Democracy Now:
"NERMEEN SHAIKH We begin today’s show looking at the war in Ukraine. On Wednesday, a Russian missile hit an outdoor market in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, killing 17 and injuring 32. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Ukraine in months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the, quote, 'utter inhumanity' of the attack."
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/9/7/hanna_perekhoda_ilya_budraitskis_ukraine_russia
-->Unfortunately, Democracy Now's look at the war in Ukraine, was one of the most distorted I have listened to in recent weeks. Amy refers to her two guests as "activists," but activists for what? Both did nothing more than spout arguments for further US militarism in Ukraine. There was no peace guest, nor anyone even encouraging negotiations. It was like listening to our mainstream media, always cheering on more weapons and billions for a war that could bring down the human race.
There must be great pressure on Democracy Now to toe the line when it comes to this war. Reading between the lines, we can see the intense need of the Pentagon to sell its latest imperialistic gamble. One might wish for our children and grandchildren that our media would take the side of nuclear sanity. But we have to assume that the inner Washington elite has already decided to risk everything on "winning" in Ukraine. We were lucky once, when JFK stood up to the warmongers in his own party. But chances are we won't be so lucky this time around.
I feel sorry for Amy and Nermeen. They must know exactly how this propaganda is forced upon them. But they are merely two people. The nuclear armageddon will engulf us all.
=====
Common Dreams:
"With Funds Opposed by GOP, IRS to Target Ultrawealthy Tax Delinquents. 'This news stands in stark contrast to the approach taken by House Republicans, who want to allow wealthy tax cheats to continue business as usual,' said U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Friday won praise from congressional Democrats and progressive groups for announcing "a sweeping, historic effort to restore fairness in tax compliance by shifting more attention onto high-income earners, partnerships, large corporations, and promoters abusing the nation's tax laws.
The IRS effort is enabled by some of the $80 billion in funding for the agency included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which President Joe Biden signed into law last year. About a quarter of that money is set to be clawed back as part of his recent deal with congressional Republicans to temporarily suspend the nation's debt limit."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/irs-targeting-rich-tax-cheats
-->This is a big win for left. At last the billionaire cheaters will have to pay a little more (or maybe a lot more). It is a step away from government by the very richest. It is puzzling that most of the US media did not cover this story. Perhaps it's because so many rich media owners are in mourning.
=====
The Intercept:
"Last week, Intercept journalists Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain published a bombshell investigation into Pakistan’s political crisis. Grim and Hussain were provided a Pakistani intelligence document by an anonymous source, outlining how the U.S. government pressured the Pakistani government to oust former Prime Minister Imran Khan. This week on Deconstructed, Grim and Hussain discuss their reporting, the leaked cable, and the fallout from the political crisis in Pakistan.
In the past year, widespread demonstrations have rocked Pakistan, as supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan continue to rally in his support. Last year, Khan was ousted after a no-confidence vote in the Pakistani parliament. As people have taken to the streets in support of Khan, the military has engaged in widespread repression, leading to what many are calling the most serious political crisis in Pakistani history. Khan and his supporters have said that the U.S. State Department supported and even encouraged his ousting last year.
Khan has been pointing to a secret Pakistani intelligence document as proof of the U.S.’ role in the crisis. No one had access to it, until now. Ryan and I were provided the document by an anonymous source in the Pakistani military, who said that they had no ties to Imran Khan or Khan’s party."
https://theintercept.com/2023/08/18/deconstructed-leaked-pakistan-cable/
-->Few in the US media dared cover this story. It exposes a CIA attempt to overthrow a popular leader in the Third World. So what's the big story; the CIA has been doing that since the end World War II, and in so many countries. Maybe it is just the shame of it all that made the NYT hide this news.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Common Dreams:
"Manufacturing (and Massaging) Consent at the New York Times. The editors from the 'paper of record' write as if from a parallel universe in which the United States has had nothing to do with provoking and sustaining the conflict in Ukraine. ...
Evidently, any input that might undermine 'support' (which the editors go on to specify should be understood as 'full support against Russia’s unprovoked invasion') is supposed to be excluded. So, what is allowed in this debate, according to the Times editorial board? First and foremost, an admission that Ukraine is lagging on the battlefield, that polls reveal diminishing support for further U.S. investment in a losing fight, and that how to end the war has become a hot topic prompting 'sometimes nasty' discussion. Or, to put it more bluntly than the Times ever would, measures must be taken lest the public grow disenchanted with the dollar drain required to pay for endless bloodshed, particularly given the obvious failure of Ukraine’s much-hyped counter-offensive. ...
In this universe, the U.S. is not a 'decider' but only a kindly upholder of Ukrainian agency, despite having sabotaged a draft peace agreement that might have ended the war in March-April 2022 with a Russian withdrawal in exchange for a pledge of Ukrainian neutrality; despite having either perpetrated or colluded in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines; despite having pressured an ill-prepared and reluctant Ukraine to begin its disastrous counter-offensive; and despite being the major funder of this conflict, to the profit of our military-industrial overlords."
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/new-york-times-editorial-ukraine-war
-->It is hard to have much respect for the "Gray Lady" anymore. The Ukraine war has revealed just how closely the NYT follows the Pentagon's talking points. The newspaper is little more than a propaganda instrument for the military-industrial complex.
=====
Information Clearing House:
"According to the U.S. government and the ever-obsequious New York Times, the Ukraine war was 'unprovoked,' the Times’ favorite adjective to describe the war. Putin, allegedly mistaking himself for Peter the Great, invaded Ukraine to recreate the Russian Empire. Yet last week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg committed a Washington gaffe, meaning that he accidentally blurted out the truth.
In testimony to the European Union Parliament, Stoltenberg made clear that it was America’s relentless push to enlarge NATO to Ukraine that was the real cause of the war and why it continues today. Here are Stoltenberg’s revealing words:
'The background was that President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement. That was what he sent us. And was a pre-condition to not invade Ukraine. Of course, we didn’t sign that.' "
https://informationclearinghouse.blog/2023/09/20/nato-chief-admits-nato-expansion-was-key-to-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/
-->How much longer can the administration, and it propaganda arm, The NYT, pretend that Putin provoked this war? Here you have the NATO Secretary-General admitting that the war is all about NATO expansion. Of course, the NYT didn't print this story.
=====
Jacobin:
"Some Democrats Are Trying to Preemptively Outlaw a Billionaire Tax. Sensing its popularity, Obama’s former Supreme Court lawyer and a Louisiana Democrat are using an obscure corporate taxation case to try to make a federal wealth tax illegal before it even exists. ...
Listed on the Katyal-authored amicus brief alongside SAFE is the group’s senior adviser, former Louisiana Democratic senator John Breaux, who also lobbies for ExxonMobil, Norfolk Southern, and Boeing — corporations whose top executives could have a financial interest in the outcome of the case. Breaux also lobbies for billionaire financial magnate and Democratic megadonor James Simons. ...
Breaux, who served in Congress from 1972 to 2005, was a member of the New Democrat Coalition that had backed Bill Clinton’s neoliberal agenda. After leaving Congress, he became a corporate lobbyist — as many corporate Democrats do."
https://jacobin.com/2023/09/wealth-tax-supreme-court-katyal-safe?mc_cid=40bf85b6bd&mc_eid=487355f8cb
-->Are the Democrats in bed with the Billionaires as much as the Republicans are? No, the Republicans are worse. But many powerful Democrats also serve the interests of the filthy rich. The two party, one oligarchy political system.
"Manufacturing (and Massaging) Consent at the New York Times. The editors from the 'paper of record' write as if from a parallel universe in which the United States has had nothing to do with provoking and sustaining the conflict in Ukraine. ...
Evidently, any input that might undermine 'support' (which the editors go on to specify should be understood as 'full support against Russia’s unprovoked invasion') is supposed to be excluded. So, what is allowed in this debate, according to the Times editorial board? First and foremost, an admission that Ukraine is lagging on the battlefield, that polls reveal diminishing support for further U.S. investment in a losing fight, and that how to end the war has become a hot topic prompting 'sometimes nasty' discussion. Or, to put it more bluntly than the Times ever would, measures must be taken lest the public grow disenchanted with the dollar drain required to pay for endless bloodshed, particularly given the obvious failure of Ukraine’s much-hyped counter-offensive. ...
In this universe, the U.S. is not a 'decider' but only a kindly upholder of Ukrainian agency, despite having sabotaged a draft peace agreement that might have ended the war in March-April 2022 with a Russian withdrawal in exchange for a pledge of Ukrainian neutrality; despite having either perpetrated or colluded in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines; despite having pressured an ill-prepared and reluctant Ukraine to begin its disastrous counter-offensive; and despite being the major funder of this conflict, to the profit of our military-industrial overlords."
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/new-york-times-editorial-ukraine-war
-->It is hard to have much respect for the "Gray Lady" anymore. The Ukraine war has revealed just how closely the NYT follows the Pentagon's talking points. The newspaper is little more than a propaganda instrument for the military-industrial complex.
=====
Information Clearing House:
"According to the U.S. government and the ever-obsequious New York Times, the Ukraine war was 'unprovoked,' the Times’ favorite adjective to describe the war. Putin, allegedly mistaking himself for Peter the Great, invaded Ukraine to recreate the Russian Empire. Yet last week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg committed a Washington gaffe, meaning that he accidentally blurted out the truth.
In testimony to the European Union Parliament, Stoltenberg made clear that it was America’s relentless push to enlarge NATO to Ukraine that was the real cause of the war and why it continues today. Here are Stoltenberg’s revealing words:
'The background was that President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement. That was what he sent us. And was a pre-condition to not invade Ukraine. Of course, we didn’t sign that.' "
https://informationclearinghouse.blog/2023/09/20/nato-chief-admits-nato-expansion-was-key-to-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/
-->How much longer can the administration, and it propaganda arm, The NYT, pretend that Putin provoked this war? Here you have the NATO Secretary-General admitting that the war is all about NATO expansion. Of course, the NYT didn't print this story.
=====
Jacobin:
"Some Democrats Are Trying to Preemptively Outlaw a Billionaire Tax. Sensing its popularity, Obama’s former Supreme Court lawyer and a Louisiana Democrat are using an obscure corporate taxation case to try to make a federal wealth tax illegal before it even exists. ...
Listed on the Katyal-authored amicus brief alongside SAFE is the group’s senior adviser, former Louisiana Democratic senator John Breaux, who also lobbies for ExxonMobil, Norfolk Southern, and Boeing — corporations whose top executives could have a financial interest in the outcome of the case. Breaux also lobbies for billionaire financial magnate and Democratic megadonor James Simons. ...
Breaux, who served in Congress from 1972 to 2005, was a member of the New Democrat Coalition that had backed Bill Clinton’s neoliberal agenda. After leaving Congress, he became a corporate lobbyist — as many corporate Democrats do."
https://jacobin.com/2023/09/wealth-tax-supreme-court-katyal-safe?mc_cid=40bf85b6bd&mc_eid=487355f8cb
-->Are the Democrats in bed with the Billionaires as much as the Republicans are? No, the Republicans are worse. But many powerful Democrats also serve the interests of the filthy rich. The two party, one oligarchy political system.
Wednesday, September 06, 2023
The New York Times:
"Decades After Dictatorship, Chile Mounts Search for Hundreds Who Vanished. President Gabriel Boric authorized a new national search plan ahead of the 50th anniversary of the coup that toppled the government and led to the disappearance and killing of thousands."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/world/americas/chile-military-coup-disappeared-search.html?searchResultPosition=2
-->Well, it was more than thousands killed. It was more like tens of thousands. But that is a mild omission compared to the rest the the NYT article. What was omitted? Well, the fact that the coup was planned and paid for by the CIA. In fact, Kissinger and Nixon spent millions trying to bankrupt Chile its new president, Salvador Alleinde. Worst than that, the US assassinated a Chilean general who supported the president. And as the murders went on, the US press covered it all up, 17 years of brutal dictatorship.
Now I can see covering up the coup. The US likes to preach democracy, of course, but seldom follows its own propaganda. But 17 years covering up Pinochet's crimes? Even praising the military regime? Does US propaganda have no end?
Apparently not, since an article in our sorry "newspaper of record" can't even mention this US involvement in overthrowing the elected president of Chile, destroying its democratic traditions, and hiding its murders of up to 30,000 civilians. Read the NYT article again, so you can get a sense of how our media covers up US war crimes in the rest of the world. And I hope you escaped Scott Simon on NPR this weekend. His bloviating about Chile was particularly revolting, given the fact that he completely omitted any US involvement in the war crimes.
=====
Common Dreams:
"The Biden administration will, for the first time, send controversial armor-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, according to Reuters. The munition can be fired from US Abrams tanks, which are expected to arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks. ...
"Decades After Dictatorship, Chile Mounts Search for Hundreds Who Vanished. President Gabriel Boric authorized a new national search plan ahead of the 50th anniversary of the coup that toppled the government and led to the disappearance and killing of thousands."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/world/americas/chile-military-coup-disappeared-search.html?searchResultPosition=2
-->Well, it was more than thousands killed. It was more like tens of thousands. But that is a mild omission compared to the rest the the NYT article. What was omitted? Well, the fact that the coup was planned and paid for by the CIA. In fact, Kissinger and Nixon spent millions trying to bankrupt Chile its new president, Salvador Alleinde. Worst than that, the US assassinated a Chilean general who supported the president. And as the murders went on, the US press covered it all up, 17 years of brutal dictatorship.
Now I can see covering up the coup. The US likes to preach democracy, of course, but seldom follows its own propaganda. But 17 years covering up Pinochet's crimes? Even praising the military regime? Does US propaganda have no end?
Apparently not, since an article in our sorry "newspaper of record" can't even mention this US involvement in overthrowing the elected president of Chile, destroying its democratic traditions, and hiding its murders of up to 30,000 civilians. Read the NYT article again, so you can get a sense of how our media covers up US war crimes in the rest of the world. And I hope you escaped Scott Simon on NPR this weekend. His bloviating about Chile was particularly revolting, given the fact that he completely omitted any US involvement in the war crimes.
=====
Common Dreams:
"The Biden administration will, for the first time, send controversial armor-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, according to Reuters. The munition can be fired from US Abrams tanks, which are expected to arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks. ...
This follows an earlier decision by the Biden administration to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine despite concerns over the dangers such weapons pose to civilians. If the US deploys depleted uranium shells to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to retaliate with DU rounds—which are linked to birth defects, miscarriages, and cancer...
The use of depleted uranium munitions has been fiercely debated, with opponents like the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons saying there are dangerous health risks from ingesting or inhaling depleted uranium dust, including cancers and birth defects."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-to-begin-sending-controversial-depleted-uranium-shells-to-ukraine
-->The NYT covers Ukraine endlessly. But no mention of this dangerous US escalation. The Pentagon calls the shots when it comes to the NYT reporting on our endless wars.
=====
FAIR:
"When wildfires tore across Maui on August 9, devastating the Hawaiian island gem, media covered the disaster extensively. Broadcast news featured dramatic photographs that showed the horrors of the island’s destruction, with online videos shared everywhere from the Weather Channel to Inside Edition. Reporting carried testimonial descriptions like 'war zone' and 'apocalyptic.'...
Most of the corporate press focused on the island’s sensational visual destruction, official responses, body counts and destroyed structures. Meanwhile, news reports largely confused or denied the climate crisis’s contribution to the fire, and ignored the connections between fossil fuel use, increased CO2 levels and planetary heating. ...
More, the Times asserted 'It’s difficult to directly attribute any single hurricane to climate change'—as though there are some weather events that are affected by the climate, and others that are not. This is the discredited language of climate denial and doubt, pushed for decades by Exxon and other mega-fossil fuel corporations. Why include it, when the next sentence acknowledges that bigger storms result from increasing temperatures?"
https://fair.org/home/maui-fire-coverage-ignored-fossil-fuel-responsibility/
-->The nation's media have simply learned to stop worrying and love fossil fuels as well as global warming.
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