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Tag(s): Airlines; Burma; International; International News; Journalists-Journalism; Media; Media Al Jazeera; Media Mainstream MSM; Myanmar; Thailand; (more...) Truth (less...)
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October 14, 2007 at 08:28:57

Burma coverage teaches us Goebbels' Corollary

by Peter Dearman Page 1 of 3 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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SLORC press

I spent my Friday night posting about Burma on various Websites, and at one point I got the idea that Al Gore – who had won the Nobel prize that day – might say something about Burma. So I Googled it and stumbled across this Mike Baker blog at FOX that confirms my worst fears about media coverage of Burma – even though I think he is a dick for pointing out the truth in such a callously offhand fashion. He also turns his insight and the second half of his essay into a boring rant about Washington politics. I quote:

Lookee there Hoss… the protesters have disappeared, long live the junta and nobody gives a rat’s backside. (...)

I dare you to find any stories about Burma at this point… only a week or two after media in the West appeared fascinated with the story and repeatedly declared events there to be an outrage.

Okay, maybe you’ll find a couple of paragraphs, but it’ll be somewhere back in section C between the horoscopes and reruns of Funky Winkerbean.

This is what’s got my goat. For some reason, the supposedly sensationalist media is hiding an atrocity-as-it-happens from the people. This isn’t just an American thing. It’s a Western thing, confirmable on Google News.

In just the past few days, a lot of developments have occurred in Burma that could make juicy news, even if the video parts had to be filled in using stock footage. Like Fox viewers would even notice.

But what do we hear over and over about Burma? It’s “back to normal.” This isn’t true at all. It is a bullshit line for the spoon-fed Western public — a pacifier.

Nearly every story I have read about the situation in Burma over the past couple weeks gives very high play to the junta’s ridiculous body count, usually within the first few paragraphs. They made sure that everyone noticed when the generals’ number jumped from nine to thirteen, and then down to ten. Stuff to talk about while fixing the car, I’ll say.

And, over and over the public was told that “dissident groups” put the death toll closer to 200. And for all the truthful insight expressed in Mike Baker’s blog above, he is part of the problem, telling people just how little they care, and then taking care of that, with soma.

But then, there are the “cover-our-asses” stories. Several prestigious newspapers have run stories that give an entirely more sinister viewpoint. The Sunday Times ran a story just a few days ago (two days before Mike Baker’s blog ) informing that crematoriums in Rangoon seem to be very busy late at night. That’s right.

Secret cremations hide Burma killings

The secret cremations have been reported by local people who have seen olive green trucks covered with tarpaulins rumbling through the area at night and watched smoke rising continuously from the furnace chimneys.
...
Their accounts have been volunteered to international officials and aid workers in Rangoon, Burma’s main city. The consensus in the foreign community is that the consistency of the stories makes them credible.

Now, did this story get fair play overall in the media? Was it trumped by some “Myanmar is peaceful again” story? Even white people say it’s true. When we are told it's entirely possible for one man to take America into another war with another Arab country on suspicion of attempting to begin the process of enriching uranium to the point of being able to make a primitive nuke, how come the opinions of our best sources on Burma need to be so rock-solid before making CNN's nightly news loop? The international media machine is choosing to kiss the junta generals' shrivelled asses. I want to know why.

Is it money controlling the networks? Advertisers don't like sad stories? Or, are professional newspeople really so freaked out by the possibility of a holocaust underway that they unconsciously do the ostrich maneuver? Or is it

I could go on with examples. I will. Major General Hla Htay Win, who got downgraded to a Major in many MSM reports, has dropped out of the news since Oct. 2.

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10 comments

Peter Dearman is an English teacher living in Taiwan. He is concerned about depleted uranium, repression in Burma, stolen elections, organ harvesting, aspartame, sugar, species depletion, animal abuse, ocean pollution, helium depletion and the generally high level of bad things happening in the world today.
Peter DearmanPeter Dearman is an English teacher living in Taiwan. He is concerned about depleted uranium, repression in Burma, stolen elections, organ harvesting, aspartame, sugar, species depletion, animal abuse, ocean pollution, helium depletion and the generally high level of bad things happening in the world today.

Also on OpEdNews and elsewhere

I recommend that everyone concerned about the truth regarding Burma and what should be done about the crimes against humanity taking place there also read a great exclusive piece printed here on OpEdNews by Oregon sociologist, Rowan Wolf. It deals with the financial status quo thatper petuates the problem of intense repression in this unfortunate country.

Burma: The Back Story

There is another back story too, which most people have a vague idea about, but few have ever looked for details on. This is the story of how the Burmese junta hunts the eastern hill tribe peoples like they are some kind of vermin. To watchsome of the most haunting footage you will ever see, take a look at the first video on the bottom of my Burma links page here:

www.Burma-we-care.tk

Bringing this junta to justice is an important task. I believe it is far more important on a global scale than most people are willing to admit.

If we, as global citizens, continue to let the boob tube and its dumber-than-dumbed-down news content continue to propegate the message that concern as well as resistance is futile, then we will have failed to receive the message of shared humanity that these sacrificial monks of Burma have tried to send to us.

I thought people understood what karma meant. Or are we all consigned to let our amazing global civilization collapse into the abyss of selfish amorality?

Actions are not always ineffective. Ignore the cynics and face the truth with courage. Over a week ago I posted a message on a Taiwan BBS that a march to support the monks' cause was to take place in Taipei on October 6 right as a typhoon was due to strike the city.

Another poster, whom I even know personally, felt obliged to opine that acts like this are just exercises in futility. But our small rally got written up in the International Herald Tribune and broadcast on the BBC. Those are two pieces of western media you can be sure the junta generals are tapped into.

And just look at the airline closure story mentioned in my article above. This is a direct result of ordinary people demanding that their humanist values be considered important.

My friend was very, very wrong, and I intend to tell him so the next time I see him.

Here is a shot of the typhoon rally for Burma.

If you're on Facebook, join the fastest growing Facebook users group of all time.

And Digg my article please, unless you think I failed to prove my point, in which case, I'd love to see your comments appear below.

For God's sake, and perhaps your own, don't do nothing.

by Peter Dearman (8 articles, 15 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 113 comments) on Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 10:01:58 AM

Why were the prices raised?

I have not been following the crisis closely, but if I remember correctly the rulers raised the price of heating and cooking oil, which started the protests.

Why was the price raised? What had it been?

This would seem to be a closed economic society. We have seen the price of goods rise dramatically since the Iraq war began. This is pretty common, since it costs a lot to wage a war of destruction.

Forget about Goebbels, unless you want to discuss the matrix of pride and fear. There is nothing new in that story.

What is the cause in Burma? Were the prices kept artificially low, and then "corrected" in one day? In general, people will tolerate a gradual squeeze better than a shock.

Buddhists, as a matter of thought, believe that the government corrupts the spirit of men. For Buddhists to be at the center stage in this battle would indicate that their faith is corrupted, just as the Muslim faith is corrupted by terrorists, or Bush's crusade by "democratic christianity." Atheistic humanism is similarly corrupted by power and the habit of "hate your enemy."

Nevertheless, effect must have a cause. If the price increase was the cause, then what caused the price increase? All governments can only "give" what they first "take."

by Steve Consilvio (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 75 comments) on Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 12:05:40 PM

Dumb generals + IMF maybe?

The first link in my saffron comment just above is to an OpEdNews article from a few days ago that addresses exactly these questions. Short answer: IMF and World Bank are obvious suspects.

But it is surely damn complicated. And, as you can gather, I feel it is high time the MSM got around to explaining it. Actually, I just picked up the newest issue of Time at the 7eleven an hour ago. On the international edition for East and Southest Asia, Burma was the cover story, with the headline being Burmese Days. I have high hopes for this issue. I hope I'm not disappointed.

Here is the cover.

by Peter Dearman (8 articles, 15 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 113 comments) on Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 12:56:08 PM

Daily Mail writes 1000's dead story out of existence

I just keep coming across it. Here is a case of 1000's becoming 100's with no explanation in sight.

This blog entry copied a story from the Daily Mail. Here is the lede:

Burma: Thousands dead in massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle Daily Mail UK
Slaughter: Executed monks have been dumped in the jungle
By MARCUS OSCARSSONLast updated at 15:04pm on 1st October 2007
Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle, a former intelligence officer for Burma's ruling junta has revealed.

Perfect. That officer is Hla Htay Win of course. But then the story got changed to this:

Burma: UN envoy meets top general as regime blames foreigners for violence
Last updated at 13:20pm on 2nd October 2007
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari has met Myanmar junta supremo Than Shwe today, to try to persuade him to end a crackdown on the biggest democracy protests in 20 years. The two met in the junta's remote new capital, Naypyitaw, two foreign diplomats said.

...and buried down on paragraph 29 (count 'em!) under 6 photos, we find what's left of the original lede:

The reports follow claims from a former intelligence officer in Burma's ruling junta that thousands of protesters have been killed and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle.

What is going on? Shouldn't news Websites be required to publicly log and account for changes to their published online stories?

by Peter Dearman (8 articles, 15 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 113 comments) on Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 1:54:36 PM

Yes - it's been manipulated

Upon further Googling, I started to think I was wrong. But no, the story was changed. You can still see Google's results showing an excerpt from the original article. It seems the article I liked was merged into the softer toned one. If you click the link, it goes to the subbed story. Try it yourself; I pasted this straight from Google:

Burma: Thousands dead in massacre of the monks dumped in the ...Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle, a former intelligence officer for Burma's ...

Here is a screenshot I made of the Google results.

by Peter Dearman (8 articles, 15 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 113 comments) on Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 3:56:11 PM

I'm 61 years old, fear the computer even though I am stuck before the screen. I fear cyber-hacking by the government or vigilantes. Few activists know where each other live or even meet. So mail, email, phone calls and cyberbills secretively not paid, would leave most in cyber dark, even physical dark, if the electric bill were marked unpaid.

Ron Paul understands freedom best, and gets young people to be activists. Obama and Huckebee realize that al Qiada specifically is a threa...

to see more of bio, click on member name
RichardKaneI'm 61 years old, fear the computer even though I am stuck before the screen. I fear cyber-hacking by the government or vigilantes. Few activists know where each other live or even meet. So mail, email, phone calls and cyberbills secretively not paid, would leave most in cyber dark, even physical dark, if the electric bill were marked unpaid.

Ron Paul understands freedom best, and gets young people to be activists. Obama and Huckebee realize that al Qiada specifically is a threa...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Positive and negative inspiration

Way back in 2005, people around the world found the Orange Revolution inspirational. Further back, events like Woodstock were inspiration. I fear we are rapidly approaching a world where more and more young people will be inspired by Columbine, Virginia Tech, and 9/11.

For better or worse the Karma that ends up coming out from the conclusion of events like in Burma affect us who are far away as well.

Events that seem to show that nonviolence is hopeless, helps the bin Laden's of the world offfer thier inspiration instead.

We must do something for our sake even more than for theirs.

Richard Kanegis

Blog Ramblings from the Hornets Nest

RamblingsFromTheHornetsNest.blogspot.com,

by RichardKane (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 29 comments) on Monday, October 15, 2007 at 1:11:05 PM

Thank you for that

You expressed perfectly what I've been trying to grasp about my own feelings these past two weeks. I'm usually never short for words, but I was having trouble expressing just why I care about the Burma situation so much. I care about a lot of things actually, but I focus on certain causes, including depleted uranium, organ harvesting in China, Taiwan's exclusion, and mass media manipulation.

But when the monks protest happened and was suppressed as the whole world watched in horror, I immediately felt a sense of duty to become a slave to the moment and go with this overpowering visual and perhaps spiritual urge to support the Burmese in their uprising.

Of course, I may feel strongly because I have long been aware of how despicable the junta is, but there can be no doubt that the whole world cared, probably just as much as they ever cared about Lady Diana.

A Facebook group grew to over 350,000 members before October 6th, the date announced for worldwide outdoor rallies by that group and others. A lot of people cared; I saw their posts on Facebook. Fewer people managed to promptly upload videos of the protests they attended, but plenty were posted within a few days.

The event didn't get too much international coverage, although it probably warranted some, because it likely did involve a huge number of people worldwide. I have yet to see anyone publicizing their estimates of how many. I haven't really looked though. But I will.

But, back to your point, the thing that has been motivating me is perhaps karma. I am as lazy and selfish as the next guy with my time and attention. But for some reason, part of me knows that this is a situation that is going to massively influence our collective self esteem. As you say, either we shape up and take advantage of all the modern advantages we enjoy, such as this fricking Internet that mostly serves to waste people's time, or we will suffer ill karma, or call it guilt if you prefer a Christian metaphor.

This is a turning point. Based on my observations of most people's reactions to Burma - resignation, reticence, lack of curiosity - I also feel pessimistic.

by Peter Dearman (8 articles, 15 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 113 comments) on Monday, October 15, 2007 at 3:55:30 PM

Practical idealist -- committed to restoring government of, by, and for the people, and re-establishing our core American values of justice, equality and community.
my2centsPractical idealist -- committed to restoring government of, by, and for the people, and re-establishing our core American values of justice, equality and community.

Don't give up on Burma, nonviolent struggles work

Don't give up too soon on Burma. I am still hopeful. And I am so inspired by their choice to take the path of nonviolent struggle. I hope they continue with that choice.

Nonviolent struggles are long campaigns, they don't succeed or fail at the first erruption.   There is an encouraging history of successful nonviolent struggles around the world, but it is a history that we are mostly unaware of because of the prevailing "conventional wisdom" (pervading govt, media, accademia) that assumes that violent militaristic action is the only "effective" means to acheiving social revolutions.

Before you give up on Burma's Saffron Revolution, take a while to read these short booklets by Gene Sharp (scholar and founder of the Albert Einstein Institution who has invested his life work in writing and researching the strategy and tactics of nonviolent revolutions):

From Dictatorship to Democracy (it is also published in Burmese and many dialects)

There Are Realistic Alternatives (dispells the myths)

Or take an hour to watch this video lecture by Gene Sharp that sums up many of the key facts about nonviolent struggle.

by my2cents (0 articles, 5 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 30 comments) on Monday, October 15, 2007 at 4:39:54 PM

Nonviolent empowerment continues in Burma

P.S. See this Oct. 12 article in Truthout by Cyntia Boaz on the continuing nonviolent actions in Burma.
Other links...
http://www.irrawaddy.org/
http://english.dvb.no/

by my2cents (0 articles, 5 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 30 comments) on Monday, October 15, 2007 at 5:14:04 PM

Video proof of Daily Mail news sanitization

This is a video I made showing that the Daily Mail removed a story from their Website with a “Thousands dead” headline and rerouted the URL to a much downplayed story containing the same facts but buried in the bottom graphs of a long story with a boring headline about generals meeting UN envoys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANbigv0bH3Y

Why are news websites even allowed to change stories after they are printed? That seems to me a violation of the principles of a free and fair press.

How about all the people who bookmarked the story "Thousands dead and buried in jungle" and end up with a link to a story headlined " UN envoy meets top general" ?

I'd say our rights as readershave been violated, andthe Daily Mail has done a disservice to the people ofBurma. Shame on them.

by Peter Dearman (8 articles, 15 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 113 comments) on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 11:23:19 PM

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