Thursday, March 22, 2012

Heart Attack & Chronic Cocaine Use Cause Whitney Houston's Drowning



Sadly, what we'd all suspected as the cause of Whitney Houston's death was confirmed today by the Los Angeles coroner's office.  

According to the Associated Press, Houston died from drowning in her hotel bathtub, but heart disease and chronic cocaine use were contributing factors to her death.


"Something happened that caused her to go down and we know that when she slipped under the water she was still alive," the Coroner said. "We have evidence of drowning since there was water in the lungs. 


"The 60% narrowing of her arteries "suggest a cardiac event complicated by the cocaine use" led to Houston's slipping underwater.
Whitney Houston was found submerged in the bathtub of her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and her death has been ruled as accidental. Bottles of prescription drugs were found in Houston's hotel room, but not in excessive amounts said the coroner's office.
Toxicology results showed that Houston had marijuana, Xanax, Flexeril (a muscle relaxant), and Benadryl in her system. 
The singer also had a heart disease that caused blockages in her arteries.  Houston died at the age of 48.  
A full autopsy report is expected to be released in two weeks.


American Truism #12.
(This story borrows heavily from an Associated Press story)

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Some Real Truth: This American Life Comes Clean on Being Duped by Lying Apple Critic Mike Daisey

If American Truism is supposed to be about the truth, then it cannot always simply criticize.


Something I heard on the radio yesterday, is worthy of spreading to the far corners of the earth, for multiple reasons.


If you're a fan of National Public Radio (aka NPR), you're likely familiar with "This American Life (TAL)" hosted by Ira Glass.  TAL is a weekly public radio show broadcast on more than 500 stations to about 1.8 million listeners and holds itself to journalistic standards.


The show typically relates the true stories of everyday people, though not always. 
This week Glass and his producers announced that they had discovered a story TAL broadcast in January "contained significant fabrications." 


In a statement on TAL's website, Glass said, "We're retracting the story because we can’t vouch for its truth. This is not a story we commissioned. It was an excerpt of Mike Daisey's acclaimed one-man show "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," in which he talks about visiting a factory in China that makes iPhones and other Apple products.
Daisey has performed his Apple-bashing monologue in theaters around the country and, in the process, became a recognized "voice of criticism"


The short version is that Mike Daisey was looking to criticize working conditions in the factories of Apple's Chinese vendors, specifically Foxconn which manufactures iPhones and iPads in Shenzhen China.  Nothing wrong there, in fact the "intent" is to be applauded.


However, as is often the case, Daisey fell short on the execution.  Waaay short.  In no uncertain terms, he lied.  He fabricated stories, people and conditions to fit his "Apple as the Bad Guy" world view.


And Glass called him on it.


As Glass described in a statement on TAL's website, "The China correspondent for the public radio show Marketplace tracked down the interpreter that Daisey hired when he visited Shenzhen China. The interpreter disputed much of what Daisey has been saying on stage and on our show. 


And, then, something amazing, something quite rare happened.  Glass and company RETRACTED their program.  Not only did they retract it, they spent an ENTIRE HOUR of airtime explaining what happened and falling on a sword, admitting they had not lived up to their own journalistic standards.


"Daisey lied to me and to This American Life producer Brian Reed during the fact checking we did on the story, before it was broadcast. That doesn't excuse the fact that we never should've put this on the air. In the end, this was our mistake," Glass said in a statement.


"We're horrified to have let something like this onto public radio.
Glass could have taken the route we see so often, issuing a brief statement saying, "Mistakes were made," and moved on, but he didn't.


The episode of THIS AMERICAN LIFE that I heard on the radio Saturday was riveting.  I joined the show about halfway through, and because I was driving a couple of hours, was able to catch it again, in its entirety a couple of hours later on a different NPR station.


This episode of TAL is not to be missed.  Read more about the entire situation here on TAL's website AND (not or) listen to the RETRACTION broadcast.  It is almost PAINFUL to hear the questions Glass asks of Daisey about the veracity of his story and why he lied to TAL staff. 
Long, long pauses in Daisey's responses punctuate Glass' cross examination.  It is obvious he is trying to come up with explanations for the lies without characterizing them as what they most obviously are, lies.  


My descriptions don't do it justice.  You REALLY need to listen to THE RETRACTION in its entirety.


I cannot commend Ira Glass and the staff of TAL enough for having the courage to admit a mistake and do everything they can to make it right.  That has to be tough for the TAL staff because the original episode was one of the show's most popular ever, with 888,000 downloads and 206,000 streams.


Glass recalls that Daisey gave him the runaround when TAL staff were going through their usual fact checking process.  "At that point, we should've killed the story," he said.  "But other things Daisey told us about Apple's operations in China checked out, and we saw no reason to doubt him. We didn't think that he was lying to us and to audiences about the details of his story. That was a mistake."


It's also instructive to read the news coverage of this story.  A simple Google News story for "Mike Daisey" is a good place to start.  


Daisey, shame on you.  TAL, bravo.


Now, I'm going to sit back and wait for the DOZENS of other media outlets that have hailed Daisey as a hero and voice of the oppressed to do the same thing that TAL did.  


As reported by Mark Kennedy in THE HUFFINGTON POST


"Daisey portrayed his work as fact during a media blitz to promote his critically acclaimed show, and he misled dozens of news and entertainment outlets, including the popular public radio show 'This American Life,' The Associated Press, The New York Times, MSNBC and HBO's 'Real Time with Bill Maher.'


Fess up, eat your crow and dedicate as much airtime or space to exposing Daisey's lies as you did to giving  this fraud a forum to present his fantasy as truth.


Ira Glass and "This American Life" did.  So can you.


American Truism #11.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Experts Discuss the Dire Consequences of an Israeli or US Attack on Iran


As I've said in a previous blog post, I understand Israel's concern over Iran possibly acquiring nuclear weapons.  And, I understand why Israel (or other neighbors of Iran) might want to launch a "preemptive strike" in order to keep Iran from weaponizing its atomic energy program.

Yet, the ramifications of an Israeli (or US) attack on Iran could be devastating for many reasons.  Here are a few of the things that such an attack might prompt and the people who've talked about these possibilities:
  • Oil could skyrocket to $500 / barrel.
  • All-out war could break out in the region.
  • Iran, which hasn't weaponized it's nukes, might feel pressured to do so.
Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson 
Former Chief of Staff for US Secretary of State Colin Powell

  • Iran is prepared to launch 11,000 missiles on Israel and the United States.
Ghazanfar Roknabadi
Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon

  • Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz with mines, driving up the cost of oil.
  • Extensive conflict could break out between Israel and Hezbollah, or Israel and Hamas.
Mark Fitzpatrick
Director, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Program,
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)



  • Iran and groups like Hezbollah might engage in terror attacks following an attack on Iran.
Daniel Byman
Counter-terrorism Expert, Brookings Institute

American Truism # 10.


Friday, March 9, 2012

Midnight Approaches: Israel Prepares for Attack on Iran with Bunker Buster Request


Following President Obama’s address to AIPAC in which he gave the “green light” to Israel for an attack on Iran, Israel has now requested advanced "bunker-buster" bombs and refueling planes from the United States, according to a Reuters report.
These bunker buster bombs and planes would significantly improve Israel’s ability to carry out successful bombing attacks on Iran's underground nuclear sites.
That's not just MY opinion.  That supposition comes straight from an unnamed Israeli official.
As reported by Reuters, it appears that the US received the request for bunker busters and refueling planes during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington.
Other reports claim the US might supply the hardware, but only under the condition that Israel promises not to attack Iran THIS YEAR.
JUST NOT THIS YEAR?  But, 2013 would be fine?  Sounds like a political calculation on the part of Team Obama.
I’m not making a judgment here.  When all is said and done, maybe Israel has no other choice.  I believe it’s possible for a rational person to come to that conclusion, yet recent events seem to indicate that Israel is hell bent on destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities, WITH or WITHOUT the aid and comfort of the United States.
In a recent article musing upon the entire Israel / Iran / US relationship and likely outcomes, Jeffrey Goldberg, national correspondent for THE ATLANTIC  noted, “I don't believe the leaders of Iran are Nazis, but they certainly do talk like Nazis, and they've oriented their foreign and defense policies around the extermination of the Jewish state."
A White House spokesman denied that requests for bunker busters and refueling planes were made during the Netanyahu / Obama meetings.  But, we all know that could simply be semantics and that back channel discussions could have already taken place.   This alternative channel may very well have been Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
The White House wouldn’t confirm or deny a possible DOD possible role, saying only, "I would refer you to other officials.”
Unnamed sources on the US side confirm that these conversations DID take place between Netanyahu and Panetta.  The same source claims no deals were finalized.
While many agree that Obama’s AIPAC speech was indeed a “green light” to attack Iran and its nuclear capabilities, it still puts the Obama administration in a tight spot.
An Israeli-Iranian war would create tough political sledding for Obama in this US election year.  Such a conflict would almost certainly send oil and gas prices skyrocketing, a condition which hold great political peril for Obama.  Yet, being seen as weak on Iran and lukewarm in his support of Israel could be even worse for Obama.
None of the parties involved wants to see an Israeli-Iranian conflict.  And, while its neighbors are no great fans of Iran, a unilateral attack on the trouble-making nation might be all the excuse its neighbors need to unleash “attacks of solidarity” on Israel.
Pressure is growing on all sides, and no one appears to be willing to stand down or blink, which may make armed conflict between Israel and Iran inevitable.
While unlikely, one possibility is that taking recent events into account, Iran could decide to make a preemptive strike of its own against Israel.  This is unlikely because it would allow Israel to strike at Iran with practically no limits while giving Iran’s neighbors the cover they’d need to sit on the sidelines.  Still, the behavior of Iran’s political and religious leadership rarely follows conventional wisdom.
Obama is between a rock and a rockier place, unlikely to get any softer in the coming weeks.  He can’t be the president who allowed Iran to have a nuclear bomb.  He also can’t be the president that allowed Israel to launch a preemptive strike on Iran.  And the LAST thing he wants to do is commit American military power and lives into a new Middle East conflict.
American Truism #9.

It’s Time to Go for Rush Limbaugh


Rush, ole buddy, I think it’s time to finally pack it all in. 
Your latest faux pas is yet another example of the fact that you’re simply out of touch and trying to be controversial just for the sake of controversy.
That’s a tired old trick.
In the late 1980s, you were great.  I listened to all three hours of your radio show every day at work.  The main thing about your show back then was that you were engaging and funny.  Really funny. 
The homeless updates, jabs at “feminazis,” Ted Kennedy parodies and endless other bits that skewered left-wing sacred cows were hilarious.  I even paid good money to see you in person back then and you were fabulous.
Now, you’re just mean.   And, mean people suck.
THAT’s why you’re losing listeners and why you’re losing advertisers left and right.
You’re not doing the conservative movement any favors with this.  You're hurting it, and you know it.
I hate that it’s come down to this, but I think it’s time to unplug the EIB golden microphone.  You’ve had a tremendous run, but it’s over. 
You're not going to weather this storm.
American Trusim #8.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Obama Gives Israel the Green Light to Attack Iran


In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) , President Obama today gave Israel the green light to launch a preemptive strike on Iran to prevent the Iranians from fully developing their nuclear weapons capabilities.
On CNN, Obama's remarks were portrayed opposite this analysis, both by the CNN host and by her guests.  They characterized Obama’s remarks as too soft and non-committal and critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Here’s what Obama said to AIPAC:

“We all prefer to resolve this issue diplomatically.  Having said that, Iran’s leaders should have no doubt about the resolve of the United States, just as
they should not doubt Israel’s sovreign right to make its own decisions about what is required to meet its security needs.
"I have said that when it comes to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, I will take no options off the table, and I mean what I say.  That includes all elements of American power . . . including a military effort to be prepared for any contingency.
"We are investing in new capabilities. We’re providing Israel with more advanced technology, the types of products and systems that only go to our closest friends and allies.  Make no mistake, we will do what it takes to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge because Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.  

Later in the same address, President Obama said, ""For the sake of Israel's security, America's security, and the peace and security of the world, now is not the time for bluster; now is the time to let our increased pressure sink in. … Now is the time to heed that timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt: Speak softly, but carry a big stick."

These remarks have been interpreted as meaning that Obama is loathe to use military action against Iran, and that he is at odds with the Israelis.

I disagree.

I believe this is Obama's way of creating "cover" for himself in the event that Israel decides it must attack Iran before it is nuclear capable.

According to CNN reports, earlier in the day at the AIPAC conference, Israeli President Shimon Peres warned "Iran will be stopped."  Israel "does not seek" war he said, adding: "Peace is always our first option. But, if we are forced to fight, trust me, we shall prevail."
Speaking just before Obama, Peres said,"The United States and Israel share the same goal: to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. There is no space between us. Our message is clear: Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon."

"Iran is an evil, cruel, morally corrupt regime," Peres said. "It is based on destruction. It is an affront to human dignity. Iran is the center, the sponsor, the financier of world terror. Iran is a danger to the entire world. It threatens Berlin as well as Madrid, Delhi as well as Bangkok." 

Israel and Iran are on an all-but-assured collision course.  The Israeli government will NOT allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons, but after his rhetorical attacks on the Bush administration for its actions in Iraq, Obama cannot afford to be seen as launching a possibly unnecessary attack on Iran, even in the defense of Israel.

However, as he has intimated today, Obama will not intervene if Israel determines that a preemptive strike against Iran is necessary.

Look for a strike within 90 days or less.

American Truism # 7.