Bill Moyers on War Protest and Israel/Gaza

Bill Moyers reflects on the recent violence in the Middle East. PLEASE NOTE: This essay containins video and images of the Israeli and Palestinian casualties including children - in Gaza as well as the Pulitzer prize-winning photo of the nude Vietnamese girl running from napalm bombing. Some viewers may find the images disturbing, but they are in context and germane to the subject matter. Bill Moyers Journal airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). For more: http://www.pbs.org/billmoyers




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Torturing Democracy

The Documentary PBS Does Not Want You to See Before Jan 21, 2009
"Torturing Democracy" is a new documentary which details how the government set aside the rule of law in its pursuit of harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists
Video & Transcript Available
Part One

For parts 2-10 click here
The annotated transcript of "Torturing Democracy" provides the script of every word spoken during the 90-minute documentary, backed up with specific citations, footnotes and links, and includes documentation for the dramatizations in the film. Posting the annotated transcript allows viewers to check the facts for themselves, and enables researchers to build on the reporting to take the story even further. To download this 385k file in PDF format, click here.

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FRONTLINE | "Bush's War" | Preview of Night 1 | PBS

On the 5th anniversary of the Iraq invasion, FRONTLINE presents the definitive documentary analysis of "Bush's War" airing Monday, March 24, from 9 to 11:30 P.M. and Tuesday, March 25, 2008, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS

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From Bill Moyers Journal: Keith Olbermann Says Our Country is in a State of Emergency

Bill Moyers is joined by Keith Olbermann to discuss what Keith calls our country in a state of emergency. The following video is from PBS’s Bill Moyers’ Journal, broadcast on December 14, 2007

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"Senate gridlocks on Iraq war resolution"

the government isn't listening at all... I was watching "A Huey P. Newton Story" by Roger Guenveur Smith around the time they were voting today. I highly recommend this film...especially during times like these. I know I'm justified in my anger toward the establishment. Although, I do disagree with violence as a means to evoke change...I wonder how long the American people will continue to allow their government to act in it's own best interests and not the people they are supposed to represent...

WASHINGTON - The Senate gridlocked on the Iraq war in a sharply worded showdown Saturday as Republicans foiled a Democratic bid to repudiate President Bush’s deployment of 21,500 additional combat troops.

The 56-34 vote fell four short of the 60 needed to advance a nonbinding measure identical to one the House passed Friday. Seven GOP senators broke ranks, compared with only two during an earlier test on the issue.

Democrats swiftly claimed victory. “A majority of the United States Senate is against the escalation in Iraq,” said Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. “As for the Republicans who chose once again to block further debate and protect President Bush, the American people now know they support the escalation” in troops.

Source: Senate gridlocks on Iraq war resolution - Politics - MSNBC.com

Bush Calls for Propaganda Surge...

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 6:06 AM on February 9, 2007.

Tim Karr: Slashes PBS

This post comes from Tim Karr.

The latest twist of Bush's budgetary knife lays bare the White House's information priority: Fake news trumps real reporting.

George W. Bush is trying—yet again—to smother NPR, PBS and other public broadcasting while at the same forcing an escalation (sorry "surge') in funding for propaganda.

The president's proposed fiscal year 2008 budget for "U.S. international broadcasting" calls for an overall increase of 3.8% from the last year's recommendation.

All told the budget calls for $668.2 million for the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the federal agency that supervises all US government non-military propaganda.

Slash and Burn

At the same time Bush's budget proposes steep cuts to federal funds for public broadcasting by nearly 25%. According to the Association of Public Television Stations, the Bush budget would cut up to $145 million from the $460 million proposed FY 2008 budget for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting.

The amount allocated to the BBG is a 3.8 percent increase from the agency's 2007 budget with monies specifically "targeted to the war on terror." These tax dollars would flow to government mouthpieces including the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Alhurra, Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.

According to a BBG release: "The budget also fully funds initiatives … to critical Muslim audiences. These include the expansion of VOA television to Iran to a 12 hour stream, VOA Pashto radio programming to the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region, television programs to Afghanistan and Pakistan and Alhurra Europe, the 24/7 service to Arabic speakers in Europe."

Taxpayer money well spent?

Measure the overwhelming public support for funding of public broadcasting against their growing dissatisfaction with the war effort. According to a 2005 Roper poll, 82% of Americans believe that taxpayer funding given to PBS is "money well spent". A recent AP-Ipsos poll counts 62% of Americans who now think that going to war in Iraq was a mistake.

Bush proposed cuts to public broadcasting will have "Sesame Street" and other ad-free kids' shows are under the knife. So is the watchdog journalism, critical voices and diverse fare that PBS, NPR and other public media offer. The cuts continue the partisan war on journalism once led by the ex-chair of public broadcasting, Ken Tomlinson (remember him).

It's now up to Congress to set the budget right and restore funding to media that more accurately represents the public's priorities. You can help.

Source: AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Bush Calls for Propaganda Surge...

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