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'American Sniper' Is Almost Too Dumb to Criticize

Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone
It always looks bad when you criticize a soldier for doing what he's told. It's equally dangerous to be seduced by the pathos and drama of the individual soldier's experience, because most wars are about something much larger than that.

"American Sniper" - Dishonest, Racist Film Spawns Death Threats against Arabs and Muslims

Alex von Tunzelmann; Rania Khalek; Zaid Jilani
The film piles on Bush-era propaganda and sharp-shoots the facts. The message of American Sniper is that Kyle is the real victim of the war. The Iraqis he shot deserved it, because - as it has established to its own satisfaction - they were savages. As for non-savage Iraqis who may have reasonable grounds to complain about what happened to their country following the invasion, they must be in some other movie.

Tidbits - January 22, 2015 - Iran War Demand; Martin Luther King; Social Security & Disability cuts, more...

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Reader Comments- Jobs and Higher Wages; Boehner, Netanyahu, Israel, Iran; Martin Luter King - radical anti-capitalist; Charlie Hebdo - racism, nationalism, free speech; Broken Criminal Justice system; Social Security, Disability; Erosion of Collective Bargaining = Income Inequality; Podemos; Solidarity Forever; Selma; Guantanamo protest; Roe v. Wade Anniversary; Announcements- Forums- Ending the Embargo of Cuba; After The Greek Elections; March Delegation to Venezuela

Tidbits - January 8, 2015 - Selma, Police, Palestine, Climate, Sports and more...

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Reader Comments - Selma; Civil Rights Tour led by Julian Bond; Ferguson Grand Jury; Police, NYPD, PBA, de Blasio; Women telling their Story; Wealth and Inequality; Sports - A Radical Proposal; BDS, Israel, Palestine, Solidarity; Sony; The Interview; Privatization and Hucksterism; Climate Change, Marx and Nature; Healthcare; Superbugs; the Ukraine; Announcements - The American Labor Movement At A Crossroads; Elections in Greece: Can Syriza Break with Austerity?

Friday Nite Videos -- January 2, 2015

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Michael Franti - Same As It Ever Was. Neil deGrasse Tyson on 'Interstellar.' Top 10 Surprising People Who Advocated Socialism. Movie: The Imitation Game. What's Really Weird About Placebos.

Neil deGrasse Tyson on 'Interstellar'

How realistic is the space epic flick Interstellar? Neil deGrasse Tyson talks to (cognitive dissonance alert!) Fox News about the realism (and the "stretchers") of "Interstellar."

Sony; The Interview; Racism; Hollywood, Media Regurgitate Government Claims

Robin Andersen; Ezrah Aharonel Glenn Greenwald
Sony and the hackers captured the year-end news cycle for over a month, unveiling a treasure trove of emails exposing stark flashes of the hidden underbelly of Hollywood. Certain "racist" emails of Sony executive Amy Pascal were made public. The hackers are unknown, yet the media was initially more than ready to accept the initial government claims.

Tidbits - January 1, 2015 - New Year's edition

Portside
Reader Comments- Selma - the movie; Labor, Racism, PBA's Patrick Lynch, Police Police Unions; Sports, Athletes, Equality and Anti-Racism; the 1914 Christmas Truce; It's a Wonderful Life, Comrade; Prosecute those responsible for Torture; Okinawa rejects "Pivot to Asia"; Fighting Anti-Semitism and Jim Crow; Announcements- Invisible Lives, Targeted Bodies - Impacts of Economic Injustice on Vulnerable LGBTQ Communities; Symposium: Dynamics of Possible Nuclear Extinction

It's a Wonderful Life, Comrade - Hollywood Movie Investigated by FBI, with Help from Ayn Rand

Michael Winship Bill Moyers and Company
Ayn Rand helped the FBI investigate whether `It's a Wonderful Life' was commie propaganda. When the movie first came out, it fell under suspicion from the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) as Communist propaganda, part of the Red Scare that soon would lead to the blacklist and witch hunt that destroyed the careers of many talented screen and television writers, directors and actors.
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