I don't hear the fat lady singing yet on this one. The show will continue until further notice. On Wed, 1 Dec 1999, Jay Fenello wrote: > > > [NOTE: Due to the continuing media blackout surrounding > the reasons for the protests of the WTO meeting in Seattle, > permission is hereby granted to copy and distribute this > entire article on a not-for-profit basis. TO CIRCUMVENT > THIS BLACKOUT, YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO COPY THIS EMAIL TO > YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, ASSOCIATES, AND OTHERS AS YOU SEE > FIT.] > > http://www.fenello.com/wto1.txt > > The WTO, ICANN, and the End of the Republic > Copyright (c) 1999 Jay Fenello -- All rights reserved > > Yesterday, I wrote about the media blackout surrounding > the protests of the WTO meeting in Seattle. In response, > I got several email stating that I was *crazy*, that the > story *is* being covered, and that it was my imagination. > > What these critics are missing, however, is the methods > of media bias, and how they are being used to hide *why* > people are rioting in Seattle and London, and why workers > have gone on strike throughout the world. > > "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the > spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that > spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That > gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the > time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits > put on the range of the debate." > -- Noam Chomsky, American linguist > > Compare for a minute the coverage of the current riots, > versus the shootings at Columbine High, or the crash of > Kennedy's plane. While the latter received immediate > and continuous media coverage, the riots have only > received a few minutes of coverage at the top of the > newscasts. And this coverage has been limited to the > riots themselves, the damage that has been done, the > reactions of the WTO delegates, and the actions of > the police to prevent a recurrence today. > > So while the riots have been the lead story in the news, > the reasons for the riots are conspicuously absent. And > the coverage has been minuscule compared to other less > important topics that have recently been covered. > > And yet, most in America still find it hard to believe > that the corporate media can possibly be coordinating a > cover up of the WTO debate. Most still believe that a > free press is some kind of guarantee of a *fair* press. > > "There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, > as an independent press. The business of the journalists is to destroy > the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of > mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. We are > the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping > jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities > and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual > prostitutes." > -- John Swinton, Chief of Staff New York Times > > "There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping > newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops > damaging to corporations or the state." > -- Alexander Cockburn, journalist > > So, why are the protestors rioting? > > If we are to believe the Television media, the protests > are over jobs. They have even rolled out some "experts" > (like the president of the Economic Strategy Institute, > and a spokesperson for the Clinton Administration) who > have said that the protests are "bizarre" and based upon > the fact that "people are afraid of change." > > But actually, much, much more is at stake. Surprisingly, > the essence of the protests were revealed on Monday when > some of the first broadcasts from Seattle featured a huge > banner that read: Democracy =====> > <============WTO > And in many ways, this simple banner summarizes the fight, > for the very foundations of the Republic are threatened by > the WTO. > > In the history of human civilization, the U.S. Constitution > represents a departure from most other forms of government. > It places people at the top of an inverted pyramid, with > the government's role to serve the people. But things > are a changing. > > Instead of a government for the people, by the people, > the WTO is a government for multinational corporations, > by multinational corporations. The WTO's "Mandatory > Dispute Resolution Process" is one example of how this > body can make decisions that supersede national laws and > national sovereignty. It is exactly the same model that > ICANN has fraudulently instituted in its "Uniform Dispute > Resolution Policy." > > "[The] media, our top elected official, and our two dominant political > parties rarely criticize the growing power of large corporations because > they are bankrolled by them." > -- Nancy Snow, author > > So what can be done? First, we must openly acknowledge > that the media is biased, as it is owned by an increasingly > smaller base of corporate entities world-wide. Just to be > clear, I fully support the private ownership of the press, > and the biased reporting that results. What I object to > is the continued denial of big media in admitting to this > control, a denial that I consider to be the ultimate form > of false advertising. > > "As long as people are marginalized and distracted [they] have no way to > organize or articulate their sentiments, or even know that others have > these sentiments. People assume that they are the only people with a crazy > idea in their heads. They never hear it from anywhere else. Nobody's > supposed to think that. ... Since there's no way to get together with other > people who share or reinforce that view and help you articulate it, you > feel like an oddity, an oddball. So you just stay on the side and you > don't pay any attention to what's going on. You look at something else, > like the Superbowl." > -- Noam Chomsky, American linguist > > "One of the intentions of corporate-controlled media is to instill in > people a sense of disempowerment, of immobilization and paralysis. Its > outcome is to turn you into good consumers. It is to keep people isolated, > to feel that there is no possibility for social change." > -- David Barsamian, journalist and publisher > > Second, we must take full advantage of the Internet while > we still can. ICANN has an agenda to institute some serious > controls over content, so we must work quickly. Help spread > the word, and hold the media accountable for their coverage, > or lack thereof. > > "If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, > and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will be > secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the > streets. We will control ourselves." > -- Howard Zinn, historian and author > > "The enormous gap between what US leaders do in the world and what > Americans think their leaders are doing is one of the great propaganda > accomplishments of the dominant political mythology." > -- Michael Parenti, political scientist and author > > Finally, we must hold our elected officials accountable to > us, the people, and not the corporate entities who fund their > reelection campaigns. > > "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of > social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the > appalling silence of the good people." > -- Martin Luther King, Jr. > > Be silent no more -- help spread the word. > > Until next time . . . > > Respectfully, > > Jay Fenello, > New Media Relations > ------------------------------------ > http://www.fenello.com 770-392-9480 > > "We are creating the most significant new jurisdiction > we've known since the Louisiana purchase, yet we are > building it just outside the constitution's review." > -- Larry Lessig, Harvard Law School, on ICANN > > > At 03:35 AM 12/1/99 , Jay Fenello wrote: > >Well, it's 3:30 a.m. EST, and I have seen very > >little coverage of the riots. It's seems that > >the Pete Rose story is a much higher priority > >topic tonight! > > > >In other words, I'd say were in the midsts of > >another media blackout. For those who missed > >the last one, there is a good summary at: > > http://www.icann.org/comments-mail/icann-current/msg00677.html > > > >Consider the situation. We have a World Trade > >Organization meeting in Seattle, one that has > >delegates arriving from over 130 countries of > >the world, one that has been disrupted by riots > >in Seattle. > > > >The riots are so bad that police have reportedly > >fired rubber bullets, and used tear gas and pepper > >spray to disperse the thousands of protesters who > >took to the streets on Tuesday. Riots that were > >so bad that the opening WTO meeting was canceled. > >Riots that were so bad that the mayor of Seattle > >imposed a 7 p.m.-to-dawn curfew, and has called > >out the national guard. > > > >We practically have marshal law in Seattle, and > >yet, the Network news has done very little to > >cover the fiasco. > > > >On my cable system, I get all four networks, > >and I get CNN, CNNFN, CNN Headline News, CNBC, > >MSNBC, and Fox News. After hours of channel > >surfing, I have very little to report. Other > >than the three minute leader that is run at > >the top of the newscasts, I have seen little > >in depth coverage. > > > >[Compare this to the recent coverage given to > >the Kennedy search and rescue. We had non-stop > >coverage on every network for hours and hours, > >with live pictures of the empty ocean, and > >little else to report.] > > > >The media is obviously hiding this story! > > > >One blatant example is the current story running > >on MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.com/news/340805.asp#BODY > >It's one of the longest I've seen, yet it doesn't > >even mention why so many people are protesting. > >It's like the question WHY doesn't even exist! > > > >Not only are they hiding it, but they are even > >taking sides. The one in-depth news report that > >I did see was on MSNBC and featured a spokesperson > >for the White House. Unfortunately, she > >characterized the protestors as a confused bunch > >of disparate parties who were all protesting a > >disjunctive and contradictory slate of issues. > > > >Why the bias? -- you ask. > > > >The truth of the matter is that the riots in > >Seattle, the fight over ICANN, and the media > >blackout given to both topics, are all related. > > > >The riots in Seattle are about the loss of U.S. > >sovereignty to multinational corporations, just > >like the Domain Name Wars were about the loss of > >the Internet to the same multinational corporations. > > > >Not possible! -- you say. > > > >Consider that the media is owned by these same > >multinational corporations: > > > >"The notion that journalism can regularly produce a product > >that violates the fundamental interests of media owners and > >advertisers ... is absurd." > > -- Robert McChesney, journalist and author > > > >Consider that while knowledgeable people recognize > >the bias of the media in the U.S., the vast majority > >of Americans doubt that it is possible: > > > >"The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one > >of the wonders of the Western world. No First World country > >has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media > >all objectivity - much less dissent. " > > -- Gore Vidal, novelist and critic > > > >Consider the implications of this email: > > > >"Corporations have been enthroned .... An era of corruption > >in high places will follow and the money power will endeavor > >to prolong its reign by working on the prejudices of the > >people... until wealth is aggregated in a few hands ... > >and the Republic is destroyed." > > -- Abraham Lincoln > > > >Until next time . . . > > > >Jay. > > >
