Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 971

'Homeland' Teaser: Carrie Uses Crazy Eyes to Prove Brody's Innocence

While the previous two Homeland season three trailers left us with more questions than answers, this latest teaser actually helps us discern what the plot might be. The teaser treats us to actual dialogue from the three main characters. We see Brody's confession tape from the first season, Carrie testifying that she believes Brody is innocent in that whole CIA car bomb thing, and Saul saying he won't "throw Carrie under the bus" but then testifying that she's unstable.

Basically, it seems season three — excluding whatever the Brody family is doing (eating more huevos rancheros?) — will focus a lot on the relationship between Carrie and Saul. He loves her, but ultimately knows she's a total loose cannon.  (Perhaps that betrayal accounts for the "I am so sorry" in the previous trailer.) Or something like that. 

One thing is for sure. There will be more Brody and more crazy eyes from Carrie. Carrie's crazy eyes nearly match her beautiful quivering jaw. 

       

Your Italian Sub Has Over 100 Ingredients

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cellphone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why, every day, The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:

So, how many ingredients go into an Italian sub? No more than five, right? Maybe like ten if you count the vinegar and oil? Uh, try 114:

Sadly, we got word that Rebekah, the Internet-famous hillbilly raccoon, was seized by the state of Tennessee. In case you forgot, here is how Rebekah got famous:

Here is proof that Mother Nature is a strange mistress: a decapitated snake biting itself after being decapitated. Not for the squeamish. And, yes, there are all sorts of animal rights questions about the filmmaker: 

College mascots are weird y'all: 

And, finally, dogs! Knock yourself out:

       

Speaking at His Sentencing, Bradley Manning Apologizes for 'Hurting' the U.S.

Bradley Manning spoke during the sentencing portion of his court martial on Wednesday afternoon, reportedly apologizing for hurting the United States and for not addressing his concerns about the military's activity from "inside the system." The brief statement was part of his defense team's effort to minimize as much as possible the 90 years in prison to which the military judge could sentence the Army private. It also may have been some of the last public words of the man who was, until recently, responsible for the most significant leak of classified information in American history — words that will quickly be used as a filter to assess the behavior of Edward Snowden.

As always, cameras weren't allowed in the courtroom at Maryland's Fort Meade, site of the Manning trial and, coincidentally, the National Security Agency. Several journalists who were in attendance provided an overview of Manning's remarks. The Guardian describes the scene:

Looking nervous, he turned to [military judge] Colonel Denise Lind, and said: "First, your honour, I wart to start off with an apology. I am sorry that my actions hurt people; I am sorry that they hurt the United States."

He added: "I am sorry for unintended consequence of my actions. When I made these decisions, I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people."

Courthouse News Service continues:

"I should have worked more aggressively inside the system," Manning said. "I had options, and I should have used these options."

RT.com notes a powerful statement.

MANNING: "How on Earth could I, a junior analyst, possibly believe I could change the world for the better over those w/ proper authority?"

— RT America (@RT_America) August 14, 2013

(Update: Journalist Alexa O'Brien transcribed the entire statement.)

It's important to remember that Manning's statement was not intended to present the case for his innocence, in contrast to his lengthy remarks in February. Instead, it was meant to convince Lind to be lenient in the sentence she applied. Certainly, his choice to suggest that he behaved inappropriately be going outside the chain of command was designed to elicit that response.

In light of the recent debate over the leaks of classified information about the NSA's surveillance system, it's hard not to consider the regret implicit in Manning's statement. Many have criticized Snowden's decision to flee the United States and avoid punishment as suggesting that he cannot therefore be considered a whistleblower. In the Washington Post, Ruth Marcus made the case succinctly: "Snowden simply chose to bypass the system — risking national security, in the assessment of intelligence officials — without trying alternatives such as using the whistleblower statute or going to Congress." Snowden did so in part because he was aware of the treatment of Manning, including extended periods in solitary confinement.

By suggesting, even in self-service, that he could or should have availed himself of internal mechanisms for ameliorating what he saw as the problem, Manning gives ammunition to those who disagree with what Snowden did. In reality, the idea is impossible: Manning's stated goal was to bring attention to the futility of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. No internal chain-of-command process would have allowed Manning to have that effect.

It is impossible to fault Manning for speaking in his own defense, to say what he (and presumably his lawyers) thought would be the most effective way of trimming those 90 years in prison down to, say, 40. It is impossible even to fault Manning for having a legitimate change of heart on what he did and how he did it. As always, the overlap between the cases of Snowden and Manning are imprecise and prone to overinterpretation. But rest assured: Manning's statement will come up again in the context of Edward Snowden.

       

Obama's Targeted Killings Are Giving the Drone Industry a Bad Name

"Whatever you write, please don't call it a drone," Steen Mogensen says, gently touching the tail of a 19-foot orange-and-white helicopter. Mogensen, the CEO of Scion UAS, didn't mean to say that this vehicle can't fly without a pilot—of course it can. This is the unmanned-vehicles convention in Washington. It's the terminology he takes issue with.

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"It just strikes fear into a lot of people," says Mogensen, who with his soft Danish accent and slight potbelly is himself decidedly not scary. Even when talking about the more controversial aspects of unmanned aircraft, he manages to take the edge off with a touch of folksiness: "If you fear they will fly overhead and take a picture of your wife in a swimming pool, just remember that your neighbor can put his iPhone on a stick and do the same thing." (Of course, an iPhone can't hover hundreds of feet in the air for hours on end and be controlled from a remote location.)

Other than the fact that this craft—nicknamed "The Jackal"—can be operated from the ground, it has very little in common with the Predator drones delivering the Hellfire missiles made famous by the evening news and Homeland. Americans are well familiar with the fact that weaponized drones have been used to kill Qaida operatives (and civilians as well) throughout Pakistan and other areas, and that the government has the ability to target an insurgent's cell phone. But, with a seat in the cockpit and the ability to carry more than 200 pounds, The Jackal is designed more to save lives than it is to take them.

"The perfect example would be the Arizona fire that killed 19 firefighters," he said. "If it were allowed, it could have potentially been used to fly in and pick up people one at a time, without risking the life of a helicopter pilot. Unfortunately, the FAA doesn't allow it. It would have been criminal just to try."

The Washington Convention Center this week is filled with hundreds of companies somehow involved with unmanned vehicles. They have intimidating names such as Falcon UAV, Battlespace Flight Services, Robotex, and … North Dakota. Their booths are adorned with wartime images and videos of black-and-white surveillance footage. It's big business for the military. But for it to be big business in the private sector, there's going to need to be a softer sell.

These days, the public opinion of drones is so bad among some people that a small town in Colorado may soon allow them to be hunted down. This month, Deer Trail, a town of about 500 people, will be voting on a proposed ordinance to sell drone-hunting licenses. For $25, citizens will be able to shoot down unmanned vehicles that resemble a federal drone. Success will yield them not only a dead drone to mount but also a $100 prize, and the chance to possibly be prosecuted by the feds.

Chris Miser of Falcon UAV took one of his small unmanned vehicles to Deer Trail earlier this month to demonstrate that they aren't all bad.

"Part of it was just to show them they can't stop me," he said. "But part of it was to show them how beneficial unmanned aircraft can be for them." Sure, drones can be used for spying, but they can also be used for cattle counts or accurately mapping acreage lost to a storm so farmers can get paid their insurance, he said.

In this sense, hating on drones is kind of silly: Do Americans have the same disgust for airplanes just because a few of them are used for dropping bombs? Do they hate computers just because some of them are used for conducting cyberwarfare?

In reality, Americans seem to be pretty OK with drones. A poll conducted by Pew in March found that 65 percent of the country supported drone strikes of non-U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism. That number certainly skyrockets when the drones are used in search-and-rescue missions, to check out the damage of natural disasters, or to, say, deliver pizzas.

William Harvey, CEO of the vaguely named Brandebury Tool Co., says he has been working on drones for 30 years and is used to dealing with misconceptions.

"The world is not based on fact; it's based on belief," he says, standing in front of one of his models, a wooden craft with the words "Tiger Shark" painted on it that looks almost exactly like a soapbox-derby entry. His belief: Unmanned aircraft is the harbinger of great changes in the near future.

"The reason we aren't zipping around in flying saucers like the Jetsons is because no one knows how to operate a flying machine," he said. "That will change. Give it five to 10 years."

And yet, it's hard for these drones not to just seem kind of nefarious. Located near the center of the convention hall, not far from a netted off area replete with a flying drone obstacle course, is the Dreamhammer booth. With its chic white walls and tall beautiful women dressed in black, it has the look of an evil Apple store.

Nelson Paez, the CEO of the company, fits the dress code perfectly. He towers over everyone else, his hair gelled, his goatee groomed, and his black pants tight. His company makes operating software for drones, and his main client is the government. I ask if he ever loses sleep at night when he hears of drone strikes.

"We're just the operating system, we have no control of that," he said. "Think about it like Windows. You can use that to look at a porn site or a national security site. It's not up to Windows how it's used."

    

'McCanick' Trailer Shows Cory Monteith in Gritty Final Role

The Cory Monteith in the McCanick trailer doesn't look like the Cory Monteith that became famous singing Journey on Glee. Monteith, in one of his last roles, plays a young criminal and addict. It's a role weighed down by the knowledge that Monteith died last month of a mixture of heroin and alcohol. 

The role, the film's director Josh C. Waller told Entertainment Weekly, was "an opportunity for catharsis." Monteith dealt with substance abuse problems for much of his life.

The trailer, however, makes Monteith's character, the object of fascination for David Morse's titular detective character, seem more mysterious than explicit. In fact, Monteith barely speaks in the trailer, and is mostly seen grimy and on the run.

McCanick is one of two Monteith films that will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. In the other film, All the Wrong Reasons, he plays a department store manager.  

       

After NYC Mayoral Debate, Reporters Ask Weiner About Hillary Clinton

In case you needed further evidence that the most newsworthy headlines the Weiner campaign can generate at this point are about Hillary Clinton's possible presidential run, a bunch of reporters asked the mayoral candidate about Clinton just after he finished a televised debate for the election he's actually in. Those questions were a follow-up to Weiner's comments last night when Buzzfeed's Ben Smith asked Weiner if he knew what role his wife Huma Abedin would play in the 2016 campaign of the former Secretary of State. Weiner replied “I do," adding, "I’m not telling you.” That seemed to break a big rule of talking about the Clinton campaign: it's not even officially happening yet.

Via Capital New York, here's the exchange:

Reporter: Do you know if she's running or not?

Weiner: I have no insights into 2016. I'm struggling right here with 2013.

Reporter: But it seems you keep stepping in it with the Clintons.

Weiner: Put that in the form of a question. We're at 'Jeopardy.' We're on the set of 'Jeopardy.' Put that in the form of a question.

Reporter: Do you regret what you've done for the Clinton campaign? For Hillary Clinton?

Weiner: Look, I, I, you can report on whatever you want about this debate. You can and if you want to make it about the Clinton campaign, I was asked a question about the plan of my wife and I made a light-hearted answer that everyone in the room laughed at, apparently except you. For that, I apologize. I'll try to make the jokes more obvious.

Reporter: But the Clinton campaign wasn't laughing at it either.

Weiner: Do you have a question [inaudible]? Is there a question. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the Clinton camp gave some terse remarks in response to what was apparently a joke from Weiner about his wife's role in the (possible!) Clinton campaign: “We have absolutely no clue what he was talking about.” According to Politico, Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill added, “Maybe his campaign does. Doubt it though.” Weiner's comments landed during last night's Buzzfeed Brews interview, which generated a listicle worth of articles for the publication (Weiner, for instance, dropped an F-bomb and insinuated that Buzzfeed is full of cat pictures). The candidate, after a stint as the frontrunner, is now in fourth place in the mayoral race. Abedin, meanwhile, is on extended vacation from her job with Clinton's transition office, presumably to support her husband's campaign. 

The actual mayoral debate on Tuesday, now with Bill de Blasio as a frontrunner in the race, did not focus on Weiner's current sex scandal, which seems to be more a symptom of his diminishing support rather than a boon for the candidate. When prompted, the other candidates even refrained from taking the bait and using a question on whether Weiner should step out to attack the candidate further: Bill Thompson, for instance, said “This campaign should be about the future of the city of New York. I don’t want to talk about Anthony, and that’s not why I’m here tonight.” City Comptroller John Liu added, “Please don’t ask me any more questions about him.” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, meanwhile, took a few jabs at Weiner's legislative record, prompting the former congressman to go on the offensive against Quinn's role in getting Bloomberg a third mayoral term: "I've owned up to my personal failings," Weiner said, "but I have a record that I'm proud of...and that's not something the speaker can claim."

       

Of Course Cory Booker Won the New Jersey Senate Primary

Newark Mayor Cory Booker won the New Jersey primary elections to become the Democratic nominee for the Senate on Tuesday, meaning that Cory Booker is now the huge favorite to become the next senator for the state. The special elections will fill the seat left vacant by the late Senator Frank Lautenberg for the rest of his term. Booker will now face conservative GOP candidate Steve Lonegan (the winner of today's Republican primary), who is now the underdog in the final elections for the seat — New Jersey has 700,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, for one thing. Plus, the state overwhelmingly elects Democrats to the Senate. The mayor is obviously tweeting a whole bunch about his victory: 

Honored to receive Dem nomination for #NJSen today. This is our victory - thank you. Please continue to run with me https://t.co/0lIwv7LWBb

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) August 14, 2013

Thanks 2 all who worked/canvassed/called & spread the word 4 our campaign. "If u want to go fast go alone, if u want to go far, go together"

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) August 14, 2013

The AP called the Democratic race for Booker just 45 minutes after the polls closed (due probably in part to low turnout — come on, it's the middle of August, and it was raining today). They gave him just over 56 percent of the Democratic vote by their count. He beat out Democrats Rep. Frank Pallone and Rep. Rush Holt for the nomination, despite the Lautenberg family's endorsement of Pallone over Booker.  

Even though Booker has the Oprah endorsement, not all is well in his world right now. Just before the primaries, the mayor came under increasing scrutiny for his role in the troubled Waywire videosharing startup. And then, as the Atlantic Wire explained earlier today, liberals began to turn, hard, on the usually media-friendly candidate. But realistically, neither of those things have factored into his candidacy as a real risk to his success at this point. 

       

The New York Times's Next 'Snowfall' Is About Horse Racing

'Snow Fall,' the multimedia extravaganza of a longform article that went viral for the New York Times last December, has a sequel of sorts in 'The Jockey,' a 10,000-word profile of jockey Russell Baze that hopes to parlay the inherent tension of 'Snowfall's' disaster narrative with the suspense of racing horses. 

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While the Times has, since 'Snow Fall,' taken longer projects and given them a multimedia treatment, 'The Jockey' about eight months later, looks like an intentional match in effort and ambition to the earlier project. And that gap makes sense: stories take months to complete, both as a work of journalism and as a multimedia package. While 'Snow Fall' might be popular, beautiful, and something of a fantasy for those thinking about the future of journalism, they're rarified by the process that creates them. 

Here's how the written piece begins: 

Russell Baze, the ironman of thoroughbred racing — Lou Gehrig on a saddle — was about to ride in his 50,000th start, an astonishing milestone that by happenstance put him aboard an undistinguished filly. The horse, Finish Rich in Nyc, had not won in nearly a year. “She’s not the one I would have picked for the occasion,” the jockey remarked dryly.

At 55, Baze is near the outside edge of even a durable rider’s working life span. People credit this longevity to his avoidance of serious injury, which may seem an odd thing to say of a man who has broken his cervical spine, pelvis, tailbone and collarbone and suffered multiple compression fractures in his back and neck. 

Like 'Snow Fall,' the story incorporates the act of scrolling into the multimedia content itself. 'The Jockey,' however, relies a bit more on full-screen video, with fewer moving sidebars or sprawling animations visible simultaneously as the text. In the newest piece, paragraphs freeze in space as the screen darkens to launch a video on Baze, which include super slo-mo shots of horses in motion that would please any Edward Muybridge fan, interviews with the 55-year-old Baze, a visual breakdown of the physical  toll Baze's career choice has taken on his body, and a jockey-view camera. 

Despite the subject and style differences, the comparisons to 'Snow Fall' were instant: 

NYT's 'Snowfall 2: This Time With Horses' The Jockey | http://t.co/TyxHpN2vEn

— Ted Alvarez (@Tedster) August 14, 2013

"The Jockey." Another interactive extravaganza from @nytimes akin to "Snow Fall" http://t.co/0lgK4ONgVS h/t @brianstelter

— Andrew Wallenstein (@awallenstein) August 14, 2013

Please tell me your Horsefall joke. http://t.co/DjwhXpqvw7

— Jacob Harris (@harrisj) August 13, 2013

And while one might be inclined to react with skepticism to the Snowfall-Jockey association — they are, after all, just two multimedia-heavy longform pieces of journalism that happen to come from the same shop — the Times itself is drawing that comparison, and apparently applied some lessons from one directly to the other: how to sell ad space. Back in December, the Atlantic Wire noted how few ads there were in 'Snow Fall,' which relied on a completely different setup from the paper's normal site. That's changed: look in the upper right-hand corner of 'The Jockey.' See it? The whole thing is sponsored by BMW. Scroll through, and the ads are all over the place, built into the layout. The Times even told AdAge about their new strategy, which included matching up BMW with the story thematically:

[executive director of the Times Idea Lab Tracy Quitasol] said the Times approached several companies about advertising in "The Jockey." BMW signed on and was kept in the dark about certain elements of the story: The company didn't initially know when it would be published, what it would look like, or even exactly how the ads would render...The marketer did know the story's subject, which was one of the reasons it decided to buy the ads, according Tom Penich, media communications manager, BMW North America. Horse racing ties into an overall performance theme that BMW is trying to capture, Mr. Penich said. 

While it looks like the paper may have the ad issue sorted, the jury's still out on whether the piece will catch on like 'Snow Fall' did. In any case, the whole piece is worth a read — and a watch. Do that here. 

       

Aaron Paul of 'Breaking Bad' Swears a lot in His Reddit AMA

Aaron Paul, a.k.a Jesse Pinkman from 'Breaking Bad,' did a Reddit AMA on Tuesday night where, among other things, some fans were able to fulfill their greatest dreams by having Aaron Paul call them a "bitch."

I'm on Reddit Bitch!! Come talk to me. http://t.co/twLbAxlyub.

— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) August 13, 2013

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And in case it wasn't clear before, Paul made it obvious that he's a huge fan of 'Breaking Bad,' too. Here are some of the best exchanges from the AMA. 

First, here's Paul's answer to a Reddit user who (a former meth user himself) wanted to know about the actor's preparation for the role: 

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Paul talked about his favorite scenes from the show: 

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And the most emotionally difficult: 

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And that time he got injured during the scene where Tuco beat him up (turns out, the actor actually beat him up, by accident): 

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About his co-star Bryan Cranston: 

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And about whether he thinks he'll be able to escape the character of Jesse Pinkman: 

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And about almost getting kicked out of a Radiohead concert: 

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He's pretty sure we'll all be happy with the way the show ends: 

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He went back and edited an answer to highlight his crush on Jessica Lange: 

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Paul even talked about his (pretty amazing) appearance on the Price is Right: 

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Here's the context: 

Read the whole thing over at Reddit. 

       

Columbine's Principal Kept His Promise to the Kindergarten Class of '99

Columbine High School principal Frank DeAngelis is retiring, but not before fulfilling a pledge he made in the aftermath of the April 1999 massacre that thrust his school into the national spotlight: he vowed to remain at his post until kindergarteners at the time of the tragedy completed high school.

That took place in 2011.

That means DeAngelis not only led the community through a nationally televised tragedy—he watched the entire Columbine generation reach adulthood. A decade and a half later, the term "Columbine" is nationally recognized as synonymous with tragedy and alienation, but a slew of other locations of mass shootings have joined it since. Those in kindergarten at the time of the shooting are now in college; those who graduated with the class of 1999 (as perpetrators Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold would have) are in their early 30s. In the meantime, some of the survivors and victim families have turned to activism or motivational speaking programs.

Though he led the school for 18 years, DeAngelis is likely to be remembered for his actions during and in the aftermath of the shooting. He was in his office when Harris and Klebold opened fire. When he ventured in the hallway, he encountered Harris shooting out windows. He sprung into action, as the Associated Press notes:

He shepherded a group of about 20 students to safety that day, and he survived with no physical injuries. However, he has said the shootings left him with severe anxiety attacks that felt like heart attacks. He said the attack contributed to the end of his marriage of 17 years because he didn’t want to talk about what he was going through.

Here's DeAngelis's retirement letter, via FOX 31 anchor Jeremy Hubbard.

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