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Post by Roger (over and out) on Jul 20, 2014 11:39:45 GMT -5
Americans keep telling me that there is no political censorship in the US. In fact there is just as much censorship in the US media as there is in Russia, China or any of the other countries the US government is forever accusing of stifling free speech. Lately - with the ongoing slaughter of civilians by US-backed Israeli terrorists - I have been telling Americans to watch the news on Al Jazeera, instead of the heavily biased mainstream US channels (Fox, CNN etc.) I have just discovered, however, that they are prevented from watching AJ (which is carrying live coverage of the bombing of civilians in Gaza). Instead, they are redirected to a US-approved version of the channel, which does not carry the same live coverage.  |
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Post by Roger (over and out) on Jul 20, 2014 11:53:41 GMT -5
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Post by rmarks1 on Jul 20, 2014 12:50:07 GMT -5
Yes Zak, we really have heavy censorship here. That's why the CIA took your above posts down. Wait a minute. They didn't. Well I'm sure that was just an oversight. They will probably do that any minute now.
Bob
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Post by Roger (over and out) on Jul 20, 2014 14:05:00 GMT -5
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Post by debutante on Jul 20, 2014 14:27:30 GMT -5
You media is heavily censored, and your mainstream news channels are essentially mouthpieces of the government. They do not deliver impartial or unbiased news. Dear Zak: And this is, in your estimation, something unique to the American government? So every other government EXCEPT OURS is totally free of such an accusation? I think you're being very selective in your criticism. --Debutante |
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Post by Roger (over and out) on Jul 20, 2014 14:36:43 GMT -5
No, it certainly is not unique to America. There is massive censorship in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and other repressive, authoritarian regimes. Isn't America supposed to be different? A beacon of free speech and freedom of expression?
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Post by debutante on Jul 20, 2014 14:55:55 GMT -5
Dear Zak:
One of my husband's favorite admonitions is: "Don't believe everything you read."
I submit to you that every news article is "slanted" by whomever does the reporting.
Consequently, unless someone witnesses something for themselves, they can't really have any unbiased facts at their disposal. And even those who do witness something eventually interpret what they see in different manners according to their own biases.
I'm not going to get into the particulars of the issue you're presently discussing. I just wanted to point out that you hold Americans accountable for faults you seem to readily accept from other governments.
--Debutante
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Post by rmarks1 on Jul 20, 2014 15:53:30 GMT -5
You are right Zak. I was being flippant. I am sorry. Really. Yes, this is a serious situation, but it's only part of a larger picture. Increasing government power has been eroding American rights for decades. Fortunately we have the Internet to help counteract this. Only time will tell if that will be enough. One thing in our favor though. The complete ineptness of government policies is starting to lower our incomes and standard of living. Historically, this has always been the thing that gets the American public out of their apathy and into action. Bob |
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Post by rmarks1 on Jul 20, 2014 16:00:47 GMT -5
I'm not going to get into the particulars of the issue you're presently discussing. I just wanted to point out that you hold Americans accountable for faults you seem to readily accept from other governments. --Debutante Hi Deb. This time I have to agree with Zak. Even if he could send posts to Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and Saudi Arabia telling people there how repressive their regimes are, what good would it do? His posts would be torn down immediately. And even if people there could read them, they can't do anything. America should be judged by higher standards because these are the standards we set for ourselves. Government censorship should not be tolerated. Bob |
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Post by debutante on Jul 21, 2014 9:10:22 GMT -5
Dear Bob:
I think my issue with this has more to do with the fact that Europeans seem to feel that they can hold us to standards that they themselves do not keep. It's one thing if we police ourselves -- quite another if our "ideals" are used as a form of manipulation by outsiders in an attempt to illicit guilt.
I'm not necessarily saying that Zak is doing it here -- but I have noticed that Europeans as a rule (and that includes my friend in London) are quick to criticize America for the very thing their own countries also do (to various degrees).
This issue probably should be a separate thread. The European attitude is more what I find objectionable.
For example, I wonder why Zak never considers the fact that his news sources may be being censored to form a certain "impression". Why are European news sources exempt from such accusations and ours somehow aren't? It's more of an underlying attitude I'm questioning rather than the specifics of this particular argument.
--Debutante
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Post by Roger (over and out) on Jul 21, 2014 16:41:06 GMT -5
You've got to be kidding. I write 2-3 letters to the BBC every week, complaining about censorship and bias. And just a few days ago 5,000 people protested outside the BBC building in London, protesting against the bias in its coverage of the situation in Gaza. electronicintifada.net/blogs/amena-saleem/protesters-force-bbc-confront-its-pro-israel-biasAnd this is far from being the only issue on which the BBC is accused of bias. As for being "selective" in only criticizing the US government, that simply isn't true either. I have taken part in protests against the Russian government, the British government, the Mayanmar government, the Chinese government (including when I was in China), and several others. However, the US is both the most powerful country and the biggest offender when it comes to illegal invasions, occupations, interference in the affairs of other sovereign states, support for Israeli terrorism, imprisonment without trial and so on. People protest against US foreign policy because it's far worse than that of any other country. |
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Post by tricia on Jul 21, 2014 16:52:02 GMT -5
Dear Bob: I think my issue with this has more to do with the fact that Europeans seem to feel that they can hold us to standards that they themselves do not keep. It's one thing if we police ourselves -- quite another if our "ideals" are used as a form of manipulation by outsiders in an attempt to illicit guilt. I'm not necessarily saying that Zak is doing it here -- but I have noticed that Europeans as a rule (and that includes my friend in London) are quick to criticize America for the very thing their own countries also do (to various degrees). This issue probably should be a separate thread. The European attitude is more what I find objectionable. For example, I wonder why Zak never considers the fact that his news sources may be being censored to form a certain "impression". Why are European news sources exempt from such accusations and ours somehow aren't? It's more of an underlying attitude I'm questioning rather than the specifics of this particular argument. --Debutante Honestly, I'm starting to think (actually not *starting* to as I have for a while) that it's because they wish they *were* Americans. Going on about every little thing they don't like about the US. "But you're the biggest Country, but you're the most powerful....waaaah....and you're not doing this the way you said...waaaaah...and you didn't send enough aid to those guys...waaaaah...and you gave money to those guys and they bought things they weren't supposed to...waaaaah...and your news tells biased stories like everyone else's does but yours shouldn't because it's the US....waaaaahh, waaaaah, waaaahh" It's like listening to my neices and nephew when they're together and they're all 6 years old and under. I'm so sorry I was BORN here. (Oh wait...no, I'm not) That does not give me any more power over the government that runs the country I was BORN in than anyone else. For piss sake shut UP already. (Not you, Deb...) |
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Post by tricia on Jul 21, 2014 16:56:26 GMT -5
"You've got to be kidding. I write 2-3 letters to the BBC every week, complaining about censorship and bias. And just a few days ago 5,000 people protested outside the BBC building in London, protesting against the bias in its coverage of the situation in Gaza."
...And you know what the people at the BBC think when they receive your 3 to 5 letters per week, right? Somehow I highly doubt it's "We better get that next story right! Mr. Martin is watching!"
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joan
Member
Posts: 1,407
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Post by joan on Jul 21, 2014 17:06:51 GMT -5
"You've got to be kidding. I write 2-3 letters to the BBC every week, complaining about censorship and bias. And just a few days ago 5,000 people protested outside the BBC building in London, protesting against the bias in its coverage of the situation in Gaza." ...And you know what the people at the BBC think when they receive your 3 to 5 letters per week, right? Somehow I highly doubt it's "We better get that next story right! Mr. Martin is watching!" |
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