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Moore, Stone's Help Sought by Terrorist Group James Hirsen THE LEFT COAST REPORT A Political Look at Hollywood Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): 1. Michael Moore, Oliver Stone's Help Sought by Terrorist Group Colombia's largest rebel group wants a deal with the government on exchanging imprisoned guerrillas for rebel-held hostages. Guess who the group wants to act as intermediaries? The negotiators of choice for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as the FARC, are some high profile Hollywood celebrities. Listed by the U.S. government as a "foreign terrorist organization," the FARC is presently holding some 60 hostages, including three defense contractors, former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, politicians, and military officers.
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The FARC says it will only release the hostages in exchange for nearly 600 imprisoned rebels. In a letter, the FARC called on Michael Moore, Oliver Stone, and Denzel Washington to help put together a hostage swap. In addition to the aforementioned Tinseltown notables, the letter was also addressed to well-known leftists Noam Chomsky, James Petras, Angela Davis, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. 2. Rahm and Ari Emanuel's Bicoastal Bucks In the recent mid-term elections, life imitated art once again. It did so in the Hollywood-D.C. drama of two brothers, Rahm and Ari Emanuel. Rahm is a former Clinton adviser and current U.S. congressman who is considered to be the primary architect of the 2006 Democrat midterm takeover of the legislative branch. Ari is a top Hollywood agent with the creds to prove it. His Beverly Hills agency represents Hollywood high rankers such as Michael Moore, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Scorcese, Michael Douglas, and Larry David. Both brothers were inspirations for fictional characters seen in a couple of successful TV series. Defunct NBC "West Wing"s Josh Lyman character is a Rahm knockoff while HBO "Entourage"s Ari Gold character is a glamorized version of the Emanuel of the same name. As a report in the Washington Times recently indicated, the real-life siblings talk to each other on the phone two or three times a day. In the final weeks of the mid-term elections, the familial tag-team helped bring in $104 million. Newsweek reported that Rahm and Ari had actually set up a "club" for funneling Hollywood money to Democrat candidates considered capable of thumping Republicans. Newsweek also reported that the Dems got two out of every three dollars the show biz crowd coughed up for federal candidates. Ari's Hollywood relationships came in handy. He was the co-sponsor of an event that in 2006 raised $220,000 for Rahm's political action committee. Part of the take (reportedly $30,000) came from employees of a talent agency that Ari had originally set up. 3. Rahm Emanuel Ticks Off Lefties Rahm "Rahmbo" Emanuel left a trail of ticked-off lefties in the election's wake.
The former ballet student who could have had a Joffrey scholarship and who at age 17 lost a finger to an Arby's meat slicer, didn't hesitate to reject liberal candidates for those with more conservative views, tangling with the likes of DNC Chairman Howard Dean. After Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi handpicked him to run the House campaign, Rahm diligently went out and recruited right-of-center candidates to run in red states against Republican incumbents. It was Rahm who tapped Tammy Duckworth to run in Henry Hyde's former district. Duckworth is an Army helicopter pilot who sadly lost both legs in Iraq. Interestingly, Rahm had previously worked in the mayoral campaign of Richard M. Daley, which led to his next gig in the infamous Clinton war room. 4. Silicon Valley-Hollywood Fight Afoot in New Dem Congress The Silicon Valley is enamored with presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi's "broadband for all Americans" call struck a chord with the high-tech California crowd. Pelosi is also an advocate of-net-neutrality, a position that is intended to prevent the so-called digital divide that Silicon Valley companies abhor. Rep. Howard Berman is a Democrat who happens to represent Hollywood. He's also Silicon Valley's worst nightmare. Berman once sponsored legislation that would have allowed movie studios to hack into peer-to-peer networks. The California congressman is likely to be chair of the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. Silicon Valley detests the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which bestowed on Hollywood some powerful intellectual property rights and the ability to collect license fees from some of the tech sector's software products. Because Berman wants to safeguard the DMCA, Silicon Valley is likely to push for someone else to chair the subcommittee. The Left Coast Report predicts that, with all the Hollywood money that pours in for Dems, in a Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley scenario, Hollywood will come out on top. 5. To Catch a Sensationalist Network NBC "Dateline's hit "To Catch a Predator" is a television series in which adult volunteers in Internet chat rooms pretend to be young teens who are looking to hook up with adults who desire to have sex with minors. Volunteers are supplied by Perverted Justice, a controversial private citizen's group that is dedicated to finding online predators. In order to lure suspected predators, volunteers engage in sexually graphic Internet conversations with suspects. Each episode of the series features men entering the homes of minors with whom Internet discussions about sexual encounters have already taken place. With cameras rolling, the men are confronted by "Dateline" personality Chris Hansen.
In commenting on the public humiliation that is part of such a televised sting, an unnamed NBC staffer told Radar Magazine, "One of these guys is going to go home and shoot himself in the head." Less than two months after the staffer's ominous prediction someone actually did.
Louis Conradt Jr. was caught in one of "Dateline" and Perverted Justice's sting operations. The Dallas area prosecutor had reportedly solicited sex from a decoy who was posing online as a 13-year-old boy. When the police arrived at his home, Conradt refused to open the door. Officers eventually forced their way in only to find that in the interim Conradt had taken a handgun and shot himself in the head. An NBC camera crew assigned to film the program was present outside the home. The universal reaction to child predator crime is one of disgust, outrage and a demand for justice. In serving and protecting the public, police are required to engage in this kind of investigation. But there are big problems with a news/entertainment show getting into the criminal investigation business. Here are two. First, it is unethical for news organizations to pay sources because it taints the objectivity of the source. Perverted Justice does not supply its volunteers for free. The Washington Post reported that NBC agreed to pay the group more than $100,000 to create the sting operation that "Dateline" uses. Sources at NBC confirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle that Perverted Justice received more than that amount for its role in a previous sting. Second, journalistic and legal ethics are breached when a purported news organization obscures the distinction between news media and law enforcement. It turns out that, in a prior sting, NBC agreed to have the police deputize Perverted Justice members. This converted volunteers into officers and effectively transformed the NBC production into a law enforcement activity. However, we are a nation that believes in due process. Trying, convicting, and punishing individuals via reality TV bypasses the steps required in criminal cases. Such melded entertainment fare may also interfere with real-life criminal investigations. A prosecutor's discretion, impartiality of potential jurors and presumption of innocence are threatened and may even be destroyed with this type of programming. When a "child predator" label is placed on an individual on national TV, that person's life is permanently ruined. If a legislature decides that, after an individual is tried and convicted, public humiliation may be part of an individual's sentencing, that is the prerogative of representative government. NBC is no legislature. The Left Coast Report points out it's no judge or jury either. Editor's Notes:
The Left Coast Report is put together by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax — The Left Coast Report Archives Get your FREE copy of James Hirsen's new book 'Hollywood Nation' — Click Here Now.
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