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The internet as superior source of information than mainstream media
By Paul J. Balles*
7 May 2008
Paul J. Balles argues that, in contrast to the mainstream media where the truth is often gagged, the internet offers a medium where commentators are free to be honest and incorruptible.
Few people dig deeply into views of what's going on that the Western mainstream media ignores or refuses to cover. The fundamental reason for omitted viewpoints is that the mainstream media depends on readers' and advertisers' support and they dare not publish anything that might offend either.
Increasingly large numbers of computer users look to alternative sources of news and views. That number hasn't yet reached critical mass, however; and when it does, watch out for the attempts to restrict or censor what's available.
Here are some examples of the kind of honest reflection in some of the internet sources that operate with integrity and openness. For one thing, in the recent brouhaha over Reverend Wright's sermons, few people have stood up boldly for the reverend. Many people in America hate Wright, not because he was wrong, but because most Americans can't stand self criticism. To them, America is almost never wrong and never to be damned.
Phil Rockstroh has written: "’God Damn, America,’ I mutter, echoing the good Reverend Wright, as I witness the indifference of the American people to the war crimes committed by our nation's leaders." That's a courageous truth that's hard for Americans to swallow. It's also one that the rest of the world can readily agree with. Rockstroh offers a larger perspective, not found in the mainstream media:
Ask yourself if you'll ever find comments that describe realism like the following, by Dan Lieberman, in establishment media such as the New York Times or the Washington Post:
If Israel intended to allow a viable Palestinian state, would
the Israeli government proceed in the continuous construction of West
Bank settlements? Would the present Israeli government demand
recognition as a Jewish state and then concede to evolve into a
multi-thnic state?
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Practically everyone who follows news and commentary on the internet is aware that the so-called war in Iraq is fraudulent and was based on what one writer counts as 935 lies. Richard W. Behan is one of the voices of truths that don't appear in The Wall Street Journal or on CNN:
| The War on Terror is a fraud and a façade, a mere label
concocted and trumpeted by an administration known for its signature
dishonesty. The label conceals the Bush administration’s international
crimes of unprovoked military aggression, the armed invasions of
Afghanistan and Iraq, two sovereign nations the administration meant to
attack from its first days in office. |
Imagine a newspaper, magazine or TV station in the US where you would hear what Ben Tanosborn has written. Fox News would be likely to dub the following truth as the rant of a socialist, clan-bound anti-Semite:
| In the United States, if you aspire to occupy an elective
office, from the lowest position at the municipal level to the imperial
quarters of the White House, you must have been cleared beforehand as a
defender of the American faith, and that entails acceptance and
devotion to the dogma of a political trinity: Capitalism, Individualism
and Israelism. |
Mike Whitney's observations on economic perils have more integrity than any of the establishment financial story-tellers. Here is one of his recent exposes:
The US has been gaming the system for decades; sucking up
two-thirds of the world's capital to expand its cache of Cadillac
Escalades and flat-screen TVs; giving nothing back in return except
mortgage-backed junk, cluster bombs and crummy green paper. Nothing
changes; it only gets worse.
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These snippets of commenting done by intelligent, responsible truth-seekers on the internet don't rely on fraudulent reporting and distorted opinions of the controlled news media. Commentators are free to be honest and incorruptible.
*Paul Balles is a retired American university professor and freelance writer who has lived in the Middle East for many years. For more information, see http://www.pballes.com.
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