Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Gun, Shot
Glad to see San Diego man arrested and charged with three felonies for June 4 accidental death of neighborhood boy, 10, who found his gun in his garage. Fortunately, girl, 9, not hurt. Man's lawyer claims gun was not loaded! I guess the kid had just visited a gun show and picked up some ammo and slipped it in, right?
Chet Flippo, R.I.P.
Plame Speaking
We've finally heard from a certain former (outed) CIA agent, a Ms. Valerie Plame Wilson, on Edward Snowden. She says we all owe him thanks but "he will be abused." Also, suggests firing Clapper. And can't believe Cheney of all people calling Snowden a traitor, given what he did to her.
"I don't think [Snowden's] a hero, I don't condone what he did. At the same time he's certainly not a traitor as he was called by Dick Cheney,' Plame told HuffPost Live host Mike Sacks. "In a way, we as U.S. citizens owe Edward Snowden a thank you for having brought this issue to the forefront and so that we can begin to have a serious and genuine conversation about these issues."
Plame also rolled her eyes at Cheney labeling Snowden a traitor given the Bush administration's involvement in leaking her identity to columnist Robert Novak.
"The irony of people like Dick Cheney or Karl Rove whining and bemoaning the fact of the leak of intelligence, given my history and certainly Dick Cheney's intimate involvement with the betrayal of my CIA identity is really something," she said.
Plame called for the resignation of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, saying that "as a former intelligence offer" she finds it "astounding" that upwards of 60-70% of the United States' intelligence budget is spent on private contractors.
"One question might be: why hasn't the Director of National Intelligence Clapper resigned?" He is ultimately responsible for the safeguarding of these secrets," she said. "How do you propose to keep secrets if you have that high a contracting force? Where is their loyalty? It's not necessarily going to be to their country, to the United States, it's going to be to the person writing their paycheck."
Plame same she has "great respect" for journalist Glenn Greenwald, who broke the Snowden story, saying "he has written eloquently for years on these issues in a very serious, sustained manner."
Bite Me
Earlier: You may have forgotten, if you ever knew, that an official 2011 Pentagon probe of the late Michael Hastings' takedown piece of Gen. McChrystal called the article into question. Then again, they interviewed only 15 witnesses--and neither the general nor Hastings! See Rolling Stone's full defense of the piece. The highlight on the Pentagon report, for me:
The inspectors did suggest that some version of a Biden slur may have occurred, although they said they were unable to establish the exact words and the speaker. “We consider credible a witness’ recollection that General McChrystal said, ‘Are you asking about Vice President Biden? Who’s that?’ and that a follow-on comment or rejoinder of some sort referring to Vice President Biden was made,” the report said. “Witness testimony led us to conclude that someone in the room made a rejoinder about Vice President Biden to General McChrystal’s comment, and that the rejoinder may have included the words ‘bite me.’ ”
Serena on Steubenville
From new Rolling Stone profile of the tennis superstar (with a huge platform), Ms. Williams, just posted:
We watch the news for a while, and the infamous Steubenville rape case flashes on the TV—two high school football players raped a 16-year-old, while other students watched and texted details of the crime. Serena just shakes her head. "Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I don't know. I'm not blaming the girl, but if you're a 16-year-old and you're drunk like that, your parents should teach you: don't take drinks from other people. She's 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn't remember? It could have been much worse. She's lucky. Obviously I don't know, maybe she wasn't a virgin, but she shouldn't have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that's different."WEDNESDAY UPDATE Apology from Williams today and is reaching out to family but note the qualifiers--"supposedly said," "what was written." Right.
“What happened in Steubenville was a real shock for me. I was deeply saddened. For someone to be raped, and at only sixteen, is such a horrible tragedy! For both families involved – that of the rape victim and of the accused. I am currently reaching out to the girl’s family to let her know that I am deeply sorry for what was written in the Rolling Stone article. What was written – what I supposedly said – is insensitive and hurtful, and I by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame.
I have fought all of my career for women’s equality, women’s equal rights, respect in their fields – anything I could do to support women I have done. My prayers and support always goes out to the rape victim. In this case, most especially, to an innocent sixteen year old child.”
Celebs for Bradley Manning
New five-minute, well-done PSA in "I Am Bradley Manning" campaign featuring Oliver Stone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dan Ellsberg, Roger Waters, Chris Hedges, Phil Donanue, Russell Brand, Matt Taibbi, Moby, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, more. And separate interview with Brand.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Michael Hastings, R.I.P.
UPDATE Rolling Stone has just added its own obit. L.A. Times speculates on the accident--and carries details and photo of site--but they're not sure that's really it. Ethics? Local TV covered the same crash. UPDATE #2 LAPD sources now confirm that this was indeed the "fiery crash" that took Hastings' life.
Rachel Maddow's tribute tonight:
Earlier: The courageous journalist, formerly of Newsweek, more recently Rolling Stone and Buzzfeed, has died at the age of 33 in an auto accident in L.A., Buzzfeed reports tonight. Much will be written about him. I don't have much to add, except recalling that we exchanged several emails back in the days before he made such a fuss with his Stanley McChrystal scoop. It was maybe six or seven years ago, and he was back from Baghdad, I was editing Editor & Publisher and writing almost daily stories on Iraq and the media and my book So Wrong for So Long, and he needed some advice...well, relatively few know about his first book, about his courtship and life with a woman (who worked for Air America), who both ended up in Iraq, where she lost her life. The book was, I Lost My Love in Baghdad, and it was pretty much ignored until his later fame. So here's a reminder.
Rachel Maddow's tribute tonight:
Earlier: The courageous journalist, formerly of Newsweek, more recently Rolling Stone and Buzzfeed, has died at the age of 33 in an auto accident in L.A., Buzzfeed reports tonight. Much will be written about him. I don't have much to add, except recalling that we exchanged several emails back in the days before he made such a fuss with his Stanley McChrystal scoop. It was maybe six or seven years ago, and he was back from Baghdad, I was editing Editor & Publisher and writing almost daily stories on Iraq and the media and my book So Wrong for So Long, and he needed some advice...well, relatively few know about his first book, about his courtship and life with a woman (who worked for Air America), who both ended up in Iraq, where she lost her life. The book was, I Lost My Love in Baghdad, and it was pretty much ignored until his later fame. So here's a reminder.
One Case Judge Judy Won't Hear
Wild case in my neck of the woods, which is only reason I know about it: The live-in trainer of Putnam County D.A. Adam Levy--that's in upstate New York just north of Westchester--has been arrested and charged with twice violently raping the 12-year-old daughter of his then-girlfriend. He calls it fabricated and an attempt to bring down Levy. You'll probably hear more about this because Levy is the son of "Judge Judy" Sheindlin.
Terror Buddies No More
Dial KSM for Murder
Branded
If you haven't caught up with Russell Brand on Morning Joe yesterday, here's your chance, including mocking his lame hosts and taking over the program (dropping the names of Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning) to show them how a real "professional" works. Reduces Mike to stuttering, although he compliments her hair--"Like Princess Diana--when she was alive."
Vice and Virtue
From 'Shrek' to 'Dreck'
So, yes, there was a Leonard Cohen reference on "Veep," this week, as top POTUS aide claims to have sung that song as "Jalapeno" at a drunken karaoke night. Hey, eve enjoy a "broken jalapeno"? True, at times there has been nothing on my tongue but jalapeno. Did they rip off this guy below?
Not Exactly Frost/Nixon
"The White House hoped to use the interview to calm concerns about the surveillance programs, and Mr. Obama emphasized that intelligence agencies were not listening in on Americans’ telephone calls without court orders. A new CNN/ORC International poll suggested that many Americans were uncomfortable with his handling of surveillance, and in the wake of several recent controversies, his approval rating had slipped to 45 percent from 53 percent."
Monday, June 17, 2013
About Those 'Dozens' of Terror Attacks
Earlier: Terrorism expert Peter Bergen of CNN with lengthy new piece up on their site with evidence that the official claims of NSA snooping halting "dozens" of terror attacks on the U.S. is wildly overblown. He actually--refreshing!--demands evidence and produces what he can find, that suggests that the few known serious plots were stopped by other methods. Perhaps, he allows, we will learn about attacks disrupted abroad. But he remains skeptical that the claims overall are not just defensive hype. Key line: "This suggests that the NSA surveillance programs are wide-ranging fishing expeditions with little to show for them."
Homegrown jihadist extremists have mounted 42 plots to conduct attacks within the United States since 2001. Of those plots, nine involved an actual terrorist act that was not prevented by any type of government action, such as the failed attempt by Faisal Shahzad to blow up a car bomb in Times Square on May 1, 2010. Of the remaining 33 plots, the public record shows that at least 29 were uncovered by traditional law enforcement methods, such as the use of informants, reliance on community tips about suspicious activity and other standard policing practices.
Most Americans Still Oppose Arming Syrian 'Rebels'
Earlier: While mainstream pundits and political figures left and right endorsed President Obama's decision to arm Syria rebels last week, polls from several weeks back showed that most American opposed such a move. But, aha, the hawks cried--wait till polls come out in light of the "finding" that Assad had used chemical agents. That's a game changer.
Well, a new Pew survey finds that 7 in 10 still oppose arming the rebels, mainly because they (60%) correctly realize that this ragtag bunch, including many jihadists and al-Qaeda backers, might be no better than the current regime. And, for once, views were little different whether Dems, Repubs or Indies.
Poisoning the Passengers?
No, not just another review of typical airline food. Just out from WABC in NYC:
A Newark-bound United Airlines flight is carrying a passenger who reportedly informed the crew that he "poisoned everyone on board." United Flight 116 from Hong Kong is set to land at 2:05 p.m. at Newark Liberty Airport.
The passenger is being restrained by other passengers.
Law enforcement officials in New York and Washington, D.C., are aware of the incident and are responding. UPDATE: An FBI spokesman says there is no indication that any passengers had actually been poisoned.
Snowden Hits Cheney
The live chat with the NSA leaker at The Guardian has certainly been lively and revealing--e.g. he claims if he was a Chinese spy he'd already be in Beijing in a palace "petting a phoenix"--but here's just one bit, after he's asked about being called a "traitor" by well-known folks in the USA. See other answers relating to other charges against him, whether NSA really can listen to/read content, etc. Also, his advice to whistleblowers: "This country is worth dying for." UPDATE Snowden flatly denies this: "No. I have had no contact with the Chinese government. Just like with
the Guardian and the Washington Post, I only work with journalists." Talked to local press.
Journalists should ask a specific question: since these programs began operation shortly after September 11th, how many terrorist attacks were prevented SOLELY by information derived from this suspicionless surveillance that could not be gained via any other source? Then ask how many individual communications were ingested to acheive that, and ask yourself if it was worth it. Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we've been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it.
Further, it's important to bear in mind I'm being called a traitor by men like former Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are. If they had taught a class on how to be the kind of citizen Dick Cheney worries about, I would have finished high school.
Trio Hits Snowden
Triple play! On MSNBC's Morning Joe today we found David Axelord, Robert Gibbs, Andrea Mitchell also slamming, even mocking, Edward Snowden. Mitchell makes this false claim: Much of what he's alleged "does not check out." Axelord: "Unforgivable."
Al Jazeera America Unveils Top Primetime Show
It will be at 9 p.m. ET, titled "America Tonight," and in release here's how they describe the new executive producer and investigative chief:
Kim Bondy, an award-winning television executive producer, previously was the vice president of morning programming at CNN and the executive producer of that network’s American Morning with Soledad O’Brien and Miles O’Brien. At CNN, Bondy led the breaking coverage of the 9/11 attacks, the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina. The Katrina coverage won Bondy and her team a Peabody Award. Prior to CNN, Bondy held executive and senior producing positions at the Today Show and Weekend Today. Bondy was also TV-One Network’s executive producer for the 2012 elections and the founder of the media and marketing strategy firm, The Bondy Group LLC.America Tonight will draw on the global newsgathering resources of Al Jazeera Media Network’s 12 bureaus in the United States and more than 70 bureaus around the world. The program will feature work by the Al Jazeera America investigative team led by veteran journalist Ed Pound. It will also cover stories in depth from across America, revealing new insights on the news of the day and breaking stories with its own original reporting. America Tonight will also incorporate social media interaction on screen and off to reflect the views of its American audience.
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