RUSSIANS USE CLUSTER BOMBS TOO

Dani Sevilla of the Survivor Corps writes:

Hi there, Danny

If you haven’t heard, Russia has been dropping cluster bombs on innocent civilians in the Georgian republic which has killed and wounded many innocent people. Many countries have already banned the use of this wide area, non-surgical weapon. Survivor Corps is one of the lead organizations in the movement to ban cluster bombs and to assist survivors of this terrible weapon. I’ve put together this social media news release which explains everything.

http://banclusterbombs.smnr.us

I would be grateful if you could blog about this very important subject, it would help many people. Please let me know if you are able to help and send me the link to your post. Thanks so much.

DON’T LET THE FACTS GET IN THE WAY? THE CASE OF BOB CASEY!

Rory O’ Connor sent this to me

Minutes after Begala debunked the falsehood, CNN caption claimed Casey “was
denied a speaking role … because he opposed abortion rights”

Summary: During CNN’s Democratic National Convention coverage, Paul
Begala debunked the claim that Bob Casey Sr. was not allowed to speak at the
1992 Democratic convention because of his opposition to abortion rights.
Less than 15 minutes later, CNN displayed the false on-screen caption:

“FACT: Casey’s father was denied a speaking role at the 1992 Democratic
convention because he opposed abortion rights.” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews also
repeated the false claim.

Less than 15 minutes after CNN political analyst Paul Begala debunked the
oft-repeated falsehood that late Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey Sr. was denied
a speaking role at the 1992 Democratic National Convention because he
opposed abortion rights, CNN displayed the false on-screen text:

“FACT: Casey’s father was denied a speaking role at the 1992 Democratic convention
because he opposed abortion rights.”

Prior to the convention speech of Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA), CNN host
Anderson Cooper asserted that Casey’s father “was not allowed to speak here”
because of his opposition to abortion rights. Begala replied, “[T]hat’s a
bit of a myth.” Begala went on to say that Casey Sr. “was a client of mine”
and asserted: “He refused to endorse Bill Clinton and he wanted to give an
entire speech about abortion, and nobody wants a 30-minute speech about
abortion at a Democratic convention.” In response, CNN host Wolf Blitzer
said: “That myth has survived all of these years, Paul. Thanks for clarif –
clearing that up.”

Notwithstanding Blitzer’s acknowledgement of the inaccuracy of the claim,
approximately 12 minutes later, during Casey’s speech, CNN displayed the
false on-screen text:

Casey

In addition, during MSNBC’s August 26 coverage of the Democratic National
Convention, anchor Chris Matthews said of Sen. Casey: “Sixteen years ago,
this young guy’s father, the governor of Pennsylvania and his namesake, was
refused the right to speak on the floor of the Democratic Convention in New
York because he took a pro-life or anti-abortion rights position.”

As Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented, other Democrats who
opposed abortion rights spoke at that convention and at every convention
since, so Casey’s opposition to abortion rights could not have been the sole
reason he was not given a speaking role.

From CNN’s August 26 coverage of the Democratic National Convention:

BEGALA: Can I say he’s a — I worked for Bob’s father and I worked for
Bob. So, he’s a former client of mine and he showed me the speech. And what
he wants to do are two things: I think Hilary’s [Rosen] right. He wants to
make the blue-collar economic case. Casey voters are overwhelmingly exactly
the people Barack needs — blue-collar, working class voters in that state
of Pennsylvania. He’s also going to touch on the biggest issue on which he
disagrees with Senator Obama –

COOPER: Which is abortion.

BEGALA: — which is abortion. And he will see this as — and he does see
it — his invitation to speak here. Barack’s reaching out to Senator Casey
and to his voters as an example of Senator Obama’s ability to find common
ground.

COOPER: His father was not allowed to speak here for that very same
reason in 19 –

BEGALA: That’s not — that’s bit of a myth.

COOPER: It’s a bit of a myth?

BEGALA: He was a client of mine, too, and I loved him. There were two
things: He refused to endorse Bill Clinton and he wanted to give an entire
speech about abortion, and nobody wants a 30-minute speech about abortion at
a Democratic convention. So it was actually a little more sophisticated than
the myth.

COOPER: We’re going to take a short break, Wolf, but that speech
obviously going to be very important.

BLITZER: That myth has survived all of these years, Paul. Thanks for
clarif — clearing that up.

From MSNBC’s August 26 coverage of the Democratic National Convention:

MATTHEWS: We’re watching on the floor right now the beginning of short
remarks by Senator Robert Casey, the new senator from Pennsylvania. Sixteen
years ago, this young guy’s father, the governor of Pennsylvania and his
namesake, was refused the right to speak on the floor of the Democratic
Convention in New York because he took a pro-life or anti-abortion rights
position.

The son we’re watching right now was elected in 2006 on the same
position, also anti-abortion rights. And the Democratic Party, what it’s
trying to do here is build a coalition, largely of pro-choice people, but
with some — a few — pro-lifers, in order to win 60 seats in the U.S.
Senate. You’re watching here the construction of a very political campaign
to win control of this government. He is an example of that. The
organization worked by Chuck Schumer. So we’re going to go to the speech
right now.

APPLE RUMORS

Rumor: Apple telling retailers not to order more inventory

Certain retailers in the Apple ecosystem are getting the “wink-wink, nod-nod, hint-hint” from Apple not to place orders on Mac minis, MacBook Pros, iPods, and Cinema Displays, according to MacRumors. This is leading the site (and us) to believe that the rumored September 9th event could in fact bring more then just iPod updates. MacRumors is short on details, though, and there’s no word on what retailers have received this information or by what means the retailers received the subtle hint.

This rumor comes a little less than one month after word circulated that Apple had told resellers to stock up on iPods and portables. While Apple does have a host of products due for updates, though, and we’re unsure as to whether Apple would upgrade so many on the same date. Alternatively, the company could string out releases into several events and receive even more publicity.

At this point, it seems the smart money might be on updated iPods with a emphasis on moving away from the traditional scroll wheel form factor. As Charles Jade discussed yesterday, the inclusion of Mac portable updates also seems more and more likely due to an August Centrino 2 delay.

Once Apple confirms the 9th as the special event date, it will only be a matter of time before we find out just how big the event will be.

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