Showing posts with label apology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apology. Show all posts

Friday, January 31, 2014

Cheerios Tweet Riles Reince into MSNBC Boycott

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Previous Related Posts:
Tea Party Traumatized by Obama's SOTU - Maddow vs. Huelskamp
Reince Priebus Warns Networks Not to Show Hillary Clinton Movies
Epic Smackdown by Chris Matthews vs. Reince Priebus
Reince Priebus: When Caterpillars Eat Your Brain

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Lately there's a media pattern in which someone on MSNBC criticizes a conservative and immediately there is a huge brouhaha backlash calling for that person to be fired. It happened to Martin Bashir for criticizing Sarah Palin. Melissa Harris-Perry had to apologize to Mitt Romney. And now someone has lost their job over a tweet about a sequel to the biracial Cheerios ad that was met with racist backlash last year.

I guess Reince has shaken his etch-a-sketch so he can pretend the GOP has nothing to do with racism, nor did anyone associated with Republicans write nasty comments on the Cheerios YouTube account last year. He can live in a state of denial but wasn't MSNBC the network that was supposed to be leaning "Forward" and away from the Republican Party? Well, not lately! Phil Griffin will bend over backwards to apologize to any Tea Partier who has a gripe about MSNBC. Twitter is getting revenge, though, with a parody account: @MSNBCApology


From Huffington Post
The controversy began Wednesday, when MSNBC tweeted about a new Cheerios ad similar to one that was met with racist backlash last year.

"Maybe the rightwing will hate it, but everyone else will go awww: the adorable new #Cheerios ad w/ biracial family," the tweet read.

MSNBC later deleted the message and apologized.


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RNC Chairman Reince Priebus was Perturbed:

Until you personally and publicly apologize for this behavior, I have banned all RNC staff from appearing on, associating with, or booking any RNC surrogates on MSNBC. I have asked Republican surrogates and officials to follow our lead.
~ Message from Reince Priebus to President Phil Griffin of MSNBC

The tweet last night was outrageous and unacceptable. We immediately acknowledged that it was offensive and wrong, apologized, and deleted it. We have dismissed the person responsible for the tweet. I personally apologize to Mr. Priebus and to everyone offended. At msnbc we believe in passionate, strong debate about the issues and we invite voices from all sides to participate. That will never change.
~ Statement from Phil Griffin to Reince Priebus





































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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Wikileaks Associate Bradley Manning Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison

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Previous Related Posts:
Bradley Manning Apologizes at Trial
Julian Assange Says Libertarians are the Only Hope for America
Snowden Finally Leaves Russian Airport

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From ABC News
FT. MEADE, Md. -- Bradley Manning, the Army private convicted of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the website WikiLeaks, was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison today.

 Pfc. Manning will also be reduced in rank to private, forfeit all pay and allowances and receive a dishonorable discharge.
Manning expressed no emotion as a military judge announced the sentence. He was then quickly escorted out of the courtroom.

 He will serve his prison sentence at the military's detention facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

From the American Civil Liberties League
August 21, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org

NEW YORK – A military court-martial today sentenced Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison for giving classified material to WikiLeaks. Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, had this reaction:
"When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system. A legal system that doesn't distinguish between leaks to the press in the public interest and treason against the nation will not only produce unjust results, but will deprive the public of critical information that is necessary for democratic accountability. This is a sad day for Bradley Manning, but it's also a sad day for all Americans who depend on brave whistleblowers and a free press for a fully informed public debate."

Statement from Julian Assange
Today the well-known whistleblower Bradley Manning has been ordered by a military court in Maryland to spend a minimum of 5.2 years in prison with a 32 year maximum (including time already spent in detention), for revealing information about US government behaviour to the public.

This hard-won minimum term represents a significant tactical victory for Bradley Manning’s defense, campaign team and supporters. At the start of these proceedings, the United States government had charged Bradley Manning with a capital offence and other charges carrying over 135 years of incarceration. His defense team is now appealing to the US Army Court of Criminal Appeals in relation to this sentence and also for due process violations during the trial.

While the defense should be proud of their tactical victory, it should be remembered that Mr Manning’s trial and conviction is an affront to basic concepts of Western justice. On Mr Manning’s arrest in May 2010, he was immediately subjected to punitive incarceration by the US government, which was found to be "cruel, inhumane and degrading" by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, and even found to be unlawful by US military courts.

The period Mr Manning has already spent in prison will be subtracted from the sentence, and dispensations for good behaviour, parole and other factors mean that it is likely he will now spend less than ten years in confinement. Mr Manning’s defense team are now seeking to reduce this sentence further on appeal. US military law stipulates that the sentence can only be reduced. It is important that support for Bradley Manning continues during this time.

The only just outcome in Mr Manning’s case is his unconditional release, compensation for the unlawful treatment he has undergone, and a serious commitment to investigating the wrongdoing his alleged disclosures have brought to light.

Mr Manning’s treatment has been intended to send a signal to people of conscience in the US government who might seek to bring wrongdoing to light. This strategy has spectacularly backfired, as recent months have proven. Instead, the Obama administration is demonstrating that there is no place in its system for people of conscience and principle. As a result, there will be a thousand more Bradley Mannings.




































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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Bradley Manning Apologizes at Trial

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Complete Apology Transcript Via Huffington Post
First, your Honor. I want to start off with an apology. I am sorry. I am sorry that my actions hurt people. I am sorry that it hurt the United States. At the time of my decisions, as you know, I was dealing with a lot of issues -- issues that are ongoing and they are continuing to affect me.

Although they have caused me considerable difficulty in my life, these issues are not an excuse for my actions. I understood what I was doing and the decisions I made. However, I did not truly appreciate the broader effects of my actions. Those effects are clearer to me now through both self-reflection during my confinement in its various forms and through the merits and sentencing testimony that I have seen here.

I am sorry for the unintended consequences of my actions. When I made these decisions I believed I was gonna help people, not hurt people. The last few years have been a learning experience. I look back at my decisions and wonder, 'How on earth could I, a junior analyst, possibly believe I could change the world for the better over the decisions of those with the proper authority?'

In retrospect I should have worked more aggressively inside the system as we discussed during the Providence Statement and had options and I should have used these options. Unfortunately, I can't go back and change things. I can only go forward. I want to go forward. Before I can do that though, I understand that I must pay a price for my decisions and actions.

Once I pay that price, I hope to one day live in the manner I haven't been able to in the past. I want to be a better person -- to go to college -- to get a degree -- and to have a meaningful relationship with my sister's family and my family.

I want to be a positive influence in their lives, just as my aunt Deborah has been to me. I have flaws and issues that I have to deal with, but I know that I can and will be a better person. I hope you can give me the opportunity to prove -- not through words, but through conduct -- that I am a good person, and that I can return to a productive place in society.

Thank you, your Honor.



Complete Response from Wikileaks HERE
EXCERPTS:

. . . Mr. Manning has been an emblem of courage and endurance in the face of adversity. He has resisted extraordinary pressure. He has been held in solitary confinement, stripped naked and subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment by the United States government. His constitutional right to a speedy trial has been ignored. He has sat for three years in pretrial detention, while the government assembled 141 witnesses and withheld thousands of documents from his lawyers.

The government has denied him the right to conduct a basic whistleblower defense. It overcharged him until he faced over a century in prison and barred all but a handful of his witnesses. He was denied the right at trial to argue that no harm was caused by his alleged actions. His defence team was pre-emptively banned from describing his intent or showing that his actions harmed no one.

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But Mr. Manning’s options have run out. The only currency this military court will take is Bradley Manning’s humiliation.

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Mr. Manning’s apology is a statement extorted from him under the overbearing weight of the United States military justice system. It took three years and millions of dollars to extract two minutes of tactical remorse from this brave soldier.

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Bradley Manning’s apology was extracted by force, but in a just court the US government would be apologizing to Bradley Manning.

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Public pressure on Bradley Manning’s military court must intensify in these final days before the sentencing decision against him is made.
WikiLeaks continues to support Bradley Manning, and will continue to campaign for his unconditional release.
Free Bradley Manning.

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Saturday, June 22, 2013

Paula Deen Fired from Food Network Over Racist Remarks

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Previous Post:
Paula Deen's Racism Leads to #PaulasBestDishes Meme on Twitter

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On Friday June 21, 2013 Paula Deen was supposed to appear on the NBC's Today Show with Matt Lauer but she bugged out:



Later that day she released two separate apology videos. The first was made private after a few minutes probably because people on Twitter mocked the sharp edits and Paula's crazy look - too much make-up and frowsy hair. The second with a more composed Paula Deen was released a few hours later.

Video One:



















Video Two:



Not long after that, the Food Network announced they were firing the Chef:

From Variety:
The Food Network has stuck a fork in Paula Deen.

The cable channel dropped the controversial celebrity chef from its programming lineup Friday in the wake of a deposition that recently surfaced in which she is quoted expressing racist sentiments and using the “N” word.
Food Network issued a statement this afternoon: “Food Network will not renew Paula Deen’s contract when it expires at the end of this month.”

Deen has been a star attraction on the cable channel, which is owned by Scripps Networks Interactive, since 1999. She has starred in multiple cooking shows for the network, most recently “Paula’s Best Dishes,” since 2008.
Her primetime perch at Food Network enabled Deen to build a multimedia empire around herself that extended to restaurants, cookbooks and other merchandise.

From US Magazine:
In a statement to CNN released on Friday night, the chef thanked the network for 11 "great years."
"I have had the pleasure of being allowed into so many homes across the country and meeting people who have shared with me the most touching and personal stories," she said. "This would not have been possible without the Food Network. Thank you again. Love and best dishes to all of ya'll."
The apology may be a little too late for the network, which announced Deen's firing early Friday afternoon. On the morning of Saturday, June 22, Deen's scheduled one-hour block of programming was yanked from the channel, with Giada Laurentiis' Giada at Home and Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman being shown instead.



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Comments from the Food Network Facebook:


The Food Network Sucks. Holding persons liable for past transgressions is BS. I would watch Paula Dean all day long and not care what she does in her free time. I just want to learn some good cooking.
~ Edatabit BK

Guess its only ok for rappers to use this magic word!!! Way to show blacks are above everyone in America...
~ Richard M.

Cowards.....what happened to freedom of speech? USA is looked upon as pussies. Thanks Obama.... And she said it in 1985 dumbasses!
~ Chris B.

Here we go with the "we are all racists" theme again. I get so tired of being labeled over and over by ignorant people such as yourself. I wasn't raised with the N-word, and don't use it. I admire Paula for offering her apology, and feel that she was very sincere. As a Christian, (not a racist), I have been taught to forgive, and it is for that reason alone, that I have done so with regards to Paula. So stop with the racist bullshit, which, incidently, has been so ratcheted out of control since obama took office, like everything and anything mentioned, even BBQ has been considered racist. Sick of the whole narrative, and if everyone just went back to God, these ridiculous accusations would stop, and they certainly need to.
~ Sherry Lynn

I am shocked at your decision to let Paula go. Where are her first amendment rights, or are you an Obama follower that believes the Constitution no longer applies to the US. I do not know of one person , black, white, red, etc. that has not used a racial slur at some point in their life. The times may have changed and everyone feels they have to tiptoe around, and heaven forbid not offend anyone but Christian's, but you have gone too far. Everyone I know is backing Paula, and the fact that I may not agree with what she has said or done, I defend her right to the death to say whatever she chooses. You need to undo the harm you have done.
~ Sandy S.

Paula Dean has more class than your network will now EVER have! We can have a poor excuse for a president having an affair with an intern, but still be president. We can have an idiot in the White House whose past nobody knows about, yet WOE unto the person who may or may not have said words YEARS ago that you now deem to be "offensive." You will NEVER be part of our television viewing in my house AGAIN!
. . . I don't care if Obama is black. ( Actually, he isn't, he is a half breed.) I would vote for Herman Cain, Allen West, Condoleezza Rice, and other black people ANY day of the week.
Meanwhile, I wonder what group of Americans decided to call everything racist? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm??? I guess when one they call " their own" gets into the White House, they think they can push the rest of us around. Not happening in MY house! Goodbye, Food Network!
~ Connie C.

Obama is outdated farm equipment
~ Mike D.

I'm CHOPPING FOOD NETWORK FOR MY CHANNEL LISTING...Paula Deen made a few mistakes a long time ago...she is being scapegoated in the effort for Food Network to look PC...All this came out due to her being sued when she TOLD THE TRUTH IN A DEPOSITION...The Attorney General of the United States gets up before congress and lies thru his teeth, the Presidents national Security Advisor James Clapper gets up before Congress and lies thru his teeth...the President of the United States and the Secretary of State go before the citizens of this country and LIE THRU THEIR TEETH about Benghazi and the deaths of 4 patriots and they all get a pass...Paula Deen tells the truth about something she said long ago in a different time in out nations history and SHE is lynched, vilified and called a racist...I will give Food Network until Monday at the close of business to issue a retraction or Food Network will NEVER be turned on in my house EVER AGAIN...I have been watching since day one...
~ Travis B.

Shame on you for letting Paula Deen go!!!!!! She has apologized and owned what she did!!!! I will not be watching any shows, reading blogs, articles oe buying anything with your logo on it!! Bring her BACK and apologize to her!!!
~ Michelle S.

Shame on you for punishing someone when they only referred to the term in describing the way people talked before the 60's. Show this network is more intolerant than the racist of the past. Typical
~ Jerry M.

I will not watch this or anything else!!!
~ Patrick B.

If they fire Paula Deen for her past transgressions, they should fire that home-wrecking slut Trisha Yearwood for hers.
~ Kent H.

WHAT IS HYPOCRITICAL is the cover photo on the FOOD NETWORK PAGE HAS 3 WHITE PEOPLE ON IT! HAHAHAHA...YEAH, THEY ARE ALL ABOUT DIVERSITY
~ George T.

If I were Ms. Paula Deen, I'd have my attorneys file a wrongful termination lawsuit. Until the holier-than-thou Food Network investigates every one of their employees all the way back to the womb and checks to see if Anyone said Anything at Any time about Anyone, Anyplace in their lives and uncovers evidence of such, then Paula Deen was discriminated against. And just a thought for Guy, Giada, Alton and all the rest . . . you'd better be on your toes and have confidentiality agreements with everyone you know or who knows when something unfortunate will be revealed about any of you. Food Network should be mortified at themselves for reacting too quickly in order to be politically correct, and these days it seems as though that's what's at the root of so many of this country's issues.
~ Cheryl N.

Really! Foodnetwork you don't mind making millions while Paula Deen is one of the best shows on your network but let her be a honest and admit something and you throw her under the bus. Shame on you! You should applaud her for being honest and admitting this. And by the way you must all be yankees because here in the south that's the way things used to be and you can't change the past and we have moved on. You had a true southern gem on your network and it will not be the same. I think you REALLY overreacted to this!
~ Kelley C.

How sad :( This beautiful lady re-put Food Network back on the map and because many many moons ago she said N*%%$r........ REALLY.........REALLY......... I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE 2nd AMENDMENT WAS CHANGED AND THAT FREEDOM OF SPEECH WAS TAKEN OUT...........So next time someone calls me a Nazi or Communist I should take the out of my life? So childish.... HEY FOOD NETWORK DID YOU KNOW THAT SOME COUNTRIES THAT WORD IS USED IN DAILY SPEECH? THIS COUNTRY IS SO OUTDATED........
~ Patricia A.

I think Paula has a good heart and never intended any harm to any of her racial slurs...by golly there's more then her that has used slurs in times past and she never did it on tv!! Being from the south I do understand the idea behind the Plantation wedding idea, if anything I thought it would bring honor to those that worked as slaves back then because of their positive roles in our history of America, and they chose to look at the negative aspect of what she was trying to create in the idea..what a pity that people can be so cruel to a great cook that worked for them and did nothing but good on that show..she just taught what home cooking was about and if you didn't like it then change the channel and don't criticize her for it...that was her specialty and they knew it when they hired her in the first place!! We will fight for you Paula!! From one southern girl to another you go girl !!
~ Karen B.

Food Network is proving that: "no matter what you have said in the past, freedom of speech is 1. not tolerated with our network and 2. you have no right to be forgiven.. If we as American citizen, banned and punished every single human being for something they may have said "tongue and cheek" in the past, we would be a lonely country...I FULLY BELIEVE what Mrs. Paula said in years past was wrong, however, I also know when someone in our current times is bold enough to say, "yes, I have said things in the past in regret" and ask's for forgiveness, it should be forgiven as long as they are sincere which I believe she is. If Paula was a racist, I doubt she would say little cute remarks about a hot black male in the audience or a guest as well, kiss an African / American on the cheeck during shows.. Comics use racist jokes everyday in their standup performances, what do we do? WE FREAKING LAUGH at the jokes . GET REAL Food Network, honestly, I do believe you have truly cast a shadow on yourselves with regards of your position in the belief, "people do not deserve or, are not worthy of forgiveness".
~ Bobby B.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013

Jonathan Karl Issues a Non-Apology Apology Over Fake Benghazi Emails

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Previous Related Posts:
Jonathan Karl Gets Juiced by Fake Benghazi Leak
The Benghazi Political Circus

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From CNN:
Jonathan Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, addressed criticism of his reporting on the Benghazi talking points controversy, saying in a statement to CNN that he regrets the inaccuracy of his report.
“Clearly, I regret the email was quoted incorrectly and I regret that it’s become a distraction from the story, which still entirely stands. I should have been clearer about the attribution. We updated our story immediately," he said in the statement to Howard Kurtz, host of CNN's "Reliable Sources."

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Friday, March 1, 2013

Threat Level Midnight ~ Bob Woodward Afraid of Coded Threat from White House

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From New York Mag
Woodard reiterated that he never said he felt threatened, and resisted Sean Hannity's efforts to get him to say that the White House is lying, or accusing him of being a liar. "I'm not going to use words like that," said Woodward.
However, he went on to explain that he still thinks there was something sinister about Sperling's apologetic note. "The problem I have with the Gene Sperling email — and this comes after a shouting match, lot's of people shout at me — he's says I'm going to 'regret.' That goes into the coded, 'you better watch out,'" Woodward said. But to be clear, he still hasn't uttered the word "threat."



From Business Insider: David Axelrod Versus Woodward on Morning Joe
"I know what intimidation is. And Bob, the headline in the Washington Post, your newspaper, was that 'Woodward said he was threatened by the White House,'" Axelrod said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today. "... But when the full emails came out, they were as cordial as can be. His email was cordial, and your response was cordial."

"So if you felt threatened," Axelrod continued, "why didn't you say to Gene, 'Don't threaten me?'"



"No, I did not feel threatened," Woodward responded. "What I have said, David — come on, you are putting words in my mouth. I said I don't think this is the way to operate. And you and I have had many discussions. You've never said to me, 'Oh, you're going to regret doing that.' Am I correct?"

Axelrod said that Sperling and Woodward were having a "specific discussion about a specific point."

"And by the way, I'm not putting words in your mouth, Bob. It's your newspaper that said you said you were threatened," Axelrod said.

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Good evening, I was threatened. Well, not threatened. I felt threatened. I mean, I could have felt threatened. At first I didn't feel threatened, then I did, but I don't know why.
~ Craig2 on Huff Post

-Was he trying to give the GOP cover on the sequestor?
-Was he trying to insert himself into the story?
-Was he trying to create a mini-gate to become more relevant?
-Was he playing partisan whiny politics?
-Was he playing victim?
-Was he trying to give himself cover for claiming the President initiated the sequestor?
The answer is yes.
~ HolyCowBatman on Huff Post

He tweeks his story just a little bit everyday. It seems to have gone from a hostile threat, to a warning and then to coded language. By next week it will have turned into an invitation to play a couple of rounds of golf.
~ nikki717 on Huff Post

Woodward was trying to create some excitement for himself. Most people want to end their career on a high note, looks like he's determined to take the fool's road.
~ Texian Life on Huff Post

Bob is the old Guy who keeps talking about the 3 touchdowns he scored in the High School Homecoming game.
~ LabRodent on Wonkette

I was threatened by a sign I saw today that said "Caution: Wet Floor"
What? Wet with my blood? Why do I have to be cautious? Is that a threat?
Finally somebody had to pull me away from the sign.
~ Iburl on Wonkette

Woodward hit the journalistic version of the Life Call button too many times.
"My career has fallen and it can't get up!"
~ John Birf Society on Wonkette

If you’ve been keeping up with The Perils of Bobline, when we last left Bob Woodward, he was tied up and left on the railroad tracks by the evil Snidely Obama who threatened him that if he didn’t pay the mortgage, he would foreclose on his publishing house and let the train run over him.
In response, Bobline cried out in a high pitch, “Help! Help! Oh please, someone help poor little growing irrelevant me!”
But it was too late, the train of media opinion ran over the melodramatic Bobline and his professional credibility was killed.
~ PlanetPOV.com

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