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Tag: Corporate Media

Why Christian Right failed, but succeeded

Posted on 2015/08/26 by jd

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Apparently, the US Christian Right did not study Gramsci.

Daniel Schlozman writes ‘…Americans have become less Christian and more secular. Around 1990, following a spate of scandals that engulfed leading evangelical pastors, the share of Americans identifying with evangelical denominations began to decline, from its peak at 34 percent to 27 percent. At the same time, public opinion on gay rights started its inexorable shift. New laws and norms around gay rights represent a huge setback for religious conservatives.

The Christian Right has also failed to build permanent institutions. So while it made white evangelicals into Republicans, the preachers and brokers who led the movement now have no role. Direct mail, not billionaires’ checks, sustained the movement, and when the checks stopped, each of the Christian Right’s marquee groups folded.

Without group intermediaries, white evangelicals have failed to build coalitions with other power centers inside the Republican Party and lost influence. Instead, conservative politicians appealed directly to white evangelical voters….’

Source: How The Christian Right Ended Up Transforming American Politics

Posted in news dumpTagged 2016 USA Elections, Corporate Media, End of the Republic (USA), sociology 101

100% of White Male American Terrorism Experts Agree….

Posted on 2015/06/03 by jd

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Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media, Endless War, Propaganda

Noam Chomsky and Charlie Hebdo

Posted on 2015/05/20 by jd

Seung-yoon Lee: Can I ask your opinion on Charlie Hebdo? What do you think of this ‘freedom of speech no matter what’ principle?

Noam Chomsky: Well, I think we should strongly support freedom of speech. I think one of the good things about the United States, incidentally, as distinct from England, is that there is much higher protection of freedom of speech. But freedom of speech does not mean a lack of responsibility. So for example, I’m in favour of freedom of speech, but if somebody decided to put up a big advertisement in Times Square, New York, glorifying the sending of Jews to gas chambers, I don’t think it should be stopped by the state, but I’m not in favour of it.

Seung-yoon Lee: Also, regarding the specific incident of Charlie Hebdo, do you think the cartoonists lacked responsibility?

Noam Chomsky: Yes, I think they were kind of acting in this case like spoiled adolescents, but that doesn’t justify killing them. I mean, I could say the same about a great deal that appears in the press. I think it’s quite irresponsible often. For example, when the press in the United States and England supported the worst crime of this century, the invasion of Iraq, that was way more irresponsible than what Charlie Hebdo did. It led to the destruction of Iraq and the spread of the sectarian conflict that’s tearing the region to shreds. It was a really major crime. Aggression is the supreme international crime under international law. Insofar as the press supported that, that was deeply irresponsible, but I don’t think the press should be shut down.

via Chomsky: 'I Don't Look at Twitter Because It Doesn't Tell Me Anything'.

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media

Was the co-pilot a muslim?

Posted on 2015/03/29 by jd

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Posted in news dumpTagged Cartoons, Corporate Media, Islamophobia, Propaganda

Media Activist Danny Schechter, RIP

Posted on 2015/03/20 by jd

Don Hazen writes about Danny Schechter (June 27, 1942 – March 19, 2015)

‘…One of the great original multi-taskers, Schechter was an independent filmmaker, author of a number of books, a blogger, and media critic whose insights about the failures of the global media system were incisive and widely appreciated. Later in his career he embraced new technology, creating the Media Channel where he called himself “blogger-in-chief.”  A brilliant speaker and strategist, Schechter was a true a global leader, traveling to dozens of countries, making connections, shooting footage and giving rousing speeches.  Schechter was the special kind of leader-activist who had deep cultural roots, weaving music into his quest to improve human rights globally.  He will be missed.’

via Danny Schechter, the News Dissector, Dies in NYC at 72 | Alternet.

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media, RT Propaganda, USofA

Russian propaganda and The Guardian (UK)

Posted on 2015/03/04 by jd

‘….all news is comment, all truth little more than opinion. There is the BBC view. The Fox News view. The Russia Today view. All are expressions of special interests, not so much attempts at the truth as individual perspectives and localised narratives.

[….] What Russian state spin demonstrates is that, by dispensing with what we used to be comfortable calling the truth, we are left with nothing but sheer power. In other words, relativism leads inevitably into nihilism. “What is truth?” said Pontius Pilate, trying to befuddle the issues of innocence and guilt with high-sounding Putin-like misdirection. No news organisation should be sympathetic to this strategy. For while comment is free, the facts are sacred….’

via The Guardian view on Russian propaganda: the truth is out there | Editorial | World news | The Guardian.

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media, Propaganda, RT Propaganda

Why does the MSM refuse to use encryption?

Posted on 2015/02/25 - 2015/02/25 by jd

Another reason to not trust the mainstream media, right from the start, they do not protect their sources…

‘…a survey of 65 major news organizations to see if they have implemented a common security protocol known as STARTTLS that can protect their e-mails from being intercepted as they travel across the Internet.

We found that news organizations like the Associated Press, Le Monde, LA Times, CBS News, Forbes, Baltimore Sun, and Der Spiegel are still not protecting journalists and their sources from this type of surveillance, and are putting all of the people who communicate with them at risk of being spied on. You can see the full results of our survey…’

via Why aren’t more news organizations protecting their e-mail with STARTTLS encryption? | Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media, End of the Republic (USA)

Foxnews implies Obama is a rapist, and then apologises

Posted on 2015/02/17 - 2015/02/18 by jd

from yum yum donuts to the endless war that came home. #murica

and, oh!, and btw, Obama isn’t a rapist after all. oops, sorry about that.

more info: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/local-station-obama-mistake-sex-assault

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media

Who pays for the USA’s Islamophobia Network?

Posted on 2015/02/13 by jd

‘Explore the $57 million network fueling Islamophobia in the United States.’
Start here » https://islamophobianetwork.com/

‘This in-depth investigation conducted by the Center for American Progress Action Fund reveals a small, tightly networked group of misinformation experts guiding an effort that reaches millions of Americans through effective advocates, media partners, and grassroots organizing. This spreading of hate and misinformation primarily starts with six key people and their organizations, which are sustained by funding from a clutch of key foundations.’
» https://islamophobianetwork.com/about

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media, Endless War, Migration, Propaganda

Richard Seymour reviews Hollywood’s extra-judicial killings

Posted on 2015/02/12 by jd

‘Richard Seymour reviews 24, Zero Dark Thirty, and Homeland and explains that what they all have in common is that they emerge from a cultural terrain formed by the ‘war on terror’ and its aftermath.’

Tariq Ali’s blog » http://tariqalitv.com/portfolio/27-extra-judicial-killings/

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media, Endless War

RIP: 60 Minutes’ Bob Simon

Posted on 2015/02/12 by jd

RIP Bob Simon.

‘Veteran CBS “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, for more than four decades one of America’s most respected journalists, was killed in a crash Wednesday night after his limo driver lost control of the vehicle on the West Side Highway….’
via 60 Minutes’ Bob Simon killed in car crash | New York Post.

 

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media, USofA

Is Police Reform Impossible in America?

Posted on 2015/02/07 - 2015/02/07 by jd

Donovan X. Ramsey writes:

‘…America is safer than it was 20 years ago. Really. Still, white Americans (and many black Americans, for that matter) believe there’s more violent crime than there actually is, and that blacks are largely responsible for it.

In fact, nearly half of white Americans polled believe that violent crime has increased in the last 20 years. Another 13 percent believe that it’s stayed the same. Less than a quarter of whites realize there are less violent crimes today than there were in the 90s when the crack epidemic and gang violence were at their height. Even more, whites overestimate just how much blacks are involved in “serious street crime” and, on average, believe that black people commit a larger proportion of crime than whites do. According to a 2012 study by researchers at the University at Albany, whites significantly overestimate the share of armed robberies, break-ins and drug crimes committed by black people.
via Police Reform Is Impossible in America.

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media, USofA

Brian Williams embeded, or just blackmailed?

Posted on 2015/02/05 - 2015/02/05 by jd

Remember folks, most certainly the Pentagon and US Intel agencies knew of Brian Williams’ lie for the past 12 years and could have easily blackmailed him for positive uncritical news coverage of American wars and policies. Just saying!

‘…NBC News anchor Brian Williams on Wednesday admitted that he was not on a helicopter that hit with enemy fire during the Iraq invasion in 2003, a story he has told numerous times, including last week…’
via Brian Williams Told A Far Different Story About Iraq RPG Attack In 2007.

Posted in news dumpTagged Corporate Media, Endless War
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