AlterNet.org: Breaking News

NSA: Lessons from the ’60s

, Salon — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:00:00 -0700

Dear Reader,

Tuesday a reader wrote with concerns about how NSA spying revelations have affected his feelings about America. I said that I wanted to take two or three days to answer. It's a big subject, how we feel about the country we live in, and how events change those feelings.

When I was 14 it was 1967 and the Vietnam War was in the newspapers and on TV every day. American males were required to register for the draft when they reached 18; many were being drafted to fight in Vietnam. My brother turned 18 and was drafted. He refused induction and fought it in the courts. It then transpired that the FBI was watching our house and following my brother. There was evidence that our phone was being tapped. It appeared that the power of the state had been turned against us.

The power of the state was turned against many of us in those days. So we grew up with a reasonable respect for the power of the state and a reasonable and mature sense of the state as a dangerous entity that, if it turned against one, could be deadly.

The Tea Party’s sad, nostalgic reunion tour

, Salon — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:00:00 -0700

Remember way back to 2010? When the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" was tearing up the charts and a hot new upstart political movement called the Tea Party was striking fear into socialists everywhere? What began on Tax Day in 2009 hit a high-water mark just 18 months later with a massive rally on the National Mall organized by Glenn Beck (which later proved to be the beginning of the end of the Tea Party's purpose for existing: massive anti-government rallies of colorful, flag-waving patriots). There's no question the conservative revival in the GOP has remade the party inside Washington, but the Gadsden flags were rolled up and the tricorn hats put away as the outsider movement honed its insider game.

Until today. For one day only, the Capitol has been consumed by what feels a bit like a single-night stand reunion tour for a band that had one good album that mostly gets played for nostalgic reasons today. The event was billed as "the largest demonstration of Tea Party support since 2010," and while it may have succeeded on that count, it also underscores how much the movement has slipped since that year of its glory.

James Gandolfini dead at 51

, Salon — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:10:00 -0700

Multiple outlets have confirmed that James Gandolfini, star of "The Sopranos," died late Wednesday while on vacation with his family in Italy. Initial reports suggest he may have suffered a heart attack. Gandolfini earned a Golden Globe and three Emmy awards for his performance on the cable series, widely hailed as one of finest dramas in television history.

HBO has released the following statement:

We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. He a was special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth and his humility. Our hearts go out to his wife and children during this terrible time. He will be deeply missed by all of us.

Seven famous apologies that were just as bad as Serena’s

, Salon — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:19:00 -0700

After "Rolling Stone" quoted Serena Williams blaming the 16-year-old girl victim in the Stuebenville rape case, the tennis star issued a statement that fell short of a sincere apology, or anything resembling one. Rather than own her remarks or express genuine repentance, Williams interspersed her statement with burden-shifting qualifiers, placing herself on a long list of public figures whose poorly crafted, transparent attempts to rectify lies, stupid gaffes and serious moral transgressions would surely make Aristotle weep.

Cringe-worthy mea culpas have become something of a regular occurrence, but Chris Brown ranks high on the growing list of famous people who don't seem to understand the basic elements of an apology. Over the last four years, the 24-year-old R&B artist has repeatedly squandered second chances he doesn't deserve after physically abusing on-again-off-again girlfriend Rihanna, and generally acting like a sociopath.

R.I.P. James Gandolfini: Where Tony Soprano lives on

, Salon — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:09:00 -0700

Last scene of "The Sopranos"

More than an hour of obsessive "Sopranos" highlights:

Tony kills Ralphie:

The last scene with Tony and Junior:

The death of Christopher:

James Gandolfini, gone too soon

, Salon — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:58:00 -0700

‘The Sopranos” changed television forever, alerting everyone with eyes to what the medium, so often thought of as the movies' cheeseball little brother, could do. But if David Chase was the mastermind, James Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack tonight at 51, was the executor, the guy who took the challenging idea of making a show about a morally corrupt character, and made it seem like common sense. Since his performance, creating a show around a character sort of like Tony Soprano has been the ambition of nearly every person trying to make serious television.

There have been great performances on TV since Gandolfini’s mafioso king Tony, but none have been as powerful or as original: it's a performance so good it’s almost impossible to exaggerate its greatness. Gandolfini created from scratch an entire, now bedrock-seeming archetype, the character who, through the skill of his portrayer, is simultaneously charismatic and menacing, threatening and charming, winning and terrifying. His Tony was scary and pained, hulking and sometimes shockingly lithe, so brutal but so funny. Playing him, Gandolfini masterfully manipulated audiences' sympathy, held their attention, and kept their interest, sometimes against their better judgment and even, towards the end of the series, against their will. He was like a pick-pocket so good you ended up just handing him your wallet, abdicating before his insane skill.

New York's poor get urban farm in bid to fight obesity

, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:24:23 -0700

New York unveiled a giant vegetable garden Wednesday in the Brooklyn borough's largest public housing development, in a bid to fight a growing obesity epidemic among the poor.

The one-acre (4,000-square-meter) plot at Red Hook Houses "will provide residents with access to a healthy source of produce, while also providing young people with a pathway to education and employment," Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs said in a statement.

Red Hook Urban Farm will employ local teens to grow the food, some of which will be distributed to families in need, while others will be sold to raise funds for the plot, which will also serve as an education and training center.

The initiative is among a handful of measures launched by New York City Hall to fight obesity.

More than half of New York adults are either overweight (34 percent) or obese (22 percent).

Starting in kindergarten, one out of every five children is obese, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office.

Obesity is especially prevalent among America's poor, who frequently live in neighborhoods without quality grocery stores or fresh fruit and vegetable vendors.

Spurs upbeat despite game-six meltdown

Greg Heakes, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:53:51 -0700

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (R) and player Tony Parker from France, talk during a practice day before Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena June 19, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are tied, 2

The San Antonio Spurs must erase the memory of their epic game-six collapse if they are to become the first team since 1978 to win a game seven of the NBA Finals on the road.

"It is very important we bounce back and we forget last night," Spurs star guard Tony Parker said of Miami's rally for a 103-100 overtime win over the Spurs to level the best-of-seven championship series at three wins each.

"We don't get affected by big losses. I am not worried about our team bouncing back."

San Antonio was just seconds away from their fifth championship in game six on Tuesday when the Heat rallied from a five-point deficit to force the extra session then win it in overtime, forcing Thursday's winner-take-all matchup.

With victory almost certain for the Spurs, Heat fans started heading for the exits and arena workers began to ring the court with yellow tape to keep the crowd off the floor so the official celebration could begin.

Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs speaks to reporters during a practice day before Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena June 19, 2013 in Miami, Florida.

"I don't know what happened in the overtime and fourth," San Antonio's Tim Duncan said immediately following the game. "Just our shots weren't there. It is a disappointing loss."

Duncan said Wednesday that the Spurs had a team meeting over dinner after game six to discuss what went wrong and how they were going to bounce back in game seven.

"It helped. It did," Duncan said. "The other option is a bunch of us go back to our rooms and sit in our rooms and sit there by ourselves and beat yourself up.

"So it's always good to be around teammates and kind of get some stuff out in the open. We did exactly that. We'll be ready to rock."

No NBA team has won a game seven on the road in the NBA Finals since the Washington Bullets, now the Washington Wizards, defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, in 1978.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks with player Tim Duncan during a practice day before Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena June 19, 2013 in Miami, Florida.

Duncan came out swinging on Tuesday by scoring 25 points in the first half as he accounted for half of the Spurs' 50 points at the break.

"I made some shots. Come fourth quarter I kind of lost it. I got lost in the mix. My goal for tomorrow is to sustain it," Duncan said.

The Spurs weren't able to do that in game six as the defending champion Heat showed they are a veteran team with significant playoff experience.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chose to sit Duncan in the final seconds of regulation time when they had the lead but Duncan said Wednesday he wished he had been out there.

"I know we had 30 seconds left and we're up five and you are just crossing your fingers and hoping something like what happened wouldn't happen," Duncan said. "But it did, and obviously there are a lot of emotions.

"But we re-grouped for overtime. We got a lead, we made plays and they just outplayed us."

Tesla recalls Model S cars over problem weld

, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:32:19 -0700

A Tesla Model S is displayed on March 28, 2013 in New York City. Tesla announced a recall Wednesday for some of its Model S vehicles over possible weak welds on back seats.

Electric sports car maker Tesla announced a recall Wednesday for some of its Model S vehicles over possible weak welds on back seats.

The recall applies to versions of the four-door sedan, which costs up to $87,000, produced between May 10, 2013 and June 8, 2013.

Founder Elon Musk said on the company's blog that the strength of the weld on a mounting bracket in a back row seat "could be weaker than intended."

"This reduces our confidence that the left hand seat back will be properly retained in the event of a crash," he wrote.

Musk emphasized that no customers have complained about the problem and no injuries have been reported related to it.

"However, given the paramount importance of safety, we would like to reinforce the left striker bracket on cars produced during this period."

"This work has already been performed on cars that were in the factory, so the recall applies only to cars delivered in mid to late May and early June."

Tesla said it will arrange to fix the problem at no cost to the owners.

Tesla shares were up 1.3 percent to $104.68 in regular trade on the Nasdaq exchange Wednesday, but fell in after-hours deals to $104.20.

FBI director says surveillance drones used in US

Michael Mathes, Agence France-Presse — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:36:32 -0700

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller testifies during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 19, 2013. Unmanned drones are flying in American skies conducting surveillance on people in the United States, albeit in a "ve

Unmanned drones are roaming American skies conducting surveillance on people in the United States, albeit in a "very minimal way," the head of the FBI revealed to Congress on Wednesday.

Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller said his agency's use of a small number of aerial drones is relatively new, and that the bureau has only begun to draw up policy and operational guidelines for the devices.

"I will tell you that our footprint is very small," Mueller testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"We have very few (drones) and of limited use, and we're exploring not only the use but also the necessary guidelines for that use."

Mueller said the drones conduct surveillance, but that they were "seldom" used.

Other agencies are known to be using the high-technology gadgets, including the Department of Homeland Security, which uses drones to patrol the US border with Mexico.

Senator Chuck Grassley said Attorney General Eric Holder indicated to him in writing that the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives "had purchased drones and were exploring their use in law enforcement."

"I think the right of privacy is at stake. If there's a legitimate law enforcement reason for using it, they ought to say," Grassley told CNN after the hearing.

He said a simmering distrust of government is fueling suspicion about domestic spying, including recently revealed surveillance programs that gather phone logs and Internet data.

"Because of that mistrust, we've got to nail these things down. The people have a right to know."

In March Republican Senator Rand Paul blocked legislative action for nearly 13 hours on the Senate floor to protest the Obama administration's refusal to unequivocally rule out drone strikes on US soil.

Days later Holder wrote to Paul clarifying that a US president does not have the power to order a drone strike against a "non combatant" American inside the United States.

Paul expressed concern about the drone surveillance, saying it should not be used without a court-issued search warrant.

"My guess is they don't have warrants for these things, they're just flying around. That, I'm opposed to," he told AFP.

Mueller did not say whether warrants were being obtained for the use of the drones.

Paul said Americans could grow fearful of drones that are small enough to land on a house window or fly indoors.

"I think there's one that weighs less than an ounce," Paul said.

Democrats have expressed concern as well. Senator Dianne Feinstein said she believed that "the greatest threat to the privacy of Americans is the drone... and the very few regulations that are on it today."

Mueller agreed that there should be public discourse over the future of the unmanned vehicles, saying "it's worthy of debate and perhaps legislation down the road."

Congress has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to open up airspace to unmanned aircraft by October 2015.

AlterNet.org: Breaking News

NSA: Lessons from the ’60s

The Tea Party’s sad, nostalgic reunion tour

James Gandolfini dead at 51

Seven famous apologies that were just as bad as Serena’s

R.I.P. James Gandolfini: Where Tony Soprano lives on

James Gandolfini, gone too soon

New York's poor get urban farm in bid to fight obesity

Related Stories

Spurs upbeat despite game-six meltdown

Related Stories

Tesla recalls Model S cars over problem weld

Related Stories

FBI director says surveillance drones used in US

Related Stories