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.
---------
Agence France-Presse:
"Amnesty International on Thursday urged Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia to arrest former US president George W. Bush for violating international torture laws, during his African tour this week. Bush is touring the countries through to Monday to promote efforts to fight cervical and breast cancers, and Amnesty said the three nations have an obligation to arrest him under international law.
'All countries to which George W. Bush travels have an obligation to bring him to justice for his role in torture,' said Amnesty's senior legal adviser Matt Pollard. 'International law requires that there be no safe haven for those responsible for torture; Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia must seize this opportunity to fulfill their obligations and end the impunity George W. Bush has so far enjoyed.'
http://news.yahoo.com/amnesty-urges-african-nations-arrest-george-bush-161628253.html
-->The NY Times does a lot of reporting about Amnesty International, in places like China, Iran, Egypt, Rwanda, Nicaragua. But somehow our newspaper of record overlooked this recommendation to arrest George Bush in Africa. In fact, Amnesty International has recommended that Canada arrest our former president for war crimes. Another missed story by The NY Times.
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/waronterror/canada-should-arrest-and-prosecute-george-w-bush-on-visit/
------
Inter Press Service:
"The United States has become the major stumbling block to progress at the mid point of negotiations over a new international climate regime say civil society and many of the 193 nations attending the United Nations climate change conference here in Durban.
'The U.S. position leads us to three or four degrees Celsius of warming, which will be devastating for the poor of the world,' said Celine Charveriat of Oxfam International.
'They are proposing a 10-year time out with no new targets to lower emissions until after 2020,' Charveriat said."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/06-0
-->For The NY Times, "The biggest obstacle to global progress has been countries like China and India." And the role of the United States? "America should have taken a leadership role. It did not."
------
The San Francisco Chronicle:
"Some Democratic lawmakers say that, while President Barack Obama's plan to cut payroll taxes may strengthen the U.S. economy, it may have some unintended fallout: weakening Social Security.
The lawmakers and advocacy groups say they are concerned the tax cuts may undermine political support for the retirement program, which provides benefits to almost 55 million Americans and is funded by the payroll levies.
'I don't object to putting more money in people's pockets, and there are lots of ways to do that, but not with Social Security,' said Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey, who said he will have a hard time supporting the White House plan."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/06-4
-->Obama purposely weakening Social Security so that he can privatize it in his second term? Why, The NY Times would never dwell on the fact that proposed tax cuts would undermine Social Security. That wouldn't favor the 1%, who want to make a killing gambling with the pensions of the working class.
Friday, December 09, 2011
Friday, December 02, 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.
---------
The Hill (Washington, DC):
"A top House Democrat is calling for a hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke following a report that the central bank secretly committed more than $7 trillion to save banks during the financial crisis.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings (Md.) sent a letter on Monday to panel Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) requesting the committee look into how banks 'benefitted from trillions of dollars in previously undisclosed government loans provided at below-market rates.'
'Many Americans are struggling to understand why banks deserve such preferential treatment while millions of homeowners are being denied assistance and are at increasing risk of foreclosure,' Cummings said.
The request comes on the heels of a Bloomberg report that said the Fed secretly committed more than $7 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the nation’s top financial institutions, and that these banks 'reaped an estimated $13 billion of income' on the below-market rates."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/28-4
-->Financial corruption on a scale unimaginable to the 99 percent. The fleecing of America by the financial sector may have been the biggest rip-off in US history. What a shame that The NY Times didn't cover Representative Cummings' request for a hearing.
------
The Australian:
"WIKILEAKS was last night awarded a Walkley for outstanding contribution to journalism for what was described by judges as a global publishing coup that achieved 'justice through transparency'.
'WikiLeaks applied new technology to penetrate the inner workings of government to reveal an avalanche of inconvenient truths in a global publishing coup,' the Walkley trustees said.
'Its revelations, from the way the war on terror was being waged, to diplomatic bastardry, high-level horse-trading and the interference in the domestic affairs of nations, have had an undeniable impact.' "
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/27
-->An award similar in stature to the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism goes to Wikileaks. Too bad the US media, including The NY Times, can't bring itself to tell the US public.
------
Deeplinks Blog:
"FBI Sanctioned for Lying About Existence of Surveillance Records.
An order from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has revealed the FBI lied to the court about the existence of records requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), taking the position that FOIA allows it to withhold information from the court whenever it thinks this is in the interest of national security. Using the strongest possible language, the court disagreed: 'The Government cannot, under any circumstance, affirmatively mislead the Court...'
In issuing monetary sanctions against the DOJ, the court held, 'the Government’s deception of the Court was without any factual or legal basis and simply wrong.' The court noted issuing sanctions was necessary to 'deter the Government from deceiving the Court again.' "
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/22-0
-->This important case (Islamic Shura Council of S. Cal. v. FBI) has uncovered a pattern of deception by the FBI when it comes to revealing surveillance documents. But The NY Times, often a staunch defender of the FBI, didn't report this story.
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.
---------
The Hill (Washington, DC):
"A top House Democrat is calling for a hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke following a report that the central bank secretly committed more than $7 trillion to save banks during the financial crisis.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings (Md.) sent a letter on Monday to panel Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) requesting the committee look into how banks 'benefitted from trillions of dollars in previously undisclosed government loans provided at below-market rates.'
'Many Americans are struggling to understand why banks deserve such preferential treatment while millions of homeowners are being denied assistance and are at increasing risk of foreclosure,' Cummings said.
The request comes on the heels of a Bloomberg report that said the Fed secretly committed more than $7 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the nation’s top financial institutions, and that these banks 'reaped an estimated $13 billion of income' on the below-market rates."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/28-4
-->Financial corruption on a scale unimaginable to the 99 percent. The fleecing of America by the financial sector may have been the biggest rip-off in US history. What a shame that The NY Times didn't cover Representative Cummings' request for a hearing.
------
The Australian:
"WIKILEAKS was last night awarded a Walkley for outstanding contribution to journalism for what was described by judges as a global publishing coup that achieved 'justice through transparency'.
'WikiLeaks applied new technology to penetrate the inner workings of government to reveal an avalanche of inconvenient truths in a global publishing coup,' the Walkley trustees said.
'Its revelations, from the way the war on terror was being waged, to diplomatic bastardry, high-level horse-trading and the interference in the domestic affairs of nations, have had an undeniable impact.' "
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/27
-->An award similar in stature to the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism goes to Wikileaks. Too bad the US media, including The NY Times, can't bring itself to tell the US public.
------
Deeplinks Blog:
"FBI Sanctioned for Lying About Existence of Surveillance Records.
An order from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has revealed the FBI lied to the court about the existence of records requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), taking the position that FOIA allows it to withhold information from the court whenever it thinks this is in the interest of national security. Using the strongest possible language, the court disagreed: 'The Government cannot, under any circumstance, affirmatively mislead the Court...'
In issuing monetary sanctions against the DOJ, the court held, 'the Government’s deception of the Court was without any factual or legal basis and simply wrong.' The court noted issuing sanctions was necessary to 'deter the Government from deceiving the Court again.' "
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/22-0
-->This important case (Islamic Shura Council of S. Cal. v. FBI) has uncovered a pattern of deception by the FBI when it comes to revealing surveillance documents. But The NY Times, often a staunch defender of the FBI, didn't report this story.
Friday, November 18, 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.
---------
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.
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.
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."
Friday, October 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.
---------
NPR:
"Villagers in Afghanistan say they were forced to walk ahead of Afghan and U.S. Soldiers along roads in areas believed to be mined by the Taliban.
National Public Radio reports villagers said the Afghan and U.S. troops pulled them from their homes one evening in early September and forced them to walk in front of the troops for more than a mile in the Panjwai district, southwest of Kandahar city.
No one was injured, but if the incident happened, it would appear to violate the Geneva Conventions governing treatment of civilians, NPR said."
http://www.military.com/news/article/report-us-afghan-troops-forced-locals-to-walk-mined-road.html
-->The only recent mention of the Panjwai district in The NY Times is an op-ed article written by an Army Special Forces major and a visiting fellow at the Center for a New American Security. The title of his piece is "This War Can Still Be Won."
------
Minnesota Independent:
"President Obama’s 2012 campaign has a new senior adviser — a former lobbyist for the company pushing the Keystone XL pipeline, who also lobbied for Comcast throughout the period that the media conglomerate was seeking approval for its merger with NBC-Universal.
The campaign hired Broderick Johnson of the lobbying firm Bryan Cave LLP this week. According to U.S. House of Representatives records, Johnson lobbied to 'support submission of a presidential permit for Keystone XL pipeline' in the final quarter of 2010.
Environmentalists are upset with the pipeline and with Pres. Barack Obama’s unwillingness to reconsider the project."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/25-5
-->The NY Time's coverage of this appointment was all about Mr. Johnson's wife temporarily leaving NPR. Mr. Johnson was described as an "ear to the ground for the campaign’s political and constituency operations.” What pipeline lobbying?
------
Globe and Mail:
"WINTERTHUR, Switzerland - Here’s a gift to Occupy Wall Street protesters around the world: you now have scholarly proof that banks control the world.
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, also known as ETH, have published a paper that argues just 147 companies account for a large chunk of the total economic value of all the transnational companies around the world. No exact dollar figures, but it’s obviously a vast sum.
Among the top 50 corporations, 45 operate within the financial industry. Barclays PLC is the most powerful, according to the ETH study, followed by such well-known names as JPMorgan Chase & Co., UBS AG, and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. The United States takes home first prize with 24 companies cracking the researchers’ top 50 list"
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/25-2
-->The NY Times, a staunch supporter of the rich as well as the international banking system that serves them, would never print a story like this.
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.
---------
NPR:
"Villagers in Afghanistan say they were forced to walk ahead of Afghan and U.S. Soldiers along roads in areas believed to be mined by the Taliban.
National Public Radio reports villagers said the Afghan and U.S. troops pulled them from their homes one evening in early September and forced them to walk in front of the troops for more than a mile in the Panjwai district, southwest of Kandahar city.
No one was injured, but if the incident happened, it would appear to violate the Geneva Conventions governing treatment of civilians, NPR said."
http://www.military.com/news/article/report-us-afghan-troops-forced-locals-to-walk-mined-road.html
-->The only recent mention of the Panjwai district in The NY Times is an op-ed article written by an Army Special Forces major and a visiting fellow at the Center for a New American Security. The title of his piece is "This War Can Still Be Won."
------
Minnesota Independent:
"President Obama’s 2012 campaign has a new senior adviser — a former lobbyist for the company pushing the Keystone XL pipeline, who also lobbied for Comcast throughout the period that the media conglomerate was seeking approval for its merger with NBC-Universal.
The campaign hired Broderick Johnson of the lobbying firm Bryan Cave LLP this week. According to U.S. House of Representatives records, Johnson lobbied to 'support submission of a presidential permit for Keystone XL pipeline' in the final quarter of 2010.
Environmentalists are upset with the pipeline and with Pres. Barack Obama’s unwillingness to reconsider the project."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/25-5
-->The NY Time's coverage of this appointment was all about Mr. Johnson's wife temporarily leaving NPR. Mr. Johnson was described as an "ear to the ground for the campaign’s political and constituency operations.” What pipeline lobbying?
------
Globe and Mail:
"WINTERTHUR, Switzerland - Here’s a gift to Occupy Wall Street protesters around the world: you now have scholarly proof that banks control the world.
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, also known as ETH, have published a paper that argues just 147 companies account for a large chunk of the total economic value of all the transnational companies around the world. No exact dollar figures, but it’s obviously a vast sum.
Among the top 50 corporations, 45 operate within the financial industry. Barclays PLC is the most powerful, according to the ETH study, followed by such well-known names as JPMorgan Chase & Co., UBS AG, and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. The United States takes home first prize with 24 companies cracking the researchers’ top 50 list"
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/10/25-2
-->The NY Times, a staunch supporter of the rich as well as the international banking system that serves them, would never print a story like this.
Thursday, October 20, 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:
"The United States has deployed hundreds of troops along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan's tribal region, Press TV reported. Reinforced with gunships and heavy weaponry, some 500 of the forces had been stationed near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan's North Waziristan region, a senior Pakistani government official told our correspondent on condition of anonymity on Sunday. The official went on to explain that the motive behind the move was yet unknown, but that the deployment could be part of a military drill to later launch a ground assault against the Taliban-allied Haqqani network of militants."
http://www.legitgov.org/US-mobilizes-forces-along-Pakistan-border
-->Another country about to get invaded by US forces. Obama has spread his "War on Terror" into so many countries that counting them becomes a chore. And the job of The NY Times has been, as always, to hide these attacks before they happen, and then to create public support once US troops go in. The NY Times did not cover this story.
------
Guardian UK:
"Israel plans new settlement of 2,600 that will isolate Arab East Jerusalem. Britain, the EU and the UN condemn Israel's decision as provocative and a further threat to the peace process"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/16/israel-settlement-isolate-arab-jerusalem
-->Isabel Kershner's article in The NY Times, described these settlement plans as "awkwardly timed," and went on to describe Netanyahu's reasoning for building in Arab East Jerusalem. Then came a paragraph by the spokeswoman for Israel’s Interior Ministry. No mention of Britain, the EU, or the UN condemning the new settlements.
------
The NY Times:
"President Obama said Friday that he had ordered the deployment of 100 armed military advisers to central Africa to help regional forces combat the Lord’s Resistance Army, a notorious renegade group that has terrorized villagers in at least four countries with marauding bands that kill, rape, maim and kidnap with impunity.
The deployment represents a muscular escalation of American military efforts to help fight the Lord’s Resistance Army, which originated as a Ugandan rebel force in the 1980s and morphed into a fearsome cultlike group of fighters. It is led by Joseph Kony, a self-proclaimed prophet known for ordering village massacres, recruiting prepubescent soldiers, keeping harems of child brides and mutilating opponents."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/world/africa/barack-obama-sending-100-armed-advisers-to-africa-to-help-fight-lords-resistance-army.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=us%20troops%20uganda&st=cse
-->The NY Times has identified another Hitler like monster in Central Africa. Send in the US Troops! Turns out there has been a lot of oil discovered in Uganda, but why include that in any NY Times analysis? The empire only wages war for the most idealistic of reasons, at least according to 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.
---------
Citizens for Legitimate Government:
"The United States has deployed hundreds of troops along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan's tribal region, Press TV reported. Reinforced with gunships and heavy weaponry, some 500 of the forces had been stationed near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan's North Waziristan region, a senior Pakistani government official told our correspondent on condition of anonymity on Sunday. The official went on to explain that the motive behind the move was yet unknown, but that the deployment could be part of a military drill to later launch a ground assault against the Taliban-allied Haqqani network of militants."
http://www.legitgov.org/US-mobilizes-forces-along-Pakistan-border
-->Another country about to get invaded by US forces. Obama has spread his "War on Terror" into so many countries that counting them becomes a chore. And the job of The NY Times has been, as always, to hide these attacks before they happen, and then to create public support once US troops go in. The NY Times did not cover this story.
------
Guardian UK:
"Israel plans new settlement of 2,600 that will isolate Arab East Jerusalem. Britain, the EU and the UN condemn Israel's decision as provocative and a further threat to the peace process"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/16/israel-settlement-isolate-arab-jerusalem
-->Isabel Kershner's article in The NY Times, described these settlement plans as "awkwardly timed," and went on to describe Netanyahu's reasoning for building in Arab East Jerusalem. Then came a paragraph by the spokeswoman for Israel’s Interior Ministry. No mention of Britain, the EU, or the UN condemning the new settlements.
------
The NY Times:
"President Obama said Friday that he had ordered the deployment of 100 armed military advisers to central Africa to help regional forces combat the Lord’s Resistance Army, a notorious renegade group that has terrorized villagers in at least four countries with marauding bands that kill, rape, maim and kidnap with impunity.
The deployment represents a muscular escalation of American military efforts to help fight the Lord’s Resistance Army, which originated as a Ugandan rebel force in the 1980s and morphed into a fearsome cultlike group of fighters. It is led by Joseph Kony, a self-proclaimed prophet known for ordering village massacres, recruiting prepubescent soldiers, keeping harems of child brides and mutilating opponents."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/world/africa/barack-obama-sending-100-armed-advisers-to-africa-to-help-fight-lords-resistance-army.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=us%20troops%20uganda&st=cse
-->The NY Times has identified another Hitler like monster in Central Africa. Send in the US Troops! Turns out there has been a lot of oil discovered in Uganda, but why include that in any NY Times analysis? The empire only wages war for the most idealistic of reasons, at least according to our newspaper of record.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)