Click here to view this media Rep. Peter King, in his opening remarks this morning to kick off his congressional hearings on the “problem” of “Muslim radicalization”: This Committee cannot live in denial which is what some would have us do when they suggest that this hearing dilute its focus by investigating threats unrelated to Al Qaeda. The Department of Homeland Security and this committee were formed in response to the al Qaeda attacks of 9/11. There is no equivalency of threat between al Qaeda and neo-Nazis, environmental extremists or other isolated madmen. Only al Qaeda and its Islamist affiliates in this country are part of an international threat to our nation. Indeed by the Justice Department’s own record not one terror related case in the last two years involved neo-Nazis, environmental extremists, militias or anti-war groups. How unfortunate for Rep. King that, just the day before — and apparently before he could edit his opening remarks — the FBI arrested a white supremacist for planting a backpack bomb along the parade route for Spokane’s Martin Luther King Day celebration in January … an act labeled by the FBI as an act of domestic terrorism. He was reminded in short order by Democrat Bennie Thompson: Click here to view this media [H/t Karoli for the videos] I want to reiterate, however, my belief that a hearing on the linkage between extreme ideology and violent action be a broad-based examination. Yesterday, the FBI made an arrest in a recent Martin Luther King Day bombing attempt. News reports identify the suspect as a member of the same white supremacist group that influenced Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. I urge you, Mr. Chairman, to hold a hearing examining the Homeland Security threat posed by anti-government and white supremacist groups. As a committee on Homeland Security, our mission is to examine threats to this nation’s security. A narrow focus that excludes known threats lacks clarity and may be myopic. Indeed, as Zaid Jilani at ThinkProgress explains, not only was King embarrassingly wrong about right-wing domestic terrorist of recent vintage, he was wrong about the past year as well — in which there were four terrorism incidents involving neo-Nazis. And that doesn’t begin to count the militia cases, beginning with the Hutaree folks. For what it’s worth, American neo-Nazis are indeed frequently linked up with likeminded fascists in Europe and Australia, and yes, they are all outspoken in their desire to topple the United States government. Peter King may be living in denial, but the rest of us should know that neo-Nazism is indeed an international terrorist conspiracy to destroy America. In case you were wondering. And as long as Rep. King is trotting out graphics, here’s one for him to consider :
Continue reading …Andrea Mitchell’s Revelation to GOP Congressman: ‘You and I Are Both White’
March 10, 2011 No Comment
MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell on Thursday brought the specter of bigotry into Representative Peter King's hearings on the threat of radical Islam in America. While interviewing Congressman Dan Lungren of California she awkwardly hinted, ” Well, you know, you and I are both white .” The irritated Republican wondered, “What does that mean?” Mitchell lectured, “I'm just asking, get in their heads for a second and try to think about how it is to be a Muslim-American facing these kinds- this kind of testimony today. That's all I want to know.” In an earlier segment, the Andrea Mitchell Reports host casually insisted that the hearings are “a great lesson against the dangers of over-generalizing, of generalizing at all about particular groups.” [See video below. MP3 audio here .] Correspondent Kelly O'Donnell appeared with the anchor and offered a similarly condescending tone. Highlighting the guests that King called to speak about the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, O'Donnell asserted, “We have been hearing from some experts and I use that word with almost quotations around it, because the expert qualifications have been challenged ” O'Donnell found some of King's witnesses to be suspect because they were relating “personal stories.” FoxNews.com described one such witness: Melvin Bledsoe, whose son allegedly attacked an Army recruiting center in Arkansas, said in written testimony — which Fox News has seen — that Americans are ignoring the issue. “There is a big elephant in the room, but our society continues not to see it. This wrong is caused by political correctness. You can even call it political fear,” he said. Bledsoe plans to describe how his son, Carlos, was radicalized when he went off to college in Nashville, Tenn. In his testimony, he explained how his son's personality changed and how, when he returned home for the holidays in 2005, he told his family he converted to Islam. From that point, he changed his name and eventually traveled to Yemen. A transcript of the first segment and a partial transcript of the segment one, both of which aired on March 10, follow: 1:05 ANDREA MITCHELL: NBC News correspondent Kelly O'Donnell is on the hill. Kelly, what is the outcome of all of this? What have we learned today? KELLY O'DONNELL: I think we've clearly seen how exposed emotions and raw nerves are on display here for nearly four hours now. It is so unusual to see the validity and the appropriateness of the hearing to be challenged throughout the hearing. And that's the sense you got with that exchange between the Chairman, Peter King and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas. We have been hearing from some experts and I use that word with almost quotations around it, because the expert qualifications have been challenged as well, of people who have come forward to say a loved one of theirs was radicalized by groups to do harm to the United States. More personal stories. There's that part of it. There's been a witness who has been talking about the need for more cooperation within the Muslim-American community, to not have political correctness, is the phrase often being used, to hinder cooperation. On the other side, we had really emotional and exceedingly unusual testimony from Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, who spoke with such emotion, as you showed a portion of that at the beginning of the program. He was trying to say, as many others are,
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Click here to view this media (YouTube) Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN) emotional closing remarks today at the House Committee on Homeland Security and their inquiry into the extent of radicalization among American Muslims. The committee is chaired by Rep. Peter King (R-NY). ELLISON: Let me close with a story, but remember that it’s only one of many American stories that could be told. Mohammed Salman Hamdani was a 23-year-old paramedic, a New York City police cadet and a Muslim American. He was one of those brave first responders who tragically lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks almost a decade ago. As The New York Times eulogized, “He wanted to be seen as an all-American kid.” Mr. Hamdani bravely sacrificed his life to try and help others on 9/11. After the tragedy some people tried to smear his character solely because of his Islamic faith. Some people spread false rumors and speculated that he was in league with the attackers only because he was Muslim. It was only when his remains were identified that these lies were fully exposed. Mohammed Salman Hamdani was a fellow American who gave his life for other Americans. His life should not be defined as a member of an ethnic group or a member of a religion, but as an American who gave everything for his fellow citizens. I yield back. As Think Progress noted, “Hamdami’s mother, Talat Hamdani, is at the hearings today. She works with September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, which opposes the hearings.”
Continue reading …Michael Moore: This is a Class War That’s Been Leveled Against the Working People of This Country
March 10, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Michael Moore talked to Rachel Maddow about the latest potentially illegal move by the Wisconsin Republicans to jam through their union busting bill and what they are doing there and across the country where similar measures are being passed — class warfare. MOORE: I just want to say, anybody who lives within driving distance of Madison, Wisconsin right now, should make their way to the capitol. I would love to see thousands of people there right now, there, in that capitol building, in that rotunda, out on the lawn, whatever it takes. I mean really, this is really, this is war. This is a class war that’s been leveled against the working people of this country. And at some point people are just going to have to stand up and say, non-violently, this is enough. We’re not taking it any more. I’d say Michael got his wish since reports were that there were thousands who showed up at the capitol tonight. Moore discussed why the Republicans assumed that they could get away with this amount of overreach — they’ve already gotten away with Wall Street destroying our pension funds, wrecking the economy and with gutting the middle class and there’s been no response from the people. No one from Wall Street is in jail. Moore is hopeful that they’re finally not going to get away with what they’re doing this time. As he noted there are going to be students in Wisconsin are calling for nationwide student walkout of high schoolers this Friday at 2pm in your local time zone. As Michael said, these protests do matter. I hope he’s right and we’re going to see more of this across the country. The only time the working people have made gains is when they were willing to take to the streets and stand up for their rights.
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Click here to view this media Oh, Megyn! Could you be any more breathless in this segment? Of course, Fox did “break” this news as if the world were ending, so I suppose you can’t be the only one to blame. But really, you must do better on how you read polls, dear. I’ve been taken to task for misstating polls here on C&L, so I’m pretty careful about not taking them at face value anymore. Megyn Kelly, not so much, especially when it plays into the Fox News agenda of reassuring their viewers that the President is doomed to be a one-termer. In this segment, Megyn is practically breathless with joy as she announces to the world that the President’s poll numbers have dropped a full ten points in a week! Oh no, the sky is falling. Only, those numbers didn’t smell right, so I looked a little closer at the graphic. It’s a Reuters/Ipsos poll , and while I can’t link up the actual poll questions since Reuters hasn’t published it, the sample of independent voters was huge (not) — 181 people out of a total of 1,040. The margin of error on that question was +/- 7.4%, while the overall margin of error was +/-3.1%. Then we have Megyn-clone Monica Crowley chime in. Her stunning analysis that his poll numbers improved with independents in December – February because he was “acting more like a Republican than a Democrat” is pure fantasy with absolutely no basis in fact other than to continue lying to viewers and make everyone think the majority in this country are conservative. Here’s what Megyn didn’t bother to report from that very same poll: Weighing in on the Washington budget debate, 59 percent of Americans prefer to cut existing programs while 30 percent would rather raise taxes to reduce deficit spending. And they prefer to cut defense spending rather than programs that affect them more directly like Medicare and Social Security . Again, I don’t know the specific margin of error on that question, but that’s a pretty significant piece of information, don’t you think? Well, it is unless you’re Fox News. If you’re Fox News, Megyn Kelly and Monica Crowley it’s worth dramatic music, a flashing “alert” sign, and breathless announcements that the President’s approval is “tanking” with independents. Tanking if you think a margin of error swing of 7.4% is anywhere near accurate, anyway. Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Continue reading …New Media Strategies: Get Yer Koch Sock Puppets and Chrysler Corp F-Bombs Right Here
March 9, 2011 No Comment
enlarge Mashable had this interesting little blurb about Chrysler’s official Twitter account and the f-bomb earlier today, so I decided to look at New Media Strategies a little closer for two reasons: First, because it amazes me that anyone calling themselves a “new media strategist” could send a tweet like the one pictured above, as retweeted. And second, I wanted to see what other companies NMS has as clients. After reading their executive bios , it was abundantly clear that they are a right-wing firm with many conservative ties. After all, when the public affairs VP has to be specific about overseeing a “bipartisan group”, you’ve got to wonder why that disclaimer is there, since one would assume that a public affairs director would naturally be bipartisan? I wondered aloud on Twitter about why Chrysler, of all companies, would hire a right-wing new media firm and was met with some derision and scorn over my characterization of NMS as such. Then this crossed my tweet stream , courtesy of Lee Fang at Think Progress. Last year, Koch Industries began employing New Media Strategies (NMS), an Internet PR firm that specializes in “word-of-mouth marketing” for major corporations including Coca-Cola, Burger King, AT&T, Dodge and Ford. It appears that, ever since the NMS contract was inked with Koch, an NMS employee began editing the Wikipedia page for “Charles Koch,” “David Koch,” “Political activities of the Koch family,” and “The Science of Success” (a book written by Charles). Under the moniker of “MBMAdmirer,” NMS employees edited Wikipedia articles to distance the Koch family from the Tea Party movement, to provide baseless comparisons between Koch and conspiracy theories surrounding George Soros, and to generally delete citations to liberal news outlets. After administrators flagged the MBMAdmirer account as a “sock puppet” — one of many fake accounts used to manipulate new media sites — a subsequent sock puppet investigation found that MBMAdmirer is connected to a number of dummy accounts and ones owned by NMS employees like Jeff Taylor . In a bid to undo a Wikipedia-imposed ban, the MBMAdmirer account now acknowledges that it works for Koch Industries. The tactics used by Koch’s PR firm clearly violate the ethics rules laid out by Wikipedia against sock puppet manipulation. Soren Dayton , a GOP operative and executive at New Media Strategies, is reported to be the contact for Koch Industries at NMS. Reached by phone yesterday by ThinkProgress, Dayton exclaimed, “I’m not going to talk about this, thanks,” before hanging up. Lyndsey Medsker, a senior account director for NMS, spoke to ThinkProgress today. She explained that NMS also maintains the Koch Industries Twitter page, Facebook page, and has an active team working on promoting Koch Industries in the comment section of blogs and news websites. Well, yeah, I guess I wasn’t completely out of line in my original assessment and question, now was I?
Continue reading …Bill O’Reilly tries to argues that Obama had ‘huge advantage’ of being ‘the first black’ to run for President. WRONG!
March 9, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Mike Huckabee had a really bad week when he kept opening his mouth and sewerage kept coming out. he tried a phony apology by saying he misspoke. Nobody believed that one either. Now, here comes the anointed King Of Kabletown, Bill O’Reilly, really knocking a whopper out of the park to Charles Krauthammer. They were a bit down as they discussed George Will’s column on the lousy Republican candidates that Will believes are valid at this point. Krauthammer largely agreed with Will, and it seemed O’Reilly did too; the main point of contention they had was that nobody knew any of these Republican governors. I guess O’Reilly sensed that it was a motley crew of candidates, so to make his audience happy he said that President Obama had an advantage because he was the first African Americam to run for President as they discussed the GOP 2012 list of candidates. Krauthammer: It’s not a strong field. Not being known now is not dispositive — nobody had ever heard of Barack Obama at this time in the cycle. O’Reilly; That’s what they always said, but let me challenge you. Barack Obama, a black man. OK, I mean he’s half black and half white, but his appearance is black. The first black to ever run, OK? Huge, huge advantage in a campaign. Enormous. The press loved him. LOVED HIM, alright? Promoted him, actively promoted him. NBC News actively promoted his candidacy and so did their parent company General Electric. HUGE advantages Nobody on that list has anything. Krauthammer: All of that is true, although Jesse Jackson actually was the first who ran. Congratulations to Krauthammer for at least having a memory cell still remaining — though a slightly faulty one at that, considering that Shirley Chisholm was actually the first black person to run as a candidate in either of the two parties. Still: Bill, the King of Kableland, has a huge staff at his disposal and the entire saving account of Ailesbucks available to him, so what’s his excuse for being so wrong? I thought at least everyone remembered Jesse Jackson, because he scared the Bejesus out of the GOP so badly that they purged the voter rolls after his run. How could BillO not know this? Jesse has been a guest on BillO’s own show. Wikipedia: In 1888 Frederick Douglass was invited to speak at the Republican National Convention . Afterward during the roll call vote, he received one vote, so was nominally a candidate for the presidency. In those years, the candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency were chosen by state representatives voting at the nominating convention. Many decisions were made by negotiations of state and party leaders “behind closed doors.” Douglass was not a serious candidate in contemporary terms. In 1972, Shirley Chisholm was the first African-American major party candidate for president. She was a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination and participated in the Democratic primaries in numerous states. [1] She campaigned in 12 states and won 28 delegates. [2] In 1984 and 1988 , Jesse Jackson was the first major party black candidate to run nationwide primary campaigns . He also ran as a Democratic Party candidate. [3] In 1992 Alan Keyes was the first African-American candidate to run in the Republican presidential primaries.[ citation needed ] Keyes ran again, unsuccessfully, in 1996, 2000, and 2008. In 2004, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton ran as unsuccessful candidates in the Democratic primaries. But you know — being black is a real advantage when you run for president. Uh-huh.
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Click here to view this media While Rep. Peter King (R-NY) busies himself holding hearings on the alleged radicalization of American Muslims, Jon Stewart suggests King’s own shady past of openly supporting the Irish Republican Army (IRA) makes him a curious choice, to put it mildly. Presumably King is doing so for political advantage in singling out and stigmatizing Muslims with such a broad brush, using (or misusing) the spotlight King now enjoys as the incoming Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. However, such a cynical ploy may backfire. The NY Times has more. WASHINGTON — For Representative Peter T. King, as he seizes the national spotlight this week with a hearing on the radicalization of American Muslims, it is the most awkward of résumé entries. Long before he became an outspoken voice in Congress about the threat from terrorism, he was a fervent supporter of a terrorist group, the Irish Republican Army. “We must pledge ourselves to support those brave men and women who this very moment are carrying forth the struggle against British imperialism in the streets of Belfast and Derry,” Mr. King told a pro-I.R.A. rally on Long Island, where he was serving as Nassau County comptroller, in 1982. Three years later he declared, “If civilians are killed in an attack on a military installation, it is certainly regrettable, but I will not morally blame the I.R.A. for it.” As Mr. King, a Republican, rose as a Long Island politician in the 1980s, benefiting from strong Irish-American support, the I.R.A. was carrying out a bloody campaign of bombing and sniping, targeting the British Army, Protestant paramilitaries and sometimes pubs and other civilian gathering spots. His statements, along with his close ties to key figures in the military and political wings of the I.R.A., drew the attention of British and American authorities. A judge in Belfast threw him out of an I.R.A. murder trial, calling him an “obvious collaborator,” said Ed Moloney, an Irish journalist and author of “A Secret History of the I.R.A.” In 1984, Mr. King complained that the Secret Service had investigated him as a “security risk,” Mr. Moloney said. UPDATE : John Amato What I find to be truly amazing is that if a Democratic politician was linked to a high school essay that they wrote twenty years in the past, they could be ostracized and made to resign, but if you’re a Republican, you say that you had a change of heart, ask for forgiveness and then run for President at a later date. I’m not even bring up sex scandals like Elliot Spitzer and David Vitter were linked to. One is still in Congress and the other is on CNN. It wouldn’t be hard to figure which one ended up where. Ask the British people who experienced IRA violence and see how they feel about that time in their history. Salon Reports that King supported Noraid, which was linked to a bombing that killed an American. Now, King’s standard of good versus bad terrorism seems to have a lot to do with whether King supports the cause in question, but has also specified some characteristics of acceptable terrorism . Here’s what he told the Times : Of comparisons between the terrorism of the I.R.A. and that of Al Qaeda and its affiliates, Mr. King said: “I understand why people who are misinformed might see a parallel. The fact is, the I.R.A. never attacked the United States. And my loyalty is to the United States.” It may be that the IRA never attacked inside the United States. But it’s not true that the group never claimed any American victims in attacks targeting civilians. In the notorious December 1983 strike on Harrods in London, for example, an IRA car bomb was set outside the department store in the early afternoon during the busy Christmas shopping season. The bomb killed six people — including an American citizen — and injured another 90 : Peter King should be ousted from running this committee as he tries to whip up the fear in America just because of his past IRA ties in which he gets to differentiate what type of terrorism is good and bad.
Continue reading …Egypt’s revolution means nothing if its women are not free | Jumanah Younis
March 9, 2011 No Comment
A mob of men attacking an International Women’s Day demo should not be allowed to happen in the new Egypt A demonstration commemorating International Women’s Day was attacked on Tuesday afternoon in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. More than 200 men charged on the women – forcing some to the ground, dragging others out of the crowd, groping and sexually harassing them as police and military figures stood by and failed to act. It was a shocking wake-up call. Even in Tahrir Square , the symbol of Egypt’s newfound freedom, it seems that it’s going to take much more than a revolution to overhaul the deep-seated misogyny that some Egyptian men so freely and openly impose on the country’s female population. The female demonstrators – myself among them – had been protesting against Egypt’s chronic sexual harassment problem, against the many barriers women face in public life, and against the pervasive conservatism that curtails the freedom of women in society at large. The women chanted slogans that had been used in the revolution itself, calling for freedom, justice and equality. But their demonstration quickly attracted a counter-protest. The women’s chants calling for an “Egypt for all Egyptians” were drowned out by retaliations such as “No to freedom!” shouted by the opposing group. The men charged at the female protesters, who had been standing on a raised platform in the middle of Tahrir Square, and shouted: “Get out of here.” Many women were dragged away individually by small groups of men who attacked them. I remained on the platform with five other women. A small circle of sympathetic men held hands around us to protect us from the crowd, which swelled on all sides. Against the charge of the counter-demonstrators, the circle quickly caved. Several women fell to the ground and a number of attempts were made by the attacking group to steal belongings. As I struggled to stay upright, a hand grabbed my behind and others pulled at my clothes. When, a few minutes later, I found the other women I was with, one told me that a man had put his hand down her top, while another woman had been pushed to the ground and held down by a man on top of her. The police continued to direct traffic around the square as the incident was taking place. Such outrageous displays of contempt for women cannot be allowed to persist in the new Egypt. Time and time again so-called “women’s issues” have been relegated to the bottom of the agenda: we must end corruption first, we must have political freedom first, etc, etc. On Tuesday, Egyptian women said: “Now is the time.” There is no freedom for men without freedom and equality for women. This is not a free society if a woman cannot walk down the street without fear of being harassed, attacked, or even molested. Women have a right to participate in Egyptian society as equals – and this revolution will have achieved nothing if it does not recognise the basic right of the Egyptian women to exist, to demonstrate, to work, to live and walk the streets with dignity. International Women’s Day Egypt Arab and Middle East protests Middle East Gender Equality Women Jumanah Younis guardian.co.uk
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Violence breaks out in Egyptian capital during protest against burning of church Clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, have left 11 people dead and more than 90 wounded. The clashes broke out on Tuesday night as thousands of Christians protested against the burning of a Cairo church last week. The church was set on fire after tensions escalated over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian that set off a violent feud between the couple’s families. Security and hospital officials said six Christians and five Muslims died from gunshot wounds and 94 people – 73 Muslims and 21 Christians – were wounded. Christian protesters blocked a highway, burning tyres and pelting cars with rocks. The two sides fought pitched battles for about four hours. The 18-day uprising that toppled the president, Hosni Mubarak, on 11 February has left a security vacuum. Police pulled out of Cairo and several other cities three days into the uprising and have yet to fully take back the streets. Mubarak handed power to the military when he stepped down, but it does not have enough troops to police every street in Cairo. On New Year’s Day, a suicide bombing outside a Coptic church in the port city of Alexandria killed 21 people , setting off days of protests. An off-duty policeman boarded a train on 11 January and shot dead a 71-year-old Christian man, wounding his wife and four others. Egypt’s ruling generals pledged last week to rebuild the burned church. The country’s new prime minister, Essam Sharaf, has met Christian protesters in central Cairo to reassure them they would not face discrimination from his interim government. However, at least 2,000 Christians joined the protest on Tuesday and a separate crowd of several hundred has been camping out outside the TV building for days to voice their anger at what they perceive to be official discrimination against them. Egypt Middle East Christianity Religion Islam guardian.co.uk
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