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March 2015

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 09, 2015 3 Comments
On Sunday, March 1, 2015, we provided on-scene coverage of Code Pink's "Shut Down AIPAC" protest. The most notable feature of the protest was the waving of Hezbollah flags. Code Pink managed to get some press coverage even though it didn't shut down AIPAC, or even an itsy, bitsy part of AIPAC, because five protesters were arrested, including two from Ithaca, my current place of residence. One of the arrestees, Ariel Gold, may be familiar to readers from prior coverage of Gold's efforts to have GreenStar Food Coop in Ithaca boycott Israeli products and products co-owned by Israelis, such as Sabra and Tribe Hummus. Gold is employed as a professional organizer for Friends of Sabeel - North America, a group which works to weaken American Christian support for Israel, and is a leader of Ithaca Jewish Voice for Peace. You may recall that when I spoke on local progressive radio against the boycott movement, Gold called into the control room to complain about me in the middle of the interview! Publicity, of course, was the real goal of the Code Pink protest. If all you knew about the arrests was the press coverage, you'd think that the arrests were not the goal, but the byproduct of protesting. Much as the Pallywood fake or staged photo ops are used to gin up press coverage against Israel, however, so too were the arrests at AIPAC. It was pure Pallywood, arrests contrived for the cameras. They weren't arrested for protesting. They were protesting to get arrested for publicity. Don't take my word for it. A Legal Insurrection reader who saw our coverage of the protest sent along a video of Gold speaking at a post-arrest event, in which she admitted it was all a set up:

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 08, 2015 26 Comments
The Justice Department has confirmed that the entire notion of "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" was completely false. That hasn't stopped one CNN host from keeping the meme alive, if only in a "symbolic" way. Transcript and video via Real Clear Politics:
ANA CABRERA, CNN: You’re part of this Hands-Up-Don’t-Shoot coalition. Have you had a chance to read the Justice Department's findings on Michael Brown's death, as they pertain to Darren Wilson? MONTAGUE SIMMONS, DON'T SHOOT COALITION MEMBER: I’ve had a chance to take a glance, yes. ANA CABRERA: Has it changed your view of Darren Wilson at all, the fact he was cleared in this incident? MONTAGUE SIMMONS: Not at all. Unfortunately, the findings were expected -- meaning that usually in these cases we've seen law enforcement, and the voice of the officers involved, are given much heavier weight than [other] witnesses. Even though we've seen countless witnesses come forward and testify that his hands were up, they're still giving a greater weight to law enforcement's findings. Even if his hands weren't up in this case, he was not -- he should even have been executed in the way he was. ANA CABRERA: Obviously the whole catch phrase hands up don't shoot takes on a much more symbolic meaning moving forward.
Watch the video: CNN has taken a keen interest in the idea of "hands up, don't shoot" from the beginning.

Posted by Amy Miller on March 08, 2015 12 Comments
Today was International Women's Day, and it came and went with the kinds of video and hashtag activism that usually define tribute days. Amongst all the shareables about glass ceilings, pay gaps, and leaning in, shone through one fantastic example of how real gender-based discrimination makes its way into the spotlight in societies that don't demand equality. London-based Islamist sheik Hani Al-Seba'i really didn't know what he was getting into when he tried to play gender politics during an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed TV anchor Rima Karaki. Watch: More from the Telegraph:
Al-Seba'i was being asked about reports that some Christians are joining Islamic State fighters, when he went off on a tangent and started talking about the history of Christian involvement in the Middle East. "Dr Al-Seba'i, let's focus on the present," Karaki suggested, adding that time for the discussion was limited. "Listen, don’t cut me off. I will answer as I please … what kind of behaviour is this?" Dr Al-Seba'i asked. When Karaki reiterated the time constraints, Al-Seba'i lost his temper and told her to: "Shut up, so I can talk." "It’s beneath me to be interviewed by you, you are a woman who ..." he continued, before his microphone was cut off. "Either there is mutual respect, or the conversation is over," Karaki said, as she terminated the interview.
Twitter loved it:

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 08, 2015 32 Comments
Trey Gowdy appeared on Face the Nation today and explained that the emails Hillary has turned over paint an incomplete picture. Katherine Connell of National Review:
Gowdy: ‘There Are Huge Gaps’ in E-mails Clinton’s Turned Over to Benghazi Committee Representative Trey Gowdy (R., S.C.), chairman of the House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack, said that there are “gaps of months and months and months” in the e-mails that former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has handed over to the committee so far. Gowdy, who has issued a subpoena to the State Department seeking Clinton’s remaining e-mails, told Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation Sunday that “there are huge gaps” in the e-mails she has made available. “If you think to that iconic picture of her on a C-17 flying to Libya, sunglasses on — she has her hand-held device in her hand — we have no e-mails from that day,” he said. “In fact we have no e-mails from that trip.”
Watch the exchange:

Posted by Andrew Branca on March 08, 2015 94 Comments
Stop me if you've heard seen this one before: the now tiresome and wholly predictable cycle of news coverage when a white police officer shoots and kills an unarmed black teenager: Step 1: Build the false narrative. Mainstream media outlets report that a police officer has shot an unarmed black teenager, and provide extensive coverage of the victim's grieving family alongside flattering photographs and background stories of said teenager. The event is followed within hours--hours!--by well-organized protests, family spokespersons, and (naturally) lawyers (these last two typically combined). Step 2: Watch the false narrative implode.  These mainstream media reports are inevitably followed by factually correct and comprehensive reports of the victim's violent and criminal background and actions at the time of the shooting. These facts place responsibility for his death squarely on the victim's own shoulders, and make it clear that the police acted appropriately. Sounds familiar, right? In case you've not yet had enough of that cycle, allow me to introduce you to the late Tony Robinson, the "unarmed black teenager" who was shot and killed by a veteran Wisconsin police officer this past Friday evening (so, not even 48 hours prior to the writing of this post).

Step 1: Build the False Narrative

Let's take a look at  how NBC covered this shooting in a post headlined: Black Teen Tony Robinson Shot Dead by Cop in Madison, Wisconsin, Was Unarmed. First, their lede:

Posted by Amy Miller on March 08, 2015 32 Comments
Saturday Night Live has a history of lampooning the right candidate at the right time. Whether on purpose, or just as a result of tapping into the zeitgeist and saying what the majority of their fan base is thinking, the SNL players have taken out political power players from Sarah Palin to George W. Bush; and now, they're setting their sights on the most high profile would-be candidate in American politics. Hillary Clinton, welcome to 30 Rock. Kate McKinnon's latest cold open portraying Hillary Clinton as a (jocularly) manipulative but (completely not) relatable (possible!) candidate could be the beginning of another Tina Fey-esque assault on a less-than-desirable figurehead. You be the judge:
"This is not how Hillary Clinton goes down! I mean, what did you think my e-mails said? 'Hi, it's Hillary, I really screwed up on Benghazi today.' Please. HEH HEH HEH! I wasn't born yesterday; I was born 67 years ago and I have been planning on being president ever since. There will be NO mistakes in my rise to the top---if I decide to run!?
If I were Hillary, I'd be in my war room right now, because Kate McKinnon has managed to turn a cutthroat, cold, calculating, and malicious career politician into a complete joke---that also makes you a little bit nervous. Oh, and pay attention---they mention Elizabeth Warren. Not subtle.

Posted by Amy Miller on March 08, 2015 4 Comments
Didn't take long to drop some "we're still working on this" language, did it? The Obama Administration may have played their high-profile troubles over the pending Iran nuclear deal as a grudge match between the U.S. and Israel, but the Israelis aren't the only ones with questions about the President's "all or nothing" deal. France has a history of raising questions about how far the international community is and has been willing to go to gain concessions from Iran regarding its nuclear program. Recently, the French have publicly raised concerns that commitments made by Iran don't go far enough to ensure that any future nuclear program will make allowances for a system of inspections and verifications ensuring that the program is compliant with international standards. Secretary of State John Kerry has been busy over the weekend running damage control over France's most recent objections. Via Reuters:
"We are on the same page," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters after talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Paris. "If we didn’t think that there was further to go, as Laurent said, we’d have had an agreement already," Kerry added. "The reason we don't have an agreement is we believe there are gaps that have to be closed, there are things that have to be done to further strengthen this; we know this." The goal of the talks is to persuade Iran to restrain its nuclear program. In exchange, Iran would get limited relief from sanctions that have crippled its economy. EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, says the next two weeks will be crucial: "In the coming few days, there will be intense work from all sides to bridge the gaps that are still remaining and to make sure that this historic opportunity is not missed."
Watch:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 08, 2015 13 Comments
The former first lady's situation seems to worsen by the day. First it was revealed that Hillary had a private email account for the duration of her tenure as Secretary of State. Then it was discovered that her private email account was run through servers reportedly in her home. And no one in Obama's administration seemed to have been aware that Mrs. Clinton was operating an extra-governmental account. Or at least that's the current story. When asked if they could prove with certitude that no classified information was exchanged via Hillary's private email, the State Department replied, "that's not a pertinent question." Late last week, the State Department changed their story saying it was up to each Secretary to determine what was relevant and then submit that information back to the DOS for record keeping. Email problems aren't the only obstacle the Clinton's must overcome ahead of a 2016 Presidential run. Former President Bill Clinton came out in defense of the Clinton Foundation yesterday, an organization that accepted donations from foreign governments like Saudi Arabia while Hillary served as Secretary of State. "I believe we've done more good than harm," President Clinton said. Rewind to 2011. February 15, 2011, then Secretary Clinton spoke about Internet Freedom at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. 2011 Hillary made a great case for why 2015 Hillary should disclose her emails to the public. Take a look:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 07, 2015 4 Comments
Members of both political parties descended upon Selma, Alabama earlier today. Partisan politics were shelved as members of Congress were unified in remembering the sacrifice of those who marched for freedom. So how did Republicans commemorate the day? Take a look:

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 07, 2015 15 Comments
Many people in media have been critical of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while serving at State, but Lawrence O'Donnell? When Hillary has lost MSNBC... Daniel Bassali of the Washington Free Beacon has the story:
Lawrence O’Donnell: Clinton Email System Obviously Set Up To Defy FOIA Questions have arisen following reports Hillary Clinton had used a personal email account to conduct official State Department business as Secretary of State, and that the server she used was registered to her home in New York. Prior to launching the “Right to Rise” PAC, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush released hundreds of his emails from his time in the state house. Clinton has been constantly compared to Bush’s decision. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell said he does not even believe that Clinton’s intentions in using a private server were pure.
Watch the segment here:

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 07, 2015 7 Comments
Benjamin Netanyahu's recent address to congress was the inspiration for the latest edition of Firewall with Bill Whittle. While some prominent Democrats skipped the speech, Netanyahu warned of the dangers faced by Israel and the west in the face of Islamist terrorists and a nuclear Iran. Partial transcript and video via Truth Revolt:
He’s the Leader of the Free World, elected by a civilized nation: militarily powerful because of, and not in spite of, it’s cultural commitment to science and art and medicine. Although he spent much of his early life overseas, the Leader of the Free World grew up in the Northeast, and graduated from Harvard University. That he has a deep and abiding love for America is self-evident: he admires our energy, our inventiveness; our decency and kindness; our innate friendliness and charity. He loves our culture; he admires our private sector which generates so much innovation. And the Leader of the Free World admires and respects our vast military power, and the restraint which it is used – to him, it is indeed the Arsenal of Democracy. And even though he has grown up the victim of bigotry and hatred, the Leader of the Free World loves America, even though slurs are applied to him still today. In spite of all that, he loves everything she stands for.
Watch the whole thing.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 07, 2015 6 Comments
According to AFP, Boko Haram's leader pledged loyalty to ISIS in an audio message posted to Twitter this afternoon. From Yahoo News:
Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - The leader of Nigeria's Boko Haram militants, Abubakar Shekau, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group in an audio recording released Saturday. "We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims, Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi," said the voice on the message, which was believed to be that of Shekau and was released through Boko Haram's Twitter account. Qurashi is better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the IS group which has proclaimed a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq. Shekau spoke in Arabic, but the message contained French and English subtitles. It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the message. Shekau was not pictured, a contrast from most of Boko Haram's past messages in which the Islamist leader has been shown, often in close up shots. But Shekau did identify himself in the recording, which was accompanied by the subtitles and a graphic including an image of a radio microphone. There have in recent months been signs of closer ties between the Nigerian militants and the IS group, with both using similar ways of communicating with the outside world. Boko Haram has notably begun releasing videos that resemble those made by IS. Boko Haram has been waging a six-year uprising against the Nigerian state, which has claimed more than 13,000 lives. Analysts have long debated the extent of Boko Haram's ties to other jihadist groups, but the evidence was never clear.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 07, 2015 4 Comments
The destruction of treasured world-heritage archeological sites by ISIS continues unchecked. This time, the terror group obliterated Hatra, a city in Northern Iraq that was made famous in the opening sequence of the blockbuster horror film, The Exorcist.
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants bulldozed early Saturday the ancient city of Hatra founded 3rd or 2nd BC by the Seleucide Empire, activists and Kurdish media reported. Spokesman for the 14th branch of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) in Ninveh province Saeed Mumuzini told Rudaw news website that “ISIS militants used buldozzers to destroy Hatra city.” “ISIS stole the ancient gold and silver coins, which were used by the Assyrian kings and were stored in the city,” Mumuzini added.
A small sequence from that movie will remind everyone of the stunning ancient masterpiece of architecture Hatra was.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 07, 2015 7 Comments
Today commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when Rep. John Lewis first led a march from Selma to Montgomery, seeking the right to vote. On their first attempt to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, some six hundred marchers were greeted by law enforcement officers wielding nightsticks and tear gas. Martin Luther King, Jr., lead a symbolic march two days later. On March 21, more than 3,000 marchers joined Dr. King on a march to Montgomery. By the time the Dr. King reached Montgomery, approximately 25,000 marchers accompanied him. Only a few months later, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Selma marked a pivotal turning point in the Civil Rights movement. Today, leaders from all political stripes gather together by the Edmund Pettus Bridge to remember the bravery of those who marched for freedom and celebrate how far we have come. Livestream of the event is here: Leaders in attendance include Senator Tim Scott, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Rep. John Lewis, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, President George W. Bush, and many more. Follow their live Twitter updates:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 07, 2015 24 Comments
From my point of view, the single best moment of the 2008 election season was Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican Party convention: Palin was so genuine, so impassioned, and so appealing -- despite lacking cherished Beltway connections and credentials -- that she instantly became a target. One of the most ridiculous attacks centered on her personal beauty, and terms such as "naughty librarian" were launched in a nuclear-scale War on One Woman. That Scott Walker has similar appeal is proven by the various attacks already being made, despite the fact that the first caucus vote has not been cast. However, the attack on good looks can't truly be launched against him directly. So, call the latest progressive response "naughty librarian by proxy".
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