This was in this morning's CNN report, and I say so WHAT, and the cheers by the soldiers were planted to, give me a f*cking break....

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/12/09/...rter/index.html


'Doc

Who cares if they were planted no one cares that Bush Co plants the press with acceptable questions.

Reguardless of their origin they were important questiosn that needed to be asked. This relentless spin is starting to make me dizzy

This just in and again, who the hell cares, whether the readers were told it was an embedded question or not, listen to those cheers in the back ground when that question is asked, damn I hate the right I really do....

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/10/chattanoo...r.ap/index.html


'Doc

Isn't it amazing how quickly the corporate media finds an irrelevant point to run interference for the Bush administration? It's not like the soldier that asked the question did so against his will or anything. The press is going from lap dog to guard dog status.

"You go to war with the army you have, not...the army you [want]. The reason we aren't taking care of you is that you aren't the army I wanted. You guys ask too many questions."

That's what he said. What he MEANT was, "Don't ask questions, dummy. Just go die."

'Bina.

Oil and no bid contracts and munitions and...

Defense contractors that were about to go belly up in early 2001 are thriving now.

Rumsfeld is taking the Longshanks approach. (King Longshanks from the movie Braveheart)

Quotes:

Longshanks: Not the archers. My scouts tell me their archers are miles away and no threat to us. Arrows cost money. Use up the Irish. Their dead cost nothing.

Longshanks: Archers.
English Commander: Beg your pardon sire, but won't we hit our own troops?
Longshanks: Yes... but we'll hit theirs as well. We have reserves... attack.

What I want to know, is where is the public outrage over the way White House briefings are done? It's common knowledge that Bush and his gang won't answer the hard questions there -- it's all about photo opportunities and putting on the appearance of being accessible to the press (and therefore to the public) without actually having to answer any real questions.

In Canada, we have a tradition in our federal government called Question Period. They have this funny little tradition in the UK too. Our duly elected government is forced to field and actually respond to questions from the opposition (you know them -- the politicians who were also elected but aren't part of the majority party.) If a question isn't answered satisfactorily, the darn question has a tendency to come up again and again and again. And if the specific politician (i.e. the one responsible for the particular topic, such as the finance minister etc.) isn't available to answer, then the next in the chain of command (or even the Prime Minister) has to answer. Questions require answers and must be given. Those in power must be answerable to the hard questions and can't hide behind flimsy excuses. That's what being accountable is all about.

I understand that in the US the media is supposed to play the role of public watchdog and defender, asking the hard questions the way the opposition does in Canada and the UK during question period. Since the White House only appears to answer questions on its own timetable, and clearly controls what questions are even allowed to be asked, how can this be anything close to real accountability?

Where is the outrage over the defanged watchdogs in the US?

You answered your own question, bgruagach.

American media are an oligarchy - all supportive of Bush. FoxNews is obviously pro-Bush, but NBC is owned by GE, the 9th largest defense contractor in the world. The media has become so consolidated that five corporations control nearly every venue, from TV to radio to newspapers to magazines to books.

News has been replaced by propoganda, distraction, and entertainment. There is plenty of outrage, but it's in the media's best interest to cover Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Scott Peterson.

BTW, Bina... I love the photo in your signature...

P_B

BTW, for those who wonder: Canadian Question Periods are televised, too. Have been for longer than I can remember. Some of them turn into downright shouting matches, and the cameras are there to catch it all. It can be fun when that happens, especially when the highlights appear on the late night news...

Funnily, though, no one, even the furthest right-wing nuts, complains of the supposed "liberal media". The neutrality of everyone, from the Prime Minister on down, being caught on tape during QP, regardless of partisan affiliation, seems to have the odd effect of actually convincing them that the media is neither this nor that but both and then some, and sometimes, neither!

And of course, some of them forget the cameras are rolling sometimes, and when that happens, blue language occasionally flies.

'Bina.

PS to PB: Thanks--check the Gallery. I've pinned a topic full of sig-appropriate pictures that people can use, courtesy of Bartcop.com, the Freeway Blogger, and other good reliable sites. The list of pics is growing, too, as I find things to add to it. The one I've got here is in there too. Just hold down the control key (or right-click on your mouse) and click on the pic you want, then chose "Copy Image Location" from the menu and paste it into your sig!

Okay--the truth is now out. The Right, as usual, got it WRONG. Check this out!

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/ne...t_id=1000739870

Yeah, Doc, you're right--what was I thinking? It's their JOB to mislead people with bullshit propaganda! Anything that makes the administration look good and everyone else look bad, is kosher in their twisted little corner of the universe...

'Bina.