A plea to Americans (and Canadians to a lesser extent):

[Brazil4Worldcup2002]

Welcome to the USA, remember to think on the right.



How can one claim to live in a "democracy" when all people are encouraged to think the same? The answer is one cannot. American media is biased and counter-productive (for the most part). News organisations are run by a few muti-billionaries with their own political agendas. Truth is scarce in this supposed information age.

I lived in Vancouver, Canada and I know how good information is hard to come by. A city of 2 million people had 1 major newspaper (Vancouver Sun) which is barely adequate and in my opinion, not a great newspaper either. So, the conclusion I came up with was, do people in Vancouver only use one source of information (ie: one way of thinking)? One must keep in mind that newspapers are still the most important source of information.

The situation is the same throughout most of North America; although New York is definetly an exception.

I encourage Americans (and Canadians) to start (or continue) reading foreign newspapers, from both sides of the political spectrum, in order to get an idea of how different people think in different parts of the world. It is ultimately irrevelant if you disagree with what some people write. The worst thing that can happen is you start questioning and attempting to justify your own beliefs; and who knows, maybe even changing your mind.

Recommended newspapers:

- The Times www.thetimes.co.uk
- le monde www.lemonde.fr
- le figarro
- bbc www.bbc.co.uk
- reuters: www.reuters.com
- Financial times
- The Guardian (www.theguardian.co.uk)
- Oglobo (brazil) www.oglobo.com.br



"If 99 people had one opinion and 1 person had an opinion contrary to those 99 people, those 99 people would not be justified in silencing that person just like that one person would not be justified in silencing those 99 people, he if so happened to have the power"
John Stuart Mill



Alexxx

[This message was edited by A2345exxx on 04-18-03 at 10:15 AM.]

 

you forgot cnn and abc........are you the iraqi information minister?.....thank you for your objectivity...

 

[Brazil4Worldcup2002]

"I encourage Americans (and Canadians) to start (or continue) reading foreign newspapers"

i realise your attention span is slightly more than that of a goldfish so I'll repeat what i wrote.

 

[PatPatriot]

Hey Baghdad Bob I thought you were taking the eternal dirt nap?

 

How's life in Taxachusetts? When do you think Mrs. Clinton will take office, January 2005 or January 2009? It's only a matter of time. In the mean time you've got the Red Sox to root for. Good luck.


wil.

 

[Gargoyle]

Actually,

There was a time when everyone was bombarded by liberal press and media. It's all that was out there and the liberal left had a virtual monopoly brainwashing everyone with their socialist views. Then a radio conservative talk show host named Rush Limbaugh challenged them and became very popular. Who would have thought that these conservaties existed? One would have thought this world consisted of nothing but liberals if you read all the papers. But Rush defended the conservative point of view. Other media business took noticed and now we have very popular networks like fox who don't spin for the left and more and more people are tuning into them. This pisses off the liberal left media like the times and guardian and bbc and all the others you listed. Now instead of Rush you have Bill O Reilly, and Hannity and Combs (although combs represents the left, hannity is the more popular). And now CNN, your last credible network caves in with how they did not report the truth in iraq. Which is like most of the liberal left media. They don't report the truth, they report the spin on the truth. And when you watch the NO SPIN Zone you find out that once the covers are taken off the liberal bed, all you find is how dirty that mattress really is.

 

It's OK you can come out now the boogeyman is hiding somewhere.

wil.

 

[corey]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wilheim:
It's OK you can come out now the boogeyman is hiding somewhere.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Excellente !!!

Anyway a2335, yes all BC is shitty for diversity of opinion in NEWSPAPERS. But you have to remember that most people are online and have access to other sources.

 

[corey]

The same Vancouver Province owned by Canwest (i.e. Izzie Asper)

The same company that booted the editor of the Ottawa paper?

Are you trying to say this is a DIFFERENT view???

 

[Oceans11]

You dont have Liberals in US politics, except on the fringes.

You have the pretty far to the right party. Democrats.
And the WAAAAAYYY out on the far side party. Republicans.

A Liberal in the US, is a lefty socialist.

A socialist is a communist.

And a communist is, is.. well hes a nut in most places anyway so who cares.

In the UK, Liberals are right wingers who wring their hands, then shaft the population anyway.

Labour, Tony Blairs mob, are lefty socialists - (who have been leaning to the right recently btw.)


The UK used to have a US type system of right wing and more right wing a hundred plus years ago.

Then Labour came along, and created left/right UK politics.

You dont have a lefty party in the US, and yet millions live in abject poverty.
Around 40 million americans dont even have healthcare. No basic healthcare is meant to be a third world problem, not a western problem.

No wonder you've got so much money for all these weapons and stuff.

 

a2345....shouldn`t you be more concerned with what`s new with prince andrew...that`s more your speed...
you are of the british ilk that buried their collective heads in the sand regarding germany prior to ww2....you ignored and attacked churchill....you now attack tony blair.....this is expected from the left....you whine and pine until it`s to late...then others are forced to do the dirty work....

you`d like france....the union jack deserves better...

i still don`t honestly believe you think the u.s. media is biased....for a country involved in a war,the media has bent over backwards to be more than fair...there is an enormous amount of resentment in the mainstream media regarding the bush-gore election...and i think you`ve seen some of that spill over into the coverage....very anti-bush(if you haven`t noticed,or are to biased to recognize it)

aside from fox news and talk radio leaning way right,the majority of the main stream media in the u.s. leans left...and canada?.....chretien refused to turn over iraqi officials to the u.s. if they turn up in canada....anti-americanism is very chi-chi nowadays....it`s ashamed the soviet union didn`t win the cold war...i`m sure that would have pleased you...

and the media of the middle east...you left them out of your post..how convenient.. to say the arab media does anything more than attempt to inflame the arab people is absurd.....the fact that the arab world was shocked at the relative ease with which the saddam regime was dispatched is proof positive of the misinformation and disinformation that runs rampant in the middle east..state run media..one party systems....dictatorships..quite an omission....

you will read and believe your staunch left wing propaganda....the extreme right leaners will do the same.....

but the american media is basically fair...opinions on the left,the right,in the middle..i guess you saw the protests....for quite a while,that`s all we saw here in the states.....amazing that you would attack the media....cnn, abc...all the major networks for that matter...

you would have to have quite a strong anti`-american agenda to attack the media....many in america attack the media because they believe it`s coverage is anti-american....bush i could understand...the media?....that`s silly....

[This message was edited by sphincter on 04-18-03 at 09:23 PM.]

[This message was edited by sphincter on 04-18-03 at 09:43 PM.]

 

[Brazil4Worldcup2002]

sphincter:

Although I do live in England, it does not mean i'm british. I am in fact Brazilian.
Dont assume things, like im anti-war just because I urged Americans to read more newspapers with different points of view.

Even if i were left wing (it doesnt matter what I am because its all relative). I do know left-wing people who are pro-iraq war and right-wing people who are against.


From personal experience I think its great to read foreign papers just to get a different point of view. No harm in that.

 

you are right..sorry if i over reacted..i really am surprised that you believe that the american media is so biased....actually,to imply that the media wasn`t reporting a reasonably unbiased point of view....

i think my point is,in a free society,you will get very pro-american coverage(fox and talk radio).......you will get very negative reporting(cnn and abc)....and you will get "tweeners" such as msnbc.....

but that`s what a free society does....

don`t you really think that the bbc and the arab media are blatantly anti-american?.....the guardian?....i couldn`t help but draw a conclusion when you advocated these news sources...parts of the british navy banned the bbc from their vessels because their reporting was so anti-coalition forces...

i would advocate the more moderate outlets....i would think it`s obvious to most independent thinkers that the extreme sources are agenda driven and skewed in their reporting....from both sides...

i try and be fair,but rampant anti-americanism has caused me to become quite defensive....

when you see the france`s,the germany`s and the russia`s passing resolution after embargo after resolution...all condemning iraq and saddam...then it is shown that they violated the u.n. sanctions....that russia is secretly reporting info to saddam while tony blair is shaking hands with putin...i don`t think that`s big news around the world...


i`m feel our reporting,in general, is reasonably balanced...but obviously,you are absolutely entitled to your opinion...again, sorry i jumped you on the issue...

 

[corey]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by nanuk:
The same Vancouver Province owned by Canwest (i.e. Izzie Asper)

The same company that booted the editor of the Ottawa paper?

Are you trying to say this is a DIFFERENT view???

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey, what happened to the post that this was a reply to. It wasn't DELETED was it? I would hate to think it.

 

[corey]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sphincter:
a2345....shouldn`t you be more concerned with what`s new with prince andrew...that`s more your speed...
you are of the british ilk that buried their collective heads in the sand regarding germany prior to ww2....you ignored and attacked churchill....

Now I know where your handle comes from. Churchill was dead wrong about EVERYTHING until WW2. He was only right about the Nazis. But anthing pre-ww2 his batting record is .000. Look it up.


aside from fox news and talk radio leaning way right,the majority of the main stream media in the u.s. leans left...and canada?.....chretien refused to turn over iraqi officials to the u.s. if they turn up in canada....anti-americanism is very chi-chi nowadays....it`s ashamed the soviet union didn`t win the cold war...i`m sure that would have pleased you...

Learn how to read. It should be Canadian Navy may not turn over automatically prisoners caught IN THE GULF. Anyway, you think we're not going to try to get info from them too?? Hit the pipe.


but the american media is basically fair...

Fairly fuked. This I will say: one day they are all left and the next all right. Not a half a brain among any of them.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

A2345exxx

Too many Americans here only watch CNN or any american news since they believe what they see is correct. Unfortunately 'the majority' of Americans just listen to 1 side of a particular view. And in most cases (as illustrated in this Forum / thread) many Americans antagonize and even resort to name calling.

 

[Brazil4Worldcup2002]

no offence taken sphincter:

What ivan said was absolutely right. That if you read or watch one source of media, you only get one side of the story. Check out some of those newspapers i wrote down, especially the editorials and maybe you'll understand how and why the rest of the world thinks so unhighly of the US.

nanuk:
Churchill was admiral of the Navy during WWI and personally ordered the campaign in Gallipoli....ouch. Everybody makes mistakes but that would make his batting record -500 lol. Great man nonetheless. Dunno about the American media being fair, sounds like all the major networks are owned by a few people.


Ivan:
Good luck in the soccer contest...you'll need it

----------------------------------------------

Does anybody remember CNN's 'global minute' a few years back? It was an absolute joke of world news reporting. 59 minutes of NATIONAL NEWS, followed by SPORTS, and the WEATHER and 1 whole minute dedicated to world news. In other words 40 minutes reporting on the Lewinsky scandal, sports, weather and 1 minute on the humanitarian tradegy in some poor country in Africa where thousands have died.

In a very tiny miniscule way 11th of semptember actually brought some good to your country; made you guys more aware of the outside world....you are not the city on top of the hill, you are part of a global village interdependant on each other in the world and what your actions, positively as well as negatively, ultimately affect you. The Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are mere tiny ponds now in the 21st century.

[This message was edited by A2345exxx on 04-19-03 at 07:35 AM.]

 

[kayaman+]

Gargoyle is dis'ing the BBC (one of the most credible news sources in the world, much more worldly and unbiased than anything in the States). Then he glorifies Limbaugh (an incredibly extreme right-winger that only spews conserv rhetoric without providing any real info).

Ok, whatever.

 

nanuk....churchill pleaded with britain and the rest of europe to address the german situation prior to ww2..he saw them rearming and gaining strength....and prime minister stanley baldwin did his best(along with the rest of europe) to stick their collective heads in the sand....as usual....that`s a fact....ever hear of the "gathering storm"?....as you said,look it up instead of trying to muck up my point with everything else churchill did in his career...i was talking about ww2......nice try...

if anybody thinks that cnn is a governmental mouth piece,you must be just to the left of ramsey clark.....cnn refuses to tout a pro-american line claiming that they are an "international" news agency....let the bush administration know that you think cnn is a propaganda arm of the american government....i`d love to see their response(lol)....

[This message was edited by sphincter on 04-19-03 at 12:34 PM.]

 

>one of the most credible news sources in the world

Why were they (BBC) kicked off of the British Flag Ship of the Royal navy?