A Federal Appeals Court today ruled that Josh Wolf had to turn over what is quickly becoming the hottest video since the Paris Hilton sex-tape or else go back to prison. The three-person court ruled unanimously that Wolf had to turn over the tape because there were no grounds for resisting the subpoena. The reason? "He simply videotaped what people did in a public place," the judges wrote.
"Wolf does not claim that he filmed anything confidential nor that he promised anyone anonymity or confidentiality. Therefore, this case does not raise the usual concerns in cases involving journalists."
Wolf, however, disagreed and said that if he were to hand over the video tape, he'd basically be nothing more than a government stoolie and that it would "have a chilling effect on myself, gaining access and trust with contacts, and have chilling effect on journalists in general, knowing their information can be subpoenaed at any moment." Wolf's lawyers are going to appeal the decision, maybe even possibly taking it to the Supreme Court. Wolf meanwhile, is looking at another visit to prison where if things continue the way they are, he'll be playing craps in his prison cell with Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams and trying to talk Judith Miller into baking him a cake.
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This dude's 15 minutes are getting set to expire.
So he filmed a bunch of wanky anarchist poseurs knocking over newspaper stands in the mission. From what I've seen of his video they were asking, practically begging for confrontation with the police.
How freaking irrelevant and nonsensical.
What I want to know is:
Why did they not just piss their beds and set their bodies on fire?
The fact that this little wanker with the video camera is getting press because he was nearby when a police officer was hurt is amazing. He's going to hold on to that precious tape for as long as he can, because that is all he's got. He is not a journalist.
Cops in the mission should be protecting citizens from gang violence and drugs, not cleaning up after over privileged thugs having a prissy anarchy party.
Mr. Wolf, enjoy your stay in the slammer and the remaining minutes of your time to shine. You are cute enough though, so you should get lots of material for your autobiographical expose. Bubba thinks that those glasses are hella tight.
Actually, Josh is a journalist and the "anarchist stoolie" has a few, shall we say, unresolved anger issues. Envy sure can get ugly.
Although the "anarchist stoolie" sounds bitter, I think a lot of what he says has some validity.
So Wolf is a journalist? Like, of the Amira Haas, Robert Fisk, Bob Woodward type? So, what source does he work for? How come I've never seen his name in print or attributed to other materials until now?
Does anyone with a camera who decides to go out with a hand-written "press pass" get to be "journalists" now?
And if he had filmed members of the KKK beating a young black man, would his defenders still want him to deny the evidence to the police?
Also, by releasing the footage to the mainstream media in the first place, wasn't he inviting the attention from law enforcement he's now getting?
It seems like a stupid thing for an "anarchist" to do, especially since real anarchists have been rabidly against the mainstream, establishment Capitalist press since the days Emma Goldman was harassed by the Hearst-owned Examiner.
Like "AS", I believe he is doing this for his own personal glory. He wants street cred, yet he's done nothing to earn it. Now I guess he gets to be a "political prisoner". I can just imagine the fundraisers and books to come.
Like most people who consider themselves "anarchists", he plays at such things and talks the talk but, in essence, there's no there there.
It's like pretenders spawning hundreds of pretenders spawning hundreds of pretenders.
Remember Alexander Berkman? He tried to murder a wealthy industrialist for the cause.
Josh Wolf just shot a home movie.
By the way, isn't it funny that the most successful, die-hard, and aggressive anti-capitalist insurgencies are in the Global South and are either Maoist/Authoritarian Socialist or Religious Fundamentalist in nature, whereas most Anarchists are white, ineffectual, and come from wealthy Western nations (spec. Britain and America)?