Adventures of a Gonzo Journalist
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
After two years of bombing, the U.S. recently marked a horrendous milestone in a war with no clear end in sight.
Vocativ reported that the American-led coalition in the Middle East has now dropped 50,000 bombs in the ongoing campaign against Daesh (an Arabic acronym for the terrorist group commonly known as ISIS or ISIL in the West) that began in August 2014.
The analysis noted that bombing has increased with time, peaking in June when coalition forces dropped 3,167 bombs on Iraq and Syria.
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
The tense political landscape and presence of open carry activists didn’t dampen a day of peaceful protest for demonstrators gathered outside the Quicken Loans Arena for the opening day of the 2016 Republican National Convention.
MintPress News was present outside the arena on Monday, where attendance by protesters seemed somewhat lower than anticipated. Even during an unpermitted march led by a musical “supergroup” featuring members of Public Enemy, Cypress Hill and Rage Against the Machine, no arrests were reported.
On Saturday, Cleveland police swore in hundreds of temporary officers recruited from forces around the country in anticipation of intense protest and potential unrest. Police and FBI agents were also reported to be visiting Cleveland activists at their homes in advance of the convention, apparently in an attempt to intimidate or discourage protests.
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
In the wake of shocking, deadly acts of violence, many in the media have been quick to tie the recent slayings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to the Black Lives Matter movement, which advocates for the civil rights of those disproportionately affected by police violence.
Reporters even asked the family of Alton Sterling, the black man whose death at the hands of Baton Rouge police on July 5 ignited days of protests around the country, to condemn violence against police, a move widely criticized on social media.
But while the killers in Dallas and Baton Rouge were both black men who had expressed anger over police violence prior to their deaths, they had something else in common: Both were U.S. military veterans.
Despite a number of high-profile attacks that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans both in the United States and abroad, police continue to pose a far deadlier and more immediate threat to Americans than terrorists.
At least 8,882 civilians have been killed by police since 9/11. This figure is based on government data and civilian- and media-run databases of police killings, although experts agree that the true number could be far higher. By contrast, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, still the deadliest act of terrorism committed on U.S. soil, claimed the lives of 2,996 people and injured over 6,000 others.
Even including the “Global War on Terror,” in which about 6,879 U.S. servicemembers were killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which were a direct result of 9/11, and more recent terrorist attacks like the San Bernardino shooting (14 deaths), the Orlando nightclub shooting (49 deaths), or even Thursday’s attack on Dallas police officers protecting a Black Lives Matter march (five deaths), those who receive public funds to “protect and serve” are proving to be deadlier than terrorists.
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
As smartphones revolutionize how people interact with breaking news, internet freedom advocates are warning that “kill switch” technology could shut down this newfound form of expression during times of civil unrest.
Viral video footage of the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two black men recently fatally shot by police, triggered nationwide Black Lives Matter protests and renewed a nationwide discussion over the importance of easily accessible video and livestreaming to hold cops accountable.
However, police frequently target those caught filming them, even when courts have repeatedly upheld the right of citizens to do so. Police held Diamond Reynolds, Castille’s fiancee, at gunpoint while she filmed the aftermath of the shooting, and both witnesses to Sterling’s death, Chris LeDay and Abdullah Muflahi, were targeted by police after filming.
But perhaps even more worrisome than police targeting individuals for filming is the idea that the technology which allows witnesses to film and share incidents of brutality could be remotely disabled to stem dissent.
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
From anti-Muslim legislation to violence targeting mosques and those who worship there, it’s clear that Islamophobia is on the rise in the United States.
While opponents of Muslims’ religious freedom often cite terrorist attacks carried out by religious extremists to justify their bigotry, analysis of the sources of Islamophobia reveal ties to broader, national issues of systemic racism and xenophobia in the U.S., and the people who stand to profit from fomenting hate.
A November poll by the Brookings Institution showed that 61 percent of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Islam and 46 percent hold an unfavorable view of Muslims.
And compared to other forms of hate speech, anti-Muslim speech remains surprisingly acceptable. Saeed Khan, a fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and a professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, told MintPress News, “When it came to the rhetoric against Muslims … it was one of the few communities or groups by which politicians and opinion makers could speak with impunity against without facing any kind of repercussions either politically or economically.”
