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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
 Posted - 07/09/2006 : 16:08:52
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Whenever I post something about corporate controlled media I get accused of just believing the other side of the bias articles. Some people don't get it that the news is so limited and manipulated in the USA. They think it's a Fox news vs Democracy Now when I tell them it is corporate controlled media vs real news.
So I wrote a long piece on the subject.
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=59677
A really long piece....
There was so much information out there, even I was amazed at how bad it is. I had no idea how much money was being spent on these fake news segments. Nor did I know how much of my tax dollars were going to sell the Bush agenda.
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 16:24:46 [Permalink]
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Wow! No wonder you've been relatively quite here of late. I'm going to read the whole article. Thanks for caring enough to do the research and writing!
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 18:43:59 [Permalink]
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I call it the "tabloid media". You can't find actual news that is relevent to your life anymore.
The "news" programs are held back by fear of offending the wrong group, and the only other format out there is the Jerry Springer format... pick a topic, get two people with different opinions, let them argue unchecked, then "report" on what they said.
The last part is what really kills me.... the "report"ing on what other people have said. It evades any and all responsibility for providing factually accurate information. Tabloid news.
Honestly, I can hardly summon the will to turn on any news programs these days.
My ranting aside....
Nice reading, and it is totally scary how much tax money the so-called president is allowed to spend on his personal PR... it gives me that sick feeling, like you probably get just before your car rams into a brick wall.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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GeeMack
SFN Regular
USA
1093 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 21:15:12 [Permalink]
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Thanks for sharing, b'gal. Good posting, well organized, thorough, well researched and written, and long. 
My first awareness of propaganda came when I was in the first grade sometime around 1962, during the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the red scare, and all that. My teacher told the class that the Russians misinform their citizens with propaganda. She said teachers in Russia tell their students that it was a Russian who invented the telephone, and a Russian who invented the automobile, and a Russian who invented the airplane. She told us how they lied to their students about such things to make them think Russia was a great land, better than the United States.
Well there I was, all of about six years old, and to this day I remember consciously thinking, "And how do we know you aren't just telling us this to make Russia look bad, in the same way you're describing those Russian teachers telling their students those things?" It was an epiphany.
About that same time I was introduced to the hobby of magic. My father was quite an experienced amateur magician and passed along his knowledge of the art to me. Through many decades I studied the art of deception and have spent years as a semiprofessional magician. Contrary to common belief, most magic relies significantly more on psychological subtleties and the influence of not-quite-truthful communication than it does on the mere mechanical aspects of the apparatus.
So fortunately for nearly all my life I've been aware of the elements of deceptive communication. I can usually see through the pitches because of being familiar with the techniques. And I see it in the "news" a whole lot more than seems appropriate for an informed democratic society. It may seem cynical, but it's probably good advice, when one is watching, reading, or hearing "news", to always consider who is the source of this message and what they might have to gain by telling us this.
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 23:51:16 [Permalink]
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| GeeMack, one of the things most disgusting about the trend in the corporate controlled media is how much it's like the countries our parents warned us about. I have similar memories of things my teachers told me. |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 03:01:42 [Permalink]
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Remember that in posting that here, you are posting to a crowd that applauds people for posting articles from Frontpagemag.org. People here will call you a Chomskybot for suggesting such things.
http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=518 |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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| Edited by - Gorgo on 07/10/2006 03:26:57 |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 05:41:01 [Permalink]
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Skeptic Friends seems to be generally more aware of the stuff you posted in your article, beskeptigal. The decision to post this at JREF, where more people are in need of enlightment (as evidenced by the responses in that thread), was the right one in my opinion. Now, I haven't read the whole piece, just the beginning and the end. But if I find the time, I will get back to it.
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 08:23:54 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Gorgo
Remember that in posting that here, you are posting to a crowd that applauds people for posting articles from Frontpagemag.org. People here will call you a Chomskybot for suggesting such things.
http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=518
I see problems here with no distinction between present and past tenses on your verbs. Are the regular posters from 4-and-a-half years ago going to suddenly come back and call beskeptigal names? |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 09:01:47 [Permalink]
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quote:
I see problems here with no distinction between present and past tenses on your verbs. Are the regular posters from 4-and-a-half years ago going to suddenly come back and call beskeptigal names?
Valiant Dancer just called me a Chomskybot recently, and we weren't even talking about Chomsky. In fact, I don't think I ever even promoted Chomsky in any way. Imagine if I had. Trish is a regular poster, and she applauded Rubysue's insanity.
http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5072&whichpage=12&SearchTerms=witch
I'll restate that, Valiant Dancer said that "Chomsky would be proud of his little robot." The thread had nothing to do with Chomsky. The only thing I've ever done here is try to clear up some of the lies about Chomsky. I've never particularly promoted him, and here she's actually promoting what he's said and no one is attacking her? |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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| Edited by - Gorgo on 07/10/2006 09:03:24 |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 09:05:00 [Permalink]
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| Gal, everyone is biased. People like Democracy Now and Chomsky have stated their bias. The New York Times calls what they do "News." That's the difference. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 09:43:52 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Gorgo
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
I see problems here with no distinction between present and past tenses on your verbs. Are the regular posters from 4-and-a-half years ago going to suddenly come back and call beskeptigal names?
Valiant Dancer just called me a Chomskybot recently, and we weren't even talking about Chomsky. In fact, I don't think I ever even promoted Chomsky in any way. Imagine if I had. Trish is a regular poster, and she applauded Rubysue's insanity.
http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5072&whichpage=12&SearchTerms=witch
I'll restate that, Valiant Dancer said that "Chomsky would be proud of his little robot." The thread had nothing to do with Chomsky. The only thing I've ever done here is try to clear up some of the lies about Chomsky. I've never particularly promoted him, and here she's actually promoting what he's said and no one is attacking her?
[/quote]
Beskepticgal sourced her arguements and very well.
I respectfully decline your invitation to a flame war. |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 09:52:26 [Permalink]
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quote:
I respectfully decline your invitation to a flame war.
That's great that you refrained from writing anything. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 10:11:23 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Gorgo
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
I respectfully decline your invitation to a flame war.
That's great that you refrained from writing anything.
[/quote]
I respectfully deline your further invitation to a flame war. |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 10:14:34 [Permalink]
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| I wasn't inviting you, I was responding to Dave W. Yes, her essay is well done. She didn't have to do it, many people have done it before her, but it's done well. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright-
Jerry Garcia
Robert Hunter
|
| Edited by - Gorgo on 07/10/2006 10:16:18 |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 10:25:41 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Gorgo
I wasn't inviting you, I was responding to Dave W. Yes, her essay is well done. She didn't have to do it, many people have done it before her, but it's done well.
Whatever, Gorgo. |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 13:34:39 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Gorgo
Valiant Dancer just called me a Chomskybot recently, and we weren't even talking about Chomsky. In fact, I don't think I ever even promoted Chomsky in any way. Imagine if I had. Trish is a regular poster, and she applauded Rubysue's insanity.
Trish, unfortunately, hasn't logged on for eight months. Val appears to me, on a quick skim of the old thread, to be the only person who participated back then and is still regularly posting today (other than you, of course). You could have named names (and only now came up with two), but chose to paint with as broad a brush as possible when characterizing SFN members' probable reaction to beskeptigal's piece. My tentative hypothesis is that you're still bitter about what went on in November of 2001, especially given that you've said the following:quote:
I've never particularly promoted him, and here she's actually promoting what he's said and no one is attacking her?
Apparently, the folks here aren't as predictable as you might think. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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