January 28 THRU 30, 2018
News and Views
THIS CALLER IS THE KIND OF INDIVIDUAL THAT TRUMP HAS ENCOURAGED WITH HIS EXTREMELY HOSTILE LANGUAGE AGAINST MINORITIES. LET’S FACE IT, MOST OF US ARE “MINORITIES” OF SOME KIND, OR WERE WHEN WE FIRST CAME TO THE USA. AMERICA WAS A BEAUTIFUL AND MAJESTIC VIRGIN WILDERNESS WITH A HANDFUL OF FARMERS, WHO WERE ENCOURAGED BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO ACQUIRE LAND AND DEVELOP IT. THAT IS NOT USUALLY “THE CREAM OF THE CREAM.”
IT’S THE PEASANTS, FOR THE MOST PART, WITH SOME (FREQUENTLY WILD-EYED) RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES THROWN IN. THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT WE SHOULD BE DESPISED FOR NOT BEING A NATION OF NOBLES, BUT THAT WE SHOULDN’T BE LIKE AESOP’S RAVEN AND BORROW PEACOCK FEATHERS TO STRUT AROUND THE BARNYARD WITH THEM STUCK INTO HIS TAIL FEATHERS, EITHER.
THIS GUY WAS REALLY HITTING ALL THE BASES IN HIS DISPARAGEMENT OF THREE OR FOUR TOO-FREQUENTLY HATED MINORITY GROUPS, WITHIN THE SPAN OF TWO SENTENCES. HATERS SHOULD REMEMBER THAT NOT EVERY RED-BLOODED PATRIOTIC WHITE AMERICAN AGREES WITH THEM, AND WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO CALL THE FBI TO REPORT THEM THAN TO SIT AROUND IN A BAR, EXCHANGING RACIAL HATE JOKES WITH THEM. THEY THEMSELVES ARE THE OUTSIDERS.
THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO SEE IN AMERICA, WHICH WAS FOUNDED ON FREEDOM AND EQUALITY – A NATION WHICH GIVES ROOM FOR ALMOST EVERYONE – OR DID IN 1775 -- TO LIVE A HAPPY LIFE, RELATIVELY SPEAKING AT ANY RATE. WE WILL GO NOWHERE EXCEPT INTO THE S**HOLE AS A NATION IF WE KEEP ON IN THE DIRECTION THAT TRUMP AND HIS PEOPLE HAVE SET. WHY DON’T THEY ALL GO EN MASSE TO LIVE IN THEIR FAVORITE NATION, RUSSIA? OF COURSE, I KNOW WHY THAT IS. RUSSIA WOULDN’T TAKE THEM IN. TRUMP SHOULD REALIZE THAT PUTIN DOES NO FAVORS UNLESS HE GETS A PAYBACK ON IT.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/22/us/michigan-man-arrested-cnn-threats/index.html
Michigan man arrested after caller threatens to kill CNN employees
By Darran Simon, CNN
Updated 1:47 AM ET, Tue January 23, 2018
Photograph -- The CNN Center is located in downtown Atlanta.
(CNN)Authorities arrested a Michigan man last week after he allegedly called CNN several times, threatening to kill employees at the network's Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters, according to a federal affidavit.
Brandon Griesemer made 22 calls to CNN on January 9 and January 10 and four calls, which were recorded, contained threats, according to the affidavit, which was unsealed Friday.
Griesemer, whose age was not given, also made disparaging statements about Jewish people, African-Americans and the network in several calls, the affidavit said.
He was charged Friday in US District Court with transmitting interstate communications with the intent to extort and threat to injure. He was released Friday on $10,000 bond.
A family member at Griesemer's home in Novi, Michigan, declined to comment late Monday.
"We take any threats to CNN employees or workplaces, around the world, extremely seriously. This one is no exception. We have been in touch with local and federal law enforcement throughout, and have taken all necessary measures to ensure the safety of our people," CNN said Monday in a statement.
Michigan authorities first crossed paths with Griesemer last fall.
On September 19, a man -- later identified as Griesemer -- called an employee at an Islamic center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and made derogatory comments about the mosque and Muslims, an FBI agent said in the affidavit.
Ann Arbor police used an online database to identify Griesemer's father as the phone's owner.
Two days later, Ann Arbor police contacted Griesemer's mother at the family's home, where Griesemer lived. She told police her son had called the mosque, the affidavit said. Officers told her they wanted to talk to her son.
In a call to Ann Arbor police that day, Griesemer admitted he called the mosque on September 19 "and that he was angry at the time of the call," the affidavit said.
CNN received the first threatening call around 3 p.m. on January 9. The call was made to a publicly listed phone number at the Atlanta headquarters from the same cell phone number used to call the Islamic center in Ann Arbor on September 19, the affidavit said.
It was the first of three threatening calls that day to CNN from that number, according to the affidavit.
"FAKE NEWS. I'm coming to gun you all down," said the caller, who cursed and used an expletive directed at African-Americans, the affidavit said.
"I am on my way right now to gun the f****** CNN cast down .... I am coming to kill you," the caller said a second call to CNN, according to affidavit.
On January 9, an investigator employed by CNN searched law enforcement databases for the phone number and discovered it was registered to Griesemer's father, the affidavit said. The investigator learned a second number was associated with the wireless account.
The investigator called the second phone number and asked to speak to Griesemer's father. The man who picked up identified himself as Brandon, the affidavit said.
The investigator recorded the conversation with Griesemer and compared the audio to the recorded audio of the threatening calls, the affidavit said.
The voices sounded like the same person, the affidavit said.
On January 10, CNN received the fourth call from the same cell phone number used to make the three prior threats, the affidavit said.
The caller again threatened to come to the Atlanta headquarters to "gun every single last one of you," the affidavit said.
The CNN investigator collected data from the cell phone used to make the threats. That phone had accessed a cellular tower in Novi, Michigan, the affidavit said.
Griesemer could face a fine or up to five years in prison if convicted.
CNN's Dave Alsup contributed to this report.
DONALD TRUMP PROVES HIMSELF A REAL LEADER – OF THE PROPAGATORS OF EVIL RATHER THAN THE GOOD. WATCH THIS INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN BUTLER, ASIA CMTE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS. WE NEED A THIRD PARTY. THE GOOD GUYS FROM THE REPUBLICAN AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTIES CAN JOIN BERNIE SANDERS AND OTHERS LIKE HIM, OR WHO HAPPEN TO BE PRO-HUMANITY AND PRO-EARTH. OUR PARTY MAY NOT WIN, BUT IT WILL BE FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS AND GOALS. I CAN PROUDLY STAND BEHIND THEM.
WE MUST REMEMBER ABOUT TRUMP THAT HE HAS NO EMOTIONAL ALLEGIANCE TO ANYBODY OR ANYTHING EXCEPT HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY, AS LONG AS THEY OBEY HIM AND DO PUBLICITY WORK FOR HIM. IVANKA TRUMP’S “COMPLICITY” STATEMENT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE. THESE REPUBLICANS WHO ARE STEPPING DOWN RATHER THAN CONFRONT HIM ARE IN MY VIEW “COMPLICIT” ALSO. IF, HOWEVER, THEY DO GO AND GIVE EVIDENCE TO MUELLER, I WILL CHANGE MY MIND ABOUT THEM.
IF AND WHEN DEMOCRATS GO OVER TO THE DARK SIDE, I’LL RAISE A BIGGER STINK ABOUT IT. AFTER ALL, I EXPECT THAT FROM CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS. I TOTALLY FORGIVE COPPERHEAD SNAKES FOR BITING ME IF I DON’T DO WHAT I SHOULD DO AND SCAN THE GROUND EVERY 30 FEET OR SO WHEN I WALK IN THE WOODS.
THERE IS MORE GOOD DETAIL ON THIS SUBJECT IN THE PHILIPPINES, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, AT THIS WEBSITE: http://www.expatmedia.net/2017/03/31/duterte-hits-2-philippine-media-outfits-slanted-reports/.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/28/asia/asia-fake-news-media-repression-intl/index.html
Asia's strongmen follow Trump's lead on fake news
By Euan McKirdy, CNN
Updated 6:44 AM ET, Mon January 29, 2018
VIDEO INTERVIEW -- Source: CNN, Trump's impact on press freedom in Asia
04:35
(CNN)"Spies." An "iceberg of misinformation," and "a media that acts as a mafia."
And, of course, "fake news."
These are some of the terms leaders across Southeast Asia are using to discredit journalists and media outlets -- and the rhetoric is morphing into action, with arrests of journalists and the shuttering of news sites across the region.
In the Philippines, an independent news site, which has been accused of being "fake news" by the country's leader, Rodrigo Duterte, faces closure after the country's SEC pulled its license.
Elsewhere, two journalists in Myanmar are facing charges filed while they were reporting on the Rohingya crisis for Reuters. In nearby Cambodia, a US-funded news organization shut its local bureau down; shortly after, two of its former reporters were arrested.
Analysts and observers say Asia's strongman leaders have been emboldened by the lack of criticism of their heavy-handed tactics from Washington and the administration of President Donald Trump, himself a fierce and persistent critic of the press.
"It's a worrying trend," says Shawn Crispin, Senior Southeast Asia Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). "It looks as though they're taking cues from one of the countries that (traditionally) protected press freedom, the United States."
A college student participates in a protest to defend press freedom in Manila.
Shutdown threat
Last week, the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) -- ostensibly an independent, non-political organization -- announced that it would be rescinding the license for the online news site Rappler.
At the heart of the issue was a claim by the SEC that Rappler, an upstart online news portal in the Philippines, had violated the country's constitution and that its registration would be revoked over foreign ownership rules. Rappler has strongly denied the claims.
The news organization, which was founded in 2012, has in recent years reported extensively on the Duterte administration's bloody, controversial war on drugs.
An employee of online portal Rappler heads out from their editorial office in Manila on January 15, 2018, while a private security guard stands.
"Why were we given such a harsh penalty? It seems linked directly to the criticism, the questions we continue to ask in holding the government accountable," Rappler founder and CEO Maria Ressa said.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque told CNN affiliate CNN Philippines that the office of the president had "nothing to do with the SEC decision."
Following the threat of closure, Rappler reported that the Department of Justice and its National Bureau of Investigation had summoned Ressa -- who is a former CNN reporter -- in a subpoena for a libel case for a story written in 2012.
She says that the SEC and DOJ actions are attempts to intimidate her outlet, and has vowed to explore every available legal avenue.
Maria Ressa, CEO and founder of Rappler, speaks during a press conference at their office in Manila on January 15, 2018.
'Fake news'
Duterte has been disparaging of the media -- taking his cues, some analysts say, from Trump's own playbook.
"What we're seeing now is, again, the term 'fake news' cropping up and that's what Duterte's used against Rappler," says Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism at Queensland University.
"(That) follows President Trump's lead, in branding any news organization that he doesn't like, or any news organization which will publish a story that is uncomfortable to his government, as fake news."
Greste, a former Al Jazeera journalist, spent more than 400 days in captivity in Egypt on charges that included conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood, spreading false news and endangering national security.
Trump has "shown no inclination to criticize or oppose (authoritarian) regimes," he says.
Indeed, the Philippines is not alone in its leaders aping the US leader's "fake news" catch-all.
"Trump's use of the phrase 'fake news' to diminish criticism has traveled far, it's not only Duterte in the region -- other leaders take their cue from Trump as well," says John Nery, an associate editor at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, another publication to have been the focus of Duterte's ire -- he has called it "bullshit," alongside another Philippine outlet, ABS-CBN.*
"You put out garbage. Somebody should tell you now, you sons of bitches, you engaged in too much foolishness," he reportedly said in a March 2017 speech at the presidential palace.
Journalists and activists stage a protest calling to defend press freedom on January 19, 2018, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines following the SEC decision to withdraw Rappler's license.
Journalists and activists stage a protest calling to defend press freedom on January 19, 2018, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines following the SEC decision to withdraw Rappler's license.
The Pope has a message on 'fake news' for Trump
Region-wide trend
Among those leaders is Myanmar's de facto ruler, Aung San Suu Kyi, who, amid criticism of her country's military, dismissed reports of mistreatment of ethnic Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine State as a "huge iceberg of misinformation."
The country is now seeking to charge two Reuters journalists covering the crisis, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, under the Official Secrets Act, a colonial-era law which carries a maximum 14-year jail sentence.
In a statement sent to CNN, Reuters editor-in-chief Steve Adler called the detentions "a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom. Our colleagues should be allowed to return to their jobs reporting on events in Myanmar."
View image on Twitter
Andrew RC Marshall
✔
@Journotopia
Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo, in handcuffs and guarded by police, cradles his 2-year-old daughter at a Yangon court yesterday. He and our Reuters colleague Wa Lone are innocent men who should be freed immediately. Please read/share: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-journalists-profiles/arrested-myanmar-reporters-two-book-lovers-dedicated-to-the-truth-idUSKBN1ED0J8 … #FreeWaLoneKyawSoeOo
6:07 AM - Jan 24, 2018
2 2 Replies 76 76 Retweets 40 40 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
In Cambodia, two journalists who had worked for the US Congress-funded outlet Radio Free Asia, Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, were detained on espionage charges, RFA reported late last year.
Criticizing a hearing decision to deny the two men bail, their lawyer, Keo Vanny, said that his "clients have not committed any offenses related to the charges against them."
RFA closed its country bureau amid what it calls "a relentless crackdown by Prime Minister Hun Sen's authoritarian regime on independent media ahead of critical polls next year," the Washington, D.C.-based outlet quoted its president, Libby Liu, as saying last September.
Also in Cambodia, the respected Cambodia Daily was shuttered by the government last year after failure to pay a $6.3 million tax bill. The paper says the bill was politically motivated.
Reuters reported that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen alluded to the newspaper's closure at a correspondent's dinner earlier this week in Phnom Penh, saying some outlets acted like "mafia" and "don't respect laws, they are not registered by law and they avoid paying taxes."
The paper denies the allegations.
Also in late 2017, this time in Vietnam, Reporters Without Borders reported that Nguyen Van Hoa, a 22-year-old blogger and citizen-journalist, was jailed for seven years for "disseminating propaganda" against the state.
'Army of trolls'
Supporters of Duterte and other authoritarian leaders in the region have embraced the new atmosphere of hostility towards the media, particularly on social networks.
In the Philippines, activists and media groups have long suspected that the administration has a hand in guiding what Carlos Conde, a Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher calls Duterte's "army of trolls."
Conde says that the administration's attempts to undermine the press is aided by Duterte's supporters' use of social media -- mostly Facebook and Twitter. "(When) we talk about weaponizing the internet, they're the ones pulling the trigger."
Nery, the Inquirer editor, says that the climate online for journalists is aggressive and vicious. "On Facebook the air is thick with hostility."
In response to a CNN response for comment, Facebook said: "We want Facebook to be a safe place for people, especially journalists, to express themselves politically. We have strong policies against hate speech and threats, and we enforce them aggressively."
Conde says the journalists he's spoken to say that when a story critical of the president publishes online "almost immediately the trolls descend and just keep coming."
He says the posters flood Facebook pages with negative comments, and in at least one casea denial of service (DDoS) attack on a news site was launched.
He says that HRW haven't been able to definitively tie the administration to the trolling, but says "it's clear that someone is ordering this army to attack. Who could that be? This president has made no secret of his contempt for the press, or anybody who questions the way he does things."
CNN has contacted the Philippines government for comment, but has yet to receive a response.
CPJ's Crispin says that social media offered many journalists and new media outlets a brave new world, spaces free of government censorship. It is a bitter irony, he says, that these same spaces are now being flooded with anti-media posts.
"(They) offered a chance for a new brand of independent journalism, and these spaces are being taken back by governments that have launched assaults on these spaces through laws, intimidation and even the jailing of these journalists. It's a dramatic reversal of what was a pretty positive trend."
John McCain tells Trump to 'stop attacking the press'
Real-world consequences
Even before the clampdown on Rappler and the wider threats against journalists who report critically on the government, the Philippines was already one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist, CPJ's Crispin says.
"It just got more dangerous. A lot of that danger now is emanating from online -- journalists who report on Duterte's lethal and controversial drug war have been assaulted online as soon as their critical reports come out."
Crispin points to CPJ research that shows, the world over, attacks on journalists are preceded by threats.
Michigan man arrested after caller threatens to kill CNN employees
"So the fact that these threats are being made, if not yet necessarily being realized, as physical violence doesn't discount the threats to press freedom," says Crispin.
The effects of the attacks online are manifold, says Conde, the HRW researcher. "A lot of journalists in the Philippines will tell you that it's not just adding to the stress, (the attacks) make you feel vulnerable ... The logical end is that they might start censoring themselves, although I have faith in their ethics and professionalism to keep continuing to do their jobs."
Despite the attacks on their news organizations, both Ressa and Nery say their colleagues continue to publish.
Rappler CEO: Stripping of license is political 03:00
Long road back
Rappler CEO Ressa says it is nascent democracies like the Philippines that are particularly susceptible to attacks on the media. It was only three decades ago, in 1986, her countrymen overthrew longtime dictator Ferdinand Marcos in what came to be known as the "people power revolution."
"It's been 32 years since the sudden euphoria of 1986 and the fragility of our democracy. To be back in the same place, now, to have to protect freedoms from potential state abuse, I have no words for it."
During her time at CNN Ressa worked in countries with oppressive regimes across Asia, and says she decided to return to the country of her birth to help grow and build on the post-Marcos sense of hope -- which the constant attacks on Rappler and media colleagues throughout the industry are eroding.
"Here it's emotional for me. I chose to come to the Philippines. I felt like the Philippines was a democracy that I would help grow and strengthen. And I continue to do that by standing my ground but the fact that we're here again (fighting oppression) should be of concern to Filipinos."
OUR GOOD FRIENDS THE RUSSIANS ARE JUST HAVING A LITTLE FUN, AGAIN. I WONDER IF WE ARE PLAYING THE SAME GAMES ON THEM? IF SO, BOTH NATIONS SHOULD JUST STOP IT RIGHT NOW!! IF THEY CAUSE OUR PLANE OR SHIP TO WRECK, PERHAPS WE WILL PLAYFULLY SEND AN (UNARMED) NUCLEAR MISSILE OVER MOSCOW, VIDEO THE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND RUNNING FOR SHELTER AND PUT THAT ON FACEBOOK. SERIOUSLY, FOLKS, THIS ISN’T THE BEST WAY TO CARRY OUT INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. IN THE OLD DAYS BEFORE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, ALL PROFESSIONALS WENT TO COLLEGE (WAR COLLEGE?) ON WHAT TO DO AND HOW. NOW THEY’RE JUST LIKE THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE – TOTALLY BONKERS!
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-jet-flies-within-feet-us-navy-plane-black-sea/
CBS NEWS January 29, 2018, 10:53 PM
Russian jet flies within 5 feet of U.S. Navy plane over Black Sea: Pentagon
Photograph -- An EP-3E Aries II aircraft U.S. NAVY
A Russian jet intercepted an American patrol plane flying in international airspace over the Black Sea on Monday, coming within 5 feet of the U.S. aircraft, the Pentagon said.
The U.S. Navy EP-3 Aries aircraft was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 jet, Pentagon spokeswoman Capt. Pamela Kunze said in a statement. The encounter lasted two hours and 40 minutes, Kunze said. The Russian jet came within 5 feet of the U.S. plane and crossed directly through its flight path, causing the EP-3 to fly through a trail of turbulence.
U.S. Navy releases video of "unsafe" Russian jet intercept
Kunze said the Russian military is "within its right" to fly in international airspace, but they "must behave within international standards set to ensure safety and prevent incidents."
"Unsafe actions increase the risk of miscalculation and midair collisions," she said.
The Pentagon said the U.S. aircraft was "operating in accordance with international law" and did not provoke Russian activity.
Monday evening, the U.S. State Department issued a statement that noted the incident "with the highest level of concern" and that Russia "was flagrantly violating existing agreements and international law."
"The United States notes with the highest level of concern the latest incident of unsafe Russian military practices, over the Black Sea on January 29. As confirmed by U.S. Naval Forces Europe, a Russian SU-27 engaged in an unsafe interaction with a U.S. EP-3 in international airspace, with the Russia pilot closing to within 5 feet and crossing directly in front of the EP-3's flight path," the statement read. "While the U.S. aircraft was operating under international law, the Russian side was flagrantly violating existing agreements and international law, in this case the 1972 Agreement for the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas (INCSEA). This is but the latest example of Russian military activities disregarding international norms and agreements. We call on Russia to cease these unsafe actions that increase the risk of miscalculation, danger to aircrew on both sides, and midair collisions."
The incident is the latest in a series of close calls between Russian and U.S. aircraft over the Black Sea. In November 2017, the U.S. military said a Russian fighter jet flew within 50 feet of a Navy reconnaissance plane, causing the aircraft to tilt 15 degrees from the resulting turbulence. In May 2017, a Russian jet came within 20 feet of a U.S. spy plane over the body of water.
In December, two U.S. F-22A Raptors came in contact with two Russian jets as they crossed a deconfliction line over Syria. The Pentagon said the U.S. pilots tried to "persuade" the Russian pilots to leave the airspace by releasing flares and making multiple calls on an emergency channel established to avoid conflict between U.S. and Russian forces.
© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
DUTERTE HAS BEEN DOING MORE THAN JUST TALKING TRASH, I SEE. WHEN WILL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE START TO BE DULY CONCERNED AND TALK TO OUR LEGISLATORS?
http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/15/asia/philippines-rappler-sec-license-revoked/index.html
Philippines revokes license of Rappler, news site critical of Duterte administration
By Euan McKirdy, CNN
Updated 12:06 AM ET, Tue January 16, 2018
Video interview -- Source: CNN, Rappler CEO: Stripping of license is political 03:00
Story highlights –
Regulatory body rescinds media company's license, citing ownership rules
Critics of the decision claim president is stifling free speech
(CNN)A Philippines new media company fiercely critical of the government has had its operating license revoked, in what critics say is a move to silence the press.
The country's Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) said online news site Rappler had violated the country's constitution and its registration would be revoked over foreign ownership rules.
The outlet has been fiercely critical of president Rodrigo Duterte's administration since the controversial leader came to power in June 2016.
Rappler's founder and CEO, Maria Ressa, told CNN the organization plans to fight the decision.
"We plan to take this to the next legal remedy, to the next court, all the way up to the supreme court," Ressa, who is a former CNN employee, said.
In a statement Monday, Rappler said the move was unprecedented and it would continue to operate despite the order to close shop.
"We will continue bringing you the news, holding the powerful to account for their actions and decisions, calling attention to government lapses that further disempower the disadvantaged," the editorial statement said.
"The SEC's kill order revoking Rappler's license to operate is the first of its kind in history -- both for the (SEC) and for Philippine media," the statement reads.
"What this means for you, and for us, is that the Commission is ordering us to close shop, to cease telling you stories, to stop speaking truth to power, and to let go of everything that we have built -- and created -- with you since 2012."
On Tuesday, Rappler reported that the SEC had said the company could continue to operate until it exhausts legal options.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque told CNN affiliate CNN Philippines Monday that the office of the president had "nothing to do with the SEC decision."
Philippines: Why it's deadly for journalists
Rappler CEO and editor Maria Ressa speaks during a press conference at their office in Manila on January 15, 2018, while acting managing editor Chay Hofilena (R) listens.
Ownership questions
Central to the revocation, the SEC says, are questions surrounding Rappler's ownership.
Constitutionally, mass media companies in the Philippines are blocked from foreign ownership, and the SEC alleges that Rappler's parent company "intentionally created an elaborate scheme" to cover an investment from a foreign source, and that the media organization is a "mass media entity that sold control to foreigners."
The investment in question comes from the Omidyar Network, a investment vehicle created by eBay founder and entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar, Rappler said.
The Omidyar Network "invests in entrepreneurs who share our commitment to advancing social good," an introductory page on its website says.
Rappler denies foreign ownership, and says the Philippine Depositary Receipt (PDR), a financial instrument that governs the Omidyar investment, doesn't give the Network any control over the company. It says the arrangement was accepted by the SEC in 2015.
In his State of the Union address in 2017, Duterte singled out the company, criticizing its ownership structure and claiming it was "fully owned by Americans."
In a report on the speech at the time, Rappler contended that it was "100-percent owned by Filipinos."
Opinion: Donald Trump laughed when Rodrigo Duterte called the media 'spies.' Not good
An employee of online portal Rappler heads out from their editorial office in Manila on January 15, 2018.
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) welcomed the decision, according to CNN Philippines.
"This decision demonstrates that even influential media outfits cannot skirt the restrictions set forth in the Constitution. Rappler is free to seek redress before our courts," Solicitor-General Jose Calida said.
"The OSG is ready to defend the sound decision of the SEC in any forum."
Amanpour: No free press, no democracy
Journalists, rights groups react
International and local groups have condemned the decision, with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calling it a "direct assault on freedom of the press," and rights group Amnesty International saying it was "an alarming attempt to silence independent journalism."
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines released a statement saying it was "outraged" at the decision.
It declared its "full support" for the under-fire news organization and said Duterte's annual address was "but one of many threats Duterte has made against media critical of him and his governance, such as the Philippine Daily Inquirer and broadcast network ABS-CBN, whose franchise renewal he threatened to block," referring to two other outlets that Duterte has previously criticized.
Altermidya, a nationwide network of alternative media outfits, said it was a "serious danger to press freedom and freedom of expression," and said the move "could only be interpreted as part of a scheme to silence critical media and to instill fear among media practitioners committed to reporting the truth."
[SEE: https://www.facebook.com/altermidya/]
Human Rights Watch alleged that it was the president who was attempting to stifle Rappler, and issued a warning for the free press in the country.
"If Duterte succeeds in silencing Rappler, it will have a profound chilling effect on Philippine media freedom, encouraging self-censorship by reporters and media outlets fearful of government reprisals for critical reporting at a time when the watchdog role of a free press is more urgently needed than ever," its statement said.
Veteran Philippines journalist Charie Villa said political reporting in the country was "an open field" and that "people with political agendas can get bashed." She called for Rappler to be completely transparent about its ownership issues.
"In the Philippines, media ownership is an issue. Generally, media owners have business interests and agenda that often clash or attached to a political party -- that's why the public ... view their content with suspicion."
THE FOLLOWING IS TODAY’S INFORMATION ON THE INFAMOUS MEMO. THIS IS THE MOST BLATANT CASE OF LEAKING THAT WE HAVE SEEN YET. SNOWDEN WAS ILLEGAL AND UNETHICAL IN HIS ACTIONS, BUT HE WASN’T A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE. ALSO, THIS IS THE FOURTH TIME, OR MORE, THAT HE HAS PLAYED FAST AND LOOSE WITH HIS SWORN RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRIVILEGES OF OFFICE. GROUNDS FOR IMPEACHMENT? WHY IS HE NOT IN JAIL? “LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whats-next-with-the-house-intelligence-committee-memo/
CBS NEWS January 30, 2018, 2:31 PM
What happens next with the House Intelligence Committee memo?
The public could very soon see the controversial and classified memo created by GOP staffers on the House Intelligence Committee detailing alleged abuses by the Department of Justice and FBI, after Republicans on the committee voted in favor of its release Monday night.
A White House official confirmed to CBS News the memo was couriered to the White House Monday evening, following the vote, for review. From there, the president has five days from the time of the vote to object to the release of the memo. The president could decide immediately that he doesn't want to object, and convey that sentiment to the House. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has said the White House supports "full transparency" in regards to the memo, and the president appears poised to release it, against the spoken wishes of his own DOJ.
But the House could also decide not to make the memo public yet. That's because, read in its strictest sense, the relevant House rule says classified material may only be released once the five-day period expires.
At any rate, the timing is uncertain, given the unprecedented nature of the memo and its release. The memo has to do with alleged abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by the DOJ and FBI.
Meanwhile, the committee is determining what to do with a rebuttal memo created by Democrats on the committee. Republicans overruled the release of the minority memo on Monday night. Democrats are concerned Republicans are using the majority memo to undermine the credibility of the DOJ and intelligence committee, as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates Russian election meddling and any ties to the Trump administration. After Monday's vote, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Republicans had moved to "politicize the intelligence process."
On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said the memo involves, a "completely separate matter from Bob Mueller's investigation and his investigation should be allowed to take its course."
On Sunday, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, told reporters at a seminar backed by Charles and David Koch in Southern California that the contents of the memo are a part of a broader pattern that concerns him, and may just be a starting point for other "follows-ons."
"My concern is part of a pattern, OK?" Meadows said. "And so whether it's this memo or whether it's other documents that will come out in other follow-ons, which could very well happen, I think that becomes part of the whole story. And so you know, to say that it's so earth-shattering, some of my colleagues have been saying — I believe based on what I've seen that there were a number of things that were done inappropriately. To suggest what they are starts to get into details of this, and we've gotta' be careful."
CBS News' Jacqueline Alemany, Steven Portnoy, Kathryn Watson and Olivia Andrzejczak Gazis contributed to this report.
© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A KINDER WAY TO KILL CHICKENS – IS THIS OFF THE SUBJECT OF THE REST OF THIS BLOG SO FAR? NO. I BELIEVE IN BEING KIND TO ALL ANIMALS INCLUDING HUMANS. OF COURSE, I’M GOING TO EAT THE CHICKEN, BUT I WANT THEM RAISED IN THE OPEN AIR WHERE THEY CAN WALK AROUND AND FORAGE FREELY, SCRATCHING, STRUTTING AND CLUCKING TO THEIR HEARTS’ CONTENT. LIVE LIFE FULLY WHILE YOU HAVE IT.
CAN PLANTS FEEL PAIN, ALSO? HUMAN RIGHTS, LIFE-FORM RIGHTS. SOME SCIENTISTS ACTUALLY HAVE LOOKED INTO THE THEORY THAT SOME PLANTS CAN “FEEL” AND “COMMUNICATE,” THOUGH THAT IS PROBABLY THROUGH THEIR ROOTS, AND IN THE FORM OF CHEMICAL RELEASES. THEY SEEM TO INHIBIT THE GROWTH OF COMPETITOR PLANTS IN THEIR AREA, AND COMMUNICATE THE ASSAULT BY ANIMALS SUCH AS DEER ON THEIR LEAVES, WHICH CAUSES THE LEAVES OF ALL THE PLANTS AROUND THEM TO TASTE ESPECIALLY UNPLEASANT. AMAZING, NO?? IT DOESN’T HURT THE DEER, BUT IT CAUSES HIM TO LEAVE THE AREA AND GO FIND ANOTHER GROUP OF TREES. YOU DON’T BELIEVE THAT? LOOK IT UP ON GOOGLE. IT WAS ALSO IN A NEWS ARTICLE ABOUT SIX TO EIGHT MONTHS AGO, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2159895-a-more-humane-way-of-slaughtering-chickens-might-get-eu-approval/?cmpid=ILC|NSNS|2017_webpush&utm_medium=ILC&utm_source=NSNS&utm_campaign=webpush-chickens
DAILY NEWS 30 January 2018
A more humane way of slaughtering chickens might get EU approval
Inside these cylinders, chickens are slaughtered, seemingly painlessly
Randolph Cheek/TechnoCatch
By Andy Coghlan
A way of slaughtering chickens that is said to be painless and to reduce their distress is one step closer to being used in Europe. If approved, it has the potential to improve how 60 billion birds are killed for meat globally each year.
Low atmospheric pressure stunning (LAPS) was developed by TechnoCatch in Mississippi. The European Food Safety Authority has now recommended that it be approved for use in the European Union. In a report released in December, the EFSA says LAPS outdoes or equals existing systems for humane slaughter.
LAPS is supported by several animal welfare organisations, like the Humane Slaughter Association. While these regret the widespread slaughter of animals, they campaign for the most humane methods while demand for meat continues. “[LAPS] has potential to significantly improve meat chicken welfare beyond systems used today,” says Marc Cooper
. . . . SORRY, LOOK UP THE SUBJECT ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE. I STARTED TO SUBSCRIBE TO THIS ONLINE PUBLICATION SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, BUT IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE. I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND THAT THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ARTICLE – THE ORIGINAL ONE – AT ANOTHER SITE ON THE NET. HOWEVER, IF YOU DO WANT TO SUBSCRIBE, THE INFORMATION IS FOUND BELOW.
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ANDREW MCCABE STEPPING DOWN – THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE IN AND AROUND THE WHITE HOUSE SHOULD BE STOPPED NOW. WE HAVE BEEN TAKING IT FOR GRANTED THAT HE ACTS OUT OF INCOMPETENCE, BUT I SUSPECT HE IS TRYING TO STRIP THE VARIOUS GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS OF ALL THE EXPERIENCED PEOPLE, WHOM HE DOESN’T TRUST, AND REPLACING THEM WITH NEWBIES WHO ARE MORE DEPENDENT ON HIM, THEREFORE MORE LOYAL TO TRUMP HIMSELF. HE’S WEIGHTING THE WHOLE GOVERNMENT LITTLE BY LITTLE TO THE “CONSERVATIVE” SIDE SO NOBODY WILL SPEAK UP AGAINST HIM. IMPEACH HIM NOW, WHILE WE CAN!!
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/29/politics/andrew-mccabe-fbi/index.html
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe steps down abruptly
By Mary Kay Mallonee, Laura Jarrett, Shimon Prokupecz and Dan Merica, CNN
Updated 1:44 AM ET, Tue January 30, 2018
Source: CNN
Video -- WH: Trump played no role in McCabe leaving FBI 02:05
Washington (CNN)FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has told FBI staff he is stepping down effective Monday -- a move that surprised even those expecting his March retirement, sources tell CNN.
He was eligible to retire in March, but with his accumulated leave, he was able to step down earlier.
Trump learned about the departure Monday morning, a White House official told CNN. The President did not answer a reporter's question at the White House about McCabe's departure.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump was not part of McCabe's choice to step down and that the White House had not been part of the decision.
Various sources described McCabe's departure as a mutual decision, while others said it was the result of pressure to step down. One source briefed on the matter said McCabe announced his decision to senior executives and portrayed it as his choice. The source disputed the characterization that McCabe was removed.
But a source familiar with the matter said FBI Director Christopher Wray told McCabe he is bringing in his own team, which he would not be a part of, and that it was McCabe's decision whether to stay at the FBI or leave.
FBI Assistant Deputy Director David Bowdich has been appointed as the bureau's acting deputy director.
Nonstop pressure
Trump has kept nonstop pressure on McCabe ever since he became acting director in May, using the longtime law enforcement official as a punching bag -- both publicly and privately -- to vent his frustrations about the FBI. In December, Trump tweeted "FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!!"
And in July 2017, Trump flatly asked why Attorney General Jeff Sessions had not fired McCabe yet.
A list of troublesome Trump steps amid the Russia investigation
"Why didn't A.G. Sessions replace Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a Comey friend who was in charge of Clinton investigation but got big dollars ($700,000) for his wife's political run from Hillary Clinton and her representatives," Trump wrote. "Drain the Swamp!"
His issue with McCabe stems from his wife's failed run for the Virginia state Senate in 2015. The Wall Street Journal reported that Dr. Jill McCabe received six contributions totaling $467,500 from then-Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's political action committee.
In addition, campaign records show that the state Democratic Party, over which McAuliffe has great influence, made two other payments totaling $207,788 in September and October 2015. These donations all occurred before McCabe took over as deputy director of the FBI and before he would have had any oversight into the Clinton email investigation.
House Intel committee could vote on Nunes memo as soon as Monday
The story, which came out during the 2016 campaign, colored Trump's view of McCabe and led him, according to The Washington Post, to ask McCabe who he voted for in the 2016 election.
Trump, during a briefing with reporters earlier this month, denied asking that question, but went on to slam McCabe, who briefly served as Trump's acting FBI director after Trump fired James Comey in May.
"I don't think so. No. I don't think I did,"* Trump told reporters about asking who McCabe voted for.
[* about asking who McCabe voted for. – REPLY -- L!L!POF!!]
McCabe, according to two Virginia campaign consultants -- one Republican, one Democratic -- with access to the Virginia campaign participation rolls, did not vote in the 2016 presidential general election but did vote in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
Trump stands by his criticism of McCabe, Sanders said Monday, referring further questions to the FBI.
'The Russia fever'
Sessions communicated to FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was hand-picked by Trump and sworn in in August, that he needed a fresh start with his senior team at the FBI, a source familiar with the conversation has told CNN. Sessions specifically suggested McCabe and the bureau's top lawyer, James Baker, should go. Baker was reassigned late last year.
With his departure, McCabe joins a list of other top bureau officials who have stepped down in recent days as Wray assembles his own team. The departures of the FBI chief of staff and general counsel were also revealed this month.
Sanders on Monday defended the pressure the President has placed on the FBI and Justice Department over the Russia investigation, telling CNN's Jim Acosta at the White House briefing that the administration has done "everything we can to be transparent."
"The only thing the President applied pressure to is to get it resolved so you guys and everyone else can focus on the things Americans actually care about: making sure everybody gets the Russia fever out of their system once and for all," she said.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny, Pamela Brown, Jim Acosta, Kaitlan Collins, Evan Perez, David Shortell and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
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