LAMONT SCOTT DEATH VIDEO RELEASED BY CHARLOTTE POLICE (EDITED OR UNEDITED?)

LAMONT SCOTT DEATH VIDEO RELEASED BY CHARLOTTE POLICE:

WAS THE VIDEO EDITED OR UNEDITED?

PLEASE PRAY FOR BLACK MEN IN AMERICA.

PLEASE PRAY FOR UNITY BETWEEN BLACK PEOPLE AND THE POLICE.

Sources: CMPD, CNN, YouTube


**** Charlotte shooting: Police release video and photo evidence

Story highlights

Police photos show pistol, holster and marijuana cigarette officers say were retrieved at scene.
Dashcam and body-camera videos do not show Scott pointing a gun at officers.

Videos released Saturday by the Charlotte police department of the fatal encounter between Keith Scott and officers do little to answer some of the most significant questions about the shooting.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney has said as much since the Tuesday shooting that sparked protests and brought nationwide media attention once again to the use of deadly force by law enforcement.

Authorities have said an African-American officer shot Scott, who was black, when he made a threatening move with a gun. Saturday, police released photos of a pistol and ankle holster recovered at the scene.

Scott's family has said he had no gun, that he was reading a book, and he was being non-aggressive when police were surrounding him.

Neither police dashcam nor body-camera footage shows Scott pointing a gun at police officers. At one point in the body-camera video, there is a view of Scott from his right side and he has his arm by his body, but it is unclear if there is a gun.

"You can't clearly identify what, if anything, is in his hand," attorney Justin Bamberg, who represents the Scott family, said at news conference Saturday evening.

Putney had said, before the videos were released, that "there is no definitive visual evidence that he had a gun in his hand."

The chief has also said the videos are part of the evidence, the totality of which will show the shooting was justified.

Police say officer saw gun

The release comes one day after a video recorded by Keith Scott's widow was released publicly. Putney said the cell phone recording didn't factor into his decision to release dashcam and body-camera video of the fatal shooting.

"Our practice and our protocol is to release as soon as we can, to inform," Putney said, adding that he waited until the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation assured him it would not adversely impact its investigation.

Tuesday's shooting of Scott, a black man, by a black police officer at an apartment complex parking lot has led to protests -- which turned violent at times -- in Charlotte over the past five nights. It is among a number of shootings in recent years that have spurred debate about how and when police should use deadly force and how race factors into whom police shoot.

The status of the videos held by police -- body-camera and dashcam footage -- was a point of contention between police and Scott's family, with authorities declining to release them throughout the week.

Demonstrators on Saturday gathered for a fifth day in the city's center. A diverse crowd of hundreds of people marched from Marshall Park after a short rally. The crowd stopped at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police headquarters and chanted: "No tapes; no peace."

'Don't shoot him'

Scott's widow released her cell phone recording of the shooting -- the first to be released publicly -- on Friday.

"Don't shoot him. He has no weapon," Rakeyia Scott can be heard saying in the footage. The first portions of the shaky video appear to show a number of police officers surround a vehicle in a parking lot.

A man repeatedly yells for someone -- apparently Keith Scott -- to "drop the gun."

"He doesn't have a gun. He has a TBI (traumatic brain injury)," Rakeyia Scott says. "He's not going to do anything to you guys. He just took his medicine."

She goes on to say: "Keith, don't let them break the windows; come on out the car. Keith! Don't do it. Keith, get out the car. Keith! Keith, don't you do it. Don't you do it. Keith! Keith! Keith!"

The video shakes, and for a moment, a man in bright blue pants is seen near the surrounded vehicle. Gunshots are heard as Rakeyia Scott says again, "Don't you do it."

She then yells: "Did you shoot him? Did you shoot him? He better not be (expletive) dead." Two people kneel over the figure with blue pants, apparently Keith Scott, now lying on the ground.

Smashed windows to handshakes: 24 hours in Charlotte

Police said an officer shot Scott after he failed to heed commands to drop a gun. His family has said he didn't have a gun.

The gun police say they recovered from the scene was loaded, a source close to the investigation told CNN. The source said investigators recovered from the weapon fingerprints, blood and DNA that matched with Scott. The source said the blood most likely got on the gun after the shooting.

'We want the public to take a look at this tape'

Another attorney for the Scott family told CNN the recording was released because officials would not furnish the police footage to the public.

"We want the public to take a look at this tape and see what was in the video before he was shot, and what was there afterward, and ask how it got there," Eduardo Curry said Friday.

Rakeyia Scott mentioned a traumatic brain injury in the recording, and Scott's family has said he was disabled after being in a near-death motorcycle crash last year.

"My understanding (is) that he had had an accident last year that was pretty traumatic, and as a result, made him at least disabled in some particular instances (and was) taking medication for it," Curry said.

The Scott family said it released the video in the "name of truth and transparency," according to a statement released by attorney Charles G. Monnett. "We encourage everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts are known. This is simply one step in our quest to find the truth for this family."

Police allowed the family to see the police-held footage Thursday.

The shooting

Central to the protests are the differing accounts between police and Scott's family over what led to his death. Authorities said a black police officer fatally shot Scott, a father of seven, at the apartment complex as officers looked for another man named in a warrant they were trying to serve there.

Clinton, Trump change plans to visit Charlotte after mayor's plea

Police said Scott had a gun as he exited his vehicle, and that Officer Brentley Vinson shot him after Scott did not comply with officers' commands to drop the weapon.

Scott's family has said he was reading a book and waiting for his son to come home from school at the time. Police said no book was found at the scene.

HILLARY TO ADDRESS CHARLOTTE PROTESTERS (LAMONT SCOTT VIDEO)

HILLARY TO VISIT CHARLOTTE; CALLS FOR RELEASE OF LAMONT'S DEATH VIDEO:

PRAY FOR LAMONT SCOTT'S FAMILY.

PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS AND THE POLICE.

PRAY FOR HEALING AND PEACE.

Sources: Charlotte Observer, Fox News, YouTube

**** Hillary to visit Charlotte, urges release of police video

Hillary Clinton said Friday that the police video of the fatal shooting of a black man by Charlotte police should be released immediately as she prepared to make a pre-debate visit to the embattled North Carolina city.

Clinton wrote on Twitter that authorities in Charlotte should release the police video of the Keith Lamont Scott shooting "without delay. We must ensure justice & work to bridge divides."

The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign said she would travel to Charlotte on Sunday, one day before her first high-profile debate with Republican Donald Trump. Her campaign did not immediately release details of her visit to Charlotte, where protests have broken out in the aftermath of the shooting.

A video recorded by Scott's wife was released Friday by his family and does not indicate whether Scott had a gun. Police have said he was armed, but witnesses have said he held only a book.

leading up to the debate, both Clinton and Trump have been confronted with questions about police violence after the North Carolina shooting and a separate incident in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a white police officer was charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man whose vehicle had broken down in the middle of the street.

Clinton said Wednesday that the shootings had added two more names "to a long list of African-Americans killed by police officers. It's unbearable and it needs to become intolerable."

EMILY AUSTEN FIRED BY FOX NETWORK FOR RACIST REMARKS (WHITE PRIVILEGE)

EMILY AUSTEN FIRED BY FOX NETWORK FOR RACIST REMARKS; IT'S ABOUT TIME

EMILY'S REMARKS REVEALED ARROGANCE, IGNORANCE & WHITE PRIVILEGE.

SUCH A REPRIMAND FROM FOX NETWORK LEADERSHIP IS LONG OVERDUE.

I HOPE THIS ACTION IS NOT JUST BECAUSE IT'S THE 2016 CAMPAIGN SEASON.

Sources: Bleacher Report, Foxsports, AJC, Barstools, Facebook, Youtube

***** Fox Sports Reporter Emily Austen Fired After 'Insensitive Comments' About Race

Fox Sports cut ties with Tampa Bay Rays and Orlando Magic sideline reporter Emily Austen after she made "insensitive comments" on a Facebook live stream with Barstool Sports, per Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times.

Austen called Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love "a little bitch" several times, noted she "didn't even know Mexicans were that smart" and said the "Chinese guy is always the smartest guy in math class."

The video is no longer on Barstool's site, but Kevin Draper of Deadspin found the entire clip (warning: NSFW language).

Toward the end of the session, Barstool'sDan Katz told Austen, "We might have to hire you because you're going to get fired."

Here's Fox's statement (via Jones):

We were made aware that Emily Austen appeared in a social media video unaffiliated with FOX Sports in which she made insensitive and derogatory comments. She was not speaking on behalf of FOX Sports, nor do we condone any of the statements she made in the video. Emily has been advised that her comments were unacceptable, and she is not scheduled to appear on any upcoming FOX Sports Florida or FOX Sports Sun broadcasts.

Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's Mother Releases Mother's Day PSA On Youtube: Opposing "Stand Your Ground" Laws (Video)

Trayvon Martin's Mother has released a Mother's day video on Youtube expressing her Opposition to Florida's Biased "Stand Your Ground" law.





Trayvon Martin’s mother releases video about ‘my first Mother’s Day without my son’

Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, released a Mother’s Day video online Thursday night asking for supporters to voice their opposition to Florida’s controversial stand-your-ground law, and others like it.

The video was posted on YouTube, as well as GlobalGrind.com. In it, Fulton says "this will be my first Mother’s Day without my son Trayvon."

"I know it will be hard, but my faith, family and friends will pull me through," she says. "On Sunday I’m going to say a prayer for other mothers across America who share this unbearable pain.”

The video concludes with Fulton asking viewers to ask their governor to "re-examine" stand your ground and similar laws. Supporters of the teenager’s family have been critical of the law, which allows the use of deadly force in response to a reasonable fear that death or serious injury is imminent.

Amid the controversy, Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced a task force to review the law, which met for the first time this month and resolved to kick off a statewide round of public hearings June 12 in Sanford.

The man charged in the teen’s shooting death, George Zimmerman, says he fired in self defense after he was attacked and beaten by the teen.

Fulton’s video is also posted on the website for a foundation started by the family. Michael Hall, one of four directors listed for The Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation in incorporation documents, said it has been online more than a month.

State business documents also list Fulton and Trayvon’s brother, Jahvarius Martin, as directors.

The family established the foundation through the non-profit Miami Foundation, a "private foundation alternative" that offers logistical and accounting support to fledgling charitable organizations, said Vice President Nancy Jones.

"They’re looking to advocate for social justice issues," she said of the Martin family. She said the money collected by the fund does not go to the family’s legal fees or travel expenses.

"We’ve had a lot of interest in it," Jones said. "I talk to people almost daily about it."

The site says the Martin foundation’s goal is to be "a worldwide Internet hub that will remove judgment of youth through awareness campaigns" to "mobilize pro-justice advocates" and collaborate with organizations "whose missions are to organize, uplift and advocate for the advancement of young people around the world who, for whatever reason, are judged to be ’different,’ and thus a ’threat’ to other people."

The family has also created Facebook and Twitter accounts, distributing news about the case and others like it.

Social media has been central to the shooting controversy since it began, and both Trayvon’s family and Zimmerman’s defense have entered the online debate. Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, created a blog, along with Twitter and Facebook accounts, and has begun distributing statements about the case online.

O’Mara has also established a legal defense fund for Zimmerman at his site, GZLegalCase.com. The Martin family’s foundation is online at JusticeTM.org.


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Sources: AP, Boston Herald, Global Grind, TM Justice.org, Youtube, Google Maps

Gabby Giffords Hugs Pres. Obama Prior To His 2012 SOTU Speech (Video)

Sources: Washington Post

Wikileaks Cyberwar Saga Animated Version (Video)

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Sources: Next Media Animation, Youtube, Google Maps

TSA vs Passengers: Anti-TSA Sentiment Heats Up

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Passenger Chooses Strip-Down Over Pat-Down



When a San Diego man opted out of security screening using the Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) at Lindbergh Field Friday, he stripped down to his underwear in an attempt to avoid the pat-down procedures.

Samuel Wolanyk took the protest started Nov. 13 by Oceanside's John Tyner to a whole new level.

While Tyner videotaped his refusal to be patted down, telling the agent "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested," Wolanyk decided to give TSA a look at his body down to his Calvin Klein's.

Through a statement released by his attorney Sunday night, Wolanyk said "TSA needs to see that I'm not carrying any weapons, explosives, or other prohibited substances, I refuse to have images of my naked body viewed by perfect strangers, and having been felt up for the first time by TSA the week prior (I travel frequently) I was not willing to be molested again."

Wolanyk's attorney said that TSA requested his client put his clothes on so he could be patted down properly but his client refused to put his clothes back on. He never refused a pat down, according to his attorney.

Wolanyk was arrested for refusing to complete the security process. A woman, identified by Harbor police as Danielle Kelli Hayman, 39, of San Diego was detained for recording the incident on a phone.

San Diego has played a central role in the debate over the need for AIT machines in our nation's airports. From Tyner's videotape and U.S. Rep. Bob Filner's call for a congressional hearing, to the parody song penned by Poway musician and Grammy-winner Steve Vaus. This Wednesday, one group is asking Americans to opt out of the AIT machines.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Pat-Down Backlash Grows During Holiday Travel Rush



s backlash against airline passenger pat-downs intensified with a viral online video, the nation's top airline security official said Monday that his agency is walking a fine line between privacy concerns and public safety.

A short video clip circulating on the internet shows a shirtless boy receiving a pat-down from a Transportation Security Administration agent. His father watches, hands on his hips, obstructing part of the view.

But the words playing in the background are clear.

"Are they harassing a kid?" one man asks.

"It's ridiculous," another voice chimes in. "Unbelievable."

Finance student Luke Tait said he started recording the incident with his cell phone when he saw the "visibly upset" father while waiting in line Friday at the airport in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"It was an interesting situation. I never saw a little boy with his shirt off getting a pat-down," Tait told CNN.

TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird said screeners searched the child after he set off a metal detector alarm.

"The father removed his son's shirt in order to speed up the screening process. Once screening was complete, both proceeded to the gate for their flight," Baird said in a statement.

Asked about the incident Monday on CNN's "American Morning," TSA Administrator John Pistole said his understanding was the same as the account given by Baird.

The TSA is trying to strike a delicate balance, Pistole said -- ensuring the safety of the traveling public while taking privacy concerns into account. "The bottom line is, everybody wants to arrive safely at their destination," he said.

In the short term, no changes will be made as the holiday season approaches. Some 2 million people a day are expected to travel on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

A Michigan man, who endured an "extremely embarrassing" pat-down earlier this month, disagreed.

"These new pat-downs have to be stopped until [TSA agents] are trained and are comfortable doing what they need to do," Thomas Sawyer told CNN's "American Morning."

Sawyer, a bladder cancer survivor who has worn a urostomy bag since a surgery three years ago, said a TSA agent at Detroit Metropolitan Airport caused the seal of the bag to open partially during a pat-down, spilling urine on his clothes.

Sawyer said he tried to caution the agent against pressing too hard on his abdomen because of the bag. The agent didn't understand and continued with the search, Sawyer said, and "pulled the seal kind of half-off" the bag.

"These people need to be trained on medical conditions ... and emotional conditions," Sawyer said Monday on CNN's "American Morning." He said the agent "didn't apologize, he didn't do anything."

"I'm a good American, I know why we're doing this and I understand it," Sawyer said. "But this was extremely embarrassing and it didn't have to happen. With educated TSA workers, it wouldn't have happened."

Pistole pointed out that the pat-downs are not mandatory -- passengers receive them only if they opt out of a screening with advanced imaging technology. The technology is the TSA's best effort, he said, to head off attacks like the would-be Christmas Day bomber last year. Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab allegedly had a bomb sewn into his underwear on a flight from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan.

Asked whether the technology and pat-downs would have been able to find that device, Pistole said he believes they would have, saying it would have shown up as "an anomaly" with the imaging technology and then might have been located in a pat-down.

There has never been an explosive found on a flight from one U.S. city to another, Pistole acknowledged. But, he pointed out, domestic terrorists exist -- Timothy McVeigh, Eric Rudolph and Ted Kaczynski, for instance -- and there are people who want to do the government harm. While America is "fortunate" that such an incident has not occurred on a domestic flight, he said, it could conceivably happen.

"We welcome feedback and comments on the screening procedures from the traveling public, and we will work to make them as minimally invasive as possible while still providing the security that the American people want and deserve," Pistole said in a statement released Sunday. "We are constantly evaluating and adapting our security measures, and as we have said from the beginning, we are seeking to strike the right balance between privacy and security."

But Rep. John Mica told "State of the Union" Sunday the enhanced screening shows the TSA is "headed in the wrong direction as far as who they're screening and how they're doing it."

"I don't think the roll-out was good and the application is even worse," he said. "This does need to be refined. But he's saying it's the only tool and I believe that's wrong."

The Florida Republican, who will be chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in January, has argued that airports should hire private security screeners.

The ramped up use of pat-downs and full-body scanning is needed to stop non-metallic threats including weapons and explosives from getting aboard planes, the TSA says. And it appears that most Americans agree.

In a recent CBS News poll, 4 out of 5 Americans supported the use of full-body scans.

President Barack Obama stood by the new controversial screening measures Saturday, calling methods such as pat-downs and body scans necessary to assure airline safety.

The president told reporters that the balance between protecting travelers' rights and their security is a "tough situation," but stressed that such methods are needed after what happened last Christmas Day.

But Obama's support hasn't stopped a growing group of objectors, from civil rights and privacy advocates to scientists and pilots, from loudly claiming these measures are too invasive, ineffective and possibly unsafe.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, asked by CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday whether she would submit to an enhanced pat-down, laughed and said, "Not if I could avoid it. No, I mean, who would?"

Pistole noted Monday Clinton went on to say she understands the importance and focus on travelers' security.

Some are calling the frenzied travel day before Thanksgiving "National Opt-Out Day," urging travelers selected for full-body scanning to refuse.

Travelers have the right to opt out of full-body scanning, according to the TSA, but the pat-down alternative has, in turn, created its own public furor.

Last week, a San Diego, California, man's viral video of his clash with security screeners spawned several T-shirt designs with his "Don't touch my junk" quip.

And CNN affiliates around the country have reported examples of passengers who say they find pat-downs embarassing or invasive.

But on Sunday, Pistole told CNN that the outcry over the new screening was overblown.

"Very few people actually receive the pat-down. In spite of all the public furor about this, very few people do," he said.


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Sources: CNN, Denver Post, MSNBC, NBC San Diego, The Guardian, Youtube, Google Maps

"If You Touch My Junk I'm Having You Arrested", John Tyner's Original Video

"Don't Touch My Junk" Passenger Sparks Revolt Against Airport Searches


US man who refused a groin pat-down inspires campaign to stop intimate searches and full body scans.

It all started with a man who said no one was going to touch his "Junk".

John Tyner turned down an invitation to step into one of the new body scanners springing up in American airports which offer security guards an all but naked view of passengers. When Tyner refused, the guard at San Diego said he would have to submit to a body pat-down and then went on to describe what that meant.

Tyner said he was fine with that up to the point where a hand would explore his groin.

"If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested," he said.

Needless to say, Tyner didn't fly. Instead he was threatened with a civil suit and a fine of $10,000 (£6,200).

A week later, the incident has reverberated across the country to the halls of Congress and prompted a campaign for travellers to boycott body scanners next Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving and one of the busiest for American airports.

Tyner recorded the encounter with airport security using his camera phone. The video went viral and days later the head of the Transport Security Administration (TSA), John Pistole, found himself before Congress defending the full body scanners introduced after a Nigerian terrorist attempted to blow up a plane over Detroit last Christmas Day with explosives hidden in his underwear. Pistole was also forced to defend the introduction at the beginning of this month of more probing body searches for those who do not wish to go through the scanners. The search includes a firm pressing of a security guard's hand on genitalia and breasts.

"The outcry is huge," Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson from Texas told Pistole. "I know that you're aware of it. But we've got to see some action."

Senator George LeMieux said: "I wouldn't want my wife to be touched in the way that these folks are being touched. I wouldn't want to be touched that way."

Pistole was having none of it.

"I'm not going to change those policies," he said. The TSA chief said that most air passengers, given a choice between a plane full of people who have been screened and one where they have not, would choose the former: "I think everybody will want to opt for the screening with the assurance that that flight is safe and secure."

On Thursday, Congressman Ron Paul introduced legislation to counter what he called the "calamity" of airport security. It proposes barring the government from doing what ordinary citizens would not be allowed to do to strangers – photographing them naked or touching their private parts.

"If we can't take nude photos of people why do we allow the government to do it? We would go to jail," he said. "Something has to be done. Everybody's fed up. The people are fed up. The pilots are fed up. I'm fed up. What we're putting up with at the airport is so symbolic of us just not standing up and saying enough is enough. I know the American people are starting to wake up but our government, those in charge, Congress, are doing nothing."

Paul highlighted an issue that critics latched on to: that pilots also have to be body scanned or intimately searched.

"Can you think how silly the whole thing is? The pilot has a gun in the cockpit and he's managing this aircraft which is a missile, and we make him go through this groping, x-ray exercise, having people feel in their underwear. It's absurd," he said.

For all the noise, a CBS poll this week found that four out of five Americans see body scanners as a necessary security measure. It has not gone unnoticed that some of those most critical of the government over the issue – including conservative members of Congress, Fox News and websites such as the Drudge Report – vigorously accused the Obama administration of security lapses because the "underwear bomber" was able to get explosives on to a plane.

Pistole has strongly criticised the call to boycott screenings.

"On the eve of a major national holiday and less than one year after al-Qaida's failed attack last Christmas Day, it is irresponsible for a group to suggest travellers opt out of the very screening that may prevent an attack using non-metallic explosives," he said.








Virtual Strip Search Backlash Goes Viral


The Internet is helping to fuel anger over air traveler screening, but changes to what some have termed a "virtual strip search" are unlikely to materialize before the busy Thanksgiving travel period draws near.

John Tyner, a software engineer from Oceanside, Calif., became an Internet sensation after telling a TSA screener: "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested." Tyner had the foresight to record the exchange on his mobile phone (videos are here) and is now facing a possible lawsuit for entering a security line and then not allowing a government employee access to his crotch during a pat-down search.

Foes who had hoped a Senate hearing would lead to a privacy outcry on Capitol Hill were disappointed when Democratic senators applauded the Obama administration and Republicans offering only modest criticism. Indeed, Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate committee overseeing air travel, told the TSA chief: "I think you're doing a terrific job."

An administrator with the Transportation Security Agency said the agency would be "announcing some new policies" in the "near future" that will change the screening process for pilots, who have protested being forced to choose between an X-ray machine's "virtual strip search" or a pat-down from a TSA agent.


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Sources: CNET, Denver Post, The Guardian, Youtube, Google Maps

Shirley Sherrod Was Quickly Fired & Sacrificed For Political Reasons

Obama Administration E-Mails Show Rush To Judgment On Sherrod Was About Politics


Newly released documents give the public its first look inside the Obama administration's internal deliberations over whether to fire Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod, and the hundreds of e-mails clearly confirm officials pushed her out for political reasons despite knowing they did not have the full context of the explosive video that thrust her into the national spotlight.

There is no smoking gun proving Sherrod's original allegation that the White House forced the Agriculture Department to fire her in order to contain any political damage. But the documents do show that top White House aides like then-Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel were keeping tabs on the matter as it unfolded, and in the initial hours after her firing other White House officials were thankful that Sherrod had been ousted so quickly.

"Just wanted you to know that this dismissal came up at our morning senior staff meeting today," Christopher Lu, who serves as the White House's liaison to the Cabinet, wrote to senior Agriculture officials on the morning of July 20, the day after Sherrod was fired.

"Everyone complimented USDA on how quickly you took this action," Lu wrote, noting that the swift move helped stop an "unpleasant story" from gaining any "traction" in the early hours of the flare-up.

"Thanks for the great efforts," Lu concluded to the Agriculture officials.

Another Agriculture Department e-mail later on July 20, as public outrage grew on the second day of the imbroglio, shows that Emanuel spoke at least once to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack as the administration weighed whether to apologize to Sherrod and offer her a new job. "Rahm calling Secy now," the e-mail said.

The e-mails, obtained by CNN through a Freedom of Information Act request, also show that Vilsack pressured his staff to get rid of Sherrod even though officials within his department knew full well that there may have been more context to the video showing that in fact Sherrod was not racist.

The story first blew up on July 19, when conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted online a brief video clip of Sherrod, who is African-American, delivering a speech to an NAACP convention earlier this year. Breitbart only posted the part of the speech where Sherrod recounted an episode where she decided to not help a white farmer who needed government aid to stay afloat.

Breitbart, however, did not include longer parts of the speech which showed that Sherrod explained to the audience that the incident occurred many years ago - not during the Obama administration - and that she eventually helped the white farmer. Her message in the speech was all about reconciliation and helping people of all races, a point that was drowned out in the selectively-edited clip that gave the impression that an Obama official had deliberately let a white farmer go belly up.

The e-mails show that after the Agriculture Department learned that the partial video had been posted, and that other media outlets like Fox News Channel might be following up on it, there was alarm within the Obama administration about potential fallout.

"I was just informed of a video of the Georgia State Director that was posted on the Internet earlier this afternoon," Agriculture Department official wrote at 1:56 p.m. on July 19. "It speaks for itself and you need to watch it right away."

But the e-mails also show that some Obama officials were cautious and urged that the full video be tracked down before there was a rash decision about Sherrod's fate.

"We need to make sure someone has seen the video," Agriculture official Krysta Harden wrote in an e-mail at 3:06 p.m. on July 19. "I am quick to jump to conclusions but want to be certain it is what it is said to be before I tell the Secy" she said in reference to Vilsack.

But another Agriculture official, Carol Jett, piped in otherwise: "We need to take immediate action."

Harden added that Vilsack "is absolutely sick and mad over the S Sherrod issue. He wants her immediately on [administrative] leave."

"Concur," wrote Agriculture official John Berge. "She should be fired."

Sherrod was eventually fired by top Vilsack aide Cheryl Cook. Sherrod repeatedly told CNN that Cook told her she had to step aside because the White House wanted her out, though the administration denied that was the reason.

Within two days of the firing, Vilsack acknowledged there should have been a fuller examination of the facts before she was fired. Vilsack apologized to Sherrod and offered her a new job.

Sherrod has still not accepted the post, and she did not return a call on Friday seeking reaction to the release of the emails.

Statement from Shirley Sherrod Regarding Chain of Emails Leading to Her Dismissal:

"While the newly reported details surrounding my dismissal from the United States Department of Agriculture shed light on decisions that were made within the Department, I have accepted the apologies of both President Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

I do believe, however, that this incident is an undeniable teaching moment for this country. As we continue to examine the importance of diversity among all ranks of government and the private sector, we cannot forget that racism still exists. We need to combat it once and for all and I look forward to taking an active role in leading that national conversation.

I have always said that I support President Obama and I am available to him and his administration as we find a way to work together to eradicate racism and racial views that are dividing this nation and us as American citizens."


Sources: CNN, Fox News, Youtube

Jon Stewart Attacks Media For Picking On Low Income Taxpayers (Video)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
That's Tariffic
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Sources: Comedy Central, Rolling Stone Mag., The Daily Show,

John "Jack" McKenna's Beating By Maryland Police Creates Outrage, Feds Probe

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Maryland Authorities Probe Beating Video Of Student


A Prince George's County, Maryland, police officer has been suspended, and prosecutors are investigating an incident -- caught on video -- in which officers wielding nightsticks beat a University of Maryland student, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities also are looking into documents filed by police in the case that appear to contradict the video, Prince George's County police Lt. Andy Ellis said.

The video was shot March 3 after the Maryland men's basketball team defeated Duke. In the video, students can be seen celebrating the win as officers in riot gear and on horseback are nearby. Some students are holding up their cellphones, taking pictures or video of the officers and the celebration.

The video shows a student identified as John "Jack" McKenna skipping down the street and approaching two officers on horseback. After a brief exchange, two officers on foot slam McKenna against a wall and he falls to the ground. A third officer joins the first two, and the three strike McKenna with nightsticks while he is on the ground as other students scatter.

McKenna had a cut on his head that required eight staples to close, said Sharon Weidenfeld, a private investigator working for McKenna's attorney, Chris Griffiths. In addition, he had a concussion, a badly swollen arm and bruises elsewhere on his body. Griffiths' office referred questions to Weidenfeld on Tuesday.

Another man identified as Benjamin Donat was also beaten, although that incident was not shown on the video, Weidenfeld said. On Donat's body, the imprint of the officers' nightsticks could be seen, she said. He also suffered a head injury that caused him some memory loss for a few days, although he will be all right, Weidenfeld said. "He really had his bell rung," she said.

Weidenfeld discovered the video and would say only that it was shot by another University of Maryland student.

Authorities arrested Donat and McKenna on suspicion of assaulting an officer and disorderly conduct. Documents filed by police allege that the two were causing a disturbance and that they struck mounted officers and their horses, causing minor injuries, when authorities intervened.

"Arrested 1 and Arrested 2 were both kicked by the horses and sustained minor injuries," the charging documents said.

The video does not show McKenna striking the mounted officer or horse, and the horses were not nearby while the beating was taking place. The documents tell a "totally fabricated story," Weidenfeld said Tuesday.

Prosecutors dropped charges against Donat on Friday and McKenna on Monday, she said. Griffiths is representing both youths, and a lawsuit is planned against the officers, Weidenfeld said.

"The charging documents certainly do not appear to be supported by the video," Ellis said. But he said, "I'm sure it's a stretch to say it's a cover-up," saying it's likely the officer who wrote the documents had a "miscommunication" with officers involved in the incident, who provided information.

Read the charging documents from CNN affiliate WJLA-TV (PDF)

The department's internal affairs unit is investigating and will assist Prince George's County prosecutors in their probe, he said.

Ellis said he did not know whether the officer suspended wrote the charging documents. Because the officers on the video were in full riot gear, they could not be readily identified, but authorities are looking into who was on duty that night and where officers were at the time to determine who was involved.

"We didn't know about this videotape until it came out yesterday morning," he said. "We had no idea. It's kind of caught us by surprise. As evidence comes out, or we learn more information, we'll suspend officers as they become identified."

He added, "Not only is the conduct of the officers on tape excessive -- and clearly it's excessive -- there are other issues here we need to work through to make sure we're more organized" in such situations.

The officers on horseback were from the Maryland-National Capital Park Police. Department spokesman Lt. Stanley Johnson said the mounted officers were there for crowd control purposes. While "there were a lot of activities" going on that night, he said, no department horses or officers were injured and there were no reports of people being kicked by horses.

In a statement Monday, McKenna's family told CNN affiliate WJLA-TV in Washington that "some of these characters ought to go to jail. ... Some ought to merely be booted off the force, and the remainder should be properly trained to discover that force is not always necessary, and brutality is always wrong."

Prince George's County police Chief Roberto Hylton told WJLA, "I'll tell you that I was outraged [at the video]. I was very disappointed at the conduct that I saw on the part of my officers on the videotape."

The U.S. Justice Department is aware of the video and is "looking into it," Weidenfeld said Tuesday.

She said she is surprised officers would take such action knowing that so many people were filming the celebration.

Prince George's County police arrested 28 people after the basketball game, WJLA reported. Of those, 23 were students.

The police department emerged from federal oversight about 14 months ago, according to the station. The Justice Department had monitored it after complaints about officers using unnecessary force.


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Sources: CBS News, CNN, WJLA, Google Maps

UFO Sighting In Dublin, Ireland Another Hoax Or Real Aircraft?

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(Anomaly Magazine) Another "Dublin UFO" Hoax Underway Against The Media?

Who’s Pranking Whom? Why Ireland and Why Triangular UFOs?

It’s like déjà vu all over again … remember back in October 2008 when we broke the story of how someone in Ireland’s media had been convinced that a then recent UFO sighting flap (which featured an apparent triangle ufo with a red laser caught with cellphone video footage) was connected to this amazing footage of a triangle ufo with red laser darting about but which turned out to be reused footage of an award winning model from a UFO hoax contest? Well it appears that someone has yet again pulled the wool over the media’s eyes.

I was just made aware of some “dramatic new triangular ufo footage” and as soon as I saw it I recognized it as something I’d seen just a few months ago in October 2009 when I was researching the ufo videos of Ed Grimsley who claims to witness ufo battles complete with lasers and explosions using only a pair of expensive nightvision goggles. Yet none of his footage is anywhere near as interesting as this “new” triangular footage which happens to apparently use this same type of green-tinting night vision tech

The video I saw in October of last year was allegedly “filmed 12/5/08 in fremont, ca.” and uploaded to YouTube the same day by someone who appears to own a pair of the goggles and/or collects footage of nightvision anomalies. Yet the online news reports and bits of information offerred so far contradict that stating…

A triangular formation of lights was filmed flying at night at “incredible speed”.
Sighting near the River Liffey in Dublin.

One has to wonder, who got this misrepresentation of the footage started? Was it deliberate or could it just be a simple case of a news editor / web manager posting an interesting accompanying video that looks like what was described but which apparently has absolutely nothing to do with the “new” alleged Dublin sighting?

So far a handful of newsites has been taken in by this “hoax” or misidentification / miscommunication. But the list is growing everytime I check:

Liffey on Mars

The Sun – Vince Soodin – Jan 21, 2010
EXPERT Nick Pope says it’s vital for our security to log sightings – and he will review yours. Among the most mysterious include a UFO over Parliament in …
www.thesun.co.uk

UFO spotted above Ireland

Daily Contributor - 11 hours ago
A strange triangular formation of lights moving at an “incredible speed” has been filmed flying near the River Liffey in Dublin. …
Dailycontributor.com

Triangular light formation UFO seen in Dublin
NewsLite – 17 hours ago
Witnesses say the lights moves at an “incredible speed” as they sped over the River Liffey. In the footage – which seems to have been taken via a night …
newslite.tv

Footage of "UFO" taken in Ireland
Oneindia – 21 hours ago
news.oneindia.in

UFO spotted above Dublin as Ireland turns X-Files
Metro – 13 hours ago
www.metro.co.uk

Footage of ‘UFO’ taken in Ireland
Newstrack India (blog) – 22 hours ago
London, Jan 22 (ANI): The footage of a UFO flying near the River Liffey in Dublin has left experts thinking it could either be a secret aircraft or …
www.newstrackindia.com

Footage of UFO taken in Ireland
Little About (blog) – Jan 21, 2010
London, Jan 22 : The footage of a UFO flying near the River Liffey in Dublin has left experts thinking it could either be a secret aircraft or spacecraft. …
www.littleabout.com

We’ll keep you posted with updates as we receive them.

SMiles Lewis


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Sources: MSNBC, Anomaly Magazine, Youtube, Google Maps

Feds Release Video Of Man Who Breached Newark Airport Security

Full Video footage of the Newark Airport security breach

Video Shows Newark Airport Lockdown Intruder


Federal officials today released a video tape of surveillance footage of an unidentified man who breached security at Newark Liberty International Airport Sunday, grounding flights for hours.

The Transportation Security Administration -- which had resisted repeated calls to make the tape available to the public -- finally relented after days of pressure by U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). Lautenberg said federal officials need to talk to the man.

“I desperately want to see this individual questioned,” Lautenberg said. “Was this just an innocent mistake or was he bird-dogging for someone?”

The tape, about six and a half minutes long, is not dramatic. As has been described earlier, it shows the man embracing a woman at a security checkpoint before she passes through screening. Toward the end of the tape that was made available to the public, he then ducks under a rope used to divide the screening area from the exit corridor.

The quality of the tape being released is not very good and it was not known if the original was sharper.

Lautenberg, whose office released the copy, said the video provides an opportunity for the TSA to enhance the ongoing investigation.

"The more people who see this image, the faster we will find the person in question,” he said.

Lautenberg and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), at a press conference Wednesday, said the federal government should investigate "from the bottom levels" on up to determine how the security lapses occurred.

According to TSA officials, the incident began some time around 5:20 p.m. on Sunday when the man was spotted by a bystander as he walked the wrong way down the exit lane of the C-1 security checkpoint in Terminal C, which is operated by Continental Airlines.

A malfunctioning camera intended to monitor the checkpoint left the TSA unable to quickly review what had happened, forcing them to get access to a separate camera system operated by Continental Airlines, but a series of miscues -- including calls to the wrong number and a failure to call Port Authority police -- badly snowballed, as TSA waited for about two hours before shutting down the terminal as they looked for the intruder.



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Sources: NJ.com, Google Maps

Lenny Kravitz Says He Didn't Leak Michael Jackson's "Another Day"

Jackson Estate, Sony Pulling Leaked Track


Every Michael Jackson fan was overjoyed at the new song that leaked this weekend -- everyone except his record label, Lenny Kravitz and all of Michael's lawyers.

Sources tell TMZ the Jackson song, called "Another Day" and done with Lenny Kravitz, was never meant to see the light of day. We're told Sony, with the support of Jackson's estate lawyers, wants to have the song pulled off the Internet.

For his part, Lenny Kravitz posted a video saying he didn't leak the song and he has no idea how it got out there.

He says the song is not mixed and not a final version.




Previously Unheard Michael Jackson Song, "Another Day" Hits The Web


Fans of Michael Jackson have reason to rejoice New Year's weekend.

A snippet of a previously unreleased song by the late King of Pop has popped up on the Internet.

Released by Jackson fan site MJ Star, the 90-second clip appears to be a duet with Lenny Kravitz, titled "Another Day," which the two collaborated on before Jackson's death on June 25th from cardiac arrest.

According to Rolling Stone, "Another Day" is a remake of Kravitz's song "Storm" that appeared on the rocker's 2004 album "Baptism."

After Jackson's death, Kravitz penned a letter to the AOL music Web site Spinner, writing, "I got to work with Michael on a track that has not been released and it was the most amazing experience I've had in the studio. He was funny. Very funny and we laughed the whole time."

However, the song snippet does not feature Kravitz and it remains unclear if the rocker collaborated with Jackson on "Another Day" or another song.

The track is the second piece of unreleased material from Jackson's vault to make its way to Web. In July, a 24-second clip of a Jackson song titled "A Place With No Name," a new take on America's "A Horse With No Name" from 1971, also leaked online.

And there's more to come. Frank DiLeo, Jackson's manager, told Rolling Stone that the performer left behind a slew of unreleased songs, some left over from the "Bad" album and others featuring collaborators like Akon, Ne-Yo and Will.i.am.

"There are a couple of songs we recorded for the Bad album that we had to cut that are just sensational," DiLeo told the magazine.



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Sources: TMZ, NY Daily News, Sony BMG, Jackson Estate, Twitvid, Youtube, Google Maps

PFC. Bowe Bergdah's Family Pleads Taliban For His Release

Idaho Family Pleads For Release Of U.S. Soldier


The family of a U.S. soldier captured in eastern Afghanistan more than five months ago pleaded for the release of their son Friday and urged him to "stay strong."

Lt. Col. Tim Marsano of the Idaho National Guard issued a statement from the family of Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. airborne infantryman who was taken by the Afghan Taliban in Paktika province June 30.

In their statement, the family asked the captors "to let our only son come home."

And to their son, the family said: "We love you and we believe in you. Stay strong."

The Taliban released a video Friday showing Bergdahl, who is the only known American serviceman in captivity.

"This is a horrible act which exploits a young soldier, who was clearly compelled to read a prepared statement," said a statement from U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, spokesman for the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan that confirmed the man in the video is Bergdahl. "To release this video on Christmas Day is an affront to the deeply concerned family and friends of Bowe Bergdahl, demonstrating contempt for religious traditions and the teachings of Islam."

Bergdahl is shown seated, facing the camera, wearing sunglasses and what appears to be a U.S. military helmet and uniform. On one side of the image, it says: "An American soldier imprisoned by the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."

The man identifies himself as Bergdahl, born in Sun Valley, Idaho, and gives his rank, birth date, blood type, his unit and mother's maiden name before beginning a lengthy verbal attack on the U.S. conduct of the war in Afghanistan and its relations with Muslims. He seems healthy and doesn't appear to have been abused.

The video, which has an English-language narration in parts, also shows images of prisoners in U.S. custody being abused. The speaker says he did not suffer such ill treatment.


Seeking Prisoner Exchange

A statement read by a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, appears at the end of the video and renews demands for a "limited number of prisoners" to be exchanged for Bergdahl. The statement says that more American troops could be captured.

The Geneva Conventions, which regulate the conduct of war between regular armies, bar the use of detainees for propaganda purposes and prohibit signatories from putting captured military personnel on display. As an insurgent organization, the Taliban are not party to the treaty.

Statements from captives are typically viewed as being made under duress. The insurgents also released a video of Bergdahl a few weeks after he was captured. In the July 19 video, Bergdahl appeared downcast and frightened.

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Bergdahl, who was serving with a unit based in Fort Richardson, Alaska, was 23 when he vanished just five months after arriving in Afghanistan. He was serving at a base in Paktika province near the border with Pakistan in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold.

On Friday, NATO said a joint Afghan-international force killed several militants in Paktika while searching for a commander of the Jalaluddin Haqqani militant network that is linked to Al-Qaida.

U.S. military officials have searched for Bergdahl, but it is not publicly known whether he is even being held in Afghanistan or neighboring Pakistan.

The man on the video said U.S. officials keep leading America "into the same holes," citing Vietnam, Japan, Germany, Somalia, Lebanon and Iraq.

"This is just going to be the next Vietnam unless the American people stand up and stop all this nonsense," he said.



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Sources: MSNBC, Islamic Emirate, Youtube, Google Maps