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Post by jeffolie on Jul 14, 2013 8:01:27 GMT -6
Obama Big Loser in Zimmerman Trial July 13th, 2013 Forget the over-zealous prosecutors and the repellent state attorney Angela Corey (who should be immediately disbarred or, my wife said sarcastically, elevated to director of Homeland Security) and even the unfortunate Trayvon Martin family (although it is certainly hard to forget them — they have our profound sympathies), the true loser at the Zimmerman trial was Barack Obama. By injecting himself in a minor Florida criminal case by implying Martin could be his son, the president of the United States — a former law professor, of all things — disgraced himself and his office, made a mockery of our legal system and exacerbated racial tensions in our country, making them worse than they have been in years. This is the work of a reactionary, someone who consciously/unconsciously wants to push our nation back to the 1950s.It is also the work of a narcissist who thinks of himself first, of his image, not of black, white or any other kind of people. It’s no accident that race relations in our country have gone backwards during his stewardship. Congratulations to the jury for not acceding to this tremendous pressure and delivering the only conceivable honest verdict. This case should never have been brought to trial. It was, quite literally, the first American Stalinist “show trial.” There was, virtually, no evidence to convict George Zimmerman. It was a great day for justice that this travesty was finally brought to a halt. We all know Al Sharpton, the execrable race baiter of Tawana Brawley and Crown Heights, agitated publicly for this trial more than anyone else. But he most likely would not have succeeded had it not been for Obama’s tacit support. As far as I know this is unprecedented in our history (a president involving himself in a trial of this nature). The media also followed Obama (as they always do) by enabling the demagogue Sharpton, as if he were a serious person. The media, as I wrote before, treated this case like pornography, something to be exploited, giving it all sorts of racial import it didn’t have. The New York Times, acting like true reactionaries of the Obama era (how can we use the word “liberal” with these people?), even went so far as to invent the term “white Hispanic” to fit the case. The National Enquirer couldn’t have done it better. (I take it back. The Enquirer behaves more ethically.) The irony is that the people who suffer most from the media behaving in this manner are black people who are manipulated into acting as an interest group when they have no interest. They are literally victims of the media and of Obama. Of course, they aren’t the only ones. Almost everyone is a victim in in this case that should never have been tried. George Zimmerman will never live a normal life. The American public has been polarized with emotions stirred up for absolutely no reason. Racism is essentially manufactured, as if it were a commodity. A further irony is that recent polls have shown racism in our culture at all-time lows. You don’t hear that from the media or from our administration, however. This knowledge is not to their advantage. As I type this article, I am listening to Geraldo, on the post-verdict show, nattering on about the possibility of the Justice Department initiating a civil rights prosecution of Zimmerman. If that happens, the Obama administration will have outdone itself in the creation of racism. The same continues. pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2013/07/13/obama-big-loser-in-zimmerman-trial/?singlepage=true
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Post by jeffolie on Jul 14, 2013 8:10:34 GMT -6
How Will "Not Guilty" Verdict Affect George Zimmerman's Libel Suit Against NBC? July 14, 2013 George Zimmerman's not guilty verdict adds a new wrinkle to a separate legal case in the Florida courts: His defamation suit against NBC. In December, Zimmerman sued NBC, reporter Ron Allen and two other news personnel on claims that the network's edits of his 911 call to police were manipulated to make it sound like he was a racist. The Florida judge in Zimmerman's case, Debra Nelson, put the defamation case on hold pending the result of the criminal trial. Jody Armour, professor at USC's Gould School of Law, said that although it is "possible" that Zimmerman's claim against the network will be strengthened, it "may not have a big impact because he has to prove actual malice if he is trying to prove defamation." He believes that Zimmerman "is almost certainly going to fall into the classification" of a public figure, raising the bar for plaintiffs, in that they have to prove knowledge that they knew that the information was false or had reckless disregard for the truth. In a defamation trial, however, NBC can say that the not guilty verdict "has limited probative value as far as establishing a claim that they acted with actual malice toward him, that they acted with actual indifference to the truth," Armour said. The point is that a defamation trial would have to do with the circumstances at the time the story aired. It will be hard to find a jury that is not aware of the not guilty verdict, which would make a jury trial, if it gets to that point, all the more unpredictable. Gary Bostwick of Bostwick & Jassy, which specializes in media First Amendment cases, said that "my first impression would be that [the not guilty verdict] would make a difference in the theatrical sense in front of a jury, but in a legal sense I am not sure it has any relevance in a defamation case." Zimmerman's suit stated that "NBC created this false and defamatory misimpression using the oldest form of yellow journalism: manipulating Zimmerman's own words, splicing together disparate parts of the recording to create the illusion of statements that Zimmerman never actually made." NBC News apologized to viewers for the incident, but after the suit was filed it vowed to "vigorously defend our position in court." Zimmerman's legal team contend that the network never apologized to him. "There was no intent to portray Mr. Zimmerman unfairly," the network said. In a legal response, the network noted how other news outlets were reporting on the issue of race and that they, too, were forced to edit the 911 call. Two defendants in the defamation suit, reporter Lilia Rodriguez Luciano and producer Jeff Burnside, were terminated in spring, 2012, after stories surfaced about the editing of the calls. In media defamation cases, plaintiffs have to show that the facts about them were false, that the news story was about them and caused harm and, in the case of public figures, that there was malice, or that the news outlet knew it was false and went ahead and published it anyway. Zimmerman was not a public figure before the shooting of Trayvon Martin last year, and an issue in his litigation may very well be the extent to which he falls into the category of a "limited purpose" public figure. Courts have weighed the extent to which a person voluntarily becomes part of public debate. Zimmerman's suit claims that the airing of the 911 call caused Zimmerman emotional distress, and exposed him to "public contempt, ridicule, hatred and threats to his life," and "conveyed the impression that Zimmerman is a hostile 'racist' who shot Trayvon Martin because the young man was African American." "NBC saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about to create the myth that George Zimmerman was a racist and predatory villain," the suit stated. "The goal was simple: keep their viewers alarmed, and thus always watching, by menacing them with a reprehensible series of imaginary and exaggerated racist claims." His suit outlines how the 911 call was edited. On one of the NBC News broadcasts, on "Today" on March 27, Zimmerman is heard on the call telling the dispatcher, of Martin, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black."
But Zimmerman did not say the two sentences in sequence. His comment, "He looks black," was made after the dispatcher asked him if Martin was "white, black or Hispanic?"www.sun-sentinel.com/digitalunlimited/partners/sns-201307140023reedbusivarietyn1200562075-20130714,0,3978137.story
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Post by jeffolie on Jul 14, 2013 13:08:35 GMT -6
Whistleblowing IT Director Fired By FL State Attorney ""Ben Kruidbos, the IT director for the Florida State Attorney's Office who'd spoken up when important cellphone evidence he'd extracted from Trayvon Martin's cellphone was withheld by the state from the defense, was fired by messenger at 7:30 PM Friday, after closing arguments in the Zimmerman case. He was told that he could not be 'trusted to set foot in this office,' and that he was being fired for incompetence. Kruidbos had received a merit pay raise earlier this year. The firing letter also blames him for consulting a lawyer, an obvious sign of evil."" yro.slashdot.org/story/13/07/13/238229/whistleblowing-it-director-fired-by-fl-state-attorney
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Post by jeffolie on Jul 14, 2013 15:29:29 GMT -6
Obama calls for reflection on violence to 'honor' Trayvon MartinJuly 14, 2013 President Obama said Sunday that he respected a Florida jury's decision to acquit George Zimmerman in the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin, but called on the nation to reflect on gun violence. The president said in a statement that Martin's death was a "tragedy. Not just for his family, or any one community, but for America." "I know this case has elicited strong passions," he said. "And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken." The president has spoken out previously about Martin's death, saying that it prompted "some soul-searching," noting that the case touched him on a personal level. "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said in March. On Sunday, he urged for the conversation on gun violence to continue. "We should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis," Obama said. "We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that's a job for all of us. That's a way to honor Trayvon Martin." www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-travyon-martin-zimmerman-obama-20130714,0,7088000.story ======================================================== The White HouseOffice of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release July 14, 2013 Statement by the President The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America. I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin. www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/14/statement-president
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Post by jeffolie on Jul 14, 2013 15:42:08 GMT -6
How Will "Not Guilty" Verdict Affect George Zimmerman's Libel Suit Against NBC? July 14, 2013 George Zimmerman's not guilty verdict adds a new wrinkle to a separate legal case in the Florida courts: His defamation suit against NBC. In December, Zimmerman sued NBC, reporter Ron Allen and two other news personnel on claims that the network's edits of his 911 call to police were manipulated to make it sound like he was a racist. The Florida judge in Zimmerman's case, Debra Nelson, put the defamation case on hold pending the result of the criminal trial. Jody Armour, professor at USC's Gould School of Law, said that although it is "possible" that Zimmerman's claim against the network will be strengthened, it "may not have a big impact because he has to prove actual malice if he is trying to prove defamation." He believes that Zimmerman "is almost certainly going to fall into the classification" of a public figure, raising the bar for plaintiffs, in that they have to prove knowledge that they knew that the information was false or had reckless disregard for the truth. In a defamation trial, however, NBC can say that the not guilty verdict "has limited probative value as far as establishing a claim that they acted with actual malice toward him, that they acted with actual indifference to the truth," Armour said. The point is that a defamation trial would have to do with the circumstances at the time the story aired. It will be hard to find a jury that is not aware of the not guilty verdict, which would make a jury trial, if it gets to that point, all the more unpredictable. Gary Bostwick of Bostwick & Jassy, which specializes in media First Amendment cases, said that "my first impression would be that [the not guilty verdict] would make a difference in the theatrical sense in front of a jury, but in a legal sense I am not sure it has any relevance in a defamation case." Zimmerman's suit stated that "NBC created this false and defamatory misimpression using the oldest form of yellow journalism: manipulating Zimmerman's own words, splicing together disparate parts of the recording to create the illusion of statements that Zimmerman never actually made." NBC News apologized to viewers for the incident, but after the suit was filed it vowed to "vigorously defend our position in court." Zimmerman's legal team contend that the network never apologized to him. "There was no intent to portray Mr. Zimmerman unfairly," the network said. In a legal response, the network noted how other news outlets were reporting on the issue of race and that they, too, were forced to edit the 911 call. Two defendants in the defamation suit, reporter Lilia Rodriguez Luciano and producer Jeff Burnside, were terminated in spring, 2012, after stories surfaced about the editing of the calls. In media defamation cases, plaintiffs have to show that the facts about them were false, that the news story was about them and caused harm and, in the case of public figures, that there was malice, or that the news outlet knew it was false and went ahead and published it anyway. Zimmerman was not a public figure before the shooting of Trayvon Martin last year, and an issue in his litigation may very well be the extent to which he falls into the category of a "limited purpose" public figure. Courts have weighed the extent to which a person voluntarily becomes part of public debate. Zimmerman's suit claims that the airing of the 911 call caused Zimmerman emotional distress, and exposed him to "public contempt, ridicule, hatred and threats to his life," and "conveyed the impression that Zimmerman is a hostile 'racist' who shot Trayvon Martin because the young man was African American." "NBC saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about to create the myth that George Zimmerman was a racist and predatory villain," the suit stated. "The goal was simple: keep their viewers alarmed, and thus always watching, by menacing them with a reprehensible series of imaginary and exaggerated racist claims." His suit outlines how the 911 call was edited. On one of the NBC News broadcasts, on "Today" on March 27, Zimmerman is heard on the call telling the dispatcher, of Martin, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black."
But Zimmerman did not say the two sentences in sequence. His comment, "He looks black," was made after the dispatcher asked him if Martin was "white, black or Hispanic?"www.sun-sentinel.com/digitalunlimited/partners/sns-201307140023reedbusivarietyn1200562075-20130714,0,3978137.story Zimmerman lawyer to move ‘asap’ against NBC News By Erik Wemple, Published: July 14 Last night’s not-guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial will enable the neighborhood-watch volunteer to resume his case against NBC News for the mis-editing of his widely distributed call to police. Back in December, Zimmerman sued NBC Universal Media for defamation over the botched editing, which depicted him as a hardened racial profiler. George Zimmerman (R) talks to defense counsel Don West during his trial on Saturday. (EPA/JOE BURBANK / POOL) Here’s how NBC News, in a March 27, 2012, broadcast of the “Today” show, abridged the tape of Zimmerman’s comments to a police dispatcher on the evening of Feb. 26, 2012: Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black. The full tape went like this: Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about. Dispatcher: OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic? Zimmerman: He looks black. NBC Universal Media responded to the Zimmerman complaint by noting that other media outlets played up the racial angle of Zimmerman’s deadly encounter with Trayvon Martin. The company also noted the pivotal nature of the second-degree murder case: “ f Zimmerman is convicted, that fact alone will constitute substantial evidence that the destruction of his reputation is the result of his own criminal conduct, and not of the broadcasts at issue which, like countless other news reports disseminated by media entities throughout the country, reported on the underlying events.” That formulation is now null. According to Zimmerman attorney James Beasley, the case against NBC News was stayed pending the outcome of the criminal case. Now that’s out of the way, and Beasley is ready to proceed. “We’re going to start in earnest asap, we just have to get the stay lifted which is a ministerial act,” says Beasley, a Philadelphia lawyer, via e-mail. When asked how the not-guilty verdict affects the civil case against NBC News, Beasley responded, “This verdict of not guilty is just that, and shows that at least this jury didn’t believe that George was a racist, profiling, or anything that the press accused George of being. That probably doesn’t get you that much but it’s simply time for us to start the case and hold accountable anyone who was irresponsible in their journalism.”
www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/07/14/zimmerman-lawyer-to-move-asap-against-nbc-news/
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Post by jeffolie on Jul 14, 2013 19:27:58 GMT -6
Zimmerman's business with the court may not be over
USA TODAY
"Not guilty" does not necessarily mean George Zimmerman's legal trials are over. The Justice Department is investigating, and Trayvon Martin's family could sue in civil court.
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jul 17, 2013 23:18:33 GMT -6
I hope Zimmerman nails NBC to the cross over their fraudulent editing of his 911 call.
Unfortunately, even prosecutors do this at trial. (It was done to me.)
But a "news" agency has no business taking sides and deliberately deceiving the public with a fraudulent misquote.
When you're quoting someone in writing, you at least put "...." when you've omitted part of a statement, so that readers don't mistakenly think you're quoting word-for-word.
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Post by jeffolie on Jul 19, 2013 12:47:16 GMT -6
Obama: Trayvon 'could have been me' Story Highlights President Obama urges Americans to respect the verdict in the George Zimmerman case Obama also said whites need to understand the realities of racial discrimination The nation should do soul searching in the wake of the case, Obama says President Obama said Friday that all Americans should respect the George Zimmerman verdict, but white Americans should also understand that African Americans continue to face racial discrimination. "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," Obama said during a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. Obama said he himself has been subjected to casual prejudice, but also said African Americans need to address the problems of violence in their own communities. More than a year after saying that Trayvon could have been his son, Obama told reporters that, like other African Americans, he has been followed by security guards while shopping, and has seen motorists lock their doors or women hold tighter to their purses as as he walked near them. "I don't want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida," Obama said. A Florida jury acquitted Zimmerman on Saturday night of murder in the 2012 death of 17-year-old Trayvon. In a 17-minute address that got emotional at times, Obama said he respects the different views of the verdict, but the trial was conducted professionally, and "once the jury's spoken, that's how our system works." As the Justice Department investigates whether to charge Zimmerman with civil rights violations in the wake of Trayvon's 2012 death, Obama said state and local governments should examine whether changes to laws can head off violent confrontations. That includes racial training for law enforcement in order to reduce tensions between police and minorities, he said. The president also questioned the wisdom of Florida's "stand your ground" law, which, in the view of critics, all but encourages confrontation that could turn deadly. Too many African Americans and other minorities distrust the justice system, Obama said, and view the Zimmerman-Trayvon case through "a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away." Obama said all Americans should do "soul-searching" in the wake of the verdict and the reactions to it, but questioned whether a full-blown "national conversion" would do much good if too many politicians or pundits were involved. Borrowing a quote from Abraham Lincoln, Obama said people should appeal to "the better angels" of human natures, rather than using incidents like Travyvon's death and Zimmerman's acquittal to "heighten divisions." Obama also said that Americans should realize that, over the course of decades, American race relations have improved. "I don't want us to lose sight of the fact that things are getting better," Obama said. Obama also paid tribute to Martin's parents, saying that "I can only imagine what they're going through and it's remarkable how they've handled it." www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/07/19/obama-trayvon-marin-george-zimmerman/2568811/
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jul 19, 2013 21:20:11 GMT -6
Obama Big Loser in Zimmerman Trial July 13th, 2013 Forget the over-zealous prosecutors and the repellent state attorney Angela Corey (who should be immediately disbarred or, my wife said sarcastically, elevated to director of Homeland Security) and even the unfortunate Trayvon Martin family (although it is certainly hard to forget them — they have our profound sympathies), the true loser at the Zimmerman trial was Barack Obama. By injecting himself in a minor Florida criminal case by implying Martin could be his son, the president of the United States — a former law professor, of all things — disgraced himself and his office, made a mockery of our legal system and exacerbated racial tensions in our country, making them worse than they have been in years. This is the work of a reactionary, someone who consciously/unconsciously wants to push our nation back to the 1950s.It is also the work of a narcissist who thinks of himself first, of his image, not of black, white or any other kind of people. It’s no accident that race relations in our country have gone backwards during his stewardship. Congratulations to the jury for not acceding to this tremendous pressure and delivering the only conceivable honest verdict. This case should never have been brought to trial. It was, quite literally, the first American Stalinist “show trial.” There was, virtually, no evidence to convict George Zimmerman. It was a great day for justice that this travesty was finally brought to a halt. We all know Al Sharpton, the execrable race baiter of Tawana Brawley and Crown Heights, agitated publicly for this trial more than anyone else. But he most likely would not have succeeded had it not been for Obama’s tacit support. As far as I know this is unprecedented in our history (a president involving himself in a trial of this nature). The media also followed Obama (as they always do) by enabling the demagogue Sharpton, as if he were a serious person. The media, as I wrote before, treated this case like pornography, something to be exploited, giving it all sorts of racial import it didn’t have. The New York Times, acting like true reactionaries of the Obama era (how can we use the word “liberal” with these people?), even went so far as to invent the term “white Hispanic” to fit the case. The National Enquirer couldn’t have done it better. (I take it back. The Enquirer behaves more ethically.) The irony is that the people who suffer most from the media behaving in this manner are black people who are manipulated into acting as an interest group when they have no interest. They are literally victims of the media and of Obama. Of course, they aren’t the only ones. Almost everyone is a victim in in this case that should never have been tried. George Zimmerman will never live a normal life. The American public has been polarized with emotions stirred up for absolutely no reason. Racism is essentially manufactured, as if it were a commodity. A further irony is that recent polls have shown racism in our culture at all-time lows. You don’t hear that from the media or from our administration, however. This knowledge is not to their advantage. As I type this article, I am listening to Geraldo, on the post-verdict show, nattering on about the possibility of the Justice Department initiating a civil rights prosecution of Zimmerman. If that happens, the Obama administration will have outdone itself in the creation of racism. The same continues. pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2013/07/13/obama-big-loser-in-zimmerman-trial/?singlepage=trueExcellent assessment of the whole debacle!
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