Thursday, February 17, 2011

Fantasyland Media:

http://www.fantasylandmedia.org

Each week, we cover the stories that are just left out of the US propaganda machine. News that the people in charge, the corporations and your government want keep from the public eye.

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The NY Times:
"Neither party has put forward specific proposals to begin grappling with the most pressing long-term budget problem: the huge costs in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security programs as the population ages and medical costs rise, a bill that could overwhelm the government and crimp the economy if not addressed."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/us/politics/15obama.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=jachie%20calmes&st=cse

-->The NY Times doesn't shy away from the big lie when it comes to Social Security; it is always "broke" or "going broke." This despite the fact that the federal government has made money on Social Security since the 1980's, taxing the working class (those making under $106,000) much more than was necessary to support this program. The result is that the federal government owes Social Security over a trillion dollars, money it has spent on wars and tax cuts for the very wealthy. Social Security would be solvent for the next 50 years if the income level for payroll taxes were raised from $106,000 to $120,000. But Wall Street wants this money to speculate with, and our newspaper of record is not about to let truth about Social Security get in the way.

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Institute for Public Accuracy:
“So, less than two months after signing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans into law, Obama proposes a budget that attacks programs that help the working poor and the most needy heat their homes, expand their access to graduate-level education, put their kids in Head Start, [and fund] summer jobs for youth, career development, after-school programs, child care, GED programs, affordable housing through cuts in Section 8 vouchers and public housing assistance, homelessness prevention, housing court advocacy, food pantries, access to tax credits, senior programs and more.”
http://web001.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/02/14-11

-->The NY Times, of course, never refers to the specifics of Obama's budget cuts, preferring generalities like "an array of domestic programs, including community services and environmental protections." Very little is said about Obama's tax giveaways to the very wealthy that made these cuts necessary.

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Guardian:
"Three large energy companies have been carrying out covert intelligence-gathering operations on environmental activists, the Guardian can reveal.
The energy giant E.ON, Britain's second-biggest coal producer Scottish Resources Group and Scottish Power, one of the UK's largest electricity-generators, have been paying for the services of a private security firm that has been secretly monitoring activists.

Leaked documents show how the security firm's owner, Rebecca Todd, tipped off company executives about environmentalists' plans after snooping on their emails. She is also shown instructing an agent to attend campaign meetings and coaching him on how to ingratiate himself with activists. The disclosures come as police chiefs, on the defensive over damaging revelations of undercover police officers in the protest movement, privately claim that there are more corporate spies in protest groups than undercover police officers."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/14/energy-firms-activists-intelligence-gathering

-->US media, including The NY Times, didn't cover this story of corporate spying on environmental activists in England. Maybe that's because it doesn't want to call attention to major US energy corporations doing the same.