Remember when Newt Gingrich pretended to be “surprised” by the deluge of vicious, hateful right wing comments responding to his praise of Nelson Mandela?

Well, that was yesterday. Today he’s come up with a way to blame it all on liberals, specifically those dirty liberals at MSNBC, who (according to Gingrich) used Mandela’s death as an excuse to “attack” Ronald Reagan.

Former Speaker of the House and co-host of CNN’s Crossfire Newt Gingrich appeared on New Day Monday morning to discuss conservative backlash toward his praise of late civil rights icon Nelson Mandela, and changed his tune from the explanation he offered Candy Crowley over the weekend. While citing a misunderstanding of Mandela’s legacy, Gingrich also blamed “elements of the left, particularly on one news channel, who went overboard in trying to use this in a chance to attack Ronald Reagan.”

Of course, Ronald Reagan did oppose sanctions against the South African apartheid regime (in fact, he removed the sanctions put in place by the Carter administration), he did denounce Mandela, he did approve a billion dollar IMF loan to the Botha government, and he did sell them arms (that were used in Botha’s brutal crackdown on the black population).

Pointing out historical facts is not an “attack” or a “smear,” unless you’re Newt Gingrich and you need a way to walk back your criticisms of the deranged right wing base and blame it on the usual suspect: the “left wing media.”

Stand back — Glenn Greenwald’s playing the victim again: Glenn Greenwald Vows to Return to U.S. After ‘Exile’.

Glenn Greenwald said in an interview published late last week that he intends to return to the United States at some point, admitting that he does “feel a bit on exile.”

The Brazil-based American journalist who has reported extensively on top secret surveillance programs revealed through documents leaked by Edward Snowden said he refuses to be kept out of his native country simply for doing his job.

“I do feel a bit on exile but I don’t mean to stay away from the US,” Greenwald told the website Telerama. “I wanna force the issue at some point. I refuse to be kept out of my own country for doing journalism.”

In point of fact, Greenwald “exiled” himself to Brazil, nobody is trying to keep him out of the United States, and his talk about “forcing the issue” is absurd. There is no issue to force, and he knows this; but painting himself as a victim of the evil US always plays well with his cultish followers.

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Newt Gingrich is the latest right wing figure to make a gracious statement on the death of Nelson Mandela, and find himself the target of thousands of abusive, racist and hateful messages from his own base as a result.

“President Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest leaders of our lifetime,” he wrote. “When he visited the Congress I was deeply impressed with the charisma and the calmness with which he could dominate a room. It was as if the rest of us grew smaller and he grew stronger and more dominant the longer the meeting continued.”

Gingrich’s statement, however, was met with backlash from many of his followers.

“Newt, I was rooting for you to win the primaries and become the next president; please tell me your joking!! Mandela was a commie murderer!!” read one comment that was popular with other users.

“You’re forgetting Mandela’s extreme racism! There are YouTubes of Mandela singing songs about murdering the white man. I spit on his grave….,” read another.

When asked about the criticism in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Gingrich replied, “I was very surprised by it. [My wife] Callista posted my statement on her Facebook page and was amazed at some of the intensity — some of whom came back three, four and five times repeating how angry they were.”

Gingrich’s words on Mandela may sound sane enough, but I’m not sure why he’s surprised by the response from the right wing base. After all, this is the same guy who was scheduled to speak at hate group leader Pamela Geller’s “Ground Zero Mosque” rally, the same guy who called Obama “the first food stamp President,” and the same guy who said Obama has a “Kenyan world view.” Among many other similar statements.

He’s been blatantly pandering to the knuckle draggers in the right wing base for decades, but now he’s shocked! when they react exactly as he’s indoctrinated them to react? I don’t believe it, sorry. He’s no political dummy; he had to expect this.

These excerpts are from one of the many defining speeches that Nelson Mandela gave, a statement from the Rivonia trial where he was found guilty of sabotage. In it he gives a clear answer to accusations of communism, and the reasons the ANC chose sabotage over other forms of active resistance. After he was sentenced he would not be heard again for decades.

I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot. I was born in Mthatha, 46 years ago. My guardian was my cousin, who was the acting paramount chief of Tembuland, and I am related both to the present paramount chief of Tembuland, Sabata Dalindyebo, and to Kaizer Matanzima, the chief minister of the Transkei.

As I understand the state case… the suggestion is that Umkhonto was the inspiration of the Communist Party which sought by playing upon imaginary grievances to enrol the African people into an army which ostensibly was to fight for African freedom, but in reality was fighting for a communist state.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the suggestion is preposterous. Umkhonto was formed by Africans to further their struggle for freedom in their own land.

Our fight is against real, and not imaginary, hardships or, to use the language of the state prosecutor, so-called hardships. Basically, we fight against two features which are the hallmarks of African life in South Africa and which are entrenched by legislation which we seek to have repealed.

These features are poverty and lack of human dignity, and we do not need communists or so-called agitators to teach us about these things.

More: Nelson Mandela Death: Excerpts of His Rivonia Speech

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Serving Suggestion: 1080p, lights off, volume up.
Click “Read more” for details about the sequence.

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Images: eol.jsc.nasa.gov
Music: ‘Fill My Heart’ by Two Steps from Hell
Editor: David Peterson

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This montage of time-lapse photography from the International Space Station is collected from many taken in Expeditions 29, 30 and 31.

The previous sequence, ‘All Alone In The Night’, highlighted night sequences and spectacular aurora light shows and intended to give a feeling of flying through space.

The goal with this sequence was to bring a bit more attention to the station itself, including the humans aboard it, particularly Don Pettit (appearing in the final shot) who took many of the sequences in this montage.

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Sequences:

0:03 - Bosnia & Herzegovina to Ukraine
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 55446-55591

0:08 - South Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Liberia
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 154281-154472

0:16 - Greece and Turkey
Mission ISS031, Frames: 26008-26202

0:24 - South Pacific Ocean, near Peru
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 48993-49186

0:32 - Turkey to Syria
Mission: ISS031, Frame: 76590-76782

0:39 - Libya to the Mediterranean
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 25782-25972

0:47 - Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Madagascar
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 50818-51010

0:54 - Pacific Ocean, south of Japan
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 117700-117772

0:58 - Pacific Ocean, facing North passing Hawaii
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 101027-101674

1:02 - China, Japan, Pacific Ocean
Mission: ISS030, Frames: 112458-112553

1:06 - South Pacific to North Atlantic, across Colombia/Venezuela
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 75421-75513

1:10 - South Pacific to South Atlantic, across Chile/Argentina
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 42147-42242

1:14 - South Pacific to North Atlantic, across Colombia/Venezuela
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 48140-48199

1:17 - Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand to USA
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 66043-66136

1:22 - Southern Chile to Angola, facing south
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 49203-49277

1:25 - Iran to Australia
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 180064-180120

1:29 - North America to South America
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 180172-180222

1:33 - Pacific Ocean to Chile/Argentina/Brazil, facing south
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 48094-48139

1:37 - South Pacific/Japan & North Pacific
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 154164-154204,154205-154256

1:40 - South Pacific to South Atlantic, across Chile/Argentina/Brazil
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 44598-44645

1:44 - South Pacific to North Atlantic, across Chile/Argentina/Brazil
Mission: ISS030, Frames: 159064-159113

1:48 - India/Thailand/Indonesia/Australia/New Zealand
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 177704-177764

1:52 - South Pacific to South Atlantic, across Chile/Argentina/Brazil
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 37675-37735

1:56 - DR Congo/Zambia/Mozambique/Madagascar/Indian Ocean
Mission: ISS030, Frames: 21632-21819

2:03 - Lovejoy Comet over Australia
Mission: ISS030, Frames: 14225-14455

2:11 - Moon rising over China
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 27699-27763

2:13 - Moon rising over Pacific Ocean, south of Japan
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 27468-27526

2:14 - Moon rising over Taiwan & Philippines (with Don Pettit)
Mission: ISS031, Frames: 27802-28017

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Time for something amazing.

Live in 1992 @ North Sea Jazz Festival

Michael Brecker - sax & EWI
Randy Brecker - trumpet
Mike Stern - guitar
James Genus - bass
George Whitty - keys
Dave Weckl - drums

Sound mastered by Steffen Brix.

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