Well, if you look at the facts, they may show that Bush believes that people have the right to worship as they wish. Yet, at the same time, he doesn’t believe that people have the right NOT to worship without forfeiting their rights to be American citizens.

His now legendary comments were made in an exchange with Robert I. Sherman of American Atheist on August 27 1987, and should be read by anyone believing Bush has the moral authority to lecture China on what constitutes freedom of worship and freedom of expression. Here is the short conversation:

RS: "What will you do to win the votes of Americans who are atheists?"

GB: "I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in God is important to me."

RS: "Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?"

GB: "No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."

RS: "Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of state and church?"

GB: "Yes, I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high on atheists."

Bush the hypocrite. Well, what do you think?

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