News Archives — Page 287 of 385

NPR EXECUTIVE IMPLIES CRITICISM OF FATAH VERBOTEN

BALTIMOAR – Sunni Khalid, long-time managing editor at WYPR-FM, posted Facebook comments deemed controversial about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. NPR’s reaction to the comments would indicate the author’s remarks were at odds with core values of the radio station.

Mr. Khalid posted this on a friend’s Facebook page:

“I, for one, have had enough of this pandering before the Israeli regime . . . The war-mongering toward Iran has, once again, distracted the world from Israel’s brutal military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.”

Sunni Khalid no longer works with NPR after posting Facebook comment — Sunni Khalid, journalist and Facebook user

Tony Brandon, president of the station, seemed very interested in understanding the outlet with whom he was speaking. Due to Mr. Brandon’s apparent decision to terminate an employee for his political expression, we thought it best to go undercover, and had a reporter pose as an ordinary, concerned citizen. While transparency is ideal, Chronicle editors agreed that Mr. Brandon’s ability to formulate personnel policy might have been jeopardized by specific, powerful political interests, rather than vague ideas outlined on a generic policy page.

What began as a call of a concerned citizen eventually yielded Mr. Brandon’s claimed deference to NPR guidelines, which have seen the termination of Washington-based employees for attending Daily Show host Jon Stewart’s 2010 Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Mr. Brandon declined to answer a direct question as to whether criticism of West Bank-dominant Palestinian political party, Fatah, would engender a termination of Mr. Khalid, whose gender a Chronicle reporter was unaware, due to his completely politically correct, gender-blind sensibilities; in addition to utter ignorance of different cultures.

Listen, in real time, as Tony Brandon, President and General Manager of NPR Baltimore dodges a question of ethics:
[audio:https://chronicle.su/wp-content/uploads/LS1101261.mp3|titles=Sunni Khalid inquiry to Tony Brandon of NPR by Tyler Bass]

“Damn kids and their questions without answers! When will they learn to consult our policy first!?”

Editing reality: Sabu down the memory hole

Rhode Island State Representative Dan Gordon’s cell phone hacked

srsbusiness — Representative Dan Gordon's dog photos have been liberated. Transparency for all.

Lone-wolf astroturf hacktivist th3j35t3r recently placed a malicious QR code as his avatar. This image, once scanned by a smart phone, forwarded users to a web site designed to exploit a vulnerability in the Android operating system. Th3j35t3r gained backdoor access to hundreds and possibly thousands of his followers’ cell phones. Among those hacked was Rhode Island State Representative Dan Gordon who is known for his controversial support of Anonymous, lies about his service in the military, and a criminal record which was not disclosed at any point during his campaign. Gordon, a Republican, has already been completely ostracized by his own party, and this invasive attack from America’s most prominent vigilante conservative hacker is more salt in the wound.

Representative Gordon has been criticized for allegedly soliciting Anonymous for hacks, lashing out with abusive language, and quickly deleting tweets when confronted. He has not faced charges under Stolen Valor even though the claim he was injured in Iraq has been refuted by military documents. Gordon has accused his detractors of manufacturing some of the allegedly deleted messages and says he does not have the resources to sue reporters who he alleges have lied about his military service.

After winning his election, Representative Gordon was arrested under charges filed several years earlier in Massachusetts which were also not disclosed during his campaign. Continuous abusive language, even targeting a local high-school sexuality awareness group, led to Gordon’s de facto expulsion from the Republican Party. Since then, he has swung wildly to the left, associating with anarchist cyberwarriors and computer hackers.