Gurdur

Were I a Jew, I would be offended; and as it is, as an atheist humanist, I'm offended by the implicit racism in such stances (and thank-you, rainbow walking, for disowning it).

First off, the statement implies that the American media are deliberately and generally not telling the "Truth", whatever that might be, which is then a surprise how CNN (or whoever it was) kept on reporting from Baghdad throughout the Gulf War, or how ever Watergate came out.

Second, it makes the claim that Jews own/control the American media. Bullshit. (*)

Third, it makes the implicit claim that all Jews support Israel, and lie in order to support Israel.
Again, bullshit.
BTW, there are Jews in Israel (as well as elsewhere) -- try the Mea Sharim district -- who do not recognise the Israeli state.

In short, it was a typically anti-semitic lie. Anti-semitism is just an age-old special version of racism, and as a humanist, I'm offended by racism.
Like it or lump it.
_______________

(*) Much to my own personal shame, quite a bit of the American media is owned by the decidedly non-Jewish but - oh gawd - Australian Rupert Murdoch.
Oh well, at least he dropped his Australian nationality when he discovered the tax advantages to American citizenship.
They're welcome to him.

ohwilleke

This is a pretty good description of Liberia which was colonized by American freedmen not far from Ghana. Liberia hasn't had a perfect history, but few poeple laugh at the freedmen's historical pretensions or militaristic grandiosity.

Typhon

Yes, not to throw more oil on the sacrificial pyre, but I wanted to note that I don't agree with your assessment of a "Jew" controlled media RW.

The coalition or conglomerate which holds most of the media sources in the US and much of the world's is deeply influenced by Jewish and even more worrisome, Zionist lobbying, true. However, this is in a larger part, due to the fact that the old Christian network has lumped oddly enough with this group both politically, as well as economically in their war against the Arab states.

Money and conservative control of the media is what calls the tune these days. It just happens to be that the Religious Right, both Christian and Jewish, happen to be lined up together on this one.

I personally think that much of our current problems can be in fact blamed by traditional Western racism against the Jews, mixed with a strange combination of guilt and religious rapturesque mysticism. In part this is why the Allied Powers at the end of WWII created the artificial Jewish state in Palestine, rather than encouraging the reparations and repatriotism of Jewish citizens within Europe.

.T.

Gurdur

This treats "Jewish" lobbying as some kind of homogenous bloc; such is certainly not the case.
Such a statement smacks of latent anti-semitism itself, whether accidental or meant.

Furthermore, let us assume some degree of "Jewish" lobbying, such as the B'nai Brith or Anti-Defamation League. The big so what ?
Every section of American society is entitled to lobby in such a democratic society; to single out the Jews for attack is deeply suspect.

See above.
And even more worrisome, PLO, Republican, Libertarian, anti-semitic, Know-Nothing, Democratic etc. lobbying.

What an amazingly generalized assertion !

The "old Christian network" is again not a homogenous entity, and Christians harbour opposing strands.
BTW, does the "war against the Arab states" include the defence of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia against Iraq ?
Or the yearly large financial aid to Egypt ?

Oh, twaddle, poppycock, balderdash, and rubbish.
The media is at its freest that it has ever being throughout history; it is cheaper and easier now for anyone to get out a message to a broad public (e.g. this bulletin board) than it was ever before.

This statement betrays such a lack of knowledge of the actual history of the event, let alone motivations and possibilities, that it is simply dissmissable with the words:
Typhon, go read a good history book before you come out with such nonsense again.

And this crap belongs in Political Discussions, not here.

[ July 03, 2002: Message edited by: Gurdur ]</p>

Typhon

OK Gurdur,

I figured you were just thick, very thick. But I've had just about enough of your stupidity. Let's take a look at the most recent spew to come drooling out of your typical plague of emoticons…

It is not, considering the TOPIC AT HAND is the issue of Israel and its policies concerning Palestine!

It's a fact that Israel lobbies our government, both through foreign policy as well as though immense support from Jewish political and private groups within the US. It's a fact that our relationship with Israel is one of almost unwavering support, despite tremendous problems with their policies and oppression of the Palestinians within their state. It's a fact that the US media is almost completely one-sided in its support and refusal to upset the powerful and zealous Jewish and Israel lobbies within the country. It's a fact that on the issue of Israel and our war against the Arab states on their behalf as well as our own, these lobbies have a strong affect and influence on both our bought-and-sold monomedia and foreign policy.

We're not talking about me putting forth some ridiculous Jewish conspiracy piece about setting coffee prices, or influencing the Academy Awards, or exerting influence on media reporting about Whaling practices among Native American tribes in Alaska. You'd have to brain dead not to realize the profound and chilling effect that this has had on media reporting of the Israel Palestine conflict and our government's role in the debacle. Oh, but that's right, we're dealing with YOU Gurgle here, aren't we?

I have to wonder Gurdur, is it natural or something you practice a lot? You don't seem to be very up with current affairs these days.

Here's a little something to hopefully catch you up to date, and up to reality. Happy reading.

<a href="http://www.pitt.edu/~ttwiss/irtf/Alternative.html" target="_blank">http://www.pitt.edu/~ttwiss/irtf/Alternative.html</a>

Gurdur that is quite possibly, and this is saying a lot, the biggest load of crap to ever come out of your mouth that I have had the (very dubious) pleasure to witness. Once again you don't seem to know fact from the fiction that you have constructed in your own mind.

In 1982 some 50 corporations, themselves already faint watchdogs of independent and unbiased reporting with strong and mounting pressure from corporate and moneyed interests to soft-peddle the news that corporate American does not want to fall under public scrutiny, controlled most of the major media outlets in the United States in 1982: 1787 daily newspapers; 11,000 magazines; 9,000 radio stations; 1,000 televisions stations; 2,500 book publishers and seven major movie studios. In 1993 that number dropped to 20 corporations. Today, we are down to less than 14. Radio stations, movies, magazines, newspapers, TV, internet, and nearly all media is in the hands a few, HUGE corporate entities who themselves have diverse commercial interests which frequently run afoul of the ideals behind a free and impartial media.

<a href="http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/editorial/3534788.htm" target="_blank">http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/editorial/3534788.htm</a>

In a "democratic" country where the Hard Right has taken even the Presidency, even though their candidate lost the democratic vote, the media has been the lapdog of an otherwise incompetent administration who through or despite the either gross incompetence, but much, much, much more likely knowing complicity, culminated in the events of 9/11 and now can do no wrong. This continues, no matter what the ill-advised nature of the war these power mad usurpers seek to wage and despite all the painful details of America's failed corporate free-wheeling system as seen in the reluctant breaking of such recent scandals as Enron and WorldCom.

<a href="http://www.observer.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,746843,00.html" target="_blank">http://www.observer.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,746843,00.html</a>

Sorry Gurdur, this just shows your overwhelming ignorance and naïveté. You go read some of the actual history of the events I'm talking about, and the many modern critiques of the problem. Come back when you can do something other than just embarrass yourself.

.T.