Saturday, November 17, 2018
Headlines for Nov. 16, 2018
Click here to listen to this week's segment on Loud & Clear Radio.
Headlines with an * are the ones we managed to fit in in our allotted 11 minutes.
Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines (WMMFH) for Nov. 16, 2018
Correction from last week:
I said the “Amazon Cuomo” and “Amazon River” stories were a way of covering up government giving “millions” to Amazon. Actual number? $1.5 BILLON. And that’s just NY! Total for all cities: $3.2B.
CANDIDATES FOR “WORST”/”MOST DISGUSTING”:
*Exploding Mojitos: The First “Sonic Attacks” Targeting American Diplomats in Cuba May Have Taken Place Thirty Years Ago
They’re never going to give up with this nonsense. A glass shattered in someone’s hand in the house of an American diplomat, but in retrospect we’re supposed to believe it wasn’t cheap glassware but a “sonic attack”. How ridiculous does this get? In a second incident, a glass shattered in the hand of the Ambassador’s grandson *in a closed bathroom*. Here was the Ambassador’s response: “Taylor assumed the Cubans had been watching Myles through a tiny camera hidden in the bathroom, and, using a device of some kind, targeted the glass.”
See https://www.liberationnews.org/u-s-diplomat-under-attack-first-it-was-sonic-weapons-now-microwave-whats-next-kryptonite/ for my discussion of the previous claims.
*In North Korea, Missile Bases Suggest a Great Deception
The deception is on the part of the NYT. The whole article is about North Korean missiles, and implies that North Korea is doing something wrong by having missile bases. It quotes the State Dept. saying "“President Trump has made clear that should Chairman Kim follow through on his commitments, including complete denuclearization and the elimination of ballistic missile programs". But THERE WAS NO SUCH COMMITMENT! The agreement signed by Trump & Kim called for "working towards complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula". Nothing about missiles. And it did not simply call for denuclearization of the DPRK, but of the entire peninsula, another fact omitted by the Times. And finally, though the article mentions that the source of the "exposé" is the Center for Strategic and International Studies, it fails to mention the funders of that "think tank", which include (https://www.csis.org/support-csis/our-donors/corporation-and-trade-association-donors) Chevron and Northrop Grumman (both to the tune of $500,000 or more), Boeing, Exxon Mobil, Lockheed Martin (all $200K to $500K), etc. And, almost unbelievably, as FAIR pointed out, the NYT itself exposed CSIS as a shill for weapons manufacturers in an article two years ago!! https://fair.org/home/nyt-reveals-think-tank-its-cited-for-years-to-be-corrupt-arms-booster/
*Wildfires don’t care about wealth or status. Miley Cyrus, Neil Young and other celebrities are among the thousands affected.
*It wasn't just the rich who lost homes in the Malibu area. Is fire California's great equalizer?
In the grand tradition of the famous Anatole France quote, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.” The rich have (in some cases) private fire fighting services to protect their homes, they have 2nd and 3rd homes to move to if one of them burns down, 90% of their wealth wasn’t in the value of their home, and countless other advantages. LA Times does get around to mentioning some of this…in the 33rd paragraph!
*U.S. military edge has eroded to ‘a dangerous degree,’ study for Congress finds
They never stop agitating for bigger military budgets. "The United States has lost its military edge to a dangerous degree and could potentially lose a war against China or Russia." Nonsense. "China and Russia are seeking dominance in their regions and the ability to project military power globally, as their authoritarian governments pursue defense buildups aimed squarely at the United States." China does not have a single military base in another country; Russia has (I think) one (in Syria). China does not have troops in a single other country. Russia's military activity has been limited to one country on its borders (Ukraine) and another less than 500 miles away (Syria).
By the way, they call this a “bipartisan” commission because its members were appointed by various Republican and Democratic members of Congress. But they are virtually all dyed-in-the-wool Cold Warriors, part of the military-industrial complex. In other words, typically “bipartisan” when it comes to foreign policy — all united on more military spending, more military intervention.
Mainstream media on Gaza: Israelis get killed, but Palestinians merely ‘die’
“After a Twitter backlash, the Guardian was forced to amend a brazenly propagandized headline which sought to undermine the basic rights of Palestinians and elevate Israeli soldiers to levels previously thought unimaginable.”
The original title was a poorly crafted “Israeli officer killed during raid in which seven Palestinians died.”
Changed it to: “Eight dead in undercover Israeli operation in Gaza.”
CANDIDATES FOR “MOST MISLEADING”:
Trump to award Medal of Freedom to Elvis, Babe Ruth, among others
The only reason Trump awarded Medals of Freedom to Elvis and Babe Ruth was precisely to get headlines like this, so the fact that he also awarded it to reactionaries like Scalia, Orrin Hatch, and Miriam Adelson would be de-emphasized.
Trump blames poor forest management
This major article is almost entirely a *rebuttal* of Trump’s false (not to mention insensitive) claim. But you’d get no hint of that from the headline, or even the subhead; Trump’s lie sears itself into the brain of readers thanks to the headline choice.
For comparison, here’s a non-misleading headline from USA Today: Firefighter groups: Trump's California wildfire tweet was 'shameful' and 'ill-informed'
Saudi coalition ends American refueling
“The Saudi announcement appeared aimed at suggesting the kingdom was behind the decision.” Uh, yeah, and your headline writer amplified that deception. As well as perpetuating the idea that the US is not part of that coalition.
CANDIDATES FOR “FUNNIEST”:
*Trump Confused the Baltics With Balkans—And Accused Confused Leaders of Starting Yugoslav Wars
OMG. As an aside, Melania is from Slovenia.
ABC News: Michelle Obama 'stopped even trying to smile' at Trump inauguration
Always on top of the important news! Amusingly, the picture accompanying the article shows Michelle scowling, but Barack grinning broadly.
