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What's Not in the Memogate Report

Tue, Nov 30, 2004 at 9:33:23 am PST

A very interesting post by Bummerdietz looks at the upcoming report on Rathergate, from the standpoint of a media legal department: Sneak Peek at What’s Not in the Memogate Report.

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38 comments

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1 Buck  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:35:11am

Big surprise.... However the WIN is that Rather will forever be linked to the scandal...like it or not.

2 bigel[deleted]  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:41:15am
3 rastajenk  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:41:48am

Keying on the libelous aspect of the situation isn't going to fly with the public. Without the target (the Prez) pressing the issue (and that ain't gonna happen), they can't get by with just saying, "well, at least it isn't libel."

4 RC neo-Jew  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:45:21am
5 insane_kufr  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:45:51am

this issue will be resolved with Rather's "retirement". It's in the script, people!
Stop asking the embarrassing questions and making your pointed comments. We, C-BS, offer the artificial sacrificial lamb - Dan, and YOU WILL LIKE IT!
That is all.

6 Joel  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:48:12am

OT - wjhen I first saw this headline I thought they were referring to the BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, etc.

Media Told to Halt Anti-Israel Incitement

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- The interim Palestinian leader has ordered government-controlled media to halt broadcasts of material that could incite hatred against Israel, Palestinian officials said Tuesday.
7 ZMB2  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:50:21am

Going out on a limb here, the complete and total truth about memogate will be missing from the final report.

Fake, but accurate. One of the best phrases of the year.

8 Ward Cleaver  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:50:43am

#2 bigel

That ain't no joke. The anchors are like NBA coaches, going from one high-paying job to the next.

Pelley used to be good (he was a local reporter for WFAA here in Dallas, years ago), but he's been brainwashed by his association with the network types.

9 bigel[deleted]  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:51:53am
10 IMMORTAL_CTHULHU  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:52:19am

If only they hadn't totally dismissed Bernie Goldberg, they might have managed to retain a small shred of integrity. But, arrogance and respect for your viewers do not mix well. They live in their own isolated moonbat world.

11 bummer  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:57:58am

I'm sure everyone will agree that Rather was at one time a well respected journalist and anchor man, probably even the best in the business, but now...
Well, this joke says is so-o-o-o appropriate:

A man was sitting at the bar crying into his beer. I asked him what was wrong. He raised his head and pointed out of the window.
"Do you see that bridge across the river? I built that bridge with my hands and the sweat from my brow. I built that bridge but do the people call me Dan the bridge builder?
No."
"Do you see the ship in the docks? I worked on that ship 15 hours a day for 3 years but do they call me Dan the ship builder?
No."
"The streets, the houses in the town. I, Dan built them all but am I known as Dan the house builder?"
"No."
"But you f#@% one goat..."
12 stefania  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:59:51am

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO MUCH FOR THE BRITISH APPEASERS TO CONDEMN THE REGIME.. SO THEY THINK THAT BY CONDEMNING AN IRANIAN EXILE THEY WILL GAIN MORE OIL CONTRACTS FROM THE REGIME


UK condemns TV man who Iran hardliners want dead


"The British government does not share Mr Fouladvand's views," said Matthew Gould, deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Tehran. "We deplore any attacks on Islam ... We condemn those who stir up division."

Call it EUslam

13 RC neo-Jew  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:00:17am

#9 bigel

I didn't write it but I agreed with every word of it!

There are a few sensible people here who love Israel - and Julie Burchill's so in-yer-face about it! Her writing is a breath of fresh air after the foul and reeking stuff that the BBC, Al Guardian, Der Independent Sturmer and Channel 4 news pump into the atmosphere.

14 stefania  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:03:39am
"We deplore any attacks on Islam

Pure Dhimmitude

15 winemaker  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:05:44am

BummerDietz:

"When a publication has a Legal Department that acts as a check-and-balance upon journalists, a serious journal results. When a publication has a Legal Department that has no check-and-balance function but instead exists only to insert minor text edits that maintain the thrust of the story but sidestep libel law, you have a yellow rag."

"As I have said here before, CBS Legal showed that 60 Minutes is a yellow rag, instead of a serious journal. The original story has a claim that memos were from “personal files.” Instead of acting as a check and balance to what was suspected to be a false set of memos, CBS Legal did not shut down the story, but rather merely inserted the “personal files” phrase to provide a plausible defense against the Texas forgery statutes. 60 Minutes is a yellow rag."

Cuts to the core of it.

16 RC neo-Jew  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:09:59am

#12 stefania

You've just reminded me of something. A few years ago there was an Iranian charity based in Britain which supported dissidents and their families, orphans, etc. The Iranian government hated the group who ran it and when our Government started snuggling up to Iran again, this charity was sacrificed in the interests of the new-found 'friendship'. It was closed on the basis of some claim that it broke Charity Laws - the same Charity Laws which it is claimed Hamas (or is it Hezbollah?) isn't breaking....

I'll have to see if I can find any more details with the aid of Google.

17 ibu guru  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:10:18am

#9 bigel

Don't laugh, even here in NYC a lot of cab drivers are Muslim, and most women loathe taking a cab here for that reason.

Most of them arrived/remain in violation of immigration laws, too. There is a commercial driving school in Manhattan which arranges taxi driver licenses for illegal aliens (featured on PBS a few years ago).

NY state law does not require that commercial drivers have previously been licensed for some period of time, does not require a road test for commercial licenses, does not require proof of legal residence & work authorization for commercial DLs. Thus illegals have a way to get ID, earn money & remain here, scope out terror targets, harrass women, etc.

I still say the best thing this country could do would be to strictly enforce immigration laws (including interior enforcement), and deport all lawbreakers. It would cut the muzz problem in half since so many enter or remain in violation of immigration laws. Solve a lot of other problems, too, like crime, housing shortage, wage declines, under- & un-employment, crowded schools...

18 lawhawk  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:11:53am

Here are two new and novel solutions for the CBS Evening News replacement situation:

1) Use Max Headroom or a reasonable simulacrum. No crazy salaries to pay for a timeslot that no one really watches anymore. Heck, why waste a guy like Russert on the evening news when you can simply put a running crawl and a talking head who replicates stories off the wires. Indeed, it's no different than most people who call into one of those automated customer service systems. Get an appealing voice, an attractive face, and you've got yourself an ageless wonder.

2) Replace him with static. No one watches the show. No one will miss it as I note in 1) - fewer and fewer people are watching and those that do wouldn't miss it except for having new material on which to base months worth of comedic material. What does CBS News have to lose? They've lost the time slot for years, ratings are lower than Nicolette Sheridan's towel upon seeing TO, and nothing is going to change that dynamic. Kill off the show, and put some counter programming - another CSI show - maybe one based on handwriting and paper analysis. Call it CSI: Kinkos. Bet the ratings for the timeslot go thru the roof.

19 quark2  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:14:58am

As usual BummerDietz is spot on.
The only way the truth will out, is if someone in SeeBullShi'ite leaks it to the public. Kind of like the Pentagon Papers.

20 stefania  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:22:28am

But of course the Islamic Jihadists can freely express their "opinions" in the streets of London..

21 big L  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:25:30am

Fish rots fromthe head down, I've heard. It seems that the Rather-Mapes-CBS legal dept trio has the backing of HQ of CBS and above that. Makes it worse.

Perhaps CBS should jump the shark and hire Laura Ingraham as anchor. The ratings would go through the roof and the heavy counter-balance of the rest of CBS News as LLL/DNC spokespeoples would give CBS cover amongst their friends and they'd still be invited to the parties.

22 RC neo-Jew  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:28:13am

Still OT with the Iranian charity. Can't quite work out what happened here. I remember that the Charity Commissioners took a long time to investigate it and it all looked rather suspicious at the time, according to these people.

On the other hand, the charity seems to have been started up again shortly afterwards, under a slightly different title - and is still operating.

All rather mysterious.

23 bummer  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:40:17am

#18 lawhawk

A virtual human replacement would be excellent.

Of course the downside to this is that artificial intelligence would still be used.

24 lawhawk  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:50:53am

Posted this in the wrong place, but pretty much repeats what we've known for some time. Rather was nuts. Having conversations with ghosts. No wonder he didn't have enough time to fact check his stories. He was too busy rapping with Murrow.

25 Rancher  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 8:52:42am

#5 insane_kufr

this issue will be resolved with Rather's "retirement".

He’s not retiring, just leaving the anchor’s chair. He’ll still work both 60 Minutes programs. He is just being relieved of the “tyranny of the clock”. (Remember Peter Jennings and the homeless guy?)

26 bigel[deleted]  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 9:00:58am
27 Joel  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 9:28:36am

Julie Birchell I agree is fabulous, so is Stephen Pollard and Melanie Phillips. The BRitish meida has got to be even more anti Israel then the Egyptian media.

28 Millie Woods  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 9:39:35am

Bigel, do you know how I can link to the Julie Burchill article? I read it on line but forget where and would like to send it to one of my husband's college mates who now lives in Israel.

29 Terp Mole  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 11:00:21am

Easy-on-the-eyes Michelle Malkin writes;

I don't usually link to Fark (great stuff, but often too risque for my admittedly prudish tastes), but they have a funny Photoshop contest envisioning how Dan Rather will spend his retirement.
30 RC neo-Jew  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 12:15:54pm

#28 Millie Woods

You can read Julie Burchill's article here.

31 RC neo-Jew  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 12:18:18pm

#26 bigel

Apart from the fact that I'm very attached to my country, Israel's got to have some friends here! Though I think there are more than you realise.

32 RC neo-Jew  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 12:29:17pm

#27 Joel

Ah yes - Melanie Phillips!

Scroll down a bit for "British Bias Corporation (part 908)" - I don't know how the BBC has the nerve to pretend it is unbiased, when transcripts of remarks by 'journalists' like Barbara Plett show it to be shamelessly on the side of the palestinians.

33 theatrical homeschooler  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 12:47:03pm

I wonder how the legal departments of ABC and NBC are operating? Are they heavy into yellow rag mode? I wouldn't be surprised. They just haven't been as flagrantly caught yet.

34 Millie Woods  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 4:01:35pm

RC neo-Jew, many thanks. I've sent the article.
By one of those six degrees of separation quirks, it turns out that Shimon, husband's former classmate now living in Israel, is married to a woman who once worked for Israel's equivalent of Bill Gates who relocated in the Bay area and started a company called EFI (Electronics for Imaging).
Well one of my former colleagues and very good friends whose husband was headhunted from Monntreal to Silicon Valley ended up working for EFI when it was a start up. Ca va sans dire as we say in Montreal, she did very well by being in at the beginning and what a small world finding that Shimon's wife had had the same boss.
Incidentally, I'll be meeting the Israelis for the first time in the summer of 2005 in the UK when a reunion of the engineers from the now defunct Royal Aircraft Establishment is planned. Thanks again.

35 ontevreden aubergine  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 5:14:04pm

No one gives a shit about this nonsense anymore. Give it up. And #19, nice equating Watergate with this so-called controversy. This blog is always stocked with level-headed, rational thinkers, alright.

36 MikeR  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:15:21pm

No one's chaining you to this site, #35.

37 Horsesoldier  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:23:30pm

#35 Unpronounceable asshole

Forgery is still a crime. Much like perjury.

38 Horsesoldier  Tue, Nov 30, 2004 7:26:16pm

#35 Unpronounceable asshole

Oh by the way oh wise one, Watergate and the Pentagon Papers were separate events.

DUH!


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