Media Bites – Bank of America
In this week’s Media Bites we look at a recent Bank of America commercial. We discuss how the ad is deceptive since the commercial conveys nothing about the massive taxpayer bailout the company received last year. Bank of America is trying to present themselves as a company that helps Americans, but the fact is they are primarily interested in helping themselves. Bank of America was also cited in a new study of financial institutions that continued to pay huge bonuses to employees. Lastly, we look at how much money the company uses for lobbying and supporting political candidates.
Socialism Conference 2009 – Videos Part 2
In June, GRIID attended the 2009 Socialism Conference in Chicago. We taped several of the sessions, which are linked below. The conference featured dozens of speakers from all around the world providing excellent analysis and commentary on history and current politics. The theme for this conference was “Building a New Left for a New Era.” We are also putting these talks on DVD, which will be available for people to check out from the Bloom Collective – 1134 Wealthy in Grand Rapids.
What follows are four more lectures that are different from the ones we posted a few days ago.
Abraham Lincoln and the Abolitionists – Alan Maass, editor of the Socialist Worker newspaper.
Marxism and Alienation – Phil Gasper
CLR James and African American Liberation – Scott McLemee
How Capitalism Works, and How It Doesn’t: The ABC’s of Marxist Economics – Hadas Thier
The national media watch group FAIR and local healthcare advocacy groups will deliver a petition signed by over 12,000 people demanding that the TV networks include the single-payer proposal in their coverage of the national healthcare debate.
The petition will be presented to a representative of ABC News, which disinvited Dr. Scheiner (Obama’s former physician) from its recent forum on healthcare reform, where he’d been planning to ask Obama a question about single-payer.
FAIR, Physicians for a National Health Program, Healthcare Now!, the Private Health Insurance Must Go Coalition, Code Pink and the Raging Grannies are taking part in the petition delivery. In addition to the petition, the groups will be presenting a giant prescription–for a broader healthcare debate–to a representative of ABC News at the network’s NYC headquarters at 77 West 66th Street.
Please add your name to the growing list of people who demand that the news media include Single Payer information in the national health care debate.
Socialism Conference 2009 – Videos
In June, GRIID attended the 2009 Socialism Conference in Chicago. We taped several of the sessions, which are linked below. The conference featured dozens of speakers from all around the world providing excellent analysis and commentary on history and current politics. The theme for this conference was “Building a New Left for a New Era.” We are also putting these talks on DVD, which will be available for people to check out from the Bloom Collective – 1134 Wealthy in Grand Rapids.
Just Say No to the Olympics – A panel of speakers, which included Dave Zirin (Edge of Sports), Bob Quellos (Not in Chicago), and Chris Shaw with the 2010 Olympic Watch Committee.
How Capitalism Underdeveloped Africa – Brian Kwoba addresses the historical and contemporary factors that have contributed to the underdevelopment of Africa.
The Impact of the World Crisis on Latin America – Latin American scholar Claudio Katz talks about the current global economic crisis and its impact on Latin America. He also addresses how some Latin American countries are organizing to resist the neo-liberal model and create more independent/regional economic structures.
Afghanistan: Obama’s Vietnam? – Journalist Anand Gopal, who has been reporting from Afghanistan & Pakistan, addresses the current situation with these two countries and how the current Obama administration policies will impact that region. (Audio only)
This is the first group of video lectures. we will be posting more as they are edited.
Media Bites – Reeses Puffs Cereal
In this week’s Media Bites we look at a recent Reeses Puffs commercial that promotes material wealthy while selling the cereal. This commercial is a sequel to a commercial they produced last year which also promotes a materialistic theme. We also look at the Reeses Puffs website to see how they target children online.
IWW Protest Challenges Starbucks Unionbusting
On Saturday, the Grand Rapids chapter of the IWW held an informational picket outside of Starbucks in East Grand Rapids. The video below includes comments from IWW organizers Cole Dorsey and Erik Foreman, a short march through East Grand Rapids and police who were called to harass those protesting.
Dozens of local news media outlets were contacted about this protest, but only the Grand Rapids Press and WOOD TV8 showed up. However, as of Sunday morning, channel 8 had not posted anything on their website about the IWW action, instead they featured a 2-day event outside of one of the downtown bars that included trampoline demonstrations.
Sheri Munsell – GRIID Intern
Sheri Munsell is working through a program of the Steepletown Neighborhood Services and began her internship with GRIID one week ago. In this short interview Sheri talks about how Steepletown has impacted her life and what she has learned so far at GRIID.
(Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of news analysis pieces that will look at the Grand Rapids Press coverage of the US occupation/war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This new GRIID study began on May 26 and will continue through the end of August. This article begins with analysis of the GR Press story and then includes the article at the bottom. Note that the text that is bold is the portion of the original story that was omitted in the GR Press version.)
This Associated Press story focuses on two aspects of the US/NATO military campaign in Afghanistan. First, the focus is on the number of US & NATO soldier deaths that have occurred. The article claims that July of 2009 has resulted in more US & NATO soldier deaths than any month since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. No sources are provided to substantiate those numbers, but the iCasualties.org site does verify those numbers. In fact, at this rate 2009 will likely be the biggest in US & NATO troop deaths of any year since the 2001 invasion. 2008 so far, is the year with the most soldier deaths in Afghanistan at a total of 294.
Following troop death toll figures the story then states, “U.S. commanders had predicted a bloody summer after President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan in a bid to turn the tide against a resurgent Taliban and shift the focus on the global war against Islamic extremism from Iraq.” However, following this statement are comments from the outgoing NATO Secretary General who believes that the US/NATO campaign must go forward or “Al-Qaida would have a free run again, and their terrorist ambitions are global.”
There are no other sources used in the story to balance those of the NATO spokesperson, especially since he claims that the fight in Afghanistan is about Al-Qaida, despite the fact the in the rest of the story it states that the US/NATO military campaign is targeted at the Taliban.
The Grand Rapids Press version of the AP story ends with a comment about the increase in roadside car bombings, but again offers no source for this data nor any analysis or commentary as to why this increase. Robert Pape, author of “Dying to Win: The Strategies Logic to Suicide Terrorism” offers some insight into the increase of roadside car bombings in part four of Robert Greenwald’s documentary, Rethinking Afghanistan.
As you can see by looking at the AP article below a substantial amount of the original version was omitted from the Press version. Also omitted from the story is any mention of Afghan civilian deaths. In fact, since we began this study in late May, there has been no mention of Afghan civilian deaths. According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan there have been 800 Afghan civilian deaths between January and May of 2009 alone.
July 21 AP
July deadliest month for US in Afghanistan
A roadside bomb killed four American troops in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, driving the July death toll for U.S. forces to the highest monthly level of the war.
The latest deaths brought to at least 30 the number of American service members who have died in Afghanistan this month — two more than the figure for all of June 2008, which had been the deadliest month for the U.S. since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion drove the Taliban from power.
July’s death toll for the entire U.S.-led coalition, which includes American, British, Canadian and other forces, stands at 55 — well over the previous record of 46 deaths suffered in June and August of 2008.
U.S. commanders had predicted a bloody summer after President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan in a bid to turn the tide against a resurgent Taliban and shift the focus on the global war against Islamic extremism from Iraq.
NATO’s outgoing Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Monday that terrorism would spread through the world if NATO forces fail in Afghanistan.
“Al-Qaida would have a free run again, and their terrorist ambitions are global,” he said in a speech at London’s Chatham House think tank. “Those who argue otherwise — who say we can defend against terrorism from home — are simply burying their heads in the sand.”
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has warned that U.S.-led forces must demonstrate progress in Afghanistan by next summer or face a public perception that the conflict cannot be won. Heavy losses this month have already triggered a public debate in Britain that the war in Afghanistan may not be worth the price.
With more troops in the country, American and British forces have been striking deeper into Taliban strongholds in the south, hoping to establish enough security for Afghans to choose a president next month and cut insurgent supply lines into Pakistan.
British military authorities said Monday that bombing attacks in southern Afghanistan soared nearly 43 percent for the first five months of this year over the same period last year.
U.S. troops have also stepped up efforts in eastern Afghanistan to curb the movement of militants to and from safe havens in Pakistan’s lawless tribal region.
A NATO statement said the four soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device in the east of the country but gave no further details. A U.S. spokesman, Lt. Robert Carr, confirmed all four were Americans.
It was unclear whether the blast occurred near the area of eastern Afghanistan where Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, was taken captive June 30. Bergdahl appeared on a Taliban video posted on the Internet over the weekend — a move denounced by the U.S. command as a violation of international law.
Also Monday, the British Ministry of Defense announced that a British soldier was killed the day before by a roadside bomb during a foot patrol in Helmand province.
Roadside bombs now account for more than two-thirds of all casualties among the international force as the Taliban demonstrate greater skill in manufacturing and planting the explosives. Bombings rose by 25 percent in the first four months of 2009 over the same period last year, and the U.S. command expects them to increase 50 percent this year to 5,700 — up from 3,800 last year.
The increased threat from roadside bombs and Afghanistan’s formidable terrain of high mountains and deserts have forced the international military force to rely heavily on aircraft to transport personnel and supplies around the country. The increased tempo of the conflict has strained air assets and may have been behind a series of aircraft accidents in recent weeks.
In the latest mishap, a British Tornado GR4 fighter jet crashed Monday on takeoff inside the Kandahar Airfield, but the two crewmen managed to eject safely, according to a NATO spokesman Capt. Ruben Hoornveld. British officials said the crash was not a result of hostile fire but the cause was still under investigation.
The crash occurred one day after a Russian-owned civilian Mi-8 helicopter slammed into the tarmac at the same base shortly after takeoff, killing 16 people on board. Two Americans died Saturday when their U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashed in central Afghanistan.
A U.S. helicopter made a “hard landing” the same day, injuring several soldiers. U.S. officials said neither incident was due to hostile fire.
Taliban militants shot down a Moldovan-owned Mi-6 transport helicopter last week in southern Afghanistan, killing six Ukrainian civilians on board and an Afghan child on the ground.
Earlier in July, two Canadian soldiers and one British trooper were killed in a helicopter crash in Zabul province. Officials said the crash did not appear to be caused by Taliban fire.
Also Monday, officials reported that at least a dozen Afghan civilians had been killed in violent incidents.
In the northern province of Kunduz on Sunday, German soldiers fired on a pickup truck approaching at high speed and suspected of carrying Taliban fighters. Provincial Gov. Mohammad Omar said three civilians were killed, but German authorities said one died.
Defense Ministry spokesman Christian Dienst said in Berlin that the driver ignored warning shots before troops fired at the vehicle’s engine to disable it. Three Afghans were injured and a fourth fled, Dienst said.
Prosecutors in Potsdam, where the German military’s mission command center is headquartered, said they were examining evidence to determine whether to open a criminal investigation.
In the western province of Farah, a van full of civilians struck a roadside bomb Sunday, killing 11 people on board, including a child and his mother, said Mohammad Younis Rasouli, the deputy governor. The bomb was probably intended for Afghan or international troops.
Millionaires who die and the millions who are uninsured
The king of pop is dead. Michael Jackson was pronounced dead on June 25. He was only 50 years old. But you knew all this. Hell, you could probably tell me the name of the Doctor who was the only person present when Jackson died. Right you are, it was Dr. Murray.
You might even have been one of the millions who included your name in the public drawing to see who could get tickets to his funeral ceremony in LA. You might even have been listening to some of his music recently and reminiscing about what you were doing when ABC, Billy Jean, Thriller or Beat It were big hits.
Even if you didn’t want to be thinking about Michael Jackson and his recent death, you were hard pressed not to know. Every major media outlet in the US and around the world were giving us up to the minute details of his death and the speculation as to the cause are still headlines as I write this piece in mid-July.
So, why all the attention? Why has Jackson’s death become such a media spectacle? The origin of the word spectacle comes to us from the Latin spectalulum, which means “a sight,” and from the root word specere, which means “to look.” It seems that the infotainment media want us “to look” at or pay attention to the ongoing details of the pop star’s death. But why? Do they think this is what we want? All Michael, all the time? Are they driven by ratings or the thirst to sell more papers? I suspect that all of these reasons play into their decision to bombard us with this latest media spectacle, but at what cost?
While many Americans could provide some information about the life and death of Michael Jackson, how many could explain the current proposals put forth by the federal government and grassroots organization to change the health care system in this country? The Obama administration is using the power of its group Change for America, which is proposing a some mild reforms, but offers no challenge to the current corporate managed health care system. Some organizations are promoting themselves as in favor of health care reform, but these entities are just front groups for the health care industry.
One thing that has been interesting to watch is the near blackout in the mainstream media the proposal supported by millions of Americans – Single Payer Health Care. Russell Mokhiber of Corporate Crime Reporter had a recent story listing the national groups that arrayed against Single Payer even being part of the discussion.
There are at least 47 million Americans who have no health insurance and another 100 million who are under-insured, yet the future of health care pales in comparison to the type of media spectacle that Michael Jackson’s death provides.
This just all seems so counter-intuitive to the notion that without good health, not much else matters. Yet, the news media does not give us up to the minute reports on health care reform and it is not front-page news every other day.
What do you think would happen if it were reported on with the same frequency as the latest celebrity scandal or death? What would it mean to most Americans if they got daily reports on how the health industry, the HMOs, the pharmaceutical and insurance industries were spending millions of dollars lobbying the federal government to maintain some form of a privately managed health care system? Would information about how the public is being overcharged for medical care and medicine really sell newspapers? Would people be glued to the TV and radio if there was a daily story about which health care company was lobbying which member of Congress?
The answer to all of these questions might not ever be known, but here is an idea that just might increase coverage of the millions of people who are uninsured or under-insured in the US. I think that those dying from HIV/AIDS, military vets, the homeless, the millions of children with poor health, and the millions of working Americans who have had their health care benefits reduced or eliminated and senior citizens who can’t afford medicine just wore a white glove and did the moonwalk the news media might find them worthy of up to the minute and front page news.
Media Bites – US Air Force Ad
In this week’s Media Bites we take a look at a recent US Air Force recruiting commercial that features the use of the unmanned drones. We analyze this ad in the context of how the US military uses popular media for targeting youth. We also address how this ad sanitizes the use of Predator Drones that are currently being used in the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan & Pakistan.
