Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 189

The Animated Chomsky

Famed director Michel Gondry has just sold rights to Sundance for his unexpected animated doc on...Noam Chomsky.  Teaser here:

Banksy at Hustler Club

Latest from the artist in his epic NYC tour, outside the Hustler Club in Hell's Kitchen.  Love this one.  Well-dressed sad man with flowers, red petals on ground.

BBC Branded

You may have seen snippets of this, but here's full epic Russell Brand interview by Paxman on BBC. 

Unlikely Album of the Year

Billie Joe of Green Day teams up with...Norah Jones...in remake of a 1958 album by....The Everly Brothers.   Not even a greatest hits tribute.  Billy Joe's idea.  Everlys were great, true.   Here's background and preview of one cut (not their best).  And Don and Phil:

Stars Call for End to NSA Snooping

New video ad stars everyone from my friend Dan Ellsberg to Oliver Stone, John Cusack, Lawrence Lessig and three whistleblowers.

Another Teacher Slain

Update:  Student IDed--he is 14.   The usual:  "soft-spoken," nice.  Will be charged as adult.

Earlier:  So we had the middle school teacher gunned down by kid, age 12, in Nevada and now, in Mass., a young math teacher slain and body just found in the woods near school, with a student in custody.  Her Twitter feed here and excitement about what she teaches.  "Find something good in every day."  And:  "Go Sox!"

The body of the teacher, identified as Colleen Ritzer, 24, was found just after midnight in the woods near Danvers High School, about a half-hour outside Boston. Blood was found in a second-floor bathroom at the school, authorities said. Authorities said their murder investigation was connected to their search for a missing 14-year-old boy the day before, but they did not explicitly say that he was the juvenile charged in the killing.

They said the 14-year-old charged with murder would be arraigned later Wednesday. They did not discuss a motive, nor how the teacher was killed.

Still Waiting for THIS Correction

A lot of attention this morning to a hysterical Wash Post correction, called by some "the best ever," in which they admit that a guy's build should not have been described as "heavy set" but instead "muscular."  Love to have tape of his call when he complained.  And now comes word that the print and online versions of the correction are different.  My view:  Come on folks, Wash Post's "best correction ever" would be:  "We blew coverage of the run-up to Iraq invasion, and our editorials and columnists were awful and wrong, and hundreds of thousands died."

Pro Publica Questions Claims of NSA Spying Stopping Terror Attacks

Important piece just posted by ProPublica on those claims by President Obama and others that various forms of NSA spying have "thwarted" over 50 terror attacks--the exact number is usually given as 54--a number I've questioned (without clear evidence) for a long time.  Now ProPublica writers say,   "there's no evidence that the oft-cited figure is accurate.  The NSA itself has been inconsistent on how many plots it has helped prevent and what role the surveillance programs played. The agency has often made hedged statements that avoid any sweeping assertions about attacks thwarted....Asked for clarification of the surveillance programs' record, the NSA declined to comment."

Famed Tweeter Outed as White House Official

You may have heard of the mysterious snarky @NatSecWonk.  Tonight

Jofi Joseph, a director in the non-proliferation section of the National Security Staff at the White House, has been surreptitiously tweeting under the moniker @natsecwonk, a Twitter feed famous inside Washington policy circles since it began in February, 2011 until it was shut down last week. Two administration officials confirmed that the mystery tweeter was Joseph, who has also worked at the State Department and on Capitol Hill for Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Joe Biden. Until recently, he was part of the administration's team working on negotiations with Iran.

During his time tweeting under the @natsecwonk name, Joseph openly criticized the policies of his White House bosses and often insulted their intellect and appearance. At different times, he insulted or criticized several top White House and State Department officials, including former National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, Secretary of State John Kerry, and many many others.

On the other hand, he also called Jennifer Rubin and Sarah Palin nuts.  So there's that.

Sarah...Smile

If you're a fan--NBC let Sarah Silverman today post for all to see her failed pilot for a series, in its 23-minute entirety.  Below.