Michael Cook writes:

I’m tempted to resurrect the spirit of Ronald Reagan for yet another chorus of ‘There they go again’ - but I won’t. Nicknamed President Raygun for his sci-fi “Star Wars” weapon proposal, the current incarnation of this same missile defense concept is proving to have less reliability than duct tape and plastic sheeting against a nuclear attack. Let’s see now… Cost of two test failures back to back in two months: $170 million dollars… Cost of this ludicrous program projected for the 2006 budget: $8.8 billion… Excuses for not having to actually develop diplomacy or policy on North Korea: priceless!

“But seriously, when it comes to real space science, we’re told the Hubble telescope is too pricey to repair. Why, when previous missions to replenish batteries and gyroscopes cost $300 million, has the cost for such a mission suddenly ballooned to $1 billion or more? Is it because Raytheon (the government contractor for missile defense fantasies) has been awarded the contract for a Hubble rescue mission or what? Was it done to make way for other space “priorities,” such as returning to the moon in 2020?

“Hey, if Bush wants to go to the moon, I’ll chip in for his flight suit for that!

“If we can blow off $8.8 billion among Paul Bremer’s friends in Iraq without raising an eyebrow, why can’t we afford to fund a rescue mission to save Hubble, the most valuable astronomical tool of the century? What it would cost to fix Hubble, we spend in ONE WEEK in Iraq. And speaking of Iraq, if we can afford to build a shiny new $658 million embassy in Baghdad, why can’t we at least have Washington do ‘a little maintenance work around the house’ right here? I guess the answer is that only Pentagon priorities bubble up from that fountain of billions out in back of the White House.

“Keep up your critically important work, Danny. I finally got to see WMD last week and it’s very powerful. The shot of that army tank on the bridge targeting journalists(?) at the Palestine Hotel was chilling and… well, priceless. It’s even more poignant now!”

UPROAR IN SACRAMENTO

Virgil writes:

“I just wanted to pass along a few tidbits of information in regards to Steve and Virginia Pearcy who hung a soldier effigy at their Sacramento home in protest of the treatment of our soldiers by the Bush administration. In a February 13th interview by KGO Radio fill in host, Kristine Kraft, Steve and Virginia Pearcy explained their actions:

‘1) The effigy was hung in support of the troops as symbol that Bush has more or less “hung the soldiers out to dry.”

‘2) The Palestinian flag is a symbol of their support of a Palestinian state, which incidentally, the Bush administration supports also.

“The amazing thing about this is what the media did.They actually filmed a young man climbing the roof of the couples house (can you say trespassing), tearing down and removing the effigy (can you say vandalism).Furthermore, Fox40 news interviewed the young man afterwards and asked him why he did it.

“So, we have a film crew and reporter filming and interviewing the crime. Yet, the local police, as of this date have yet to “find” the young fellow. In fact Steve Pearcy claims that the police told them that they didn’t agree with their statement. But Steve insists that “if the police catch the man who vandalized his home he will press charges.”

“What’s worse? The local media did not even bother to interview the Pearcy’s for their side of the story.

“Since then, the couple hung another effigy up with anew sign that said “Bush Lied, I died.” However, like the first, the second effigy has also been torn downy a young man.

“All of this uproar started when the local Right Wing radio stations caught wind of the story after it was reported on the tv news and they began to literally incite the locals into a vigilante fervor. One radio station host was quoted by Steve as saying something like “if anyone were to climb up and tear down that effigy, they’d be my hero.”

“Apparently, Hannity will also be looking into the story too. Tonight, a right wing group called Move America Forward will be holding a candlelight protest from 7-10 PM, which Hannity will be reporting about.]Move America Forward has compared the couple to the KKK, saying their action is a “hateful message that undermines our troops,” which “should be treated the same as the hate that spews from the likes of KKK]members.” This is utter B.S. and a ridiculous comparison in my opinion.

“Danny, what is happening to free speech? And what I happening to the so called independent, and fair media?”

Related links:
http://fox40.trb.com/search/dispatcher.front?target=article&Query=effigy
http://fox40.trb.com/news/ktxl-020905soldier,1,2499296.story
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=%5CNation%5Carchive%5C200502%5CNAT20050215a.html
http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/4184282/detail.html
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42869
http://www.kgoam810.com/viewentry.asp?ID=324183&PT=PROGRAM%20SUMMARIES

LOOKING FOR THE BEST OF THE WORST

Matt Thompson of independent world television asked me for some suggestions for the best of the worst and I will open the process up to our readers:

“We’re putting together a clip list of ‘worst moments in recent TV journalism’. We were wondering if you might have some favorites of your own to add? We have a lot that’s focused on Iraq (including, you’ll notice, a couple of the gems you included in your film). We’re trying to include a broader selection of stories.

“If anything comes to mind — or if you think of anyone else who might want to contribute - we would be extremely grateful. You’re the master in the field!”

BLEAK

As the second anniversary of that giant global day of protest against the war in 2003 came and went, my pal Danny Cassidy shared a pessimistic assessment of the state of activism:.

“on the left — on the left coast — things are very very quiet. From UC Berkeley to New College when “left” voices do appear they are usually draped in the race identity politics best embodied by new big white chief ward churchhill, or a new hyper-sexualized gender identity politics that has emerged in wake of Bush’s targeting of gays.

“though these might seem tiny corners of the discourse from your perspective, they are in fact -on college campuses - what passes for left discourse. it is of course very middle class, but also angry, sectarian, and divorced from the war, economics, and reality.

“the silence on the LEFT out here is deafening. much worse than anything in reagan 1980s. total demoralization. KPFA has never been more dispirited, demoralizing, and depressing. people are turning away in flocks from their nightly depression-digressions. one hour of kpfa and you are ready to retreat to a Buddhist cave in Sikkim.”

(To my tired ears, KPFA seems a refreshing alternative to most radio stations. It’s all in the ears of the beholder.)

ACCESS MESS

Raina writes about public access in Westchester one of the richest counties in America:

I hope to be able to make it to purchase this weekend to see your film.,,”Public access channels in westchester (you may have noticed) were moved from prime spots like ch6 to ch96 (in Peekskill) 2 weeks after the war started, but worse than the never never land placement is the unexplainable poor quality (sometimes there is no sound) of the broadcast. It has been this was for 2 years no and Cablevision says it’s “technical difficulties” although ch18 is used for nothing but
once a month low budget advertising.”

COMMENTING ON COMMENTS

Martha Older writes:

1. Re Mary Fox’ idea that “The willingness to self-censor may have begun at this [VIetnam, Cambodia] point.” According to my late mother, all the information re the Korean War’s American atrocities went out over the wires, but was never carried — self-censorship then. Seems likely to me, though I don’t know, that it began even earlier, re WWII concentration camps.

2. Re John J. Neumaier’s comment that “the Bush administration from its very first months in office was determined to attack Iraq” — it was planning to attack Iraq in Sept. 2000, two months BEFORE the election — my source for this one was an article in the Washington Post of all places.

LEBANON?

Sarah Meyer: “Lebanon: Is this another example of the media accepting government
spin without looking to possible alternatives to the bombing?

DOWN ON JOURNALISTS

Yukie Yamada writes from Hawaii on “mindless media:”

“Journalists to a high degree are not mindless, yet they have become mere cogs in the wheel of this vast industry that has become the intersection of government, corporate interests and special political interest groups.

“The consumer public reflects this mindlessness in a frightening cycle of evolving ignorance and stupidity. Journalists are frequently sold out or lacking in courage to make a coordinated stance against the dilution of intelligence and relevance in their newsmaking.

“Totalitarianism in thinking has been the peril for decades now, rooted in consumer laze and daze, and a normalized incest between systems.

“ABC news with Jennings remarkably revealed part of this hypocrisy last week in their story highlighting the billion upon billion dollar porn industry that has been generous to some of the most conservative public officials.

“News items like this should be repeated, hypocrisy should be aggressively pointed out on prime time. It is not a right wing problem, it is a deep, horrific trend found in left, center and right.

“Journalists are not victims, but participants in this information dumbing down. When they become participants of their own industry, the public will benefit.”

Yuki has some criticisms of your news dissector that I will share tomorrow.

Until then, my in box is open to your input. Write: dissector@mediachsannel.org

THIS JUST IN: JAPAN’S NHK AIRS WMD

Also word just in from Japan: WMD was shown on NHK Television. A friend writes: “Your WMD was aired on Jan. 25th. Usually, it was with some kind of comments By an expert or NHK’s commentator. But it was with no comments, using the time utmost for airing your work. I think it was not easy for NHK to give comment. Because it is still a touchy issue even here, especially after Bush won the presidential seat. The program, ” World Documentaries”, is O.K. at present because it is not made by NHK itself. NHK should keep that program. CNN’s Eason Jordan’s case is miserable. It is not easy American big media to refer to what happened as it happened.

“Now NHK is in a big trouble, because of disclosed scandals and its deep ties with politicians of ruling parties…”

Now, when will WMD air in the USA? Stay tuned.