- The difference with which the Washington Post treated Marco Rubio and Barack Obama’s stories is fascinating:

The Post was much easier on Barack Obama when a biography by reporter Janny Scott revealed that Obama falsely claimed his mother’s insurer tried to deny health care coverage because of a “pre-existing condition.”

The 1,610-word Rubio story was on the front page, and the headline clearly implies Rubio is guilty of wrongdoing: “Marco Rubio’s compelling family story embellishes facts, documents show.” The Post’s 486-word report on Obama’s mother’s health insurance was on page A-06 on July 15, with the headline:  ”Obama’s mother had health insurance, according to biography.”

Why is it news that Obama’s mom had health insurance? Oh, right: To help win a presidential election and pass his health care overhaul, Obama claimed that his mother’s insurer tried to not pay for her cancer treatments by claiming her cancer was a “pre-existing condition.” In fact, her insurer covered all medical treatments but denied her coverage for a “disability insurance policy” because that policy was picked up after she was diagnosed with cancer. (But no need to indicate in the headline that Obama fibbed.)

- Soledad O’Brien: “I never thought that I should not be emotionally connected to stories.”

- Fox hires disgraced former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford as a political contributor.

Mr. Sanford had been a rising star in his party before he admitted to having an affair with a lover he had met while on vacation in Argentina. He did so only after he disappeared for an assignation in Argentina without telling his staff where he went. In the process his staff created one of the great political punch lines of the year – and arguably since the Clinton scandal – by reporting that he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail.

- Interesting piece on copyright struggles between Getty and owners of mobile videos and images: “Who Gets The Copyright On The Photo Of A Beaten Gaddafi, Captured Off A Cameraphone.”

- Miami Herald vs. Washington Post over Marco Rubio.

- CNN set to interview Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. If one of the questions is not “Was Iran behind the thwarted terrorist assassination of a Saudi ambassador on US soil?” not a question, Fareed Zakaria should get the door. It does pose the question as to why we continue to give airtime and the consideration of influence to this tiny tyrant.

The recent flap about Israel supposedly insulting the United States by announcing plans to build 1,600 new housing units within the sovereign territory of Israel is remarkable on many levels. First, it’s a non-story. There is nothing new about Israel developing new housing in East Jerusalem, for Israel has never pledged not to do so.

Second, despite the Obama administration’s repeated assurances that it will continue to stand behind America’s only reliable ally in the middle east, comments by key administration officials make it clear that our commitment to Israel is now conditional on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “good behavior.”

Finally, this incident signals a clear shift in American policy. Under Barack Obama, the United States now officially accepts that there is a justifiable link between jihadist attacks on the United States and Israeli behavior.

Yet, to hear the tired old mainstream media tell the story, Israel is completely out of control, deliberately antagonizing the United States of America. Consider this lead from CNN: (more…)

This time last year, two proud and powerful citizens of the world stood at the pinnacle of victory.  Barack Obama was being inaugurated as President of the United States.  Both on the campaign trail and in his inaugural address, Obama proclaimed the start of his “remaking America” revolution.

George Soros had finally managed to back, promote and land a winner.  Their joint venture – Obama’s 2004 bid for the U.S. Senate —  had paid off in the ultimate jackpot:  the presidency.

Soros, the instigator and funder of various “velvet revolutions” in smaller countries, seemed convinced that all he needed to bring the U.S. into submission to a global government, stripped of her sovereignty, was a “citizen of the world” president to replace the all-American president, George W. Bush.  Soros has openly referred to the “bubble of American supremacy” and has berated our lone-superpower position as bringing much more harm than good to the “global family.”

Soros explained his early support of Obama, telling Judy Woodruff in May 2008, “…Obama has the charisma and the vision to radically reorient America in the world.”  When Woodruff queried Soros on whether it might be a concern that Obama lacked experience to lead in this dangerous time we live in, Soros responded, “…this emphasis on experience is way overdone…” (more…)

The information coming out of Iran is raw, and sporadic.  Mainstream press coverage is simplistic. Be careful what, and how, you read.  Here’s what to do.

Why is it so confusing?

Both information and disinformation arrive in fragments and in waves. The fragmentation reflects myriad goings-on coupled with regime’s censorship and disruption of communications.  The wave-like nature of the raw feed reflects the ebb and flow of the protests: planning and then action, planning and then action.

Eye-witness accounts are first-hand, but partial.  Twitter and YouTube bring us breathless updates, along with warnings that some Twitter usernames have been co-opted by the regime and relay false information.  “Leaked” documents and the informant-of-the-day offer uncertain and conflicting information.

Who is involved and what’s at stake may be changing. In July, the issue was electoral irregularities.  Now, depending on what you read, the protesters are young and old, liberal and conservative, and the argument(s) are about which players will the levers of power within the Islamic Republic, or how the Islamic Republic should work, or whether there should be an Islamic Republic.

Then there are the regime’s atrocities. These are undeniable, and the impact of the images is visceral.

(more…)

“Every single Iranian is valuable.  The government is at everyone’s service.  We like everyone.”

-Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, June 2009

I cannot use my real name.  If the freedom of expressive condemnation practiced in this article were associated with my name I would never be permitted to return home.  Dozens of family members would be in danger of interrogation and persecution for my words.  This is an everyday reality for an Iranian-American.  I live in America with my family and enjoy all the freedoms and privileges contained within the American dream.  These are the freedoms that my fellow Iranians are fighting for.  I use these rights to voice my thoughts and to condemn those who will not acknowledge our struggle.

On June 13th, 2009, in the aftermath of Iran’s tenth presidential election, the Iranian people marched through the streets outraged, denouncing the disputed and fraudulent re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As a result, the regime’s security apparatus fought the people’s will and tried to repress all forms of civil activism. Using different news media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, the Iranian people allowed their protests to be heard around the globe. (more…)

While audiences in America flock to the escapist eye candy known as Avatar, it’s sobering to realize that in the real world, far away from James Cameron’s utopian dreamscape and the cozy cocoons of our multiplex theaters, another film’s message of defiance is helping to fuel revolution against a repressive regime.

The Stoning of Soraya M., from writer-director Cyrus Nowrasteh and Mpower Pictures, tells the true story of a woman in a remote Iranian village in the wake of the fundamentalist revolution of 1979, who is falsely accused of adultery and then stoned to death by a mob desperate to cleanse themselves of this rumored affront to their collective honor and to their religion. It’s not only a gripping story in its own right, but it also focuses a harsh spotlight on the shocking reality that stoning still exists in the Iranian penal code. The movie has been reviewed and written about manytimes on Big Hollywood, as well as listed among the site’s 10 best movies of 2009. (Look for it on DVD from Lion’s Gate in March) (more…)