Media Advisory The Accelerating Assault on Journalism Some media figures applaud the criminalization of investigative reporting August 27, 2013 U.S. soldier Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning's 35-year sentence represents the harshest punishment issued to date for providing media with evidence of government wrongdoing (Forbes, 8/21/13). She is the first whistleblower to be convicted under the Espionage Act, ratifying the new reality that those who give the press information that the government wants to keep secret will henceforth be treated as spies. Manning's sentence is only the latest example of the criminalization of investigative journalism that has greatly intensified in the Obama era (Extra!, 9/11). While whistleblowers have been the chief targets of the harsh crackdown on media challenges to official secrecy, journalists themselves are increasingly in the government's sights. Fox News' James Rosen, for example, was declared a "co-conspirator" under the Espionage Act in the case of State Department contractor Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, accused of leaking information about North Korea; this allowed the Justice Department to read Rosen's emails, an intrusion on freedom of the press that is forbidden under the Privacy Protection Act unless a journalist is considered to have committed a crime (WashingtonPost.com, 6/20/13). The Justice Department subpoenaed records for more than 30 phone and fax lines used by scores of Associated Press journalists in an attempt to find the source of a story about a thwarted attack by militants in Yemen (NBCNews.com, 5/20/13). AP president Gary Pruitt (Face the Nation, 5/19/13) said the secret subpoenas were carried out "so sweeping[ly], so secretively, so abusively and harassingly and overbroad, that...it is an unconstitutional act." Barrett Brown, a freelance journalist who has written for Vanity Fair and the Guardian, is in jail facing charges--stemming from his association with the hacker activist group Anonymous--that carry a potential sentence of more than a century in jail. The allegations mainly revolve around Brown posting a link to data hacked from private intelligence agencies, some of which turned out to be encrypted credit card information. But as Peter Ludlow argued in the Nation (6/18/13), what attracted the government's attention to Brown in the first place was his journalism, which used information derived from hacking to expose private intelligence operations--like a plan to neutralize Glenn Greenwald's defense of WikiLeaks by undermining them both.... The plan called for "disinformation," exploiting strife within the organization and fomenting external rivalries--"creating messages around actions to sabotage or discredit the opposing organization," as well as a plan to submit fake documents and then call out the error. Journalists who find out too much about U.S. intelligence operations risk becoming targeted by allied security forces--as can their loved ones, as David Miranda, partner of Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald, found out on August 18 when he was detained and interrogated at London's Heathrow Airport for nine hours under Schedule 7 of Britain's Terrorism Act of 2000. Greenwald (8/18/13) wrote: The stated purpose of this law, as the name suggests, is to question people about terrorism. The detention power, claims the UK government, is used "to determine whether that person is or has been involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism." But they obviously had zero suspicion that David was associated with a terrorist organization or involved in any terrorist plot. Instead, they spent their time interrogating him about the NSA reporting which Laura Poitras, the Guardian and I are doing, as well [as] the content of the electronic products he was carrying. They completely abused their own terrorism law for reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism: a potent reminder of how often governments lie when they claim that they need powers to stop "the terrorists," and how dangerous it is to vest unchecked power with political officials in its name. Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger (8/19/13) revealed that the GCHQ, the British counterpart of the NSA, destroyed computers at the newspaper's office in a futile attempt to impede Greenwald's NSA reporting: The mood toughened just over a month ago, when I received a phone call from the center of government telling me: "You've had your fun. Now we want the stuff back." There followed further meetings with shadowy Whitehall figures. The demand was the same: Hand the Snowden material back or destroy it. I explained that we could not research and report on this subject if we complied with this request. The man from Whitehall looked mystified. "You've had your debate. There's no need to write any more."... And so one of the more bizarre moments in the Guardian's long history occurred--with two GCHQ security experts overseeing the destruction of hard drives in the Guardian's basement just to make sure there was nothing in the mangled bits of metal which could possibly be of any interest to passing Chinese agents. As Rusbridger pointed out, the destruction of the Guardian's property won't stop the newspaper from reporting on the documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, copies of which are cached all over the world. The vandalism did succeed, however, in sending a message: If journalists dare to report information that the U.S. government wants to keep secret, they will be treated as criminals, spies and terrorists. A troubling number of prominent U.S. journalists seem to have no problem with this. Time senior national correspondent Michael Grunwald wrote on Twitter (8/17/13): "I can't wait to write a defense of the drone strike that takes out Julian Assange," referring to the WikiLeaks editor-in-chief. Grunwald later deleted the tweet, citing the argument that "it gives Assange supporters a nice safe persecution complex to hide in" (NewYorker.com, 8/19/13). The New Yorker's Jeffrey Toobin (8/20/13) compared the release of classified information about government spying to the assassination of political leaders like Martin Luther King: Just as it would be "lunatic" to be grateful for the deaths of King and Robert Kennedy because they led to gun control legislation, Snowden's supporters are crazy to argue that he "may have violated the law, but the outcome has been so worthwhile." Toobin went on to defend Miranda's detention on CNN (Anderson Cooper 360, 8/20/13), saying, "Our prisons are full of drug mules" and "He wasn't sent to the gulag." That would be more reassuring if the notion of the U.S. government sending journalists to prison--or even killing them by long-distance--were a preposterous hypothetical that would never happen in real life (FAIR Blog, 6/30/13): The U.S. military has repeatedly targeted and killed journalists, claiming that reporters are legitimate targets. Washington imprisoned Al-Jazeera camera operator Sami al-Hajj for six years without a trial at Guantanamo; documents released through WikiLeaks later revealed that a primary reason for holding al-Hajj was to try to extract information from him about Al-Jazeera's newsgathering operations. When Yemen was about to release Abdulelah Haider Shaye, a journalist who had reported on the U.S.'s secret drone war in that country, Barack Obama personally intervened to make sure Shaye stayed in prison.                     This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

"Bears Interrupted" By Wendy

 

New post on Bears Interrupted Bears Interrupted by Wendy The reason for me starting to write this blog was because of the profound effect a certain 700lb grizzly bear had on me whilst working with him in 2011. Boo's story is a tragic one and when I visit him there is still a deep sadness in his eyes, his life was truly interrupted. Beautiful Boo More recently there was Clover the Kermode Bear who through no fault of his own now resides in a zoo.   After he was successfully rehabilitated and released, humans caused his life to change direction and now his future is behind bars and then there is the very sad story of Terry and Blair the two orphaned grizzlies that became a little too confident around humans and of course this lead to their demise in the form of euthanization by the Conservation Service.   Precious Clover Tika, Terry and Blair On Friday 11th October 2013, a day that will haunt me forever, I had taken an early morning walk along the beautiful Columbia River here, I followed the footprints of the bear that frequents the area and as always felt at complete peace in my surroundings, that was about to change. Walking Alongside the Bears I received a message from a friend who works for Parks Canada that asked me about Tika's ear tag numbers and collar..... my heart jumped then proceeded to sink.... what did that mean?  Her message was shortly followed by another message from Angelika Langen from Northern Lights Wildlife Society telling me that unfortunately Tika had been hit by a vehicle on Hwy 93 in Kootenay National Park and was killed, he had been eating a carcass of a ungulate and there was dense fog in the area at the time of the incident.    Words alone cannot describe the emotion that hit me like a semi truck driving too fast on a Highway, I was in total shock and could not comprehend what I had heard.  This beautiful little boy bear who fought to survive when the odds were stacked against him, went forth into the wilderness on his day of release with a smile on his grizzly little face, excitement in his step and so much hope....... his end is a tragedy of the worst kind. Again another BEAR INTERRUPTED. Things need to change to allow these bears at least a slight chance to survive and stay wild and we as homo sapiens HAVE TO help with this, we need to learn to co-exist with bears.  Grizzlies like Terry, Blair and Tika need to be released into an environment which allows them the freedom to roam the distances they need to, to survive without human fragmentation and interference.  I am not a scientist but I do know that the rehabilitated grizzlies are always released back into their home ranges because of genetics, I ask the question now, is this truly necessary?  The grizzly is a species of concern and surely when a grizzly is rehabilitated and released it should be taken into an area where they are protected and can grow into adults, a prime example of a perfect location is the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Refuge on the North West Coast of BC.   This years tragedies are just more proof that habitat fragmentation is detrimental to the Grizzly Bear. The other BIG issue is our Highways and Railtracks.  Things are improving a little with the animal overpasses, underpasses and fencing but still so many creatures lose their lives because of humans in such a hurry to get somewhere, we need signs and more penalties for those who do not respect the sensitive environment they travel through and the animals that reside therein.  I am now in the process of writing letters and and telling Tika's story to highlight the issues, his death will not be in vain, I will do everything I can to make a difference. Along with all these obstacles they still allow a trophy hunt...... SERIOUSLY something is very VERY wrong.  If we lose the grizzly bear our precious eco systems will be compromised and ultimately the planet will pay the biggest price. This is the last picture I took of Tika on his release day, I still cannot believe he has gone.....and I will forever feel him in the breeze. ALWAYS in my Heart Tika Wendy | October 13, 2013 at 11:43 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p28lrd-80 Comment    See all comments    Like http://bearsinterrupted.com/2013/10/13/bears-interrupted-2/

Republicans Compromise on Towel Service!

 

New post on Malia Litman's Blog Republicans Compromise on Towel Service by malialitman Has Fox News ever been critical of the Republican Party? They have now. In a recent clip from Greta Van Sustern, the Republicans were identified as people unconcerned with the average American, and totally focused on themselves. The story revealed that the Republicans have deemed their swimming pool, basketball courts, sauna and steam room as "essential items". Taxpayers are still paying for maintenance and cleaning of these work-out areas. The GOP has compromised by forfeiting the towel service. Just to review, let's consider what is considered to be "essential" in the way of government services. "Essential activities" are defined as those services designed to protect life and property or services essential to the national security interest." For example "non-essential" services include :  The National Institutes of Health will stop accepting new patients for clinical research and stop answering hotline calls about medical questions.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will stop its seasonal flu program and have a "significantly reduced capacity to respond to outbreak investigations."  The Department of Housing and Urban Development will not be able to provide local housing authorities with additional money for housing vouchers.  The Department of Homeland Security will no longer operate its E-Verify program, which means that businesses will not be able to check on the legal immigration status of prospective employees during the shutdown.  The Justice Department will suspend many civil cases for as long as the government is shut down.  The National Park Service will close more than 400 national parks and museums, including Yosemite National Park in California, Alcatraz in San Francisco, and the Statue of Liberty in New York.  The Environmental Protection Agency will close down almost entirely during a shutdown, save for operations around Superfund sites.  Many of the Labor Department's regulatory offices will close, including the Wage and Hour Division and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (The Mine Safety and Health Administration will, however, stay open.)  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees the vast U.S. derivatives market, will largely shut down.  The Social Security Administration won't have enough employees to do things like help recipients replace their benefit cards or schedule new hearings for disability cases.  The Veterans Benefits Administration will be unable to process education and rehabilitation benefits. The Board of Veterans' Appeals will be unable to hold hearings. What's more, if the shutdown lasts for more than two or three weeks, the Department of Veterans Affairs has said that it may not have enough money to pay disability claims and pension payments. That could affect some 3.6 million veterans.  The Department of Agriculture will cut off support for the Women, Infants and Children program, which helps pregnant women and new moms buy healthy food and provides nutritional information and health care referrals. The program reaches some 9 million Americans. How can the GOP reconcile paying themselves salary, and continuing to charge the American people for use of their exercise facilities, which the deem to be "essential services", but 9 million women and children are unable to buy healthy food? No wonder the Republican Party has fallen to an all-time low approval ratings. Now only 24% of Americans have a favorable view of Republicans, which is the very lowest level since the poll was started. A whopping 70% of Americans recognize that Republicans are putting politics ahead of what is best for the country. Gallup Polls confirm these declining numbers, finding that only 28% of Americans still have a favorable view of Republicans. That is the lowest rating since Gallup started asking questions 21 years ago! Even when they get their towels back, it's doubtful whether they can clean up the mess they've created. malialitman | October 11, 2013 at 3:04 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pwVeA-5qD Comment    See all comments    Like http://malialitman.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/republicans-compromise-on-towel-service/

Chicken Little: Study Finds Nuggets Contain No More Than 50 Percent Chicken Meat And The Rest Are Chicken Guts, Bone, And Nerves

 

New post on JONATHAN TURLEY Chicken Little: Study Finds Nuggets Contain No More Than 50 Percent Chicken Meat And The Rest Are Chicken Guts, Bone, And Nerves by jonathanturley Just after getting over the Taco Bell meat scandal, we have another (though not exactly surprising) scandal involving Chicken nuggets.  A study in the American Journal of Medicine found that nuggets from two unnamed fast food chains that they analyzed consisted of 50 percent or less actual chicken muscle tissue.  The first nugget was half muscle and the rest was  fat, blood vessels and nerves. Close inspection revealed cells that line the skin and internal organs.  The second nugget was only 40 percent meat and  the remainder was fat, cartilage and pieces of bone. Of course, the National Chicken Council (NCC) was quick to object.  "Chicken nuggets are an excellent source of protein, especially for kids who might be picky eaters," said Ashley Peterson, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the NCC.  I wonder how picky they will be when they learn that they are eating nerves and chicken guts.  However, Peterson insists that there are billions of nuggets sold each year and the study only took two from two different national chains.  It is not clear how many nuggets would be viewed as sufficient for NCC or why both nuggets showed the same basic problem. As for the fat content, Peterson insists "it's no secret what is in a chicken nugget." The study is entitled "The Autopsy of Chicken Nuggets Reads 'Chicken Little'". The researchers also found bone in the samples. In the meantime, the Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for the National Soylent Council (NSC) is responding to another study by releasing a statement that the researcher below only saw one factory and "it's no secret what is in soylent green." Source: CBS jonathanturley | 1, October 7, 2013 at 7:54 am | Categories: Science, Society | URL: http://wp.me/p6sYP-ikY Comment    See all comments    Like http://jonathanturley.org/2013/10/07/chicken-little-study-finds-nuggets-contain-no-more-than-50-percent-chicken-meat-and-the-rest-are-chicken-guts-bone-and-nerves/

Off-Duty Police Officers in NYC Found To Have Been Present During Biker Attack On New York Family!

 

New post on JONATHAN TURLEY Off-Duty Police Officers Found To Have Been Present During Biker Attack On New York Family by jonathanturley We have been following the extraordinary case of the family terrorized by a gang of bikers in New York city. Alexian Lien, 33, was beaten and slashed in the attack which came after a long chase by the bikers. Previously, Christopher Cruz, 28. Cruz was charged with reckless endangerment, menacing, reckless driving and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17. A second suspect -- Allen Edwards, 42, of Queens, was charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and menacing. He is believed to be the man seen on video below striking the Range Rover windows with his fists in the video below. The man with the chrome-colored helmet is reported to be Reginald Chance, 38, of Brooklyn. Another man, Robert Sims, 35, of Brooklyn was also been arrested. As many as five men appear to have beaten Lien, though the criminality would seem to extend to other bikers who trapped and pursued the family. It now appears that at least two off-duty police officers may have been present at the chase and/or beating of the family and did not immediately intervene or come forward. Read more of this post jonathanturley | 1, October 7, 2013 at 10:37 am | Categories: Criminal law, Media, Torts | URL: http://wp.me/p6sYP-il5 Comment    See all comments    Like   http://jonathanturley.org/2013/10/07/off-duty-police-officers-found-to-have-been-present-during-biker-attack-on-new-york-family/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

Response From Sen. John Barrasso About the Shutdown.

Hey Wyoming,

Barrasso's response would be funny if it wasn't so sad, and such a big fat republican lie.

At one point, Johnny "TV" Barrasso says this- "...we simply cannot continue this reckless approach to governing." Yet he is one of the main instigators in the republican caucus in the senate that uses a reckless approach of lies, myth and misinformation sharing, fearmongering and attacking any and everything Obama wants to do, even if the repubs were for it before they were against it. All to appease the TeaBagger/racist scumbag wing of the republican party. Johnny's staff, whomever penned this screed, seems to be preparing their resume as a fiction writer. And the only people of Wyoming Johnny really cares about are the ones who can donate large sums to his next senate campaign 5 years from now. He has voted against almost everything for the elderly, poor, middle-class, sick, children, veterans, disabled and any other person who may be facing difficult times. This faux self-righteousness is the cornerstone of republican politics, as they fake upset over things they initially instigated. What a pathetic lot they are, and they all need their walking papers ASAP!

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Here's Johnny "TV" Barrasso's letter for your viewing: 

 

From: Senator_JBarrasso@barrasso.senate.gov

Sent: Monday, October 07, 2013 9:28 AM

To: -------------------------------

Subject: Response From John Barrasso

 

Dear William,

 

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the federal government shutdown.  It's good to hear from you.

As you know, the federal government is currently closed.  On three separate occasions I have voted in favor of funding the federal government in order to avoid a shutdown.  Unfortunately, passage of each bill was blocked.  With a national debt near $17 trillion and a government that is currently closed for business, we simply cannot continue this reckless approach to governing.  The American people deserve better.

I strongly believe the American people deserve a transparent, accountable government that works together to pursue responsible investment of tax dollars instead of reckless spending.  It is past time for Washington to end the political wrangling and conduct an honest, open debate about the challenges that we're facing as a nation. 

I do not believe that these problems are insurmountable.  We simply need Washington to refocus its attention not on the needs of any single political party, but on the needs of the American people. Please know that I will continue to fight to ensure that the people of Wyoming are heard as the debate about our nation's fiscal future continues.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me on this very important issue.

John Barrasso, M.D.                                                                         
United States Senator

 

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"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912