Mainstream Media Fail Again
Wimpmedia Engage in Blackouts Rather Than Report Uncomfortable News
| Our thanks to the Progressive Review for noticing these Soviet-style behaviors against the American public. |
1. Major Media Black Out Nobel Prize Winner's Green Party Role
If you want to learn how news is manipulated and suppressed in this country, you have to start with the small stuff. For example, simply trying to find out about Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai's role in the Kenyan Green Party led to a startling discovery: major American media didn't want us to know. The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, BBC, Chicago Tribune, and LA Times -- among others -- all eliminated the fact that Maathai had founded the Kenyan Green Party. The fact that the often maligned and more often ignored Greens were being honored for setting an example to the world was certainly news.
There were exceptions such as the San Jose Mercury News, thanks to the fact that it ran the AP story by Chris Tomlinson which clearly stated that Maathai had founded Kenya's Green Pary. The Toronto Sun and several Australian papers noted the connection as well.
It is part of the corporatized media's deceit that it presents the Green Party as an anomaly when in fact it represents the most important new positive international political movement since the spread of socialism. There are Green parties in more than 75 countries, including quite a few in Africa.
| Here is The Progress Report's article on Maathai's win of the Nobel Peace Prize |
2. Media Ignore Arrest of Two Presidential Candidates
Using Google News, we could only find the San Jose Mercury News reporting this story among the archaic media.
Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party and David Cobb of the Green Party were protesting their exclusion from the debate between President Bush and Democratic Party nominee John Kerry. Cobb said his purpose was "to expose the undemocratic nature of these debates, this election and our government. These are not debates, these are infomercials."
| Here is The Progress Report's article on Pro-Democracy Presidential Candidates Thrown in Jail |
3. FBI Attack on Independent Media Still Ignored by U.S. Press
Four days after the FBI shut down operations of the progressive news network Indymedia in 20 countries by seizing computer equipment, only the few American papers that picked up the AP story have alerted their readers to this stunning suppression of press freedom by John Ashcroft's Justice Department. None of the biggies -- e.g. the NY Times or the Wash Post -- have run the story yet
The UK's GUARDIAN says -- Aidan White, the general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, condemned the "intolerable and intrusive" action. Tim Gopsill of the NUJ said: "If the security services of the UK or US can just walk in and take away a server, then there is no freedom of expression."
STATEWATCH asks - - Was the seizure of Indymedia's servers in London unlawful or did the UK government collude?
Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments: "Rackspace may be a US company but Rackspace in London is subject to UK law not US law. If they took down and handed over Indymedia's servers simply on the basis of a US subpoena communicated to them this would not be lawful in the UK.
"However it seems more likely that the US subpoena was the subject of a request for mutual legal assistance from the US Attorney General to the UK Home Secretary under the MLA Treaty. It would be for the Metropolitan Police, probably accompanied by the FBI, to enforce the request and take possession of the servers.
"This begs the questions: Why did the Home Office agree? What grounds did the USA give for the seizure of the servers? Where these grounds of a "political" nature? Has the Home Office requested that the servers be returned? What does this action say about freedom of expression and freedom of the press?
"A trail that started in Switzerland and Italy has now ended fairly and squarely in the lap of the UK Home Secretary to justify."
The corrupt mainstream wimpmedia just don't mention some important things. You deserve better. Tell your views to The Progress Report:
| Page One | Page Two | Archive |
| Discussion Room | Letters | What's Geoism? |
