650,000+ Iraqi people have died.
3,246 American soldiers have because of the Bush invasion of Iraq.
The War in Iraq has Cost the American tax payer
$413,063,769,463 as of noon today! This does not include all of the costs of
helping our soldiers when they come home... some for the rest of their lives.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Who is a "journalist" and who is not?
Have you ever heard of Josh Wolf?
If you don't know his name you should.
He is the longest imprisoned JOURNALIST in American history.
Many people do not consider him a journalist, therefore they do not see any threat to a FREE PRESS in his "coercive detention" and they forget all about him.
He has been in a federal prison in Dublin California for about 221 days.... don't quote me on that.
Josh Wolf is an independent journalist, this is what allows some people the luxury of writing him off as "just a blogger"... and not a journalist.
What I am doing HERE in this post is blogging. I may be a journalist at some other time, I may go out with the purpose of "getting a story"... I may research something and develop "sources" or contacts. I am many things at various times. I do not consider THIS post journalism.
Josh however blogged about information he gathered for the purpose of getting a story to the public. He sold footage to T.V. stations.
Some journalists publish stories about second or third hand information. Fox covers something, so CNN does as well without CHECKING the "facts" for themselves.
The issue of who is or is not a journalist is important because of constitutional protections for a free press. When the government decides who is or is not a journalist, say goodbye to the free press.
The fact that Josh is imprisoned is an attack on more than just the principle of a free press.
It is an attack on state rights, trial by a jury of your peers, free speech, the right to be secure in your papers, houses, and effects, and the right of people not to be used as an investigative arm of our government.... there may be some I missed.
Josh filmed an Anarchist protest in San Fran that was in support of protests in Scotland against the G8 summit. There was MUTUAL violence between police and some protesting. A cop drove into the crowd at (some say) about 30 mph... this seems to have sparked the violence.
Josh filmed one man struggling for air as a cop choked him and they later charged this man (Gabriel) for "felony lynching"... it means that you are trying to get someone out of police custody...even yourself! They dropped the charges for either lack of evidence or the FILM of the officer choking him exposed unjust actions by the police.
Somewhere else another cop was hit on the head and suffered a fractured skull.
The crime the grand jury is claiming to be investigating... the reason why they are holding Josh in coercive custody is an alleged arson to a police car. The only damage reported to a police car was a broken tail light.
The California Shield Law would have protected Josh as a journalist but the Feds claimed it to be in their jurisdiction because they "give" the state money for police cars! As if the federal government gives back anywhere close to how much money it takes from California!
Josh is a journalist and one with integrity.
He has sworn his edited footage (that not shown on his "blog" or shown on the T.V. stations that bought the right to show some of his footage) contains no evidence of the alleged crime.
He offered the judge the chance to SEE his edited footage to prove this. The judge refused.
Josh will not hand over the footage to the feds on the grounds that he thinks they seek to gather information about EVERYONE at the protest... he thinks the alleged investigation is a ruse.
He wants to fight a legal precedent that would turn journalists into cops by making them nothing more than an investigative resource for the government.
FREE JOSH WOLF!
If you don't know his name you should.
He is the longest imprisoned JOURNALIST in American history.
Many people do not consider him a journalist, therefore they do not see any threat to a FREE PRESS in his "coercive detention" and they forget all about him.
He has been in a federal prison in Dublin California for about 221 days.... don't quote me on that.
Josh Wolf is an independent journalist, this is what allows some people the luxury of writing him off as "just a blogger"... and not a journalist.
What I am doing HERE in this post is blogging. I may be a journalist at some other time, I may go out with the purpose of "getting a story"... I may research something and develop "sources" or contacts. I am many things at various times. I do not consider THIS post journalism.
Josh however blogged about information he gathered for the purpose of getting a story to the public. He sold footage to T.V. stations.
Some journalists publish stories about second or third hand information. Fox covers something, so CNN does as well without CHECKING the "facts" for themselves.
The issue of who is or is not a journalist is important because of constitutional protections for a free press. When the government decides who is or is not a journalist, say goodbye to the free press.
The fact that Josh is imprisoned is an attack on more than just the principle of a free press.
It is an attack on state rights, trial by a jury of your peers, free speech, the right to be secure in your papers, houses, and effects, and the right of people not to be used as an investigative arm of our government.... there may be some I missed.
Josh filmed an Anarchist protest in San Fran that was in support of protests in Scotland against the G8 summit. There was MUTUAL violence between police and some protesting. A cop drove into the crowd at (some say) about 30 mph... this seems to have sparked the violence.
Josh filmed one man struggling for air as a cop choked him and they later charged this man (Gabriel) for "felony lynching"... it means that you are trying to get someone out of police custody...even yourself! They dropped the charges for either lack of evidence or the FILM of the officer choking him exposed unjust actions by the police.
Somewhere else another cop was hit on the head and suffered a fractured skull.
The crime the grand jury is claiming to be investigating... the reason why they are holding Josh in coercive custody is an alleged arson to a police car. The only damage reported to a police car was a broken tail light.
The California Shield Law would have protected Josh as a journalist but the Feds claimed it to be in their jurisdiction because they "give" the state money for police cars! As if the federal government gives back anywhere close to how much money it takes from California!
Josh is a journalist and one with integrity.
He has sworn his edited footage (that not shown on his "blog" or shown on the T.V. stations that bought the right to show some of his footage) contains no evidence of the alleged crime.
He offered the judge the chance to SEE his edited footage to prove this. The judge refused.
Josh will not hand over the footage to the feds on the grounds that he thinks they seek to gather information about EVERYONE at the protest... he thinks the alleged investigation is a ruse.
He wants to fight a legal precedent that would turn journalists into cops by making them nothing more than an investigative resource for the government.
FREE JOSH WOLF!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)