The new episode of FAIR TV. This week we take a look at Time‘s big fact checking cover story and how the Washington Post talks about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. We also ask the question: Do media think Afghans are humans too?
Take a look and please share this with your friends.
This is good stuff. Thanks particularly for the section on Venezuela. I love FAIR! Thanks.
What’s wrong with your video? It won’t load after starting the Afghan story. More of the censorship denying certain stories to the public?
I like Fair, but unfortunately Fair doesn’t report on the threat of voting the wrong way in Venezuela, though according to PBS that problem has been fixed. Or was it BBC? One thing I find unfair is that the BBC hasn’t covered Brits launching drones alone or with us. Tonight, (perhaps after nagging from me), we were shown a British man in a room in Afghanistan, who, (without any direct mention of what his job is, to pick dronees, or launch them too), mentioned that he’d almost made a mistake, picking a child he didn’t know was a child, until an adult came up to the child and he realized the size difference. We weren’t told what would have happened if he hadn’t. Would he have pushed a button or touched the pad? Or would he have alerted another Brit in Nevada where Brits have something to do with drone strikes. I first got on this case in England in June. On June 7th there was a small article in the Guardian on how cuts to Britain’s military required their increased reliance on drones and special ops, (not their word, but the equivalent). I ripped the article out and brought it back to NYC. Looked online. Gone. If it was ever there. Searched their sites, and found a list of countries with drones, special ops? of course cyberwar. Scrolling down, in one UK column was NA. Not available? The UK needs a Bradley Manning. What would happen to him? They have indefinite detention. Britain needs an Assange, speaking of whom, none of my leftist sites mention Assange’s Russian TV show. Is his agenda free speech and press, or simple Anti Americanism? Fine if he admits the latter. But Russia’s treatment of journalists who don’t toe the line is pretty clear.. First you’re warned with a beating. Then killed. Why was Assange there? I don’t look at right wing sites. I am a leftist, but not a blind one. I don’t deify Sts Fidel and Hugo – who does help the poor who agree with his policies 100%. If not, too bad: no pension. What I’d like is a site that provides a map of the world, with not only the over 800 bases we have sprinkled around the world. (Why we’re hated. We never entirely leave anywhere. Always bases and trainers. How would we feel if there were a Canadian base here? Much less Chinese, our next enemy it seems. We always need one. By that I mean we.) But everyone’s. Where does Chavez get arms? Russia. Does Russia have bases? China? India? The UK? I’d like a global site with true coverage, not slanted either way. Is it possible, Fair? Or can you only act as a balance? Which is helpful enough.
You can’t avoid “slant” the point is to get as much and varied slants as possible. FAIR works to show things not covered and covered from a right wing or “neutral” position. I’s recommend also DemocracyNow.org too. Also Al Jazeera. (That translates as no in depth questioning of things like war and propaganda by our own country.)
Just saw the fine commentary by Steve Rendall. I would like him to be interviewed on the “corporate” media, so that more people can hear his opinions. FAIR should pester them until they give FAIR a chance to educate people.
Excellent commentary, Mr. Rendell, trenchant as usual and right on regarding the degraded state of our corporate, main stream media. Viva FAIR!
FAIR is the leading source of information on how the Fourth Estate has utterly failed to serve its vital purpose in what used to be a democracy. Thanks, Steve Rendell and everyone at FAIR.
Just read an article from the Guardian concerning elections in Venezuela. An interesting statement from Jimmy Carter saying the elections in Venezuela were the fairest he’s seen. It seems people vote via machine with a paper receipt. That paper has their vote recorded. They read it, ok it and place it in a sealed box. As I understand it, Both the machine vote and the paper copy are tallied. They have 97% of the people voting – Chavez demands that people vote – something we should also do. Others in South America hold Venezuela up as a model for which to aspire. Anyone read about this in the US Press or have you, like myself, just heard about how bad Chavez has been and how pathetic it is for socialists to take over – as if anyone in this country really understands what a socialist is anyway.
It seems that we are more concerned about the mythical voter fraud than having accountability or checking voting machine accuracy. Too busy I guess and it’s a lot more fun to force people to stand in line for an ID, which can probably be faked anyway.
Elizabeth We aint Venezuela.We are a huge, monstrous voting mass,that has to have everything done tute sweet in basically one night..Im no expert on what works best,but i would think the engineers working on the problem have taken all things into context.
You brought up Jimmy Carter……Did you know HE was the one who began the fight for voter ID cards?Yes he did.And i thought it was a great idea back then.No racism.No conservative designs(I was a Dem).Just a good idea for a one a one man one vote country.
You hope that all Americans be FORCED to vote is classic .Government over reach and empowerment is the name of the game in everything Liberal.It does not surprise me you said it.
In Iraq people had to make their way through threat of DEATH to vote.And more of a total percentage voted there….. than here.I agree that is a disgrace.But force people to vote who may be disgusted with the whole process?What happens if they dont?Do we arrest them?Fine them?Raise their taxes?
Australia has a voting requirement and seems to have no problem in getting it. I believe there is a fine for not voting, which is the voters choice. Living in a democracy where so many people do not vote is troubling to me. Somewhere we miss the point that a democracy, in order to be viable, demands citizen participation, not citizen lethargy.
Michael – As usual your facts are skewed. Regarding Jimmy Carter and voter ID, his “support” of same was reported in 2005 AFTER he participated in the Commission on Federal Election Reform. Much of the Commission’s concern surrounded the variety of voter ID laws presented by the 11 states that then had them. Another concern is that Absentee voters are only required to have the “correct” signature. They identified unnessary voter deadlines, long lines at the poles and proposed voter ID cards as some of the problems Americans have with voting. (Spencer Overton, George Washington University Law) What Carter actually said was: “Some Critics of Voter IDs think the government cannot do this job, but Mexico and most poor sountries in the world have been able to register and GIVE IDs to almost all their citizens. Surely the United States can do it too. FREE photo Ids would also empower minorities, who are often charged exorbitant fees for cashing checks because they lasck proper identification.” In addition, Carter commented: “Regardless of how one views the importance of voter IDs, I hope that they do not deflect attention from the urgency of fixing our electoral system.”
To say that Carter began the fight for voter IDs, is clearly untrue. He was co-chair of the Federal Election Commission in 2005 and cited the possibility as one of the findings.
Elizabeth he started it during his time as president.I was completely unaware in his participation in anything in 2005.As far as it being right or wrong to identify yourself before you vote with a proper ID i am sure no American will have a problem with it once it is in place according to the courts wishes.Why would anyone have a problem with it?This is not right or left.Is needing proof for almost everything today of who you are a problem?Your whole argument seems to be that you have found the one thing in this world where no fraud exists(good for you).Also you believe that any shoddy, or less perfect form of guaranteeing one man one vote is plenty good enough for you.
Again …did you actually say “demand citizen participation”?Yeah and we are the storm troopers.