[Imc] Fw: [gangbox] Fwd : [IAC] ALL PROPAGANDA, ALL THE TIME! The State Of The "Free Press" After October 7
david johnson
unionyes at ameritech.net
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 dont 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 wasnt 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.
governments 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 Englands
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 doesnt 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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