Daily Archives: May 22, 2017

to hand over video footage of a protest in San Francisco to authorities. Photograph: Benjamin Sklar/AP

President Donald Trumps apparent suggestion that the FBI should consider putting reporters in prison has been decried as a dangerous new assault on press freedom and prompted a call to action by American journalists who have been jailed in the US for their work.

Among those who criticised the reported comments are journalist Brian Karem, who spent two weeks in jail in Texas in 1990 for refusing to give up a source and who told the Guardian they were deeply concerning.

The presidents comments are said to have come amid this weeks revelations that Trump reportedly asked James Comey, when he was director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to drop its investigation into fired national security adviser Mike Flynn and his connections to Russia.

They were said to be part of the same conversation that the president had with Comey in the Oval Office in February, before Comey himself was abruptly fired last week, according to the report in the New York Times on Tuesday.

Before bringing up the subject of the FBIs probe of Flynn, Trump reportedly complained about leaks in the news media and said that Comey should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information, according to an associate of Comey, who had seen a memo from then-director Comey, the NYT said.

The journalist who broke the story, Michael Schmidt, expanded on the details briefly in the papers podcast on Wednesday morning in which he reported that, according to his sources: The president started by talking about leaks and he brought up the fact that he thought James Comey should try to put reporters in jail. He said: Look, you used to put reporters in prison 10 or 15 years ago and that had some real impact.

Trump apparently did not expand on the point or mention specific cases, but the reported comments marked a new low in relations between the White House and the media.

A White House statement accepted a conversation with Comey and Trump took place but said the reporting was not a truthful or accurate portrayal of it.

The time period that the president reportedly referred to coincides with the administrations of George W Bush and Barack Obama, where experts noted that there was an increasingly aggressive crackdown on press leaks, affecting both journalists and their sources.

Reporters were not happy about it [that period]. But it did not make a difference to the medias determination to do its job, said Leonard Downie, professor of journalism at Arizona State University and a former executive editor of the Washington Post. They continued to find things out and if president Trump thinks that trying to bully the press like this will stop them from holding the government accountable, then he is mistaken.

The controversial New York Times journalist, Judith Miller, spent more than two months in jail in 2005 for civil contempt under the Bush government for refusing to appear before a grand jury investigating a government leak involving CIA operative Valerie Plame. Time journalist Matt Cooper only avoided a similar fate in the whole affair because a source came forward.

And the Bush and Obama administrations spent seven years trying to force New York Times reporter and author James Risen to reveal his confidential source in another government leak case.

Miller eventually testified in court. Risen narrowly avoided jail.

The Miller case stands for the principle that a reporters privilege is not insurmountable, said Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Brown said the specific wording of Trumps apparent threat, as reported by the New York Times, that the FBI should jail journalists for publishing classified material, appeared to be suggesting that the media should be prosecuted under the 1917 Espionage Act.

This has happened to government leakers but never to journalists, he said. The comments attributed to president Trump cross a dangerous line, he said.

In an article in December 2016, James Risen accused Obama of laying the groundwork for Trump to attack press freedom.

Meanwhile, Brian Karem has never been able to face wearing the color orange again since he spent two weeks in jail in 1990, in a prison-issue orange jumpsuit, after he refused to disclose a confidential source while working as a police reporter for a TV station in Texas.

He is now the executive editor of the Sentinel newspaper group in Maryland and the founder of the First Jail Birds Club, a small, informal group of journalists who have spent time behind bars for their work and advocate press freedom.

On a professional level Im deeply concerned about the presidents reported remarks. On a personal level Im repulsed, he said.

Karem warned: The threat is real. Trump cares very little about a free press. Its scary and we need to speak out strongly against this because if you dont stick up for your rights you lose them.

Karem pointed out that a journalist was arrested earlier this month in Virginia after persisting in asking health secretary Tom Price a question. We are going to have to be ready to do our jobs and if that means going to jail we have to be ready for that, too, he said.

Ironically, vice president Mike Pence was a champion of greater press freedom as a congressman from Indiana.

Pence battled in vain to get Congress to pass a federal shield law to protect journalists from being coerced to reveal material or sources. While there are varying levels of protection at state level, there is no such federal law.

After Judith Miller was jailed, a dismayed Pence commented: Our founders did not put the freedom of the press in the first amendment [to the US Constitution] because they got good press quite the opposite was true.

And after two San Francisco Chronicle reporters were jailed in 2006 for refusing to disclose their sources in revealing a huge sports-doping scandal, Pence issued a press release, again calling on Congress to enact federal shield laws.

He said: Once again the sad image of American journalists behind bars is being projected to the world.

Josh Wolf spent 226 days in federal prison in California in 2006 and 2007 after he refused to hand over video footage of a protest in San Francisco to authorities. He said Trumps reported comment to Comey about reporters constituted a horrible suggestion in a non-stop litany of horrendous press attacks.

Going to prison was terrifying and as an inmate he suffered threats of violence and witnessed violence, he told the Guardian.

The Society of Professional Journalists named him journalist of their year in 2006 for upholding the principles of a free and independent press.

Wolf said there had been a concerted assault on press freedom in the last 10 to 15 years, but he was confident most journalists would remain steadfast in their efforts, despite increasing pressure from the government and strained budgets.

Now Trump has declared war on the media and it would be naive to do anything other than strap on the gloves and prepare for a fight, he said.

Following the report of Trumps latest threat to press freedom, Brian Karem said: There is no question that we have to be more determined than ever. I dont care if you are covering Madonna and Justin Bieber or the Trump administration and Russia, this is a call to arms for all journalists, editors and publishers.

Continue reading here:

'Trump has declared war': journalists denounce any attack on press ... - The Guardian

The Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, lost their first game of the season Sunday by a final score of 11-6.

A back-and-forth battle through the first three innings eventually tipped in the Normal CornBelters favor in the seventh inning of the road matchup at The Corn Crib.

After the Freedom (8-1) took a 1-0 first-inning advantage, the lead changed hands three times.

Normal (4-5) scored two runs on a throwing error and a Miguel Torres RBI-single in the bottom of the first, but Florence rallied back against Charlie Gillies in the second. Jordan Brower led off with a single and later scored on an infield single by Mike Morris, and Andrew Godbold provided a two-out RBI-single for a 3-2 lead, extending his hitting streak to nine games in the process.

After Florence added two runs in the third on a sacrifice fly and a balk, the CornBelters tied the score at 5-5 against starter Eli Garcia in the home half. A hit-by-pitch and two walks loaded the bases with one out, and a RBI-fielders choice grounder by Torres set the stage for a Diego Cedeno two-run triple.

With Matt Hasenbeck on the mound in the seventh, the Freedom took the upper hand for the third time in the game on Austin Wobrocks second sacrifice fly of the evening.

The lead would fall once more, however, as the CornBelters sent eight men to the plate in the bottom half against Patrick McGrath (0-1) and Pete Levitt. The latter was greeted by a bases-loaded, two-run single by pinch-hitter Yeixon Ruiz, giving Normal a 7-6 advantage from which the Freedom would not recover. A throwing error led to two more runs in the inning, and Aaron Dudley added a two-run homer to left field off Jalen Miller in the eighth to add to Florences deficit.

Shawn Blackwell (2-0) earned the win for the CornBelters, providing an inning and two-thirds of scoreless relief that included three strikeouts.

Though not figuring into the final decision, righty Sam Brunner provided a bright spot for Florence, tossing three and one-third scoreless frames out of the bullpen in early relief of Garcia.

The Freedom will next host the Traverse City Beach Bums in a doubleheader Wednesday, with the first game scheduled to begin at 5:35 p.m. Right-hander Jordan Kraus (2-0) will pitch for Florence in the first game against left-hander John Havird, while Tony Vocca is scheduled to face Traverse Citys Augie Gallardo in the second game.

Group tickets and season ticket plans are currently on sale for the 2017 campaign. Fans can guarantee seating for premium promotional dates by calling the Freedom at 859-594-4487.

Florence Freedom

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Freedom suffer first loss of season in finale against Cornbelters; home doubleheader Wednesday - User-generated content (press release) (registration)

Long overdue and not without its detractors, the Freedom Plan process is marching forward, the next guidepost on its path toward eventual adoption being an open house community meeting Thursday, May 25 at the South Carroll Senior and Community Center.

The Planning Commission has been working for about a year on an update to the plan, which lays out a map for future development in the South Carroll area and was last revised in 2001. State guidelines dictate the plan be updated every 10 years, but the Freedom Plan has not been updated in 15.

"We tried doing it a couple of years ago but then had to put it on hold while we redid the county master plan," said Matt Helminiak, chairman of the Planning Commission and a South Carroll resident.

From a high-altitude view, writing a new plan is a three-step process, as Phil Hager, director of land use planning and development for Carroll County government, recently told the Times. The Planning Commission must first accept a draft of the plan and, after public comment, may approve this draft. Adoption of the plan is the final step.

The plan was accepted by the Planning Commission in April, which opened a 60-day public comment period. After Thursday's open house, there will be held two public hearings one on June 8 and the last on June 20 after which the Planning Commission can either modify the plan and/or approve it. Then it would be sent to the Board of County Commissioners. The county commissioners could then modify the plan, reject it sending it back to the Planning Commission or adopt it, making it the new official plan.

The June 8 public hearing will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Liberty High School auditorium, 5855 Bartholow Road, Eldersburg. The June 20 public hearing will be held at 9 a.m. in the Reagan Room of the Carroll County Office Building, 225 North Center St., Westminster. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and the public record for written comments will close at the start of the hearing, while the oral comment period will be closed at the end of the hearing; speakers will have three minutes each.

The accepted draft of the Freedom Plan and associated future land use maps can be found online at http://www.freedomareaplan.org.

For those who still have questions about this Freedom Plan, Thursday's open house should be the first stop, according to Helminiak, as county staff will be on hand specifically to answer questions. The public hearings, he said, are not meant to be explanatory.

"The public hearing is just comment it's not Q and A so if someone in the audience has a question, [the Planning Commission members] can't answer," Helminiak said. "If you have a question, this is the chance. It is a smaller setting so you can have one-on-one time with different staffers and get answers."

One confusing aspect of the planning process that Helminiak said had the commission members themselves asking a lot of questions initially is the notion of future land use, which is related to, but not the same as, zoning.

"Usually zoning follows the future land use map at some point, but there is a difference between current zoning it's more emphasis on the future," he said. "Future land use is what the vision is for what something will be, or can be one day."

Helminiak noted that there are future land use designations in the original 1977 plan for the Freedom area that have yet to be converted into zoning changes.

But there are those who have been critical of the Freedom Plan, the nature of some of the proposed changes and particularly the amount of input allowed from the community.

Del. Susan Krebs, R-District 5, is a Freedom area resident and argues that the upcoming open house, and previous meetings, are not enough. She says the Planning Commission should have incorporated more direct input from the people who live in the area. She said when the Freedom Plan was last adopted, in 2001, the process was launched in the late 1990s by sending fliers out to everyone in the district informing them of the process and inviting them to get involved.

"They also appointed a community advisory group," Krebs said. "They went to the Freedom area and they engaged the community. They picked representatives to be on this council to advise the Planning Commission."

Helminiak said the creation of such an advisory group had been recommended to the commission, but was easier said than done.

"Where it gets challenging is suppose we do have a committee of citizens, who should be on it? A builder and a couple of homeowner associations? A resident or two? Some business owners?" he said. "When you ask people that kind of question, you never get the same kind of answer."

But the lack of community engagement along the lines of the 2001 plan is a concern Krebs also shares with Wayne Schuster.

Schuster, another Freedom area resident, was also a member of the Planning Commission between 2002 and 2010, during which the previous attempt to updated the Carroll County Master Plan, known as "Pathways," failed. He believed the Freedom Plan process has repeated the mistakes made during Pathways.

"There was minimum visioning with the public throughout the process. Rather, the county asked landowners what land use they wanted," Schuster wrote in an email. "By the time I became aware of the plan in progress, I felt that the plan was fairly 'far along,' and that an opportunity to engage the public throughout the plan process had been lost."

Krebs also believes that the meetings of the Planning Commission, often held in Westminster during the day, have not been particularly accessible to the people who live in the Freedom area the plan will affect. She noted that even the June 8 public hearing, which was to be the final public hearing on the matter until the second hearing was added on Friday, is the same day as Liberty High School's graduation, which will create scheduling conflicts for many people in the area.

Helminiak noted that the Planning Commission meetings are open to the public and recorded, available online through the Carroll County Government Meetings Portal.

"Anybody at any point can write us. We are completely open and transparent in our meetings; we will accept comment at any time from anybody," he said. "We do all this in the open."

Helminiak also noted there have been changes made to the Freedom Plan during the drafting process based on public comment, such as changing the future land use designations of some schools from commercial or industrial to residential, and removing plans to extend Conan Doyle Way and other routes in Eldersburg.

"There has been some significant changes from the first draft of the future land use map based on public comment," Helminiak said.

For Krebs and others, this still isn't enough. She believes many of the future land use designations included in the plan could lead to negative unintended consequences in the future, that many of the requested changes have not been fully justified and that the plan is simply too complicated for the community to grasp in the meetings that have been held.

"People have been reacting to a plan placed in front of them rather than helping build the plan," she said. "I am not anti-development at all if people were engaged like they were 15 years ago, we would come up with a reasonable plan."

jon.kelvey@carrollcountytimes.com

410-857-3317

twitter.com/CCT_Health

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 25: Open house meeting with county staff on the Freedom Plan at the South Carroll Senior and Community Center, 5928 Mineral Hill Road, Eldersburg.

6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 8: Public hearing at the Liberty High School auditorium, 5855 Bartholow Road, Eldersburg.

8:30 to 9 a.m., Tuesday, June 20: Oral comments in last public hearing in the Reagan Room of the Carroll County Office Building, 225 North Center St., Westminster. Last call for written comment is 9 a.m.

Read more:

Freedom Plan process marches on, but not without detractors ... - Carroll County Times

The Hindu

Gender equality, the freedom struggle way The Hindu In this time of toxic masculinity, we must recognise and learn from the successes of the past. Mahatma Gandhi consciously feminised India's freedom struggle to win against the brute masculinity of British power. He saw his mother Putlibai and his wife ...

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Gender equality, the freedom struggle way - The Hindu

Globala/Texas

Earlier today, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that prevents religious sermons from being subpoenaed and also prohibits religious leaders from being forced to testify about their religious sermons. The impetus for the law originates from conservative churches that ferociously opposed equality/anti-discrimination ordinances/actions and were pushed to hand over and testify about their religious sermons. While I couldnt disagree more with the hate speech that these pastors were spewing in their pulpits, I believe that such teachings should always be protected by the separation of church and state. I dont see how a follower of Jesus could be a proponent of state control over religious sermons. If you dont think that such procurement amounts to state control, imagine how limited in their teachings most pastors would be if they knew their words were discoverable and they could be subpoenaed for the words they speak at any time. Religious teachers should be able to teach whatever they want. There is no quicker way to silence pastors than to allow our government to harass/oppress them for what they are teaching. I want to make something very clear, I will go to jail before I surrender my teachings or testify about my teachings. Today, I thank Governor Abbott for protecting me. The government is not my God and I will never allow my teachings to be subject to any law.

Even though I often compare Governor Abbott to Darth Vader, I have to give credit where credit is due. This new law is very protects people of all faiths. Many of my colleagues dont think so. I guess they want the government controlling all of our teachings. Repeatedly on social media, I saw progressive Christians put out post after post bemoaning the new law. I think theyre all full of shit. They would oppose anything this Governor did. I dont feel that way. When God works in mysterious ways, I like to sit back and enjoy it. For my colleagues, if you want your teachings oppressed then start asking the government what you should teach about. As for me, Im thankful that people of every religious perspective in Texas can now teach whatever they want. I hope that my colleagues will use this expansion of religious freedom for more than bullshit. I hope that we will see more moral courage from our religious teachers to speak out against injustice and oppression. Regardless of what you think about the new lawdont worryI can assure you that it wont be long before were all back together to fight Darth Vader again.

Amen.

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Progressive Christians & Darth Vader: On Freedom - Patheos (blog)

George Mason Universitys namesake cherished freedom of speech and his ideas remain vital today, Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron said May 20 at GMUs 50th annual spring commencement.

Those of us in the press have a special obligation to speak up, through reporting, through analysis and through commentary, said Baron, whose reporters at various newspapers have earned 12 Pulitzer Prizes. If, for example, the White House tells us to shut up as it has the answer must be No. That is the only ethical response, especially when it involves scrutiny of the most powerful person on Earth.

Baron, whose exploits at The Boston Globe were featured in the Oscar-winning movie Spotlight, repeatedly received bursts of applause from the crowd at EagleBank arena.

Despite helping craft the U.S. Constitution, George Mason never signed the document because it initially lacked a Bill of Rights and created a federal government that would be too powerful, Baron said.

If you are concerned about potential abuse from a government when it gains too much power or is dominated by special interests, you have a lot in common with George Mason, he said.

Mason also did not sign the Constitution because it did not end the slave trade, said Baron, who noted paradoxically that Mason owned slaves and did not free them upon his death.

Following Masons principles, Baron suggested Americans should repudiate the plague of personal vilification, afford all people respect and dignity, practice civility in their public discourse, help those who are less fortunate, cease treating opponents as enemies and seek common ground by agreeing on fundamental, verifiable facts.

We would not define truth as only that which is good for us, while labeling as fake that which does not serve our politics or our interests, he said. When statements are not true, we would not call them alternative facts.

More than 8,700 people graduated from GMU that day. The class included more than 5,400 recipients of bachelors degrees, about 2,800 who received masters degrees and more than 300 who earned doctorates. Class members hailed from 43 states and Washington, D.C., as well as 76 countries.

The top-five undergraduate majors this year were psychology; criminology, law and society; biology; information technology; and accounting. The top-five masters degree majors were curriculum and instruction, special education, education leadership, public administration and public policy.

Rounding out the list, the top-five majors for doctoral candidates were education; economics; psychology; earth systems and geo-information science; and conflict analysis and resolution.

GMU president ngel Cabrera said the universitys students and faculty are passionate about innovation and embrace their differences.

I trust that you will walk out of Mason with a stronger sense of ingenuity, a firmer belief that things dont need to remain the way they are forever, he told the graduates.

Student speaker Tamara Abdelsamad, who received a bachelors degree in global and community health, noted how she had been determined to finish college after a previous false start.

Never estimate the power that comes from difficult beginnings, she said.

GMUs youngest graduate this year was 17-year-old Stephanie Mui, who received a masters degree in mathematics. Mui, who began taking courses at Northern Virginia Community College just after finishing fifth grade, earned her bachelors degree in math from GMU in summer 2016.

Mui still attends Oakton High School and has received neither her high-school diploma nor drivers license yet, university officials said.

Rector Tom Davis of GMUs Board of Visitors presented James Hazel, chairman of the Faster Farther Campaign, with the Mason Medal. Also on hand for the presentation was Hazels father, Til Hazel, who was the medals first-ever recipient in 1987.

GMU officials also bestowed these awards:

Mari Henderson of Berrien Springs, Mich., who received a bachelors degree in global affairs, said she chose GMU for the high-quality people with whom she could rub shoulders.

I thought, if I can surround myself with this kind of people for four years, Ill be OK, she said.

John Daniels of Charlottesville, who earned a diploma in government and international affairs, attended the university after his mother received her masters degree there.

Daniels, who served as speaker of the Student Senate, enjoyed GMUs proximity to the nations capital and its all-pervasive political scene.

I had a great four years, he said. Its really been a blessing to be at Mason.

Read more from the original source:

Editor urges civility, press freedom at GMU commencement - Inside NoVA