Eminem Gets Humiliated at MTV Awards

//

One has to wonder what this was really about? MTV stooping real low? Eminem getting his just deserts after years of dissing people? Payback from Nick Cannon.. Wasn’t a cool moment for Em.. Not in the least

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2009/06/eminem_enraged_about_becoming.html

Headlines: Sascha Baron Cohen knows from publicity stunts. Eminem, who loves to dish it out, may not know how to take it. (Or maybe he was in on the joke all along?) Anyway, showing up to present an award the MTV Music Awards as Brüno, his flamboyantly gay Austrian alter ego, Cohen, according to the MTV account, “descended via wires from the rafters dressed as some sort of S&M angel — if an angel would be wearing oversized wings, a white gladiator’s costume and a jockstrap — and introduced himself in German, ‘Ich bin Brüno.’ He then appeared to get caught up in his suspension wires, flipping upside down and writhing in apparent pain before asking to be lowered to the floor. His request was quickly granted and he crashed to the ground — upside-down and directly on top of Eminem, wrapping his legs around the rapper’s head, exposing his bare buttocks within inches of Em’s face.” The rapper, who’d previously performed a couple of “Relapse” songs, wasn’t pleased with being served a teabag, saying: “Are you serious?” He swore and told his bodyguards get Cohen Brüno off of him. Eventually, Eminem left his seat, prompting Cohen Brüno to ask: “Is the real Slim Shady about to stand up?”

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Did Bill O’Reilly Inspire the Killing of Abortion Doctor George Tiller?

//

Piecing Together the Murder of Dr. George Tiller: Right-Wing Violence Rears Its Head

By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet. Posted June 1, 2009.

Tiller was the target of vicious on-air attacks by Bill O’Reilly. Could the murderer have been inspired by O’Reilly’s rants? 

 

Dr. George Tiller , 67, one of the few OB-GYNs in the country who performed late-term abortions despite ongoing threats to his safety, was fatally shot yesterday while attending a church service in Wichita, Kan. Scott Roeder, 51, has been detained for questioning.

Roeder — a registered Republican previously arrested for having bomb materials in his car — posted this chilling message on an Operation Rescue Web site called Charge Tiller in 2007 (via the Daily Kos):

It seems as though what is happening in Kansas could be compared to the “lawlessness” which is spoken of in the Bible. Tiller is the concentration camp “Mengele” of our day and needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgement upon our nation.

Tiller had long faced the threat of right-wing violence. The Tiller Women’s Health Clinic clinic was bombed in 1985; in 1993, Tiller was shot in both arms by abortion protester Rachelle Shannon. The heavily fortified clinic was guarded by a private security team, and Tiller relied on a bodyguard outside of work.

Recently, Tiller had aired concerns about his safety to federal investigators. The Associated Press reports:

[Tiller’s Attorney Dan] Monnat said Tiller had asked federal prosecutors to step up investigations of vandalism and other threats against the clinic out of fear that the incidents were increasing and that Tiller’s safety was in jeopardy. [Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom] Stolz, however, said police knew of no threats connected to the shooting.

In early May, Tiller had asked the FBI to investigate vandalism at his clinic, including cut wires to surveillance cameras and damage to the roof that sent rainwater pouring into the building.

Tiller had also long been the target of vicious attacks by conservative pundits like Bill O’Reilly, who often denounced Tiller on his show. Brad Reed writes on Brad Blog following Tiller’s acquittal in March on charges that he had broken a Kansas abortion law:

O’Reilly continued his series of programs focusing on the Kansas physician, charging him with “operating a death mill” (video here), and alleging that he was “executing babies” (video here).

O’Reilly had previously been highly critical of the state’s Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, charging, during his “Talking Points” commentary in 2007, that she was “allowing [Tiller] to continue the slaughter.”

 

 

 

… there’s no other person who bears as much responsibility for the characterization of Tiller as a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly thanks to the collusion of would-be sophisticated cultural elites, a bought-and-paid-for governor and scofflaw secular journalists. Tiller’s name first appeared on The Factor on Feb. 25, 2005. Since then, O’Reilly and his guest hosts have brought up the doctor on 28 more episodes, including as recently as April 27 of this year. Almost invariably, Tiller is described as “Tiller the Baby Killer.”

Tiller, O’Reilly likes to say, “destroys fetuses for just about any reason right up until the birth date for $5,000.” He’s guilty of “Nazi stuff,” said O’Reilly on June 8, 2005; a moral equivalent to NAMBLA and al-Qaida, he suggested on March 15, 2006. “This is the kind of stuff happened in Mao’s China, Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union,” said O’Reilly on Nov. 9, 2006.

O’Reilly has also frequently linked Tiller to his longtime obsession, child molestation and rape. Because a young teenager who received an abortion from Tiller could, by definition, have been a victim of statutory rape, O’Reilly frequently suggested that the clinic was covering up for child rapists (rather than teenage boyfriends) by refusing to release records on the abortions performed.

When Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, an O’Reilly favorite who faced harsh criticism for seeking Tiller’s records, was facing electoral defeat by challenger Paul Morrison, O’Reilly said, “Now we don’t endorse candidates here, but obviously, that would be a colossal mistake. Society must afford some protection for viable babies and children who are raped.” (Morrison ultimately unseated Kline.)

This is where O’Reilly’s campaign against George Tiller becomes dangerous. While he never advocated anything violent or illegal, the Fox bully repeatedly portrayed the doctor as a murderer on the loose, allowed to do whatever he wanted by corrupt and decadent authorities. “Also, it looks like Dr. Tiller, who some call Tiller the Baby Killer, is spending a large amount of money in order to get Mr. Morrison elected. That opens up all kinds of questions,” said O’Reilly on Nov. 6, 2006, in one of many suggestions that Tiller was improperly influencing the election.

Despite ongoing threats of violence and constant right-wing media attacks, Tiller continued running Tiller’s Women’s Health Care Service, one of just three facilities in the country providing access to abortion after the 21st week of pregnancy.

According to a statement issued by Planned Parenthood, Tiller bravely performed an invaluable service:

He provided critical reproductive health care services, including abortion services to women facing some of the most difficult medical circumstances. He was continually harassed by abortion opponents for much of his career — his clinic was burned down, he was shot by a health center protester, and he was recently targeted for investigation, only to be acquitted by a jury just a few months ago. None of this stopped George Tiller from his commitment to providing women and their families with compassionate care that others were unwilling to offer.

Tiller’s slaying has also brought forth personal testimonials from the women he helped, not just in his role as abortion provider but as an OB-GYN. A diarist writes on the Daily Kos:

In 1980, I was pregnant with my first child.  I had no insurance and couldn’t afford a doctor’s appointment until I was approved for a medical card. …  Mom told Dr. Tiller, and he brought me into his office where he examined me, free of charge.  I can credit him with the very first picture taken of my son. 

The last story I have to share is about my friends who could not have children. Dr. Tiller’s office worked with several attorneys in the Wichita area to provide adoption services for his patients who wanted this option. My friends have a 10-year-old boy now, who is loved and adored. 

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America aired her concerns about the chilling effect Tiller’s killing would have on women’s health providers throughout the country:

Dr. Tiller’s murder will send a chill down the spines of the brave and courageous providers and other professionals who are part of reproductive-health centers that serve women across this country. We want them to know that they have our support as they move forward in providing these essential services in the aftermath of the shocking news from Wichita.

President Barack Obama also issued a statement denouncing the slaying: “I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”

Some anti-choice groups were quick to distance themselves from Tiller’s killing, while reiterating their opposition to Tiller’s work. The president of Operation Rescue, the group best known for organizing sometimes-violent protests outside abortion clinics in the 1980s, said the following, according to the New York Times:

“Our prayers go out to his family and the thousands of people this will impact,” [Troy] Newman said in a telephone interview from his home in Wichita.

“Operation Rescue has worked tirelessly on peaceful, nonviolent measures to bring him to justice through the legal system, the legislative system,” Mr. Newman said. “I’m a tireless advocate and spokesman for the pre-born children who are dying in clinics every day. Mr. Tiller was an abortionist. But this wasn’t personal. We are pro life, and this act was antithetical to what we believe.”

But statements by other extremist abortion opponents went so far as to blame Tiller for his own killing, including one by Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue. Randall stated:

George Tiller was a mass murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama administration will use Tiller’s killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder. 

Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches.

Meanwhile, Father Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, issued a statement questioning the link between Tiller’s slaying and abortion opponents:

I am saddened to hear of the killing of George Tiller this morning. At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it, whether an angry post-abortive man or woman, or a misguided activist, or an enemy within the abortion industry, or a political enemy frustrated with the way Tiller has escaped prosecution …

Tiller leaves behind a wife, four children and 10 grandchildren. In a statement issued several hours after the shooting, Tiller’s family said:

Our loss is also a loss for the City of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality heath care despite frequent threats and violence. We ask that he be remembered as a good husband, father and grandfather and a dedicated servant on behalf of the rights of women everywhere.

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Did Bill O'reilly's vicious slander of Dr Tiller cause him to be a victim to violence?

Writing for Salon

, Gabriel Winant argues that O’Reilly’s vicious slander of Tiller may well have served as a provocation for the shooting. Although O’Reilly certainly did not instruct his listeners to commit violence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr George Tiller is the latest victim to so called Right to Lifers killing someone

President Obama Has a New Cyberplan Straight Outta the Big Brother Handbook

You heard it here first: The next evolution of identity management in the U.S. will grow out of Facebook. So watch what you out in your profile.

Does Obama Want to Replace Your Facebook Profile with Your Social Security Card?

By Annalee Newitz, io9. Posted June 1, 2009.

http://www.alternet.org/media/140370/does_obama_want_to_replace_your_facebook_profile_with_your_social_security_card/?page=entire

//

President Obama has a new cyberplan that rivals a sscary cenario straight outta the Big Brother playbook

Today U.S. President Obama announced plans for a “cyberspace strategy” that includes everything from possible offensive cyberwar strategies to education. It also contains a little-discussed “identity management” plan that makes me wonder if Facebook profiles are about to become the new Social Security cards.

The big news right now is who will be running Obama’s broad new cyberspace programs — in particular, who will manage the cybersecurity and cyberwarfare aspects. Right now, it appears that there will be a “cyberczar” (as yet unchosen) who will report to the National Security Council and National Economic Council (the latter because part of this role will involve bank security). The Pentagon may also be setting up its own cybersecurity division.

These are the immediate issues, but when I read through Obama’s Cyberspace Policy Review (released today with his announcements), I found an odd nugget of information buried at the bottom of his “near-term action plan”:

Build a cybersecurity-based identity management vision and strategy that addresses privacy and civil liberties interests, leveraging privacy-enhancing technologies for the Nation.

It sounds innocuous, but in fact it has profound implications that touch on security issues that have been giving the government (and industry) headaches for years.

Here is what a “cyber-security identity management vision” really is: A plan for how the government will establish and track your identity online. One of the biggest problems for law enforcement and business has been the way people can take on many identities online, which are very difficult to verify. This has allowed people to become prolific spammers (because you can send mail under any name you like), as well as fraudsters on sites like eBay. All of this is a result of the way web services “manage” identities — you can pick any name you like when you sign up for email or Paypal or whatever.

The government and its various federal agencies have been trying for years to figure out how to deal with this. Several years ago, I participated in a meeting at the Federal Trade Commission to discuss the possibility of creating an email system called “sender authentication” (to be implemented nationally) where you would have to verify your identity in a fairly rigorous way before being allowed to send email. No more fifty mailing addresses. The idea was to discourage spam and phishing, which is an understandable goal. But I and many others argued that this system would also crush free speech. No longer could you send an anonymous email, or participate in a mailing list under a pseudonym to protect your privacy.

I think Obama’s “identity management vision” falls squarely into this history of debate over how to prevent crime by rolling back the proliferation of identities online. Yes, the “strategy” as described rather vaguely in Obama’s “near-term action plan” involves a lot of hand-waving about privacy and civil liberties. But the fact is that if the government is coming up with an identity management plan, that means the government is trying in some sense to manage your identity or identities online — essentially to trace back your hottie77@gmail address to a real name, just in case hottie77 starts doing something illegal. Or allegedly illegal.

And here’s where my not-so-wild speculation about Facebook identities comes in. Many companies have turned to Facebook as an “identity management” system (including Gawker Media), allowing people to log into their services using their Facebook identity. The reason is simple: Most people only have one Facebook identity, and they stick with it. There’s a general notion that your Facebook identity is your authentic identity, or at least an identity that you keep over time, and that its characteristics can be traced back to who you are in real life. Therefore, having you log into every web service, from io9 comments to Digg to (possibly in the future) Paypal, is a way of managing your identities. Instead of having a separate identity for each of those services, you have one. Easy to manage, easy to trace.

Why shouldn’t Obama’s cyberczar just cut a deal with Facebook (and maybe a few other social networks like LinkedIn) and turn those profiles into your authentic identities? So you can send mail and buy things using your Facebook ID, and that’s how you’ll be tracked. Hey, you’re already on Facebook right? And you can set your profile to “private.” So it’s easy and “privacy enhancing.” (Never mind how easy it is to get around those privacy settings — pay no attention to that black hat behind the curtain.)

The scenario I’m describing is, in essence, how the Social Security Card became the twentieth century’s identity management system starting in the 1930s. These cards were not originally intended as ID cards, or as a way to authenticate your true identity. They were just a way to manage government assistance to those who needed it. But they became an ID card simply because everyone in the U.S. had been issued one. When the government and businesses needed a way to track people’s identities, it became the easy choice. Showing your social security card meant that you couldn’t just come up with random new names for yourself every time you signed a form or took a job.

Though people in the U.S. now think of the Social Security Card as the “obvious” form of ID, it took years for it to evolve from a simple social assistance card to an “identity management vision.”

You heard it here first: The next evolution of identity management in the U.S. will grow out of Facebook. So watch what you are putting in your profile. You may be using it to open bank accounts in years to come.

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner