Readers' Comments

  • Hiring Real Reporters for Fake News   13 years 50 weeks ago
    Embedded with Karl Rove. Ogilvy matters.
    I feel kindo weird : I wrote a short story fifteen years ago involving a "Virtual News Network" and that wasn't a nice story. But this takes the cake : controling the media coverage becomes such a key issue it has to be part of the exercise package. What kind of model democracy puts propaganda at the same level as security ? Regarding "mock terrorist exercise" : one of the 3 French former Guantanamo inmates was released yesterday - there was no charge to be found against him. It just took a couple of days to check it in France but 3 years were not enough in Guantanamo's Club Med. Stephane MOT http://www.stephanemot.com
  • The War of the Words   13 years 50 weeks ago
    Genital mutilation
    Those who use the term "genital cutting" rather than "mutilation" clearly have no idea what they're talking about. Male circumcision (the removal of the foreskin) and female circumcision, which involves the removal of the entire clitoris and often all of the labia as well, are in no way equivalent. Females so mutilated are initiated into a lifetime of excruciating pain in urination, menstruation, intercourse, and childbirth. The procedure is carried out without anesthetic or sterilizing of instruments, so infection is a huge and sometimes fatal consequence. The procedure leaves its victim with no future possibility of sexual pleasure whatsoever, as the entire sexual organ is removed. If male circumcision involved removing the entire penis, then perhaps there might be an equivalence, but clearly it does not. Genital mutilation is the correct term.
  • The Sleuths of Spin   14 years 2 days ago
    CAFOs and the people who love them
    Confined Animal Feeding Operations have become a bio-hazard in the southern part of Idaho. After beginning my reading of "Mad Cow U.S.A." I began to panic, then I began to get into action against this diabolical collaboration between our 'citizen legislators' and the dairy/beef industry. I have helped form a little group to meet other groups to fight the growth of this deadly kinship. Thanks to you I have become the number one activist in our area and have been threatened by the Idaho Dairymen's Ass. and don't really care. I have a beat up car to take and that is all. I will give it to them gladly. It won't stop me and a few other dedicated peopl;e.
  • Pro-Military Eye for the Russian Guy   14 years 3 days ago
    Great autocrats thinking alike?
    from Arianna Huffington's column today (2/23/05): "Now the Bushies are taking things to the next level. Not content to buy their press coverage retail, they are producing and distributing their own news network. And, no, I'm not talking about Fox. It's the Pentagon Channel, a 24/7 niche network brought to you by the Department of Defense. Started last year as an internal public relations unit within the Pentagon designed to keep U.S. soldiers and their families informed about all things military, the network is now expanding its reach to the general public. A number of cable systems, including Time Warner, already carry the Pentagon Channel--and the Dish Network will soon begin beaming the station to its more than 11 million viewers right alongside the half-dozen porn channels the satellite giant offers."
  • SOA Watch Watchers   14 years 3 days ago
    School of the Americas
    2/23/05 We were contacted in Sacramento by the SOA, as part of this tracking process. (Our tax dollars at work) Can someone send me a copy of the "Strategic Communications Campaign Plan" I'd like to reference it when Fr. Roy comes next week. peace, leisa
  • "Jeff Gannon's" Incredible Access   14 years 6 days ago
    Bush's black eye(s)
    I wonder if Gannon as a Military Stud male Dominatorix Prosititute caused the bruises to President Bush when he claimed in 2002 that he had fallen off his sofa after choking on a pretzel. Gannon was seen in the Whitehouse during that time. I don't think the pretzel story is true. He certainly looks as though he was beaten. Seems hard to believe, but it's all hard to believe, and therefore the most extreme possibilities should not be overlooked. I think it's safe to say somebody in the White House was recieving some kind of military discipline from the man, that's what he was offering himself as. Bush has shown up to work with black eyes and scrapes on two occassions. What would anyone think of such a person in any ordinary work environment?
  • From "Disinfopedia" to "SourceWatch"   14 years 1 week ago
    An ethical query
    I have a question for the people at this website: Would it be ethical for a our organization, Born-Again Democrats™, to use mailing lists developed by unscrupulous Republican direct-mail operators to prey on naïve church-going Americans? We want to use these lists to raise money for ourselves? I ask because, in our case, we would not be misleading these people with impractical – because patently unconstitutional -- proposals to get prayer in the schools, or the ten commandments on the court house walls, etc. Our goals, while culturally conservative, and though you may not agree with them, are perfectly legit. And our mission is clearly stated up front: we plan to recruit a new kind of Democratic candidate for Congress who can defeat Republicans in 2006 throughout red-state America. Another question. If it would be ethical to use such lists, can anyone tell us where or how we might get our hands on some of them? No doubt you will want to check us out. To avoid misunderstanding, you’re better off starting with the blog before moving on to our homepage and platform. Please don’t make snap judgments, and be prepared to think outside the box. Thanks, Luke Lea BornAgainDemocrats.com/blog/
  • Exxon's Secret Sponsorship of Climate Skeptics   14 years 1 week ago
    Annapolis Center for Science-Based Policy
    Can anyone give me background information on the Annapolis Center for Science-Based Policy, and/or Harold M. Koenig its Chair and President? Many of us in Platte County, MO are fighting the building of a new coal-fired power plant in our area. The local town paper recently published a letter by Dr. Koenig touting the wonderful environmental benefits of coal-fired power plants. I'm doing research on this organization, and its funding and methods. Any solid information would be appreciated. Please email me at cutoloring@planetkc.com Thanks. Antoniomo
  • Chemical Industry Targets Historians   14 years 2 weeks ago
    Dow suit
    Shortly before his death, Roy Bamborough revealed how he had received a special settlement from Dow Canada in return for silence regarding the number of deaths in Dow's Canadian research labs.. an agreement that prevented 60 or so others from bringing suit re workplace negligence. His knowledge came from being department head...sorry..can't prove a thing...have to present this as unfounded rumour..from Roy himself.
  • A Load of Manure   14 years 2 weeks ago
    Avery credentials
    Has anybody bothered to deconstruct Alex Avery's credentials? (Aside from being his father's son?) His bio on CGFI.org is pretty slim for a place that pulls out the stops like they do. I don't see ANY degrees whatsoever. His McKnight fellowship is as invisible as all the rest; a search at Purdue.edu (or should I search Perdue?) did not turn up anything except a link to the McKnight foundation and their website had no hits on the term at all Anybody out there got the skinny on this?
  • From "Disinfopedia" to "SourceWatch"   14 years 2 weeks ago
    Consider the Source
    I don't see the connotation as overly positive. It works for me.
  • No PR Firm Left Behind   14 years 2 weeks ago
    Well..
    It's like we say in Gainesville: Can't get into college? Go to FSU. -- esp
  • Some of the Facts About Wal-Mart   14 years 2 weeks ago
    Walmart Facts Rebuttal
    SEIU has also launched a website refuting the facts from Walmartfacts.com .. http://walmart.purpleocean.org?prw
  • No Shame   14 years 3 weeks ago
    more background to the photo
    The interview with photographer Damir Sagolj was published in the Slovene weekly magazine Mladina last June and is available at http://www.mladina.si/tednik/200425/clanek/sve-intervju--gregor_cerar/. The text is in Slovene; the caption was translated by me and was made available on Danny Schechter's news dissector weblog at the time. I am glad to see it surfacing now in a number of blogs, thereby contributing to a more truthful depiction of what actually happened. I had offered to translate the whole of the interview for Media Channel; Danny gave an initial enthusiastic response, but nothing ever came of it, which is a pity because it was a very good interview.
  • No Shame   14 years 3 weeks ago
    for the sake of any forum skimmers...
    I realize this is just posted elsewhere on this site, but to benefit anyone who just happens to stumble onto this... http://www.prwatch.org/forum/showpost.php?p=12531&postcount=38
  • No Shame   14 years 3 weeks ago
    Before you use any image to u
    Before you use any image to uphold your political agenda, you should ALWAYS know its context. Ignorance is no excuse, it was stupid to use something that could be so potentially widely spread without knowing anything about the image.
  • White House Astroturf For Social Security Phase Out   14 years 3 weeks ago
    You do not need a fictional example - here is the real deal
    The initial Social Security Act permitted municipal governments to opt out of the system - a loophole that Congress closed in 1983. In 1981, employees of Galveston County, Texas, chose by a vote of 78 percent to 22 percent to leave Social Security for a private alternative. Brazoria and Matagorda counties soon followed, swelling the private plan to more than 5,000 participants today. In the private plan, contributions are similar to those for Social Security but returns are quite different. Initially, employees and their employer were each required to contribute 6.13 percent of income; recently, the counties increased their contribution to 7.65 percent - for a total contribution of 13.78 percent. Of that 13.78 percent, 9.737 percent goes to the employee's individual retirement account, which pays a 6.5 percent average interest rate, compounded daily. The remainder pays for disability and life insurance premiums to cover the employee in case of an accident or death. Workers continue to pay their Medicare payroll taxes and to receive Medicare benefits upon retirement. But while the cost of the private program, known as the Alternate Plan, is virtually the same to the employee and employer as Social Security, the benefits are far greater. According to First Financial Benefits, Inc., which created and administers the plans: A person retiring today at age 65 with 40 years of deposits and an annual salary of $20,000 would retire with $383,032 in a personal account. Someone with a $30,000 salary for 40 years would retire with $573,782. And a person with a $50,000 salary for 40 years would retire with $956,303. A personal retirement account this size provides a much larger postretirement income than does Social Security. Moreover, retirees under the Alternate Plan have a number of options not available to retirees under Social Security. For example, those with the Alternate Plan can choose among several annuities or take their money in a lump sum. As the figure shows, under one option: A retired $20,000-per-year worker with the personal retirement account would receive $2,740 each month at current interest rates, while Social Security benefits would be about $775 per month. A $50,000 per year worker would receive $6,843 from the private plan, compared to $1,302 from Social Security. In addition, the employer's contribution pays for much more generous benefits than those provided by Social Security. The life insurance benefit is three times the worker's salary (with a minimum benefit of $50,000 and a maximum of $150,000); Social Security, by contrast, pays a one-time death benefit of $255 to a surviving spouse. Disability insurance under the Alternate Plan pays 60 percent of an individual's salary until age 65 or until the individual returns to work and is relatively easy to qualify for, while Social Security disability benefits can be very difficult to qualify for and are unavailable to young workers who have not yet worked the required amount of time. TRUTH TO THE IGNORANT!!! RB
  • Never Mind the Social Security Numbers   14 years 3 weeks ago
    What FDR originally proposed
    FDR was truly a man ahead of his time. In fact he did see that a one dimensional Social Security plan would not suffice and meet all of the needs of this growing country. In his original proposal he in fact endorsed the idea of personal accounts: This from the SOcial Security Website - The draft bill submitted by FDR differed in many interesting respects from the final Social Security Act which emerged from Congress in August 1935. For example, FDR had proposed a three-part program of old-age security consisting of: old-age welfare pensions; compulsory contributory social insurance (what we now think of as Social Security); and a third-tier which would consist of optional annuity certificates sold by the government to workers who, upon retirement, could convert the certificates to monthly annuities which would be used as supplements to their basic Social Security retirement benefit. Maybe someone should tell his grandson.
  • No Shame   14 years 3 weeks ago
    My point stands
    Of course I didn't quote EVERYTHING that El Gringo had to say. If people want to read the entire thread, they can read it in our forum. The additional comments, however, change nothing about the basic facts here. As El Gringo has pointed out in his latest comment, the photograph from which Linda Eddy says she took her so-called "inspiration" included a byline with the name of the photographer and his news agency, so she has no excuse for pretending that she thought it was a DoD photo and for failing to ask the photographer for permission to use his work. El Gringo's comments suggest that there were people other than Eddy who also insensitively treated this photo as an opportunity to celebrate the compassion of our soldiers, while giving no thought whatsoever to the suffering child. However, the fact that other people also acted like ghouls does not in any way make Eddy's own ghoulish insensitivity any less appalling. And she's the only person who actually DOCTORED the photo.
  • No Shame   14 years 3 weeks ago
    El Gringo's own admission:

    Sheldon, since you have credited "El Gringo" I checked into what he's had to say. It seems you haven't included EVERYTHING he found out about this. The following is his own logged comment from PR Watch: (CLICK HERE for direct URL, comment #15)

    I've done some more Google Picture Searches today and I've found out that the original non-photoshopped picture has been misinterpreted by a number of webmasters who have included the scene on their respective websites. Here's a couple of examples: 1, 2 (scroll down to September 11, 2003), 3.

    Unfortunately, the misinterpretation of the photograph seems to have been very common in American Press. The author of the picture, Damir Sagolj said in an interview to a Slovene Magazine:

    " This photograph of the child was taken out of context and published on the covers and front pages of American national and local media, as if to say, see how our soldier tenderly holds an Iraqi child in his arms. I got a phone call from People, the largest American magazine, with a circulation of 22 million. They wanted to know whether this American soldier had any children of his own, what he was feeling at the time, and so on. They weren't interested in what had happened to the child in the picture, whose mother had been killed and whose father had been riddled with bullets by American soldiers."

    More on this photographer and a partial translation of the interview, can be found here (about halfway down the page or do a text-search on Damir)

    Regarding my search into the originallity of another 'piece of art' by Linda Eddy (the Afghan Schoolgirl, I haven't been able yet to locate the original non-photoshopped picture, although I am sure it exists. Checking hundreds of reasonably recent news-images depicting Afghan and Iraqi children, many of them with horrific injuries, isn't very pleasant so I am limitting myself to that particular task only for a few moments each day.

    Regards,

    ElGringo

    ADDITIONAL NOTE from Linda Eddy: As for the search for a photo of the Afghan Schoolgirl... there isn't one. I PAINTED HER.

  • No Shame   14 years 3 weeks ago
    err...

    Hello, Sheldon,

    Here is the link to the website where I found the photo: http://www.k99.com/patriot_page.htm

    Do YOU see any story about it? Any dead parents? Any reference to a photographer? Any quotes from the soldier photographed? Any photo credit whatsoever?

    Me either.

    I wrongly assumed it was a photo from the DoD public domain galleries (SAMPLE OF SUCH A LINK: http://www.defenselink.mil/photos/)

    I painted it in PhotoShop. Yes, I can paint. Here are other paintings I have done:

    http://www.iowapresidentialwatch.com/Righties/AboutTheArtist.htm

    You wrongly assumed I knew all about this photo, the story behind it, and that I knowingly and willfully chose to depict it otherwise.

    I didn't.

    sincerely,

    Linda Eddy, www.iowapresidentialwatch.com

  • Could Pundits Not Receiving Government Funds Please Stand Up?   14 years 3 weeks ago
    Government Funding of Pundits
    I am SO thankful that this scandal is seeing the light of day! Finally we can stop the funding of right-wing pundits by the Bush Administration. Don't they know that funding pundits for propoganda is the rightful domain of the left??!! NPR and PBS cannot afford to have their funds siphoned off by these nutty neo-cons! The nerve of these bible-thumping red staters!!! To think that promoting an administration's positon on health care is as valuable as the left-wing agenda of our friends at NPR! Egads! Where is Teddy Kennedy when you need him?. . . "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke
  • No Shame   14 years 3 weeks ago
    A few new facts
    I posted this over at DailyKos, and a few facts came to light.

    - Despite the Reuters' caption, the child in the picture is probably a boy, and it was his sister who was wounded (according to the North County Times). She appears in the background of the third photo El Gringo posted, and in other pictures in the Reuters gallery. The childrens' father was held in plastic handcuffs off-camera.

    - The Reuters photo, taken by Damir Sagolj, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

    - The website was (is?) set up as a Political Action Committee. According to a commenter, an article in Roll Call stated the site was unaffiliated with any political party or candidate, and "despite its point of view, the site, rather than being harsh or shrill, is fairly straightforward and very informative."
  • Could Pundits Not Receiving Government Funds Please Stand Up?   14 years 4 weeks ago
    Sometimes you feel like a nut
    Greg Beato has a couple of interesting posts about Maggie Gallagher (and he links to SourceWatch :) )

    His second post brings something that's been stuck in my craw lately. Like many pundits and propagandists, Gallagher likes to refer to herself as an expert. In her latest defense, she even attempts to group herself with "researchers and scholars."

    There seems to be a paradox in the right wing's attack on the media and academic establishment. On the one hand, movement conservatives (MCs) need to cloak themselves with the appearance of scholarship and the traditional notion of what constitutes an "expert" to establish credibility. On the other, there seems to be a deliberate effort to undermine the very notion of expertise, which is considered "elitist."

    I suppose if one is trying to hoodwink the public, confusion is a good tactic. And in any case, MCs have little choice because many of their ideas would otherwise be ignored and their media personalities dismissed as cranks.

    But as a long-term strategy, it seems self-defeating. As the public's trust in institutions and experts erodes, it becomes more and more difficult to win people over and earn their trust. It's the same, growing problem advertisers are facing - the more fog you release to blur the distinction between fact and fiction, the more difficult it becomes to get a message across.

    The more I think about it, the more I wonder if we've passed a point of no return, where the trust that binds a society together begins to fray to the point where it's impossible to put together coherent public policy. Unless the media begins calling a representative of the "Institute for Marriage and Public Policy" a "nut" instead of a "scholar," I'm pessimistic that the trend will reverse.
  • From "Disinfopedia" to "SourceWatch"   14 years 4 weeks ago
    The name change
    As a long time admirer of your work, I do worry that the new name is a bit soft. I know you can't please all of the people all of the time, so fair enough if you've come up with SourceWatch after a lot of thinking. But, for what it's worth, the name change sounds ironically like the kind of doublespeak you are always warning against. Why? Because "source" almost sounds like it implies "legitimate". I know that this is far from what you intend, but think about it semantically (or rather, about its connotations). It resonates with words like "origin", "foundation", "font", "spring", "birthplace", and so on. Think source-code, re-source, re-source-ful... I know that these words are accurate from a denotation point of view, but looking at connotation they are all a little too nice. I guess you considered (and rejected) "SpinWatch", "Spinpedia", "Lobbywatch" etc.? Anyway keep up the excellent work. It has been fantastic to see the way the CMD and Disinfopedia/Sourcewatch have thrived in recent years.