Showing posts with label Freedom of the Press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freedom of the Press. Show all posts
Friday, June 29, 2018
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Stabenow Doesn't Like Her Words Recorded. Is There No Longer Freedom Of The Press? You Won't See This On The Evening News
“For Dem Eyes Only”
Senator Stabenow Kicks Out Tracker for Simply Showing Up
LANSING, Mich., March 28, 2018 – In case you missed it, today United States Senator Debbie Stabenow had a tracker for the independent watchdog group ‘America Rising’ forcibly removed from a public press conference she was holding at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The tracker was not asking questions or causing a disturbance. He was simply attempting to film the Senator’s remarks on prescription drugs. The event was open to the general public and he was thrown out simply for working for a group that the Senator does not like.
When asked for comment Michigan Republican Party Deputy Chief of Staff Sarah Anderson said the following: “A public servant such as Senator Stabenow should have nothing to hide when it comes to her remarks. Tactics such as these have no place in a free society and are unbecoming of a U.S. Senator. Debbie Stabenow needs to apologize immediately.”
Audio of the exchange can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgeUm3d-ai0&feature=youtu.be
Monday, November 21, 2016
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
When Freedom Of Expression Dies, The World Dies
How Much of our Culture Are We Surrendering to Islam?
It all occurred in the same week. A German judge banned a comedian, Jan Böhmermann, from repeating "obscene" verses of his famous poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A Danish theater apparently cancelled "The Satanic Verses" from its season, due to fear of "reprisals." Two French music festivals dropped Eagles of Death Metal -- the U.S. band that was performing at the Bataclan theater in Paris when the attack by ISIS terrorists (89 people murdered), took place there -- because of "Islamophobic" comments by Jesse Hughes, its lead singer. Hughes suggested that Muslims be subjected to greater scrutiny, saying "It's okay to be discerning when it comes to Muslims in this day and age," later adding:
"They know there's a whole group of white kids out there who are stupid and blind. You have these affluent white kids who have grown up in a liberal curriculum from the time they were in kindergarten, inundated with these lofty notions that are just hot air."As Brendan O'Neill wrote, "Western liberals are doing their dirty work for them; they're silencing the people Isis judged to be blasphemous; they're completing Isis's act of terror." A few weeks earlier, France's most important publishing house, Gallimard, fired its most famous editor, Richard Millet, who had penned an essay in which he wrote: "the decline of literature and the deep changes wrought in France and Europe by continuous and extensive immigration from outside Europe, with its intimidating elements of militant Salafism and of the political correctness at the heart of global capitalism; that is to say, the risk of the destruction of the Europe and its cultural humanism, or Christian humanism, in the name of 'humanism' in its 'multicultural' version."Kenneth Baker just published a new book, On the Burning of Books: How Flames Fail to Destroy the Written Word. It is a compendium of so called "bibliocaust," the burning of books from Caliph Omar to Hitler, and includes the fatwa on Salman Rushdie. When Nazis incinerated books in Berlin they declared that from the ashes of these novels would "arise the phoenix of a new spirit." The same hatred is coming from Islamists and their politically correct allies. We do not even have a vague idea of how much Western culture we have surrendered to Islam. Theo Van Gogh's movie, "Submission," for which he was murdered, disappeared from manyfilm festivals. Charlie Hebdo's drawings of the Islamic prophet Mohammed are concealed from the public sphere: after the massacre, very few media reprinted these cartoons. Raif Badawi's blog posts, which cost him 1,000 lashes and ten years in prison in Saudi Arabia, have been deleted by the Saudi authorities and now circulate like forbidden Samizdat literature was in the Soviet Union.
Molly Norris, the American cartoonist who in 2010 drew Mohammed and proclaimed "Everyone Draw Muhammad Day," is still in hiding and had to change her name and life. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York pulled images of Mohammed from an exhibition, while Yale Pressbanned images of Mohammed from a book about the cartoons. The Jewel of Medina, a novel about Mohammed's wife, was also pulled. In the Netherlands, an opera about Aisha, one of Mohammed's wives, was cancelled in Rotterdam after the work was boycotted by the theater company's Muslim actors, after it became evident that they would be a target for Islamists. The newspaper NRC Handelsbladheadlined its coverage "Tehran on the Meuse," the river that passes through the Dutch city. In England, the Victoria and Albert Museum took down Mohammed's image. "British museums and libraries hold dozens of these images, mostly miniatures in manuscripts several centuries old, but they have been kept largely out of public view," The Guardian explained. In Germany, the Deutsche Opera cancelled Mozart's opera Idomeneo in Berlin, because it depicted the severed head of Mohammed. Christopher Marlowe's "Tamburlaine the Great," which includes a reference to Mohammed being "not worthy to be worshipped," was rewritten at London's Barbican theater, while Cologne's Carnival cancelled Charlie Hebdo's float. In the Dutch town of Huizen, two nude paintings were removed from an exhibition after Muslims criticized them. The work of a Dutch Iranian artist, Sooreh Hera, was yanked from several Dutch museums because some of the photographs included the depictions of Mohammed and his son-in-law, Ali. According to this disposition, one day London's National Gallery, Florence's Uffizi, Paris' Louvre or Madrid's Prado might decide to censor Michelangelo, Raffaello, Bosch and Balthus because they offend the "sensibility" of Muslims. The English playwright Richard Bean has been forced to censor an adaptation of Aristophanes's comedy, "Lysistrata", in which the Greek women hold a "sex strike" to stop their men from going to war (in Bean's script, Muslim virgins go on strike to stop suicide bombers). Several Spanish villages stopped burning effigies of Mohammed in the commemoration ceremony celebrating the reconquest of the country in the Middle Ages. There is a video filmed in 2006, when the death threats against Charlie Hebdo became worrisome. Journalists and cartoonists are gathered around a table to decide on the next cover for magazine. They speak about Islam. Jean Cabu, one of the cartoonists later murdered by Islamists, puts the issue this way: "No one in the Soviet Union had the right to do satire about Brezhnev." Then another future victim, Georges Wolinski, says, "Cuba is full of cartoonists, but they don't make caricatures about Castro. So we are lucky. Yes, we are lucky, France is a paradise." Cabu and Wolinski were right. Democracies are, or at least should be, custodians of a perishable treasury: freedom of expression. This is the biggest difference between Paris and Havana, London and Riyadh, Berlin and Tehran, Rome and Beirut. Freedom of expression is what gives us the best of the Western culture. Thanks to the Islamists' campaign, and the fact that now only some "crazies" still venture in the exercise of freedom, are we now going to be just fearful? "Islamophobic" cartoonists, journalists and writers are the first Europeans since 1945 who have withdrawn from public life to protect their own lives. For the first time in Europe since Hitler ordered the burning of books in Berlin's Bebelplatz, movies, paintings, poems, novels, cartoons, articles and plays are literally and figuratively being burned at stake. The young French mathematician Jean Cavailles, to explain his fateful involvement in anti-Nazi Resistance, used to say: "We fight to read 'Paris Soir' rather than 'Völkischer Beobachter'." For this reason alone, it is self-defeating to quibble about the beauty of cartoons, poems or paintings. In the West, we have paid a high price for the freedom to do so. We should all therefore protest when a German judge bans "offensive" verses, when a French publisher fires an "Islamophobic" editor or when a music festival bans a politically incorrect band. Or is it already too late? Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author. Related Video: Giulio Meotti on "The Death of Free Speech in Europe "
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
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Monday, June 20, 2016
Freedom Of The Press Is An Extinct Animal With The Exception Of Talk Radio
Attkisson: Elites control media like never before
The former CBS News investigative reporter who left her job after both the White House and her own employers stonewalled her coverage of the truth behind the Benghazi terror attack said recently that all Americans should be concerned about the amount of control elites have over the world media.
During an interview with Breitbart’s Matt Boyle, journalist Sheryl Attkisson said the problem of media manipulation is a concern reserved for people living in restrictive countries like Russia and China.
“I just got back from a conference in Russia, of all places, where global journalists gathered to talk about this as a trend globally, where government interests, corporate interests, special interests have learned how to use the news media,”Attkisson said, adding that those interest can now manipulate public opinion more aggressively than ever before.
Attkisson said she believes that the media landscape in the United States has changed completely over the past several years, making it easier for special interest to control the messages getting out.
“I think they’ve been pushing narratives a lot for the last couple of years in a way I haven’t seen five years ago … ten years ago, for sure. It’s almost like someone’s given a license at the top. It used to be done kind of subtly, but now it’s sort of encouraged,” she said. “It’s almost as if everybody’s on the same page now. I think it’s inappropriate. I think that different views should be represented.”
All over the world, Attkisson said, it is becoming more difficult for reporters to avoid being pressured into being puppets to elitists.
“When they veer from the narrative that’s trying to be established by whatever power that exists, they’re controversialized, they’re bullied, they’re driven out of the mainstream,” she said. “It’s a global trend. Whoever is trying to control the narrative has figured this out. They’re applying similar techniques around the world, and it’s certainly happening here in the United States.”
Attkisson knows a thing or two about being attacked for trying to get to the bottom of a complex story. If you’re unfamiliar with the stories of her past tussles with the Obama administration, here’s a little background to fill you in:
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Trump In Grand Rapids Makes Noise
Trump: I Hate the Press, But 'I'd Never Kill Them'
Donald Trump at a rally in Grand Rapids Dec. 21, 2015 (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Monday, 21 Dec 2015 08:36 PM
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump took on the press and his most recently vanquished opponent at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan Monday night, telling the crowd he hates the press, but would never kill them like Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of doing.
Trump said again that he was not offended that Putin praised him, even though he has been accused of killing journalists.
"I don't like that. I'm totally against that," Trump said. "By the way, I hate some of these people but I'd never kill them."
He pretended to reconsider, saying , "Let's see. No, I wouldn't. I would never kill them. But I do hate them."
Trump also mentioned that South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham had dropped out of the race earlier in the day.
"Extremely sad," Trump said. "He was nasty to me, wasn't he? You see how everybody that goes against me is like...." Trump drew an X with his finger.
"That should happen with our country," he said. "Everybody who goes against me, down the tubes.
Inevitably, a protester tried to shout Trump down, but was drowned out by Trump supporters chanting, "USA! USA!"
Trump waved "bye-bye" at the protester and joined in the chant.
"I don't like that. I'm totally against that," Trump said. "By the way, I hate some of these people but I'd never kill them."
He pretended to reconsider, saying , "Let's see. No, I wouldn't. I would never kill them. But I do hate them."
Latest News Update
"Extremely sad," Trump said. "He was nasty to me, wasn't he? You see how everybody that goes against me is like...." Trump drew an X with his finger.
"That should happen with our country," he said. "Everybody who goes against me, down the tubes.
Trump waved "bye-bye" at the protester and joined in the chant.
Related Stories:
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Saturday, June 6, 2015
Press Does Not Understand Their Role. View It As "Reporting" What The Leaders Say, Not Questioning Them
THE CENTRAL ROLE OF THE FREE PRESS
Exclusive: Joseph Farah is astonished at Bob Schieffer's explanation of media's purpose
Another media elite legend (in his own mind) retired last weekend.
Bob Schieffer of CBS’ “Face the Nation” signed off after more than 20 years at the helm of the Sunday talk show.
But before he departed, he had some remarkable things to say about his profession and the communications revolution that transpired during those two decades.
About Barack Obama, Schieffer begrudgingly acknowledged that his colleagues may have given him an easy ride in 2008 when he burst onto the political scene: “I think the whole political world was struck by this fellow who sort of came out of nowhere with this very unusual name, and when he won out in Iowa I think people sat up and took notice. Maybe we were not skeptical enough. It was a campaign … it is the role of the opponents to make the campaign. I think as journalists – what we do is watch the campaign, and we report what the two sides are doing. I think it is the politicians who make the campaign.”
So the role of the press is what? To passively report what politicians say without challenge? To report primarily the conflict between what political opponents argue? Is that what reporting is all about?
Schieffer was asked how Washington has changed over the last two decades: “It’s been turned upside-down, I mean, as has everything because of this revolution in communications. You know, we know don’t know where people get their news, but what we do know is they’re bombarded with information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most of the information is wrong and some of it, wrong on purpose. It is our job, I think, in mainstream journalism to try to cut through this maw of information and tell people what we think is relevant and what they need to know about. That is the job of the journalist, and I have to say, it’s harder and harder.”
So the role of the press is to filter the news for people – to sort out the wheat from the chaff? It’s primarily a role of telling people what to think? The central role of the press is what?
Here’s a guy who has been at the top of his journalism profession for 20 years and he just doesn’t even have a clue as to what the real job of the press is.
As a former journalism professor at UCLA and someone who has done just about every job one can do in the professional “mainstream” media world, let me get back down to basics: The central role of the free press in a free society is to serve as a watchdog on government and other powerful institutions. You can quote me on that. That’s why we have a free press in America. The founder of our country understood how essential it was to have checks and balances on government power. It was they who came up with the idea of a constitutional protection for this inalienable right.
Schieffer seems oblivious to this principle – this precept, this foundational historical fact.
And I’m not surprised. Few in my profession now understand what most of us understood one generation ago. Some have forgotten. Most have never been taught. But it wasn’t that long ago that I myself was teaching these principles at a major public university in the most politically correct state in the union. I was sharing these principles with hundreds of other “mainstream” reporters and editors in newsrooms in major newspaper markets. Today these principles are foreign concepts – even to the graying old guard of insiders.
Schieffer and the arrogant band of media elitists are running scared because they have lost their monopoly on information as a result of the communications revolution that has introduced real competition on a global scale, knocking down economic barriers to entry.
But how sad is it to hear Schieffer speak with such ignorance about the mission of his own profession.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/the-central-role-of-the-free-press/#tlHSQamPAgCul6br.99
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Freedom Of The Press--Obama Style! The Dictator And His Wife Get More Outrageous Every Day. One Can Hardly Wait To See What They Do Next!
Wisconsin Reporter Was Sent to Cover Michelle Obama’s Speech and What She Says an Aide Told Her Had Her ‘Creeped Out’
Meg Kissinger is a seasoned reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin’s well-known newspaper. She’s seen a lot in her days. But what she said happened at a speech by Michelle Obama in the state on Monday left her utterly “creeped out.”
Kissinger took to her Facebook and Twitter page to describe what happened. In short, she said, aides for both the first lady and Wisconsin Democratic candidate for governor, Mary Burke, told her she was banned from talking to members of the crowd.
Kissinger was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, covering the first lady’s speech in which she was stumping for Burke.
“[A]ssigned to cover Michelle Obama’s speech today and was told by a Mary Burke aide and one for the White House that I could not speak to the people in the crowd,” she said on her Facebook page. “To say that I was creeped out is an understatement. This is what reporters do in America: we speak to people. At least that’s how I’ve been doing things — at all kinds of political events — since 1979.”
(Source: Facebook)
In a follow-up comment to her post, she added that she’s “never seen anything like it in 35 years as a reporter”:
(Source: Facebook)
She recounted the same events on Twitter:
(Source: Twitter)
The odd encounter did make it into her story for the Journal Sentinel [emphasis added]:
At the Burke event, a number of people in the crowd were upset about a lack of seating. Several people, including a woman using two canes, complained that she had nowhere to sit.Reporters and photographers were cordoned off in a central area with chairs and tables. Several people in the crowd asked if they could have extra chairs reserved for the media — but reporters were initially forbidden from handing them over. Eventually, some of the Burke staff gave the extra chairs to attendees.Burke and White House staff alsotold reporters not to talk to people in the crowd before the event.
Kissinger’s encounter bolsters charges by the media that the administration is one of the mostguarded ever.
This story has been updated to reflect that the Burke event took place in Milwaukee, not Hudson, Wisconsin.
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