Chris Hedges: Monitoring of AP Phones a “Terrifying” Step in State Assault on Press Freedom + Transcript

with Chris Hedges
Writer, Dandelion Salad
May 15, 2013

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democracynow on May 15, 2013

http://www.democracynow.org – The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges joins us to discuss what could mark the most significant government intrusion on freedom of the press in decades. The Justice Department has acknowledged seizing the work, home and cellphone records used by almost 100 reporters and editors at the Associated Press.

Hold the front page! We need free media, not an Order of Mates by John Pilger

Dandelion Salad

by John Pilger
http://johnpilger.com
9 May 2013

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The other day, I stood outside the strangely silent building where I began life as a journalist. It is no longer the human warren that was Consolidated Press in Sydney, though ghosts still drink at the King’s Head pub nearby. As a cadet reporter, I might have walked on to the set of Lewis Milestone’s The Front Page. Men in red braces did shout, “Hold the front page”, and tilt back their felt hats and talk rapidly with a roll-your-own attached indefinitely to their lower lip. You could feel the presses rumbling beneath and smell the ink.

Noam Chomsky: Drones Come Home To Roost + Jeremy Scahill: Dirty Wars

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Dandelion Salad

Akshay Pahilajani on Apr 29, 2013

Noam Chomsky in a discussion on “Dirty Wars” talks about drones coming home to roost.

Jeremy Scahill: Dirty Wars: Terror Begets Terror

Dandelion Salad

breakingtheset on Apr 29, 2013

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On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin talks to Jeremy Scahill, investigative journalist and author of the new book and upcoming film ‘Dirty Wars’, an exposé on the expansion of American covert wars fought by US intelligence agencies and the Joint Special Operations Command. They talk about covert operations happening in countries like Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan, where drone strikes and targeted assassinations are creating resentment of the US, and how the decline of journalism has prevented the American public from seeing the full story.

Barack Obama at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner 2013 + Conan O’Brien

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Dandelion Salad

Propaganda Alert!

CSPAN on Apr 27, 2013

President Obama at 2013 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The Propaganda System That Has Helped Create a Permanent Overclass Is Over a Century in the Making by Andrew Gavin Marshall

by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Writer, Dandelion Salad
http://andrewgavinmarshall.com
Originally posted at AlterNet
April 14, 2013

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Pulling back the curtain on how intent the wealthiest Americans have been on establishing a propaganda tool to subvert democracy.

Where there is the possibility of democracy, there is the inevitability of elite insecurity. All through its history, democracy has been under a sustained attack by elite interests, political, economic, and cultural. There is a simple reason for this: democracy – as in true democracy – places power with people. In such circumstances, the few who hold power become threatened. With technological changes in modern history, with literacy and education, mass communication, organization and activism, elites have had to react to the changing nature of society – locally and globally.

Digital Disconnect: Robert McChesney on “How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy”

Dandelion Salad

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democracynow·Apr 5, 2013

www.democracynow.org – Longtime media-reform advocate Robert McChesney looks at how the future of American politics could be largely determined by who controls the Internet in his newest book. “‘Digital Disconnect’ talks about the difference between the mythology of the Internet — the hope would it empower people and make democracy triumphant — versus the reality of large corporate monopolies and the government working together are taking away the promise of the Internet to suit their interests,” says McChesney, the co-founder of Free Press and the National Conference for Media Reform.

US Protection Racket Root of Korea Conflict by Finian Cunningham

by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from PressTV
April 1, 2013

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The best way to understand the seemingly reckless, recurring threat of nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula is this: the East Asian region is being run like a Mafia protection racket. And the criminal Mafia is the US.

The conflict emanates from Washington and is perpetuated by Washington. Why? To justify what would otherwise be seen as simply outrageous US militarism in the Asia Pacific hemisphere, and in particular a criminally aggressive agenda towards the main geopolitical targets of Washington – China and Russia.

The Treason of the Intellectuals by Chris Hedges

by Chris Hedges
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Truthdig
April 1, 2013

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The rewriting of history by the power elite was painfully evident as the nation marked the 10th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. Some claimed they had opposed the war when they had not. Others among “Bush’s useful idiots” argued that they had merely acted in good faith on the information available; if they had known then what they know now, they assured us, they would have acted differently. This, of course, is false.

Seymour Hersh On Investigative Journalism and Ethics + Q&A

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Dandelion Salad

www.c-spanvideo.org
Feb. 20, 2013

Seymour Hersh spoke about investigative journalism. In his remarks he talked about his experiences as a journalist, including writing about the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. Other topics included ethics and the use of anonymous sources, with questions on topic such as U.S. policy toward Iran, the use of drones, and recent national security policy.

Chris Hedges: Fascism USA–The Lie of Omission is Still a Lie

with Chris Hedges
Writer, Dandelion Salad
March 26, 2013

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RTAmerica·Mar 26, 2013

According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, MSNBC’s programming is nearly 85 percent opinion – and they might not be alone when it comes to this trend. According to author Chris Hedges, the mainstream media ignores “what the corporate state wants ignored” and “they do not challenge or acknowledge the structures of corporate power.”

Jerry Mander Connects the Dots Between Corporate Media and the Food We Eat

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Dandelion Salad

kokotan·Mar 18, 2006

Jerry Mander, executive director of the International Forum on Globalization talks about the centralization of media and effect of advertisement.

The Day That TV News Died by Chris Hedges

by Chris Hedges
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Truthdig
March 25, 2013

Image by pandabrand via Flickr

I am not sure exactly when the death of television news took place. The descent was gradual—a slide into the tawdry, the trivial and the inane, into the charade on cable news channels such as Fox and MSNBC in which hosts hold up corporate political puppets to laud or ridicule, and treat celebrity foibles as legitimate news. But if I had to pick a date when commercial television decided amassing corporate money and providing entertainment were its central mission,

Travesty of Saudi Dirty Tricks Against Iran by Finian Cunningham

by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from PressTV
March 21, 2013

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Saudi claims of “busting a spy ring” involving Iranian and Lebanese nationals this week smell of yet more dirty tricks by the creaky House of Saud.

But the repeated formula for attempting to smear Iran used by the Saudis and their Western and Israeli partners is in danger of becoming a parody.

Saudi authorities detained 18 individuals across the kingdom this week, who, it is claimed, were working for a “foreign state” in a plot to target vital installations.

The New Propaganda Is Liberal. The New Slavery Is Digital. by John Pilger

Dandelion Salad

by John Pilger
http://johnpilger.com
14 March 2013

Image by Truthout.org via Flickr

What is modern propaganda? For many, it is the lies of a totalitarian state. In the 1970s, I met Leni Riefenstahl and asked her about her epic films that glorified the Nazis. Using revolutionary camera and lighting techniques, she produced a documentary form that mesmerized Germans; her ‘Triumph of the Will’  cast Hitler’s spell.

She told me that the “messages” of her films were dependent not on “orders from above,” but on the “submissive void” of the German public. Did that include the liberal, educated bourgeoisie? “Everyone,” she said.