Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
Back to Main

May 24, 2009
Empire Media

One issue I have with the U.S. media is its complete inability to reflect on what the U.S. is actually doing when they report on foreign reactions.

Today the Washington Post's Craig Whitlock is outraged that Spanish prosecutors and judges care about international crimes against humanity. He does not spend a second on thinking about how much of that may be really justified when one takes into account the openly admitted misdeeds of the U.S.

Spain's Judges Cross Borders In Rights Cases –
High-Ranking U.S. Officials Among Targets of Inquiries

MADRID — Spanish judges are boldly declaring their authority to prosecute high-ranking government officials in the United States, China and Israel, among other places, delighting human rights activists but enraging officials in the countries they target and triggering a political backlash in a nation uncomfortable acting as the world's conscience.

Reality version:

WASHINGTON D.C. — American and Israeli officials are boldly declaring their authority to kill high-ranking government officials in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, among other places, delighting Zionists activists but enraging officials in the countries they target and triggering a political backlash in nations comfortable acting as the world's conscience.

WaPo:

Judges at Spain's National Court, acting on complaints filed by human rights groups, are pursuing 16 international investigations into suspected cases of torture, genocide and crimes against humanity, according to prosecutors. Among them are two probes of Bush administration officials for allegedly approving the use of torture on terrorism suspects, including prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

My version reads:

Officials at the U.S. National Security Council, acting on complaints filed by Zionist groups, are pursuing international crimes by pursuing torture, genocide and crimes against humanity, according to U.S. officials. Among them are Bush administration officials who approved the use of torture on terrorism suspects, including prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

And so on.

The U.S. is pressing Spain to change its laws so that international U.S. crimes, even when effecting Spanish citizens, can no longer be prosecuted. At the same time the U.S. claims it has the right to snatch or kill anyone, anywhere, anytime for whatever reason.

Not one bit of that comparison makes it into the piece. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality …"

Posted by b on May 24, 2009 at 18:41 UTC | Permalink
Comments

b-
What you might not realize (or perhaps you do) that the journalist that cover the US Empire are themselves part of it.
The real players got their jobs BECAUSE of their ability to remain blind to this bullshit. Everyone who has an ounce of power or say in how media does its job is working achieve the same crap.
None of the mainstream media outlets are worth a shit! They keep the people dumb and sedated and bickering amongst themselves rather than focused on the limited number of wealthy, powerful assholes that keep on screwing us, generation after generation.
I think the irony of this is that americans are so used to being screwed that if all the MSM were to focus the people’s attention upon this screwing, the MSM would be treated as the cause, rather than just the messenger.
Personally I think Americans like being lied to. We still like o’ dickin’ the inter Clinton… the men want women with fake breast wearing make-up… who knows what women want 🙂
But it seems Americans prefer to sleep with ugly falsehoods dressed-up purty… just like in the movies.

Posted by: DavidS | May 24 2009 19:05 utc | 1

yes you need Al Jazeera to find out about certain facts
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/2009524151534238732.html
:-))

Posted by: outsider | May 24 2009 19:58 utc | 2

Al BBC Jazeera are just as corrupt as the rest of the mainstream media. There are so many former BBC employees working for them that it makes me wonder if it isn’t a British operation. You can get different slants on propaganda (and some extra information) through the mainstream media of other countries as their interests are not the same as the USA’s so I suppose its worth checking them out.

Posted by: Charles | May 24 2009 21:04 utc | 3

Charles,
Have you noticed how all the media stay on “message?”
This is the most obvious way we can “prove” that all media, foreign and domestic, answer to the same masters…
It isn’t like every reporter for every media source has been bought-off for cash money. No, that’s too obvious. Journalist are easy to manipulate… just start a foundation that hands-out awards for the reporting of some subject… say middle east relations. Then you select a panel of judges who think like you do and you give away some funky dust-collector object that journalism peers recognize and suddenly you have reporters lining-up to do your dirty work. You don’t have to pay them, and they don’t realize they’re being manipulated to cover a subject.
You really want to make a reporter suck your corporate nipple? Fund a sabbatical that “honors” a reporter with funds to work several months on a “project.”
Journalist are suckers for sabbaticals… what do you want puff coverage of? melting glaciers? gang violence? weird cults? sex slave trade? Once you start signing checks you can pretty much dictate how a reporter covers the story; if you’re smart, the reporter won’t even suspect he’s being used as your propaganda mouth piece.
A reporter is the cheapest investment a slimy business man can get. The suckers will work for backstage passes and rides in corporate jets; politicians, judges – they cost big money because they understand what’s involved and what the stakes are.

Posted by: DavidS | May 24 2009 21:31 utc | 4

DavidS-Yes, I realized how the media all stay on message on July 1, 2004, the day the Iraq War moved off the front page. The excuse given was that Bremer had left, and Iraq had regained its sovereignty, so there was nothing much of significance to report anymore…

Posted by: JohnH | May 25 2009 1:19 utc | 5

At the same time the U.S. claims it has the right to snatch or kill anyone, anywhere, anytime for whatever reason.

What the world will do about it? They are creating states (actually protectorates) where they never existed and are disbanding states (and people) with one stroke of the pan.
Not only that they think they are Empire ,in their twisted mind they must believe they are God himself.

Posted by: vbo | May 25 2009 2:42 utc | 6

Power is to be able to do what you want. Men and Political parties seek power to be above the law, and tom be able to pressure others to do what you want them to do.
This is what modern ‘dmdocracy’ is all about: legal elected dictatorships.

Posted by: brian | May 25 2009 4:35 utc | 7

This is the face of corruption.
“Corruption” is an extremely vague word, and purposefully. It does not connote an intent; in truth, it is exactly the opposite: corruption is an affliction of the essence, the soul, the core, or the genes. Corruption is from birth, and unquestionably so — but ever undetectable from the inside.
This generation of the U.S. is corrupt — from head to tail, from crown to foot. All systems are corrupt to some extent or another, but historically we see that some eras are characterized by it, marked so definitively that generations after know it first, and foremost, as a time of only misdeeds, perjury, and cynicism.
The U.S. is corrupt, and its chief enabler is the U.S. media; if a nation is a body, then the media is its voice. The U.S. media has become a shrieking middle-aged woman, demanding allowances for the evils of her thuggish boys, hulking monstrosities every one. As they stone dogs, kick children, and put fertile grounds to the torch, she stands in her doorway with her midwife, both clamoring and yammering before the moronic sheriffs and their deputies, all too stupid to see the toothless hag for what she is, even as her cunt squeezes out one after another of wire-haired, blunt-eyed imbeciles, each one determined to inherit the globe
— or die trying.

Posted by: china_hand2 | May 25 2009 5:21 utc | 8

damn fine diatribe, china_hand.
in b’s post, this observation about our media deserves repeating:
its complete inability to reflect on what the U.S. is actually doing when they report on foreign reactions.
reflection is antithetical to the role of US media. and mostly we concur in direct relation to our comfort level.
please don’t bother us with the consequences of empire.

Posted by: Lizard | May 25 2009 6:00 utc | 9

I think the time to leave my Country (USA) fast approaches. I’m learning to speak Portuguese as my Father was from Portugal. I’m having difficulty getting a copy of his Portuguese Birth Certificate. Any suggestions?

Posted by: IronButterfly | May 26 2009 1:48 utc | 10

Back to Main