How many attended Martin Luther King speech rally?

Jotman live-blogged both the Genn Beck and the Al Sharpton rallies, and provides his estimates.

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Julian Assange: "WikiLeaks may be under attack"

"...One of our alleged sources, a young US intelligence analyst, Bradley Manning, has been detained and shipped to a US military prison in Kuwait, where he is being held without trail. Mr. Manning is alleged to have acted according to his conscious and leaked to us the Collateral Murder video and the video of a massacre that took place in Afghanistan last year at Garani.

The Garani massacre, which we are still working on, killed over 100 people, mostly children.

Mr. Manning allegedly also sent us 260,000 classified US Department cables, reporting on the actions of US Embassy's engaging in abusive actions all over the world. We have denied the allegation, but the US government is acting as if the allegation is true and we do have a lot of other material that exposes human rights abuses by the United States government.

Mr. Manning was allegedly exposed after talking to an unrelated "journalist" who then worked with the US government to detain him.

Some background on the Manning case:

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/06/11/transcript-daniel-ellsberg-says-he-fears-us-might-assasinate-wikileaks-founder/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Manning
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/leak/
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/wikileaks-chat/
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/state-department-anxious/
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2010/06/143011.htm

[ note that there are some questions about the Wired reportage, see: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/13/video-wikileaks-foun.html#comment-809677 ]

WikiLeaks a small organization going through enormous growth and operating in an adverserial, high-security environment which can make communication time consuming and the acquisition of new staff and volunteers, also difficult since they require high levels of trust.

To try and deal with our growth and the current difficult situation, we want to get you to work together with our other supporters to set up a "Friends of WikiLeaks" group in your area. We have multiple supporters in most countries and would like to see them be a strong and independent force.

Please write to friends@sunshinepress.org if you are interested in helping with Friends of WikiLeaks in your area. You will receive further instructions.

We also have significant unexpected legal costs (for example flying a legal team to Kuwait, video production. Collateral Murder production costs were $50,000 all up).

Any financial contributions will be of IMMEDIATE assistance.

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Special:Support

Please donate and tell the world that you have done so. Encourage all your friends to follow the example you set, after all, courage is contagious.

Julian Assange
Editor in Chief
WIKILEAKS

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The foresight of Arizona Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill reveals few heroes in government.   But in researching my timeline, I came across one: Arizona Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva. 

FEB 24 - Food & Water Watch contacted Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), a member of the Committee on Natural Resources and chairman of the subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. in a Feb. 24 letter, Grijalva and 18 other House Democrats say MMS (Minerals Management Service), which regulates offshore drilling practices, has not done enough so far to ensure worker and environmental safety at the BP Atlantis offshore oil platform, in part because it has interpreted the relevant laws too loosely.(Grijalva)

MARCH 02 - As a result of evidence supplied by a whistle-blower, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva and other lawmakers asked Minerals Management Service (MMS) to thoroughly investigate operation of BP Atlantis offshore oil platform – the largest in the world – without professionally approved safety documents, and to report its findings to Congress. Grijalva ... said the issue requires “a thorough review at the agency level, the legal level and the corporate level. The world’s largest oil rig cannot continue to operate without safety documentation. The situation is unacceptable and deserves immediate scrutiny.”   Grijalva said a long record of previous oil spills highlights the need for continued environmental safeguards, however sophisticated drilling technology becomes.... “I look forward to working with MMS promptly to resolve any doubts about Atlantis, because we cannot afford another billion-gallon spill on our watch.”(Grijalva)

It's good to know there is at least one good politician in Washington DC.   And his name is Raúl M. Grijalva.

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Sec. of Interior Ken Salazar favored offshore drilling

While researching my timeline of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, this is what I learned about Ken Salazar, Obama's Secretary of the Interior. Salazar's department oversees the MMS. Throughout 2009 MMS not only failed to respond to whistle-blower complaints regarding the safety BP's largest deepwater rig in the Gulf of Mexico, it blocked the release of evidence (see timeline for details): 

JAN 2009:  President Obama appoints Ken Salazar (photo) Secretary of the Interior, overseeing MMS, the federal government oil industry regulator.  Previously, Salazar supported the nomination of Gale Norton to Secretary of the Interior, President George W. Bush's controversial first appointee who preceded Salazar as Colorado Attorney General. Soon after arriving in the Senate, Salazar generated controversy within his party by introducing Attorney General nominee  Alberto Gonzales and sitting by his side during Gonzales' confirmation hearings. In August 2006, Ken Salazar supported  Joe Lieberman in his primary race. In 2006, Salazar voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast.  In 2007, Salazar was one of only a handful of Democrats to vote against a bill that would require the United States Army Corps of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects. 

Why hasn't Ken Salazar resigned already? 

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BP Vice President: Offshore Drilling Safe

On Nov. 19, 2009, BP's David Rainey assured everybody that offshore drilling is safe.   See JOTMAN.COM for a timeline of the oil spill disaster.

David Rainey is testifying that "offshore drilling" is safe because it has been "going on for fifty years."




Rainey's statement is misleading.  "Fifty year's experience" applies to shallow-water offshore drilling. Offshore drilling at extreme depths is a new development that involves the use of relatively untested and experimental technologies.    As one scientist puts it:

And "everything is bigger and more difficult the deeper you go," said Andy Bowen, a research specialist who works with undersea robotics at the Woods Hole center. "Fighting gravity is tough. It increases loads. You need bigger winches, bigger cables, bigger ships."

An analogy, he said, is the difference between construction work on the ground versus at the top of a mile-high skyscraper.

BP does not have fifty years experience extremely deep wells in very deep water.  To assume the challenges of safely undertaking such work were surmounted in the previous fifty years is presumptuous to say the least.

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Photos: Saturday May 1 immigration rally at the White House

My main post on the demonstration is here.   These photos give you an indication of the kind of signs people brought to the demonstration.

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1 May immigration protests and arrests ouside White House

Here's a video I took Saturday in Washington DC.  My full story is posted here.

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Rep. Luis Gutierrez arrested outside White House

I took some photos of Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez Saturday.  The Congressman was one of 40 protesters arrested outside the White House Saturday protesting the passage of the Arizona immigration bill. 

Gutiérrez was first Latino to be elected to Congress from the Midwest.  He presently serves as chair of the immigration task force, and is outspoken about defending the rights of immigrants.

Read my entire live-blog from Saturday outside the White House here.

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Time Magazine promo for Sarah Palin

Ted Nugent, "author, activist and rock-'n'-roll legend" (pictured right) was asked to describe Sarah Palin for Time Magazine's "2010 Top 100" list.

Let's break down his statement in support of Sarah Palin:

If Sarah Palin played a loud, grinding instrument, she would be in my band. The independent patriotic spirit, attitude and soul of our forefathers are alive and well in Sarah. In the way she lives, what she says and how she dedicates herself to make America better in these interesting times, she represents the good, while exposing the bad and ugly.

Translation: It's not so much anything Sarah Palin has done that makes her good (after all, she can't even play an instrument), she's good because she successfully projects the qualities many Americans wish to see in themselves.  

She embraces the critical duty of we the people by participating in this glorious experiment in self-government.

Translation: Sarah Palin is a politician.

The tsunami of support proves that Sarah, 46, represents what many Americans know to be common and sensible.

Translation:  Sarah Palin is popular with many (true) Americans. Whatever many (true) Americans like must be good. Therefore, Sarah Palin is good.

Her rugged individualism, self-reliance and a herculean work ethic resonate now more than ever in a country spinning away from these basics that made the U.S.A. the last best place.

Translation:   Sarah Palin is a successful projection of the qualities many Americans fear losing.

We who are driven to be assets to our families, communities and our beloved country connect with the principles that Sarah Palin embodies.

Translation:  True Americans admire Sarah Palin for having successfully projected a positive image of themselves.  

We know that bureaucrats and, even more, Fedzilla, are not the solution; they are the problem.

Translation: The world may appear complex, but our problem is singular and simple. And Sarah Palin, just like every other Fox  News viewer, knows the answer to it.

I'd be proud to share a moose-barbecue campfire with the Palin family anytime, so long as I can shoot the moose.

Translation: By the way, real Americans like Sarah Palin and me love to kill defenseless wild animals with guns.     

Conclusion: Once you get beyond the colorful verbiage, it's evident that Ted Nugent has pretty much summed up the essence of the Sarah Palin phenomenon.  Here's my translation in full:

It's not so much anything Sarah Palin has done that makes her good (after all, she can't even play an instrument), she's good because she successfully projects the qualities many Americans wish to see in themselves.  Sarah Palin plays an active role in politics and is popular with many real Americans.  Whatever real Americans happen like must be good, so if we like Sarah Palin, she must be good.  Sarah Palin is a successful projection of the qualities many real Americans fear losing; Real Americans admire Sarah Palin for having successfully projected a positive image of themselves.   The world may appear complex, but our problem is singular and simple. And Sarah Palin, just like every other Fox News viewer, knows that cutting government is the answer.  By the way, real Americans like Sarah Palin and me love to kill defenseless wild animals with guns.  

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Arizona immigration bill promises more detentions, higher profits for corporations

Companies based in the State of Arizona are about to be blacklisted.  And that's appropriate because the state's business culture likely bears as much responsibility for a racist new law as any anti-immigrant crusaders.

Continued...

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Bloggers keeping CNN honest

The moto for CNN host Anderson Cooper's show AC360 is "keeping them honest."  

Last week, this blogger was among hundreds of CNN viewers who appropriated and acted upon this principle.  Salon's Glenn Greenwald raised several concerns of his own about CNN coverage:

The blogger Jotman has been relentlessly chronicling CNN's truly awful and propagnadistic "reporting" on the WikiLeaks tape -- see here and here.  Aside from CNN's constant attempts to justify and obscure what was done, they simply refuse to show the most graphic and harrowing (i.e., the most revealing) parts of the video.  Wolf Blitzer actually justified this self-censorship with the smug claim that it was "out of respect for the family members" of the victims -- as though they would want the evidence of what was done to their loved ones to be suppressed -- and other CNN programs are sticking a huge black box over the video during the most important parts so as to prevent their viewers from seeing what actually happened:

The video released by WikiLeaks has now been seen by close to 4 million people on YouTube alone, but CNN either refuses outright to show the most revealing parts or treats those parts like they're too naughty for their fragile, childish viewers to see.  This is a perfect example of how the American media helps to propagandize the public and obscure the truth:  it's virtually always the case that these realities of what our Government is doing are simply kept away from Americans, but in the rare instances where it has to be addressed (because of what WikiLeaks did), CNN takes affirmative steps to block its viewers from seeing what it really is.

 I haven't been able to stomach CNN since the episode unfolded.

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When did Fox News first "prove" that Obama is a socialist?

An American blogger, Kelly of the VSJ, recently explored the origin of a persistent, widely accepted myth about Obama shared by many Americans on the right.  Namely, the assertion that Obama is a "socialist".

Kelly went in search of an actual tipping point, a moment in American life when the 'opinion' that Obama was a socialist became an accepted 'fact' among  right-wingers:

... I found an interesting ‘beginning’. Yes, the seeds were already there.. one only had to follow the 2008 campaign trail to see it, but something about this struck me like an “AHA! Here is where it really started to become true!” Because I think that up until that point, even with those at the town-meetings believing the rhetoric, it was still mainly a rumor. Until this broadcast sealed the rumor as truth forever. I found it on a blog called JOTMAN.COM. On this, his site ‘Jotman’ has 3 videos shot the night of President Obama’s election win. 

One video is actually from Fox News the following morning showing a crowd of people at the gates of the White House, the broadcaster comments that they are probably drunk, her opinion of course, and then she draws your attention to the flag someone in the crowd raises, it is the Russian  Communist flag. The Broadcaster is of course curious and wants this watched because ‘what does it mean?”, is it a sign?, do we need to fear this newly elected President or something just as ridiculous.
The second video is reportedly shot from inside the White House that same night, it’s the same crowd cheering at the gates, the man in the video sees the cheering and the flag and he is scared. As he says these  are  people coming out for Obama and cheering the fact that this country is going to change.. he just can’t believe what he is seeing. There is pushing and shoving, look there is the communist flag again, and torches! they’re all over the place it’s so ominous … it’s chaos!

Until you watch the video from the street. The third video shows the crowd laughing,cheering,smiling and yes.. Chanting. For the land of the free….. and the home of the… Braaaaavvveeee!!!  Not to mention USA!USA!USA!USA!USA! The horror!

Yes, there is the commie flag.. but instead of asking what the flag meant Fox News decided it meant communism was here and they must fight it every step of the way. Fox news knew that morning, like the mornings after every election there was bound to be some pretty pissed off people and they were going to stir up that emotion and bank it. That story was the perfect one to drop the ‘Hearst’ seed and watch it grow. It was  visual proof and with just the right question put to, maybe another mention of it later until it’s finally reported on as a fact.   There was no need for anyone to hear the crowd, the silent view of it, with the added speculation would serve quit nicely. Those watching Fox that segment wouldn’t hear the glee and love of their country coming from that crowd instead they would see a possibly drunken presence cheering the fact that communism has now come to America when she elected an Communist, Marxist, Socialist the night before. Before long Glen Beck would confirm their other fear...

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WikiLeaks video: Shame on CNN!

CNN viewers around the world are shouting three words in unison:  "Shame on CNN!"  Yesterday, tracking the response of the US media to the release of the WikiLeaks video, I blogged:

CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviewed Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr about the video.  The network presented a short clip from the video.  Out of "respect for the families of the journalists killed" CNN does not show the Apache helicopter actually firing on the group of men.  What is really bizarre is that this CNN report makes no mention at all of the unconscionable attack on the rescue van which killed the rescuers and seriously injured two children.

Continued here . . .

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US news media cover-up of WikiLeaks video?

Two questions arise about US media coverage of the WikiLeaks video:

1. At what point today did the MSM media decide that this story was "news"?  
2. What is to account for the staggering omission in the CNN Situation Room report in which Wolf Blitzer interviews Barbara Starr about the video?  

More on these questions.  

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Will Obama join the Republican Party?

I thought it was sad that in 2008 McCain-Palin built a presidential campaign around a panacea.  A policy that was not a foundation for long-term prosperity.

The Republican Party put the advocacy of offshore drilling at the forefront of its 2008 campaign.   The trouble with the idea is that drilling amounts to only 3 or 4 years' supply of oil.  

Now "drill baby, drill!" is front and center of Obama's energy agenda.   That's a shame -- one that speaks volumes to the president's priorities.

Will Obama join the Republican Party?  In so far as he prioritizes the interests of corporate donors, he already has.

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WikiLeaks Vs the Pentagon

It may well be the most important website you have never heard of.   The following video answers the question: What is WikiLeaks? 

As the founder of the website makes clear, the concept itself is the very embodiment of American values.   
 
This post asks a more urgent question:  Why is the United States out to destroy it?

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Sarah Palin's letter to her Facebook fans is misleading

UPDATED

In response to the passage by the House of Representatives of the Senate's health care reform bill on Sunday, Sarah Palin wrote on her Facebook page today:

With the president signing this unwanted and “transformative” government takeover of our health care system today with promises impossible to keep, let's not get discouraged. Don't get demoralized. Get organized!

We're going to reclaim the power of the people from those who disregarded the will of the people. We're going to fire them and send them back to the private sector, which has been shrinking thanks to their destructive government-growing policies. Maybe when they join the millions of unemployed, they'll understand why Americans wanted them to focus on job creation and an invigorated private sector. Come November, we're going to print pink slips for members of Congress as fast as they've been printing money. . . . .

The three statements I have highlighted above are false.  The first two points are familiar Fox News/GOP spin.  But the third falsehood seems to be a Sarah Palin original.   It's that ludicrous. 

First, is Obama's health care reform package really unwanted?   Most Americans either support the Obama health care reform bill or believe it isn't liberal enough.   This is apparent when you look at the latest poll results closely, as Greenwald has done:

A new CNN poll today finds that Americans oppose the current health care plan by a margin of 59-39%, but a sizable portion of those opposed -- 13% -- oppose it because "it is not liberal enough" (see questions 20 and 21):

Thus, a majority of Americans either support the plan or believe it should be more liberal (52%), while only a minority (43%) oppose the plan on the ground that it is too liberal.

Second, what government take-over of health care?  Obama's health care reform bill -- more accurately described as health insurance reform -- promises to provide the health insurance industry with 29 million new customers by 2019. 

Third, is the private sector shrinking thanks to government-growing policies?  The stimulus spending bill passed in 2009 -- which Sarah now opposes -- did not shrink the private sector.  It has had the opposite effect.  Some spending went to contractors in the private sector. To the extent stimulus spending saved the jobs of public sector employees, it also bolstered the private sector.  In a capitalist economy, when you save a public sector worker's job, you also save the private sector jobs of those who supply these workers with homes, entertainment, groceries, transportation, etc.  Of course, a large part of the stimulus bill went toward tax cuts.  What some economists have, in fact, argued is that government spending will raise the deficit, lead to inflation, and thereby have a detrimental effect on the private sector growth some number of years in the future. Paul Krugman,  among other economists, does not share this concern.  Anyway, this was not the point Sarah Palin made.  Her assertion, that "government growing policies" are responsible for having caused the "shrinking" of the "private sector," is utter nonsense. 

Palin's latest Facebook entry provides further support for the already overwhelming case that the former governor of Alaska is either recklessly ill-informed or willfully disingenuous about the critical public policy issues of the day.

UPDATE: Two points of my critique suppose that Palin adheres to a conventional understanding of terms like  "private sector" and "government."   Because I have heard nothing from Palin to suggest otherwise,  my critique likewise adheres to the conventional distinction.

Conventionally we think of  "government" to be an entity distinct from the private sector, and we refer to an industry such as the health insurance providers as "private sector."  Yet it is potentially misleading to speak of certain industries (banking, military-industrial, health insurance, energy) and various branches of the US government as if they were independent of one another.   From this convergence many of today's problems arise.

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Arrested? Obama thinks the state should have your DNA

Wired:

When it comes to civil liberties, the Obama administration has come under fire for often mirroring his predecessor’s practices surrounding state secrets, the Patriot Act and domestic spying. There’s also Gitmo, Jay Bybee and John Yoo.

Now there’s DNA sampling. Obama told Walsh he supported the federal government, as well as the 18 states that have varying laws requiring compulsory DNA sampling of individuals upon an arrest for crimes ranging from misdemeanors to felonies. The data is lodged in state and federal databases, and has fostered as many as 200 arrests nationwide, Walsh said.

The American Civil Liberties Union claims DNA sampling is different from mandatory, upon-arrest fingerprinting that has been standard practice in the United States for decades. A fingerprint, the group says, reveals nothing more than a person’s identity. But much can be learned from a DNA sample, which codes a person’s family ties, some health risks, and, according to some, can predict a propensity for violence.

Perhaps you think you won't get arrested because you obey the law.     I had assumed you had to do something illegal to get arrested, until this happened to me.   

Even if you trust the government will not misuse it, what makes you so sure the data will be kept safe and secure? 

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Bankers Gouged Taxpayers Out of Trillions

That headline never appeared in the New York Times. Here's one that did.

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Jesse Ventura goes on Fox News

Ventura gives "Fox and Friends" a piece of his mind.

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