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.
---------
McClatchy Newspapers:
"WASHINGTON — When congressional cost-cutters meet later this year to decide on trimming the federal budget, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq could represent juicy targets. But how much do the wars actually cost the U.S. taxpayer?
Nobody really knows. The National Priorities Project estimates the total financial cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars at over $1.23 trillion (http://costofwar.com. Nobody really knows.
Yes, Congress has allotted $1.3 trillion for war spending through fiscal year 2011 just to the Defense Department. There are long Pentagon spreadsheets that outline how much of that was spent on personnel, transportation, fuel and other costs. In a recent speech, President Barack Obama assigned the wars a $1 trillion price tag.
But all those numbers are incomplete. Besides what Congress appropriated, the Pentagon spent an additional unknown amount from its $5.2 trillion base budget over that same period. According to a recent Brown University study, the wars and their ripple effects have cost the United States $3.7 trillion, or more than $12,000 per American."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/08/16-3
-->Most American's know that our federal and state budgets are terribly out of balance. This Brown University study explains why our government is broke, and it's the war, stupid. The NY Times did not cover this story.
------
National Security Archive:
"TOP SECRET CIA 'OFFICIAL HISTORY' OF THE BAY OF PIGS: REVELATIONS...In perhaps the most important revelation of the entire official history, the CIA task force in charge of the paramilitary assault did not believe it could succeed without becoming an open invasion supported by the U.S. military. On page 149 of Volume III, Pfeiffer quotes still-secret minutes of the Task Force meeting held on November 15, 1960, to prepare a briefing for the new President-elect, John F. Kennedy: 'Our original concept is now seen to be unachievable in the face of the controls Castro has instituted,' the document states. 'Our second concept (1,500-3000 man force to secure a beach with airstrip) is also now seen to be unachievable, except as a joint Agency/DOD action.'
This candid assessment was not shared with the President-elect then, nor later after the inauguration..."
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB355/index.htm
-->Interesting to learn that the CIA lied to President Kennedy about the Bay of Pigs invasion. Just how many of our foreign policy decisions are made by the CIA rather than by our elected officials? The question will never occur to readers of the NY Times; our newspaper of record didn't print this story.
------
Free Press:
"AT&T's plan to take over T-Mobile is about gouging consumers, destroying a competitor and firing an estimated 20,000 American workers.
We at Free Press have warned about this from day one. Now, one of AT&T's own lawyers has confirmed it. He inadvertently leaked a letter that reveals the merger has nothing to do with expanding AT&T's coverage to 97 percent of the country – the main argument the company has made to gain Washington’s support – and everything to do with eliminating the cheaper T-Mobile option from the marketplace (and laying off half of its workforce) to pad company profits.
The truth is out. Every AT&T argument about the supposed benefits of this merger has now been proven wrong. As AT&T's case unravels, we must keep up the pressure and urge Washington to stop supporting a deal that is so harmful to workers, consumers and our economy."
http://act2.freepress.net/go/5575?akid=2759.8935889.ToPRpf&t=3
-->The NY Times is not interested in narratives that are critical of giant corporations. Nor is NPR. The coverage by both "liberal" news sources is heavily weighted by AT&T's official statements on the merger.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 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.
---------
There is no more dishonest reporting in the US media than what we have witnessed in the past month regarding the budget crisis. News about the nation's deficit is written by the Wall Street propagandists and passed off as reasonable analysis. Progressive voices are marginalized, so that working people are never reminded of the real reasons behind our nation's financial troubles.
Reason one: in the 1950's and 1960's, for every tax dollar collected from individuals, $1.50 was collected from corporations. At the present, for every dollar collected from individuals, $.25 is collected from corporations. Many of our largest, most profitable corporations pay nothing at all.
Reason two: in the 1950's and 1960's, the top tax rate paid by wealthy Americans was 91%. At the present, the very rich pay a top rate of 35%. Dividends and capital gains, the source of income for most multimillionaires, is pegged at 15%.
Reason three: the bailout of Wall Street speculators and the banks was closer to three trillion than the 750 billion reported in our media. Some has been repaid, but the worldwide give-away to the world's financial institutions is only now coming to light.
Reason four: the continuing wars in the Middle East and our nation's empire will cost three trillion in the decade, far more than is reported in the Pentagon budget.
None of this has anything to do with Social Security, Medicare, Pell Grants, teacher salaries, or the costs of environmental protections. In fact, all four reasons represent a type of criminal capitalism that will only get worse.
The very rich control Obama, the Congress, and almost all the media. There is no reason to think that corporations or the very wealthy will have to pay their fair share of taxes. In fact, the Estate Tax, is under continued assault by our nation's lawmakers. Billionaires want to leave all their obscene wealth to their children, while most of the nation's children face minimum wage or unemployment.
Since the very rich control US decision making, there is little chance that future Wall Street speculation will be regulated. In fact, the US is 96th out of 135 countries of the world in terms of income distribution, closest to Mexico and Iran. Unlike more progressive industrialized countries, the richest Americans have billions to speculate with, and virtually no incentive to restrain themselves. All will be bailed out by the US Treasury, so why worry?
Finally, endless wars mean endless profits to those in the criminal capitalist system. Haliburton is an example of a company that makes obscene profits from the wars the company creates and perpetuates. From Lyndon Johnson to Dick Cheney, Halliburton has had a hand in shaping foreign policy. The same is true of other corporations, like big oil, that profit from occupying foreign countries and exploiting their natural resources.
What will change any of this short of national rebellion?
------
The NY Times:
"Now, coming off one of his worst weeks since taking office, Mr. Obama is nearing a decision on whether he really meant that. Is he willing to try to administer the disagreeable medicine that could help the economy mend over the long term, even if that means damaging his chances for re-election?
The Federal Reserve’s finding on Tuesday that there is little prospect for rapid economic growth over the next two years was the latest in a summer of bad economic news. One administration official called the atmosphere around the president’s economic team 'angry and morose.'
'The problem for Obama is that right now, the United States is either at a precipice or has fallen off it,' said David Rothkopf, a Commerce Department official in the Clinton administration. 'If he is true to his commitment to rather be a good one-term president, then this is the character test. In some respects, this is the 3 a.m. phone call.' "
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/us/politics/10obama.html?hp
-->Leave it to the NY Times to frame Obama's sellout of working people as a noble attempt to administer "disagreeable medicine" for the common good.
------
Daily Mail:
"Tony Blair is to face scathing criticism from the official inquiry into the Iraq War for the role he played in leading Britain into one of its biggest foreign policy fiascos in modern history. The Mail on Sunday has been told that the former Prime Minister will be held to account on four main failings:
Bogus claims that were made about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. Not telling the British public about his secret pledge with George Bush to go to war. Keeping the Cabinet in the dark by his ‘sofa government’ style. Failing to plan to avoid the post-war chaos in Iraq."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2020625/Iraq-inquiry-Tony-Blair-held-account-Chilcot-report-war.html
-->Not only did the NY Times omit this story in its print edition, but our newspaper of record has never brought up the failure of our current administration in investigating Bush era lies and war crimes. In the "land of the free," the media, the Pentagon, and both parties conspire to protect the empire from bad publicity.
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.
---------
There is no more dishonest reporting in the US media than what we have witnessed in the past month regarding the budget crisis. News about the nation's deficit is written by the Wall Street propagandists and passed off as reasonable analysis. Progressive voices are marginalized, so that working people are never reminded of the real reasons behind our nation's financial troubles.
Reason one: in the 1950's and 1960's, for every tax dollar collected from individuals, $1.50 was collected from corporations. At the present, for every dollar collected from individuals, $.25 is collected from corporations. Many of our largest, most profitable corporations pay nothing at all.
Reason two: in the 1950's and 1960's, the top tax rate paid by wealthy Americans was 91%. At the present, the very rich pay a top rate of 35%. Dividends and capital gains, the source of income for most multimillionaires, is pegged at 15%.
Reason three: the bailout of Wall Street speculators and the banks was closer to three trillion than the 750 billion reported in our media. Some has been repaid, but the worldwide give-away to the world's financial institutions is only now coming to light.
Reason four: the continuing wars in the Middle East and our nation's empire will cost three trillion in the decade, far more than is reported in the Pentagon budget.
None of this has anything to do with Social Security, Medicare, Pell Grants, teacher salaries, or the costs of environmental protections. In fact, all four reasons represent a type of criminal capitalism that will only get worse.
The very rich control Obama, the Congress, and almost all the media. There is no reason to think that corporations or the very wealthy will have to pay their fair share of taxes. In fact, the Estate Tax, is under continued assault by our nation's lawmakers. Billionaires want to leave all their obscene wealth to their children, while most of the nation's children face minimum wage or unemployment.
Since the very rich control US decision making, there is little chance that future Wall Street speculation will be regulated. In fact, the US is 96th out of 135 countries of the world in terms of income distribution, closest to Mexico and Iran. Unlike more progressive industrialized countries, the richest Americans have billions to speculate with, and virtually no incentive to restrain themselves. All will be bailed out by the US Treasury, so why worry?
Finally, endless wars mean endless profits to those in the criminal capitalist system. Haliburton is an example of a company that makes obscene profits from the wars the company creates and perpetuates. From Lyndon Johnson to Dick Cheney, Halliburton has had a hand in shaping foreign policy. The same is true of other corporations, like big oil, that profit from occupying foreign countries and exploiting their natural resources.
What will change any of this short of national rebellion?
------
The NY Times:
"Now, coming off one of his worst weeks since taking office, Mr. Obama is nearing a decision on whether he really meant that. Is he willing to try to administer the disagreeable medicine that could help the economy mend over the long term, even if that means damaging his chances for re-election?
The Federal Reserve’s finding on Tuesday that there is little prospect for rapid economic growth over the next two years was the latest in a summer of bad economic news. One administration official called the atmosphere around the president’s economic team 'angry and morose.'
'The problem for Obama is that right now, the United States is either at a precipice or has fallen off it,' said David Rothkopf, a Commerce Department official in the Clinton administration. 'If he is true to his commitment to rather be a good one-term president, then this is the character test. In some respects, this is the 3 a.m. phone call.' "
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/us/politics/10obama.html?hp
-->Leave it to the NY Times to frame Obama's sellout of working people as a noble attempt to administer "disagreeable medicine" for the common good.
------
Daily Mail:
"Tony Blair is to face scathing criticism from the official inquiry into the Iraq War for the role he played in leading Britain into one of its biggest foreign policy fiascos in modern history. The Mail on Sunday has been told that the former Prime Minister will be held to account on four main failings:
Bogus claims that were made about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. Not telling the British public about his secret pledge with George Bush to go to war. Keeping the Cabinet in the dark by his ‘sofa government’ style. Failing to plan to avoid the post-war chaos in Iraq."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2020625/Iraq-inquiry-Tony-Blair-held-account-Chilcot-report-war.html
-->Not only did the NY Times omit this story in its print edition, but our newspaper of record has never brought up the failure of our current administration in investigating Bush era lies and war crimes. In the "land of the free," the media, the Pentagon, and both parties conspire to protect the empire from bad publicity.
Thursday, July 28, 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.
---------
Politisk.tv2:
"The Foreign Minister was met with calls that Norway must recognize a Palestinian state when he visited the Labour Youth League summer camp Thursday.
During the second day of Labour Youth League summer camp at Utøya the Labour Party's young hopefuls got a visit by Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Sidsel Wold and Norwegian People's Aid Kirsten Belck-Olsen, discussed the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with the Foreign Minister.
'The Palestinians must have their own state, the occupation must end, the wall must be demolished and it must happen now, said the Foreign Minister to cheers from the audience.'
http://politisk.tv2.no/nyheter/st%C3%B8re-om-israel-palestina-konflikten-%E2%80%93-okkupasjonen-ma-opph%C3%B8re-muren-ma-rives-og-det-ma-skje-na/
-->What was going on at that Norwegian youth camp before Breivik's murderous attack? Why were its participants chosen for assassination? The US media, including The NY Times doesn't mention a word about the camp's pro Palestinian events that week. In fact, Breivik's numerous pro-Zionist statements are also completely ignored. The NY Times' article about Breivik's influences doesn't mention Zionism, BDS or Israel even once. Yet Breivik's numerous references to Israel tell a different story. "A public statement in support of Israel against Muslim aggression should be issued, and the money that has previously been awarded to Palestinians should be allocated partly to Israel's defense..."
---------
Salon:
"For much of the day yesterday, the featured headline on The New York Times online front page strongly suggested that Muslims were responsible for the attacks on Oslo; that led to definitive statements on the BBC and elsewhere that Muslims were the culprits. The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin wrote a whole column based on the assertion that Muslims were responsible, one that, as James Fallows notes, remains at the Post with no corrections or updates...
Now that we know the alleged perpetrator is not Muslim, we know, by definition, that Terrorists are not responsible; conversely, when we thought Muslims were responsible, that meant, also by definition, that it was an act of Terrorism. What it says is what we've seen repeatedly: that Terrorism has no objective meaning and, at least in American political discourse, has come functionally to mean: violence committed by Muslims whom the West dislikes, no matter the cause or the target."
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/07/23/nyt/index.html
-->The NY Times quoted Brian Fishman, a counterterrorism researcher at the New America Foundation. "If it does turn out to be someone with more political motivations, it shows these groups are learning from what they see from al-Qaida." So, if what happened in Norway is not Terrorism, just local "political extremism," it is still the fault of al-Qaida.
---------
Common Dreams:
"Congressman Dennis Kucinich took to the House floor again today to defend seniors from unfair attempts to cut Social Security benefits. Kucinich has previously pointed out that Social Security is financially sound and should not be connected to the federal deficit debate.
'The latest attack on elderly beneficiaries of Social Security is a scheme by which seniors' Cost-of-Living benefits would be cut through something called a Chained Consumer Price Index. The C.P.I., chained, involves a formula which recalculates the Cost-of-Living.
'The theory behind the Chained C.P.I. is that as the Cost-of-Living goes up, consumers, in this case seniors, buy cheaper products. For example, if poor seniors cannot afford to buy and eat steak, but can only afford to buy cheaper cat food, their Cost-of-Living benefit would be chained to the cost of the cat food, because it's cheaper than steak.' "
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/07/22-2
-->There is no more dishonest media stores than the ones describing the need to cut Social Security to trim the deficit. As if Social Security were draining the governments coffers, rather than supporting the wars in the Middle East and tax cuts for the wealthy. Workers pay in much more Social Security taxes than goes out to retirees, and they have since the middle of the 1980's. Obama is proposing to take even from working people's retirement payments to fund his continuing wars. Of course, Obama's dream is to hand Social Security to Wall Street, what Clinton and Bush tried to do before him.
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.
---------
Politisk.tv2:
"The Foreign Minister was met with calls that Norway must recognize a Palestinian state when he visited the Labour Youth League summer camp Thursday.
During the second day of Labour Youth League summer camp at Utøya the Labour Party's young hopefuls got a visit by Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Sidsel Wold and Norwegian People's Aid Kirsten Belck-Olsen, discussed the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with the Foreign Minister.
'The Palestinians must have their own state, the occupation must end, the wall must be demolished and it must happen now, said the Foreign Minister to cheers from the audience.'
http://politisk.tv2.no/nyheter/st%C3%B8re-om-israel-palestina-konflikten-%E2%80%93-okkupasjonen-ma-opph%C3%B8re-muren-ma-rives-og-det-ma-skje-na/
-->What was going on at that Norwegian youth camp before Breivik's murderous attack? Why were its participants chosen for assassination? The US media, including The NY Times doesn't mention a word about the camp's pro Palestinian events that week. In fact, Breivik's numerous pro-Zionist statements are also completely ignored. The NY Times' article about Breivik's influences doesn't mention Zionism, BDS or Israel even once. Yet Breivik's numerous references to Israel tell a different story. "A public statement in support of Israel against Muslim aggression should be issued, and the money that has previously been awarded to Palestinians should be allocated partly to Israel's defense..."
---------
Salon:
"For much of the day yesterday, the featured headline on The New York Times online front page strongly suggested that Muslims were responsible for the attacks on Oslo; that led to definitive statements on the BBC and elsewhere that Muslims were the culprits. The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin wrote a whole column based on the assertion that Muslims were responsible, one that, as James Fallows notes, remains at the Post with no corrections or updates...
Now that we know the alleged perpetrator is not Muslim, we know, by definition, that Terrorists are not responsible; conversely, when we thought Muslims were responsible, that meant, also by definition, that it was an act of Terrorism. What it says is what we've seen repeatedly: that Terrorism has no objective meaning and, at least in American political discourse, has come functionally to mean: violence committed by Muslims whom the West dislikes, no matter the cause or the target."
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/07/23/nyt/index.html
-->The NY Times quoted Brian Fishman, a counterterrorism researcher at the New America Foundation. "If it does turn out to be someone with more political motivations, it shows these groups are learning from what they see from al-Qaida." So, if what happened in Norway is not Terrorism, just local "political extremism," it is still the fault of al-Qaida.
---------
Common Dreams:
"Congressman Dennis Kucinich took to the House floor again today to defend seniors from unfair attempts to cut Social Security benefits. Kucinich has previously pointed out that Social Security is financially sound and should not be connected to the federal deficit debate.
'The latest attack on elderly beneficiaries of Social Security is a scheme by which seniors' Cost-of-Living benefits would be cut through something called a Chained Consumer Price Index. The C.P.I., chained, involves a formula which recalculates the Cost-of-Living.
'The theory behind the Chained C.P.I. is that as the Cost-of-Living goes up, consumers, in this case seniors, buy cheaper products. For example, if poor seniors cannot afford to buy and eat steak, but can only afford to buy cheaper cat food, their Cost-of-Living benefit would be chained to the cost of the cat food, because it's cheaper than steak.' "
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/07/22-2
-->There is no more dishonest media stores than the ones describing the need to cut Social Security to trim the deficit. As if Social Security were draining the governments coffers, rather than supporting the wars in the Middle East and tax cuts for the wealthy. Workers pay in much more Social Security taxes than goes out to retirees, and they have since the middle of the 1980's. Obama is proposing to take even from working people's retirement payments to fund his continuing wars. Of course, Obama's dream is to hand Social Security to Wall Street, what Clinton and Bush tried to do before him.
Friday, July 22, 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.
---------
KGW News Channel 8 in Portland:
"A Seattle nuclear watchdog group is accusing the federal government of failing to keep the public informed of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
In the days following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the U.S. began monitoring radiation from Japan's leaking nuclear power plants.
Most of the public attention went to the air monitoring which showed little or no radiation coming our way. But things were different on the rain water side.
'The level that was detected on March 24 was 41 times the drinking water standard,' said Gerry Pollet from Heart of America Northwest. He reviewed Iodine 131 numbers released by the Environmental Protection Agency last spring.
'Our government said no health levels, no health levels were exceeded.When in fact the rain water in the Northwest is reaching levels 130 times the drinking water standards,' said Pollet."
http://www.kgw.com/home/Group-says-feds-downplayed-radiation-in-NW-rainwater-125419388.html
-->The NY Times didn't bother reporting this story, probably because it involved our government understating the effects of Fukushima on the American public. However, The NY Times has its own bias in favor of Nuclear energy which can be seen in its reporting over the last twenty years. "The New York Times continues to be, as it was a half-century ago when nuclear technology was first advanced, a media leader in pushing the technology, which collapsed in the U.S. with the 1979 Three Mile Island and 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accidents. The Times has showered readers with a variety of pieces advocating a nuclear revival, all marbled with omissions and untruths."
-Karl Grossman, professor of journalism at the SUNY, and media critic on nuclear energy coverage.
---------
Inter Press Service:
"When weeklong negotiations on the control and regulation of the global arms trade were concluded last week, there was one missing link in the proposed treaty: riot control equipment used recently against peaceful demonstrators in the streets of Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, Yemen and Jordan.
The Arms Trade Treaty, which is expected to be finalized and signed next year, is either ambiguous or excludes weapons of repression, including rubber bullets, water cannons, tear gas canisters, and high voltage electric-shock stun guns...
The London-based Amnesty International (AI) warned that if certain types of security and police equipment such as non-military firearms, including riot guns, crowd control vehicles, shotgun ammunition and tear gas, are not clearly covered by the ATT, 'many governments will not prevent such arms being supplied and used for serious violations of human rights.'
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/18-7
-->The NY Times did not cover this failure of the Arms Trade Treaty to cover weapons used to suppress peaceful demonstration. Of course, The NY Times covers very few peaceful demonstrations in the world, unless they are endorsed by the Pentagon.
---------
The Hill - Washington, DC:
"One out of more than 800 Palestinian children charged with throwing stones in the West Bank over a six-year period was acquitted, according to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem.
Ninety-three percent of the 834 under-18s who were convicted were given prison sentences by the Israeli military courts, including 19 children aged 12 and 13. The sentences ranged from a few days to 20 months. The imprisonment of Israeli children under the age of 14 is not allowed...Most of the minors were aged 16 and 17, but 255 were 14 or 15, with 34 under 14.
Only five cases were brought to a full trial compared to 624 which ended with a plea bargain. 'Judges order the vast majority of minors to be held in custody until the end of the criminal proceedings, forcing plea bargains. This is because even if the minor is eventually acquitted, he will spend a longer period of time in custody during the course of a full trial than the length of punishment if he pleads guilty in a plea bargain,' said B'Tselem.
B'Tselem interviewed 50 Palestinian minors for the report. Many described being arrested in the middle of the night, denied access to their families or lawyers and mistreatment. Only two of the children interviewed for the report, No Minor Matter, had an adult present during questioning."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/18/israel-detained-835-palestinian-minors
-->The NY Times didn't report this study by B'Tselem, the Israeli peace group. The abuse of Palestinian children by Israel is not something The NY Times wants its readers to know. All the news that fits the pro Israel slant of our newspaper of record.
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.
---------
KGW News Channel 8 in Portland:
"A Seattle nuclear watchdog group is accusing the federal government of failing to keep the public informed of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
In the days following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the U.S. began monitoring radiation from Japan's leaking nuclear power plants.
Most of the public attention went to the air monitoring which showed little or no radiation coming our way. But things were different on the rain water side.
'The level that was detected on March 24 was 41 times the drinking water standard,' said Gerry Pollet from Heart of America Northwest. He reviewed Iodine 131 numbers released by the Environmental Protection Agency last spring.
'Our government said no health levels, no health levels were exceeded.When in fact the rain water in the Northwest is reaching levels 130 times the drinking water standards,' said Pollet."
http://www.kgw.com/home/Group-says-feds-downplayed-radiation-in-NW-rainwater-125419388.html
-->The NY Times didn't bother reporting this story, probably because it involved our government understating the effects of Fukushima on the American public. However, The NY Times has its own bias in favor of Nuclear energy which can be seen in its reporting over the last twenty years. "The New York Times continues to be, as it was a half-century ago when nuclear technology was first advanced, a media leader in pushing the technology, which collapsed in the U.S. with the 1979 Three Mile Island and 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accidents. The Times has showered readers with a variety of pieces advocating a nuclear revival, all marbled with omissions and untruths."
-Karl Grossman, professor of journalism at the SUNY, and media critic on nuclear energy coverage.
---------
Inter Press Service:
"When weeklong negotiations on the control and regulation of the global arms trade were concluded last week, there was one missing link in the proposed treaty: riot control equipment used recently against peaceful demonstrators in the streets of Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, Yemen and Jordan.
The Arms Trade Treaty, which is expected to be finalized and signed next year, is either ambiguous or excludes weapons of repression, including rubber bullets, water cannons, tear gas canisters, and high voltage electric-shock stun guns...
The London-based Amnesty International (AI) warned that if certain types of security and police equipment such as non-military firearms, including riot guns, crowd control vehicles, shotgun ammunition and tear gas, are not clearly covered by the ATT, 'many governments will not prevent such arms being supplied and used for serious violations of human rights.'
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/18-7
-->The NY Times did not cover this failure of the Arms Trade Treaty to cover weapons used to suppress peaceful demonstration. Of course, The NY Times covers very few peaceful demonstrations in the world, unless they are endorsed by the Pentagon.
---------
The Hill - Washington, DC:
"One out of more than 800 Palestinian children charged with throwing stones in the West Bank over a six-year period was acquitted, according to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem.
Ninety-three percent of the 834 under-18s who were convicted were given prison sentences by the Israeli military courts, including 19 children aged 12 and 13. The sentences ranged from a few days to 20 months. The imprisonment of Israeli children under the age of 14 is not allowed...Most of the minors were aged 16 and 17, but 255 were 14 or 15, with 34 under 14.
Only five cases were brought to a full trial compared to 624 which ended with a plea bargain. 'Judges order the vast majority of minors to be held in custody until the end of the criminal proceedings, forcing plea bargains. This is because even if the minor is eventually acquitted, he will spend a longer period of time in custody during the course of a full trial than the length of punishment if he pleads guilty in a plea bargain,' said B'Tselem.
B'Tselem interviewed 50 Palestinian minors for the report. Many described being arrested in the middle of the night, denied access to their families or lawyers and mistreatment. Only two of the children interviewed for the report, No Minor Matter, had an adult present during questioning."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/18/israel-detained-835-palestinian-minors
-->The NY Times didn't report this study by B'Tselem, the Israeli peace group. The abuse of Palestinian children by Israel is not something The NY Times wants its readers to know. All the news that fits the pro Israel slant of our newspaper of record.
Thursday, July 14, 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.
---------
Guardian UK:
"The family of Rachel Corrie, the US activist killed in Gaza while protesting against house demolitions in 2003, on Monday claimed the Israeli military authorities withheld video evidence during the Corries' civil lawsuit and misled US officials on crucial details.
Craig Corrie, Rachel's father, told a press conference in Jerusalem that the footage from a surveillance camera near the scene of his daughter's death submitted to the court was "incomplete". Additional video material obtained by the family showed Rachel's body in a different spot to the place identified by some military commanders, he said.
He also alleged that the Israeli military had misled US officials on the position of Rachel's body when she was killed.
Rachel, from Olympia, Washington state, was killed while attempting to protect the home of a Palestinian family in the Rafah area of Gaza from being demolished by Israeli troops in March 2003. Her family and other activists who witnessed the incident say she was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/11/corries-accuse-israelis-death
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/04-0
-->The NY Times didn't report this story. Any other trial of foreign soldiers accused of killing an American citizen would certainly have gotten more notice in our newspaper of record. But Israel is a special case for The NY Times, and both its reporters have special relationships to the apartheid state.
---------
Committee to Stop FBI Repression:
"With a courtroom packed so there were no empty seats, Carlos Montes plead 'Not Guilty' to six felony charges in court on July 6, 2011. Defense attorney Jorge Gonzales said the Los Angeles District Attorney is using 'selective enforcement' to target Carlos. The U.S. government is using a 42-year-old charge from 1969 to prosecute Carlos Montes today for a weapon and an ammunition charge, and four charges of perjury on his weapons permits.
The FBI and LA Sheriff’s SWAT team broke down the door and raided Carlos Montes’ home in May. It is clear from the statements of local police and law enforcement officials on July 6 that the FBI is leading the charge in targeting Carlos. Carlos Montes said outside court, 'This attack on me is a pretext. They are using it to attack me because of my political activity – denouncing U.S. intervention in Colombia, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in Palestine.' "
http://www.stopfbi.net/2011/7/9/carlos-montes-pleads-“not-guilty”-next-court-date-set-august-12
-->The NY Times has never covered the arrest and prosecution of Carlos Montes, even though the facts of the case point to FBI harassment and selective enforcement of various laws. Our newspaper of record usually waits at least a decade before this type of news becomes fit to print.
---------
The Hill - Washington, DC:
"The Social Security Administration estimates that a proposal floated by the Obama administration would put 245,000 people into poverty, according to an analysis released by liberal senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Saturday.
That level of impact would be felt by 2050 if a proposal to change the way inflation is measured is adopted, Sanders announced. The change to the way SSA would calculate the Consumer Price Index has been floated in debt ceiling talks between Congress and the White House. The White House has suggested revising CPI for both the tax code, in order to generate more revenue, and for benefits.
Social Security Administration’s Office of Retirement Policy estimated that by 2030, according to the report prepared for Sanders, there would be 173,400 more people living in poverty in the United States. Benefits for those who are 80-89 would drop by $960 a year. Benefits for women would fall by 3.5 percent overall while men’s benefits would drop by 2.9 percent. By 2050, seniors in the 80-89 age bracket would see benefits fall by $1,200 a year.
'I am especially disturbed that the president is considering cuts in Social Security after he campaigned against cuts in 2008,' Sanders said. 'The American people expect the president to keep his word.'
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/10
-->The NY Times didn't report this study by Burnie Sanders. In general, The NY Times has shied away from explaining how much Obama's Social Security changes would hurt senior citizens. And stating the obvious, that Obama is not keeping his word to the American people, would never sit well with The NY Times corporate board of directors. Wall Street, of course, stands to gain billions by robbing working people of their retirement incomes.
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.
---------
Guardian UK:
"The family of Rachel Corrie, the US activist killed in Gaza while protesting against house demolitions in 2003, on Monday claimed the Israeli military authorities withheld video evidence during the Corries' civil lawsuit and misled US officials on crucial details.
Craig Corrie, Rachel's father, told a press conference in Jerusalem that the footage from a surveillance camera near the scene of his daughter's death submitted to the court was "incomplete". Additional video material obtained by the family showed Rachel's body in a different spot to the place identified by some military commanders, he said.
He also alleged that the Israeli military had misled US officials on the position of Rachel's body when she was killed.
Rachel, from Olympia, Washington state, was killed while attempting to protect the home of a Palestinian family in the Rafah area of Gaza from being demolished by Israeli troops in March 2003. Her family and other activists who witnessed the incident say she was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/11/corries-accuse-israelis-death
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/04-0
-->The NY Times didn't report this story. Any other trial of foreign soldiers accused of killing an American citizen would certainly have gotten more notice in our newspaper of record. But Israel is a special case for The NY Times, and both its reporters have special relationships to the apartheid state.
---------
Committee to Stop FBI Repression:
"With a courtroom packed so there were no empty seats, Carlos Montes plead 'Not Guilty' to six felony charges in court on July 6, 2011. Defense attorney Jorge Gonzales said the Los Angeles District Attorney is using 'selective enforcement' to target Carlos. The U.S. government is using a 42-year-old charge from 1969 to prosecute Carlos Montes today for a weapon and an ammunition charge, and four charges of perjury on his weapons permits.
The FBI and LA Sheriff’s SWAT team broke down the door and raided Carlos Montes’ home in May. It is clear from the statements of local police and law enforcement officials on July 6 that the FBI is leading the charge in targeting Carlos. Carlos Montes said outside court, 'This attack on me is a pretext. They are using it to attack me because of my political activity – denouncing U.S. intervention in Colombia, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in Palestine.' "
http://www.stopfbi.net/2011/7/9/carlos-montes-pleads-“not-guilty”-next-court-date-set-august-12
-->The NY Times has never covered the arrest and prosecution of Carlos Montes, even though the facts of the case point to FBI harassment and selective enforcement of various laws. Our newspaper of record usually waits at least a decade before this type of news becomes fit to print.
---------
The Hill - Washington, DC:
"The Social Security Administration estimates that a proposal floated by the Obama administration would put 245,000 people into poverty, according to an analysis released by liberal senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Saturday.
That level of impact would be felt by 2050 if a proposal to change the way inflation is measured is adopted, Sanders announced. The change to the way SSA would calculate the Consumer Price Index has been floated in debt ceiling talks between Congress and the White House. The White House has suggested revising CPI for both the tax code, in order to generate more revenue, and for benefits.
Social Security Administration’s Office of Retirement Policy estimated that by 2030, according to the report prepared for Sanders, there would be 173,400 more people living in poverty in the United States. Benefits for those who are 80-89 would drop by $960 a year. Benefits for women would fall by 3.5 percent overall while men’s benefits would drop by 2.9 percent. By 2050, seniors in the 80-89 age bracket would see benefits fall by $1,200 a year.
'I am especially disturbed that the president is considering cuts in Social Security after he campaigned against cuts in 2008,' Sanders said. 'The American people expect the president to keep his word.'
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/10
-->The NY Times didn't report this study by Burnie Sanders. In general, The NY Times has shied away from explaining how much Obama's Social Security changes would hurt senior citizens. And stating the obvious, that Obama is not keeping his word to the American people, would never sit well with The NY Times corporate board of directors. Wall Street, of course, stands to gain billions by robbing working people of their retirement incomes.
Thursday, July 07, 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.
---------
Inter Press Service:
"WASHINGTON - Data on attacks by armed opposition forces and U.S. combat casualties since the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan was completed last summer provide clear evidence that the surge and the increase in targeted killings by Special Operations Forces have failed to break the momentum of the Taliban.
The Taliban and allied insurgent organisations launched 54 percent more attacks and killed or wounded 56 percent more U.S. troops over the nine months from last October through May than in the comparable period a year earlier, according to data collected by the U.S. Department of Defense and by the highly-respected Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO).
The nearly 1,571 attacks in May recorded by ANSO, which exceeded the previous monthly peak total of 1,541 attacks in September 2010, was achieved four months earlier in the fighting season than the previous peak."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/04-0
-->The NY Times did not cover this discouraging data about the failure of the "surge" in Afghanistan. As a major supporter of US wars in the Middle East, The NY Times just doesn't report much bad news.
---------
Army Times:
"NAIROBI, Kenya — U.S. military forces landed in Somalia to retrieve the bodies of dead or wounded militants after a U.S. drone strike targeted a group of insurgents, Somalia's defense minister said Friday.
The operation is at least the second time U.S. troops have landed in Somalia after a targeted strike, though no forces have been stationed there since shortly after the "Black Hawk Down" battle that left 18 Americans dead in 1993...
U.S. officials have increased their warnings that the threat from Somalia's al-Shabab militant group is growing and that militants are developing stronger ties with the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
Incoming Pentagon chief Leon Panetta told lawmakers last month that as the core al-Qaida leadership in Pakistan undergoes leadership changes, with the killing of Osama bin Laden, the U.S. needs to make sure that the group does not relocate to Somalia."
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/07/ap-somalia-us-took-bodies-militants-after-strike-070111/
-->The NY Times did not report the landing of US military forces in Somalia. In fact, our newspaper of record has not seemed to notice US forces in Libya, Pakistan, or Yemen either. Let's call this omission Pentagon friendly, since most Americans are against the use of military forces in an ever expanding number of Third World countries.
---------
The NY Times:
Ethan Bronner, that master of pro-Israeli spin, had a recent article in Sunday's edition entitled, fittingly enough, "Setting Sail on Gaza's Sea of Spin." Why is the Freedom Flotilla "transporting basic aid, food and cement, when it is no longer needed?" he asks. Gazans "need many things, (but) basic supplies are not among them" he writes later, only to follow up with, "There is no shortage of food in Gaza."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/sunday-review/03flotilla.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=spin%20gaza&st=cse
-->A UNICEF report in April tells a different story. "In 2010, 11 out of 100 under-five children suffered from chronic malnutrition (11.3 per cent in the West Bank and 9.9 per cent in Gaza)."
In January, a similar report stated that: "10.3 percent of children under five are stunted (low height for age), a steadily increasing trend over recent years. Stunting is usually attributed to a chronic lack of protein and micronutrients, including iron and essential vitamins." The report also cites the fact that, "Roughly two-thirds of the population - 50 percent of whom are under 18 - is deemed food insecure, according to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
Yet Mr. Bronner adheres to the Zionist spin that no one goes without food in Gaza because of the Israeli blockade. Why is he still reporting for a newspaper that claims it delivers all the news that's fit to print?
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.
---------
Inter Press Service:
"WASHINGTON - Data on attacks by armed opposition forces and U.S. combat casualties since the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan was completed last summer provide clear evidence that the surge and the increase in targeted killings by Special Operations Forces have failed to break the momentum of the Taliban.
The Taliban and allied insurgent organisations launched 54 percent more attacks and killed or wounded 56 percent more U.S. troops over the nine months from last October through May than in the comparable period a year earlier, according to data collected by the U.S. Department of Defense and by the highly-respected Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO).
The nearly 1,571 attacks in May recorded by ANSO, which exceeded the previous monthly peak total of 1,541 attacks in September 2010, was achieved four months earlier in the fighting season than the previous peak."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/07/04-0
-->The NY Times did not cover this discouraging data about the failure of the "surge" in Afghanistan. As a major supporter of US wars in the Middle East, The NY Times just doesn't report much bad news.
---------
Army Times:
"NAIROBI, Kenya — U.S. military forces landed in Somalia to retrieve the bodies of dead or wounded militants after a U.S. drone strike targeted a group of insurgents, Somalia's defense minister said Friday.
The operation is at least the second time U.S. troops have landed in Somalia after a targeted strike, though no forces have been stationed there since shortly after the "Black Hawk Down" battle that left 18 Americans dead in 1993...
U.S. officials have increased their warnings that the threat from Somalia's al-Shabab militant group is growing and that militants are developing stronger ties with the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
Incoming Pentagon chief Leon Panetta told lawmakers last month that as the core al-Qaida leadership in Pakistan undergoes leadership changes, with the killing of Osama bin Laden, the U.S. needs to make sure that the group does not relocate to Somalia."
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/07/ap-somalia-us-took-bodies-militants-after-strike-070111/
-->The NY Times did not report the landing of US military forces in Somalia. In fact, our newspaper of record has not seemed to notice US forces in Libya, Pakistan, or Yemen either. Let's call this omission Pentagon friendly, since most Americans are against the use of military forces in an ever expanding number of Third World countries.
---------
The NY Times:
Ethan Bronner, that master of pro-Israeli spin, had a recent article in Sunday's edition entitled, fittingly enough, "Setting Sail on Gaza's Sea of Spin." Why is the Freedom Flotilla "transporting basic aid, food and cement, when it is no longer needed?" he asks. Gazans "need many things, (but) basic supplies are not among them" he writes later, only to follow up with, "There is no shortage of food in Gaza."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/sunday-review/03flotilla.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=spin%20gaza&st=cse
-->A UNICEF report in April tells a different story. "In 2010, 11 out of 100 under-five children suffered from chronic malnutrition (11.3 per cent in the West Bank and 9.9 per cent in Gaza)."
In January, a similar report stated that: "10.3 percent of children under five are stunted (low height for age), a steadily increasing trend over recent years. Stunting is usually attributed to a chronic lack of protein and micronutrients, including iron and essential vitamins." The report also cites the fact that, "Roughly two-thirds of the population - 50 percent of whom are under 18 - is deemed food insecure, according to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
Yet Mr. Bronner adheres to the Zionist spin that no one goes without food in Gaza because of the Israeli blockade. Why is he still reporting for a newspaper that claims it delivers all the news that's fit to print?
Thursday, June 30, 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.
---------
Firedoglake:
"A few days ago, rallies were held in cities all over the United States in support of veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes, who had his home raided by the FBI on May 17. The rallies coincided with Montes’ arraignment hearing for felony charges, which were filed against him by the LA County Sheriffs and FBI after the raid.
The target of an ever-expanding government investigation into antiwar and international solidarity activists, Montes demanded that his charges be dropped. The District Attorney denied his request. Montes asked to see the search warrant and police report on the raid of his home. The District Attorney initially refused the request but then agreed to release heavily edited versions of the documents. Montes was also told he would not be allowed to show the documents to the press.
Tom Burke, a spokesperson for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression and a subpoenaed activist, explains that Montes allegedly was found to be in possession of a weapon that was not properly registered. Burke believes that if Montes hadn’t been a political activist or organizer he would have been contacted about a problem on the gun permit. But, the LA sheriffs chose to make an example of Montes.
Burke also notes, like twenty-three other activists subpoenaed thus far, Montes has a link to the organizing of marches at the 2008 Republican National Convention."
http://my.firedoglake.com/kgosztola/2011/06/18/obama-dojs-war-on-free-speech-activism/
-->The NY Times avoids stories that make the US look like a police state. Carlos Montes' arrest and the subsequent rallies against FBI harassment were never reported on.
---------
The Guardian UK:
"Israel steps up campaign to stop flotilla sailing to Gaza in defiance of blockade...
One ship, the Juliano, is being repaired after a suspected underwater sabotage attack. The ship's propeller shaft was partially sawed while it was docked at the Greek port of Piraeus. Another ship, the Audacity of Hope, has been banned from leaving port until Greek authorities agree it is seaworthy.
'We can't say for certain that Israel was responsible for the sabotage but no one else wants to stop us sailing,' said Arraf (Flotilla organizer)...
In another incident, government staff circulated a video purporting to be made by a gay rights activist whose offer to join the flotilla had been rejected. The activist said he was rejected because the organisers were associated with Hamas which was homophobic and antipathetic to human rights.
When the video was exposed as a hoax, the Prime Minister's office said the video was promoted by an intern, Guy Seemann."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/28/israel-gaza-flotilla-campaign
-->The NY Times does it's best to protect Israel from bad publicity. Our newspaper of record did not report the attack on the Juliano, a Swedish ship, nor the attempt by the Israel to slander the Freedom Flotilla using a fake video. UPDATE: The NY Times finally did report the sabotage, on the very last line of a story on an Israeli group's efforts to block the flotilla. Instead of a "partially sawed" propeller shaft, The NY Times reported it to be "severed," a way to avoid the fact that the terrorists who did this intended the shaft to fail at sea, when passengers' lives would be at risk.
---------
Guardian UK:
"Climate Sceptic Willie Soon Received $1m from Oil Companies, Papers Show. Documents obtained by Greenpeace show prominent opponent of climate change was funded by ExxonMobil, among others.
Dr Willie Soon, an astrophysicist at the Solar, Stellar and Planetary Sciences Division of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, is known for his view that global warming and the melting of the arctic sea ice is caused by solar variation rather than human-caused CO2 emissions, and that polar bears are not primarily threatened by climate change.
But according to a Greenpeace US investigation, he has been heavily funded by coal and oil industry interests since 2001, receiving money from ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Insitute and Koch Industries along with Southern, one of the world's largest coal-burning utility companies. Since 2002, it is alleged, every new grant he has received has been from either oil or coal interests.
In addition, freedom of information documents suggest that Soon corresponded in 2003 with other prominent climate sceptics to try to weaken a major assessment of global warming being conducted by the UN's leading climate science body, the Nobel prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/28-12
-->Rather than printing this story about corporate funding of climate skeptics, The NY Times chose to put it on the Times Topics blog where it would get less attention. In fact, The NY Times has given the well paid Dr. Willie Soon's conclusions far more respect than they deserved, even quoting Dr. Soon in 2008 as saying that "most influential forecasts of polar-bear populations violate at least 73 of the 90 relevant principles of scientific forecasting." The Guardian UK exposed some of Dr. Soon's funding back in 2008; why not our newspaper of record?
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.
---------
Firedoglake:
"A few days ago, rallies were held in cities all over the United States in support of veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes, who had his home raided by the FBI on May 17. The rallies coincided with Montes’ arraignment hearing for felony charges, which were filed against him by the LA County Sheriffs and FBI after the raid.
The target of an ever-expanding government investigation into antiwar and international solidarity activists, Montes demanded that his charges be dropped. The District Attorney denied his request. Montes asked to see the search warrant and police report on the raid of his home. The District Attorney initially refused the request but then agreed to release heavily edited versions of the documents. Montes was also told he would not be allowed to show the documents to the press.
Tom Burke, a spokesperson for the Committee to Stop FBI Repression and a subpoenaed activist, explains that Montes allegedly was found to be in possession of a weapon that was not properly registered. Burke believes that if Montes hadn’t been a political activist or organizer he would have been contacted about a problem on the gun permit. But, the LA sheriffs chose to make an example of Montes.
Burke also notes, like twenty-three other activists subpoenaed thus far, Montes has a link to the organizing of marches at the 2008 Republican National Convention."
http://my.firedoglake.com/kgosztola/2011/06/18/obama-dojs-war-on-free-speech-activism/
-->The NY Times avoids stories that make the US look like a police state. Carlos Montes' arrest and the subsequent rallies against FBI harassment were never reported on.
---------
The Guardian UK:
"Israel steps up campaign to stop flotilla sailing to Gaza in defiance of blockade...
One ship, the Juliano, is being repaired after a suspected underwater sabotage attack. The ship's propeller shaft was partially sawed while it was docked at the Greek port of Piraeus. Another ship, the Audacity of Hope, has been banned from leaving port until Greek authorities agree it is seaworthy.
'We can't say for certain that Israel was responsible for the sabotage but no one else wants to stop us sailing,' said Arraf (Flotilla organizer)...
In another incident, government staff circulated a video purporting to be made by a gay rights activist whose offer to join the flotilla had been rejected. The activist said he was rejected because the organisers were associated with Hamas which was homophobic and antipathetic to human rights.
When the video was exposed as a hoax, the Prime Minister's office said the video was promoted by an intern, Guy Seemann."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/28/israel-gaza-flotilla-campaign
-->The NY Times does it's best to protect Israel from bad publicity. Our newspaper of record did not report the attack on the Juliano, a Swedish ship, nor the attempt by the Israel to slander the Freedom Flotilla using a fake video. UPDATE: The NY Times finally did report the sabotage, on the very last line of a story on an Israeli group's efforts to block the flotilla. Instead of a "partially sawed" propeller shaft, The NY Times reported it to be "severed," a way to avoid the fact that the terrorists who did this intended the shaft to fail at sea, when passengers' lives would be at risk.
---------
Guardian UK:
"Climate Sceptic Willie Soon Received $1m from Oil Companies, Papers Show. Documents obtained by Greenpeace show prominent opponent of climate change was funded by ExxonMobil, among others.
Dr Willie Soon, an astrophysicist at the Solar, Stellar and Planetary Sciences Division of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, is known for his view that global warming and the melting of the arctic sea ice is caused by solar variation rather than human-caused CO2 emissions, and that polar bears are not primarily threatened by climate change.
But according to a Greenpeace US investigation, he has been heavily funded by coal and oil industry interests since 2001, receiving money from ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Insitute and Koch Industries along with Southern, one of the world's largest coal-burning utility companies. Since 2002, it is alleged, every new grant he has received has been from either oil or coal interests.
In addition, freedom of information documents suggest that Soon corresponded in 2003 with other prominent climate sceptics to try to weaken a major assessment of global warming being conducted by the UN's leading climate science body, the Nobel prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/28-12
-->Rather than printing this story about corporate funding of climate skeptics, The NY Times chose to put it on the Times Topics blog where it would get less attention. In fact, The NY Times has given the well paid Dr. Willie Soon's conclusions far more respect than they deserved, even quoting Dr. Soon in 2008 as saying that "most influential forecasts of polar-bear populations violate at least 73 of the 90 relevant principles of scientific forecasting." The Guardian UK exposed some of Dr. Soon's funding back in 2008; why not our newspaper of record?
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