A journalist who speaks truth to power, not a megaphone, not a stenographer. That, hopefully, would be the identity a conscientious journalist would seek; such has not been the case with the US press corps for ever so long. (The Iraq War is the prime exhibit in this brief, but many others can be foundContinue reading “Bury My Journalism At Bended Knee: The Press And Donald Trump”
Tag Archives: Glenn Greenwald
Democratic Party No Longer Against Citizens United
I concede the stage today to Glenn Greenwald, who lays out the charge compactly: FOR YEARS, THE Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Citizens United was depicted by Democrats as the root of all political evil. But now, the core argument embraced by the Court’s conservatives to justify their ruling has taken center stage in the Democratic primary betweenContinue reading “Democratic Party No Longer Against Citizens United”
Kathryn Schulz’s Confused Take On The Steven Avery Case
In a rather confused take on the Steven Avery case–the subject of the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, Kathryn Schultz of the New Yorker writes: “Making a Murderer” raises serious and credible allegations of police and prosecutorial misconduct in the trials of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. It also implies that that misconduct was malicious.Continue reading “Kathryn Schulz’s Confused Take On The Steven Avery Case”
RIP Norman Geras
Norman Geras, prolific blogger and professor emeritus of politics at the University of Manchester has passed away at the age of 70. He had been suffering from prostate cancer. Norm was best known as a political theorist whose oeuvre included books on Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg and Richard Rorty. (He also served on the editorial boards ofContinue reading “RIP Norman Geras”
The NSA’s Bullrun Around Encryption
A few weeks ago, over at The Washington Spectator, I wrote a post on the NSA, which mentioned its historical–and historic–struggles with the pioneers of encryption: [W]hen the NSA got wind of academic research on cryptography, its agents approached those working on such research and “suggested” that all such research be vetted by the NSA.Continue reading “The NSA’s Bullrun Around Encryption”
Glenn Greenwald is Not the Story; The Surveillance Is
The New York Times has an article on Glenn Greenwald, who has broken two stories on the NSA surveillance programs that now occupy most thinking people’s attention, which is titled thus: ‘Activist Blogger Is At The Center Of A Debate‘ on its front page. (The article’s title reads ‘ Blogger, With Focus on Surveillance, Is atContinue reading “Glenn Greenwald is Not the Story; The Surveillance Is”
The Spying Will Continue Until Morale Improves
The New York Times, picking up on a Guardian story by Glenn Greenwald, reports that: The Obama administration is secretly carrying out a domestic surveillance program under which it is collecting business communications records involving Americans under a hotly debated section of the Patriot Act, according to a highly classified court order disclosed on Wednesday night. The order,Continue reading “The Spying Will Continue Until Morale Improves”
Does Explanation Constitute Justification? Geras Contra Greenwald and Eagleton
And does it thereby also run the risk of shading into apologia when the event being explained is one that would strike some as a heinous act? In response to the Woolwich killing of a British soldier by machete-wielding assailants, Glenn Greenwald thinks not. Terry Eagleton agrees (in a fashion). Norman Geras disagrees. (As the linksContinue reading “Does Explanation Constitute Justification? Geras Contra Greenwald and Eagleton”
The Boston Bombings Are Bad News
By now, the bombings at the Boston Marathon are ‘old news’ for our 24-hour news and social media cycle. We’ve now run through the standard template of responses to such an attack: suspicion of the usual suspects, rallying cries of support for the afflicted, stern, righteous denunciations from political leaders, racist rants of revenge andContinue reading “The Boston Bombings Are Bad News”
Glenn Greenwald on Civil Liberties and Their Willing Surrender
Today, at Brooklyn College, Glenn Greenwald delivered the 39th Samuel J. Konefsky Memorial Lecture. I was lucky enough to be in attendance and thoroughly enjoyed watching this top-notch muckraker and gadfly in action. I have often seen Greenwald speak on video but this was the first live presentation I have witnessed. It was everything it wasContinue reading “Glenn Greenwald on Civil Liberties and Their Willing Surrender”
Samir Chopra 