Posts Tagged ‘mainstream’

Distraction Politics

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

I was planning to write another piece about how Democrats and Republicans both toe the same line for many key issues, be it armed conflict, pro-corporatist legislation, or a widening of the gap between the super-rich and everyone else.

The post would have highlighted how comparatively trivial issues, like same-sex marriage, illegal immigration, or Anthony Weiner’s penis, dominate the political sphere while actually significantly issues, like reforming Wall St. or slashing defense spending, remain mostly untouched by both politicians and the mainstream media alike.

But rather than write this piece, which I’m sure would have been timely and eloquent, I found the following picture which sums up what I’m trying to say quite nicely. So we’ll go with that instead:

 

 

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Our News and Theirs

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Professor Juan Cole put out another of his intriguing pieces over on Informed Comment. This one outlines key differences between the mainstream media in the western world and that of the middle east.

Cole starts by describing the sad state of affairs in the US:

Americans live in a late capitalist society where the rich have gotten many times richer and the middle class has gotten poorer, where Wall Street bankers have stolen us blind and blamed us for living above our means, where persistent unemployment is worse than in the Great Depression, where most politicians and some judges have been bought by corporations or special interests, where authorities actively conspire to keep people from voting, where the government spies on citizens assiduously without warrant or probable cause, and where the minds of the sheep are kept off their fleecing by substituting celebrity gossip, sex scandals, and half-disguised bigotry for genuine news.

Professor Cole goes on to compare which stories dominate the headlines:

Our news is about Sarah Palin not knowing fifth grade American history. Their news is about killing 5 US soldiers in Iraq with rocket fire.

Our news is about a rich old French banker charged with assaulting a poor young Muslim maid in a New York hotel. Their news is about armed rebels setting an ambush and killing 120 members of the Syrian security forces.

Our news is about a six-term US congressman from New York who has been sexting. Their news is that Yemen is on a knife edge, with civil war looming.

Our news is about an American politician accused of misusing campaign contributions to hide his mistress. Their news is that Free Libya forces have used light arms and sheer guts to fight off Qaddafi’s tanks.

Cole does an excellent job detailing the striking differences between the Western and Arab worlds, but his work ends there. Never does he mention the mechanism behind the madness, detailing the way nonsense stories are used to intentionally to keep the majority of the Western population distracted and misinformed.

Still, it’s a well documented article worth exploring.

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Weiner, Anthony Weiner

Monday, June 6th, 2011

So he DID send some lewd photos at one point! Wow. During the many interviews about the infamous crotch-shot, Weiner alluded to having taken risque photos in the past.

Perfect. Just perfect. This Weiner story should serve as an excellent distraction from the real important stuff, like:

  • open-ended wars in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan
  • the global repercussions of an imploding US economy
  • a widening gap between the uber-rich and the rest of us

Great to see mainstream journalism doing what it does best: creating a smokescreen to keep the majority of the population from really seeing what is going on.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m being sarcastic. It isn’t good for people to be misinformed or uninformed, since democracy depends upon an well informed public.

Fortunately, an awakening is taking place. The mainstream media is fast losing it’s grip over the minds of humankind. The world and it’s people are coming alive like never before.

Oh, btw, most of what Anthony Weiner has said or done gets my support.

 

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Change the Media, Change the World

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

If you are in or around the Boston area, be sure to check out the National Conference for Media Reform’s 2011. Registration closes this Friday, for what is sure to be a stimulating event. Prominent speakers include Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman, House Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Craiglists’ Craig Newmark.

An informed public is a crucial part of a functioning democracy. The mainstream media, as the predominant source for all of our new information, should be considered a vital resource for our well-being, and the integrity of this resource needs to be ensured.

Movement’s like those of the NCMR face an uphill battle against powerful corporations and influential lobbyists. But as awareness of the importance of a free press grows, so too will the support needed to reform the media.

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Charlie Sheen: Distraction of the Day

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

(idk… kinda looks like a trend)

Sure, a lot of people enjoy rubbernecking a celebrity train wreck as it happens, but why has there so much Sheen-noise being made as of late? Probably because there’s nothing like a sex-crazed maniac, high on tigerblood, to keep the public distracted from actual news-worthy events.

Every day, more soldiers and civilians are dying in expensive wars for which public support has all but evaporated.

Revolutions have sprouted all over the Middle East, with freedom fighters showing the world how to demand democracy from the system.

Perhaps most important to the American population are the huge uprisings which started in Wisconsin and have spread to cities around the United States.

This is why the mainstream media focuses on Sheen and whatever other nonsense they can find. Because if they were to really report on the important issues, the social consciousness might become overwhelmed by an epidemic of revolutionary spirit.

And this is exactly what the powers that be fear the most – an engaged and empowered civilian population fighting for their rights.

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Clinton is Correct to Bash US News

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

Speaking critically of her nation’s media, Hillary Clinton says it “amounts to a million commercials… and arguments between talking heads and the kind of stuff that… is not particularly informative to us.”

The Secretary of State believes news outlets in the United States lack journalistic integrity, especially when compared to the standards set by foreign media like Al Jazeera, who report “real news”.

And you know what? She’s right!

Take, for example, news that just went national exposing the US government’s secret plans to arm Mexico’s drug criminals. You’d think such a story would have made a bigger splash, but it didn’t.

Even the agency responsible for the debacle were shocked by the lack of response. An internal memo reveals a sigh of relief as the scathing story had “not sparked any follow up coverage by mainstream media and seems to have fizzled.”

Federal Agents did execute some damage control, but it seems the propaganda campaign wasn’t even needed. American mass media is so dysfunctional that an important story can easily drown in the noise, all by itself.

So the news sucks in the States. Anyone informed by alternative sources will already be aware of this.

The US people are intentionally kept in the dark, distracted and sedated. If too many of them become aware of the role their nation is playing, they’d be in an ideal position to rise against the injustice.

Fortunately, this uprising is coming even without the support of the mainstream media. Thanks to the diversity of online information, more and more of the US population is waking up to see that their nation has become a highly-militarized, corporatist state where both political parties serve the wealthy more than the electorate.

Americans, just like people from all around the world, are joining in the movement towards a more just global civilization. Even if the revolution isn’t televised, don’t worry. It will most certainly be tweeted.

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