Michael Lynton, the CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, went on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria to set the record straight, saying that Sony did not cave in their decision to cancel showings of the movie, The Interview – a satirical movie that shows the assassination of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un. Lynton instead said that Sony had no other choice after movie theaters decided not to show the film.
“The movie theaters came to us one by one over the course of a very short time – we were very surprised by it – they announced that they would not carry the movie. At that point in time, we had no alternative to not proceed with a theatrical release on the 25th of December….”
That being said, Lynton affirmed that America and the world will get to see the movie. “We have not caved,” he said. “We have not given in. We have persevered and we have not backed down. We have always had every desire to have the America public see this movie.”
In a shocking turn of events – well not really shocking, we all had a hunch what was going to happen in Ferguson – Bob McCulloch, the St. Louis County Prosecutor who “investigated” the murder of Ferguson resident Mike Brown, is now admitting that he knowingly allowed false witnesses to testify before the grand jury. You will remember that the grand jury decided not to indict officer Darren Wilson after he pumped 6 bullets into a fleeing Mike Brown.
Bob McCulloch’s interview came on Friday after a much publicized story that revealed a grand jury witness – known as ‘Witness 40′ – was not even in Ferguson when Mike Brown was killed, but she was allowed by McCulloch to testify about events she never witnessed.
Asked in the interview about witness 40, Bob McCulloch answered that he knew the witness was lying, but allowed her to mislead the grand jury because he promised to bring anyone who claimed they saw the shooting before the grand jury.
“Early on I decided that anyone who claimed to have witnessed anything would be presented to the grand jury,” said McCulloch. “Clearly some were not telling the truth.”
McConnell said that he knew the woman wasn’t telling the truth because she “clearly wasn’t present. She recounted a story right out of the newspaper” that backed up Wilson’s version of events, he said.
But did McConnell relay this very important piece of information to the members if the Grand Jury? No, he didn’t. The grand jury deliberated, using Witness 40’s testimony as “evidence” and came to the decision that Officer Wilson did nothing wrong.
McCulloch also said he had no regrets.
Bob McCulloch is the head law enforcer in St. Louis’ County in Missouri. He is responsible for… law enforcement. Why would he choose not to enforce the law? Why would he willfully allow false eye witnesses to lie under oath? Why would he willfully allow the legal process to be mocked? Because Bob McCulloch has an agenda, and that is to protect police officers of his state regardless of their crimes. These are the same officers he work with on a daily basis to bring cases against the people he serve. And his agenda is also to revenge the death of his father, who was also a police officer killed in the line of duty by a black man.
And for what it’s worth, Bob McCulloch also said that he would not be pressing charges against those who lied under oath and committed perjury. Perjury as you all know, is the criminal offense of making a false statement after being sworn to tell the truth in a legal setting. Those who committed this offense will not face any legal consequences, according to the top law enforcer in St. Louis County, Missouri!
Apparently, enforcing the law does not fit McCulloch’s agenda.
This guy is making so much history, I’m almost having whiplash trying to keep up! Today’s moment in history-making may seem like small potatoes to some, but below the surface, Mr. Obama’s decision to call on women reporters only during his last press conference of the year is, in essence, a civil rights moment.
Women, although they do the same jobs as men, still make about 25% less than men do for the same work, and in the White House press corps the male domination remains true. In countless presidential press conferences the big boys pull up their pants, sit back with their legs crossed looking down their nose with a smug look waiting for their inevitable turn to match wits with presidents. And previous presidents knew that calling on these smug lugs was the way to get their messages out.
But here comes Barack Obama. Already sporting a brand new historic moment with his Cuba decision, the president wasn’t done yet. He willfully chose to release his internal civil rights activist and recognized the many contributions of the women of the White House press corps.
Former ABC News correspondent Ann Compton, the first woman to report on the White House full-time for a network and who covered the beat for 40 years, said that never before has a president only taken questions from women during a solo press conference.
Do your thing Mr. Obama, do your thing! Keep the history moments coming!
At his final news conference for the rest of the year, President Obama stated that Sony made a mistake when they succumbed to terrorist threats and canceled showing the movie.
“Yes, I think they made a mistake,” Obama said. “We cannot have a society in which a dictator in some place can start imposing censorship in the United States.”
He continued, “Because if somebody is able to intimidate folks out of releasing a movie, imagine what they start doing when they see a documentary that they don’t like or news reports that they don’t like. Or even worse, imagine if producers and distributors and others start engaging in self-censorship because they don’t want to offend…somebody’s sensibilities who probably need to be offended.
“So that’s not who we are. That’s not what America is about,” Obama said.
The movie was scheduled for release on December 25th, but was canceled by Sony after North Korean hackers threatened to cause attacks similar to those of September 11th.
I guess it’s fitting that a police officer would be the one using insensitivity to profit from the unlawful deeds of another police officer. Given all that’s going on with these police officer you would think the goal would be to avoid more negative press. But you would be wrong to think that.
NBC News is reporting that an Indiana police officer who created T-shirts riffing on the “I can’t breathe” protest slogan isn’t backing down from selling the controversial garb.
The shirts read, “Breathe easy, don’t break the law” — an apparent reference to the last words uttered by unarmed New York City man Eric Garner during a fatal police chokehold in July. The words have since become a popular rallying cry at protests across the country.
Mishawaka police officer Jason Barthel began selling the shirts this week at a South Bend store he owns after a weekend protest at the University of Notre Dame. Members of Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team wore T-shirts before their Saturday game emblazoned with the “I can’t breathe” message.
Members of the South Bend City Council called on Barthel to stop selling his “Breathe Easy” shirts, and said in a statement that “the divisive message … that is being currently promoted through the sale of T-shirts bearing this message damages the goal of unity and further divides our community.”
For its part, Barthel’s store on Facebook won’t pull the shirts from shelves. “For those upset, please understand when we use the slogan ‘Breathe Easy’ we are referring to knowing the police are there for you!” the store said in a statement Monday.
Several calls to Barthel’s home and store went unanswered Friday, and the store’s voicemail was full. Geoffrey Spiess, attorney for the city of Mishawaka, said officials have no reason to take action on the issue because Barthel’s work with South Bend Uniform is done as a private citizen in his off-duty hours.
In an interview with People Magazine, the President of the United States said that LeBron did the right thing when he wore the t-shirt before a recent basketball game in Brooklyn.
“You know, I think LeBron did the right thing,” the president said. “We forget the role that Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe and Bill Russell played in raising consciousness.”
James, in his own way, joined the nationwide protests of a grand jury decision not to indict a police officer who applied an illegal chokehold that resulted in the death of a Staten Island resident. After examining the deceased body, the coroner’s office ruled the death a “homicide.”
The president continued: “We went through a long stretch there where [with] well-paid athletes the notion was: just be quiet and get your endorsements and don’t make waves,” he said. “LeBron is an example of a young man who has, in his own way and in a respectful way, tried to say, ‘I’m part of this society, too’ and focus attention.”
I’m pretty sure Republicans will not be happy with this news. Since the torture report was made public, Republicans began using the foolish talking-point that President Obama’s use of drones and air strikes to kill terrorist is the same as torture. So hearing about top ISIS members being killed by US air strikes might cause these Republicans grief.
Haji Mutazz was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s deputy in Iraq; Abd al Basit was his military emir in Iraq; and Radwan Talib was his Mosul emir. Their deaths resulted from multiple strikes going back to mid-November — it has taken until now to determine conclusively they were killed.
“I can confirm that since mid-November, targeted coalition airstrikes successfully killed multiple senior and mid-level leaders within the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” said Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby, in a statement on Thursday.
“We believe that the loss of these key leaders degrades ISIL’s ability to command and control current operations against Iraqi Security Forces, including Kurdish and other local forces in Iraq,” he said.
News of the killings was first disclosed by Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
In her first televised appearance since being beaten by Mitch McConnell by a 15 point margin, Alison lundergan Grimes, Kentucky’s Secretary of State, is laying down the law for Rand Paul – that he cannot run for Senate and the presidency at the same time.
“The law is clear,” Grimes told WHAS-TV in Louisville. “You can’t be on the ballot twice for two offices.”
“We’ll look to the court for any guidance that is needed,” she added. “And at the end of the day, we’re not going to be bullied.”
Grimes also told the Louisville ABC affiliate in the interview published Wednesday that she has not decided whether to seek a second term as secretary of state in the 2015 election.
The 36-year-old left no doubt that she continues to harbor political ambitions beyond the Bluegrass State’s chief elections official. She would be a top Democratic recruit to run for Senate in 2016 if Paul bows out.
A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows the president is doing pretty good among Latinos.
The new survey of 250 Latino adults shows that 57 percent now say they approve of the job that Obama is doing, compared with 47 percent of Latino voters who said the same in September, before the immigration announcement.
And, when asked if they approve of how Obama is handling the issue of immigration specifically, 56 percent give the president a thumbs up. That’s compared to 45 percent who said the same in 2010, even before Senate lawmakers constructed an immigration compromise that later languished in the GOP-led House.
A major reason for the shift appears to be a dramatic boost in approval from younger Hispanics. In September of this year, less than half – 46 percent — of Hispanics aged 18-39 approved of the job Obama was doing as president; that share jumped to 63 percent this month.
Republicans expressed enthusiasm for Gross’ release but spoke out against the administration’s new approach, ThinkProgress reports.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) argued that America’s policy toward the island nation “should not be revisited…until the Cuban people enjoy freedom — and not a second sooner” and characterized the move as “another in a long line of mindless concessions to a dictatorship.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) — who is of Cuban descent — gave interviews to every news organization promising to “make every effort to block this dangerous and desperate attempt” as the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Western Hemisphere subcommittee. He argued the “new policy is based on an illusion, on a lie” and sets a “dangerous precedent” that “will only cause other tyrants from Caracas to Tehran to Pyongyang to see that they can take advantage of President Obama’s naiveté during his final two years in office.” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the outgoing Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair, generally echoed Rubio’s criticism.
But the Republicans’ outcry against the new policy contradicts their own faith in the power of free market economies. Under the administration’s policy, the U.S. will restore full diplomatic relations, ease travel in 12 existing categories, allow U.S. to import more goods, expand exports to Cuba, among other changes. Opening up trade and investing opportunities will likely push Cuba toward a more American-style economy — the kind Republicans argue leads to freedom.
“We will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries,” Obama said. “These 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. It’s time for a new approach.”
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