Iām assuming that the NSA threatened to release some CBS execās porn surfing search logsā¦
And here I was worried! Luckily, the NSA have proven yet again that they are incompetent at everything, and the only thing that keeps them employed is a lack of oversight, no review, no outrage due to media manipulation and an easily distracted general populace, and āpatriotismā packaged as easy to repeat war chants like ānine elevenā and āterrorismā.
Are they hiring? Iād like to do nothing all day and get paid for it.
Thereās no chance this piece was going to be anything other than garbage. Iām not even sure why it needed a rebuttal, itās just adding to the noise.
Perhaps it was more of an explanation of how āstuffingā works, related to that threatā¦
I think there needs to be more negative noise, because theyāre flagrantly disregarding every concern about it. Theyāre not even pretending to care or that anyone can stop them, because no one can or will. Of course, if you could actually get the idea that the NSA is bad into the Facebook mainstream consciousness, then they might be forced to actually care.
For years Iāve espoused the excellence of 60 Minutes as one of the best programs on television. I suspect I will continue to feel this way, but it has been a rough month or so.
This segment was as bad as indicated. The only positive was the intriguing level of access given to the cameras, but the rest was unbearable.
The two most glaring issues were a) As stated, the glaring lack of any counter-opinion and b) This powder-puff interview style of a ājournalistā Iād never seen on the program before.
It appears that some level of production/editorial oversight has been lost. Hereās hoping they can right the ship and return to greatness. We need more honest, true, expose journalism, not less.
Mike Wallace is probably rolling in his grave. Maybe his son Chris could have asked some hard hitting questionsā¦ just kidding. Weāre fucked.
Iām watching a show out of Sweden about a crime reporter. Itās almost hilarious to watch knowing that that model of journalism, where you probe and ask tough questions, doesnāt exist much in America anymore.
I havenāt watched that show in some time. Do they just let sponsors step in as āguest journalistsā now?
Thereās an occasional bleat about how newspapers are folding and journalism is dying. Weāre not seeing deathāweāre watching suicide. The irony is that these people will lose their jobs whining about how no one cares about the news anymore while itās obvious to the rest of us that THEY are the ones who donāt care about the news.
I agree, the public needs to demand a stop to this activity. But this is mere Internet bickering, IMO the sides remain polarized while hot heads spew counter points until it exhausts the patience of everyone involved. I think in the end people want it to go away instead of wanting it to be resolved.
Not that I think the rebuttal is the problemā¦ 60 minutes never should have agreed to this trash either.
Looking forward to hearing the On The Media coverageā¦
edit: actually referring to http://www.onthemedia.org/
I think the great times are over.
*See Lara Logan and the lie, and the puffy tripe that was the Leon Pannetta interview on torture.
A small part of me is quietly hoping that theyāre setting the NSA up for a one-two punch, where they do another interview and they use every lie and contradiction in the first report against them, but thatās wishful thinking.
I miss the old days when they actually had a āPoint, Counterpointā segment at the end of the show.
People still watch TV?
Iām sure Howard Kurtz will say that 60 Minutes really found it legs again and gave a āhard-hittingā report that really explained why we need to learn to embrace mass survelience and the secret police state, lest we forget that tragic day 12 years ago when 3000 brave Americans were killed, and we give up our way of life and let the terrorists āwinā.
Itās safe to say that MSM is just a propaganda tool for the entrenched interests of society, and ceased being Fourth Estate decades ago.
You can watch 60 Minutes online.
Wow. Seriously. Also.
I watched the opening episode of season 3 of āHomelandā the other night.
When they were all sitting around looking very serious in the closed court room, talking about how āif this information got out, it would be the end of the CIAā I almost pissed myself laughing.
Got out?
End of the agency?
Thereās nothing a few bullshit press releases and a smear campaign canāt fix. Absolutely nothing.
A top U.S. official was honest enough to tell reporters: look, we lie to you constantly and youāre a moron if you believe anything we say. He also honestly expressed his total contempt for them and intention to manipulate news coverage by dealing directly with their management and employers.
Moreover, Sylvester (who before going to work for the Pentagon had been the Washington correspondent for the Newark News) put his beliefs into practice at key moments of history. He lied about what the U.S. knew about Soviet missiles in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and personally told the key lies about the Gulf of Tonkin incident (listen to him here). And word was passed to Saferās superiors at CBS that āUnless you get Safer out of there, heās liable to end up with a bullet in his back.ā
This is such important information about how politics and the media work that it should be taught to everyone in 2nd grade. Itās not.
A Tiny Revolution: Has Morley Safer Ever Told John Miller This Story?: 'Look, If You Think Any American Official Is Going to Tell You the Truth, Then You're Stupid'
