[Imc] Fw: [gangbox] Fwd : [IAC] ALL PROPAGANDA, ALL THE TIME! The State Of The "Free Press" After October 7

Tue Nov 6 00:22:33 UTC 2001

-----Original Message-----
From: The Infamous Vinnie Gangbox <gangbox at excite.com>
To: gangbox at yahoogroups.com <gangbox at yahoogroups.com>
Date: Monday, November 05, 2001 6:21 PM
Subject: [gangbox] Fwd : [IAC] ALL PROPAGANDA, ALL THE TIME! The State Of The "Free Press" After October 7

On Mon, 05 Nov 2001 17:30:43 -0500, Action Center wrote:

  A.N.S.W.E.R. FACT SHEET – The Media and the Government

  The State Of The "Free Press" After October 7 —
        ALL PROPAGANDA, ALL THE TIME!

  In the past weeks, images have been seen around the world of
  bombings of villages, hospitals, mosques, Red Cross
  facilities and more.  What has been the response of those
  dropping the bombs?  The U.S. and England are opening what
  they call “Coalition Information Centers” — a plan for
  24-hour-a-day domination of the news to manipulate and
  refute these images.

  In the last weeks, the Bush administration, the Pentagon and
  the CIA have been battening down all of the hatches to
  deprive the people of the United States of any independent
  source of information.  Why is the government so afraid that
  people in the United States will have the opportunity to
  receive uncensored news and information?  It is because the
  Bush administration, having learned a crucial lesson in
  Vietnam, knows that if the people actually learn the truth
  about the war, they may become its most vocal and effective
  opponents.

  In some countries, governments have waged violent and
  repressive wars against journalists.  Reporters have been
  arrested and even killed, fear has been installed in those
  who seek to go against the government.  But that is not the
  case in the U.S.  Reporters here don’t have to be arrested
  or shot or even threatened.  These big capitalist media
  realize that their real function is to be the public
  relations arm of the Pentagon. They are engaging in
  self-censorship.

  U.S. textbooks teach of a U.S. media that is distinguished
  from the media in vast parts of the globe because it is a
  “free press” — not a state-run media, but an independent
  media, free from government supervision and dictates.

  But since September 11, 2001, and especially since the
  bombing of Afghanistan began on October 7, it would be very
  hard to assert that there is a free or independent press in
  the United States.  (Those who have studied the
  corporate-dominated media know that there wasn’t much of a
  “free” press in the U.S. prior to September 11 either,
  though there is a growing progressive media independent from
  corporate domination.)

  Did you know that ...

  On October 7 — the day the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan —
  the National Imagery and Mapping Agency signed a contract
  for exclusive rights to all commercial satellite imagery of
  Afghanistan and other countries in the region.  The U.S.
  government’s National Imagery and Mapping Agency is a
  “top-secret Defense Department intelligence agency,” and it
  is currently in negotiations to renew its contract, which
  expires November 5.  It paid $1.91 million for the first 30
  days of the contract. (Reuters, 10/30/01, “US in talks to
  keep rights to satellite images)

  On October 10, White House national security adviser
  Condoleezza Rice met with major U.S. television networks and
  asked them not to show videotaped messages issued by Osama
  bin Laden live and unedited. They agreed to this request.
  MSNBC and Fox News did not air at all the next statement
  issued by bin Laden, and CNN showed only brief excerpts.

  On October 11, the Bush administration asked newspapers not
  to print statements issued by Osama bin Laden.  They agreed.

  On October 17, a closed-door meeting was held between
  network heads and studio chiefs in Hollywood and members of
  the Bush administration.  Deputy Assistant to the President
  Chris Henick and Associate Director of the Office of Public
  Liaison Adam Goldman represented the Bush administration in
  the meeting, where Hollywood heads “committed themselves to
  new initiatives in support of the war on terrorism. These
  initiatives would stress efforts to enhance the perception
  of America around the world, to ‘get out the message’ on the
  fight against terrorism and to mobilize existing resources,
  such as satellites and cable, to foster better global
  understanding.” (Variety, 10/18/01, White House enlists
  Hollywood for war effort, By Peter Bart)

  On October 30, the chairman of CNN and its head of standards
  and practices sent memos to the CNN staff relating to their
  coverage of the war.  In the first memo, Walter Isaacson,
  the chairman of CNN, said it “seems perverse to focus too
  much on the casualties or hardship in Afghanistan.”  The
  memo sent by Rick Davis, the head of standards and
  practices, continued, it “may be hard for the correspondent
  in these dangerous areas to make the points clearly.”  Davis
  actually suggested language for anchors to use while footage
  of civilian casualties was being shown: (1) “We must keep in
  mind, after seeing reports like this from Taliban-controlled
  areas, that these U.S. military actions are in response to a
  terrorist attack that killed close to 5,000 innocent people
  in the U.S.” or (2) “We must keep in mind, after seeing
  reports like this, that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan
  continues to harbor terrorists who have praised the
  September 11 attacks that killed close to 5,000 innocent
  people in the U.S.” or (3) “The Pentagon has repeatedly
  stressed that it is trying to minimize civilian casualties
  in Afghanistan, even as the Taliban regime continues to
  harbor terrorists who are connected to the September 11
  attacks that claimed thousands of innocent lives in the
  U.S.”  He concludes, “Even though it may start sounding
  rote, it is important that we make this point each time.”
  (“CNN Chief Orders ‘Balance’ in War News” by Howard Kurtz,
  Washington Post 10/31/01)

  On October 30, British Defense Minister Geoff Hoon met with
  U.S. Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, to stress England’s
  concern about the fact that public opinion in Britain and
  the rest of Western Europe has been turning against the war,
  largely because of the increasing reports of civilian
  casualties from the bombing.  A “Western diplomat” quoted in
  the New York Times said, “the collateral damage doesn’t make
  nice pictures in the newspapers.”  The Times also reported
  that “The European public appears more concerned about
  civilian casualties than ending the war swiftly.” Senior
  Blair adviser Alstair Campbell met with U.S. Presidential
  Counselor Karen Hughes about concerns about public opinion
  in Europe and the Middle East. (“U.S. Campaign on 2nd Front:
  Public Opinion” by Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt, New
  York Times, 10/31/01)

  On October 31, Taliban representatives held a press
  conference in Pakistan to announce that over 1,500 people
  had been killed in the first 24 days of bombing, mainly
  civilians.

  On October 31, at a joint press conference with British
  Prime Minister Tony Blair, Syrian President Bashar Assad
  said “We cannot accept what we see on the [television]
  screen every day — hundreds of civilians dying.”

  On November 1, the U.S. and Britain jointly opened
  “Coalition Information Centers” in Washington DC, London and
  Islamabad, Pakistan.  These centers will allow for
  24-hour-a-day efforts to dominate news coverage of the U.S.
  and British bombing of Afghanistan.  Their focus will be on
  rebutting reports of civilian casualties. It will include
  press conferences, speeches and Internet reports staggered
  to target morning and evening coverage in the U.S., Europe
  and the Middle East and South/Central Asia. The State
  Department is planning its own effort to circulate
  information on the Internet and providing downloadable
  information sheets to be used by U.S. embassies worldwide.
  (“U.S., Britain Step Up War for Public Opinion,” by Karen
  DeYoung, 11/1/01 Washington Post)

  On November 2, New York Times Op-Ed writer Thomas Friedman
  wrote, “A month into the war in Afghanistan, the
  hand-wringing has already begun over how long this might
  last. Let's all take a deep breath and repeat after me: Give
  war a chance. This is Afghanistan we're talking about. Check
  the map. It's far away.” (“One War, Two Fronts,” by Thomas
  L. Friedman, NY Times, 11/2/01)

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