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.
---------
Gush Shalom:
"The bill to prohibit left-wing Israeli organizations from getting funding from foreign institutions, including governments, which Sunday got the backing of the government of Israel, is another link in the chain of anti-democratic legislation which became the hallmark of this government and its representatives in the Knesset...
The initiators of the bill argue that it is designed to prevent outside interference in the internal affairs of the State of Israel - and that while at the same time the government of Israel, through such organizations as the Israel Lobby in Washington (AIPAC) interferes openly and flagrantly in the domestic affairs of the United States, trying to determine who will be elected and who will not be elected to Congress and to the Presidency, and how elected officials should conduct the United States' policy. Until and unless the government announces the dissolution of AIPAC and ceases all interference in United States elections, assertions and complaints of 'foreign interference in the affairs of Israel' are the height of hypocrisy."
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/events/1321271743
-->The NY Times, always a supporter of AIPAC, did not draw such parallels for its readers. That task was left to Gush Shalom, Israel's biggest peace organization.
------
Inter Press Service:
"The report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published by a Washington think tank Tuesday repeated the sensational claim previously reported by news media all over the world that a former Soviet nuclear weapons scientist had helped Iran construct a detonation system that could be used for a nuclear weapon.
But it turns out that the foreign expert, who is not named in the IAEA report but was identified in news reports as Vyacheslav Danilenko, is not a nuclear weapons scientist but one of the top specialists in the world in the production of nanodiamonds by explosives.
In fact, Danilenko, a Ukrainian, has worked solely on nanodiamonds from the beginning of his research career and is considered one of the pioneers in the development of nanodiamond technology, as published scientific papers confirm."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/09-5
-->Another phony story about Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. Leave it to The NY Times to leave this pro-war propaganda unchallenged.
------
Common Dreams:
"Performing at what was probably the most secure place on the planet - an APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) dinner attended by President Obama and about 20 world leaders - Hawaiian musician Makana opened his suit jacket to reveal an “Occupy with Aloha” T-shirt and then spent 45 minutes repeatedly singing his terrific, newly released protest song, 'We Are the Many.' Makana's action was assisted by the Yes Lab and Occupy the Boardroom."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/14-2
-->The NY Times didn't print this story.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 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.
---------
Citizens for Legitimate Government:
" 'Occupy Boston' protesters in the US have stormed the Israeli consulate in the city and held a brief sit-in in the building's lobby, Press TV reports. On Friday, activists gathered calling for the liberation of Palestine, angry at Israel for intercepting an aid flotilla on its way to the besieged Gaza Strip.
Protesters chanted slogans such as, 'not another nickel, not another dime! No more money for Israel's crimes' and 'Vive viva Palestina,' demanding the departure of Israeli consulate officials from the US."
http://www.legitgov.org/Occupy-Boston-takes-Israeli-consulate
-->Readers of The NY Times were never informed about this occupation of the Israeli Consulate. The role of The NY Times is to play down any US protest against Israel's apartheid tactics in the West Bank and Gaza.
------
Guardian UK:
"The Greek prime minister George Papandreou's loss of power is not surprising: the reaction of Greeks to the 27 October agreement with its new tranche of austerity measures and the further undermining of national independence was devastating for the government. The next day, a military parade was abandoned as protesters occupied the streets, and the president had to flee; parades elsewhere were similarly interrupted. The political elites, who felt unassailable for 30 years, now sense the popular anger and are unable to comprehend or contain it.
The call for a referendum was the irrational act of a regime that had lost touch with the people and was trying desperately to save its skin. Papandreou's gambit looked like a veiled threat to the eurozone authorities and was interpreted as such by leaders who have been strongly rebuffed in recent referendums by the French and the Dutch - where two of the core nations rejected the European constitution and ended aspirations for the creation of a European superstate based on neoliberal principles. 'Referendum', a dirty word in the corridors of Brussels, evoked the fear elites feel when the people momentarily enter the political stage."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/06/greek-spring-europe-contagion-resistance
-->So that's what is happening in Greece. Fury at the financial elite, who robbed the nation's assets and are now trying to destroy the wages and rights of working people. Why, it's just like Occupy Wall Street! But our nation's media, including The NY Times, would never make this connection for their readers. The media in the United States exists to promote the power of the 1%, not the 99%.
------
Guardian UK:
"A second Iraq war veteran has suffered serious injuries after clashes between police and Occupy movement protesters in Oakland.
Kayvan Sabehgi, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in intensive care with a lacerated spleen. He says he was beaten by police close to the Occupy Oakland camp, but despite suffering agonising pain, did not reach hospital until 18 hours later.
Sabehgi, 32, is the second Iraq war veteran to be hospitalised following involvement in Oakland protests. Another protester, Scott Olsen, suffered a fractured skull on 25 October."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/04/occupy-oakland-second-veteran-injured
-->The NY Times didn't bother covering this story of a second Iraq vet beaten by the Oakland Police and now in intensive care. All the news that's "fit to print," as long as it supports the narrative of corporate America. Sad that the real news of our country must be read in an English newspaper.
------
Mercury News:
Experts in police use of force shocked by Oakland video. A Youtube video depicts police firing without warning or apparent provocation at videographer Scott Campbell early thursday, Nov. 3, 2011.
A video clip is raising new questions about whether police used excessive force against Occupy Oakland participants during the fracas after last week's general strike...
Geoffrey Alpert, a University of South Carolina criminal justice professor who's an expert in police decision-making and use of force, said the video left him 'astonished, amazed and embarrassed.'
'Unless there's something we don't know, that's one of the most outrageous uses of a firearm that I've ever seen,' he said. 'Unless there's a threat that you can't see in the video, that just looks like absolute punishment, which is the worst type of excessive force.'
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_19284774
-->Again, absolutely no coverage by The NY Times.
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.
---------
Citizens for Legitimate Government:
" 'Occupy Boston' protesters in the US have stormed the Israeli consulate in the city and held a brief sit-in in the building's lobby, Press TV reports. On Friday, activists gathered calling for the liberation of Palestine, angry at Israel for intercepting an aid flotilla on its way to the besieged Gaza Strip.
Protesters chanted slogans such as, 'not another nickel, not another dime! No more money for Israel's crimes' and 'Vive viva Palestina,' demanding the departure of Israeli consulate officials from the US."
http://www.legitgov.org/Occupy-Boston-takes-Israeli-consulate
-->Readers of The NY Times were never informed about this occupation of the Israeli Consulate. The role of The NY Times is to play down any US protest against Israel's apartheid tactics in the West Bank and Gaza.
------
Guardian UK:
"The Greek prime minister George Papandreou's loss of power is not surprising: the reaction of Greeks to the 27 October agreement with its new tranche of austerity measures and the further undermining of national independence was devastating for the government. The next day, a military parade was abandoned as protesters occupied the streets, and the president had to flee; parades elsewhere were similarly interrupted. The political elites, who felt unassailable for 30 years, now sense the popular anger and are unable to comprehend or contain it.
The call for a referendum was the irrational act of a regime that had lost touch with the people and was trying desperately to save its skin. Papandreou's gambit looked like a veiled threat to the eurozone authorities and was interpreted as such by leaders who have been strongly rebuffed in recent referendums by the French and the Dutch - where two of the core nations rejected the European constitution and ended aspirations for the creation of a European superstate based on neoliberal principles. 'Referendum', a dirty word in the corridors of Brussels, evoked the fear elites feel when the people momentarily enter the political stage."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/06/greek-spring-europe-contagion-resistance
-->So that's what is happening in Greece. Fury at the financial elite, who robbed the nation's assets and are now trying to destroy the wages and rights of working people. Why, it's just like Occupy Wall Street! But our nation's media, including The NY Times, would never make this connection for their readers. The media in the United States exists to promote the power of the 1%, not the 99%.
------
Guardian UK:
"A second Iraq war veteran has suffered serious injuries after clashes between police and Occupy movement protesters in Oakland.
Kayvan Sabehgi, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in intensive care with a lacerated spleen. He says he was beaten by police close to the Occupy Oakland camp, but despite suffering agonising pain, did not reach hospital until 18 hours later.
Sabehgi, 32, is the second Iraq war veteran to be hospitalised following involvement in Oakland protests. Another protester, Scott Olsen, suffered a fractured skull on 25 October."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/04/occupy-oakland-second-veteran-injured
-->The NY Times didn't bother covering this story of a second Iraq vet beaten by the Oakland Police and now in intensive care. All the news that's "fit to print," as long as it supports the narrative of corporate America. Sad that the real news of our country must be read in an English newspaper.
------
Mercury News:
Experts in police use of force shocked by Oakland video. A Youtube video depicts police firing without warning or apparent provocation at videographer Scott Campbell early thursday, Nov. 3, 2011.
A video clip is raising new questions about whether police used excessive force against Occupy Oakland participants during the fracas after last week's general strike...
Geoffrey Alpert, a University of South Carolina criminal justice professor who's an expert in police decision-making and use of force, said the video left him 'astonished, amazed and embarrassed.'
'Unless there's something we don't know, that's one of the most outrageous uses of a firearm that I've ever seen,' he said. 'Unless there's a threat that you can't see in the video, that just looks like absolute punishment, which is the worst type of excessive force.'
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_19284774
-->Again, absolutely no coverage by The NY Times.
Thursday, November 03, 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.
---------
Business Insider:
"Marine Says Oakland Used Crowd Control Methods That Are Prohibited In War Zones. As the events that led to Oakland protester Scott Olsen's head injury continue to unfold and investigations begin, we thought it important to offer some perspective.
This comment is from a former Marine with special operations in crowd control. He points out that shooting canisters such as those that likely hit Scott Olsen is prohibited under rules of engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan...
'How did a cop who is supposed to have training on his weapon system accidentally SHOOT someone in the head with a 40mm gas canister? Simple. He was aiming at him. I'll be the first to admit a 40mm round is tricky to aim if you are inexperienced but anyone can tell the difference between aiming at head level and going for range. The person that pulled that trigger has no business being a cop. He sent that round out with the intention of doing some serious damage to the protestors...' "
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-10-28/news/30331670_1_protester-gas-masks-lethal-force
-->Contrast this analysis to most of what the mainstream media gave us after Scott Olsen was stuck down. Perhaps the worst example is the coverage of the Washington Post after the attack. DC's premier newspaper carried a picture of an Oakland policeman patting a stray kitten.
------
IPS News:
"While the administration of Barack Obama vows to hold the Iranian government 'accountable' for the alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, the legal document describing evidence in the case provides multiple indications that it was mainly the result of an FBI 'sting' operation...
Both that language and the absence of any statement attributed to Arbabsiar (the accused) imply that the Iranian-American said nothing about assassinating the Saudi ambassador except in response to suggestions by the informant, who was already part of an FBI undercover operation.
The DEA informant, as the FBI account acknowledges in a footnote, had previously been charged with a narcotics offense by a state in the U.S. and had been cooperating in narcotics investigations – apparently posing as a drug cartel operative – in return for dropping the charges. The document is notably silent on whether the conversation was recorded.
A former FBI official familiar with procedures in such cases, who spoke to IPS anonymously, said the FBI would normally have recorded all such conversations touching on the possibility of terrorism. The absence of quotes from any of those meetings suggests that they do not support the case being made by the FBI and the Obama administration."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105458
-->Another phony plot hatched by the FBI, with flimsy evidence and a witness trying to beat a drug rap. On such lies, the empire launches its illegal wars of preemption. Isn't it a crime that our nation's media, including The NY Times can't dig a little deeper into a story like this?
------
Think Progress:
"NYT Bureau Chief To Appear On Panel For Islamophobic Organization’s Film...The New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Ethan Bronner, has stirred up controversy over recent speaking engagements. But an announcement on the 92nd St. Y’s website shows that Bronner is now scheduled to appear on a panel hosted by the Clarion Fund, an Islamophobic organization, to discuss the 'threat of a nuclear Iran'...
Bronner and the 92nd Street Y are free to associate themselves with whatever organizations they choose. But the fact that the Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief is lending his name to a Clarion Fund event, and the promotion of a film which advocates for military action against Iran, raises further questions about Bronner’s growing record of engaging in activities which could produce the appearance of a conflict of interest or undermine the impartiality of his reporting.
The Clarion Fund...distributed the inflammatory anti-Muslim documentary 'Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against The West' to 28 million swing state voters before the 2008 presidential election."
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/10/26/353954/ethan-bronner-clarion-fund-islamophobic/
-->Ethan Bronner is one of The NY Times principal reporter on the Israel/Palestine conflict. He promotes islamophobia on the side. No conflict of interest there! At a Vassar appearance two years ago, he expressed admiration for the illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank, calling them "people who make history."
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.
---------
Business Insider:
"Marine Says Oakland Used Crowd Control Methods That Are Prohibited In War Zones. As the events that led to Oakland protester Scott Olsen's head injury continue to unfold and investigations begin, we thought it important to offer some perspective.
This comment is from a former Marine with special operations in crowd control. He points out that shooting canisters such as those that likely hit Scott Olsen is prohibited under rules of engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan...
'How did a cop who is supposed to have training on his weapon system accidentally SHOOT someone in the head with a 40mm gas canister? Simple. He was aiming at him. I'll be the first to admit a 40mm round is tricky to aim if you are inexperienced but anyone can tell the difference between aiming at head level and going for range. The person that pulled that trigger has no business being a cop. He sent that round out with the intention of doing some serious damage to the protestors...' "
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-10-28/news/30331670_1_protester-gas-masks-lethal-force
-->Contrast this analysis to most of what the mainstream media gave us after Scott Olsen was stuck down. Perhaps the worst example is the coverage of the Washington Post after the attack. DC's premier newspaper carried a picture of an Oakland policeman patting a stray kitten.
------
IPS News:
"While the administration of Barack Obama vows to hold the Iranian government 'accountable' for the alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, the legal document describing evidence in the case provides multiple indications that it was mainly the result of an FBI 'sting' operation...
Both that language and the absence of any statement attributed to Arbabsiar (the accused) imply that the Iranian-American said nothing about assassinating the Saudi ambassador except in response to suggestions by the informant, who was already part of an FBI undercover operation.
The DEA informant, as the FBI account acknowledges in a footnote, had previously been charged with a narcotics offense by a state in the U.S. and had been cooperating in narcotics investigations – apparently posing as a drug cartel operative – in return for dropping the charges. The document is notably silent on whether the conversation was recorded.
A former FBI official familiar with procedures in such cases, who spoke to IPS anonymously, said the FBI would normally have recorded all such conversations touching on the possibility of terrorism. The absence of quotes from any of those meetings suggests that they do not support the case being made by the FBI and the Obama administration."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105458
-->Another phony plot hatched by the FBI, with flimsy evidence and a witness trying to beat a drug rap. On such lies, the empire launches its illegal wars of preemption. Isn't it a crime that our nation's media, including The NY Times can't dig a little deeper into a story like this?
------
Think Progress:
"NYT Bureau Chief To Appear On Panel For Islamophobic Organization’s Film...The New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Ethan Bronner, has stirred up controversy over recent speaking engagements. But an announcement on the 92nd St. Y’s website shows that Bronner is now scheduled to appear on a panel hosted by the Clarion Fund, an Islamophobic organization, to discuss the 'threat of a nuclear Iran'...
Bronner and the 92nd Street Y are free to associate themselves with whatever organizations they choose. But the fact that the Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief is lending his name to a Clarion Fund event, and the promotion of a film which advocates for military action against Iran, raises further questions about Bronner’s growing record of engaging in activities which could produce the appearance of a conflict of interest or undermine the impartiality of his reporting.
The Clarion Fund...distributed the inflammatory anti-Muslim documentary 'Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against The West' to 28 million swing state voters before the 2008 presidential election."
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/10/26/353954/ethan-bronner-clarion-fund-islamophobic/
-->Ethan Bronner is one of The NY Times principal reporter on the Israel/Palestine conflict. He promotes islamophobia on the side. No conflict of interest there! At a Vassar appearance two years ago, he expressed admiration for the illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank, calling them "people who make history."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)