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Chat on, night owls
Archive for May 14th, 2013
14
May
13
night owl chat – ode to joy
Probably the greatest musical expression of unbridled joy is the “Ode to Joy”, the fourth movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. It’s been a hell of a couple of weeks, so some versions of the Ode to take you soaring and lift your spirits.
Flash Mob “Ode to Joy”
Now we know whose ‘statements’ weren’t true.
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Jake Tapper: CNN has obtained an e-mail sent by a top aide to President Barack Obama about White House reaction to the deadly attack last September 11 on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that apparently differs from how sources characterized it to two different media organizations.
The actual e-mail from then-Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes appears to show that whomever leaked it did so in a way that made it appear that the White House was primarily concerned with the State Department’s desire to remove references and warnings about specific terrorist groups so as to not bring criticism to the department.
…. Whoever provided those accounts seemingly invented the notion that Rhodes wanted the concerns of the State Department specifically addressed. While Nuland, particularly, had expressed a desire to remove mentions of specific terrorist groups and CIA warnings about the increasingly dangerous assignment, Rhodes put no emphasis at all in his e-mail on the State Department’s concerns.
More here
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This is significant and slimy. Deserves coverage even though doesn’t neatly fit the easy “narrative” of the moment.thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/14/cnn…
— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) May 14, 2013
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@jonkarl So it’s the WH’s fault because you didn’t vet your source thoroughly & ended up publishing WRONG information? #JournalismFAIL #p2
— PragmaticObotsUnite (@PragObots) May 14, 2013
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Media Matters: ABC News is now claiming that its Benghazi “exclusive” was based on summaries of emails between administration aides, not the emails themselves – an assertion belied by their earlier reports.
CNN’s Jake Tapper reported on May 14 that he had obtained an email sent by White House aide Ben Rhodes that “differs from how sources inaccurately quoted and paraphrased it in previous accounts to different media organizations,” including ABC’s Karl….
…. ABC News has responded by claiming their original reporting was based on summaries of the emails, not the emails themselves …. But ABC News and Karl himself have repeatedly suggested he had obtained the actual emails, not summaries of emails from Rhodes and others in the administration.
More here
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14
May
13
‘Soft on Terrorism?!’
While giving the State of the Union address to the nation, on the night of Jan.24th 2012
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President Obama could be overheard telling Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta “Good Job”
As he walked down the aisle of the U.S. House chamber on Tuesday night, after shaking hands and slapping backs, President Obama stopped and pointed at Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
“Good job tonight,” Obama told his Defense secretary. “Good job tonight.”
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At the time nobody knew what the President was referring to, until……
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Jessica Buchanan, rescued from Somalia, tells her story 4 the 1rst time cbsn.ws/12sGNGX @barackobama ordered mission during his SOTU!
— The lovely Plains (@DaRiverZkind) May 13, 2013
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14
May
13
The Republican Party Is A Joke
14
May
13
Coming Up
Holder has been ride or die for civil rights and voting rights. Maybe that has something to do with Republicans’ zeal to see him ousted?
— Imani ABL (@AngryBlackLady) May 14, 2013
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12:30: Press Briefing by Jay Carney
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1:30: Press Briefing by Attorney General Eric Holder
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Prepare for witch-huntery
14
May
13
Rise and Shine
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Today:
The President has no public events scheduled
12:30: Press Briefing by Jay Carney
1:0: Attorney General Eric Holder briefs the press
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Steve Benen: …. based on preliminary accounts, the Justice Department didn’t eavesdrop on journalists’ phone calls, but rather, obtained logs showing incoming and outgoing calls, as well as the duration of those phone calls.
And why was the Justice Department doing this? In part because congressional Republicans demanded a full-scale leak investigation and DOJ officials took the request very seriously….
A year ago last week, the AP reported on a foiled terrorist plot that the Obama administration had successfully prevented. White House critics were outraged, accusing the administration of boasting about its counter-terrorism victory for campaign purposes, including leaking classified information…..
…. As of last night, as the story drew serious questions from the left and right, the GOP was left in the awkward position of arguing that it wanted the Justice Department to do everything possible to root out national security leaks, except what the Justice Department ended up doing to root out national security leaks…..
More here
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By the end of the day, Obama will have been in a surveillance van outside @ap headquarters with headphones on, munching on a box of donuts.
— Imani ABL (@AngryBlackLady) May 13, 2013
@quadcitypat @angryblacklady @ap in a hoodie watching it all go down via drone
— Arrogant Demon (@ArrogantDemon) May 13, 2013
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ThinkProgress: ….. Last year, the Associated Press reported that an Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula plot had been foiled, thanks to a timely intervention on the part of the United States…. Why that drew the attention of the Justice Department, however, is that the CIA was the one who foiled the plot, which the AP report made clear….
…. by reporting the CIA’s involvement in foiling the plot, they put AQAP on notice that the CIA had a window into their activities. The AP’s reporting also led to other stories involving an operative in place within AQAP, and details of the operations he was involved in. That operative, it was feared, would be exposed and targeted by AQAP as retribution for siding with the United States…..
More here
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So do y’all understand? AP is trying to cover their ass because they leaked CLASSIFIED info re: Al Qaeda. But somehow they’re the “victim.”
— April(@ReignOfApril) May 13, 2013
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You know the way everyone chuckled yesterday at Darrell Issa saying on Fox that “an act of terror is different to a terrorist attack”? Well – and I’m not making this up – Glenn Kessler at the Washington Post has given President Obama four Pinocchios for saying he described what happened in Benghazi as an act of terrorism, because Kessler agrees with Issa – calling something an act of terror is completely different to calling it a terrorist attack.
The best line in Kessler’s gobsmacking piece is this:
“During the campaign, the president could just get away with claiming he said “act of terror,” since he did use those words…”.
If you’re repeating something that is true, you’re getting away with it?
Oh boy.
PS As Media Matters reminds us (and see video on top):
On September 13, 2001, former President George W. Bush described the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as an “act of terror”.
But, you know, that was different.
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Every time I see Darrell Issa, I think of his background as a suspected criminal & alleged car thief on.msnbc.com/10Efck9
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen) May 13, 2013
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‘As for Cheney seeing Benghazi as “one of the worst incidences” he “can recall”.. I’m curious if Cheney recalls 9/11’ maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/05/…
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) May 14, 2013
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The Obama Diary 
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