Thursday, October 01, 2015

The NY Times:
"Israel Cracks Down on Unrest"

-->During much of the Civil Rights Era, The NY Times categorized most stories of resistance as "Negro Unrest." Instead of covering the reasons for the sit-ins or marches, our newspaper of record focused on the damage done (broken car windows and "lunch counter disputes"). In effect, its readers were given little idea of why the "unrest" was happening.

We are seeing the use of the word "unrest" again, this time referring to coverage of Israel's decision to shoot live ammunition at West Bank protesters. Isabel Kershner's recent article on the West Bank is all about "rock throwing and firebombing" done by Palestinians and very little about checkpoints, home demolitions, indefinite detentions without trial, and skunk water hosed into Palestinian houses. The article is entitled "Israel acts to Combat Violence in Jerusalem," with a photograph of a stone thrower. In short, Kershner (with close ties to the Israeli right wing) tries to make it look like Israel is always responding, when in fact the violence comes from over 65 years of brutal and internationally condemned occupation. 

The NYT is part of the occupation in its continually slanted news coverage of the Israel Defense Force in the West Bank and Gaza. Apartheid Israel is always treated as the aggrieved party, only trying to defend itself. Even when it becomes state policy to shoot Palestinian children. It is time to end the occupation of The NY Times by Zionists. 

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The NY Times:

-->It turns out that many people died of stress after the Fukushima meltdown, and since there is no proof that anyone died of nuclear contamination, well that means that nuclear power is safe! Or so writes George Johnson, a prolific pro-nuclear energy writer for The NY Times Science Section. And the silver lining is that because of "radiation hormesis" all those fleeting people actually benefited from the radiation building up there immune systems. 

The NY Times has long promoted the corporate view of health issues. "Smoking Beneficial, Says Paris Doctor; Nicotine Forms Anti-Microbe Chemicals" was the March 22, 1923 headline of a NY Times article that predicted "much rejoicing among smokers."

For a more trustworthy source, try alternative media: "Nuclear Power Kills: the Real Reason the NRC Canceled Its Nuclear Site Cancer Study" published by CounterPunch.

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Common Dreams:
"Amid the growing call for President Barack Obama to end the leasing of federal lands for fossil fuel development, a new report published Monday exposes the energy corporations profiting most from this public pillaging. The report (pdf), put forth by the Rainforest Action Network, compiles the top federal leaseholders—dubbed the 'Filthy 15'—in each of three fossil fuel arenas: coal mining, onshore oil and gas drilling, and offshore oil and gas drilling.

Perhaps not surprisingly, fossil fuel heavyweights including ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Arch Coal are among the companies paying as little as $2 an acre to mine taxpayer-owned forests, prairies, deserts, and bodies of water. These corporations, states the report, 'generate millions in profit each year off of our shared national resources while damaging our environmental legacy for generations to come.' ...

'We are seeing energy companies making millions off the public land giveaway. These companies have well documented track records of environmental destruction, violations of Indigenous sacred sites, systematic evasions of royalty payments, and passing on the massive clean up costs associated with their operations to the public. This is the worst of the worst,' said RAN campaigner and report co-author, Ruth Breech."

-->The NY Times omitted this story of the fuel giants ripping off the US public. Our newspaper of record always plays down corporate exploitation of publicly owned  assets.