Tag Archives: video

Afghan-Americans to Pakistan: stop supporting terrorism

On August 14, almost 50 Afghan-Americans gathered outside the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C. to protest what they say is Pakistan’s ongoing support of terrorist organizations operating in Afghanistan. The protesters called for the United States Congress to stop funding the Pakistani government and for the Pakistani government to stop supporting terrorism networks operating in Afghanistan.

Tagged Afghanistan, Ezra Kaplan, foreign policy, Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, national security, Pakistan, Pakistani embassy, terror, Terrorism, video

The Debrief: Guantanamo Edition // OPSEC 101

In the third installment of “The Debrief: Guantanamo Edition,” Medill NSJI reporters Taylor Hall and Ezra Kaplan give you a crash course in OPSEC, or operations security, as it pertains to reporting from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. Learn what OPSEC and how to navigate it in the course of your Guantanamo coverage.

Tagged Cuba, defense, Ezra Kaplan, Gitmo, GTMO, Guantanamo, Guantanamo Bay, journalism, Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, military, Taylor Hall, the-debrief, video

Korean War Memorial Anniversary Gathering

This week marks the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, and the 20th anniversary of the Korean War Veterans Memorial. Service members and families gathered at the memorial over the weekend to hear the names read of the fallen soldiers. The Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation is currently pushing legislation that would allow them to build a glass wall around the memorial with these names listed.

Tagged defense, Korea, Korean War, Medill National Security Journalism, military, Nikki McGee, veterans, vets, video, video journalism

Considering religious motivations to counter Islamic State

WASHINGTON — Religious experts are saying the U.S. approach with ISIS should be more focused on the movement’s ideology. Islamic extremists claim to be restoring the faith to its original interpretation as part of their recruitment strategy. Experts say interpretations of religion are meant to evolve over time.

“What if a message like the Koran was revealed in modern society, let’s say New York City,” Brookings fellow Shadi Hamid said. “So for example, when it comes to gay rights, presumably anything revealed today in New York would have a little bit of a different perspective, a more tolerant one. They’d say, ‘this doesn’t really relate to our modern context.”

The sentimental appeal ISIS is using continues to give the group momentum, with the ultimate goal being to take over and reform the Caliphate.

Tagged ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, journalism, Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, news, Nikki McGee, video

Security threat interrupts White House press briefing (video)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Secret Service evacuated the White House Briefing Room Tuesday afternoon after a bomb threat was called in to Washington police.

Security threat interrupts White House press briefing from Medill Washington on Vimeo.

The evacuation came in the middle of a televised press briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest. The North Lawn of the White House was also cleared.

PHOTOS, STORIFY: Bomb threat sparks evacuation of White House press briefing

Secret Service officials said the threat was called in at 1:53 p.m. About 30 minutes after the call journalists were allowed back into the White House. Secret Service officers on the scene said an all-clear had been issued.

“As a precaution, the White House Briefing Room was evacuated,” Secret Service spokeswoman Nicole B. Mainor said in a statement. “The evacuation was limited to the White House Press Briefing Room and did not affect any other sections of the White House.”

Shortly after the evacuation Earnest wrote on Twitter that the briefing would resume shortly after the room was cleared. “Hopefully won’t be long,” he wrote.

Tagged Beth Lawrence, breaking news, Josh Earnest, Medill D.C., Medill DC, Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, Medill National Security Zone, Medill NSJI, Medill NSZ, Medill Washington, national security, National Security Journalism Initiative, National Security Zone, NSJI, NSZ, video, Washington, Washington D.C., Washington DC, White House, White House Briefing Room, White House Briefing Room evacuation, White House evacuation, White House press briefing, White House press room evacuation

VIDEO: The 3-D-printed arms race

In May of 2013, the online organization Defense Distributed publicly released the blueprints for a plastic 3-D printed handgun they designed and built. Within two days, the U.S. Department of Defense ordered the group to remove this information, but it was too late. By then, over 100,000 people had downloaded the plans for the single-shot pistol, dubbed the Liberator.

The process of 3-D printing involves the layering of an additive, such as plastic, to create a model based on a digital file. This technology has the potential to revolutionize several industries and sectors, including manufacturing, medical implantation and art, but some are fearing the dangerous implications of 3-D printed firearms.

Last year, Illinois State Senator Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) and Illinois State Representative Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) proposed respective bills in the Illinois Senate and House that would ban the production of 3-D printed firearms without a Federal Firearms License. Both proposals are active in the Illinois General Assembly.

The current federal law, the Undetectable Firearms Act, outlaws firearms that could go unnoticed by a metal detector. That means a gun must have at least a 3.7-ounce metal component.

However, gun control advocates argue that 3-D printed firearms can be built with a purely superficial metal piece that can be removed and still yield the gun operable. Furthermore, the guns tend to have a short shelf life, making them particularly dangerous.

“They’re not reliable,” said Mark Walsh, program director for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. “There are only a certain number of opportunities to fire a bullet before the weapon malfunctions and has the potential to injure the person using it or someone else.”

The Liberator, a plastic 3-D printed gun, disassembled. (Photo: Justin Pickard)

Julie Friedman Steele, founder and CEO of the 3-D Printer Experience, a Chicago facility that manufactures 3-D printed objects, disagrees with restrictions placed on the technology.

“The first human innovation was fire, you could either use it for good or you could be an arsonist,” Friedman Steele said. “No matter what innovation it is, you’re going to find people using it for good or using it for bad, but if you take away the ability to use it, then there is so much innovation for good that we won’t be able to access.”

Back in 2013, Philadelphia became the first U.S. city to ban the production of 3-D printed firearms. That same year, the United Kingdom passed strict legislation banning all 3-D printed guns or gun components. Violators in Great Britain could face up to 10 years in prison.

In a city like Chicago that’s no stranger to gun violence, gun control advocates are hoping for similar legislation.

(Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Medill Reports: Chicago.)

Tagged 3-D printed firearms, 3-D printing, 3-D-printed guns, 3D printed firearms, 3D printed guns, 3D printing, Evan Garcia, MakerBot, Medill, Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, Medill National Security Zone, Medill NSJI, Medill NSZ, Medill Reports, Medill Reports: Chicago, Medill School, Medill School of Journalism, national security, National Security Journalism Initiative, national security reporting, National Security Zone, NSJI, NSZ, science, technology, video, video journalism

VIDEO: ‘Reporting Vietnam’ a gritty look at reporting the war

Marking the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War, a new exhibit allows visitors to take a retrospective look at the war’s legacy through the lens of American journalists.

It opened Friday at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

“With the exhibit,” said Curator Carrie Christoffersen, “we really hope that people will gain the better understanding of how and why journalists did what they did, how they brought coverage of the Vietnam War to a divided nation.”

The exhibit, called “Reporting Vietnam,” showcases historic photos, news footage, newspapers and magazines, evocative music and more than 90 artifacts that characterized the war era.

Challenging perceptions of America’s first televised war, it considers the question, “Did the press lose the war?”

The answer was “no” for Neil Lakdawala, a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

“The media was not always just trying to portrait what the government wants,” he said. “I think they did a good deal of work to bring the truth to the light.”

For both Lakdawala and Christoffersen, the highlight of the exhibit was the collection of Larry Burrows, an English photographer known for his pictures of the war.

On display is a helmet found at the site of the 1971 helicopter crash in Laos that killed Burrows and three counterparts.

There also are iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning pictures that symbolized the brutality of the war, such as “Napalm Girl,” which triggered worldwide controversy over the image of a nude, screaming South Vietnamese girl whose clothes and flesh were burned off by napalm.

“What’s a better way to learn about Vietnam and the war than by people who were actually in the war,” Lakdawala said.

The exhibit, accompanied by the screening of an original documentary chronicling the war’s key moments, continues through mid-September.

Published in conjunction with

Tagged 50th anniversary Vietnam War, Andersen Xia, combat journalism, combat reporting, defense, defense journalism, defense reporting, history, journalist, journalists, Medill, Medill D.C., Medill DC, Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, Medill National Security Zone, Medill NSJI, Medill NSZ, Medill School, Medill School of Journalism, Medill Washington, military, military journalism, military reporting, national security, National Security Journalism Initiative, National Security Zone, Newseum, NSJI, NSZ, reporter, reporters, reporting, video, video journalism, Vietnam War, Vietnam War anniversary, Weicong Xia

Defense Department shows off cutting-edge tech

WASHINGTON — More than 100 display booths popped up in the Pentagon courtyard for the first-ever Defense Department Lab Day. These innovations, most of which are still under development, were designed by about 38,000 scientists and engineers.

Published in conjunction with

Tagged Andersen Xia, defense, Defense Department, Defense Department Lab Day, defense tech, defense technology, Department of Defense, DoD, innovation, lab day, Medill, Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, Medill National Security Zone, Medill NSJI, Medill NSZ, Medill School, Medill School of Journalism, military, military tech, military technology, National Security Journalism Initiative, National Security Zone, NSJI, NSZ, Pentagon, science, technology, the Pentagon, video, Weicong Xia

Tag Archives: video

Afghan-Americans to Pakistan: stop supporting terrorism

The Debrief: Guantanamo Edition // OPSEC 101

Korean War Memorial Anniversary Gathering

Considering religious motivations to counter Islamic State

Security threat interrupts White House press briefing (video)

VIDEO: The 3-D-printed arms race

VIDEO: ‘Reporting Vietnam’ a gritty look at reporting the war

Defense Department shows off cutting-edge tech

Medill National Security Reporting Project

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