‘Puerto Rico Is an Artificial Economy’
“Economically, Puerto Rico is almost like a wholly owned subsidiary of the US economy, and various laws inhibit it from making decisions to develop their own economy.”
Ed Morales on Puerto Rican Debt Crisis, Beth Haller on Disability Rights
The debt crisis has already meant closing schools, losing jobs and shutting off healthcare options, so what does it mean that on the mainland, what’s happening in Puerto Rico is just a business story?
Costas Panayotakis on Greek ‘No’ Vote, Rachel Nolan on Dominican Displacement
The New York Post headline “Greek Tragedy: Nation Commits Economic Suicide” was only yelling what was spoken elsewhere: that Greek voters invited ruin with their “No” vote on an austerity referendum.
O’Reilly’s Lies: For Self and State
It’s bad when journalists make things up for personal aggrandizement. But there’s a more important level of lying done in the service of power, particularly to justify state violence—and Bill O’Reilly has a history of that, too.
Colombian Report on US Military’s Child Rapes Not Newsworthy to US News Outlets
Explosive claims that US military soldiers and contractors had sexually abused at least 54 children in Colombia thus far seem to have received zero coverage in the mainstream US press.
Politico Helps O’Reilly Get Away With Falklands Fabrications
Politico media reporter Dylan Byers explores the supposedly mysterious question of why Fox News executives let their most lucrative on-air personality get away with blatantly misrepresenting his journalistic history.
Bill O’Reilly Lies—but Some Lies Matter More Than Others
When Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly said that NBC’s Brian Williams “had to go” because he manufactured stories about dangers he faced in his reporting career, it should come as no surprise to find out that O’Reilly can be found doing the exact same thing.
Mexican Students Didn’t Just ‘Disappear’
The majority of English-language news accounts have failed to provide a deeper context concerning the failed war on drugs and the use of forced disappearances as a repressive state tactic, and employ language that often criminalizes the disappeared students.
The Weird World of the Washington Post, Where Reagan Never Met Gorbachev
Reading the Washington Post opinion pages can be like reading dispatches from a parallel universe. You get that sense of alternative history from Post deputy editorial editor Jackson Diehl’s latest.
People Who Live in ‘Flyspecks’ Shouldn’t Fling Metaphors
The second paragraph of the Washington Post’s news story (12/17/14) on President Obama normalizing relations with Cuba begins, “Cuba is a flyspeck of an island that long ago ceased to be a threat to the United States.”
Fareed Zakaria Wants a Better Public
Zakaria has a different standard for ignorant citizens and ignorant politicians–not to mention ignorant media pundits.
Roberto Lovato on Mexico, Ann Jones on Afghanistan
This week on CounterSpin: The disappearance of 48 student activists in Mexico has brought hundreds of thousands of activists to the streets, demanding accountability from the US-allied president who just months ago was being cheered by Time magazine as the man who would save Mexico. We’ll talk to journalist Roberto Lovato about the crisis in Mexico and the reasons the story isn’t getting enough coverage in the US press.
Also this week: US media presented the election of Ashraf Ghani as Afghanistan’s president as good news, largely because he would sign an agreement allowing US forces to remain in the country. Afghan women had different reasons to be tentatively hopeful; but then, who remembers Afghan women? We’ll talk with journalist Ann Jones about her new article, The Missing Women of Afghanistan.
NYT Tried to Sell ‘Pro-Growth’ Candidate, but Brazilians Weren’t Buying
The New York Times’ James Stewart made clear which side we should be rooting for in the Brazilian presidential elections: the side that lost.
A ‘Worthless and Whiny’ Attack on a Genuine Journalistic Hero
The Washington Post was one of the major newspapers to attack Gary Webb for his revelations about the CIA-backed Contras and the crack epidemic. It’s 2014, and they’re still at it.
How to Drive a Colleague to His Grave and Sleep Easy at Night
Ryan Grim’s new book sheds new light on the establishment media’s 1996 effort to discredit Gary Webb’s Contra crack revelations by talking to some of the key players. They sleep very well, they want you to know.
All They Will Call You Will Be Detainees
One of corporate journalism’s bad habits is framing international stories on the premise that news is what happens to the US. There is no better recent example of this than the story of tens of thousands of children fleeing Central America.
Bolivian President Isn’t Radical Enough for Corporate Media
Vilifying left-leaning Latin American and Caribbean leaders is nothing new from the US media–from Chile’s Salvador Allende to Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti, from Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez to Mauricio Funes of El Salvador. Bolivian President Evo Morales is no exception, as he caught the attention of the website Vox, a new outlet that sets out to “explain the news” with an emphasis on data analysis.
Dave Zirin on World Cup, Sarah Jaffe on Supreme Court
Much of the world is tuned into the World Cup. And while the drama on the field is on our TV screens, what about the wrenching political and economic upheaval in host country Brazil that has inspired millions to protest? That’s the World Cup story Dave Zirin has been reporting, he’ll join us to talk about it.
Also this week: The Supreme Court rulings in Hobby Lobby and Harris, though reportedly narrow, may have far-reaching impacts. Particularly as both almost exclusively affect working women. We’ll talk with Sarah Jaffe of In These Times.
Toothpaste Terrorism? Been There, Done That
Far from being a “new generation,” the toothpaste tube bomb has been around for almost four decades.
No, Putin Isn’t Following ‘Reagan Playbook’ in Ukraine—Thank God
When the Washington Post’s David Ignatius writes a column headlined “Putin Steals the CIA’s Playbook on Anti-Soviet Covert Operations,” is that supposed to be a criticism or a compliment?
