Wow, WTH. WTF? It's not just hyperbole, it's fiction.

The answer to Reuters question is "No."

First, that the invitation took place demonstrated that the government was getting nervous about its position.

The best that can be said about the concert would be that here was a guy generally dissing his homeland, and his homeland didn't have him in jail. "Maybe we can have a country where we can speak freely." The East German authorities, and now Reuters, totally missed that.

If dissidents were encouraged, it was by the existence of the concert itself and not anything Springsteen said or did that night (besides play generally good music). In the grand scheme, that's virtually meaningless.

For those too young to know, the wall came tumblin' down for these reasons:

- What Reagan set in motion, first by holding firm on Pershing, missile defense, and the defense buildup, and second, with his relentless oratory (evil empire, tear down this wall).

- Polish Pope John Paul's visits to Poland (those were the "concerts" that mattered; two million attended his Mass in Victory Square in Warsaw in June 1979).

- The heroism in Poland, beginning in the early 1980s,  of Lech Walesa's Solidarity, supported by Reagan and the AFL-CIO's Lane Kirkland. Poland had national strikes in 1988, and Solidarity's crushed the Communist party in June 1989 elections.

- Hungary's Communist Party agreed to free elections in February 1989. The first tear in the Iron Curtain occurred there in May 1989.

- There were major demonstrations in Prague, Czechoslovakia in March and November 1988.

All of these were influential (the first three were by far the most importnat), and I surely missed a few less important factors and contemporaneous examples.

The wall fell in November 1989.

None of this would have happened without Reagan's determination to defeat Communism. I almost wish he would have done some kind of victory lap in the 1990-1991 time frame. But then Reagan recognized what the role of an ex-Presidents should be, unlike his predecessor and his Vice President's successor.

This is ridiculous.  I have nothing against Bruce S. because everyone is entitled to their own opinion in our beloved country; even if your opinion is to HATE the exact country that gives you that right in the first place.  But Bruce S. is nothing more than a washed up musician that is struggling with an identity crisis.  His relevance to anything OTHER than "Born In The USA" is non-existent. Did he even have any other hits besides that one song???

Kinda reminds me of prepubescent girls fainting at Beatles concerts. Was this written for Reuters by a young intern with stars in her eyes and a big, heartaching crush on Bruth Springstheen?

This is another example in our feel good gotta have it now culture and the elevation of the artist to an absurd level. I admit it I am a fan of the Boss. I think Thunder Road is an example of a merge of poetry and music at its best, but come on now!!

This reminds me of an argument I had a few years ago with a philosophy major. I pointed out that when ever science had made great strides in under standing how our universe worked that philosophers had to come to terms with the new reality. My friend on the other hand was convinced that science followed philosophy. That science had to redefine reality to compliment the new philosophies.

At the turn of the 19th to the 20th century there was a revolution under way in science. The extistence of the atom, sub-atomic particles (Electron, Proton, Neutron) were more or less proven. Einstien in 1905 began a twenty year journey that would re-define the universe as we understood it. Most of the famous scientitsts whose names we all learned in school were reshaping everything.

Philosophers worked hard to understand the implications, and as usual got most of it wrong. Marx and his totally ignorant form of political philosophy is a case in point. Most of these guys tried to elevate science in thier thinking and design a scientific type of government but completely left out Human Nature. Due to thier hubiris the 20th century will be remembered as one of the bloodiest in human history.

The humanities have always looked down on the Science and Technical studies. They have always thought themselves superiour to the rest. This completely distorted relationship has led directly to the problems we are facing today. Man Made Global warming is an example. Today the Green Philosophy is driving the boat. Hacks that buy into this tripe are trying to use science to support this stupid philosophy that elevates nature over man.

Now we see the latest example where the artisit has been elevated to a point that is beyond belief. I think it is important to have the humanities. It gives a way to put all that has occured in context, but it has never been the driver, only the passenger. The founders of our great country were Scientists , Engineers, Surveyors, Farmers, and of course Attorneys to name just a few proffesions. They believed in concrete results and understood the nature of human beings and designed a goverment that would take this into consideration.

Yes an artist can inspire, but they don't get anything real done. That has to be accomplished on the ground by people willing to get thier hands dirty.

This dude was a commercial wannabe when I was in high school in the early 80's.  And I completely agree, Mr. Huston, that the music scene for the late 70's and much of the 80's was horrid.

I do recall the Born in the USA tour during my senior year in high school and the "faux-fervor" that went along with it.  What a joke.  The people I knew that went to see him were the types that, albeit good people, had no identity of their own.  They so desparately wanted to "belong" to something.  I am sure there were some kool aid drinkers that thought Brucey was "da bomb" but for the most part - naaahh.  By the way, do you remember the T-shirt from the 80's -- If Bruce is the boss, then I quit"? 

Sorry, I cannot stand the guy - IMHO, his music sucks, he is an arrogant, condescending guy that thinks he knows what is best for all of us and his music sucks.  Did I mention his music sucks? 

What was this article about again?

He was another musician who started out okay and then got full of himself. His old school stuff like Dancing in the Dark was pretty good but then he started going downhill.

As far as pop rock goes, Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benetar and Tom Petty outshine him every time.

But here's the thing about Berlin - now that Reagan is gone and new generations are coming up, there's important work to be done of deciding exactly who [on the left] can take credit for beating the USSR. So far they've tried Charlie Wilson and Bruce Springsteen.They'll keep offering up different theories until they find one that sticks and then that will be taught to our children in schools.

HIDDEN HISTORY.

We are not being told the truth about the real movers and shakers in history.

Most major events had the hidden hand of the entertainment industry behind them.

ELVIS PRESLEY (not President Kennedy) took all the major decisions and helped avert the threat of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile crisis.

THE BEATLES (not President Nixon) negotiated the peace treaty with North Vietnam to end the Vietnam War. Although it is commonly thought they disbanded in 1969, this was a ruse to provide cover for the cheeky Liverpudlian Mop Tops to conduct their secret diplomacy. Let It Be.

AL JOLSON (not FDR) had the idea for the New Deal.

The list is endless.

Vote 4 change. Vote 4 anything. See Jack & Mr Shy's first campaign ad for the ONLY viable 3rd party candidate.

To think I had it wrong all these years ... I thought it was President Reagan, The Pope, and Lech Wałęsa?

I read somewhere that the German people were going to build a memorial to Ronald W. Reagan in Berlin. The article didn't say a thing about Sprinsteen. The people of Germany especially those that were in the East at the time know who helped set them free.  

Be kind to your kids. They'll be choosing your nursing home.

Sorry, Reuters, the wall began to crumble when Hungary elected a non-communist government and opened its borders with Austria, which made the first tear in the wall. East Germany followed suit shortly after. I don't remember Bruce playing a concert in Hungary, do you?

Actually it was this terrific triumvirate that brought down the wall:
- Bruce
- Hasselhoff
- Ted Turner (as noted by Brent Baker here at NB in Sept. 2006)

Laugh if you want.  But you heard it first from me.

When the World Trade Center rises again, REUTERS will claim it was direct result of a TV commercial featuring a bunch of old men sitting around picking bluegrass and singing a lyrically updated version of "Viva Las Vegas"

I'm sorry.  I forgot conservatives can't be funny.

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There are some who attribute the rise of Islamo-facism to the vacuum left by the fall of the Soviet Union.

Way to go, Bruce.  So YOU'RE the one responsible for the rise in Jihadism?!

I knew I didn't like you.

www.benbarrack.com