U.S. Government

PBS Looks at US Propaganda Aimed at Muslim World

by John Stauber — February 18, 2002 - 7:08pm

The PBS NewsHour aired a report tonight titled "Public Diplomacy: U.S. Outreach to the Muslim World." 'Public diplomacy' is a euphemism for government propaganda, and this report is an overview of US efforts already reported elsewhere, with no new insights or perspectives.

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PBS NewsHour

The White House Hires an Axis of Evil

by Sheldon Rampton — February 18, 2002 - 12:00am

The White House's failed prediction of a terrorist incident on February 13 may have had an ulterior motive. "The American population was instructed to panic," writes the Guardian of London. "Place themselves, that is, on a state of highest vigilance. Some cataclysmic act of terrorism would happen - within hours. But nothing terrible happened. Something creepy did. On Thursday there was an inconspicuous news item. John M.

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The Guardian (UK), February 18, 2002

Secrecy and Science

by Sheldon Rampton — February 17, 2002 - 12:00am

"Science has now become the leading edge of the [Bush Administration's] crackdown on public access to government information," according to the New York Times. The Administration has withdrawn from public access over 6,600 technical reports concerning biological and chemical weapons production on grounds that they might help terrorists or others develop weapons of mass destruction. The Bush Administration is also calling upon scientific societies to impose limits on their scientific publications.

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New York Times, February 17, 2002

Carlucci Can't Hide His Role in 'Lumumba'

by Laura Miller — February 14, 2002 - 12:00am

"Most people would be thrilled to be a real-life character in a movie. Not Frank Carlucci. Lawyers for the former U.S. Secretary of Defense have pressured the film's distributor to remove his character's identity from the showings of 'Lumumba' on HBO this month," Pacific News Service contributor Lucy Komisar writes. "Carlucci doesn't appreciate the attention. Maybe that's understandable. In 1960, he was the second secretary in the U.S. embassy in Kinshasa, the Congo. That was the time when, according to declassified U.S.

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Pacific News Service, February 14, 2002

Super Bowl Propaganda

by Laura Miller — February 4, 2002 - 12:00am

In what appears to be the US government's biggest single event advertising buy, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy spent over $3.2 million for two 30-second ads aired during the Super Bowl. "It's one thing for Budweiser to spend a small fortune waving the flag; it's another for we taxpayers to foot the bill for ads touting controversial public policies," writes WorkingforChange columnist Geov Parrish. "And what did we get for our money? Blatant propaganda -- specifically, an argument closely linked to the Bush Administration.

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Alternet, February 4, 2002

Cheney Plays "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

by Sheldon Rampton — February 4, 2002 - 12:00am

An analysis of the rhetoric from presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer and Vice President Dick Cheney reveals a disturbing pattern of dissembling about the General Accounting Office request for information on the Vice President's energy task force. The two have consistently exaggerated the GAO's request to make it appear unreasonable and paint the administration as a victim.

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Spinsanity, February 4, 2002

Still Losing the Propaganda War

by Sheldon Rampton — January 31, 2002 - 12:00am

Charlotte Beers, the former advertising executive in charge of improving America's image in the Muslim world, recently spent three days in Cairo talking about mending fences.

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New York Times, January 31, 2002

White House Enron Spin

by Anonymous — January 23, 2002 - 12:00am

When it comes to the Enron scandal, "White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer has managed the spin duties expertly," writes William Saletan on Slate. By passing the buck, playing dumb, or dodging the issue, Fleischer uses classic spin tactics to evade the Enron-related questions of the White House press corps.

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Slate online magazine, January 23, 2002

Fiscal Fantasies, Deficit Realities, and Presidential Lies.

by John Stauber — January 22, 2002 - 1:17pm

President Bush is stumping today in the southern U.S. accusing some of wanting to "raise taxes in the midst of a recession." New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says this is like Bush's claim that Enron's chairman Kenneth Lay supported his opponent in the Texas governor's race and "it sure feels like a lie. ... And the chest-thumping you hear is the sound of an administration trying to prevent any rational discussion of the fiscal mess its tax plan has created."

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The New York Times

US Energy Department Attacks Whistleblowers

by Sheldon Rampton — January 16, 2002 - 11:03am

The Project on Government Oversight has issued a report on reprisals and retaliation against whistleblowers at the U.S. Department of Energy. "Retaliation at DOE does not necessarily entail attempting to fire federal employees," it states. "In the majority of cases in the security area, DOE supervisors attempt to revoke the whistleblower's clearance on trumped-up charges. Then they remove them from any responsibility for oversight of security. On the other hand, contractors often lose their contracts, or their jobs, for blowing the whistle. ...

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TomPaine.com
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