StopTheLie.com News update 01-26-2015
Ventura likely to collect millions from Chris Kyle's American Sniper.
Source: Slate.com
--Kyle's legal difficulties emerged from a subchapter of American Sniper titled "Punching Out Scruff Face." In it, Kyle describes beating up a former Navy SEAL ("Scruff Face") after the SEAL claims American soldiers deserved to die in Iraq. Early drafts of the book identified the SEAL as Jesse Ventura, former governor of Minnesota and famed professional wrestler, but Kyle's publishers removed the name for fear of a lawsuit. Nonetheless, in a radio interview following the book's release, Kyle admitted that "Scruff Face" was Ventura, and he repeated the claim soon after on The O'Reilly Factor. American Sniper shot to the top of Amazon's best-seller list, becoming a smash hit for its publisher, HarperCollins, selling more than 1.5 million copies by July of 2014.
There was, however, a problem: The Ventura story wasn't true, and Ventura meant to prove it. So he took Kyle to trial, suing him—and, after he died, his estate—for defamation and unjust enrichment. In the United States, defamation cases are extremely difficult to win, thanks to the First Amendment. When allegedly defamatory statements pertain to a public figure, the plaintiff mustn't just prove those statements were false. He has to prove the defendant made those statements with "actual malice"—that is, knowledge that they were false or with "reckless disregard" for their falsity. Very few defamation plaintiffs can make it over the high bar of actual malice.
Ventura made it. On July 29, 2014, a federal jury returned from six days of deliberations to award Ventura $1.845 million in damages—specifically, $500,000 for defamation and about $1.345 million for unjust enrichment. (In other words, Kyle unjustly profited from defaming Ventura, and so his estate must give Ventura some of that money.) Kyle's widow, Taya Kyle, promptly filed for "judgment as a matter of law," asking the trial judge to reverse's the jury's verdict because the jury clearly got it wrong. Failing that, she asked for an entirely new trial. The judge denied both requests, defending the jury's verdict as legally and factually justifiable. Kyle's widow is currently appealing the decision; her odds of winning appear quite low.
For the Kyle family, then, the legal tribulations surrounding American Sniper are probably wrapping up, and Taya Kyle will likely pay some damages but walk away from the affair with many millions of dollars left to her name. ​(HarperCollins' libel insurance, in fact, will cover her defamation damages.) But for Kyle's publisher, HarperCollins, the nightmare is just beginning. Several months after the verdict against the Kyle estate, Ventura brought another lawsuit for unjust enrichment, this time against HarperCollins. The lawsuit explains that while Kyle is the one who defamed Ventura, HarperCollins played up those defamatory statements in order to boost its sales—and with reckless disregard to the truth of Kyle's claims.
Read full article at: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/01/american_sniper_lawsuit_chris_kyle_told_lies_about_jesse_v
======================================================
NATO ally shipping arms to al-Qaeda and ISIS
Source: InfoWars.com
.
Read full article at: http://www.infowars.com/report-turkeys-prime-minister-caught-arming-al-qaeda-isis/
COMMENT: Ed Griffin's comment: "Davutoglu has banned the media from reporting that, when the military searched those truck convoys, they found missiles, rockets, and anti-aircraft ammunition. The public prosecutor who ordered the search was removed from office. The soldiers who conducted the search were charged with espionage and are facing 20-year prison terms. Turkey is a NATO ally of the US."
======================================================
PLEASE forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. Those who'd like to be added to our news list can sign up at: http://stopthelie.com/stl_newsletter.html
Other sources for alternative news:
http://www.PrisonPlanet.com/
http://www.RealityZone.com/currentperiod.html
http://www.FreedomsPhoenix.com/Front-Page.htm
http://libertycrier.com/
Previous Week's News 01-19-2015
John Stossel - Obscene Obedience (Video)
Source: YouTube.com
David Eagleman (Baylor College of Med. Neuroscientist) joins Stossel to look at how rules, titles and a lack of direct responsibility can entice good people to do bad things. Insights into the dark side of authority.
Watch video at: http://youtu.be/D-sw8UhNhUM
COMMENT: During the Milgram experiment, 65 percent of people were so afraid of disobeying orders from an "authority" that they (despite no threat of punishment for refusing to obey), were willing to inflict severe pain or even death on a stranger.
In a hierarchical-government system (where individuals are even more prone to obedience, and where real consequences for disobedience exist), the numbers would likely be much higher.
It ought to be obvious by now that the dangers of teaching "obedience to authority" far exceed the dangers of teaching obedience to one's own conscience. ...But the former isn't taught because it's best for humanity; it's taught because it's best for those who wield power.
======================================================
Why Support the Conspiracy Project? (Video)
Source: YouTube.com
This video explains why you need to know what the CONSPIRACY Project is. Please watch and then check out the crowd funding campaign going on right now. Thanks.
Watch video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bKv_vtJm2g
COMMENT: Neal invested a LOT of time, money and energy into this project. You might have seen his video "Fuck the FED" from about 6 years back...well, this is another (much larger) attempt to reach new people with a musical / video format. I sent a few bucks his way for his effort; hope you'll consider doing the same.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-conspiracy-project/x/6034127
======================================================
CITIZENS ENGAGE IN A NEW FORM OF CROWD-FUNDED, DIRECT ACTION AGAINST POLICE STATE
Source: FilmingCops.com
STOCKTON — Citizens in Stockton, California have taken a new approach to activism.
Rather than sticking to the traditional form of protest in which signs are held and slogans are chanted, these citizens have taken direct action and offered a grassroots, crowd-funded incentive structure to end police brutality in their community.
They have offered a $2,500 reward to anybody who submits information leading to the arrest or termination of cops who brutalize or kill people.
They were able to let people know about the offer by printing all the details on flyers and spreading them throughout their community.
The flyer specifically names 15 cops as a start, and includes pictures of at least 10 cops who have been involved in either the brutalization or killing of Americans.
--Now that the idea is spreading, other communities are sure to implement similar incentive structures to curb police brutality — indeed, it wouldn't be surprising if a grassroots program like this is started nationwide.
Read full article at: http://filmingcops.com/police-furious-after-citizens-engage-in-a-new-form-of-crowd-funded-direct-action-against-police-state/
======================================================
Priest says hell doesn't exist (Video)
Source: YouTube.com
How do we define God? Which religion holds the Truth? Here is an insightful perspective.
Watch video at: http://youtu.be/wHfSpIIRhFw
COMMENT: I enjoyed listening to this pastor's view on religion, hell, and the purpose of man-made systems that prevent people from "growing up."
PLEASE forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. Those who'd like to be added to our news list can sign up at: http://stopthelie.com/stl_newsletter.html
Ventura likely to collect millions from Chris Kyle's American Sniper.
Source: Slate.com
--Kyle's legal difficulties emerged from a subchapter of American Sniper titled "Punching Out Scruff Face." In it, Kyle describes beating up a former Navy SEAL ("Scruff Face") after the SEAL claims American soldiers deserved to die in Iraq. Early drafts of the book identified the SEAL as Jesse Ventura, former governor of Minnesota and famed professional wrestler, but Kyle's publishers removed the name for fear of a lawsuit. Nonetheless, in a radio interview following the book's release, Kyle admitted that "Scruff Face" was Ventura, and he repeated the claim soon after on The O'Reilly Factor. American Sniper shot to the top of Amazon's best-seller list, becoming a smash hit for its publisher, HarperCollins, selling more than 1.5 million copies by July of 2014.
There was, however, a problem: The Ventura story wasn't true, and Ventura meant to prove it. So he took Kyle to trial, suing him—and, after he died, his estate—for defamation and unjust enrichment. In the United States, defamation cases are extremely difficult to win, thanks to the First Amendment. When allegedly defamatory statements pertain to a public figure, the plaintiff mustn't just prove those statements were false. He has to prove the defendant made those statements with "actual malice"—that is, knowledge that they were false or with "reckless disregard" for their falsity. Very few defamation plaintiffs can make it over the high bar of actual malice.
Ventura made it. On July 29, 2014, a federal jury returned from six days of deliberations to award Ventura $1.845 million in damages—specifically, $500,000 for defamation and about $1.345 million for unjust enrichment. (In other words, Kyle unjustly profited from defaming Ventura, and so his estate must give Ventura some of that money.) Kyle's widow, Taya Kyle, promptly filed for "judgment as a matter of law," asking the trial judge to reverse's the jury's verdict because the jury clearly got it wrong. Failing that, she asked for an entirely new trial. The judge denied both requests, defending the jury's verdict as legally and factually justifiable. Kyle's widow is currently appealing the decision; her odds of winning appear quite low.
For the Kyle family, then, the legal tribulations surrounding American Sniper are probably wrapping up, and Taya Kyle will likely pay some damages but walk away from the affair with many millions of dollars left to her name. ​(HarperCollins' libel insurance, in fact, will cover her defamation damages.) But for Kyle's publisher, HarperCollins, the nightmare is just beginning. Several months after the verdict against the Kyle estate, Ventura brought another lawsuit for unjust enrichment, this time against HarperCollins. The lawsuit explains that while Kyle is the one who defamed Ventura, HarperCollins played up those defamatory statements in order to boost its sales—and with reckless disregard to the truth of Kyle's claims.
Read full article at: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/01/american_sniper_lawsuit_chris_kyle_told_lies_about_jesse_v
======================================================
NATO ally shipping arms to al-Qaeda and ISIS
Source: InfoWars.com
.
Read full article at: http://www.infowars.com/report-turkeys-prime-minister-caught-arming-al-qaeda-isis/
COMMENT: Ed Griffin's comment: "Davutoglu has banned the media from reporting that, when the military searched those truck convoys, they found missiles, rockets, and anti-aircraft ammunition. The public prosecutor who ordered the search was removed from office. The soldiers who conducted the search were charged with espionage and are facing 20-year prison terms. Turkey is a NATO ally of the US."
======================================================
PLEASE forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. Those who'd like to be added to our news list can sign up at: http://stopthelie.com/stl_newsletter.html
Other sources for alternative news:
http://www.PrisonPlanet.com/
http://www.RealityZone.com/currentperiod.html
http://www.FreedomsPhoenix.com/Front-Page.htm
http://libertycrier.com/
Previous Week's News 01-19-2015
John Stossel - Obscene Obedience (Video)
Source: YouTube.com
David Eagleman (Baylor College of Med. Neuroscientist) joins Stossel to look at how rules, titles and a lack of direct responsibility can entice good people to do bad things. Insights into the dark side of authority.
Watch video at: http://youtu.be/D-sw8UhNhUM
COMMENT: During the Milgram experiment, 65 percent of people were so afraid of disobeying orders from an "authority" that they (despite no threat of punishment for refusing to obey), were willing to inflict severe pain or even death on a stranger.
In a hierarchical-government system (where individuals are even more prone to obedience, and where real consequences for disobedience exist), the numbers would likely be much higher.
It ought to be obvious by now that the dangers of teaching "obedience to authority" far exceed the dangers of teaching obedience to one's own conscience. ...But the former isn't taught because it's best for humanity; it's taught because it's best for those who wield power.
======================================================
Why Support the Conspiracy Project? (Video)
Source: YouTube.com
This video explains why you need to know what the CONSPIRACY Project is. Please watch and then check out the crowd funding campaign going on right now. Thanks.
Watch video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bKv_vtJm2g
COMMENT: Neal invested a LOT of time, money and energy into this project. You might have seen his video "Fuck the FED" from about 6 years back...well, this is another (much larger) attempt to reach new people with a musical / video format. I sent a few bucks his way for his effort; hope you'll consider doing the same.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-conspiracy-project/x/6034127
======================================================
CITIZENS ENGAGE IN A NEW FORM OF CROWD-FUNDED, DIRECT ACTION AGAINST POLICE STATE
Source: FilmingCops.com
STOCKTON — Citizens in Stockton, California have taken a new approach to activism.
Rather than sticking to the traditional form of protest in which signs are held and slogans are chanted, these citizens have taken direct action and offered a grassroots, crowd-funded incentive structure to end police brutality in their community.
They have offered a $2,500 reward to anybody who submits information leading to the arrest or termination of cops who brutalize or kill people.
They were able to let people know about the offer by printing all the details on flyers and spreading them throughout their community.
The flyer specifically names 15 cops as a start, and includes pictures of at least 10 cops who have been involved in either the brutalization or killing of Americans.
--Now that the idea is spreading, other communities are sure to implement similar incentive structures to curb police brutality — indeed, it wouldn't be surprising if a grassroots program like this is started nationwide.
Read full article at: http://filmingcops.com/police-furious-after-citizens-engage-in-a-new-form-of-crowd-funded-direct-action-against-police-state/
======================================================
Priest says hell doesn't exist (Video)
Source: YouTube.com
How do we define God? Which religion holds the Truth? Here is an insightful perspective.
Watch video at: http://youtu.be/wHfSpIIRhFw
COMMENT: I enjoyed listening to this pastor's view on religion, hell, and the purpose of man-made systems that prevent people from "growing up."
PLEASE forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. Those who'd like to be added to our news list can sign up at: http://stopthelie.com/stl_newsletter.html
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