Putting the Call for Energy Independence in Context

Jon Stewart talks about Nixon and an energy-independent future

When it come to current events, the most informative hour on television is the slot occupied NewsHour on PBS. This is a full hour devoted to the news that is nearly commercial free. It is an excellent news broadcast, but for a generation used to infotainment, that can seem rather dry.
The second most informative hour is, arguably, the hour occupied by The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. People shake their heads with a “tsk, tsk” when they are told that many in the younger generation get most of their news from The Daily Show, and it is a problem if this is the only source, but I daresay that an analysis of the content in the flagship news broadcasts on any network and that on The Daily Show would reveal that on many nights as much or more of the Daily Show is devoted to serious, important, timely topics than is the network news, particularly on those days when the guest is not an entertainer. Certainly the Daily show often provides more context, albeit through humor.
Continue reading

Comparing Global Medias

Today, via Geeky Mom Laura Blankenship, I discovered an article in TechCrunch, about a site that lines up the front page of CNN or other news sites with those of Al Jazeera, France 24, BBC, NPR, or several others, so that visitors may compare for themselves the differences between the stories covered, from which perspectives, to what degree of detail and whether or not it is through first hand reporting or some other source. Unfortunately, CNN seldom compares favorably, hence the URL for the site, http://wtfcnn.com/.
Sadly, the disaster which is cable news in this country is, in large part, media giving the people what they want and not, as some would believe, some vast elitist conspiracy to keep the masses hypnotized by mindless infotainment so they are distracted which they go about undermining the foundation of our society. If you need evidence of that, compare an hour of the domestic feed of CNN in the US to an hour of the feed on CNN International. The network caters to its international audience not just with an hour of news the focuses on international subjects, but with broadcasts that are more serious in tone, and that devote much less time to entertainment and puff pieces.
Continue reading

Does Google Even Understand What News Is?

Google’s algorithms are very handy for shopping or entertainment recommendations. But I don’t like it “personalizing” news. Serving readers news based on what they’ve read can lead to a kind of tunnel vision where they’re insulated from the dissenting views and unpleasant truths. But one must understand that getting frustrated at work places will be generic discount levitra why not look here of no food to you. And all three cialis sale drugs have pretty much the same side effects. Safed musli for example is sex stimulant that you can cialis 5 mg navigate to these guys buy without a prescription. Leading buy levitra no prescription online pharmacy eDrugstore.MD, which sells erectile dysfunction drug is an appealing product and it solves the erectile disorder much better than what one would think of. Newspapers emerged to serve communities, and communities are inherently hotpots of dissent. Targeting news stories as if they were advertisements runs counter to that important service. I want a news gadget bringing me stories that make me uncomfortable.
–“Does Google Even Understand What News Is?

Kevin Kelleher is not the first to comment on this, but it strikes me that this is one of the most significant challenges of news in the Internet age.  When there is such a proliferation of news sources what starts to happen is that no one is ever needs to be exposed to news that doesn’t precisely match and reinforce his already held opinions and beliefs.
This is a good article and this is but one of the points he makes.  I recommend it.

Coverage of War in Afghanistan

NPR aired an important story about the lack of media coverage of the war in Afghanistan on Morning Edition today. According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism at NPR’s request, Afghanistan has received just 2 percent of all news coverage since Jan. 1.

Mark Jurkowitz, the project’s associate director, found that, unsurprisingly, the economy and Iraq were the top news agenda items. The historic elevation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court has received just as much coverage as Afghanistan, and so has the death of pop music star Michael Jackson. That last comparison is especially striking because Jackson’s death just occurred in late June. There are now 62,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and more may well be on the way.

So even as Americans fall all over themselves to express their patriotism and support for the troops with bumper stickers, flags and patriotic country songs, they don’t show a lot of interest in what is going on with the troops themselves. What happens in Afghanistan has a direct effect on US security and global terrorism because it was the place that harbored Al Qaeda extremist until 2001.
The reason for this lack of coverage, however, is only partly lack of interest. The NPR report lists three reasons, but it is the third I’ll focus on here, which is the decimation of newsrooms all over the country due to economic difficulties. Here we have a conundrum. More and more people, myself included, get their news from alternative media, or from television. The internet is the leading source of new for many people.
But very few internet sources of news are actually sources of news. They don’t have the resources to investigate and report on news, so they report second hand, analyzing what major media has said or echoing what others have reporting. Have you ever noticed that you see the same talking head and bylines on first hand reporting? This is why. Fewer and fewer organizations can actually afford to go out and get the news, so they invite the people who write the reporting they buy. So why is there so little coverage of Afghanistan?

It’s expensive.
These ED drugs such as, buy generic levitra are PDE-5 inhibitors and have first property of reducing level of PDE5 enzymes. One cannot just get over impotence generic cialis levitra so easily. Erectile dysfunction is not a viral or bacterial infection understands purchase cheap cialis what it means to feel sick. Some men may already be taking medicines that interact with viagra on line uk and thus need medical assistance to be successful. “This is a time when news organizations are literally fighting for their survival,” Jurkowitz says. “They’re in bankruptcy. They’re being sold for pennies on the dollar.
“In that kind of environment, the idea of being able to spend money to send journalists — in a smaller newsroom — overseas becomes not just a luxury, but almost an impossibility,” Jurkowitz says.
The Los Angeles Times (on behalf of Tribune Co. newspapers), CNN and Fox News also maintain bureaus there. But Jurkowitz’s former employer, The Boston Globe, is among the big regional dailies that cut or eliminated foreign coverage. The Wall Street Journal doesn’t have a permanent Afghanistan bureau. Nor does the 30-daily McClatchy newspaper chain, though both organizations send reporters there regularly. The big three broadcast networks handle the country in the same way, as big-name correspondents such as Martha Raddatz of ABC News and Richard Engel of NBC News have traveled there in recent weeks. CBS recently hired a Kabul-based digital correspondent who will file largely for its Web site but appear on the air as well.
A look at TyndallReport.com’s database of all stories on the three network evening newscasts reveals that they averaged about one story every two weeks for the year ending July 31.
Far more coverage has been generated by The New York Times, NPR and The Associated Press, which, like the Post, maintain permanent bureaus there.

Iraq's Gay Life – IslamOnline.net – News

On the one hand, there are numerous reports of brutal suppression of homosexuals and persons engaged in homosexual activity in Iraq, but there are also reports such as the one below that indicate there is a thriving, albeit underground, “gay scene.”
One possible explanation is traditional society in much of the Arab World and the Middle East (as well as in every other male dominated culture, I hasten to add) is quite gender segregated.  Men are considerably less reluctant to show affection toward other men and women to other women in such cultures because it is not odd. (Remember all the jokes about former President G. W. Bush and the Saudi King-then Prince-Abdullah holding hands?)   It does not threaten the domestic unit and it is assumed that it is not sexual.  In effect this makes it much easier for homosexual relationships to be hidden, even while partners.
That doesn’t change the fact that it is still a crime punishable by harsh penalties, including death, be it meted out by official courts or militias.
Iraq’s Gay Life – IslamOnline.net – News
The story is by Arif Sarhan, whose blog is well worth following.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M – Th 11p / 10c
Gorgeous Flowers
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Economic Crisis Political Humor

Let’s take a look levitra australia online at some common myths and truths which are ruing your sexual life. The side effects of levitra natural ingredients and herbal extracts combine together to improve overall health. Why we have Iggy Pop for Royal Caribbean, Bob Dylan promoting Victoria’s Secret products, Billy Preston teaming up with the Zombies for Fidelity Investments, Led Zeppelin pitching Cadillacs, Aerosmith for Buick, the O’Jays for Coors Beer, Deep Purple promoting Dodge, the Who allowing their music to be used in low cost tadalafil Cisco commercials, the flower power group the Association pitching Allstate Insurance, why we even have Helen Reddy’s classic anthem hit song “I. Two capsules are enough for the cialis sale day long.