War / Peace

On Iran Allegations, Consider the Source

by Diane Farsetta — February 12, 2007 - 1:40pm

On February 10, the New York Times ran a story about "an increasing body of evidence" suggesting "an Iranian role" in supplying the "deadliest weapon aimed at American troops in Iraq." Editor & Publisher's Greg Mitchell wants readers to consider the source. The sources cited are "civilian and military officials from a broad range of government agencies," almost all anonymous. And the author of the piece is Michael R.

Main Source: 
Editor & Publisher, February 10, 2007

An Army of Thousands More: How PR Firms and Major Media Help Military Recruiters

by Diane Farsetta — January 31, 2007 - 7:10pm
  • Topics: Media, Public Relations, Race / Ethnic Issues, U.S. Government, War / Peace, Women

    • Increasing "the ranks of our military" is "one of the first steps we can take together" to "position America to meet every challenge that confronts us," said President Bush in last week's State of the Union address. "Tonight I ask the Congress to authorize an increase in the size of our active Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 in the next five years."

    The 92,000 figure was put forward by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who told the Senate Armed Services Committee on January 12 that more troops are needed to boost "combat capability" and "strengthen our military for the long war against terrorism." The Pentagon plans to meet that goal by reenlisting former Marines and increasing the Army's recruitment and retention rates.

    Under the plan, the Army would only "slightly increase its recruitment goals -- by 2,000 to 3,000" a year, according to UPI. But in 2005, "the Army failed to meet its annual recruiting goal by the widest margin in two decades," reported the New York Times. To meet its 2006 goal, the Army hired more recruiters, raised the maximum allowable age for recruits, doubled the percentage of recruits who scored low on aptitude tests, issued waivers for some recruits' prior convictions, and significantly increased cash bonuses.

    If it was that difficult for the Army to meet past recruiting goals, how will it meet future, larger ones? Some clues are offered in the Army's self-nomination for a prestigious public relations award.

    Daily Kos Discusses Sarah Olson's Refusal to Testify Against Ehren Watada

    by Sheldon Rampton — January 30, 2007 - 6:28pm
  • Topics: Journalism, Defend the Press, Democracy, War / Peace

    • The Daily Kos has a diary discussing the Sarah Olson case, with lots of good debate in the comments section (including a couple of comments by me).

    As the discussion illustrates, there are still some people (including people who oppose the war in Iraq) who do not understand the importance of Sarah Olson's principled stand against testifying in the court-martial of

    Sarah Olson Speaks

    by Sheldon Rampton — January 30, 2007 - 10:44am

    Democracy Now! has an interview with journalist Sarah Olson, following the announcement that the U.S. military has dropped its effort to subpoena her testimony in the court-martial of war resister Lt. Ehren Watada.

    Main Source: 
    Democracy Now!, January 30, 2007

    Sarah Olson is Free, But Citizens Still Under Subpoena in Watada Court Martial

    by John Stauber — January 30, 2007 - 6:42am

    "Although the military has dismissed the subpoenas of journalists, Veterans for Peace Seattle Chapter organizers Tom Brookhart and Gerri Haynes, and Olympia-based anti-war organizer Phan Nguyen remain under order to testify against Lt. Watada. Tom Brookhart and Gerri Haynes came to the attention of Army prosecutors for their role in organizing the VFP National Convention in August. Phan Nguyen, a member of the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, was the moderator of a number of press conferences and rallies this summer regarding Lt.

    Main Source: 
    San Francisco Indy Media, January 29, 2007

    Defend the Press and Sarah Olson

    by John Stauber — January 27, 2007 - 10:56am
  • Topics: Journalism, Defend the Press, Democracy, U.S. Government, War / Peace

    • We've seen a powerful show of support for our Defend The Press campaign against military intimidation and harassment of journalists including Sarah Olson. In the past 72 hours Defend the Press has been endorsed by a diversity of news media and public interest organizations from Free Press to the Organic Consumers Association, from Mother Jones to Mothering magazines. Some of these organizations have sent emails to their thousands of members urging support for the campaign. Others have posted banners at the top of their websites. The National Press Club issued a news release on behalf of Sarah Olson and other subpoenaed journalists, and endorsed Defend The Press.

    U.S. PR Firms Help Thailand's Deposed Prime Minister

    by Bob Burton — January 24, 2007 - 8:51pm

    The public relations company Edelman has confirmed that its Washington and Hong Kong offices are handling media relations for the deposed Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra. A September 2006 military coup saw Thaksin, a controversial media mogul and politician, toppled from power while he was in New York.

    Main Source: 
    PR Week (sub req'd), January 19, 2007

    Spin Doctor Outed As 'Health' Adviser on Guantanamo Prisoner

    by Bob Burton — January 21, 2007 - 5:42pm

    The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, recently sought to downplay concerns about the mental health of an Australian citizen, David Hicks, who has been imprisoned in G

    Main Source: 
    The Australian, January 20, 2007

    Staying on Message, Whatever the Question

    by Bob Burton — January 18, 2007 - 11:36pm

    Elias Buchwald, a founder of Burson Marsteller, recently ran a four-day training session for 17 high-level Israeli spokespersons from government agencies. The session was organized by 5W Public Relations, the American Jewish Congress and the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

    Main Source: 
    The Jewish Week, January 19, 2007

    What Would the Other George Do? An Interview with the Author of "Saving General Washington"

    by Judith Siers-Poisson — December 27, 2006 - 11:19am
  • Topics: Arts / Culture, Democracy, Politics, Propaganda, Religion, Science, U.S. Government, War / Peace

    • I spoke with author J.R. Norton in June of this year about his book, Saving General Washington: The Right Wing Assault on America's Founding Principles. The following excerpts are from an interview on "A Public Affair" on WORT (89.9 FM), community radio in Madison, WI, and from a follow up in-person interview.

    JSP: Why do George Washington and the rest of the Founding Fathers need to be saved?

    J.R. Norton: Well, it's a bit of metaphor. It's in part aimed at rehabilitating and reintroducing these founding figures of American history, but on a broader level, on a more important level, it's about reintroducing the values that these guys stood for. Certainly over the last five or six years, I think we've really lost sight of those virtues.

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