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Sean Penn Appointed Haitian Ambassador LOS ANGELES, USA (defend.ht) - Sean Penn has accepted the job of Ambassador for Haiti, where he has spent the last two years managing a tent camp for displaced Haitians after the earthquake. Sean Penn will now be the "ambassador at large" for the Caribbean nation. Penn was offered the position by Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurent Lamothe, while at the Cinema for Peace benefit in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Picking up a humanitarian award for his work in Haiti, he told the crowd: "I do accept [the job]," before adding it would...

Here’s a blast from the past. Remember Eason Jordan? Every conservative political blogger worth his/her salt knows and remembers who he is. Former CNN head Eason Jordan is the disgraced journalist who admitted in a 2003 New York Times op-ed piece titled “The News We Kept to Ourselves” that he deliberately and intentionally whitewashed Saddam Hussein’s atrocities and regurgitated Hussein propaganda for a decade in exchange for access. Let me underscore that: In 2003, after the U.S.-led Coalition invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein, Jordan confessed that CNN had deliberately reported Baathist propaganda during the Saddam era...

What is it with Hollywood personalities going to Venezuela and being swept off their feet by the thuggish dictator Hugo Chávez. They come back with these stories claiming he is just misconstrued by the media and that he’s really a great guy. On Oct. 7, at an appearance at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., CNBC “Power Lunch” co-host Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, in an appearance promoting her book “You Know I'm Right: More Prosperity, Less Government,” explained how this could happen. She told an audience that Chávez has a very charismatic, seductive personality. “I was telling – my two most interesting...

Howard Zinn (1922 to 2010) is the left's favorite contemporary historian. As an historian he is a child of the Beardian revolution yet he has for decades been able to straddle that line between legitimate historical observer and anti-American leftist. America's intellectual society, in both the social movement and universities, have looked to him as a paragon of American virtue. He's always been held up as just the right mixture of American leftism coupled with true scholarship. But those of us on the right that have paid attention understand that he is not American in outlook and never was. Until...

If you were in the presence of a man having a heart attack, how would you respond? As he clutched his chest in desperation and pain, would you call 911? Would you try to save him from dying? Of course you would. But if that man was Rush Limbaugh, and you were Sarah Spitz, a producer for National Public Radio, that isn’t what you’d do at all. In a post to the list-serv Journolist, an online meeting place for liberal journalists, Spitz wrote that she would “Laugh loudly like a maniac and watch his eyes bug out” as Limbaugh writhed...

LONDON – The Gulf of Mexico oil spill shows that the United States should follow the example of South American socialists in nationalizing its energy industry, filmmaker Oliver Stone said Tuesday.

At the end of June, I wrote a short op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. In that article, I criticized Oliver Stone’s “documentary” South of the Border. I wrote the following: What Mr. Stone and his writers have presented is a standard far-left narrative that is part of a long line of propaganda films, a modern American version of the old agitprop. There are no dissenting voices in this film. Nor is there any mention of the fact that Mr. Chávez has closed down television and radio stations that disagree with him and arrested dissenting political figures. I then followed...

Did you know that deep down inside (when he’s not silencing his opposition, supporting the FARC, sponsoring drug trafficking, and courting Hezbollah and almost every other enemy of the West) Hugo Chavez is a good, admirable man? Yup, he is—according to Leftist filmmaker Oliver Stone. The filmmaker, along with the upcoming release of his “Wall Street” sequel, has a new documentary called “South of the Border” that praises Chavez, Castro, their allies, and highlights other South American leaders. But, apparently the Venezuelan people aren’t as hot on the near-dictator as Stone is: The documentary is bombing in the country. Personally,...

"Call it Socialism, call it Communism, call it whatever you want.... Seize their assets. Take over BP!"

MR. FRIEDMAN: Well, David, it's been decimated. It's been decimated by everything from the gerrymandering of political districts to cable television to an Internet where I can create a digital lynch mob against you from the left or right if I don't like where you're going, to the fact that money and politics is so out of control--really our Congress is a forum for legalized bribery. You know, that's really what, what it's come down to. So I don't--I, I--I'm worried about this, it's why I have fantasized--don't get me wrong--but that what if we could just be China for...

Utah State University President Stan Albrecht used an Earth Day speech to comment on actor Danny Glover's controversial selection as May's commencement speaker as well as the global warming debate, saying that both illustrate a lack of "rational and thoughtful discourse." Albrecht began by saying that "ideological discord" in the United States has reached new heights. "Looking at this life in total, it reflects 40 years of actions that are centered in kindness and generosity, acts that are not at all defined by politics but by compassion for people," Albrecht added. "He has also been a political activist, taking on...

Ten years have passed since federal agents seized a Little Havana home snatching a 6-year-old boy from his Miami relatives and reuniting him with his father who lives in Cuba. The Elian Gonzalez saga had major political implications and some credit that single episode to the reason George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000. Elian Gonzalez survived a dangerous journey from Cuba after his mother and others died trying to reach South Florida. A fisherman found the 6-year-old boy holding onto an inner tube on Thanksgiving Day in 1999. Now, the fisherman who found him and his Miami relatives...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Former boxing champion Edwin Valero, who gained fame for knocking out all his 27 opponents and having a tattoo of Hugo Chavez on his chest, was found dead in his jail cell Monday and police said he hanged himself after being arrested in his wife's murder. The former lightweight champion used his own clothes to hang himself from a bar in his cell early Monday, Venezuelan Federal Police Chief Wilmer Flores told reporters.

Editor's Note: The following is an open letter from actress Maria Conchita Alonso, who penned this response to actor Sean Penn's recent remarks on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" in which the left-wing actor defended Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Dear Sean, WHY? Even though I have great respect for your artistic talent, I was appalled by a recent television interview where you vigorously showed support for the regime of Hugo Chavez. Therefore, I've decided to set the record straight for you regarding the Chavez regime, supporting my case based not only on my political ideologies, but on proven facts...

REPORTED BOOTED OUT OF SEAN PENN EVENTA Yeas & Nays reporter (Tara Palmeri) was publicly berated and threatened to be escorted out by police on Thursday night when the reporter asked actor Sean Penn a question about his humanitarian work in Haiti. Penn, who recently has been criticized for his motivations in helping to rebuilding Haiti, recently told CBS News he hopes his critics "die screaming of rectal cancer." Members of the media were invited to a gala hosted at the Washington Hebrew Congregation and were allowed to ask one question each of the actor in a closed-door news briefing....

The late Howard Zinn would be very proud of his protégé, Matt Damon. The actor has long admired the lefty historian, a man whose anti-American impulses were so profound he could cast the United States’ participation in World War II and its aftermath in an unflattering light. Damon’s latest film, Green Zone, rewrites history regarding the Iraq War in a way Zinn’s acolytes will cheer. Never mind the facts. Green Zone keeps the “Bush lied, people died” narrative front and center while creating an alternative reality as warped as that of Inglourious Basterds. But at least Quentin Tarantino fashioned his...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is grateful that actor Sean Penn has defended him against his critics within the U.S. media. In an appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" last week, Penn slammed Chavez critics who refer to the socialist leader as a dictator. The Oscar-winning celebrity noted that Chavez has won repeated elections and suggested that media critics who call him a dictator should be jailed.

If you wonder how people on the left deal with their critics, look no further than this new lengthy interview with Prof. Peter Kuznick, the co-writer and co-director with Oliver Stone of the forthcoming Showtime ten-part documentary on the 20th century. I first blogged about the projected series last January. Read more: http://pajamasmedia.com/ronradosh/2010/03/10/more-revelations-about-the-oliver-stone-documentary/

The Obama State Department apologized to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi for offending the dear tyrant with offensive language. The BBC reported: The US State Department has apologized for comments made about Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s call for jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland. Department spokesman PJ Crowley, who made the dismissive comments, said they did not reflect US policy and were not intended to offend. Col Gaddafi had criticised a Swiss vote against the building of minarets and urged Muslims to boycott the country. Mr Crowley described it as “lots of words, not necessarily a lot of sense.” Libya and...

Moore: Democrats are 'going to get an ass-whoopin' of biblical proportions' By Tony Romm - 03/07/10 09:08 AM ET Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore on Sunday railed on Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, predicting, "Democrats on Election Day 2010 are going to get an ass-whoopin' of biblical proportions if things don't change right now." In an open letter to the White House, Moore placed the blame for Democrats' dismal electoral prospects in 2010 squarely on the shoulders of Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, recently a popular target for liberals dissatisfied with the White House's handling of healthcare. While Moore praised the...

Sean Penn has opened fire on critics of his recent mercy mission to Haiti, stating he hopes they all die of rectal cancer. The controversial "Mystic River" star has been so caught up in the relief effort in earthquake-ravaged Haiti in recent weeks, he hasn't paid attention to what politicians and newsmakers have been saying about him. But, now he's home, the 49-year-old can't believe his actions have upset so many people - and he's disturbed that his critics can't just see the good in what he's trying to do in Haiti, where he helped establish a private relief organization....

Oliver Stone's latest attack on American capitalism - "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" is finally hitting theaters April, 2010, twenty-three years after its predecessor. According to Michael Lewis, who interviewed the moviemaker for his latest Vanity Fair piece, Stone's biggest problem with the sequel was making a movie based on helplessly diabolical bankers, actually watchable. Lewis wrote that Stone - an ardent left-wing ideologue, friendly acquaintance to Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, and director of "W" and "Platoon" - felt an obligation to reverse the societal damage and unintended consequences of the first installment. "As a vehicle of change ......

Obama and terrorist support group Code Pink announced today they are shutting down their Washington, D.C. headquarters due to lack of interest by their fellow leftists in protesting the Democrat-run Congress and the Obama administration.Code Pink has been playing the inside-outside game of political theater since Obama was inaugurated. While making a show of protesting his administration, Code Pink has been meeting with Obama and working with the White House. Since March 2007, the group has maintained its D.C. headquarters in a five bedroom row house in a residential neighborbood on Capitol Hill. The group was protected by the D.C....

<p>FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin promises to limit her enthusiasm during her visit to North Carolina's Fort Bragg.</p> <p>The former Republican vice presidential candidate planned to sign copies of her new memoir at a post store Monday. Army officials say Palin will not make a speech, pose for photos, or personalize notes in the books she signs.</p>

HAVANA (Reuters) - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro "looks wonderful," World Health Organization director general Margaret Chan said on Wednesday, after meeting the 83-year-old who resigned the presidency last year due to ailing health. Chan, speaking at the end of her first visit to Cuba, said she met with Castro for more two hours on Tuesday during which he displayed a "truly impressive" knowledge of healthcare issues and looked to be in good condition. "I'm a doctor, I understand the importance of confidentiality, but I have to say he looks wonderful," Chan told a press conference in Havana. When their...

HAVANA (AP) - Michael Douglas staged an impromptu walking tour of the Cuban capital's historic district Tuesday, posing for photos with construction workers and surprised residents. His visit came two days after fellow Oscar-winner Sean Penn arrived in Cuba, reportedly seeking an interview with 82-year-old Fidel Castro, who has been little seen since announcing he was suffering from an unspecified illness in July 2006. He stepped down as Cuba's president in February of the following year and was replaced by his brother Raul. Penn traveled to the Isle of Youth, off mainland Cuba on Monday to meet with local artists....

If Fidel Castro and Sean Penn are in the same room, which one do you think hates America more? Such a question doesn't seem to concern Vanity Fair who according to the website TMZ has hired Penn to write an article about how Barack Obama and his administration have impacted Cuba.

VENICE (Reuters) - Director Oliver Stone says the U.S. media and government have demonised Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other leftist South American leaders, and argues in a new film that they were right to stand up to Washington. Chavez, who landed in Venice for the film's premiere, has earned a reputation for his outspoken criticism of U.S. policy, and in Stone's "South of the Border" he is sympathetically portrayed as a hero of the people who refuses to be bullied. Originally an attempt to redress what Stone saw as unfair treatment of Chavez by TV networks and newspapers, the...

Aubrey O'Day really put her foot in her mouth this time. The former Danity Kane member dug herself into a hole Monday night in a heated debate on Fox News' "The Sean Hannity Show" when the 25-year-old singer spewed out claims that both Adolf Hitler and Fidel Castro were "brilliant" men. "As someone who has met [Castro]... I met him and worked with him while I was in Cuba. I'm not defending his behavior, but in many instances, but I do have to say, I will 100% agree, he's an incredibly brilliant man, he has outlived tons of our Presidents,"...

On a Sunday evening in August four summers ago the NBC Nightly News devoted its “In Depth” segment to how Cindy Sheehan was “single-handedly bringing the Iraq debate to Mr. Bush’s doorstep” with her protest in Crawford, Texas. But Sunday night this year, after Sheehan departed Martha's Vineyard without earning any network media coverage as President Barack Obama's wrapped up his vacation there, NBC's Ron Allen began a story: “Hours before President Obama's vacation ended, he treated his girls to ice cream and candy -- the kind of family time the President said he had in mind for the week...

Diane Watson: "You can think whatever you want to about Fidel Castro, but he was one of the brightest leaders I have ever met."

Oliver Stone is making his most ambitious stab at American history yet. The controversial director is creating a 10-part documentary series for Showtime titled "Secret History of America." Narrated by Stone, the series promises to focus on events that "at the time went under-reported, but crucially shaped America's unique and complex history of the last 60 years," according to Showtime.

Accusations and responses from Liberal Kook to Rational Conservative:. You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.[ Damn straight! - The US Supreme Court said, "No Cherry Picking Vote Recounts from Democrat Counties....It's UnConstitutional ] You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.[ That's Right - Its like NOT having Politicians pretending to be Health Care Providers ] You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.[ Plame was not "covert" -- she was a political HACK that needed to be outed.....her and her...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House called Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the "elected leader" of Iran on Tuesday when asked whether President Barack Obama recognized the Iranian president after the country's disputed election. "This was a decision and a debate ongoing in Iran by Iranians, they were going to choose their leadership," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "He's the elected leader."

Here is a video report and discussion with Mike Chinoy on former President Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea where he has met with reclusive Dictator Kim Jong Il. The video shows photos of Clinton's face-to-face meeting today with Kim Jong Il. Clinton is seeking to win the release of American Journalists imprisoned there. The health of Kim Jong Il has been in question of late, but the photos in the video show him looking better than expected. Chinoy believes the Americans are likely to be released following the trip. He doubts Clinton would have ever made the trip unless...

Supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya protest outside the site of talks to resolve the leadership crisis in Honduras in San Jose, Saturday, July 18, 2009. Zelaya, who was forced into exile in a June 28 military coup, gave negotiators meeting in Costa Rica until midnight to restore him to office, threatening to return to Honduras in secret and attempt to retake power on his own if no agreement is reached. He indicated he would reject any power-sharing agreement, a proposal to be discussed at the talks.

<p>The Obama administration worked in recent days to prevent President Manuel Zelaya's ouster, said a senior U.S. official. The State Department, in particular, communicated to Honduran officials on the ground that President Barack Obama wouldn't support any nondemocratic transfer of power in the Central American country.</p>

TEHRAN (Reuters) – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Barack Obama on Thursday of behaving like his predecessor toward Iran and said there was not much point in talking to Washington unless the U.S. president apologized. Obama said on Tuesday he was "appalled and outraged" by a post-election crackdown and Washington withdrew invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend Independence Day celebrations on July 4 -- stalling efforts to improve ties with Tehran. "Mr Obama made a mistake to say those things ... our question is why he fell into this trap and said things that previously (former president George W.) Bush used...

Rooters AFPUPI, 09-JUIN-23 Jimmy Carter today declared today that Iran's June elections were conducted in a "free and fair" manner, especially when compared with the USA's 2000 and 2004 elections which were "obviously flawed". He blamed the current violence on an "irresponsible" 2008 speech to the Iranian people by former president Bush that instigated anti-social tendencies in some the voting public of the nation of 70 million workers.

You gotta love it. A liberal is a bit upset that us conservatives would have the gonads to cheer on protesters who attack the men of Basij. You know, the men who shot a innocent young girl in the heart for kicks. Right wing blogs cheer violence by Iran protestersWeasel Zippers calls it the "feel good video of the day." Gateway Pundit raves that it's the "best Iran protest video ever." Which video is he talking about? The one Fox ran where the protesters beat the living crap out of some Basij: The libs response? Personally speaking, I'm appalled that...

Federal officials say a Washington, D.C.-area couple has been arrested and accused of spying for Cuba. Officials say both are former U.S. government employees -- he from the State Department, she as a Congressional aide. One official says the spying went on for more than two decades. We expect to learn more details later today when a federal indictment is unsealed. For now, officials will not disclose the names or any other details....

Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn has agreed to take on the starring role in a film about a retired musician who sets out to find his father's Nazi executioner, according to media reports. Penn is to play an ageing wealthy rocker who grows bored of his retirement and goes on a quest to find his father's killer, an ex-Nazi war criminal taking refuge in the U.S. The screenplay of "This Must Be the Place" was co-written by Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello, and marks Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's English-language feature debut. Penn will take on the new role once he has completed...

Immediately after U.S. troops captured Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq's brutal ex-dictator turned into a crybaby over "beatings" by a "detention gang" and sleepless nights amid screams of torture victims. Saddam poured out his complaints "to whom it may concern" in two Christmas 2003 letters, handwritten in Arabic, which he gave to his U.S. military jailers, the Daily News has learned. The letters were part of 352 pages of Hussein's declassified FBI file, requested and obtained by the News after the dictator's execution in Dec. 2006. The first letter came nine days after the ex-leader was imprisoned.

<p>The Obama administration has asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit against Iran filed by Americans held hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran 30 years ago.</p> <p>The request comes in a $6.6 billion class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. Fifty-two American diplomats and military officials were held captive for more than a year at the end of Jimmy Carter's presidency by a group of Islamist students who supported the Iranian revolution.</p>

Thanks to Rupert Murdoch, Bill Ayers’ “comrade” and Weather Underground terrorist Mark Rudd is on a book tour, trying to cash in on his bloody record. Murdoch’s Harper Collins published Rudd’s book, Underground: My Life With SDS and the Weathermen. This week he is in the San Francisco/Oakland, California area. According to Rudd’s website, he has other speeches and lectures scheduled around the country. [snip] On Thursday [today, April 23, 2009!], we are holding a news conference in San Francisco to demand justice in the case of the bombing murder of Sgt. McDonnell. If you are in the San Francisco...

Last week, seven members of the Congressional Black Caucus...returned from a visit to Cuba where they met with the dictators of Cuba, Fidel and Raul Castro. They were quite impressed with Fidel Castro...

This is America’s Enemy Within - Castro’s Communist Cuba and Our Congressional Black Caucus By JB Williams Wednesday, April 8, 2009 While the leftist American press kept public attention focused upon Obama’s International Apology Hajj, working around the clock to put a positive spin on Obama’s failed Throw America Under the Bus Tour abroad, another important and equally dastardly trip was taking place below the average American’s radar… Six members of the US Congress traveled to Castro’s Communist Cuba over the weekend to open talks aimed at establishing a cooperative relationship between the United States and Communist Cuba. The six...

Members of the CBC praised and heaped plaudits upon Fidel Castro and his regime in terms which ranged from likening him to a "family member" to the right of Cuba to its rightful place among the family of nations.

Cuba's atrocious record on race was somehow overlooked by the Congressional Black Caucus. Last week the Stalinist regime that jailed and tortured the longest suffering black political prisoner in modern history (Eusebio Penalver) rolled out the red carpet for 6 smitten members of the CBC. All of these U.S. legislators met with "President" Raul Castro while a lucky three secured back-stage passes to meet Fidel himself. Not since Ann Margaret's reaction to Conrad Birdie's kiss has anything been recorded to match these U.S. legislators' reaction to these meetings. "He looked directly into my eyes!" gasped Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Ca.) "and...