MORE MEDIA PROPAGANDA ON SYRIA-KOREA CONNECTION

Glenn Greenwald writes on Salon concerning the Bush administration’s claims that the structure which Israeli jets destroyed inside Syria last September was a nuclear reactor Syria was developing with the aid of North Korea. Such skepticism, however, is difficult to find in most (though not all) American press accounts, which do little other than repeat Government claims without challenge.

This Associated Press article, for instance, is 32 paragraphs long, yet it contains little other than unchallenged assertions by the Bush administration, using the now-familiar media conventions for disseminating government claims — i.e., quoting administration accusations without challenge and then granting completely unwarranted anonymity to “intelligence officials” to echo those accusations.

SYRIA DENIES IT

(Reuters) - The Syrian site Israel bombed in September was not part of a nuclear weapons program, but was a military facility under construction, President Bashar al-Assad said in remarks published on Sunday.

Last week, Washington released intelligence alleging Syria had built a nuclear reactor with North Korean help before an Israeli air strike destroyed the facility on September 6.

“Is it logical? A nuclear site did not have protection with surface to air defenses? A nuclear site within the footprint of satellites in the middle of Syria in an open area in the desert?” Assad told Qatar’s al-Watan newspaper in an interview conducted before the U.S. accusations were made.’

PROTESTS AT DISNEY

Did you hear what happened at the ‘flag-pin protest’ against ABC/Disney last Friday? If not, the Associated Press, KTLA-TV, and a grassroots videographer were there to capture the action.

In less than 24 hours, the Courage Campaign — with support from MoveOn and CREDO Mobile — mobilized a rapid-response protest outside the ABC/Disney headquarters.

Our goal? To hold ABC/Disney accountable for the below-the-belt, tabloid questions asked by George Stephanopolous and Charlie Gibson during ABC’s presidential debate disaster the previous night. And, inspired by netroots activist David Dayen’s idea, to specifically target the insulting ‘flag-pin litmus test’ video question asked of Senator Barack Obama.

Mission accomplished. Not only did the protest go off without a hitch, but it garnered national and local media attention as well. Curious what happened? We’ve got the goods for you.

Here’s a two-minute YouTube highlight reel produced for the Courage Campaign, with cameos from Dave, Rick Jacobs and other friends in our community (link below includes our archive of Courage Campaign videos):

Here’s KTLA’s TV news report, as blogged by Dave on Calitics, a progressive blog for Californians:

And, finally, the full Associated Press article that was syndicated across America, including a few choice quotes from protest participants:

AP: Protestors in Burbank criticize ABC’s debate questions

BURBANK, Calif.–About 50 people rallied at Disney Studios Friday to protest the questions that ABC News journalists asked the Democratic presidential candidates during a debate earlier this week.

Protestors waved signs that read ‘Restore the Fourth Estate’ and ‘ABC is TMZ,’ referring to the online celebrity site.

Organizer Rick Jacobs criticized ABC for focusing on the past gaffes of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, instead of issues like the war in Iraq and the American economy.

Jacobs said he was offended that Obama was asked why he hasn’t worn an American flag pin on his lapel.

‘Patriotism isn’t defined by a flag pin made in China,’ he said.

ABC did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

‘I’m protesting the dumbing down of America … of what should be news,’ said Albert Johnson, Jr., an insurance agent from Altadena. ‘I could ask any Hooters waitress and they’d have better questions. All that bing-pow graphics? What is this–a baseball game?’