The Media
In my last entry I discussed a blog post that I interpreted as being an expression of tacit support for the illegal detention and torture policies of the American regime. It was also, however, an expression of displeasure with the western media.
I agree with the premise of the increasing worthlessness of the western media, and as such I thought I might highlight some other worldly news sources I have been compiling on another website, affectionately named the Misneach Homepage. My resource of news sites (that I'm trying to ensure provide a different perspective from the western media) is here , and any comments or suggestions are always welcome.
The news story I like the most so far today is from The Iran Daily:
ARAK, Markazi,
May 19--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday global problems should be resolved by honoring justice.
Addressing a public gathering in Komijan, the president said if attention is paid to justice, the world would be free from tyranny and oppression, IRNA reported.
“The grave problem of today’s humanity is that some big powers have distanced themselves from justice,“ he said.[...]
[there's more to the story here.]
A different perspective (from the one that tells us we should hate him) indeed.
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I was reminded of this while reading a post on the American liberal discussion forum My Left Wing in an article entitled:
Dial Up Your Bullshit Detectors: Neocon DisInfo Campaign on Iran
I have discussed the Iran issue in detail on this blog, including (but not limited to) the following posts:
War Mongering America
Iran
Iran, U.S. Lies...
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
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I was also quite perturbed to note when reading an article on the Chinese State-run news agency Xinhua how the threat of the U.S. using Nuclear Weapons was a very real possibility. Does it worry anyone else that China sees America as being that dangerous and demented? Or am I the only one who thinks lowering the threshold for use of nuclear weapons is a Very Bad Idea.
The Story.
The disturbing bit:
"Over a long period of time, Washington called Libya, together with Iran and others, a "rogue nation," which allegedly supported terrorism, and was one of the seven countries that could be subject to possible US nuclear strikes."
Is such a threat so widely accepted as possible that it can be mentioned in such a way (by the Chinese State Run news agency) without so much as a little discussion?
Tags:
Media,
Propaganda
1 comment:
On the subject of the western media and terrorism the President of Iran spoke at great length in his letter to george bush:
"September Eleven was a horrendous incident. The killing of innocents is deplorable and appalling in any part of the world. Our government immediately declared its disgust with the perpetrators and offered its condolences to the bereaved and expressed its sympathies.
All governments have a duty to protect the lives, property and good standing of their citizens. Reportedly your government employs extensive security, protection and intelligence systems – and even hunts its opponents abroad. September eleven was not a simple operation. Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services – or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren’t those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?
All governments have a duty to provide security and peace of mind for their citizens. For some years now, the people of your country and neighbors of world trouble spots do not have peace of mind. After 9.11, instead of healing and tending to the emotional wounds of the survivors and the American people -- who had been immensely traumatized by the attacks -- some Western media only intensified the climate of fear and insecurity – some constantly talked about the possibility of new terror attacks and kept the people in fear. Is that service to the American people? Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from fear and panic?
American citizens lived in constant fear of fresh attacks that could come at any moment and in any place. They felt insecure in the streets, in their place of work and at home. Who would be happy with this situation? Why was the media, instead of conveying a feeling of security and providing peace of mind, giving rise to a feeling of insecurity?
Some believe that the hype paved the way -- and was the justification --for an attack on Afghanistan. Again I need to refer to the role of media.
In media charters, correct dissemination of information and honest reporting of a story are established tenets. I express my deep regret about the disregard shown by certain Western media for these principles. The main pretext for an attack on Iraq was the existence of WMDs. This was repeated incessantly -- for the public to finally believe -- and the ground set for an attack on Iraq.
Will the truth not be lost in a contrived and deceptive climate?
Again, if the truth is allowed to be lost, how can that be reconciled with the earlier mentioned values?
Is the truth known to the Almighty lost as well? "
Taken from the Full Text of the letter from Ahmahdinejad to Bush, available from the Iranian Office of the President website.
Interesting reading on that site...
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