Publicist for Michaele and Tareq Salahi says Couple Isn't Speaking to Media

The Carolina Panthers got off to a poor start in yesterday's game against the New York Jets. Midway through the first quarter, Jake Delhomme fired a pass towards receiver Steve Smith, but the throw took an unexpected -- and unlucky -- bounce off Smith's foot and into the hands of Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who ran it back for a touchdown. It was far from Delhomme's only interception of the day -- he threw four in total -- but it put the Jets up for good. The Panthers lost, 17-6.

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Just watched this video clip of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani discussing the impending trial of high level al Qaeda operatives, including 9/11 master planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in New York City.

Giuliani, who in his capacity as a former U.S. attorney prosecuted numerous terrorists, thinks the Obama administration's plan to bring KSM and others to New York City for civilian trials is a bad one. He points out that these notorious war criminals will, if tried in U.S. courts, be granted the rights of civilians, which is inappropriate given that they have declared and committed acts of war.

To Giuliani's analysis I would add/emphasize that not only will KSM & Company be granted the rights of civilians, but of civilian U.S. citizens, who are the people our laws and courts are designed to protect. So this decision seems doubly wrong-headed; not only are these dangerous men not civilians, they are not U.S. citizens.

Giuliani points out that the cases could be thrown out by a judge who, say, deems that some of the evidence of these men's crimes was gathered in a way that "shocks the conscience." That is because, as Giuliani explains, the entire U.S. criminal justice system is designed, first and foremost, to protect the rights of innocent U.S. citizens. "Our system is geared towards letting the guilty go free if there is any doubt. It's a very different situation when you are at war."

Giuliani believes the Obama Justice Department's move reflects a concern about offending people in the Islamic world over concern for the safety of U.S. citizens. He also eloquently explains that it is not treating terrorists as such that is likely to offend law-abiding members of the Muslim world, but the condescending assumption that peaceful Muslims can't differentiate between our handling, as a nation, of terrorist masterminds and our handling of Muslim-American citizens, or our perceptions of Islam. I'm inclined to agree, and would also argue that this decision more reflects concern over others' opinions than true concern for civil liberties. For one thing, the small number of individuals who are now being held at the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are treated humanely, something no greater a critic of the Bush Administration than filmmaker Michael Moore (of all people) highlighted in his movie "Sicko," which asserted the excellent health care (superior, according to Moore, to that available to many U.S. citizens) available to the inmates there.

More significantly, bringing these men to trial in New York will increase safety risk to U.S. citizens - especially if they are released. And as Giuliani pointed out, U.S. defense attorneys will be under legal and ethical obligation to make strenuous arguments in favor of their release. That is the way our civilian justice system is designed to operate. Despite Eric Holder's recent statement to the effect that a high-level terrorist like KSM would not be released, if defense attorneys failed to muster all the arguments and evidence they could (including exploiting sophisticated legal arguments and loopholes) to argue for these men's release, or if a judge refused to allow for the possibility of acquittal, the trial would not be legitimate. To put it simply, in bringing these men to civilian trial the Obama Administration is allowing for the possibility that they may be released at some point, unless the trials are kangaroo trials and our system made a mockery.

Safety does not always automatically trump concerns over civil liberties. In times of war, a balance must be achieved. Incarcerating whole populations in order to theoretically protect Americans against attacks that might--or might not--materialize, as happened to Japanese-Americans during World War Two, was a gross violation of the civil liberties of American citizens. The theoretical possibility of threat from Japanese-Americans (a threat that, as far as I am aware, did not materialize) was given huge weight over the rights of these Americans, who unlike their ethnic brethren overseas were simply not at war with us. Thus despite a lack of evidence, whole populations of Japanese-Americans were lumped in with foreign enemy combatants in our assessment of their mindset. Although it may have been motivated by desire to protect Americans, the policy punished innocent Japanese-Americans and, insofar as it reflected fear, not logic, failed to accomplish anything in the realm of national security.

On the other hand, it could certainly be argued that, with mistakes like the incarceration of innocent Japanese-Americans fresh in our memories, we are fighting the last war and have swung to the other extreme. Endangering innocent Americans in order to bend over backwards to grant "civil liberties" to a small number of foreign enemy combatants (whose own nations and codes of ethics recognize no such concept) is a violation of Americans' civil liberties--starting with the rights to life and security.

After all, before one's right to a fair trial, to freedom of speech and assembly, to freedom of religion, comes one's right to keep breathing. If a government cannot reasonably protect its citizens from the threat of physical attack, cannot within reason ensure basic security, it is not doing its number one job as a government that serves its people. Similarly, when a government abandons a suitable level of national defense and leaves itself vulnerable to attack or overthrow, all the other rights and privileges it grants its citizens will soon be meaningless.

Protecting citizens from violence should not be used as a cover to encroach on civil liberties. And basic rights such as the right to move in public spaces, to assemble, to speak, etc. should not be sacrificed, even during wartime, if at all possible. But being at war with a fanatical enemy does sometimes necessitate common sense defensive measures.

Like those who, at a time when thousands of Israeli civilians were being attacked in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on the streets, in restaurants, and on buses by suicide bombers, argued against the construction of Israel's security fence in favor of deference to Palestinian Arabs' civil liberties, those who argue for civilian trial for the likes of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed are misapplying sacred principles--the right of citizens of democratic countries to protection against government overreach--to people who are at war with us (and with those principles). Also, they have picked a dangerous time to misapply those sacred principles.

To put it simply, what about the civil liberties of the Israeli citizens who were losing their lives, their arms and legs, on buses that had been turned into infernos? What about the rights of New Yorkers who go to Lower Manhattan to work, and will be exposed to greater physical risk, and the rights of all U.S. citizens who will be exposed to great risk in the event these men are released, even years hence? These rights are being cast aside so our government can grant imaginary rights to citizens of other nations, in this case to individuals like KSM, who make no secret of their intention to fight against us a war-without-end.

It's just not good common sense. And it is a violation of Americans' civil liberties.

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Sales on the day after Thanksgiving were up just 0.5% from last year, ShopperTrak says. A trade group says 195 million Americans went shopping over the weekend, but average spending fell 7.9%.

Despite huge crowds lured by heavy discounts, shoppers spent less on average on Black Friday and weren't able to give retailers the big boost they were hoping for. Sales on the day after Thanksgiving rose just 0.5% to $10.66 billion, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp., a research firm that monitors sales at more than 50,000 stores. That compared with a 3% year-over-year Black Friday increase in 2008 and an 8.3% surge in 2007.

Studio execs should give plenty of thanks to female moviegoers: "Twilight: New Moon" and "The Blind Side" led the best-ever Thanksgiving weekend at the box office by drawing women and families into theaters, while male-centric newcomers "Old Dogs" and "Ninja Assassin" only earned so-so numbers.

Studio execs should give plenty of thanks to female moviegoers: "Twilight: New Moon" and "The Blind Side" led the best-ever Thanksgiving weekend at the box office by drawing women and families into theaters, while male-centric newcomers "Old Dogs" and "Ninja Assassin" only earned so-so numbers.

The affable Jim Sheridan held court at the Monkey Bar last Monday, talking about his new movie, to open this Friday. Given that the first rate Brothers is a redo of a 2004 Danish film directed by Susanne Bier, now set in the America that continues to deploy troops to Afghanistan, you would not necessarily tap this Dublin-based director -no matter how distinguished his track record for such superb films as My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, and In America--for this job, but producer Ryan Kavanagh insisted that Sheridan direct-with excellent results.

This smart and gripping drama concerns the Cahill brothers, Sam (Tobey Maguire), a decorated Marine about to go off for his next tour and Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) a ne'er do well just out of prison. Sam Shepard, plays their father, an ex-Marine himself who denies his own problems with alcohol and makes no effort to repress his favoritism among his sons. Let's say, Freud hovers here. Sam has married his high school sweetheart Grace (Natalie Portman), more than once noted as gorgeous-and she is. Portman's child career included her star turn with Jean Reno in The Professional (1994) and on Broadway, the teen Anne Frank. As the mother of two girls, Grace marks a transition, and indeed, a special pleasure of this movie-about what happens in a Midwest family when the husband/father is presumed dead-is seeing her as a grown up, as well as these brothers as family men.

Leaning into our table while the lunch crowd--including Sam Shepard and Terrence Howard--enjoyed the signature Monkey Bar burgers, Sheridan recounted a defining moment from his past: When he was a teen, his 10 year old brother died of a brain tumor. Ostensibly, the war may be an utterly American subject, but closely observed through Sheridan's lens, it is about families. Despite some brutal scenes in Afghan caves, like The Messenger, Brothers brings the war home, to an undercurrent of violent emotion that threatens more profoundly than any battle on foreign ground. If you look at Jim Sheridan's body of work, it is all about putting families back together.

Expect to see Jim Sheridan on Best Director lists, and these stars nominated for Best Actor Oscars. In the meantime, Sheridan is off to Toronto to begin filming Dream House with Daniel Craig.
You can see this post on Gossip Central

The affable Jim Sheridan held court at the Monkey Bar last Monday, talking about his new movie, to open this Friday. Given that the first rate Brothers is a redo of a 2004 Danish film directed by Susanne Bier, now set in the America that continues to deploy troops to Afghanistan, you would not necessarily tap this Dublin-based director -no matter how distinguished his track record for such superb films as My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, and In America--for this job, but producer Ryan Kavanagh insisted that Sheridan direct-with excellent results.

This smart and gripping drama concerns the Cahill brothers, Sam (Tobey Maguire), a decorated Marine about to go off for his next tour and Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) a ne'er do well just out of prison. Sam Shepard, plays their father, an ex-Marine himself who denies his own problems with alcohol and makes no effort to repress his favoritism among his sons. Let's say, Freud hovers here. Sam has married his high school sweetheart Grace (Natalie Portman), more than once noted as gorgeous-and she is. Portman's child career included her star turn with Jean Reno in The Professional (1994) and on Broadway, the teen Anne Frank. As the mother of two girls, Grace marks a transition, and indeed, a special pleasure of this movie-about what happens in a Midwest family when the husband/father is presumed dead-is seeing her as a grown up, as well as these brothers as family men.

Leaning into our table while the lunch crowd--including Sam Shepard and Terrence Howard--enjoyed the signature Monkey Bar burgers, Sheridan recounted a defining moment from his past: When he was a teen, his 10 year old brother died of a brain tumor. Ostensibly, the war may be an utterly American subject, but closely observed through Sheridan's lens, it is about families. Despite some brutal scenes in Afghan caves, like The Messenger, Brothers brings the war home, to an undercurrent of violent emotion that threatens more profoundly than any battle on foreign ground. If you look at Jim Sheridan's body of work, it is all about putting families back together.

Expect to see Jim Sheridan on Best Director lists, and these stars nominated for Best Actor Oscars. In the meantime, Sheridan is off to Toronto to begin filming Dream House with Daniel Craig.
You can see this post on Gossip Central

Not that we haven't been informed--that's the message from an incredible year of new books on climate destabilization, dirty energy policies, bogus Big Coal campaigns and a vibrant anti-coal movement, a growing coalfield resistance and the tragedy of mountaintop removal, and the still big possibility of renewable energy sources to refresh our survival chances on the planet.

Here are some of my favorites from 2009--the list is by no means definitive, and I apologize to the all the great authors I have overlooked (Adam Siegel also has a great list.)

Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe
and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity, by James Hansen.

The world's great sage and fearless climatologist, James Hansen has played a heroic role in explaining the complexities of global warming to the US Congress, world leaders, and the American public over the past three decades. In his first book, Hansen issues a stunning clarion call for action that should be required reading by all American citizens.

Democracy of Ghosts by John Griswold

A brilliant and lyrical historical novel, Democracy of Ghost conjures the affairs behind one of the most violent labor disputes in American history--the brutal killing of 21 scabs and coal miners at a strip mine in southern Illinois in 1921. In some ways a horrifying cautionary tale for today's mining conflicts in the coalfields, Democracy of Ghosts explores the entangled love affairs between couples caught up in the great coal mining strike that ultimately shattered a region, and turned one of the most radical communities into a social pariah. Griswold's narrative is riveting. This original novel deserves as large an audience as possible--pass the word.

Climate Hope: On the Frontlines of the Fight Against Coal, by Ted Nace

One of the amazing brains and strategists behind the anti-coal movement, CoalSwarm director Ted Nace has written a powerful chronicle of the grassroots movements to stop the construction of coal-fired plants, and halt mountaintop removal operations in Appalachia. CoalSwarm is one of the great engines of information; Nace's book is a stunning tribute to the citizen movements afoot that will ultimately push our country to a coal free future.

Power Trip by Amanda Little

As the beloved and trusted Grist correspondent on energy issues, Little has embarked on a journey to the center of the fossil fuel world. Her book is an indispensable look into the historical roots of coal and oil, and the emergence of the clean energy future. Here's her trailer:

Plundering Appalachia: The Tragedy of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining

This book is mind-blowing. If any book can change the most cold-hearted Big Coal view about the nightmare of mountaintop removal, Plundering Appalachia and its take-no-prisoners giant photos and essays would be the best shot. Produced by the Foundation for Deep Ecology, Plundering Appalachia includes a series of informative and heartfelt essays by coalfield residents and experts on this human rights and environmental disaster.

Coal Country: Rising Up Against Mountaintop Removal

The book companion to the provocative new film documentary, Coal Country, this anthology stands as one of the most eloquent and effective collections against the practice of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. Published by the Sierra Club, and edited by long-time activists and writers Shirley Stewart Burns, Mari-Lynn Evans, and Silas House, this far-reaching book will remain a powerful indictment against one of our nation's most egregious dirty energy policies.

Something's' Rising and We All Live Downstream

While half of the destruction of mountaintop removal has taken place in Kentucky, its horrific reality is often overlooked by the media. These two brilliant collections present the views and stories of Kentuckians on the frontlines, along with some of the best writers on the subject. Edited by Kentucky writers and activists Silas House and Jason Howard, these books are inspiring reminders of the resiliency and resistance of Appalachians in the face of brutal outside coal companies.

Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse by David Orr

One of the great scholars in the climate change and clean energy debate, Orr's new book sets out a challenging and hopeful agenda for real change in how we reshape our nation, our energy policies, and ultimately our personal lives, for the long haul battle against climate destabilization.

Tree Spiker by Mike Roselle

Truly an American original, and a stranger to fear, Mike Roselle has been a powerful force of nature for decades, and his founding activism behind Earth Firth, the Rainforest Action Network, and untold campaigns to save the wilderness in the West--and now, his role in inspiring the civil disobedience campaigns to halt mountaintop removal in Appalachia--are the stuff of legends. This funny and illuminating book is Roselle's testament to a good life on the frontlines of change.

Coal Mountain Elementary by Mark Nowak

Working class hero and poet Nowak gives a lyrical account of the voices of coal mining tragedies in Sago, West Virginia and China, in this breakthrough collection of poetry.

And, of course, two other amazing books I have recently reviewed:

Climate Cover-Up by James Hoggan

and

What's the Worst That Could Happen, by Greg Craven.

Please list your favorite clean energy and climate change books below!

More on Climate Change

CHICAGO -- Shoppers who endured long lines and sometimes-frigid temperatures spent only slightly more during their Black Friday shopping sprees than they did last year, according to data released Saturday by a research firm.