TALES OF THE BIZARRO WORLD#2

Ok, so CNN Newscasters are actually human, though we used to wonder about Jim Clancy until we saw him actually moving about when he was reporting live from Lebanon last summer. And it's unfair of me to single out CNN because my gripe is against all American mainstream Television news. It boggles my brain when I hear conservatives rant about the Liberal bent of say NBC or CNN. What do they want? Well, to answer my question, I'd say a legion of FOX Network clones that support blindly the Adminstration and mis report, lie and trash the opposition. As I see, the mainstream networks in America are afraid to report the real news and all carry the administration spin to one degree or another.
Last month, the Organization, Reporters Without Frontiers rated the American Press as 53rd in the world for freedom. France did better with a 22 rating. I think the next time there is a rating, America will even slip farther down the scale.
I am focusing on this today, because of the events in Lebanon and how they have been reported on CNN and how I see them reported in the rest of the world. There is a constant editorial commentary to the CNN reportage of the mass demonstration in Beirut. They say it is Syrian inspired and part of the ongoing confrontation between America and Iran. When they show the crowds, they only talk of a million Hezbollah members trying to bring down the American supported Lebanese Government. They have never once in the last 24 hours mentioned that the crowd is full of Lebanese Christians and all the other factions of that societies mix. When they speak of the American supported government, Where was Americas' support as Israel brutally bombed Lebanon using American supplied weaponry? Why didn't America lift a finger to protest? Are they showing the Anti-American posters and playing the sounds of the Anti-American chants the crowd is shouting?
On French TV, at least I am seeing interviews with Christian leaders who are talking about the non representation they have in the government and why they are disatisfied. At the same time, the Socialist Party's Presidential candidate, Segoulene Royale is visiting the region. She was able to talk freely with Lebanese government ministers, Hezbollah representatives and made a pretty splashy appearance with the French Nato contingent. She is also going to Israel and Palestine as part of her trip. She made an appearance in the "dangerous" crowd to their delight!
Did that make American news? The only thing I see on American News is the constant drumbeat of how this is all orchestrated by Iran or how Hezbollah is a puppet manipulated by Damascus. This seems to be a purely Israeli and American line. I don't see this connection used in the press any where else. The information is out there. You have access to the foreign press, but most Americans aren't inclined to and it is natural to read and listen to what is in front of you. It's very frustrating to argue with someone whos' frame of reference is limited by the blinders put over their eyes by their government.
The American Television Press is a form of entertainment anyway. Sensationalism drives the ratings and the ratings drive the news reporting. I have just finished reading an account of how William Randolph Hearst manipulated America into the Spanish American War as a way to boost his circulation and sell papers. He sent the American Artist, Frederick Remington to Cuba to supply graphics depicting the Spanish attrocities supposedly occuring there. Remington wired "Nothing to draw,coming back!" Hearst angrily wired back,"You make the picures and we'll supply the war!"
The administration and the media are playing a game here, who needs who more? Who is using who? It's a deadly dance that draws us closer to the folly of another unneccesary and much more disastrous war with Iran. Do your self a favor, get a satellite dish and start watching Al Jazeera! Start reading the foreign press on the internet. Question everything you read or hear!