Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Government Doesn't Create Jobs?!
Some in congress claim that government doesn't create jobs when they , themselves work for the government. If more of us had jobs rebuilding our national infrastructure, including green jobs, we would be paying taxes instead of drawing welfare payments,food stamps and unemployment compensation. We would also be helping our country tremendously looking towards the future. What do republicans suggest we do about this problem; outsource this work? That seems to be exactly what they have in mind. I have heard there is a super-span bridge being built in China to be placed in a major traffic corridor somewhere in the U S. Besides being a security concern and shoddy materials and workmanship, wouldn't those jobs ba better done right here in the good ole U S A with Americans doing the work?
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Speaker Boehner, talk is cheap. PETITION: Tell Republicans to end taxpayer giveaways to Big Oil
Speaker Boehner, talk is cheap. PETITION: Tell Republicans to end taxpayer giveaways to Big Oil: Speaker Boehner, talk is cheap. PETITION: Tell Republicans to end taxpayer giveaways to Big Oil: http://dccc.org/BigOil
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Canadians And Tar Sands Pipeline, Not Wanted!
Canada Dealing With Pipeline Controversy Of Its Own.
More than 600 environmentalists and concerned Canadians rallied on Saturday in British Colombia against a proposed tar sands oil pipeline in their community. Tar sands are one of the most toxic forms of fuel in the world, and the new pipeline would transport the poison from Alberta to the BC coast. Opponents of the pipeline argue spills are inevitable and will do unthinkable damage to their local communities. Meanwhile, oil barons in Canada are touting the economic benefits of such a pipeline – claiming it will boost Canada’s GDP by $270 billion. Unclear if those numbers are as wildly exaggerated as the ones proposed by the oil barons in the United States debate over the Keystone XL pipeline.
More than 600 environmentalists and concerned Canadians rallied on Saturday in British Colombia against a proposed tar sands oil pipeline in their community. Tar sands are one of the most toxic forms of fuel in the world, and the new pipeline would transport the poison from Alberta to the BC coast. Opponents of the pipeline argue spills are inevitable and will do unthinkable damage to their local communities. Meanwhile, oil barons in Canada are touting the economic benefits of such a pipeline – claiming it will boost Canada’s GDP by $270 billion. Unclear if those numbers are as wildly exaggerated as the ones proposed by the oil barons in the United States debate over the Keystone XL pipeline.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Action Alert
ABC's Iran Propaganda
Alarmist reporting on 'terrorist' threat
2/2/12
The January 31 ABC World News broadcast featured a blatantly propagandistic report on the supposed threat from Iran.
The newscast focused on that day's Senate testimony by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who told lawmakers that the U.S. intelligence community believes that Iran may be "now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime."
"America's top spy warns that Iran is willing to launch a terrorist strike inside the U.S.," announced anchor Diane Sawyer at the top of the program. "We'll tell you his evidence." The ABC report was actually very light on evidence. It did, however, pass along numerous incendiary allegations from government officials--without the skeptical scrutiny that is real journalism's primary function.
Echoing the government, Sawyer set up the report with an assertion that Iran is "more determined than ever to launch an attack on U.S. soil." Correspondent Martha Raddatz, claiming that the "the saber-rattling coming from Iran has been constant," told viewers that Clapper delivered "a new bracing warning.... Iran may be more ready than ever to launch terror attacks inside the United States."
In its effort to substantiate Clapper's strong claim, ABC could only provide the most dubious evidence. As Raddatz announced:
He pointed specifically to last year's plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States and to reports that Iran has been supporting Hezbollah cells in Latin America.
From the beginning, there have been serious questions about the Saudi ambassador assassination plot (IPS, 10/17/11, FAIR Blog, 10/12/11). As University of Michigan Iran expert Juan Cole (Informed Comment, 10/12/11) pointed out, the claim that the Iranian government tried to hire a Mexican drug gang to kill a diplomat "makes no sense." The Wall Street Journal (2/1/12) quoted Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace saying, "If that's the only data point, I think it's a stretch to conclude that the regime is now looking to commit acts of terror on U.S. soil." But in ABC's report, it's unquestioned fact.
The idea that Hezbollah has active cells in Latin America has been challenged as well--as PolitiFact noted (11/22/11), the State Department determined there are no such groups in our hemisphere.
How any of that might be connected to Iran is unclear, but ABC did its part by running footage of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting politicians the United States does not support: "Ahmadinejad recently traveled there, meeting leaders like Cesar Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro who have little love from the U.S."
ABC also illustrated the supposed Iranian threat with stock footage of weaponry and soldiers from an Iranian military parade--suggesting without spelling it out that viewers ought to feel threatened by a military force roughly 1/40th the size of the United States' armed forces.
It's important to remember that U.S. officials have regularly threatened that "no options" are "off the table" in dealing with Iran. That is code for using nuclear weapons--and Barack Obama's repetition of that apocalyptic threat got a standing ovation during his January 24 State of the Union address (The Hill, 1/24/12).
It is hard to argue honestly that the real escalation is coming from the Iranian side. But that's why they invented propaganda.
ACTION: Tell ABC that its January 31 report on Iran failed to challenge official claims about the supposed threat from Iran. At a time of heightened tension, journalists should act to question official rhetoric--not generate propaganda.
(You can watch the ABC segment here)
CONTACT:
ABC World News with Diane Sawyer
Phone: (212) 456-4040
ABC's Iran Propaganda
Alarmist reporting on 'terrorist' threat
2/2/12
The January 31 ABC World News broadcast featured a blatantly propagandistic report on the supposed threat from Iran.
The newscast focused on that day's Senate testimony by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who told lawmakers that the U.S. intelligence community believes that Iran may be "now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime."
"America's top spy warns that Iran is willing to launch a terrorist strike inside the U.S.," announced anchor Diane Sawyer at the top of the program. "We'll tell you his evidence." The ABC report was actually very light on evidence. It did, however, pass along numerous incendiary allegations from government officials--without the skeptical scrutiny that is real journalism's primary function.
Echoing the government, Sawyer set up the report with an assertion that Iran is "more determined than ever to launch an attack on U.S. soil." Correspondent Martha Raddatz, claiming that the "the saber-rattling coming from Iran has been constant," told viewers that Clapper delivered "a new bracing warning.... Iran may be more ready than ever to launch terror attacks inside the United States."
In its effort to substantiate Clapper's strong claim, ABC could only provide the most dubious evidence. As Raddatz announced:
He pointed specifically to last year's plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States and to reports that Iran has been supporting Hezbollah cells in Latin America.
From the beginning, there have been serious questions about the Saudi ambassador assassination plot (IPS, 10/17/11, FAIR Blog, 10/12/11). As University of Michigan Iran expert Juan Cole (Informed Comment, 10/12/11) pointed out, the claim that the Iranian government tried to hire a Mexican drug gang to kill a diplomat "makes no sense." The Wall Street Journal (2/1/12) quoted Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace saying, "If that's the only data point, I think it's a stretch to conclude that the regime is now looking to commit acts of terror on U.S. soil." But in ABC's report, it's unquestioned fact.
The idea that Hezbollah has active cells in Latin America has been challenged as well--as PolitiFact noted (11/22/11), the State Department determined there are no such groups in our hemisphere.
How any of that might be connected to Iran is unclear, but ABC did its part by running footage of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting politicians the United States does not support: "Ahmadinejad recently traveled there, meeting leaders like Cesar Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro who have little love from the U.S."
ABC also illustrated the supposed Iranian threat with stock footage of weaponry and soldiers from an Iranian military parade--suggesting without spelling it out that viewers ought to feel threatened by a military force roughly 1/40th the size of the United States' armed forces.
It's important to remember that U.S. officials have regularly threatened that "no options" are "off the table" in dealing with Iran. That is code for using nuclear weapons--and Barack Obama's repetition of that apocalyptic threat got a standing ovation during his January 24 State of the Union address (The Hill, 1/24/12).
It is hard to argue honestly that the real escalation is coming from the Iranian side. But that's why they invented propaganda.
ACTION: Tell ABC that its January 31 report on Iran failed to challenge official claims about the supposed threat from Iran. At a time of heightened tension, journalists should act to question official rhetoric--not generate propaganda.
(You can watch the ABC segment here)
CONTACT:
ABC World News with Diane Sawyer
Phone: (212) 456-4040
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Why Canadians Don't Want Pipeline.
Canada is talking about building a pipeline to the west coast of Canada but it is opposed for the same environmental reasons as here in the US.The tar sands oil is the dirtiest of all oil. This is the oil companies wanting to sell more oil to China, no matter what the damage is to either Canadians or Americans. This must be opposed and defeated. We in the U. s don't need the environment nor the ecology damagede any more than it already has been by all those business interests that don't care about anything but profits. If Canada wants to sell this oil, then let them build the pipeline in Canada.
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