FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING
Challenging media bias since 1986.
FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
Peter Hart was the activist director of FAIR for 15 years, as well as the co-host of FAIR's radio show CounterSpin. He is now the senior field communications officer for Food & Water Watch.
FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. We expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, we believe that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information.
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Note that the headline doesn’t match the lead: “Civilians Casualties in Afghanistan Fall Sharply” vs. “The number of Afghan civilians killed or injured by coalition airstrikes fell sharply in the last few years.” Has the number of civilians casualties overall–caused by both sides, including those killed by coalition ground forces–fallen sharply, or at all? The USA Today piece, unlike the headline, doesn’t say.
Jim, also note that the “happy news” stats come from coalition sources, and that this is accepted as unquestioned fact – in keeping with standard corpress practice, isn’t it?
SOP as well is the utter lack of humanity in reporting on this horror. Afghan deaths have meaning only insofar as they impact the war effort.
This is inexcusably echoed by many anti-war orgs, who speak of “creating more terrorists and enemies”, and only secondarily, if at all, acknowledging the human tragedy paid for by our tax dollars.
Can we see ourselves as members of the families of the victims? Can we imagine their grief, and their rage at what our “leaders” have wrought for pipelines, profits and power?
If we could, we wouldn’t be talking about a “futile” or “unwinnable” war, would we?
We’d be condemning an immoral and inhuman one, and doing what our conscience demands and our courage allows to end it.
Some folks do that – somebody’s god bless ’em.
It’s a bandwagon that can hold a helluva lot more.
Similar conflicting headlines can be found on the Wikileaks documents.
From Bloomberg:
Gates Saw `Significant Harm’ in WikiLeaks’ Posting of Afghan War Reports
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-15/gates-saw-significant-harm-in-wikileaks-posting-of-afghan-war-reports.html
From NPR:
Gates: Limited Damage From WikiLeaks Documents
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130600687
Wars main result is death.Always, everywhere,forever.No happy face can ever be put on it, and stats never tell the story.America is even conflicted on how many” US troops” have died in theater since the Afghan war began.How can we ever know the suffering of the enemy- or the civilian population in such remote backward circumstance?Or how it compares to Afghan deaths under the Taliban.And here is a strange stat….Compare how many troops died under Clintons 8 years of peace to the entire amount in Afghanistan since the war began(Us troops).Is your head spinning yet?When people give stats of troop loss and cost ,they seldom match it to the chart on the left showing the same thing in peacetime.Carrying a big stick is costly all the way around.An elephant moving through a room of eggs.
It’s time for the “PEOPLE’S REVOLUTION” I can’t see any other way?
WE have one going on called the Tea party movement Leslie.A grass roots Come to Jesus moment that is causing chills down the backs of both parties elite.The Libertarian movement demanded accountability,and made only headway with those -who understand the constitution.The Tea party hands down a litmus test that demands adherence to the constitution- whether you understand it or not.
Leslie, you’re right, unfortunately. You want to read a very revealing, funny, and outrageous piece on the execrable Tea-baggers and their pitiful non-movement? A savage look into the conned fools who think their “revolution” is something other than their utter co-optation by their masters in the GOP? Go here, Leslie, and other curious on-lookers, to see the fetid, stinkin’ rotting corpse of the Bagger movement laid out: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/210904
Tea baggers tim?Isnt that a disgusting aside to a group of people who believe in the constitution Obama swore to?Can you imagine if we refer–ed to Dems,libs,or people like you with the tag of human body fluids lets say?What would you think?You would think we were hateful low life scum.How about all americans try not to use racial slang for our prez or words like whore to our female reps or just call the tea party the tea party.Is it so hard for you not to be hateful and stupid?Tim I am an American in all that has meant.You are a socialist.What country do you speak for?What country do you speak about?certainly this country does not now, or ever has reflected your views.And it is not fooled anymore by your slippery slide into power.Your being rejected dude.And that is why you say TEA BAGGERS and quote what was it…… Rolling stone?Rock on… light a dube…Good shit good shit
War kills people. Most of those killed are civilians.
The only time civilians were not killed, was in those ancient days when the two fighters were champions from each side to settle disputes.