Frontline PBS: The Confessions

How could four men confess to a brutal crime that they didn't commit? Inside the incredible saga of the Norfolk Four -- a case that cracks open the justice system to reveal almost everything that goes wrong when innocent people get convicted.

Eight men charged. Five confessions. But only one DNA match. Why would four innocent men confess to a brutal crime they didn't commit?

In The Confessions, FRONTLINE producer Ofra Bikel (Innocence Lost, An Ordinary Crime) investigates the conviction of four men -- current and former sailors in the U.S. Navy -- for the rape and murder of a Norfolk, Va., woman in 1997. In the first television interviews with the "Norfolk Four" since their release, Bikel learns of some of the high-pressure police interrogation techniques -- the threat of the death penalty, sleep deprivation, intimidation -- that led each of the men to confess, despite the lack of any evidence linking them to the crime. (read more »)

Watch:>The Confessions

Arsenio Hall: Is He Returning to Late-Night TV?

By Jawn Murray

'The Arsenio Hall Show' was once the hottest thing going on late-night television and though the show ended in 1994, host Arsenio Hall is still bombarded with fan requests to return to the genre.

The 54-year-old comic, who regularly appears on 'Lopez Tonight' and 'Tonight Show With Jay Leno,' admits that he does "miss" his old gig, but feels late-night TV is "too crowded" now.

"I miss hosting," he confessed on his Twitter page, @ArsenioOfficial. "I think Hollywood might deem this an oversaturated talk era."

With 10 shows in the late-night space – 'Tonight Show with Jay Leno,' 'Late Show with David Letterman,' 'Jimmy Kimmel Live,' 'Lopez Tonight,' 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,' 'Chelsea Lately,' 'The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,' 'Conan,' 'The Mo'Nique Show' and 'Last Call with Carson Daly' – Hall's "oversaturated" talk may be on point.

"In all honesty, it's too crowded," he continued. "Do we have [enough] guests for all the shows?"

Of the network stations, Fox is the only channel that does not have a current late-night show on its format.

The 'Coming to America' star, who hosted a revival of 'Star Search' in 2003, also acknowledged on Twitter that while he would like to release vintage episodes of 'The Arsenio Hall Show' on DVD, the distributor doesn't feel its the right time.

"My partner, Paramount, says the DVD market is soft and it would not sell," he explained.

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The Fed’s Growing Malaise

By Bill Wilson

On November 3rd, the Federal Reserve lowered its outlook for the U.S. economy in 2011, projecting lower growth and higher unemployment than it had in its June estimates, based on the now-released minutes of that meeting.

In June, growth had been predicted to be from 3.5 to 4.2 percent, but now the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has downgraded that to 3.0 to 3.6 percent. Unemployment was originally projected at 8.3 to 8.7 percent, but now that projection has risen to 8.9 to 9.1 percent.

The worsening attitude comes at a time when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is still assuring the world that the economy “is now well into its second year of recovery from the deep recession,” as he did as recently as November 19th.

Tell that to the 26.1 million either jobless or underemployed. The fact is, unemployment has been at or above 9.4 percent for 18 consecutive months, the longest period of sustained high joblessness since the Great Depression.

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Cartoon: He’s an Empty Suit

 

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Time to Eliminate Federal Matching Funds for Presidential Candidates

Video by Frank McCaffrey

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Report on Rep. Boehner’s Flight out of Reagan National the Byproduct of Sour Grapes

By Kevin Mooney
With the controversy over the Transportation Safety Agency’s (TSA) new security policies heating up, the New York Times has seized upon Rep. John Boehner’s recent flight out of Reagan National in an effort to needle the incoming Republican House Speaker for receiving an escort through security. This is a nothing story replete with snide comments and editorial observations that do not belong on the news page.

Boehner is a hypocrite because he criticized Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for using military instead of commercial aircraft, but now sees fit to invoke privileges that are not available to average citizens, the Times tells its readers.

“The Republican leader, who will become the second person in line to assume the presidency after the new Congress convenes in January, took great pride after the midterm elections in declaring his man-of-the-people plans to travel home as other Americans do,” the Times says. “In a time of economic difficulty, it was a not-so-subtle dig at Ms. Pelosi, who has access to a military jet large enough to avoid refueling for her flights home to San Francisco. But he is not giving up all the perquisites of power.”
This is what you call sour grapes.

Get full story here.

ALG Asks White House Counsel if Exception was Granted to Center for American Progress for Use of Presidential Seal

November 24th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today asked White House Counsel Robert Bauer if he granted an exception to the Center for American Progress in its recent use of the Seal of the President of the United States in a policy publication.

The use of the seal is restricted under law (TITLE 18, PART I,CHAPTER 33, § 713 of the U.S. Code), which prohibits reproduction of the seal for “the purpose of conveying, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States”.

Exceptions have been outlined via executive order for educational and historical uses as well as limited uses by news media. Under Executive Order 11649, further exceptions can also be granted by the White House Counsel.

In his letter, Wilson wrote, “As you are well aware, the rationale for restricting the use of the Seal is to prevent any suggestion of presidential support or endorsement of third-party messages. However, as exceptions are provided for pursuant to Executive Order 11649, we would like to know if such an exception has been granted in this case.”

The Center for American Progress prominently used the seal on the cover of its November 2010 publication, “The Power of the President: Recommendations to Advance Progressive Change” at http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/issues/2010/11/pdf/executive_orders.pdf .

The paper advocated the use of executive orders by the Obama Administration to advance its agenda after Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives in the November elections.

Wilson explained in a statement, saying, “The Center for American Progress use of the seal appears to indicate presidential endorsement of its agenda. The question is whether the White House granted an exception in this case or not. If it did, that would appear to be a stretch beyond the intent of the law and the order, in which exceptions are supposed to be provided for educational, historical, and news purposes. If it did not, then it would appear to be a violation of the law by the Center for American Progress.”
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Phil Jackson foresees a coaching change in Miam

If the ugly losses keep washing ashore on South Beach, Phil Jackson thinks a coaching change will take place for the Miami Heat. Picked to win the NBA championship by Las Vegas oddsmakers almost immediately after they brought LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade into the same locker room, Miami has struggled mightily, sitting at a forlorn 8-6 after a stunning 93-77 loss at home Monday against Indiana. “I don’t think it’ll happen like we’re talking about it tomorrow or anything like that,” Jackson said of the Heat bringing Pat Riley down from the front office to replace Erik Spoelstra. “But I think eventually if things don’t turn around, the weight’s going to fall there where, ‘We were promised this successes and we were hoping for it’ and I think there’ll be a real drive for the players to have some kind of change. It’s easier to change coaches than it would be to change teams after they made all those player adjustments. ” — LA Times

Joe Paterno to return for another season at Penn State

Like the Energizer Bunny, Joe Paterno just keeps going and going and going. The 83-year-old coach will return for his 46th season at Penn State.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno announced Tuesday that he is returning for his 46th season as head coach of the Nittany Lions. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

JoePa made the announcement on Tuesday as his team prepares for its final game of the season against No. 10 Michigan State Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Paterno said at his weekly news conference. “I think we can be a pretty good football team next year, and I’d like to be a part of it. . . . It’s been a good situation and I don’t see any reason to leave it right now.”

Slowed by illness in the offseason, may questioned whether this would be Paterno’s last season in State College especially after his team started 3-3, but Paterno made the switch to Matthew McGloin at quarterback and the Nittany Lions (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten) won three of its last four games.
Paterno is the winningest coach in Division I college football with 401 victories.

Political chaos engulfs Ireland, threatens bailout

Written by Editorial Staff

November 23, 3:45 PM

Political infighting engulfed Ireland on Tuesday, threatening to trigger a quick election and delay a massive European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout. Rebels from Prime Minister Brian Cowen’s own party pressed to oust him and opposition leaders demanded an election before Christmas.

Despite the discontent, Cowen’s Cabinet colleagues in the Fianna Fail party said they were confident the rebels have too few votes to pursue a no-confidence motion against Cowen.

At stake is the future course of the potentially $135 billion EU and IMF rescue of Ireland, a nation heading toward bankruptcy next year because the government cannot pay an ever-escalating bill to save its state-backed banks.

Ireland’s deficit this year is 32 percent of gross domestic product, the highest in Europe since World War II. Its banks are running short of cash because they can’t borrow on open markets.

The Irish Cabinet gathered at Cowen’s office to complete a four-year plan for unprecedented budget cuts—a condition of Ireland’s international bailout. The plan, which proposes to slash $20 billion from the country’s 2011-14 budget deficits through a combination of cuts and tax hikes, is to be published Wednesday. The 2011 budget will follow Dec. 7.

Cowen conceded Monday night he must call an election next year but sought to delay it as long as possible. His hand was forced when the junior party in his coalition, the Greens, said it would withdraw support once the 2011 budget passed.

The Greens said they expected the country to hold an election by late January, but Fianna Fail officials say the budget will require multiple votes on different tax increases, which could drag the process into February.
Cowen pleaded with opponents not to force him from office until the budget becomes law and the EU-IMF money is flowing into Irish banks. But opposition lawmakers contend if Cowen resigned immediately and dissolved parliament, an election in mid-December could lead to the new government’s revised budget being passed by Christmas.

But Transport Minister Noel Dempsey in Fianna Fail called that schedule “quite impossible.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Iranian Parliament Wants to Impeach Ahmadinejad

The Anti-Ahmadinejad movement that started with last year's Iraqi elections is still alive and well. Iran's parliament is trying to impeach the Iranian presidential nut job, but they were stopped by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, exposing a deepening division within the regime.

Lawmakers also launched a new petition to bring a debate on the president's impeachment, conservative newspapers reported Monday.

The reports of challenges to Mr. Ahmadinejad were intended as retorts to a powerful body of clerics that urged Mr. Khamenei to curb the parliament's authority and give greater clout to the president.

In a report released Sunday and discussed in parliament Monday, four prominent lawmakers laid out the most extensive public criticism of Mr. Ahmadinejad to date.

The charges filed against Ahmadinejad include:

• Withdrawing $590 million from the Central Bank's foreign reserve fund without approval.
• Trading 76.5 million barrels of crude oil in exchange for gasoline imports in 2008 without approval.
• Illegally importing gasoline, oil and natural gas at a value of about $9 billion since 2007.
• Failing to provide transparency in budget spending and curbing parliamentary oversight.
• Failing to provide transparency about the source of money for the president's domestic travels and about the allocation of money in Iran's provinces.
• Failing to implement or notify ministries about 31 legislative items passed by the parliament in 2010.

This move comes as some of the economic sanctions seem to be causing a hardship for the Iranian people. As sanctions bite, the regime is now forced to raise prices on basic staples. As the regime is well aware, the most potent challenge to Iran's ruling system may be as simple as a shopping list.

Iranians - both rich and poor - have long benefited from blanket subsidies on natural gas, electricity, petrol, water and many staple foods. As sanctions target Iran's limited refining capabilities, Iran was recently forced to import refined fuel, despite owning one of the world's biggest oil reserves. As a result most drivers expect a rise of 400% in gasoline prices creating immense pressure at petrol stations across the country.

In the food department, bread prices are up more than fivefold, cooking oil more than double, cuts of lamb about triple from last year.

Price supports have long buoyed Iranians, with average households receiving $4,000 worth of fuel and electricity payments a year. Taking these benefits away can shake up the regime's stronghold significantly.

But what may bring the Anti-Ahmadinejad forces to a head is the administration's plan to gradually eliminate subsidies for fuel, food and utilities from an economy strained by a string of international sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

Authorities have tightened security and arrested members of the opposition to prevent riots and uprisings in response to the subsidy cuts, which economists say will drive up inflation.

In opposition to the conservative lawmakers are Iran's ultraconservatives—led by Mr. Khamenei, who has final say in all state matters—who have increasingly backed the president when he carries out policy without parliamentary approval.

....Conservative newspapers reported on Monday that lawmakers have started a motion to collect the 74 signatures needed to openly debate impeachment. Mousa Reza Servati, the head of the parliament's budgetary committee, was quoted as saying 40 lawmakers, including Mr. Servati, have signed the motion.

Whether this attempt to oust Ahmadinejad works or not, two things are clear the United States is not going to help and the effort for Iranian freedom will continue.

 

Posted by Jeff Dunetz

China and Russia renounce US dollar for trade

China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday.

This is pure madness for the US dollar. Coupled with North and South Korea on the verge of a full scale war we would assume that Gold and Silver will rise on this breaking news, but it didn’t rise at all. In fact both Gold and Silver appear to be taking a slight nosedive on another China story, that they are raising interest rates to prevent people from buying gold and silver.

It’s almost funny, it’s like we woke up one morning, and found China being the sole superpower on the world, that at a whim can raise or drop your fortunes in 5 seconds flat.

Enjoy the new reality.

Written by TheFounder · Filed Under Featured

Christian Bale Will Play Batman One Last Time

Christian Bale will play Batman one last time. Maybe because he’s sick of the medicinal taste of those little throat sweets, and he’d just rather not scratch up the back of his throat doing that weird voice. He did the fake-sounding gravelly voice in Terminator Salvation too, and I know I wasn’t the only one who found it distracting. Just do the accent, Señor Bale. We’re staring and not really listening to you anyway. Don’t worry your pretty little head about butching-up your voice for the part. Where was I? Oh. Bale will only play Batman in one more movie, then he quits this b**ch. He shares in the video, part of a promotional interview for The Fighter, that Christoper Nolan-directed The Dark Knight Rises will be his last as the titular character. Bales seems to have heard that The Dark Knight Rises will round out the the story arc of the movies so far. ‘I believe, unless Chris [Nolan, director] says different, this will be the last time.’ Watch below.

Video: Obama calls on China to press Pyongyang on "abiding by rules France 24

Video: Security choice for holiday travelers Wood TV8

Obama: “I don’t think about Sarah Palin”

by Jack Stuef

Barack Obama readily admits that he lives in a bubble. Obviously, this has some distinct disadvantages for Understanding The People (as if “the people” ever provide a coherent opinion between them), and the idea has negative connotations. But it is also in many ways a good thing. Like, at some point he was able to tell his aides he understands who the Teabaggers are and doesn’t need to hear them blather on about their hatred of the words “socialism” and “black” and “green vegetable.” But also, there’s this: “When asked specifically if he thinks he can beat Sarah Palin in 2012, the president told Walters ‘I don’t think about Sarah Palin.’” Must be nice to live in that bubble.

This is a man who can look at the Washington Post’s op-ed page and see only articles that aren’t about Dancing with the Stars (if there were any, that is), because they’ve all been cut out before it was handed to him. We are now all envious of this man’s life. Apparently the only defense against having this woman and her rhetoric burrow into your brain is to be the most powerful man in the world. We are all doomed.

“Obviously Sarah Palin has a strong base of support in the Republican Party and I respect those skills,” Obama said. “But I spend most of my time right now on how I can be the best possible president. And my attitude has always been, from the day I started this job that if I do a good job and if I’m delivering for the American people the politics will take care of itself.”

It’s cute that he thinks the politics will do that. He doesn’t seem to be aware he is an illegal Ethiopian terror-anchor baby in league with Bollywood to impose mercantilism on us. But that will be the line of argument that defeats him in a couple years. [ABC]

Read more at Wonkette: Lucky Obama: ‘I Don’t Think About Sarah Palin’

Obama doesn’t think about Palin

I’m about to blow a gasket over how many dead pixels there are in the blogosphere, sacrificed to writing total who gives a f bullshit about Sarah Palin. Swear to god, if they could get a mic in her undies they’d report the frequency of her farts.

(CNN) – Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin spends a lot of time talking about President Obama, but the microphone doesn’t swing both ways.

“I don’t think about Sarah Palin,” Obama told ABC’s Barbara Walters in an interview set to air Friday.

Instead, he said he’s focused on being “the best possible president,” while he acknowledged Palin’s lure.

“Obviously Sarah Palin has a strong base of support in the Republican Party and I respect those skills,” Obama said. “But I spend most of my time right now on how I can be the best possible president.”

See Sar, that’s how an adult acts.

TSA Patting Down Liberty and National Opt Out Day

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