(no subject)
i know that most people who take the time to read their friends livejournals aren't interested in reading them because they want an education about politics or current events, but lately i'm so damn frustrated that i literally cant stop myself. today in the new york times (which anyone can read online for free every day) there is an article about how the U.S military hired an advertising firm called The Lincoln Group to help bolster Iraqi Muslim public opinion about the war. Basically they used our tax dollars to pay some advertising firm to get people in Iraq to support this bullshit war. But thats not bad enough. oh no. The u.s military then wrote propoganga pieces disguised as news articles that were extremely pro western and written as if an iraqi journalist had been the one to write them, and then gave these pseudo articles to the Lincoln Group to have them placed in Iraqi newspapers. Meanwhile we are advocating pro democracy and freedom for iraqis, but apparantly that doesnt matter when it comes to freedom of the press. instead we just bribe people to get what we want. Also in this article was a blurb about how last year the u.s military was found guilty of producing pseudo tv news pieces for AMERICAN TELEVISION!!! but not disclosing it was government or military sponsered, which is illegal. Here's a quote from the article:
The Government Accountability Office found this year that the Bush administration had violated the law by producing pseudo news reports that were later used on American television stations with no indication that they had been prepared by the government. But no law prohibits the use of such covert propaganda abroad.
So basically they're getting away with violating our right to freedom of the press, and since its not technically illegal to do it in Iraq they are doing it there too. Does that make you proud to be an American? Does it make you want to stick a yellow ribbon on your car or sing an Alan Jackson song about putting a boot in people's asses? I hope it does, because if it doesnt, if it actually enrages you as it does me, then you're probably screwed. Since it has progressed to the point where the media cant even talk about antiwar sentiment IN THE COUNTRY WHERE THE WAR IS BEING HELD i have pretty much lost all confidence.
its amazing that even with this proBush crap the people in Iraq still see right through it. I guess when the war is in your own backyard all of the propoganda in the world doesnt erase the bloodshed and destruction.
The Government Accountability Office found this year that the Bush administration had violated the law by producing pseudo news reports that were later used on American television stations with no indication that they had been prepared by the government. But no law prohibits the use of such covert propaganda abroad.
So basically they're getting away with violating our right to freedom of the press, and since its not technically illegal to do it in Iraq they are doing it there too. Does that make you proud to be an American? Does it make you want to stick a yellow ribbon on your car or sing an Alan Jackson song about putting a boot in people's asses? I hope it does, because if it doesnt, if it actually enrages you as it does me, then you're probably screwed. Since it has progressed to the point where the media cant even talk about antiwar sentiment IN THE COUNTRY WHERE THE WAR IS BEING HELD i have pretty much lost all confidence.
its amazing that even with this proBush crap the people in Iraq still see right through it. I guess when the war is in your own backyard all of the propoganda in the world doesnt erase the bloodshed and destruction.