The New Transparency: White House Bans Reporter After She Uses Cell Phone To Record Protest
April 30, 2011 No CommentI don’t know if you’re aware, but tonight is Nerd Prom, also known as The White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Unfortunately, the date between the White House and those who cover it has become just a little more awkward than usual. If you are a San Francisco Bay area resident, you know the name Carla Marinucci. She’s been covering politics for the San Francisco Chronicle for years. If you are masochistic enough to attend those events yourself, you will see Marinucci there with a recording device of some sort, the better to more accurately reflect what politicians will say in response to her questions. I’ve seen Marinucci recording protests on (what I presume to be) her cellphone personally, as well as other reporters and bloggers. To the best of my knowledge, this is pretty standard operating procedure for most reporters, even the “pad and paper” types, and doesn’t usually present a problem, even to the subjects of said recording. Except… Marinucci was granted a press pass last month to cover an Obama fundraiser in San Francisco. During the fundraiser, a group that called themselves Fresh Juice Party stood up to sing a protest song against the treatment of Bradley Manning, after paying $76,000 for a table at the fundraiser (tangentially, Nicole Sandler interviewed Naomi Pitcairn of Fresh Juice , and I’m not entirely clear that Pitcairn is clear about what she was protesting). Marinucci recorded the event and uploaded the video for her online column . And that’s where the trouble begins. The White House claims that there were specific restrictions against reporters using video at this fundraiser. Now, that could be for security or privacy concerns on behalf of the donors, or the White House could be fearing a repeat of the scandal of Mayhill Fowler’s reporting of Obama saying that people cling to guns and God during economically stressful times. But their response to Marinucci’s uploading of video was a little over-the-top: they banned her from the press pool for San Francisco events . Ms Marinucci was part of the ‘print pool’ – that is, the journalists who have traditionally relied on the written word to tell the story. However the experienced political reporter used her video phone to shoot some footage of protesters at an Obama fundraiser at the St Regis Hotel on Thursday. The video caught Mr Obama looking on as protesters demonstrated against the White House’s treatment of accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. The Chronicle defended Ms Marinucci, saying such phones were ‘now-standard multi-media tools’. But the move that is said to have infuriated the White House, resulting in her banning – and even threats to other reporters, according to the Chronicle. The newspaper slammed the administration as ‘hypocrtical’, pointing out that the Obama administration has done everything possible to present itself as new media friendly. That includes a high profile appearance by the President alongside Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently, as well as exhaustive Facebook and Twitter updates from White House officials. But she was slammed by both the White House and other print reporters there – essentially accused of cheating by using her phone to get the story. When the Chronicle reported on the ban, the White House press office denied it had happened – sparking an angry response from Chronicle editor Ward Bushee. He wrote: ‘Sadly, we expected the White House to respond in this manner based on our experiences yesterday. It is not a truthful response. ‘It follows a day of off-the-record exchanges with key people in the White House communications office who told us they would remove our reporter, then threatened retaliation to Chronicle and Hearst reporters if we reported on the ban, and then recanted to say our reporter might not be removed after all. ‘The Chronicle’s report is accurate. ‘If the White House has indeed decided not to ban our reporter, we would like an on-the-record notice that she will remain the San Francisco print pool reporter.’ Chronicle editor-at-large Phil Bronstein added on his blog: ‘Messy ball now firmly in White House court.’ Ouch. Banning a reporter for *reporting* because she had the temerity to use a video camera rather than a keyboard? Quite a change from an administration promising transparency , isn’t it?
Continue reading …The New Transparency: White House Bans Reporter After She Uses Cell Phone To Record Protest
April 30, 2011 No CommentI don’t know if you’re aware, but tonight is Nerd Prom, also known as The White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Unfortunately, the date between the White House and those who cover it has become just a little more awkward than usual. If you are a San Francisco Bay area resident, you know the name Carla Marinucci. She’s been covering politics for the San Francisco Chronicle for years. If you are masochistic enough to attend those events yourself, you will see Marinucci there with a recording device of some sort, the better to more accurately reflect what politicians will say in response to her questions. I’ve seen Marinucci recording protests on (what I presume to be) her cellphone personally, as well as other reporters and bloggers. To the best of my knowledge, this is pretty standard operating procedure for most reporters, even the “pad and paper” types, and doesn’t usually present a problem, even to the subjects of said recording. Except… Marinucci was granted a press pass last month to cover an Obama fundraiser in San Francisco. During the fundraiser, a group that called themselves Fresh Juice Party stood up to sing a protest song against the treatment of Bradley Manning, after paying $76,000 for a table at the fundraiser (tangentially, Nicole Sandler interviewed Naomi Pitcairn of Fresh Juice , and I’m not entirely clear that Pitcairn is clear about what she was protesting). Marinucci recorded the event and uploaded the video for her online column . And that’s where the trouble begins. The White House claims that there were specific restrictions against reporters using video at this fundraiser. Now, that could be for security or privacy concerns on behalf of the donors, or the White House could be fearing a repeat of the scandal of Mayhill Fowler’s reporting of Obama saying that people cling to guns and God during economically stressful times. But their response to Marinucci’s uploading of video was a little over-the-top: they banned her from the press pool for San Francisco events . Ms Marinucci was part of the ‘print pool’ – that is, the journalists who have traditionally relied on the written word to tell the story. However the experienced political reporter used her video phone to shoot some footage of protesters at an Obama fundraiser at the St Regis Hotel on Thursday. The video caught Mr Obama looking on as protesters demonstrated against the White House’s treatment of accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. The Chronicle defended Ms Marinucci, saying such phones were ‘now-standard multi-media tools’. But the move that is said to have infuriated the White House, resulting in her banning – and even threats to other reporters, according to the Chronicle. The newspaper slammed the administration as ‘hypocrtical’, pointing out that the Obama administration has done everything possible to present itself as new media friendly. That includes a high profile appearance by the President alongside Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently, as well as exhaustive Facebook and Twitter updates from White House officials. But she was slammed by both the White House and other print reporters there – essentially accused of cheating by using her phone to get the story. When the Chronicle reported on the ban, the White House press office denied it had happened – sparking an angry response from Chronicle editor Ward Bushee. He wrote: ‘Sadly, we expected the White House to respond in this manner based on our experiences yesterday. It is not a truthful response. ‘It follows a day of off-the-record exchanges with key people in the White House communications office who told us they would remove our reporter, then threatened retaliation to Chronicle and Hearst reporters if we reported on the ban, and then recanted to say our reporter might not be removed after all. ‘The Chronicle’s report is accurate. ‘If the White House has indeed decided not to ban our reporter, we would like an on-the-record notice that she will remain the San Francisco print pool reporter.’ Chronicle editor-at-large Phil Bronstein added on his blog: ‘Messy ball now firmly in White House court.’ Ouch. Banning a reporter for *reporting* because she had the temerity to use a video camera rather than a keyboard? Quite a change from an administration promising transparency , isn’t it?
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Survey finds that burden of monitoring online threats is putting schools under strain A fifth of headteachers have been bullied by pupils or parents on Facebook and other social networking sites, a poll has found. Britain’s biggest headteachers’ union – the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) – warned that schools are increasingly having to call the police to deal with violent threats posted online. Schools now waste hours each week monitoring websites for abusive comments, the union claims. One in five heads told the union they had been hounded on social networking sites by pupils, ex-pupils and parents, while two-thirds claimed parents’ behaviour has got worse over the last few years. Some 1,362 heads responded to the poll. In one case, a teaching assistant discovered that pupils or parents had created a profile of him on Facebook and had posted a litany of abusive comments on it. It took him two months to get the web page taken down. In another case, parents started a campaign to get rid of a headteacher after her pupils were shown a slaughtered pig as part of a biology lesson. The head resigned. Later, the parents decided that they had made a mistake and asked her to come back. In other cases, schools have had to call the police to deal with vicious online threats to their headteachers. Speaking at the NAHT’s annual conference in Brighton, Russell Hobby, the union’s general secretary, said cyber-abuse would soon be more of a worry for a school’s reputation than Ofsted, the school inspectorate. Heads will vote on Sunday over whether the union’s national executive should lobby ministers to develop “robust national guidance” on cyberbullying. At the moment, unions issue their own advice on this. Hobby said online bullying could be trivial or nasty. “It can be just a matter of pupils and parents posting that they don’t like what a headteacher wears or it can be a campaign to get rid of a head. There is anonymity for those who post online and they often seem to think that what they are writing isn’t really real because it’s on a website.” Sue Street, the director of e-learning at Harrow High School in north London, said schools were having to waste time monitoring sites such as Wikipedia. “Schools now need someone to check new media and the amount of time this takes is disproportionate. We are having to have long conversations [with website owners] in the US to have things taken down.” She said there was a “growing trend” for pupils to record their classmates and teachers in lessons. “This is also about what happens to that footage,” she said. Earlier this week, a survey by the NAHT revealed that one in 10 heads had been assaulted by a parent on school grounds. Meanwhile, headteachers have warned they might repeat last year’s boycott of national tests for 10- and 11-year-olds. Last year, a quarter of the 17,000 primary schools in England boycotted the tests, known as Sats, in maths and English. They say the results are used to compile league tables which do not give a fair picture of a school’s strengths. The government is expected to publish the findings of its review into Sats later this year. Heads said unless the review conceded that the tests should be marked by pupils’ teachers, rather than by external markers, they may repeat last year’s boycott. Headteachers are also planning to vote on whether to ballot for their first ever national strike over changes to public sector pensions. Delegates at the NAHT conference are expected to vote in favour of the ballot on Sunday. This could trigger the first industrial action by heads in the NAHT’s 100-year-plus history and would set them on a collision course with government. The National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers voted in April to ballot members for a strike over pensions. Bullying Facebook Education policy Sats Schools Internet Social networking Trade unions Teaching Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
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St James’s Palace confirms William will be going back to work this week after wedding watched by peak TV audience of 24m Late on Saturday morning, as the happy couple’s helicopter lifted off from the gardens of Buckingham Palace and Prince Charles reclaimed his Aston Martin, minus the “Just Wed” plates, the majority of commentators were agreed: the wedding of William and Kate had been something of a triumph for “The Firm”. A judicious mixture of pomp and, just as crucially, populism, had ensured a fair wind for the British monarchy for another generation at least. John Hanson, 81, from Hemel Hempstead, expressed a view held by many in Friday’s throngs. “It’s an apolitical stance I expect from them, not 19th-century attitudes. Some of the world’s republics are quite well run but the scope for unfortunate appointments in heads of state is huge. Kate Middleton being a commoner is vitally important for the royals to justify themselves and show they are worth having.” Like many, Hanson was not a fan of Prince Charles. But just as normal service was resuming around the UK; as royalists nursed hangovers while republicans relaxed, there was a mini-bombshell from St James’ Palace – the honeymoon was on hold and Prince William was going back to work this week. “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen not to depart for a honeymoon immediately,” read a statement from the palace. Instead, the couple will spend the weekend at a secret location in the UK and the Duke will return to his work as a pilot next week. The location of their future honeymoon will also be kept secret. “The couple have asked that their privacy be respected during the coming weekend and during their honeymoon,” the statement said. It only deepened the honeymoon mystery – William had booked two weeks off and Kate bought bikinis two weeks ago, but the rest was pure speculation. Jordan had been the bookies odds-on destination. King Abudallah has a nice place he had offered them, but then the newlyweds have several chums with exotic getaways. Mustique and the British Virgin islands were getting good odds as well… until Saturday, when someone tried to put a £5,000 bet on Kenya, raising suspicions of a tip-off gleaned from squiffy guests at the reception which rolled on until 3am. Those 300 guests, who were entertained by British singer Ellie Goulding and danced under glitterballs in Buckingham Palace’s state rooms, drank champagne and ate bacon butties and ice-cream. Goulding serenaded the newlyweds with her hit version of Your Song, written by Elton John. The music was heavy on kitschy disco and dance music. Lots of Abba, Kanye West and Beyoncé. Whether the social media world got its much-tweeted wish that Prince Harry and bridesmaid Pippa Middleton would get together seems unlikely, despite Harry’s whispered, “You do look very beautiful today, seriously,” on the balcony. Even after the royal wedding had long ceased to monopolise the
Continue reading …I haven’t noticed a big bump in Philadelphia. How about where you live? The housing bust horror flick is now giving way to a very unwelcome sequel: a big squeeze on the cost of renting. The number of renters paying more than half of their income towards rent has hit record levels, according to a new study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) of Harvard University. Rental affordability is a critical issue for seniors, who live on fixed incomes and already are coping with low yields on their savings, fast-rising healthcare expenses and stagnant Social Security benefits. Yet the struggle with affordability is found most often among low-income Americans; JCHS found that 75 percent of renters in the lowest quartile of income are spending more than half of their income on housing. JCHS also found that lower-middle class renters also are having trouble finding affordable rental housing. For example, 33 percent of renters with annual income of $14,500 to $30,000 are facing “severe burdens” in finding affordable rent. And the problem is growing most rapidly among demographic groups traditionally less likely to have affordability problems, including younger households, married couples with children and renters with some college education. “These are astounding numbers,” says Eric Belsky, managing director of JCHS. “If you are spending half of your income on housing, you have very little to spend on everything else.”
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Investigation finds evidence of draconian rules and excessive overtime to meet western demand for iPhones and iPads An investigation into the conditions of Chinese workers has revealed the shocking human cost of producing the must-have Apple iPhones and iPads that are now ubiquitous in the west. The research, carried out by two NGOs, has revealed disturbing allegations of excessive working hours and draconian workplace rules at two major plants in southern China. It has also uncovered an “anti-suicide” pledge that workers at the two plants have been urged to sign, after a series of employee deaths last year. The investigation gives a detailed picture of life for the 500,000 workers at the Shenzhen and Chengdu factories owned by Foxconn, which produces millions of Apple products each year. The report accuses Foxconn of treating workers “inhumanely, like machines”. Among the allegations made by workers interviewed by the NGOs – the Centre for Research on Multinational Companies and Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (Sacom) – are claims that: ■ Excessive overtime is routine, despite a legal limit of 36 hours a month. One payslip, seen by the Observer , indicated that the worker had performed 98 hours of overtime in a month. ■ Workers attempting to meet the huge demand for the first iPad were sometimes pressured to take only one day off in 13. ■ In some factories badly performing workers are required to be publicly humiliated in front of colleagues. ■ Crowded workers’ dormitories can sleep up to 24 and are subject to strict rules. One worker told the NGO investigators that he was forced to sign a “confession letter” after illicitly using a hairdryer. In the letter he wrote: “It is my fault. I will never blow my hair inside my room. I have done something wrong. I will never do it again.” ■ In the wake of a spate of suicides at Foxconn factories last summer, workers were asked to sign a statement promising not to kill themselves and pledging to “treasure their lives”. Foxconn produced its first iPad at Chengdu last November and expects to produce 100m a year by 2013. Last year Apple sold more than 15m iPads worldwide and has already sold close to five million this year. When the allegations were put to Foxconn by the Observer , manager Louis Woo confirmed that workers sometimes worked more than the statutory overtime limit to meet demand from western consumers, but claimed that all the extra hours were voluntary. Workers claim that, if they turn down excessive demands for overtime, they will be forced to rely on their basic wage: workers in Chengdu are paid only 1,350 yuan (£125) a month for a basic 48-hour week, equivalent to about 65p an hour. Asked about the suicides that have led to anti-suicide netting being fitted beneath the windows of workers’ dormitories, Woo said: “Suicides were not connected to bad working conditions. There was a copy effect. If one commits suicide, then others will follow.” In a statement, Apple said: “Apple is committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility throughout our supply base. Apple requires suppliers to commit to our comprehensive supplier code of conduct as a condition of their contracts with us. We drive compliance with the code through a rigorous monitoring programme, including factory audits, corrective action plans and verification measures.” Apple China iPad iPhone Gethin Chamberlain guardian.co.uk
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Politicians and celebrities will refuse to answer BBC veteran’s difficult questions, says Labour MP Chris Bryant The BBC’s Andrew Marr will be “hobbled” in his role as a frontline BBC interviewer because politicians and celebrities will refuse to answer awkward personal questions from now on, a senior Labour MP has warned. Chris Bryant, the former Europe minister, said Marr could not expect political leaders or anyone else to reply to his questions about their private lives after it was revealed last week that he had taken out a superinjunction to prevent reporting of an alleged extramarital affair. Bryant, who was tormented by the media after he appeared on a gay dating website in his underpants, said: “People will certainly look askance at him. He is not going to be able to ask the personal questions without people, including politicians, sticking their tongues out at him and saying ‘superinjunction’ and refusing to answer.” Marr returns to the screen today only five days after admitting that he had taken out the superinjunction. He will be interviewing both David Cameron and Nick Clegg before Thursday’s local elections, and those to the devolved assemblies in Scotland and Wales, as well as the referendum on changing the way MPs are elected. In one television interview with Gordon Brown, Marr repeatedly pushed the then prime minister about his imperfect eyesight. Referring to the interview, Bryant said yesterday: “Andrew asked some very personal questions to Gordon Brown about his eyesight and whether he took drugs. I don’t think he will be able to do that sort of thing again.” The former prime minister was furious about the personal line of questioning and made his views known as he left the studio. “Andrew Marr is a very personable fellow but this does raise questions about his credibility and I am sure the BBC will be thinking about this,” Bryant added. A journalist friend of Marr said this weekend it was “business as usual” as far as the presenter was concerned, with the same rigorous questioning expected on air, and the same respect accorded to guests. A BBC news spokesman confirmed that the corporation shares this attitude. “The superinjunction is a private matter for Andrew. From the point of view of BBC News, we have seen no evidence whatsoever that Andrew’s journalism has been compromised in any way.” But some commentators have made comparisons with the ignominious departure of Angus Deayton, longtime chair of the topical quiz Have I Got News For You . Deayton left the show abruptly following tabloid revelations about his private life involving alleged criminal drug-taking. Asking political guests about their own misdemeanours became difficult for the comedian and actor, and Deayton has only recently returned to the BBC as the host of a Radio 4 game show. While the Andrew Marr Show focuses on parliamentary and policy issues, recent years have seen Marr pose questions about the vexed personal lives of several prominent guests. When John Prescott went on the show at the end of his career as a parliamentary MP, Marr referred explicitly to the affair the deputy prime minister had been revealed to have conducted with a colleague. “Biggest regret probably personal rather than political over the last 10 years?” the presenter suggested. “Yes, well, that was a disappointment and I, you know, I let people down, and I think I’ve made it clear…” responded Prescott. Last September Marr quizzed Ed Miliband about the impact of the battle for the leadership and his defeat of his brother David on his wider family. When Miliband underlined his love for his elder brother, Marr pressed the point. “He looked pretty shattered, I have to say, after it all. He must be pretty despondent about all of this?” Miliband replied that of course his brother was disappointed, but had shown “amazing generosity”. “And what about your mother?” asked Marr. “Is she cross with you for doing this, or is she just pleased?” Miliband replied that she was “relieved that the contest is over, put it that way. She’s certainly not cross.” Similarly, when the foreign secretary William Hague was prompted to deny publicly rumours that he was having an “improper relationship” with a male aide and went on to reveal that his wife Ffion had suffered several miscarriages, Marr raised the issue on the show with one of Hague’s cabinet colleagues, education secretary Michael Gove. Gove replied: “I feel admiration for the dignity with which he has always handled himself. There have been all sorts of attempts in the past to throw stuff at him, not least when he was leader.” Marr is said to be aware that several Sunday newspapers are chasing more details of the alleged affair with a female political journalist. Andrew Marr Superinjunctions Privacy & the media BBC Television industry Toby Helm Vanessa Thorpe guardian.co.uk
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• Chris Huhne urges ‘progressive majority’ to vote yes for AV • Energy secretary says ‘Unite to avoid Thatcher excesses’ Tensions inside the coalition government are at new heights after a Liberal Democrat cabinet minister called on voters to form an anti-Tory alliance in Thursday’s referendum on electoral reform in order to deprive the Conservatives of power. In an extraordinary intervention, Chris Huhne, the energy secretary, has shattered any remaining semblance of cabinet unity by insisting that the referendum is an opportunity for the country’s “progressive majority” to back change and avoid a repeat of the “worst excesses of the Thatcher government”. In a joint article in the Observer , signed by Labour’s shadow business secretary, John Denham, and the leader of the Green party, Caroline Lucas, Huhne and the others argue that the Conservatives were able to monopolise power for much of the 20th century because of an “unfair” first-past-the-post system. “Britain consistently votes as a centre-left country, and yet the Conservatives have dominated our politics for two-thirds of the time since 1900,” the three say. “On only two occasions in that long century – 1900 and 1931 – have the Tories won a majority of the votes. No wonder David Cameron says the current system has ‘served us well’.” They add: “For those who weren’t well served by the Tory 20th century, fair votes matter. They matter for the millions of voters who suffered the worst excesses of the Thatcher government despite more than 54% repeatedly voting against her.” The remarks from Huhne amount to a declaration of war by one of Nick Clegg’s most senior ministers on the Tories’ record in government under Margaret Thatcher – but also an attack on a political philosophy the trio suggest still drives Cameron’s party. They will provoke fury in Conservative ranks, particularly among rightwing Tories who already resent the Lib Dems’ presence in the coalition and their influence over policy. On Thursday, after a campaign that has turned increasingly bitter as the Lib Dem hopes of a yes vote have faded, people will be asked whether they want to ditch the current first-past-the-post system – under which the candidate with most votes wins – in favour of the alternative vote (AV). Under AV, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, the one with the least votes is eliminated and their second preferences are distributed among the rest. This process continues until one candidate has a clear majority. Cameron opposes change while the Lib Dems strongly back it, arguing that under AV any MP would have to have the support of at least half of the voters to be elected. The referendum was a central Lib Dem demand in coalition negotiations with the Tories following last year’s general election. Recent polls suggest, however, that the no campaign is ahead, although pollsters admit the result is difficult to call because turnout is expected to be low and many people remain undecided. In an interview with the Observer’ s chief political commentator, Andrew Rawnsley, Clegg accuses the no campaign, backed by Cameron, of spreading “ludicrous bilge” about AV with the deliberate intention of misleading the public. Blaming the prime minister and the chancellor, George Osborne, Clegg says that both men “became very worried that the right of the Conservative party would react very badly if AV wasn’t defeated and they basically decided to throw the kitchen sink at the referendum”. As comedian Eddie Izzard begins a three-day national tour to promote AV, the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, will also renew his call to voters to back AV. “I urge people who are making up their minds to vote for a system which will make for a more accountable House of Commons, fairer votes and a change in our political culture.” Miliband will argue that the Tories, having failed to gain a Commons majority last May, lack an “electoral mandate” for savage spending cuts and radical plans for the NHS, and will urge voters to reject them in Thursday’s council elections and polls for the devolved assemblies. “This week people are being given a chance to deliver a verdict on a year of a Conservative-led government and the willing participation of the Liberal Democrats within it,” the Labour leader will say in a speech on Monday. “Labour has changed as a party since the last election. There is further to go, but we are a party people are coming towards, not turning away from. Thursday is a chance for people to vote for what they value by electing Labour councillors, MSPs and Welsh assembly members.” The Yes to AV campaign will reveal figures on Sunday showing that MPs who enjoy jobs for life in “safe seats” delivered under first-past-the-post earn almost twice as much in outside earnings as those in more marginal seats. Huhne, Denham and Lucas also lump the Tories together with the British National party as opponents of AV. Liberal-Conservative coalition AV referendum Chris Huhne Caroline Lucas John Denham Liberal Democrats Conservatives Alternative vote Toby Helm guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Laura Flanders Asks Andrew Breitbart Why He Won’t Apologize to Shirley Sherrod
April 30, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Thank goodness we had Laura Flanders to keep Andrew Breitbart in check on HBO’s Real Time on Friday night, because Bill Maher sure as hell wasn’t going to do it. Why he and his producers felt the need to have Breitbart on there in the first place is beyond me, but I could say the same thing about CNN, MSNBC, Fox and anywhere else that gave him an opportunity to push this book of his over the last couple of weeks, the most disgusting of which was Dylan Ratigan’s fawning interview with him on MSNBC. Sadly, Bill or Laura didn’t ask him about his latest video editing hit job, which Karoli covered here — Breitbarted Again? BigGovernment Uses Deceptively Edited Video To Smear University Professors – UPDATED . I didn’t expect much from Maher after the way his prior shows in which he had Breitbart on as a guest proceeded. I think Flanders might have called him out for it if she was given more time to talk. For a little reminder of just how obnoxious Breitbart was in one of his previous appearances, here’s this little blast from the past with Breitbart defending Rush Limbaugh and getting his butt handed to him by Michael Eric Dyson. And Matt called him out for having him on last year in September — Dear Bill Maher: Andrew Breitbart Is Not A Journalist . But never mind that he’s been a completely obnoxious guest during past appearances, or that he and his cohorts are known liars who put up one deceptively edited smear video after another, and that he is nothing but a right-wing flame thrower with no regard for truthfulness or accuracy, as Media Matters has documented . Let’s bring him on one more time to do Real Time so he can play the misunderstood victim again and feign ignorance about the content that he controls that goes up at his site and what he’s really all about, which is lining his own pocket while doing the bidding of the Koch brothers and company and their astroturf “Tea Party” movement. We’ve done so many posts on Breitbart, I’ve lost count, but you can see the better part of them with a quick Google search . Despite his history, our corporate media continues to have him on the air as though he’s someone credible without laying out his history of lies and distortions and ambush “journalism”, the latest of which is now Bill Maher. You can let HBO know what you think of their decision on the HBO forum here . And if you’re on Twitter Maher’s user name is @billmaher.
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Mosque in Deraa comes under fire as groups opposing President Assad call for army to lead transition to democracy The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad sent fresh troopson Saturday to pound the besieged southern city of Deraa, as a new opposition group appealed to the army to help the transition to democracy. Tanks and armoured personnel carriers entered the city and troops opened fire in streets close to the Omari mosque as Syria’s government continued to crush dissent in the city, which has been at the centre of the six-week uprising. Activists said that houses in the Karak district of the city were damaged by shelling which started at 5am local time on Saturday, the sixth day of a sustained siege on the city. “They are trying to break the will of the protesters and residents while also arresting any leaders,” said Rami Nakhle, a Beirut-based Syrian cyber-activist. Funerals were also taking place after human rights organisations said more than 70 people were confirmed dead in protests on Friday, bringing the total death toll to above 500. Elsewhere on Saturday five people were reported shot dead in the coastal city of Latakia while 11 of 50 women who protested in central Damascus were arrested. Meanwhile, reports of army defections continued to surface as witnesse s said many soldiers had fled service in Deraa, hiding in residents’ houses. This followed unconfirmed reports from the city last week of clashes between the 4th and 5th Brigades. The Observer could not independently confirm the reports, which have trickled out of the city since the start of the crackdown almost a month ago. Emboldened by the rumours, a group of protesters and activists have appealed to the army to take charge and ensure a transition to democracy. A group calling itself the National Initiative for Change issued a statement saying: “The best option is for the leadership of the regime to lead a transition to democracy. The only institution that has the capability to lead the transition period would be the military.” But most commentators believe calling on the army is wishful thinking. “We may see some splintering of the army, but it is impossible that the whole institution will change sides,” said one local analyst who asked not to be named. As President Assad fails to heed calls for reform, late on Friday the US froze the assets of three senior officials, including Maher, Bashar’s younger brother who heads the elite 4th Brigade. Maher is not believed to have many assets in the US. The new sanctions, already in force on other members, such as Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf, are not likely to have significant impact. Many more protesters would need to take to the streets to challenge the army’s might, a diplomat in the capital said: “They are using a lot of troops in Deraa. The regime can control the situation now, but if many more towns came out, the army may be stretched.” Reports out of Deraa paint a devastating picture as communications remain cut and supplies run low. Witnesses said surrounding villagers trying to provide food and medicine are being prevented from entering the city. Unconfirmed reports said six people had been killed yesterday, bringing the likely death toll to well over 100. Residents also reported that the son of Ahmed al-Sayasna, the imam of Omari mosque, a hub for the protesters, had been killed. Sayasna is in hiding, accused by the government of inciting protests. The EU is also preparing to freeze trade deals with Syria and put an embargo on the sale of weapons that might be used for internal repression. It has so far stopped short of the US move of freezing assets, but the EU foreign policy chief, Baroness Ashton, said in a statement that the 27-member bloc will “urgently consider further appropriate and targeted measures”. The move is the latest attempt to increase pressure following a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, which voted in favour of a resolution condemning the crackdown and endorsed a US-backed call for investigations. Syrian officials have rejected international moves as illegitimate interference as the government continues to insist it is fighting a war against gangs and Islamist terrorists. Syria’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Faisal al-Hamwi, described the council’s session as “an excuse to return to the days of colonialism”. Protesters have renewed calls for daily nationwide demonstrations to call for the breaking of the siege on Deraa and the Damascus suburb of Douma, where communications are also cut and houses have been raided. Katherine Marsh is the pseudonym for a journalist living in Damascus Syria Bashar Al-Assad Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Katherine Marsh guardian.co.uk
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