Today in History: June 28

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Mel Brooks is 90 today. Every day is a celebration of life for him. Marc Maron introduced his interview with Brooks with the declaration, “He won life.”

“What were you born?” asked David Susskind of Brooks in 1970. Brooks replied, “George M. Cohan.” That quote is from Kenneth Tynan’s 1978 New Yorker magazine profile, “Frolics and Detours of a Short Hebrew Man,” which I just discovered is only available online, through the new Yorker itself, as a PDF of a photocopy.

There is little I can add to the world’s knowledge or collection of thoughts about Mel Brooks so here is a visit from the 2000 Year Old Man (after the jump):
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‘Taking pictures isn’t a crime’

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

The second hearing in the trial of the 739 defendants facing charges related to the “Rabaa sit-in” in Egypt, a trial that includes the photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid (“Shawkan”) will be held in a few hours on Tuesday, June 28, tomorrow.

Today it was announced that the National Press Club in Washington, DC, will honor Shawkan with one of this year’s two 2016 John Aubuchon Press Freedom awards. NPC President Thomas Burr said, “Shawkan’s case exemplifies the draconian way Egyptian authorities have cracked down on the press. Egypt is one of the world’s top jailers of news professionals, and the situation there is not improving.”

Because there are so many defendants, the trial is being conducted in a special building constructed for mass trials. It is outside Tora Prison near Cairo.

For two years, Shawkan was held without knowing what the charges against him are; in March, he and his lawyers finally learned that he faces nine charges that range from “joining a criminal gang” to “murder.” From the moment he was arrested on August 14, 2013, till March of this year, he did not know that he faces execution if he is convicted. Charged with murder, Mahmoud Abu Zeid is in a fight for his life. For taking photos.

He has been in jail for almost three years now.
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#FreeLauriLove

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Lauri Love has not yet set foot in the United States. Certain parties in America—the NSA and the U.S. Justice Department—want to change this for the 31-year-old Briton. They want to extradict him to the U.S. to face an as-yet unknown number of charges, which have been filed in three districts.

It is a complicated legal case that involves different laws in two different countries, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
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