It is true that the pen is mightier than the sword. The use of propoganda in war is every bit as dangerous as bullets and bombs. We often fail to see
this b/c we are so bombarded with it. Look at how big media was used in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, near-completely parroting the
adminstration's line of cockNbull. The New York Times should just all (other than a few brave souls) be issued BDUs and be done with it. They are so
in the closet, really, other than Maureen Dowd. (I would give anything to be a fly on the wall when she and Judy Miller are in the same room.
)
One of the worst ways big media pimps for the Pentagon is by simply not reporting stories, or burying blips in the back of the paper. It's all about
OMISSION. Stealth.
Now, I've learned that a certain "company" is sniffing around Knight Ridder (after three of the biggest stockholders told the company they
should sell). Knight Ridder is the second largest news organization in the country. KR has also,
coincidentally, done more investigative
journalism on BushCo. and their wars than any other organization. You know what they say, if you can't control it, buy it.
No one in the business (from top to bottom) knows what is going on. I can tell you though, this is not just a case of the market magically moving. KR
is a strong company, economically speaking. The only logical reason for this is that the powers that be want it put "under control."
And this "company" I speak of has, in fact, done this type of acquisition before.
If the government can gain complete control big media, entirely, there will be a vast amount of Americans who are even more in the dark than they
were. This is a danger to us all. Especially in light of the heated situation with Iran. Expect the bobbleheads on tv to start really ramping up the
anti-Iran rhetoric. ABCs already on location in Iran getting it started.
Skirmishes in the information wars
By Mike Whitney
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Jan 3, 2006, 15:18
There are only two weapons in the imperial tool chest: force and
deception.
The brutal colonial occupation of Iraq has provided us with a lavish
example
of the former, but the twin-axel of deception is more abstruse and
difficult
to pin down. Sure, there's the flagrant propaganda that floods
right-wing
radio and political talk shows, but that tells us little about the
state-sponsored disinformation-programs that permeate every area of
American
life.
We now know that the Bush administration authorized massive illegal
spying
operations and is actively engaged in planting pro-American stories in
the
foreign press. These suggest that the administration's overall theory
of
information management is much more extensive then originally imagined.
In
fact, news and information manipulation is at the forefront of Bush's
war on
terror, a comprehensive strategy to control of every bit of information
a
citizen hears, sees or reads from cradle to grave. It is information
warfare
on a scale that would make George Orwell cringe.
onlinejournal.com...
