All News is Propaganda - BBC Lyse Doucet edition

Driving on errands during the week, the BBC correspondent was talking about the horrible starvation happening in a Syrian town held by rebels and under siege by government forces.  There was some mention that there were towns occupied by Assad's men.

the reporter, Lyse Doucet, oozed concern.  It truly sounded as if an event was occurring that would make Pol Pot blush.

Who could ever think that such a kindly and caring voice was having us on?

I may be wrong as my ride ended soon enough, but my ragtime meter was straining to go to 11.

Sure enough, there was a lot of exposure of the false narrative.  The ever reliable Colonel Lang was on the case,

Now we have the interesting case of Madaya, a rebel controlled town on the Syria/Lebanon border up on the Anti-Lebanon mountain. 

In this piece the author demonstrates that the images being spread across the world by the Western media are demonstrably false.

Particularly annoying are the photos of a pretty little girl claimed to be starving in Madaya.  this girl has now revealed on the internet that she is happily living with her family in south Lebanon.

See the article he references here.

If an article appears on Big News, be suspicious, be very suspicious.

A refreshing article at the Boston Globe, but also more of the same from Chickenhawk Jacoby

The Boston Globe was for a couple of decades owned by the New York Times.  In that era, it was reliably Timesy.  To be honest, so we guess.  I no longer live in the Boston area so what little I read was usually a link that evinced no surprises.

As there are few hot properties in daily news outlets, The Times unloaded the Globe in 2013 at a fire sale price relative to what the old Yankee ownership received about 20 years previously.  

The new owner, John Henry, is a successful businessman who also owns the Boston Red Sox.  Out here in Nowheresville, we have not discerned any change in direction from the usual knee jerk progressivism.  Then again, we are not paying attention.

It was refreshing to catch a link to an article that is in opposition to the administration policy in Eastern Europe.  The title of the September 20th piece, Russia is not the enemy, set the tone that Stephen Kinzer followed to the end.  What's interesting is Mr. Kinzer is a veteran Timesman.  Of course, as we are not following either paper too closely, we may be misjudging.

Still, the article is good.  It lays out all the reasons why the current policy toward Russia is ill advised.  Reading Kinzer, one gets the feeling that American foreign policy makers just don't know when to stop.  Well, that has been a bit of a theme here at The Neutralist.

Mr. Kinzer's article is worth your time.

The current administration at the Globe has inherited, for better or worse, old staff.  In the for worse column, we would include token conservative Jeff Jacoby.

Jeff is a neocon, which really does not bear much resemblance to conservatism.  The man is reliably for war and more war.  

Needless to say, you can leave out one word in the title of Mr. Kinzer's article and change Russia to Putin and you have serviceable theme for Jacoby's article back in March.  The title, Putin has builta Russia of hate, is not going to win awards for subtlety, nor is the article.  Jacoby blames Putin for everything except the Lindbergh kidnapping.

The article is a rehashing of all the anti-Putin tropes, as Putin has been, 

"crushing Chechnya, occupying Georgia, running interference for Syria and Iran-al while eviscerating domestic democratic opposition, plundering Russia's wealth..."

Forgetting that Putin also warned us about the Marathon bombers, but so what.  Gee, those Chechens are the nicest people.  

That running interference for Syria, we could translate that as opposing ISIS, but why quibble.

Putin might not have annexed Crimea if Nuland et al had not pushed a coup as Jacoby did not mention.

In his article, Jeff all but accuses Putin of killing dissident Boris Nemtsov.  For all we know that may be right.  Does it mean we have to go all out against the Russkies.  Jeff is all for it.

"America and the West can best give meaning to Nemtsov's death by emulating the resolve and courage he embodied in life. Condolences won't stop Putin's advances. Backbone is a different story."

Jeff knows all about backbone.  He has led the fight against those who call him and his non-serving ilk "chickenhawks."  To him its a slur.  He and the rough writers showed us by marching down to the recruiting office to lead the battle from the frontlines and not the keyboard.

Nah, he still fights from the comfortable Globe bunker on Morrisey Boulevard. 

A simple explanation as to why the American people are not feeling war love

a Madison Avenue fable.

 Seeking to produce a new dog food, a big corporation set market researchers, food chemists and advertising agencies to work. The experts came up with a new product they were proud of. The dog food sold well, for a while. Then it slumped. Puzzled, the corporate executives commissioned a public opinion firm to see what was wrong. 

Soon, the answer came back: "The dogs don't like it."

The Neutralist is somewhat Menckenesque in attitude toward the electorate.  I am happily amazed that they find the flavor of the current sales pitch a bit off.

this is from Ben Wattenberg.  I have no idea how he feels about intervention, it is just that the story works. 

Report from the telescreen-Diane Sawyer introduces the women snipers of Syria

The Neutralist almost never watches network evening news.  In our so called adult life we have witnessed all to much propaganda masquerading as news that little shocks us.  Last night, we came close.  It was not that it was blatant.  The problem was there was no effort to not be stupid.

Diane Sawyer in "I am a serious newsreader" mode introduces us to the women snipers of Syria.  She hands off to Muhammad Lila on the ground who is with black clad teachers by day who are snipers by night.  Didn't answer the question as to when the lasses get sleep, but when it's life or death for the cause, you do what you have to do.

According to Muhammad, "they've been trained as rebel snipers, patrolling to keep their neighborhood safe."

Was it all contrived?  Snipers don't ususally patrol, they have a position to observe the enemy lines and pick a target of opportunity.

But, damn it all looked contrived, and the average American wouldn't know anyway.

It is getting harder and harder for the major media to propagandize effectively.Ten, fifteen years ago, the shilling for war would have been more effective.  They must be surprised that less and less people buy the line.  Of course, there is the internet and also, they've gone to the well a little too often.

Maybe folks have the felling, fool me once shame on you, fool me ten times.........

Mara Liasson and NPR your tax dollars at work

Listening to NPR after Sunday Baroque.  Mara is talking oh so seriously about how the president has a problemo with his war as the American public is "seriously conflicted" about the proposed debacle,  She said this not just once.

I googled and found a poll that said support is 50% up from 9 or something.  I am not sure that that means we are conflicted.  Most people I are not anguishing.  They have an opinion and others have a different one.

What it means is not enough people, even NPRbots have blindly accepted the pro-intervention line.  NPR, and the other media can't sell it even to some Obama loyalists.  NPR, Fox for the left.

The story after was even more vapid.  It was Jill Biden talking about her important work in education or something.  I am sure she is a nice lady, but if she were not Gaffer Joe's wife, she would not be on radio.

What got me was I think she said, "Just after we were elected."