Kremlingate: The Visuals. In January 2018 I initiated my coverage of the visual component of the Trump Gang’s treasonous collusion with Vladimir Putin and Russia, which has come to be known as Kremlingate, along with the visual response to that unfolding scandal.
As with my analyses of the imagery that emerged from and accompanied the 2012 presidential election (Obama-Biden vs. McCain-Palin) and the 2016 election cycle (Trump-Pence vs. Clinton-Kaine), I believe this major news story has a visual aspect that — subliminally, at the very least — has both probative value in the ongoing investigations and a substantial effect on public response to the issues involved. Since, as such, this falls within my territory, I have decided to take it up for the duration, meaning that I’ll pursue it until, one way or another — whether by impeachment, arrest, removal via the 25th Amendment, or early retirement on medical grounds — the Bloviator-in-Chief leaves office.
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Robert Dannin
The Dannin Papers. In June 2016, in the midst of a cotroversy over the work of Steve McCurry, I published a multi-installment Guest Post by Robert Dannin, who as Magnum Editorial Director from 1985-90 knew and worked with McCurry (and numerous others) at that agency. Dannin’s article contained so much compressed information, provocative insider insight, and tart critique concerning photojournalism and picture agencies that I invited him to become a regular contributor to this blog. After a hiatus, the series resumed in January 2018.
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Cellphone video screenshot (YouTube), Eric Garner chokehold by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, 7-15-14
Film the Police. I have commented periodically at this blog about citizen-journalist videos of grievous police misconduct. But the shameful spectacle of the nation’s top law officer, FBI Director James Comey, announcing repeatedly that the problem isn’t widespread and racially skewed abusive police behavior but citizen-journalist and police dashcam/bodycam videos of same, moved those issues front and center. In response, I have decided to offer, in installments, a thematically curated collection of the videos that provide evidence of pervasive police misconduct across the United States, with my own commentaries thereon.
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Special offer: If you want me to either continue pursuing a particular subject or give you a break and (for one post) write on a topic — my choice — other than the current main story, make a donation of $50 via the PayPal widget below, indicating your preference in a note accompanying your donation. I’ll credit you as that new post’s sponsor, and link to a website of your choosing. Include a note with your snail-mail address (or email it to me separately) for a free signed copy of my 1995 book Critical Focus!
But wait! There’s more! Donate now and I’ll include a copy of The Silent Strength of Liu Xia, the catalog of the 2012-13 touring exhibition of photos by the dissident Chinese photographer, artist, and poet, currently in her sixth year of extralegal house arrest in Beijing. The only publication of her photographic work, it includes all 26 images in the exhibition, plus another 14 from the same series, along with essays by Guy Sorman, Andrew Nathan, and Cui Weiping, professor at the Beijing Film Academy.
