Ziegfried and Roy. Penn and Teller. David Copperfield and Chris Angel. All masters of illusion and considered to be in the top of their chosen profession. But even these masters of making you believe in something that isn't true have nothing when it comes to the waving wands wielded by the American corporate media.
Once known as the only reliable established media in the entire world, and emulated across the globe, the American mainstream media has become little more than a puppet on a string for the power brokers and business magnates, telling half truths and outright lies if it will cement a convenient truth into the minds of the American people. One only has to look at some recent events that have happened around the world and in the United States to put the distorted coverage into a clearer view.
Take for instance the U.S. media's coverage of the events that happen all the time in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. According to the coverage that Americans see and hear, the 'terrorists' are intent on the destruction of Israel, and this is the reason for all of the violence and bloodshed. What they don't report on are the continued violations of every International Law by the Israelis by their building of Israeli settlements on land that was captured during the 1973 war. Palestinian lands included. They don't speak of the indiscriminate bombing of civilians nor the 'checkpoint' blockades set up that cause untold hardship for the Palestinians. As almost an after thought, we might hear of the Israelis cutting off all fuel and food shipments into the Gaza to force their will on millions of people.
We listen and watch with outrage when the media get around to covering the genocide occurring in Darfur. But mixed in with the reporting, and intended to dull your sense of indignation are phrases such as "Although aid groups claim the death toll has risen to almost a half a million people, U.S. sources could only confirm about 35,000 deaths." 35,000 is nowhere near as bad as a half a million, and that's exactly what they want you to think. That there's some sort of debate going on over how many were actually killed, and so, until that debate is over, we need not worry ourselves. The truth? We are terrified of upsetting the Communist monsters in Beijing, who hold sway over the government of al-Bashir's Sudan.
Poisoned medicines, tainted toys, defective products galore. Yet not ever mentioned in the press is the fact that we are doing business with the world's largest Communist regime. A brutal, repressive, kill your own people type of regime, when just 90 miles off the coast of Florida is another Communist nation called Cuba, whom we have refused to even speak to for almost half a century.
Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for President more than a year ago, along with Barak Obama, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and Bill Richardson. Going back through the past year's American media coverage, one can see the five to one ratio of exposure given to Clinton over the other candidates. We listened as they talked about the Mrs. as though she were already the President, let alone the nominee. During the 'debates', (or shall we call them choreographed talking events), Clinton and then Obama were given such a disproportionate amount of air time one would have thought they were the only ones in the running. Blatantly smacking down the People's right to choose and the People's right to know, the media then astonishingly told us that due to the lack of financial assets, they were discounting some of the candidates, and we would no longer be allowed to hear from them. Why would they do all of this you ask? Simple. Clinton and Obama had mega bucks to spend on advertising, hence only they would be allowed to continue running. And Clinton started out as the media's darling, because she was the only candidate that could be counted on to due the corporation's bidding. When Obama out monied her, he became the presumptive nominee.
Terrorism is a great selling point these days. Told over and over again every single lie that issues forth from Homeland Security and the White House, Americans were suckered into believing that we needed to relinquish any pretense of 'freedom', in favor of a fascist type of government that tramples all over the Constitution, with no coverage save for a few reporters who refuse to go along for fear of being labeled anti-American. All of the lies. All of the half truths and exaggerations spewed out of the madmens' mouths were printed as Gospel truth by the fourth estate, who never once questioned why we had to invade Iraq when we were attacked by Saudi Arabia. Like psychotic parrots, they echo the call to war once again by hyping the 'Iranian Threat'. Or the boogeymen in caves who wait with knife and fork to tear into our juicy American flesh.
Not even peeping more than kitten's mewling over the destruction of the Bill of Rights, the American media has never once issued any serious challenge to this, the worst President in U.S. history. No editorial has called for the impeachment and criminal investigations that are sorely lacking, nor was the President raked over the coals for pardoning his criminal crony, Libby. His lies that led us into war are almost laughed at by the media , while our soldiers and the Iraqi and Afghan people die needlessly.
Vladmir Putin decided he wasn't going to give up power in Russia. Slickly switching from President to Prime Minister, he installed his second in command, Dmitry Medvedev as the new President, essentially instituting a dictatorship in Russia once more. Since that time, Putin, a former KGB head, has done everything in his power to reignite the Cold War with America. But it isn't in corporate America's interest to report on this due to the massive investments made by U.S. corporations after the Soviet Union fell apart. Can you say suckers? And no, they're not going to be giving us any of that oil Halliburton helped them find and extract either.
Around the globe the American media are known as 'the comic relief'. That's because stories of importance, such as the almost arrest of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in France for war crimes went completely unreported by mainstream media, until the blogoshphere howled the story to the world, and then it was only MSNBC that reported it.
Poverty figures put out by the liars in charge are reported in such a way that we are led to believe that there's really no problem at all. As we lose 200,000 jobs per month to outsourcing and the corporations waddle away with pockets so full, they need you to help carry their loot, we're told about Wall Street's belief that the economy is about to take an upswing.
On and on it continues. Smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, and a three card monte game. Embedded reporters. Questions better left unasked. Don't report on dead American soldiers, nor the wounded. It becomes hard to believe anything said in the American press when a story appears on one site that says one thing, another site has completely different 'facts', and yet a third will deny any truth to the rumors. But if one looks at the sites from overseas, we see reporting about events in our own country that we knew nothing about. In other words, the truth. Here, if you want to know what the latest celebrity gossip is, check mainstream media. If you want the truth of what's really going on, check with overseas media, or read the blogs. Other than that, it's a crap shoot and a con game designed to make you want to wear the latest fashions, own the newest electronic device, and conform to what the corporate government wants you to be. Compliant, weak minded, and easily manipulated. "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" scream the media whores. Go ahead and read the newspaper. Watch the news on television. But as you stare at the screen, listening to the anchor person tell the lies he or she is given to tell you, heed the words of those who watched how magicians do their magic trick will tell you: " Watch his other hand son........."
Seed Newsvine
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