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samboct -> RE: Islamophobia in America (8/23/2010 5:16:32 PM)
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"Then take on the role of the journalist and take up the attack. Also what correlation is there between the connections that Fox News has and the number of journalists there are? How does further broadening the definition of protected speech to include new mediums and new areas of conversation, (the result of journalism) damage our freedom of speech? They are not making news. The hatred was there long before any of the people alive in the world today were even born."
Take up the role of journalist....Ah, a very practical suggestion. Journalists require some form of editor, an organization since one individual cannot come up with a salable product (unless it's a book), and financial resources. TV stations used to subsidize the news since it was too expensive to be self supporting, but looked upon the practice as payback for being able to use the airways. That idea went out decades ago.
In terms of the lack of journalists- well hell, if you're a military guy, then you know that if you have a region to defend, if your boots are too thin on the ground or your airbases too far from the disputed area, your enemy is going to have plenty of ways to attack where your forces are not. Couple this with a rise in yellow journalism and the fascination with entertainment because it makes money, and you have a "free press" which really isn't- the free press has been starved by lack of money. Journalism, like higher education and medicine is a victim of a misguided idea that business strategies belong in places other than the market. The drive for increased profitability coupled with loosening of trust busting regulation has allowed the development of current media empires which bear little resemblance to responsible news organizations. So the lack of journalists allows the development of unsavory business practices, since there are too few people looking into organizations dark alleys. The lack of skilled journalists was probably a contributing factor to the recent financial implosion. As Louis Brandeis said- sunshine is a wonderful disinfectant- and there's far too little on corporate governance today.
"quote]ORIGINAL: samboct quote]: No it doesn't. Feel free to look at the actions of wartime censorship boards. "quote]ORIGINAL: samboct quote]: "
"What wartime censorship boards? I served in the military and have spent a good portion of my life in a time of war. During that time I spent six years in the United States Air Force. During that time I maintained a Security clearance. I had incredible amounts of free speech. Nothing was affected. I could say whatever I wanted. So what wartime censorhip board? No one ever told me there was a topic that I couldn't talk about."
So during GWB IIs administration, anybody could have put pictures of flag draped coffins out there? How about pictures of the collateral damage our weapons are doing. War is a bloody, brutal business. That we've gone to high tech weaponry which often removes the warfighter from the scene of the conflict (another issue that should have been debated before implementation) does not mean that the gore of war is gone- but there is precious little shown on the TV news or in newspapers. Sorry- but there's some form of censorship going on- it may not be as explicit as during WWII, but it's nevertheless present. Another example- we've got a terrible failure in communication between reconnaissance and the boots on the ground. There is no way that IEDs should be effective with the aerial surveillance capabilities we have. Roads with convoys effectively have 24/7 coverage. And it's not easy to dig a hole big enough to put in a bomb large enough to take out a Humvee or larger. So why do our guys on the ground not know that there are bombs on the roadway ahead? And why hasn't anybody written articles on the subject?
"quote]ORIGINAL: samboctquote]: Overall-there are some interesting historical and film parallels with what's going on here. In terms of history- look at the actions of Senator Joseph Macarthy, who got the country into an uproar with the claim of varying numbers of communists (always escalating) in the House and Senate. Macarthy never had one shred of evidence either, but certainly caused a stink. However, Macarthy eventually got grilled (wasn't it Adlai Stevenson?) whereas Rupert Murdoch probably won't face any charges. " quote]ORIGINAL: samboctquote]:"
"Actually there aren't too many similarities there. Those arose from two COMPLETELY different situations. McCarthy-ism arose from a distant enemy that would posture at us. We would then posture back. While the recent search for sleeper cells arose from multiple incidents of the exact thing happening on our own land and actually costing human lives.
It is the difference between checking under your bed at night for vampires and carrying a hand gun because you were robbed and stabbed one night."
Both McCarthy and the current attack on the planners of the mosque "near" Ground Zero (don't think its visible- and it's supposed to be next to a strip club. I may have to check this out next time I visit NYC.) are the same strategy- a very visible, complete fabrication with grave consequences. This is Hitler "Big Lie" psychology- tell such whoppers that everybody assumes that there must be a grain of truth in there somewhere.
" quote]ORIGINAL: samboct quote]: The two films- First-you know you're in trouble when current events are reminiscent of a James Bond move, Tomorrow Never Dies, a movie modeled on Rupert Murdoch trying to take over the world. Need headlines? Write 'em before anything happens. Unfortunately, while the evil villain is based on current events, no James Bond has stepped up to thwart his plans. " quote]ORIGINAL: samboct quote]:"
"Yeah so something came to pass that mildly resembles a movie plot? Are you kidding me? With how many movies have been written? If you throw enough darts, eventually one will hit."
If you miss the irony of how a movie plot, based on escapist entertainment with highly implausible gadgets, women, and a penchant for tongue in cheek humor actually resembles the current situation we now find ourselves, I pity your literal mindedness. It's not any movie plot- it's a James Bond movie plot.
"quote]ORIGINAL: samboct quote]:The second movie- Absence of Malice. Somehow, I doubt that phrase could apply to the Fox Corporations actions. "quote]ORIGINAL: samboct quote]:"
What I recall about the movie- been awhile since I've seen it, is that it wrestles with the responsibility of a newspaper to make certain that what it publishes is accurate, since the story will have severe consequences for the individual named. The title is a legal phrase removing culpability from the newspaper if they can prove that they had sources before running a slanderous story. I doubt that anyone at the Fox Corporation even thought about this before this brouhaha started- they're too arrogant and unfeeling. A slander suit from a Muslim? Who would take on the mighty Fox Corporation?
Sam
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