Earlier report:
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Sunday that though Iran voluntarily
implemented the Additional Protocol for two and a half years to prove its good
will to Europe, the country's nuclear installations were sealed.
The statement was part of an exclusive interview with France Channel 2 TV
network. The chief executive raised the question whether the Additional Protocol
is implemented by the US, Britain and France and if it is accepted by the
US.
"How does a country which itself violates law expect us to give up calling
for our legal right.
"Our nuclear activities are conducted according to NPT regulations, according
to which we are entitled to have nuclear fuel cycle," he added.
BBC: A military base adjoining Sri Lanka's international airport is bombed by
suspected Tamil Tiger rebels.
"President Bush wants to keep everything that happens in his White House
secret, but when it comes to his own emotions, he's as transparent as a teenager
on MySpace," says Frank Rich in the New York Times"
JUAN COLE ON HOUSE WAR BILL
The Democrats in Congress passed a supplemental funding bill for the Iraq War
that included a demand that troops be withdrawn by August of 2008.
Contrary to what John McCain alleged, the bill does not micromanage the
conduct of the war. It declines to continue funding it after a date certain.
Congress has the right in the Constitution to control the purse strings, and no
president can fight a war that Congress declines to fund (except by engaging in
criminal embezzlement, as with Ronald Reagan and Iran-Contra)….
What Pelosi and the Democrats did is not only constitutionally permitted, it
is required. That is why McCain and other opponents of the legislation are
attempting to muddy the waters by claiming that it micromanages the war…
The pro-war forces keep pretending that the November 2006 elections never
happened, and that they haven't lost both houses of Congress and that the
American public doesn't want an end to the war. The pretence is often weirdly
allowed to stand by the corporate media. But here in Realityland, aka the
blogosphere, we don't have to play those games.
US GENERAL AT CHINESE MILITARY EXERCSE
From the Armed Forces Press Service: General Peter Pace may not like gays in
the US military but he had no problem attending a a Chinese military
exercise"
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service
China, March 24, 2007 - Artillery and mortar fire poured in on one impact
area, while attack helicopters launched strikes that absolutely pulverized
another.
Tanks and armored personnel carriers raced down tank trails, firing main guns
and disgorging soldiers who immediately went on the attack with small arms.
All this - and more - went on under the watchful eyes of Gen. Peter Pace. As
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a Marine for 40 years, Pace has
participated in countless exercises like this one.
But this one was different for the chairman. The troops, tanks, aircraft and
armored vehicles were Chinese. Pace observed the exercise at the Dalian Training
Area here at the invitation of the leaders of the People's Liberation
Army.
POLCE SPYING IN THE BIG APPLE
The NY Times took the unusual step of plastering an expose of NYPD spying on
protesters before the 2004 Repubican convention LITERALLY on a worldwide basis.
Read
this if you haven't already.
The NY Civil Liberties Union is holding a press conference today to respond,
noting:
For the year leading up to the Convention, undercover NYPD officers illegally
infiltrated groups across America and the world, amassing information on plans
for peaceful protest and creating political dossiers on innocent individuals.
Last month a federal judge barred the NYPD from investigating political activity
unless there is some indication of unlawful activity on the part of the
individual or organization to be investigated. The NYPD clearly acted outside
the law in its pre-RNC surveillance efforts, demonstrating complete disregard
for free speech and the right to political dissent.
For over three decades, the NYCLU has been counsel in Handschu v. Special
Services Division, the federal litigation challenging NYPD political
surveillance. At tomorrow's press conference, NYCLU attorneys will be joined by
Handschu co-counsel and by political activists who were spied upon by the NYPD
in the year before the RNC.
http://www.nyclu.org
LAST YEAR, the National Journal asked a group of Republican senators and
House members: "Do you think it's been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the
Earth is warming because of man-made problems?" Of the respondents, 23% said
yes, 77% said no.
Mail & Guardian: TB is levelling off, says WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said recently that the global
tuberculosis epidemic may be leveling off, but this optimism is undermined by
the reality of incomplete detection of the disease, high levels of mortality and
poor information about the extent of drug resistant forms of the disease.
uring the jury selection process at the Conrad Black fraud trial in Chicago,
the judge polled potential jurors on their impressions of Black's home, Canada.
"Socialist country," one replied. According to press accounts, Black, once the
third-most-powerful press baron in the world, turned to his wife, Barbara Amiel,
and they shared a smile. At last, a juror after their own hearts-the couple had
been redbaiting Canadians for years.
The Black trial is an odd beast: A
Canadian who gave up his citizenship to be a British Lord is on trial in the
United States for allegedly pocketing tens of millions that belonged to the
shareholders of Chicago-based Hollinger International. Every twist is front-page
international news, but most Americans have no idea who Black is. In his opening
remarks, Black's lawyer Edward Genson assured the jury, "In his native Canada
and England, he's a household name.
PREPARING THE PRESS FOR WAR ON IRAN?
The Israel project, a PR machine for the Israel Lobby is turning its
attention to Iran, sending out a "press kit" to journalists advising them/us to
call therir experts. Guess where they stand on the issues"
Press Kit on Iran and Expert Sources: Expert Sources on Iran
PARTIAL:Ilan Berman, Vice President for Policy, American Foreign Policy
Council and Author, Tehran Rising: Iran's Challenge to the United States; Frank
Gaffney, President, The Center for Security Policy and Founder,DivestTerror.org
E-mail: gaffney@centerforsecuritypolicy.org; Larry Haas, Visiting Senior Fellow,
Georgetown Public Policy Institute; Jeremy Issacharoff, Deputy Chief of Mission,
Embassy of Israel Tel: 202-364-5578 (office); www.israelemb.org
This is how it works as a new one-sided orchestrated campaign including an
Israeli diplomat is "deployed" for the next round of mediasuasion.
< p>
According to his lawyer, the DOJ wanted Dr. Al-Arian to testify before a
grand jury in Virginia. When he refused, citing his plea agreement, he was
sentenced up to 18 months in jail.
Dr. Al-Arian is currently being held at a medical facility in North Carolina.
Family members who recently visited him reported that he had lost 53 pounds,
equivalent to more than 25 percent of his body weight. He is no longer able to
walk or stand on his own.
Mel Gibson was at the center of an uproar Thursday night at the Armer Theater
in Manzanita Hall at CSUN when a Central American Studies professor spoke out
against the way Mayans are depicted in Gibson's film "Apocalypto."
Central American Studies Professor Dr. Alicia Estrada asked Gibson if he
understood the negative portrayal of Mayans in the film. Estrada went on to say
that Mayans have suffered from death and poverty but were depicted as ignorant
and bloodthirsty in the film….
Security personnel began pushing the speaker and turned off Perez's
microphone. Gibson said to let them talk, and the microphone was turned back on.
"I'm not offending you. I'm treating you with respect," Estrada said.
Gibson responded with liberal use of the f-word. Audience members clapped and
cheered, one even turning to Estrada and clapping in her face.
President of the Central American United Students Association Josue Guajan
came to the event because he is a CTVA student.
"I thought there would be conflict but I did not expect this disrespect to
Professor Estrada," Guajan said.
Estrada said the film is blatantly racist, but Gibson responded by saying, "I
don't think it's racist at all, and I resent you saying that it is."
Estrada and Perez were escorted out, but not before Gibson said, "I think
you're a fucking troublemaker, so fuck off."
Before you read this long letter, read this news story from the Scotsman
OK, now here's a personal story:
Bob Francaviglia write about the mortgage meltdown from Bisbee, Arizona
Thanks for a great article and thanks for saying something that needs to be
addressed. I'm a retired soldier with twenty years in uniform and another twenty
two as a Department of Defense civiliandeveloping intelligence training for the
military.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I escaped my country's wars with my body and
psyche intact. As I approach seventy, my home and my vehicles are paid for. The
house maybe almost a hundred years old, and the newest vehicle is a 1984 pick
up, but the house is comfortable and the vehicles run. I have some credit card
debt, but it's mostly for annual vacations and it's nothing I couldn't pay off
tomorrow from my savings account. Aside from taxes and utilities, my retirement
income goes for food and entertainment. I'm in the "catbird seat," and I'm
thankful for that. It didn't come easy. I had to fight off the sales pitches of
hucksters in three piece suits. I had to have forty hour a week part time jobs
in addition to my military duties. I had to educate myself about dreams and
riches and guard my own resources. But I recognize that there are millions of
less savvy Americans, many of them as old or older than I, who are losing their
homes. What happens to them when they join the ranks of America's homeless. Even
the car they might live in might be repossessed.
Yes, I'm in the "catbird seat," mainly because I've never fallen for the
blandishments of the financial institutions, and I've never fallen for that crap
that says you've got to have more stuff so you can be "accepted." I may have a
few three piece suits in my closet, but I choose to live in Levis. I've learned
that clothes don't make the man, and a big house with a big mortgage doesn't
give you the right to rub elbows with Donald Trump.
But, Danny, I can't see a solution to this tragedy. Was it Barnum who said,
"There's a sucker born every minute?" There's an almost Darwinian aspect to this
American tragedy. I used to be fond of saying that there's a huge number of
Americans who will spend their rent money to get that "Famous Artist Course,"
advertised on the matchbook cover, thinking that, in months, they will become
Andy Warhol.
I see all those infomercials on TV. You know the ones that talk about how you
can buy a dozen houses for no money down, turn them around and retire rich.
Yeah, and all you have to do is send five hundred bucks for the books. Maybe
there's a "financial Darwinism" that applies here. Maybe the fools who lose
everything because they were too ignorant, too lazy, too credulous, too simple…
maybe they deserve not to survive in this socio-economic cauldron we call
American capitalism. We've become a nation of dupes; collection of rubes who are
easy prey for the circus managers who promise us riches, the attractiveness of
movie stars, financial security and peace of mind. I find that I live in a
nation of adolescents, pursuing nebulous dreams without substance. And it gets
even worse when we look at the majority of the next generation, steeped in the
hoo hah of MTV and VH1, thinking that all they have to do is float along
andthey'll become rock stars. Oh I know there are really smart kids coming up
the path. They'll go to college. They'll get their credentials.
They'll take their places in the law firms and on Wall Street. And they'll
become the financial predators and the financial victims of our nation state.
Even those, the best and the brightest, will translate their humanity into some
meaningless portrayal of greatness, with ever greater homes, big boats they
hardly ever sail, trophy wives or husbands, six martinis at lunch at the country
club, and empty eyes looking at an empty future of more parties and more efforts
to impresstheir "peers."
Having spent my entire adult life, nearly half a century, bleeding for this
nation of sheep, fighting in the jungles of Vietnam and other places that our
countrymen could not find on a map, I wonder what it was all for. Like cattle on
the ramp into the slaughterhouse, they have no inkling what's about to happen to
them. While my brothers in arms return to this America with shattered bodies and
broken spirits, these "creatures" are more concerned with the latest sale at
Walmart, the latest celebrity on American Idol, and whether Josh really means to
marry Kristal on "Days of Our Lives."
I've fought all the wars I intend to fight, Danny. Now, tending my roses in
this little place on the Mexican border, I intend to live what's left of my life
to the fullest. And the idiots who fell for the fat mortgage and the big house
in the subs, well… they bought it, they can just eat it.
WOW!
JOURNALISM AND HISTORY
On Saturday, I spoke at a conference of professors assessing the history of
journalism at NYU. I caught two fascinating papers by scholars before plunging
into my unmoderated panel on Vietnam, Iraq and the media parallels that unite
the two wars.
The snatches of history by the Professors sounded right. One was about two
Doctors who challenged the Comstock Laws dating back to the l880s that used the
Postal Service to enforce anti-obscenity, pornograohy statues and anti-sex
education rules for forty years to cleanse America of the immoral and the
impure. Comstock was the J Edgar Hoover of his age and the forerunner to the
likes of Attorney General Ashcoft who draped a nude statue in the Justice
Department or the FCC that is fining networks for incidents like Janet Jackson's
Boob reveal.
The other paper was about an incident in l913 when a radical magazine called
THE MASSES denounced the Associated Press with a cutting cartoon for its
coverage of a mine strike. For denouncing the AP as a lying monopoly, editor Max
Eastman and cartoonist Art Young were arrested at the AP's behest which then
denounced any suggestion that it was a monopoly.
Long articles about the AP's benevolence suddenly appeared in major
newspapers extolling its virtues. Eastman and Young's case never came to court
and years later, after World War 2, the Courts found that the AP was a monopoly.
What was especially fascinating was that the Professor who discussed his
research was denied access to the AP's archives today, and, ironically, he is an
ex AP reporter. A further irony: AP President Tom Curley is a leading advocate
of more freedom of information protection for the press.
The war presentations had their moments too—especially in the validation of
all the speakers that the parallels between Iraq and Vietnam are many and
prescient. Eric Boehlert author of "Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush
(he says the press HATES the title) shared some fascinating findings of research
on current war coverage. He looked into the coverage of the threat of a civil
war in Iraq back in the period 2002-2003 when the war was being waged by the
media before the invasion got underway. How many media stories were there that
hinted at or explored that possibility?
The answer is astounding; of tens of thousands of stories indexed that had
three or more references to Iraq in the Times, Washington Post, AP, NPR etc—and
we are talking TENS OF THOUSANDS—only a trickle, or handful raised the
possibility of the scenario we are seeing played out daily. Some outlets had
one, others 3, but the threat was treated as virtually non-existent So much for
the depth of coverage and sources consulted.
An official hostorian for the US Army was next and I braced for a defense of
the military or the media. He was as critical as everyone else and read a memo
to the US Ambassadir from Barry Zorinthian, a US Public Affairs advisor written
in Saigon just after the Tet Offensive warning of the defeat to come. The
historian substituted the word Iraq for the word Vietnam in the memo and it fit
eerily,
Stuart Ewen's brilliant new site on rejected letters to the editor is now up.
Check it out
SEEKING INSPIRATION
As Mediachannel fights for survival, I am looking for sources of inspiration.
I found some in a song from Leonard Cohen:
The Bells lyrics
(Written By L Cohen, Performed In "Night Magic")—cf the
lyrics to the song "Anthem" on the Cohen album "The Future")
(The birds they sang at break of day
Start again, I heard them say
Nor
dwell on what has passed away
Or what is yet to be.
The wars they will be fought again
The holy dove be caught again
Bought
and sold and bought again
Until we set them free.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There
is a crack in everything
The light behind to see.
Add up the parts, not yours the sum
Strike up the march, there is no
drum
Every heart to love must come
Like a refugee
So lets all "ring the bells that still can ring," and see how and if we might
figure out how to keep Mediachannel channeling in the months ahead. If you live
in or near Rochester New York, set aside next Friday for the national premiere
hosted by Dr. Robert D. Manning of my new film IN DEBT WE TRUST at the Little
Theater at 7 PM. See IndebtweTrust.com with more dates that we are adding.
Comments to Dissector@mediachannel.org
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Writings 
NEWS DISSECTOR March 26, 2007
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