War / Peace

White House Denies Conflict Of Interest

by Laura Miller — May 11, 2003 - 11:00pm

When George W. Bush visited the Santa Clara production facility of United Defense last week, most reports focused on Bush's praise for the company and its products. What wasn't covered was that the maker of the Bradley fighting vehicle and the Hercules tank recovery vehicle is controlled by the Carlyle Group and that George H.W. Bush is a paid adviser to United Defense. The Corporate Crime Reporter writes that the White House denied any impropriety in Bush Jr.'s visit to the plant.

Main Source: 
Corporate Crime Reporter, May 12, 2003

The Peace Curveball

by Sheldon Rampton — April 24, 2003 - 11:00pm

The Electronic Intifada, a pro-Palestinian web site, has obtained and published a PR strategy document prepared for pro-Israel activists by Luntz Research Companies, which has provided similar polling and advice for Israel in the past.

Main Source: 
Electronic Intifada, April 25, 2003

Rendon's War Is Peace

by Sheldon Rampton — April 21, 2003 - 11:37am

The secretive Rendon Group, run by self-proclaimed "information warrior" John Rendon, has a long history of accompanying the CIA and Pentagon into battle.

Poetry Is Dangerous Again

by Sheldon Rampton — April 16, 2003 - 11:00pm

New Mexico high school teacher Bill Nevins is fighting a March 17 suspension from his teaching job, after a student on his poetry team read an anti-war poem over the school's closed circuit TV system. School administrators have accused him of "permitting" students to participate in after-hours poetry contests at a local bookstore without school permission. (Kids these days. Why can't they just watch TV like decent folks?)

Main Source: 
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, April 17, 2003

The Pro-War Myth of the Spat Upon Soldier

by John Stauber — April 4, 2003 - 12:00am

News stories, letters to the editor and speeches at pro-war rallies repeat claims that US soldiers returning from Vietnam were routinely spat upon by peace protesters. Its repeated in large papers like USA Today , on TV talk shows and by radio broadcasters. Don't believe it, its a propaganda myth.

Main Source: 
Orange County Weekly, April 4, 2003

The Press & The Myths of War

by John Stauber — April 3, 2003 - 12:00am

Veteran military correspondent Chris Hedges writes that "when the nation goes to war, the press goes to
war with it. The blather on CNN or Fox or MSNBC is part of a long and
sad tradition. The narrative we are fed about war by the state, the entertainment
industry and the press is a myth. ... The coverage of war by the press has one consistent and pernicious
theme--the worship of our weapons and our military might.

Main Source: 
The Nation, April 3, 2003

Only One Way To Fight A War

by Laura Miller — April 2, 2003 - 12:00am

"There is only one way to fight a war now," MIT professor Noam Chomsky told VK Ramachandran on Frontline India. "First of all, pick a much weaker enemy, one that is defenseless. Then build it up in the propaganda system as either about to commit aggression or as an imminent threat. Next, you need a lightning victory. An important leaked document of the first Bush Administration in 1989 described how the U.S. would have to fight war. It said that the U.S. had to fight much weaker enemies, and that victory must be rapid and decisive, as public support will quickly erode.

Main Source: 
ZNet

Canadian Military Brass Get PR Lessons

by Laura Miller — March 6, 2003 - 12:00am

"Canada's military has launched a major effort to help senior officers express empathy during tragedies, avoid nervousness, craft sound bites, avoid gaffes and 'deflect' questions," CanWest News Service's Peter O'Neil reports. A critic of the effort says that the federal government should focus on policy and performance rather than spin, suggesting that the military believes "that we're going to be the author of a lot of bad news over the next while, or associated with a lot of bad news and, therefore, we better figure out how to spin it."

Main Source: 
Ottawa Citizen, March 6, 2003

Man Arrested for Wearing Peace T-shirt

by Sheldon Rampton — March 5, 2003 - 12:00am

A man was arrested and charged with trespassing in a mall in Albany, New York after he refused to take off a T-shirt that said "Peace on Earth" and "Give peace a chance."

Main Source: 
Newsday, March 5, 2003

Pentagon Denies That Depleted Uranium Keeps On Killing

by John Stauber — February 25, 2003 - 12:00am

"If war again comes to Iraq, depleted uranium munitions will be a mainstay of the American arsenal. For years, the Pentagon has discounted reports that the shells and bullets, made of solid nuclear-waste byproduct and used for the first time on a large scale in the Iraq war, bore calamity. ... 'There just isn't any scientific foundation to draw a connection between exposure and the incidents of leukemia, other cancers or birth defects,' said Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of deployment health support at the Pentagon. ...

Main Source: 
San Jose Mercury News, February 25, 2003
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