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What's screwed up is in a time of National security we are granting retired Generals access to military planning. What gives? If your ass is retired, stay retired. Oh that's right, if you sell your soul to the devil he'll let you earn a ton of cash working for military contractors after you retire.
I got through 6 pages of the article before I couldn't stick with it (just dry, and I'm at work).
There are parts of it that are okay, like the guys who quit being network analysts because they saw the Pentagon was using them. And there's some analyst category that truly believes they're saying what needs to be said (even if I disagree) that I can accept. But the guys getting contracts for being talking heads is quite disturbing.
What's really disturbing is that this war isn't being covered in any seriousness by the national press, and in this respect, America is being done a huge disservice. People are concerned about the economy: look at what we're spending on the war for no return.
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Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
The one thing that you continue to see is that Rumsfeld should be charged with treason.
I showed this to a buddy and his comment was that Nixon would have never been caught by todays press. He is right.
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"I'm not here to make a record, ya stupid cracker" Governor Pappy O Daniel
"This is no subtle attempt to influence public opinion. It is a government program to corrupt the free flow of information that serves, in a healthy democracy, to inoculate the public against official lies, bad policy, and misbegotten wars... This is a tactic more suitable for Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In fact, the Pentagon’s manipulation of the media has been more deft than the Kremlin’s because it was better hidden." Boston Globe editorial.
I think that the above quote is one of the main reasons why America is still in Iraq. If the public doesn't see or know what is really going on in Iraq they will believe whatever the military analysts and media pundits are saying to them as truthful information. Fact is that this "war" has so little media coverage that it kinda envokes the philosophy of "out of sight, out of mind." Then you add the little bits of deceptive info to the mix that the Pentagon is spreading - through their complicit pals in the media - and Iraq seems to be not much of a problem. And, afterall, everything you see on the media in America is true, right?
Plus, Bush/Cheney don't care what the public thinks. Does anybody remember the comment that Cheney made to an ABC report about a month ago? THe reporter asked Cheney what he thought about the fact that public opinion against the war was at about 60%. He replied, "SO." Disgusting!
Then you have independent reporters telling more truthful stories about Iraq, like Robert Fisk and such, but they get no mainstream attention. You have to search to find their news stories. And, even if these independents did get mainstream attention it would probably be to just demonize them, you know, "that is guy is a lefty nutjob", or "he is a terrorist appeaser, like President Carter." etc. etc. etc. It's distgusting. And, what's even more disgusting is that so many people still don't realize or don't care that a thick rug of lies and disceptions are covering their eyes from truthful information, which democracy deeply needs for its survival.
The lack of war coverage is disturbing but I am beginning to believe that people dont want to see it. I have a neighbor who is selling his house and upscaling to the bigger, beater deal. He asking a price based on rising home price instead of the 17% reduction in prices that has happened over the last year. He said he had to get that much out of the house or he couldnt afford the new one and he is thinking about going ahead and moving hoping his house will sell soon. My wife and I just looked at him and said you think it will sell during the biggest housing market dip in 30 years? He said, I hadnt heard it was that bad but I am sure it will be ok. I mean seriously, this is on most news reports, online and on tv so I just assume he isnt paying attention at all. I just began to assume that most people arent paying any attention to anything other than Brittanys drug problems. Are we really becoming that stupid of a nation? The idea just scares me. So I think the news is basically giving the information that sells. It no longer informs, just entertains which is what people want.
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"I'm not here to make a record, ya stupid cracker" Governor Pappy O Daniel
Treason or war crimes.
I'm not real big on saying these guys were committing treason. Maybe it's true - maybe they knew what they were doing was bullshit while they were doing it. Since I was for the invasion in 2003 (through 2005), and I didn't think it was bullshit, and as far as I know, I'm not evil, I can give some benefit of doubt there.
What I can say with certainty is that these guys authorized torture, and that's a war crime. And I hope Canada or Belgium or Mexico someday gets the chance to arrest some of these people who said it was fine to do that, and I hope they get convicted.
And as an American, I never thought I would EVER write the above paragraph in my lifetime.
I personally don't know why the war isn't getting the coverage. I've seen some good coverage on mainstream television. "Alive Day" on HBO. Taxi to the Dark Side in cinema. Some specials on 60 minutes and here and there.
Vietnam casualties were on the TV about every night (from what I hear, I'm not old enough to remember first-hand). And there aren't many heroic firefights anymore in Iraq. It's just Americans getting blown up by roadside bombs, and that footage is hard to capture (although the Arab press gets lots of them - not to condemn the Arab press - let's show that footage over here and see what our soldiers are dying for, and how!)
I don't know if it's corporate control.
I don't know if it's public apathy.
I don't know if it's governmental censorship.
Like most things, it's probably a combination of factors too subtle to point to one overarching cause. But it's pretty sad.
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Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
GH, your story is a good example of American apathy. Apathy in the sense that has to do with continung a great democracy. I believe that democracy takes an informed citizenry to keep it healthy and it takes a lot of work to keep yourself informed these days. TV, IMO, is not a good way to stay informed. Yes, there are good shows that do inform and educate people but they are hidden amongst a sea of mindless trash television programs. And, as I know from experience it is so easy to fall into the trap of this trash TV. Just last month I was dying to know who Brett was gonna pick on Rock of Love 2. It's kind of embarassing to admit that, but somehow I got hooked. Thankfully I just moved to a place with no cable and my productivity level has increased a good deal.
What I am saying is that there are soooooo many distractions in the mainstream to keep people from being informed. And, Yes, I know that it is a choice to turn your mind off and watch Rock o Love instead of reading about or watching current events. But, as we can see even our "news sources" are now being tainted by groups of people who have a great interest in keeping people disinformed. And, that is a problem because there are people who try to stay informed but then watch bogus news reports and trust that it is accurate. Chomsky said it well in a past interview... he said that in this day and age it is very hard to stay informed. People are so busy just finding ways to take care of their family or pay bills and that leaves them little time to stay up on current events. SO, these people spend 30 minutes watching a news program. Now, we are finding out that these news programs are tainted with disinformation mixed in with a few truthful reports. That to me leaves the average America very uninformed.
Obama made a great comment about distractions in the last debate (or mudslinging contest). These distractions aren't just trash TV but actually "news programs" talking about who does or doesn't wear American flag lapels instead of more important issues like the economy, ending a needless war, fixing education, etc. Obama's comment was in response to the ridiculous question asked by the lady about why he doesn't wear the American flag pin.
Here is the end of Obamas response,
Quote:
"I have never said that I don't wear flag pins or refuse to wear flag pins. This is the kind of manufactured issue that our politics has become obsessed with and, once again, distracts us from what should be my job when I'm commander-in-chief, which is going to be figuring out how we get our troops out of Iraq and how we actually make our economy better for the American people."
Anyway... I will end this post now. I just get so annoyed these days with politics because it is rare to hear a real question asked these days by our media. And, I think that to help solve some of the current worldly problems requires real questions and real answers. Here is a start: If we are to figure out how to reduce terrorism wouldn't it require some introspection towards America's foreign policy now and in the past or should we just keep on dropping bombs? Is it so crazy or wrong to ask this question? Does America's foreign policy have anything to do with the creation of Islamic militants wanting to kill and bomb America?
they don't want to hear the stories of the afghans rapping the little boys and the amount of porn being found in the homes of these extremists..... makes them guilty of what they are against.
3 of 5 houses have porn
i wonder why they don't put this on the news
the real story won't surface ever just talk to enough people who have been there and you will find the truth.
the housing market is fucked due to the youngins trying to keep up with the jones and not being able to cut it except for there interest payments.
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