enlarge Credit: Bradblog James O’Keefe has had a mixed blessings week. The IRS has granted his ridiculously hacky “investigative” group C3 (non-profit) status . In its application, Project Veritas said it planned to pursue as many as a half-dozen journalism projects and conduct five two- to three-day training sessions for people interested in learning how to do such projects on their own. “I can’t tell you the secret sauce of it, but we do have a training method,” Mr. O’Keefe said. “There are many people learning this method and learning how to expose abusive power in creative ways.” He said he would work as the organization’s “muckraker in chief,” for which he will be paid about $120,000 a year, according to the group’s application. It raised $2,367 last year, according to the filing, and expects that figure to grow to $1.65 million over the next three years, though Mr. O’Keefe described that as “a sort of dream.” The group has hired a firm led by Richard Viguerie, a conservative strategist, to help it raise money. Charities are constrained by law from participating in lobbying and political campaigns, and in response to a question posed by the I.R.S., Project Veritas specifically said it had no plans to lobby on behalf of specific legislation.“We’re designed to expose malfeasance, waste, fraud and corruption, to expose things for what they are,” Mr. O’Keefe said. “That’s not policy work, that’s educational work.” Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, a lawyer specializing in nonprofit matters, looked at the Project Veritas Web site and said he could see nothing that would cause the group to run afoul of the rules on politicking. I don’t know, seems to me that illegal acts like attempting to break and enter into Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office for the purpose of illegally wiretapping her and whatever creepy plans he had with CNN journalist Abbie Boudreau on the boat might have tipped off the IRS that O’Keefe deserves no such classification. It’s not his partisanship; Heritage Foundation is a C3 organization too. It’s his fast and loose playing with ethics and rules that should work against him. But luckily for all of us, a federal judge is not so easily persuaded by O’Keefe’s machinations. O’Keefe and his partner Hannah Giles are being sued in San Diego by ACORN employee Juan Carlos Vera. Giles previously tried to get out of the suit by claiming that all the recording was done by O’Keefe and she was there merely as a prop. O’Keefe, for his part, claimed that his First Amendment right as a “citizen journalist” absolved him of liability. The judge didn’t buy either argument. Bradblog : According to Maria Dinzeo of Courthouse News Service : Juan Carlos Vera claimed James O’Keefe III and Hannah Giles visited his office in August 2009, and conspired to create video and audio tapes of him, even after asking him if their conversation would be confidential. … [Lorenz ruled] that the law “is directed to the surreptitious recording of confidential communications and not the manner or method of recording the conversation.” Given the meaning of the word “record,” Lorenz found Giles equally responsible. Lorenz also rejected O’Keefe’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, in which he argued that First Amendment protections for journalists supersede the California Privacy Act. Since there was a mutual understanding that the conversation was confidential, Lorenz found that the privacy law “is not an overbroad intrusion on exposé newsgathering in which O’Keefe participates.” “Exposé newsgathering” is not what O’Keefe traffics in, as demonstrated again most recently by, ironically enough, the “news” website of Fox “News” host Glenn Beck after a similarly deceptive and secretly video taped smear of an NPR employee by O’Keefe last March. But O’Keefe’s long track record of deceptive video hit-jobs was not at issue in this particular legal argument. In his ruling [PDF] , Judge Lorenz highlighted specific portions of the CA law which is violated by “Every person who, intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a confidential communication, by means of any electronic amplifying or recording device, eavesdrops upon or records the confidential communication.” The ruling goes on to further cite the statute which reads “The term ‘confidential communication’ includes any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined to the parties thereto.” “California’s law is quite clear,” Lorenz wrote in response to the First Amendment arguments by O’Keefe and Giles , “that persons who engage in news gathering are not permitted to violate criminal laws in the process.” Now the question remains if the IRS will continue to allow Project Veritas (a misnomer if ever there was one) its C3 status with a convicted criminal at its helm.
Continue reading …Bill Nye ‘The Science Guy’ Falsely Claims Not Many Countries Beside U.S. Have Tornadoes
May 28, 2011 No Comment
Bill Nye “The Science Guy” was on Fox News's “America's News Headquarters” Saturday trying to make the case that despite it being “very difficult to mathematically connect” this year's tornado activity to global warming, “Tornadoes are almost certainly a consequence.” When host Uma Pemmaraju asked a seemingly simple question, “Are other countries seeing the same type of activity, the intensity of these tornadoes picking up in those regions as well,” “The Science Guy” first seemed completely stumped, and then gave a rather absurd answer (video follows with transcript and commentary): BILL NYE: The tornadoes very difficult to mathematically connect to climate change, but the rains, the extra warmth in the atmosphere, the extra water vapor in the atmosphere, that’s, those are facts. That’s the real deal. Now, we, we are patriots. We are from the U.S. I am. And you would like the U.S. to be the leader in addressing this problem. We would like to be out in front in trying to deal with whatever it is that’s holding in all this heat and creating all this extra water vapor in the atmosphere. Tornadoes are almost certainly a consequence. It is indeed telling that “The Science Guy” didn't once mention the impact of this year's La Ni
Continue reading …Bill Nye ‘The Science Guy’ Falsely Claims Not Many Countries Beside U.S. Have Tornadoes
May 28, 2011 No CommentBill Nye “The Science Guy” was on Fox News's “America's News Headquarters” Saturday trying to make the case that despite it being “very difficult to mathematically connect” this year's tornado activity to global warming, “Tornadoes are almost certainly a consequence.” When host Uma Pemmaraju asked a seemingly simple question, “Are other countries seeing the same type of activity, the intensity of these tornadoes picking up in those regions as well,” “The Science Guy” first seemed completely stumped, and then gave a rather absurd answer (video follows with transcript and commentary): BILL NYE: The tornadoes very difficult to mathematically connect to climate change, but the rains, the extra warmth in the atmosphere, the extra water vapor in the atmosphere, that’s, those are facts. That’s the real deal. Now, we, we are patriots. We are from the U.S. I am. And you would like the U.S. to be the leader in addressing this problem. We would like to be out in front in trying to deal with whatever it is that’s holding in all this heat and creating all this extra water vapor in the atmosphere. Tornadoes are almost certainly a consequence. It is indeed telling that “The Science Guy” didn't once mention the impact of this year's La Ni
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Fifa’s ethics committee due to deliver a verdict on claims of backhanders and bought votes in world football On Sunday night the 12 members of Fifa’s ethics committee will deliver a verdict that could decide the future of football’s governing body, amid growing calls for fundamental reform and fresh criticism from politicians and major sponsors. As the 208 member nations gather in Zurich to choose Fifa’s president for the next four years, there is growing pressure for the election to be suspended, given that both candidates, the incumbent Sepp Blatter and Mohamed bin Hammam, face serious corruption allegations. The calls come as Jack Warner, Fifa’s vice-president, who is also appearing before the ethics committee to deny bribery claims, predicts a “football tsunami” will hit the organisation in the next couple of days that will “shock” the world. “The time has come when I must stop playing dead so you’ll see it, it’s coming, trust me you’ll see it by now and Monday,” Warner told newspapers in his home country of Trinidad and Tobago. Meanwhile the British sports minister, Hugh Robertson, is to speak to his foreign counterparts in an effort to form a consensus that action needs to be taken to reform Fifa. Robertson feels this crisis could be Fifa’s “Salt Lake City moment”, referring to the bribery scandal that forced the International Olympic Committee into reform in 1999. While Blatter’s supporters believe he holds the upper hand and will claim a fourth term as president on Wednesday, many think he has underestimated the strength of feeling outside the Fifa bubble. “This happens to people when they do jobs for too long,” Robertson said. “They live in an ivory tower and lose any connection with the world outside. They probably think people will dismiss this, without realising how serious it is.” Much will depend on the outcome of today’s deliberations by the ethics committee, which could suspend either or both men. Alternatively, it could provisionally suspend both Blatter and Bin Hammam while it deliberates further. Blatter, whose 13-year tenure at the top of world football has been marked by recurrent scandal, became the 10th of its 24 executive committee members to face corruption allegations last Friday. His opponent, Bin Hammam, who is charged with attempting to buy votes in Wednesday’s election, has claimed that payments made to Caribbean Football Union officials were for legitimate expenses and that Blatter knew all about them, having been told by Warner. It was Warner, who has held a powerful position in Fifa for 28 years by virtue of controlling Concacaf’s bloc of 35 votes, who arranged Bin Hammam’s special conference with 25 voting members of the CFU on 10-11 May, at which bundles of $40,000 (£24,000) in cash are alleged to have been distributed. The claims are documented in a dossier collated by John Collins, a Chicago attorney who was asked to investigate by Concacaf general secretary and Fifa executive committee member Chuck Blazer when he was approached by concerned CFU members. Bin Hammam, a Qatari who has spent 15 years on Fifa’s executive committee, claims the allegations are a plot to undermine his chances in the election, and accuses Blatter of “tawdry manoeuvre” amid “increasing evidence of a conspiracy”. For his part, Blatter insists that he knew nothing of the allegations until Wednesday morning. Last week’s events have shown the folly of the continued insistence from both men that they will overhaul Fifa’s tarnished image. They were once close, with Bin Hammam helping Blatter to victory in the 1998 and 2002 elections, but fell out when Bin Hammam felt that Blatter had reneged on a promise to stand down this year. Blatter is likely to dismiss calls for reform from Britain, Australia and the US as sour grapes over their World Cup bid humiliations, and will take heart from the support of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, whom he helped to victory in the 2014 race. But he will find it harder to dismiss the concerns of the major sponsors who have bankrolled Fifa, which is now sitting on reserves of $1.3bn a year thanks to television and advertising deals. “I have to say that in general we have had a good relationship with Fifa for a long time,” Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer told the Observer. ” But obviously all that has happened in the past few days is neither positive for sport nor for Fifa.” It was partly Blatter’s desire to turn the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups into a twin-track circus that created the climate for corruption and turned the spotlight on Fifa’s inner workings. The FA has passed its own file of evidence to Fifa collected in the wake of allegations made by the former FA chairman Lord Triesman against four executive committee members – Warner, Nicolás Leoz, Ricardo Teixeira and Worawi Makudi – of soliciting inducements during the 2018 World Cup bidding process. A claim that Warner asked for financial help to build an education centre has been backed up by Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards, while the file also includes an email from Warner to Triesman asking the FA to pay for Haiti’s World Cup TV rights through him. Two other Fifa executive committee members, the Nigerian Amos Adamu and Oceania’s representative Reynald Temarii, were suspended by Fifa in October following a cash-for-votes investigation by the Sunday Times . Two more, Jacques Anouma and Issa Hayatou, were accused by an anonymous whistleblower of accepting bribes of $1.5m (£910,000) from the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid according to evidence submitted by the paper to a parliamentary inquiry. Hayatou, Leoz and Teixeira were also accused by a BBC Panorama documentary of accepting bribes from a $100m slush fund administered by ISL in the 1990s. All have denied the allegations. Sepp Blatter Fifa Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk
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Bomber in police uniform targets provincial governor’s office killing a police chief and injuring several others A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a provincial governor’s compound in Takhar, killing the police chief of northern Afghanistan and seriously injuring a top Nato commander. Two other Afghan officials were also reported to have died in the attack. Several international servicemen were reported injured by eyewitnesses. German officials confirmed to Spiegel magazine Major General Markus Kneip, who commands Nato forces in the north Afghanistan, had received wounds that were “severe” but not life-threatening. A Nato spokesman in Kabul confirmed western casualties but was unable to provide details. The Taliban, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for the attack and pledged that “killing high ranking officials will continue.” Mujeebullah Rahman, the deputy director of the local council in Takhar province, said the attack took place at about 4pm when a meeting to discuss local security operations was ending. “The bomber was waiting in the corridor, wearing the uniform of an Afghan policeman,” Rahman said. The attack capped a bloody 48 hours in which seven Americans, two British and two other Nato servicemen were killed by roadside bombs or by insurgents in the south of the country. So far 44 Nato soldiers have been killed this month, and .nearly 200 have died in the year. The British servicemen, from 42 Royal Marine Commando, were on patrol when a hidden explosive device was triggered. However, the Takhar attack was more audacious. The German general may have been specifically targeted as he commands a zone which has seen a high number of special forces operations against insurgents in recent months. But the main target may have been General Mohammed Daoud Daoud. He served as a deputy interior minister for narcotics before being posted as police chief in the north, and was also the former bodyguard of the legendary guerilla leader Ahmed Shah Massod who was killed by suicide bombers in 2001. Targeting high profile figures has long been an aim of the insurgents, for having a major propaganda impact overseas. The fighting this year is seen as a key test of strength as it comes against a background of US decisions about troop withdrawals this summer, the death of Osama bin Laden and tentative moves to find some kind of political settlement to the conflict, now in its tenth year. Afghanistan Nato Taliban Jason Burke guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Gov. Rick Scott’s Minions Remove Liberal-Looking People From Crowd At Budget Event. See No Evil, Rick?
May 28, 2011 No Comment
enlarge Evil super villain Lex Luthor — oops, sorry, Florida Gov. Rick Scott — chortles at the thought of poor people dying. Simply astounding. The event was held in a retirement village, which I suppose made it private — but they banned the Democratic residents? You can run, Rick — but you can’t hide from the consequences of your decisions: Anxious over their increasing unpopularity, Republicans lawmakers across the country are banning media from chronicling the blowback at public events. Florida’s now deeply disliked Gov. Rick Scott (R) adopted a similar tactic yesterday at a “campaign-style” budget signing ceremony at a town square in The Villages retirement community in Central Florida. Before putting his pen to the $69.7 billion state budget, Scott took an ax to $615 million of what he called “ shortsighted, frivolous, wasteful spending .” Scott conveniently failed, however, to mention exactly what some of those “frivolous” programs were, including ones that provide help for the most vulnerable in society: In his speech Thursday, Scott omitted many of the serious-sounding programs he cut: homeless veterans, meals for poor seniors, a council for deafness, a children’s hospital, cancer research, public radio, whooping-cough vaccines for poor mothers, or aid for the paralyzed . Many in the community would likely not be pleased with Scott’s cuts, but those voices remained unheard — mainly because they were banned. Declaring the town square event to be “private,” Scott’s staffers had Sumter County sheriff’s deputies remove Democrats and those with “liberal-looking pins and buttons” from the event: Members of The Villages Democratic Club were barred from the budget signing by Scott staffers who said the outdoor event in The Villages town square was “private.” Other staffers and Republican operatives scoured the crowd and had Sumter County sheriff’s deputies remove those with anti-Scott signs or liberal-looking pins and buttons. They escorted more than a dozen people off the property . Despite blocking dissenting voices from a public arena, Scott failed to avoid anger from those in the crowd — most notably, Republican lawmakers. Bristling under his veto of lawmakers’ hometown earmarks, state House Speaker Dean Cannon (R) pointed out that much of Scott’s praise for K-12 education funding at the event was a “new found” priority. “The budget we sent him funds education at a higher level than the governor recommended just a few months ago, when he proposed a 10 percent cut,” he said. State Sen. Mike Fasano (R) called Scott “totally disingenuous” for this hypocrisy.
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Robert Daley had been clinging to the hope of watching the teenage diving champion compete in the 2012 Olympics The father of Tom Daley, the teenage British diving champion, has died aged 40 following a battle with brain cancer. Robert Daley, who followed his son’s career around the world despite his illness and became a familiar figure at the poolside and press conferences, died peacefully late on Friday with his family by his side. Although his health had been deteriorating since February, after it was confirmed that a tumour had returned five years after he was first diagnosed with cancer, Robert Daley had been clinging to the hope of seeing his son compete at the 2012 Olympics The 17-year-old diver, who lives with his family in Plymouth and is currently the world platform champion, paid tribute to his father on Twitter, saying: “If I could be half the dad that my Dad was to me then that would be my best achievement! I love you!” Mr Daley had attended all of of his son’s events until last year’s Commonwealth Games, when he was forced to remain at home after a tumour returned. However, he remained determined to support his son and he made a late dash to Sheffield with his family last month to watch Tom and synchro partner Peter Waterfield claim their first gold medal together in the World Series. Before the final of that competition, Tom was pictured in the crowd hugging his sobbing father, who had been determined to watch his son dive at next year’s Olympics in London. Mr Daley was wearing a T-shirt that night, which read: “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.” His son said after the event: “I am his oil.” A statement from British Swimming said: “Tom Daley’s father, Rob Daley lost his battle with cancer yesterday 27 May at 21.35 hours. “Rob Daley, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2006, passed away peacefully with his family at his side. “His health has been fluctuating since February but he continued to fight until the last day, defying doctors’ expectations. “The family have asked for respect to their privacy during this very difficult period.” Jamie Cunningham, one of the diver’s publicity team, said: “When Rob and I walked into Tom’s post-victory press conference at the 2009 World Championships, there was a slight feeling of embarrassment mainly because Rob had a very private moment with Tom in front of the world’s media. “However, it was actually not about ego. Rob had just watched his 15-year-old son become Britain’s youngest ever world champion. He had not been able to congratulate him for nearly an hour… Rob was just being Rob, passionate and proud. “Tom Daley is without doubt the most impressive teenager I have ever met – both as a sportsman and a human being. That is the biggest compliment that I can pay Rob. We will miss you Rob, but we will cherish your memory.” Mr Daley leaves his wife, Debbie, and three sons Tom, William and Ben. Tom Daley Olympics 2012: Diving Diving Olympic Games 2012 Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Michele Bachmann blames her reading of articles for getting everything wrong
May 28, 2011 No CommentMichele Bachmann went on CNN with John King to talk about her possible presidential run and said that her decision was not going to be based on whether Sarah Palin gets in the race. Riiiiiiight. I highly doubt that she’ll enter if Palin jumps because they have the same followers. But King then called Bachmann out on all the many false statements she made about Obama. Her response was to say that, well, she reads a whole lot (slap to Palin?), and then blamed the articles she read in the AP for getting all her facts wrong. King told her she shouldn’t be blaming factually correct news reports for her mistakes. She admitted that she could use a little messaging discipline. Hey, at least she heard of the AP. John King, USA: KING: Let’s deal with a few things. They should watch you, that’s right. You had a conversation with Chris Wallace right after the Libya invasion started, the Libya bombing started, where you said, you know, you heard a report from an ambassador in Tripoli that maybe 10,000 or 20,000 or 30,000 people had been killed. That number was, of course, not anywhere near reliable. So some people said, well, Michele Bachmann just sees one little report and goes and quotes it on television. Do you have to work on discipline if you’re going to run for president? BACHMANN: I think it’s important to have discipline and a message. That’s true. And have I been right in — have I been accurate in everything that I’ve said? No, that’s not true. You can — you can fact check. But the fact is, I read and I read a lot. And that morning, I had read in a — a TV — a report by A.P. And the overall number was correct and it was a number that was given by the ambassador. It wasn’t in one particular engagement, but it was the number of people who had been wounded so far. So that was accurate. You see she reads. However, making sure of the facts comes second. KING: Another thing people cite is when the president was going to India, there was a report in a publication over there that used this wildly exorbitant number about how much his trip would cost. And you… BACHMANN: Oh, sure. KING: — you, for several days… BACHMANN: And — and what I was doing… KING: — were talking about that. BACHMANN: — again, I was — I was quoting from “The Financial Times.” And so I — I gave the source that I was quoting from and it was a financial newspaper from India. And so it isn’t my job to go and fact check sources that come out in publication. And so I was using that quote. But you’re right… KING: It’s your job as a candidate… BACHMANN: — when it’s — when it… KING: — when people… KING: — the left… BACHMANN: You have a very good point… Doesn’t she have a staff working for her? We know she’ll repeat falsehoods or make up insane ideas like the anti-Americans in Congress at the drop of a dime KING: — the left—-likes to use you as a galvanizer. BACHMANN: You have — you have a very good point, though, that I think when you’re — when you’re in the presidential realm, I do think that message discipline is required. And I think that that is something that, you know, all of us have areas that we need to do better on and that’s certainly one that I’ll pay a lot of attention to. KING: I read a fundraising e-mail under your name just an hour or so ago. It was talking about: “Our president is too busy gallivanting around Europe with his Irish cousins to focus on rebuilding our economy and strengthening our nation.” Now, people have a lot of fun in fundraising letters. But a President Bachmann would never take a little personal detour on a very important overseas trip for a G8 summit or sitting down with the prime minister of the United Kingdom? BACHMANN: Well, of course presidents take trips. But remember, I think if the shoe was on the other foot and if we had a Republican as president and we just saw the devastation in Joplin, Missouri and we see the president of the United States playing ping pong on TV and we see him serving up hamburgers in — in a day when we aren’t dealing with devastation in the heartland of the United States, that would be fine for the president to be out doing those things. I don’t fault him for that. And it’s actually a — a small thing in the scheme of things. The right keeps on trying to find a false equivalency for Bush falling down on the job in NOLA and can’t do it, but Michele doesn’t mind fundraising off any crazy thought. The fake “$200-million-dollar-a-day trip to India story” was debunked immediately, but it didn’t stop her or the Limbaughs from transmitting it as much and as often as they could. I was kind of shocked that King went at many of her falsehoods directly, but good for him. We need more of this from the media in any campaign against any party. Bachmann is a treasure trove of misinformation and badly spun talking points, so King and his cohorts have a lot of work to do if or when she gets in the race.
Continue reading …Maybe There’s Some Hope for Us Yet – High School Students Take on Bachmann and Creationists
May 28, 2011 No Comment
MSNBC featured two very bright high school students on Hardball and then on Lawrence O’Donnell’s Last Word and seeing these kids stand up to the history revisionists like Michele Bachmann or these people trying to push creationism into our school kids as science gives me some hope for our future. Click here to view this media In the video above — Andy Kopplin’s son takes his anti-creationism campaign to ‘Hardball’ : Zack Kopplin, the son of Andy Kopplin, Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s chief of administration, was featured on a segment of “Hardball with Chris Matthews” this evening. Kopplin, a high school student, discussed his efforts to combat the Louisiana Science Education Act, a 2008 law that governs how local school systems can introduce supplemental materials into science lessons on topics such as evolutionary biology, global warming and cloning. During the segement, Kopplin expressed his belief that Gov. Bobby Jindal, who graduated as a biology major from Brown University and signed the act into law, in his “heart of hearts” knows “how vital evolution is to biology.” Click here to view this media And the subject of the threats did not come up on O’Donnell’s show, but here’s a reminder of what this student put up with after challenging Bachmann that Dave wrote about last week — Right-wingers flood teen who challenged Bachmann to a debate with threats of violence .
Continue reading …Maybe There’s Some Hope for Us Yet – High School Students Take on Bachmann and Creationists
May 28, 2011 No Comment
MSNBC featured two very bright high school students on Hardball and then on Lawrence O’Donnell’s Last Word and seeing these kids stand up to the history revisionists like Michele Bachmann or these people trying to push creationism into our school kids as science gives me some hope for our future. Click here to view this media In the video above — Andy Kopplin’s son takes his anti-creationism campaign to ‘Hardball’ : Zack Kopplin, the son of Andy Kopplin, Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s chief of administration, was featured on a segment of “Hardball with Chris Matthews” this evening. Kopplin, a high school student, discussed his efforts to combat the Louisiana Science Education Act, a 2008 law that governs how local school systems can introduce supplemental materials into science lessons on topics such as evolutionary biology, global warming and cloning. During the segement, Kopplin expressed his belief that Gov. Bobby Jindal, who graduated as a biology major from Brown University and signed the act into law, in his “heart of hearts” knows “how vital evolution is to biology.” Click here to view this media And the subject of the threats did not come up on O’Donnell’s show, but here’s a reminder of what this student put up with after challenging Bachmann that Dave wrote about last week — Right-wingers flood teen who challenged Bachmann to a debate with threats of violence .
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