Freedom of Speech Under Attack

American journalism under seige:

An American Journalist Is Facing A Felony Trial This Week — In The United States

Because journalists hate our freedoms:

Trump has been particularly vocal in his condemnation of journalists, calling them “enemies of the American people.” His top law enforcement official, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a conservative from the American South, has declined to rule out jailing journalists and greatly expanded the number of federal investigations into leaks to the news media.

Nothing to fear. The case is being heard by one of America's finest objective jurists:

Leibovitz, a former homicide prosecutor during the 1990s when Washington was known as the nation’s murder capital, is a widely respected official some consider “D.C.’s toughest judge.” She once sentenced a 79-year-old demonstrator who’d been arrested multiple times to 25 days in jail, and she thus far has denied defense motions to dismiss cases against the defendants who argued the capital city’s rioting laws were too broadly written.

You would think this case requires dismissal:

This [District of Columbia] security force’s response to the Jan. 20 protests is currently being investigated by local authorities in Washington. The heavily armed police that day never warned protesters they could face arrest if they didn’t disperse, as is required by the department’s own policies. Instead, they surrounded the protesters, an aggressive policing technique known as “kettling,” often used at protests over the police killings of unarmed African-Americans. A recent “kettling” incident in the Midwest city of St. Louis swept up several journalists, and a member of the judicial branch found that the aggressive security force tactics there had likely violated the bedrock principles of American democracy.

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5a0cb991e4b0c0b2f2f78aed?ncid=inblnku...

Additional coverage from Al Jazeera:

Referring to the charges over the Inauguration Day, St Louis and Standing Rock protests, [Defendant] Petrohilos said: "There is a concerted effort to crack down on the rights of organising and dissent in the US right now."

Do ya think?

It's my speculation that they could care less about the broken windows," Wood concluded.

"The government wants blood. With the political climate being anti-press, it doesn't surprise me that I'm here."

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/trial-begins-group-j20-defendants-...

The ACLU has made an appearance in this case. Stay tuned to Al Jazeera and The Guardian for updates. The American Media has shown little or no concern about the criminalization of dissent by protesters or journalistic freedom to cover political protests.

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detroitmechworks's picture

Because they honestly do not care about journalism. They care about their profits, and when the MSM starts throwing around "Journalists Under Attack" it's to turn the very real outrages at situations like this into support for corporate slime.

I.E.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/political-cnn-trump-hand-in-just...

It's a blatant attempt to turn the real censorship into more corporate consolidation/power.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Meteor Man's picture

@detroitmechworks
I wonder if the editors and publishers of these journalists are unindicted co-conspirators or terrorist sympathizers.

I also expect complete silence from the Democratic Party, because The First Amendment is not nearly as important to Americans as The Second Amendment.

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

@Meteor Man

Might makes right - and who's going to tell you to shut up when you're holding a gun and they aren't?

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

ggersh's picture

@Ellen North

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

@detroitmechworks

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The Aspie Corner's picture

...from a country that has a 'leader' who needs a fuckin' news fluffer?

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Meteor Man's picture

@The Aspie Corner
Just put your cell phones and cameras away and move along. Nothing to see or sensational, bloody event to report.

Oh look! A car chase! Breaking news! More Roy Moore! Stop the presses! Is the head dead yet?

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

but feel the need to mention again that this represents continuity, not change. It's an increase in velocity down the same road we've been going down since 9/11 at least.

Kettling and unreasonable arrests of protesters--and the unconstitutional treatment of journalists--will all be familiar to those of us who were involved in Occupy:

No doubt something their superiors learned from Mossad on one of those American cop junkets in Israel.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Arrow's picture

In the spirit of the Nuremberg trails that started this day in history(HT to EL)...

I'd say: Judge this kangaroo court is going to convict me anyway so let me give you some help with your opinion.
I would then read sections of opinions handed down by Nazi jurists in the 30's. Especially ones from those convicted at Nuremberg.

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I want a Pony!

travelerxxx's picture

@Arrow

I would then read sections of opinions handed down by Nazi jurists in the 30's. Especially ones from those convicted at Nuremberg.

Yes, you could read those to them, and even quote from the prosecutors and judges at the Nuremberg trials, but all it would do is get further charges brought against you ... probably for violating some hidden clause in the Patriot Act or something. And no matter what you said, it would not be reported by any news organization. If it doesn't help sell Chevrolet pickup truck advertising, they aren't interested.

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strollingone's picture

you're a journalist. Journalism went through the knot hole in 2001 and the only one with a national audience left was a comedian with a half hour show four days a week on Comedy Central. ALL the other ones either shut up, moved aside, or retired. It's all entertainment now, folks. That's why you can get any flavor of news that you want. The bounden duty of the press was to arbitrate public opinion. For that reason they were protected in the Constitution. But when they started quoting opinion polls instead of determining the truth, they broke faith, lost their position, and cast the public loose. When Fox Noise deliberately lied about Florida on election night (spoken through the mouth of a Bush cousin) and the others said NOTHING, then they wrote their own epitaph. "HERE LIES THE AMERICAN PRESS: THEY LOST RESPECT FOR THE AMERICAN WAY AND DESERVE NO RESPECT NOW." It was close in the 50's with McCarthy, but there was one man left; it was close in the 60's with Vietnam, but there was one man left. There's no one in the mean stream media now that will speak the truth regardless and it doesn't matter why.

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