Month: September 2006

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Post-9/11 Xenophobia

Liz Losh and Ann Bartow at Sivacracy point out some impressive artistic displays of the expansion of anti-Arab xenophobia as perpetrated by Hollywood since (and prior to) Sept. 11, ’01. Losh:

…[T]he website of The Path to 9/11 has a sickening clip called “How to Create a Riot” on its video menu.

You can learn about the village in Morocco, Ouarzazate, that Hollywood relies upon to produce its cultural cliches and the three generations of extras who inhabit the place. Its history on celluloid apparently goes back to Lawrence of Arabia! This documentary by Ali Essafi tells you more.

Bartow directs us to Jackie Salloum‘s enlightening (and award-winning) 9-minute “Planet of the Arabs” Check it out:

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Project Censored’s Top 25 of ’07 Released

Further cementing 2006’s reputation as one of the most messed up years in written history, Project Censored‘s new 2007 list reads even more shockingly than last year‘s.

The entire top 25 with context and updates are here. The Top 10:

#1 Future of Internet Debate Ignored by Media
#2 Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran
#3 Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger
#4 Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the US
#5 High-Tech Genocide in Congo
#6 Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy
# 7 US Operatives Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and Iraq
#8 Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act
#9 The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall
#10 Expanded Air War in Iraq Kills More Civilians

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U.S. Paid Miami Journalists to Smear Castro Regime

Anyone interested in — or reporting on — Cuba best check their sources. The U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting paid anywhere from $15,000 to $175,000 to disseminate information attacking Cuba to the 10 journalists below. The Miami Herald reported Friday:

At least 10 South Florida journalists, including three from El Nuevo Herald, received regular payments from the U.S. government for programs on Radio Martí and TV Martí, two broadcasters aimed at undermining the communist government of Fidel Castro. The payments totaled thousands of dollars over several years.

If you’ve repeated information gleaned from reports by any of the below reporters, chances are they were influenced by massive gobs of dinero from the U.S. government and likely are lacking in accuracy and/or genuinity!

10 journalists fired over Cuba source: Miami Herald online

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Paul Salopek to be Freed

Great news fresh off the AP wire:

The president of Sudan agreed to release American journalist Paul Salopek on Saturday after meeting with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a spokesman for the governor said.

Paul Salopek via Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune
Salopek, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, was put on trial for for espionage and related charges after entering southern Sudan with satellite maps and a duplicate passport (neither grounds for arrest) on assignment for National Geographic.

Here’s a link to the Chicago Tribune’s coverage. Salopek is to return to the Trib as a foreign correspondent after his NatGeo assignment.

High fives to Gov. Richardson for his persistence.