LGF

-RetweetGetting The News From The Enemy

Sun, Nov 26, 2006 at 8:13:02 am PST

Remember the story that hit the media on Friday, about a group of Sunni Muslims burned alive by Shi’ite insurgents in Iraq? Curt at Flopping Aces investigated the report (it’s probably bogus) and discovered yet another case of the media Getting The News From The Enemy.

In the same defeatist media vein, Patterico discovers a nonexistent airstrike, reported by the LA Times: Is the L.A. Times Repeating Enemy Propaganda?

Advertisement

102 comments

  • Comments are open and unmoderated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Little Green Footballs.
  • Obscene, abusive, silly, or annoying remarks may be deleted, but the fact that particular comments remain on the site in no way constitutes an endorsement of their views by Little Green Footballs.
  • Posts that contain phone numbers, street addresses, email addresses or other personal information will also be deleted, as will posts that consist only of a variation on the word, "First!"
  • Comments that advocate violence will be cause for immediate banning with no appeal.
  • Disagreement and debate are welcome, but insults and abuse are not, and may cause your account to be blocked.
  • REMEMBER: posting comments at LGF is a privilege, not a right. Abuse that privilege, and your account will be blocked.

Hide comments | Jump to bottom

1 crashnburn  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:14:49am

Just like our folks did back in WWII, right?

2 JammieWearingFool  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:15:26am

Well, the media is the enemy, after all.

3 TotallySirius  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:15:53am

First faux-tography from the enemy,now faux stories from the same sources.

Color me surprised...not!

4 BigZ  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:16:08am

What's bad for America, is good for the LLL.

Should you be surprised?

Dems and al Qaeda . . . United to defeat Republicans.

5 BabbaZee  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:16:10am

The MSM is the NME

6 TotallySirius  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:16:38am

Gramscian whores of the caliphate.

7 shug  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:16:49am

I saw ambulance driver guy ( From Zombie's fake ambulance attack story ) on TV last night ( Fox news footage ) you remember him ( the guy bandaged one minute, and not injured at all teh next )

He was sitting on a stretcher, rocking and moaning.
Couldn't see a scratch on him, but he was in a hospital gown on a stretcher as a "victim of Israeli attacks"


I never forget a face!

FAKE BASTARDS

8 mama winger  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:17:06am

#2 JWF

Well, the media is the enemy, after all.

Don't let Cognito hear you. You'll be in for a world of hurt.

9 BabbaZee  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:17:39am

#6 TotallySirius
Amen!

10 shug  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:18:16am

All the News that's fit to invent

11 Dave the.....  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:18:41am

As I said the other day, the "A" section of my paper, which is almost entirely wire service national and international stories, goes directly into the recycling bin.

12 JammieWearingFool  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:18:48am

Another laughable Reuters story.

Thousands protest Pope's visit to Turkey

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Some 20,000 Muslims held a "Pope, don't come" rally in Istanbul on Sunday in a peaceful protest against Pope Benedict's visit to Turkey this week.

Benedict, due to begin his first official visit to a Muslim country next Tuesday, angered many Muslims in September with a speech they took as an insult to Islam. He later expressed regret but did not offer an apology.

Youths wearing headbands with Islamic scripts, beating drums and waving Turkish flags chanted "the Pope made a mistake, our patience has run out."

Ah yes, the always patient Muslim yoots.

13 JammieWearingFool  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:20:04am
8 mama winger 11/26/2006 08:17AM PST

#2 JWF

Well, the media is the enemy, after all.

Don't let Cognito hear you. You'll be in for a world of hurt.

How so?

What if I'm going incognito?

14 looking closely  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:21:04am

Disgusting.
Where is the REAL war coverage?

15 TotallySirius  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:21:24am

#12 JWF

"I cannot remain silent when the Prophet Mohammed is insulted. I love him more than myself," said Husamettin Aycan Alp, 25, a science student from Izmir in western Turkey.

And that is the problem.

16 shug  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:22:03am

Follow up to #7

This was the guy I saw on yesterday's TV report
[Link: zombietime.com...]

[Link: zombietime.com...]

Rocking and moaning for the cameras. What a littel bitch. He wasn't hurt at all. It makes me so angry they get away with this damned fraud

17 EC Marm  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:23:28am

Wow, I read this and the post before about the cease fire, and my eyeballs are about to pop out.

/not for the faint of heart

18 mama winger  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:25:55am

#13 JWF

Cognito seems to be of the belief that there is no such thing as the MSM, let alone a MSM that is actively in cahoots with the enemy.

19 mama winger  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:27:35am

#17 EC Marm

I have had eyeballs pop out on me at work, especially with Pugs and Shih Tzus and similar breeds. Ya just pop 'em back in. :)

20 JammieWearingFool  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:28:26am

mama winger,

mama winger 11/26/2006 08:25AM PST

#13 JWF

Cognito seems to be of the belief that there is no such thing as the MSM, let alone a MSM that is actively in cahoots with the enemy.

Then he's not reading LGF much, is he?

21 mama winger  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:29:36am

#20 JWF

It appears not. But there's always hope, eh?

22 JammieWearingFool  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:31:58am

Maybe I'm just seeing things more clearly today, but the comments boxes seem to really stand out now.

OK, now return to righteous media bashing.

23 mama winger  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:32:15am

BTW Jammie -

I hope you saw my post to you calling you a crackhead for predicting the Packers by 10 points.

24 GuyInCT  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:33:31am

It is a little confusing. MSM reporters can't be so completely morally bankrupt, can they? Apparently they can be.

25 saywhat?  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:33:41am

We've all witnessed the accolades and awards showered on msm for this type of reporting (shill for NME propaganda).

In recent weeks, Charles/LGF has been recognized for exposing this fauxtography/propaganda effort . . .unfortunately it appears that wasn't enough to bring change.

Duranty was never made accountable for his propaganda at NYT as they still hold his falsely earned award.

Perhaps I'm just terribly impatient, how can we effectively force accountability with the msm?

26 jaynumber13  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:34:00am
#12 JammieWearingFool

Ah yes, the always patient Muslim yoots.

They are world-renown for their patience and temperance, you know.

27 mama winger  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:37:36am

#25 saywhat?

Unfortunately in the MSM there does not appear to be any licensing standards or professional credentials as in other fields. I don't think there is any peer review or oversight either. Probably due to the whole 1st amendment thing. Anybody can pretty much shoot their mouth off any way they.

However, like in any business, if customers don't like the product, they switch or go without. That's why I switched to things like LGF. I hardly listen to the news anymore unless it is live coverage of something. I don't want the MSM filter picking and choosing for me anymore.

28 Tasty Beverage  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:37:37am

That was an excellent piece of work by Curt at Flopping Aces. The last paragraph sums up the problem precisely:

So what we now know is that not one person in the Iraqi police below the rank of Chief is supposed to talk to our media but of course they all ignore this. Our MSM would rather get some hysterical lies that sound good, that sound like anarchy, rather then getting their facts straight.

Of course, this is not new. William T. Sherman's and Mark Twain's comments about journalists' behavior during the Civil War and beyond indicate that nothing has changed.

Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. It is far
better that you fear the media, for they will steal your HONOR. That awful
power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of
ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking
and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse.

-- Mark Twain

I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as
facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are.

-- William T. Sherman

29 JammieWearingFool  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:38:26am
mama winger 11/26/2006 08:32AM PST

BTW Jammie -

I hope you saw my post to you calling you a crackhead for predicting the Packers by 10 points.

When/where did you say that? Here? I pick them getting 10 today.

30 akak  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:39:54am

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Hamas hardliner Khaled Meshaal’s deposits in Cairo a list of tough, non-negotiable ultimatums for a ceasefire and Palestinian unity

November 26, 2006, 12:46 PM (GMT+02:00)

Meshaal’s consent to finally travel to Cairo last week raised some hopes that he had come around to accepting a Palestinian unity government and discussing the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit. He soon dashed those hopes. Our sources learn he has left Cairo leaving behind a list of tough demands and headed for Yemen to lead a secret Hamas conference called to plot the next Palestinian-Israeli war.

These demands are disclosed here by our military sources:

1. To procure Shalit’s release, Israeli must free 1,400 jailed Palestinians in three stages, including all Hamas, Fatah and other terrorists, such as Marwan Barghouti, who was convicted to six life sentences for murdering six Israelis.

For the first batch of 400 women and minors, the Israeli soldier will be handed to Egypt. After the second batch of 500 (including the murderers) is released, Shalit’s parents and Israeli representatives will be allowed to see him.

2. Israel must halt all military operations in the Gaza and West Bank, including preventive detentions.

3. For his consent to a Palestinian unity government, the Hamas politburo chief wants a mechanism for opening the Palestinian Liberation Organization umbrella to Hamas membership and appointing him permanent chairman in place of Mahmoud Abbas.

Meshaal will thus acquire total control of the Palestinian movement and its resources worldwide.

4. Hamas will retain treasury, interior and foreign affairs in the unity government.

5. Within six months, Israel must withdraw to the June 4, 1967 borders and an independent Palestinian state established, else the Palestinians will wage a third intifada.

DEBKAfile’s military sources seriously question the wisdom of prime minister Ehud Olmert’s alacrity in accepting Mahmoud Abbas’ assurance of a missile ceasefire binding on all the terrorist groups. Olmert, foreign minister Tzipi Livni and defense minister Amir Peretz, who decided on acceptance, must have realized that the ceasefire on offer would not hold. First, because Meshaal instructed Hamas to hold out for its extension to the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip; and, second, because Hamas transferred a large quantity of Qassam missiles to the Iran-sponsored Jihad Islami and the Fatah al Aqsa Brigades and other terrorist branches. They were directed to keep the missiles coming and so make a sham of the purported ceasefire declared for 06:00 hours Sunday, Nov. 26. By precipitately pulling the Israeli units away from their successful counter-missile operations in N. Gaza, the Olmert government made way for the missile crews to return to their firing sites and keep up the barrage against Israeli civilian locations without pause. Thirteen were fired – most exploding in Sderot before 10:00 am Sunday. Their pretext? A number of suspected terrorists was detained in Hebron, West Bank, early Sunday. Olmert responded by urging “restraint” to give the Palestinians another chance.

31 lowandslow  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:41:02am

The dumbest headline ever.

Gaza truce takes hold despite rocket fire

32 sailordude  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:41:19am

Sorry folks, but I'm gonna have to stick with the Founding Fathers on this whole Freedom of the Press thing.

Vote with your wallet.

33 mama winger  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:41:24am

#29 Jammie

On the dead thread, when you first posted your picks:

#370 Jammie

Oh, poor naive little Jammie...


Packers by 10? Are you on crack?

Favre's 115- year old arm is hurt and besides that the Packers SUCK!


Packers lose. Etch it in stone, JWF :)

34 itellu3times  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:42:30am

You see, this is a result of downsizing here in Los Angeles and outsourcing the work to low-paid foreigners. The laid off the guy here in Los Angeles who used to make up this stuff. I think the LATimes has already printed their entire news sections through the end of 2006, just keeping a skeleton crew together to do the sports sections.

35 Mike C.  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:43:33am

# 28 T B

Great Twain quotation.

36 LeftJustAintRight  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:45:40am

When LGF and other new media report the truth we get sued,when MSM reports only partial truths and what they want the news to be,and lies,they get applause.
We need a way to hold them responsible,lets start News Fact or Fiction thread.?

Also we need to start a political record thread to expose the voting records of the elected officials,and where campaign dollars are coming from.

If they exist already,send me the links please.David

37 Luigi  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:47:25am

My thoughts on Putin and the Litvinenko affair.

First of all, let's get one thing straight. Litvinenko wrote a book in 2002 called Blowing up Russia: Terror from Within. The Telegraph says:

In the book Blowing up Russia, published in 2002, Mr Litvinenko alleged that agents from the [KGB sucessor ognization] FSB coordinated the 1999 apartment block bombings in Moscow that killed more than 300 people. Russian officials blamed the explosions on Chechen separatists and, using them as a casus belli, attacked the capital, Grozny, killing thousands of people.

Here's the page from the Telegraph article:
[Link: www.telegraph.co.uk...]


Here's the book on sale at Amazon:
[Link: www.amazon.com...]

So. We have the pre-911 Putin allegedly blowing up buildings in Moscow so he can blame it on the Arabs so he can go to war in Grozny. And, if anyone dares to make this claim he allegedly snuffs them. Two so far that we know of -- journalist Anna Politkovskaya and now Litvinenko.

The thing that really burns my chaps is that about a third of the America people believe, without any justification, that Bush and Cheney blew up the World Trade Center so they could go to war in the Middle East. If you say that loudly enough and long enough they'll probably put you on television. However, if you make the analagous claim about Putin, they'll kill you.

Based on these set of facts, I'm just going to go way out on a limb here and speculate that the nutball 911 theories that so may people believe is Soviet style Russian disinformation, agit-prop literally originating from the actual brick-and-mortar Kremlin in geographic Moscow and spread to the public through the vestiges of Soviet media aparatus.

Following closely the Litvinenko affair since his death, I have seen news reports originating from third-world venues that attempt to attach some suspicion for Litvinenko's death first to Jewish tycoon Berezovsky and next to some unnamed "Israeli businessman". (I didn't save the links. Trust me.) At this juncture I am tempted to talk about some of the Tsar's antisemitic machinations.

Let me just briefly bring up the fact that Putin has been instrumental in the nuclear arming of Iran, and performs yeoman's work to shield their nuclear program from any international controls. In fact, Europe is now in range for anything Iran can stick on the end of a Communist Korean missle. The bottom line is that Iran is now an integrated element of the Russian Rocket Korps.

What's next? I suppose Iran's insistence that the Jews go back to Europe will be met by a generous offer from Putin to provide a homeland for them somewhere in Russia.

38 Noam Sayin'  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:47:40am
39 new_tommy  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:47:54am

OT.

Ahmadinejad's offer: "Quit Iraq and we will help you!"

"Let us put our hands together and expel enemies who are against humanity from our countries and our sacred lands," he said.

Kumbaya, My Lord. Kumbaya.

40 LuckyDog  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:48:58am

Mega kudos to Charles and all the witty and informed posters on this site. I never come away disappointed for the time I spend here. In the presence of such intellect I remain silent to keep from removing all doubt.

Soldier on.

41 BigZ  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:49:39am

#30 akak - Whoa. Disgusting!
But, it doesn't surprise me. Why should it? So far, every time they've faced down the IDF, Israel has caved, along with the extreme pressure from the rest of the LLL to do so.

The only thing these detestable cave thugs is force - BRUTE FORCE, and LOTS of it!

And until someone is willing to step up and respond to these thugs, their behavior will only be reinforced and continue.

42 J.D.  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:50:57am
There are two sayings that are familiar in every news room across the country:
1) sex sells; 2) if it bleeds it leads.
~Armstrong Williams
43 Promethea  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:59:09am

#41 BigZ . . .

The only thing these detestable cave thugs is force - BRUTE FORCE, and LOTS of it!

This is so true.

Which leads me to a question I left for LGFers on last night's blue flag thread:

Question for LGFers . . .

Someone on LGF recently recommended a good history of the decline of the Roman Empire. This book challenged the fairly recent view of historians that the decline was not too terrible for the inhabitants of the empire. Apparently things were, in fact, rather grim for the average person.

Does anyone remember the name of this book? I tried to find it on Amazon, but came up with only two possible authors--Michael Grant and Peter Heather. The Heather book is the most recent one. I couldn't tell much from the Amazon reviews.

I have a coupon from Barnes & Noble that I want to spend on the appropriate book.

Thanks, all you learned people ! ! !

44 lioness  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:03:11am

OT - Yet another Leak to the NYT...

U.S. Finds Iraq Insurgency Has Funds to Sustain Itself


[Link: www.nytimes.com...]

45 BigZ  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:03:28am

Promethea - sorry but I can't help on the book. Sounds like a worthwhile read, though.

I agree with you on the brute force issue. Here's a good read along those lines, if you're interested. (I admit I posted the same link yesterday in another thread, but this article keeps growing on me.)


[Link: www.americanthinker.com...]

46 Ellen  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:03:34am

Our local newspaper had the story about the 6 men burned to death in screaming big headlines, but the story was thin and insubstantial. Now I see why. Kudos to Curt for doing the invesigation that the newservices are too lazy to do.

47 Mike C.  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:05:54am

# 40 LD

In the presence of such intellect I remain silent to keep from removing all doubt.

Um, isn't a bit early to start drinking heavily ?

48 akak  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:07:14am

37 Luigi

what do the Yukos documents have to do with it all?

49 solomonpanting  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:08:24am

THE 'EURABIA' MYTH

Some sample excerpts:

THE historical patterns are clear: When Europeans feel sufficiently threatened - even when the threat's concocted nonsense - they don't just react, they over-react with stunning ferocity. One of their more-humane (and frequently employed) techniques has been ethnic cleansing...
And Europe's Muslims don't even have roots, by historical standards. For the Europeans, they're just the detritus of colonial history. When Europeans feel sufficiently provoked and threatened - a few serious terrorist attacks could do it - Europe's Muslims will be lucky just to be deported.

50 brandnew  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:09:21am

Heh™

[Link: www.google.com...]

Is this my very expert practice in the august field of Fauxtography, or is this an accurate report from the Cycles of Violence?

51 Thor-Zone  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:09:26am

It is the same old - same old...

The media reports what they want to. Much of the time their stories parallel the actual truth just enough so people believe what they publish is generally true.

One thing that always amazes me is that there is a feeding frenzy on certain stories (like the Foley scandal) and then other seemingly important stories (like how overspending by the govt is wrecking our economy) do not see the light of day.

Also, much of the time they do not do the work they should do to get the actual facts because they are lazy. They get information that is not true, they go with whatever their "sources" tell them without actually checking it out, and then distribute information that is not correct.

I am sure there is also a bit of trying to get out their political spin in every story as well.

52 new_tommy  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:10:00am

OT.

British Iraq veteran stabbed to death in Wales:

[Link: icwales.icnetwork.co.uk...]

53 Thor-Zone  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:18:57am

#24 GuyInCT

It is a little confusing. MSM reporters can't be so completely morally bankrupt, can they? Apparently they can be.


They're just ignorant and lazy.

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

Dean Vernon Wormer

54 akak  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:19:10am
If we don't get the right answer, then it is time to put the whole institution of Islam on same enemy list with Hamas and Al-Qaeda

http://feedlot.blogspot.com/2006/11/confronting-is lam.html

55 RadicalRon  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:20:15am

The Fourth Estate is a Fifth Column?

Such mishegas!

56 THX-42  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:20:59am

It used to be that newspapers managed to control their inclination to propagandize by limiting it (correctly) to their "Opinion" section. And I used to accept that as their right. Now, however, they propagandize in EVERY section, including the "Entertainment" section. The LA Times and NY Times are both notorious for plastering their front page with "feature" articles that are blatant opinion pieces masquerading as "in depth" news articles.

As much as I used to love poring over my paper, I have cancelled my subscription. I refuse to contribute to their propaganda campaigns. This is the ONLY way to stop them. Starve them out of business.

57 lawhawk  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:25:47am

This is yet another example in a long line of news items coming from the Middle East that have been generated out of whole cloth or provided by the terrorists themselves. After all, we learned that a Hamas cameraman was killed (name please?) whose footage was provided to the Western media - and now that same Western media outlets aren't providing a name to associate with this.

Where's Reporters Without Borders to complain about the death of one of their own journalists killed?

Then again, RWB doesn't quite mind when journalists stage manage events in Lebanon or invent incidents that didn't quite happen the way they claim. More here.

58 LuckyDog  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:27:39am

#47 Mike

I don't know where you are, but where I am it 9:30. So here's to you.

59 Luigi  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:30:08am

48 akak

Sorry, I don't know.

60 JammieWearingFool  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:31:14am

mama winger,

3 mama winger 11/26/2006 08:41AM PST

#29 Jammie

On the dead thread, when you first posted your picks:

#370 Jammie

Oh, poor naive little Jammie...


Packers by 10? Are you on crack?

Favre's 115- year old arm is hurt and besides that the Packers SUCK!


Packers lose. Etch it in stone, JWF :)

For the record, I picked the Packers +10, but Seattle to win 27-23.

61 leftout  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:35:35am

I don't read newspapers unless they are left on the table at work. I'm an information junkie, but I consider the daily newspapers ideologically driven propaganda not worth purchasing.

The salient fact I notice about newspapers across America is that there is little news gathering by the papers themselves. If you look at the source it is almost exclusively AP, Reuters, AFP, et al.

The corporate newspapers buy stories from the international press services and disseminate the internationalist, secular progressive anti-American line to the local readers. For them it's cheaper than paying staff to gather facts and write stories.

What is bothersome to me is how few people, who are not necessarily liberals, realize the propaganda and lies they are being fed.

62 RadicalRon  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 7:47:39am
#49 solomonpanting

THE 'EURABIA' MYTH

Some sample excerpts:

THE historical patterns are clear: When Europeans feel sufficiently threatened - even when the threat's concocted nonsense - they don't just react, they over-react with stunning ferocity. One of their more-humane (and frequently employed) techniques has been ethnic cleansing...
And Europe's Muslims don't even have roots, by historical standards. For the Europeans, they're just the detritus of colonial history. When Europeans feel sufficiently provoked and threatened - a few serious terrorist attacks could do it - Europe's Muslims will be lucky just to be deported.

And Mark Steyn counters.

63 solomonpanting  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 8:10:35am

62 RadicalRon

Thanks for the link. Yes, I'm aware of Styne's (and others) demographical doom predictions. It could be a race between a Muslim population bomb and Europeans reaching a breaking point.

64 J.D.  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 8:22:34am
...Police Capt. Jamil Hussein said Iraqi soldiers at a nearby army post failed to intervene in the burnings of Sunnis carried out by suspected members of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia, or in subsequent attacks that torched four Sunni mosques and killed at least 19 other Sunnis, including women and children, in the same northwest Baghdad area.

Imad al-Hasimi, a Sunni elder in Hurriyah, confirmed Hussein's account. He told Al-Arabiya television he saw people who were soaked in kerosene, then set afire, burning before his eyes.

Two workers at Kazamiyah Hospital said the bodies from the clashes and immolations had been taken to the morgue at their facility. They refused to be identified by name, saying they feared retribution.

In spite of the police and witness accounts, however, President Jamal Talabani appeared to discount the reports. He emerged from meetings with other Iraqi political leaders late Friday and said Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obaidi told him that the Hurriyah neighborhood had been quiet throughout the day.

According to Hussein, the police official, militiamen rampaged through the district, setting fire to several homes in addition to the four mosques that were bombed and burned.

Some residents claimed that the Mahdi Army, the militia loyal to radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has begun kidnapping and holding Sunni hostages in order to slaughter them at funerals of Shiite victims of Baghdad's sectarian violence.

Such claims cannot be verified but speak to the deep fear that grips Baghdad, where retaliation has become a part of daily life. ...


Coalition Destroys Bomb Making Factory

65 Right Side  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 8:37:03am

#51 Thor-Zone:

The media reports what they want to. Much of the time their stories parallel the actual truth just enough so people believe what they publish is generally true.


There's one more point, that I have harped on in the past: The media has a herd mentality. If one of them latches on to a story with legs, the whole bunch of them will follow up on it. They're like sharks--if one gets a bite, the others will come swarming to the scent of blood in the water.

And that can work either for you or against you, depending on whether you or your enemy is the one who shed the first blood.

It means that to deal with the media,

Nothing Succeeds Like Success

I've harped on that because it explains much.

If you do enough things right, the media will start to climb aboard to "explain" to their audience why you are succeeding. In the 1991 Gulf War, as the U.S. was evidently clobbering the Iraqi forces, there started appearing in the media all kinds of stories about the bravery and ingenuity of our soldiers, the technical brilliance of our high-tech weapons, and the stupidity of Saddam.

Whereas if you start to fail, then the press smells blood in the water and will swarm over you, digging out every real (or imagined or even bogus) error or lie, to "explain" why you are failing.

The Iraq War is a real mess. Even its defenders admit that it has NOT turned out as was originally hoped.

And when you get a mess like that, the media is going to turn very hostile. The script will be not "Why is the U.S. winning so handily?" but "Why did the U.S. screw up so badly?"

66 MoonbatBane  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 8:58:14am

Is the L.A. Times Repeating Enemy Propaganda?

Yes. Next easy question?

/The MSM are the enemy.

67 Cognito  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 8:59:23am

18 mama winger,

How nice to find you thinking of me on a Sunday afternoon.

However: I'd rather you let me speak for myself.

My only hangup is with people who say "the media are the enemy," because it's just silly. Some media do right, others do wrong. Some tell the truth, others don't.

Don't you agree?

68 MoonbatBane  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 8:59:58am

#24 GuyInCT 11/26/2006 08:33AM PST

It is a little confusing. MSM reporters can't be so completely morally bankrupt, can they?

Ah, the next easy question! Yes, as a matter of fact, they are. Comes from all the cognitive dissonance, self-loathing, and arrogance...

69 cbinflux  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 9:19:20am
In the same defeatist media vein, Patterico discovers a nonexistent airstrike, reported by the LA Times: Is the L.A. Times Repeating Enemy Propaganda?

Technically, no. We're the enemy of the LA (and NY) Times

70 zulubaby  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 9:43:01am
A woman married three times walked into a bridal shop one day and
told the sales clerk that she was looking for a wedding gown for her
fourth wedding. Of course, madam," replied the sales clerk, "exactly
what type and color dress are you looking for?"

The bride to be said: "A long frilly white dress with a veil." The
sales clerk hesitated a bit, then said, "Please don't take this the
wrong way, but gowns of that nature are considered more appropriate
for brides who are being married the first time - for those who are
a bit more innocent, if you know what I mean? Perhaps ivory or sky
blue would be nice?"

"Well," replied the customer, a little peeved at the clerk's
directness, "I can assure you that a white gown would be quite
appropriate. Believe it or not, despite all my marriages, I remain
as innocent as any first-time bride. You see, my first husband was
so excited about our wedding, he died as we were checking into our
hotel.

My second husband and I got into such a terrible fight in the
limousine on our way to our honeymoon that we had that wedding
annulled immediately and never spoke to each other again."

"What about your third husband?" asked the sales clerk.

"In some ways, it was the worst. That one was a Democrat," said the
woman, and every night for four years, he just sat on the edge of
the bed and told me how good it was going to be."
71 zulubaby  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 9:44:34am
Democratic National Convention 2008 Agenda
7:00 PM Opening flag burning
7:15 PM Pledge of allegiance to the U.N.
7:30 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
7:30 - 8:00 PM Nonreligious prayer and worship led by Rev. Jesse Jackson & Rev. Al Sharpton
8:00 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
8:05 PM Ceremonial tree hugging
8:15 - 8:30 PM Gay wedding with Barney Frank officiating
8:30 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
8:35 PM Free Saddam Rally led by Cindy Sheehan & Susan Sarandon
9:00 PM Keynote speech: "The Proper Etiquette for Surrender" by French President Jacques Chirac
9:15 PM John Kerry honors veterans before he makes a joke about them
9:20 PM Collection to benefit the Osama bin Laden Kidney Transplant Fund
9:30 PM Unveiling of plan to free freedom fighters from Guantanamo Bay - Sean Penn
9:40 PM Why I Hate the Military - a short talk by William Jefferson Clinton
9:45 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
9:50 PM Dan Rather presented the Truth in Broadcasting Award by Michael Moore
9:55 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
10:00 PM How George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld brought down the World Trade Center by Howard "YeeHah" Dean
10:30 PM Nomination of Hillary Clinton by Mahmoud Ahmandinejad
11:00 PM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
11:05 PM Al Gore reinvents the Internet
11:15 PM "Our Troops are War Criminals" - John Kerry
11:30 PM Coronation of Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton
12:00 AM Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
12:05 AM Bill asks Ted to drive Hillary home
72 J.D.  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 9:48:24am

#70 zulubaby
funnneee

73 zulubaby  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 10:02:33am

J.D., thought I'd just sneak those in for fun ... :-)

74 WriterMom  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 10:06:48am

zulubaby!

75 zulubaby  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 10:09:03am

WriterMamaaa!

76 WriterMom  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 10:09:44am

#43 Promethea

I believe it was either godfrey or Dirk Diggler, but I can't remember the name of the book.

77 Earth2moonbat  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 10:15:07am

Zulu - I have to say that for someone who didn't live in the US for that long, you sure go the donx number. Especially #70; that's so insightful.

I'd say it would be a little more accurate to say that he sat there all of that time talking about how good it will be once you fork over more money to him.

I could illustrate with examples, but I'm sure you know exactly to what I refer.

78 zulubaby  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 10:18:03am

Earth2moonbat, I lived in the US for 11 years! LOL.

79 Earth2moonbat  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 10:24:10am

#78 zulubaby

I didn't know it was that long, but lots of people live here for 70 or 80 years and never figure out what you figured out.

80 zulubaby  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 10:29:42am

Earth2moonbat, I can probably blame that on Charles.

81 penitentman[deleted]  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 11:12:29am
82 hershel  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 11:36:29am

"Is the LA Times Repeating Enemy Propaganda?"

Do bears shit in the woods?

Is the Pope Catholic?

(Yeah I know it's not original but it was just too obvious)

83 Noam Chumpski  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 11:42:15am

The Media isn't biased. They're just really, really dumb and probably lazy.

I went to a college that boasted one of the best Journalism schools in the nation (USA) and several of my fraernity brothers were majoring in Journalism. There were two things that brought them all together:

1. They wanted to "change the world."
2. They were dragging our Cumulative GPA down witht their "C" averages.

I remember thinking that I wouldn't want to get my news from them. There was a running (and pathetic) joke of sorts that the only students dumber than journalism majors were teaching majors. Go figure.

84 Noam Chumpski  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 11:50:52am

#81 Penit...men... er...

You obviously do not have any contact with people in the industry. Living in Atlanta, several friends and friends of friends work for a major news network. What pervades is not necessarily a bias (even though they all, to a man, vote Democrat and actually helped raise money this year), but their insatiable sense of 'fairness.'

"Fairness" is what drives them to report "all of the angles." They don't understand that making victims out of the enemy is confusing.

Incidentally, they think that Bush has ruined America and many feel that 9/11 was his fault. I'm working on them... but it's taking too much time. :)

85 Acesover8ts  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 12:32:41pm

#81 The media is not biased. Yes it is. The media is not biased. Yes it is. The media is biased. No it is not. The media is not biased. Yes it is. Shit, now I am confused.

86 Cognito  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 1:04:48pm

81 p-man,

I'm probably the biggest proponent here for the idea that blaming the media is a position of weakness.

But to say there's no bias is just wrong. There's terrible bias. It's not quite the conspiracy that some people think it is -- scheming, monocled Media Bosses counting their money bags -- but it certainly is pervasive.

I could explain why, but hey, I'm lazy and nobody wants to read a thousand-word post.

87 easy  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 2:55:36pm

#83 Chumpster

The Media isn't biased. They're just really, really dumb and probably lazy.


I say go with all three. They almost always get it wrong.

88 Kirly  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 4:28:56pm

#81 Pman

FOX News isn't even much of an antidote. Not that they didn't try...don't get me started on that example of media bias...

and just how would you know anything about Fox news? didn't you say you don't even have cable? explain how you can have an opinion on whether or not fox news is biased when you don't even get fox news?

89 Shiplord Kirel  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 5:13:32pm

Sometimes it doesn't seem that we have made much progress against "the MSM" but we have.

For example, it is hard to imagine a traitorous talking head like Walter Cronkite being the "most trusted man in America" today, or able to make foreign policy and change the outcome of a war on his own initiative.

The institutional media as they have existed since the 1960s are the enemies of American culture and independence. They are no more the "free press" of the Founding Fathers than was Goebbels' propaganda ministry.

There is much yet to be done though, and we can expect many setbacks along the way. Do not be discouraged, the death of the media beast is inevitable on first principles, survival and competition.

90 penitentman[deleted]  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 5:24:45pm
91 penitentman[deleted]  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 5:28:40pm
92 BigZ  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 5:30:50pm

Kirly - the loonies on the left love to hurl insults at FoxNews, and I laugh just about every time I read or hear them. They all claim Fox is biased - but I have yet to hear one of these imbeciles cite an example to back up their claims.

93 Shiplord Kirel  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 5:34:22pm

#91

No, it is not a joke and all the lame ass denials in the world will not change the record that is there for all to see.

I recommend Thomas Frank's

94 Shiplord Kirel  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 5:37:39pm

Try again:

Conquest of Cool

95 Cognito  Sun, Nov 26, 2006 6:01:26pm

P-man,

Here's the thing: People in the media understand that the most important people in their world -- the "owners" of the Fourth Estate -- are the people.

The press represents the people. Adequately or inadequately. And what you find here at Little Green Footballs is a group of people who feel their representation is most definitely inadequate.

So to dismiss the opinions here as "jokes" or "hysteria" is to misunderstand the importance of what they're saying. Is it statistically important? Not really, as the numbers at LGF are relatively small right now. But they likely offer a glimpse into a broader consumer dissatisfaction.

So it's worth turning the volume down a notch on your posts, and listening. You don't have to always agree -- I certainly don't -- but understanding is always worthwhile.

96 gromster  Mon, Nov 27, 2006 3:02:06am

#18 mama winger

I have an online friend who believes in conspiracy theories (i.e., George W. Bush allegedly was "in on" the 9/11 attack, etc).

She doesn't believe that the media is really either liberal or conservative.

She believes that that all main stream media outlets are run by some shadowy, secret groups, and that they were created to shape how the public thinks about issues, or to get us to focus on what the secret societies and such want us to focus on.

She thinks the media also serve to sucker us all into thinking that the political parties we have are valid, that we can change things with our votes, etc.

Maybe this guy you're talking about on this blog is one of those.

The media are clearly sympathethic to liberals.

I think it was a Pew poll that said that most journalists are liberal.

I've actually seen a few liberals on the web proclaim that the MSM in the U.S.A. is by and large conservative - because it isn't *liberal enough* for their tastes, and one mentioned that most media outlets are owned by the same, small number of corporations.

The vast majority of the American media are most certainly not conservative, that's for sure.

97 Shiplord Kirel  Mon, Nov 27, 2006 3:25:10am

Speaking of the P-man, how delusional do you have to be to think you can insult the opposition into silence?
Is the power of your adolescent invective so great as to outweigh all the evidence presented against the various media outlets? To outweigh Thomas Frank's award-winning cultural history and his McArthur Prize?
We are going to win this debate, because this is all any media apologist has: noise, invective, and authoritarian pronouncements.

You, sir, are the joke.

98 gromster  Mon, Nov 27, 2006 3:35:58am

#81 penitentman
I bet there's more conservative church leaders than liberal ones. That industry is influential too.

But the liberal "Christians" (who I do not consider to be genuine Christians) get all the attention (from the main stream media) - and it's usually positive attention.

When the American press bother to mention conservative, traditional Christians, they are frequently depicted as narrow-minded, hateful, or ignorant.

(Then around election times, you might see the occasional liberal anchor person bemoan the fact that conservative Christians vote for Republicans most often.)

You said,
But here's what really bugs me: Conservatives have adopted this inconvenient condition as their punching bag of choice, knee-jerkingly blaming all their problems...

We have good reason for making the main stream media a punching bag.

It's not so much that we blame the media for lack of victories or successes (although sometimes that is true, sometimes the media are to blame), so much as it's annoying to many of us that no matter what channel, movie, TV show or whatever you tune into (or what newspaper or magazine you read), your conservative beliefs are constantly mocked, insulted, ridiculed and jeered, or else flat-out ignored.

I get tired of being portrayed as a hateful bigot by the main stream media simply for holding (conservative, traditional) values and views (such as I don't think that abortion as birth control, pregnancy outside of wedlock, or homosexuality are acceptable).

There's also typically an anti-American tone that comes out of the main stream media, whether of the news or entertainment variety.

As someone who is a patriotic American, I resent that anti-American prejudice I see appearing in the TV shows, newspapers, and so forth.

In addition, why can't the news shows simply supply the facts and leave their anti-conservative sensibilities out of it?

If they want to write anti-conservative editorials and label it as as such, fine.

The problem is many main stream media sources masquerade OPINION as FACT, (and in the favor of liberalism and against conservativism to boot).

99 Kirly  Mon, Nov 27, 2006 3:42:59am

gromster said

"masquerade OPINION as FACT"


yeah, that's what Pman seems to be doing as well.

Pman, just because you feel or think something doesn't make it reality.

Kirly

100 Shiplord Kirel  Mon, Nov 27, 2006 4:40:55am

There is a major irony in this.
As I have said a number of times, I don't regard the institutional media's characteristic bias as particularly liberal or leftist. It is really nihilistic and elitist and it is only coincidence, a confluence of circumstance, if this typically favors the left more than the right.

It is rooted in the requirements of the advertising industry, and especially in the time-dishonored strategy of representing conformity as rebellion in order to give a product or service as aura of elitist and individualistic appeal that it does not objectively have. This is how the Volkswagen Beetle, a mass-produced product that originated in Nazi Germany, became the very symbol of youthful rebellion and non-conformity during the 1960s.

Given the severe constraints of television in particular, this imagery must be the most superficial and dramatic possible.

The trappings and imagery of the far left are rebellious and individualistic as perceived from the typical viewer's limited frame of reference. Those for whom superficiality is paramount and depth irrelevant, the sound-bite media, develop a natural affinity for such imagery: Che Guevara's shaggy visage, the masked gunman waving his AK, the ragged campesinos at a street barricade. This is especially so since the underlying truth of both mass marketing and far left politics is one of mass conformity and slavish manipulation.
To these people, the world is a movie and the terrorists have the James Dean role. I thought I was being facetious the first time I wrote that; but, given the commercialized glorification of the terrorist Che Guevara, it is almost literally true.
Present-day totalitarianism and the commercial media culture are metaphorically one and the same: revolutionary rhetoric and rebel propaganda as the vector for mass conformity. One is political, the other commercial, but the pattern is the same.

101 Cognito  Mon, Nov 27, 2006 4:53:57am

96 gromster,

That was me that Mama Winger was talking about. And no, I don't believe any such thing. A quick perusal of my other posts -- just on this thread, even -- will show that.

Speaking for m'self -

Cog

102 penitentman[deleted]  Mon, Nov 27, 2006 4:48:51pm

This entry has been archived.
Comments are closed.

^ back to top ^

log in
Name:
Pass:

Register Forgot Your Password? My Account Re-send Confirmation (To log in, cookies must be enabled in your browser!)

► LGF Headlines

  • Loading...

► Top 10 Comments

  • Loading...

► Bottom Comments

  • Loading...

► Recent Comments

  • Loading...

► Tools/Info

► LGF Hits

► Slideshows

► Resources

► Never Forget

► Statistics

► Tag Cloud

► Contact

You must have Javascript enabled to use the contact form.
Your email:

Subject:

Message:


Messages may be published in our weblog, unless you request otherwise.
Tech Note:
Using the Contact Form

► News/Opinion

  • Loading...

More Partners

Compare Electricity Prices in your area. Texas Electricity is deregulated; you have the right to choose Texas Electric Rates from among many Texas Electric Companies.

Please more print and distribute and get blessing.

Follow Lizardoid on Twitter

 Frank says:

They're serving burgers in the back!