Thursday, July 05, 2012

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 to keep from the public eye.

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Common Dreams:
"'This is just the beginning,' warns Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at the Weather Underground, of what life with the impacts of climate change will look like. His message follows a week in which 2000 heat records were matched or broken and the month of June in which over 3200 heat records were matched or broken.
Yet during that time, with little exception, there was no mention of climate change during weather broadcasts in which viewers were told to expect little relief from steamy temperatures.
Speaking on Democracy Now! on Tuesday, Masters said, 'I think it’s important for the public to hear that what we’re seeing now is the future. We’re going to be seeing a lot more weather like this, a lot more impacts like we’re seeing from this series of heatwaves, fires and storms. And we better prepare for it. We better educate people what’s going on, give the best science that’s out there on what climate change is doing and where it’s likely to head. I think we’re missing a big opportunity here—or our TV meteorologists are—to educate and tell the population what is likely to happen. This is just the beginning, this kind of summer weather we’re having.' "
-->The NY Times, like most of the US media, seldom makes the connection between extreme weather and global warming. Too many business executives on The NY Times Board of Directors.
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Guardian UK:
"British and European foreign ministers are preparing to defy Washington at talks over an arms trade treaty, amid fears the US will use its diplomatic clout to water down proposals for the first comprehensive laws governing weapons sales.
More than 150 countries have sent delegations to the UN for the special month-long session that begins on Monday, with many hoping that 15 years after the idea of an arms trade treaty was first mooted by Nobel peace prize winners, and seven years after the UK took an unexpected lead on the issue, the UN is now close to an agreement that could transform the $1tn arms industry.
A draft of the treaty, agreed this year, states that governments must not approve arms sales to countries where there is a 'substantial risk of a serious violation' of human rights...
But the US wants the wording of this key component of the draft treaty changed to say governments need only 'consider' factors such as human rights records before authorising weapon sales."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/02/human-rights-arms-trade-treaty
-->The NY Times covered this story in its typical way. It blamed any number of countries for widely differing views on arms control, and ended with two extended quotes, one from the Heritage Foundation about potential "damage" to US foreign policy, and one from Senator Rand Paul warning of "gun-grabbers" on the National Association for Gun Rights website. Fair and balanced reporting from the Gray Lady.