Media Malfeasance

[Natural Citizen]

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Malfeasance should not be considered bias.

 

[Natural Citizen]

CNN: Ukraine Accuses Russia Of Armed Invasion!

 

[Natural Citizen]

Ukrainian crisis: ‘Propaganda war rolls on’

Many lies are circulating in media now and influencing the thinking and the decisions of the responsible politicians, which is very dangerous, journalist Manuel Ochsenreiter told RT.

RT: What do you think of Kerry's pile of harsh words for Russia?

Sociologist, commentator and author Frank Ferudi added on the issue: “I think there is a kind of media fantasy that imagines that what we are seeing is a rerun of the Cold War. There’s a tendency to see the worst in every move that Russia makes. And there’s a lack of sympathy or empathy or understanding, whichever side you’re on, whatever your interpretation of events in the Ukraine, there are some real problems that Russia faces, that Russia is going to deal with."

"There is a tremendous weakening of the standard of journalism and it began a few months ago where there was very little discussion going on about what actually was happening in Ukraine, because the whole Ukraine story was represented in a language of right and wrong."

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Manuel Ochsenreiter: It is not worth to talk about the content of Kerry’s speech because maybe Kerry is one of the best paid professional liars in the West. We have to remember what he was telling about Syria in the past. He was one of the loudest war-mongers when it came to Syria. So now he does this function too, when it goes against Russia. The worst thing is to see that this is a part of a giant media propaganda war against Russia, particularly against Crimea and against the Russians in Ukraine. This is really dramatic and what Kerry does and what he says, he is somehow like a pop star in this propaganda show against Russia and this we shall take seriously.

RT: Do you think Washington is likely to change its stance?

MO: I don’t think so, because the propaganda war is rolling. You cannot stop this huge media propaganda. We have many lies circulating in media. The really disturbing fact is that those media lies are now influencing the thinking and the decisions of the responsible politicians as well. This example we know from Syria, when politicians make decisions on the basis of rumors. It is quite dangerous and Washington will not change anything.

RT: Obama continues to insist Russia's violating international law. Do you agree that's the case?

MO: This whole Ukrainian conflict is not about democracy, it is not about oligarchs and it is not about political parties. It is a purely geopolitical conflict. If somebody seizes power in an illegal way, but is pro-Western the Western states will appreciate this. If the same thing happens in the other direction, the Western states will start threatening with the military intervention, for example. So it is about the position of the new government. As long as this regime is purely on the Western side and asks the West for support, the West will acknowledge this regime as a new legal government.

http://rt.com/op-edge/propaganda-war-ukraine-usa-russia-876/

 

[Natural Citizen]

US State Dept spokesperson Jen Psaki continues to fuel corporate media & political narrative...avoids questions relative to the malfeasance.

Two people - a self-defense member and a Ukrainian soldier - were killed at a Ukrainian military map center Tuesday. Witnesses claim shots came from a possible sniper who opened fire from a partially inhabited building. Nevertheless US State Dept spokesperson Jen Psaki tweeted that Russia was responsible and 'shot first'. RT's Anastasia Churkina asks Ms Psaki to clarify her allegations at US Press Briefing.

Aside... Sanction tit-for-tat: Moscow & US share jabs with restrictions...commentary on media & political malfeasance follows...

The US is stepping up its efforts against Russian officials by imposing more sanctions. With Crimea joining Russia after its referendum on Sunday, Moscow and Washington have been locked in a tit-for-tat battle over sanctions and PR. Adding further complications is the huge of flow of misinformation surrounding the crisis, which RT's Anastasia Churkina wades into to find the truth.

Regarding the discussion surrounding those new sniper attacks...

Shots were fired at a military base in Simferopol, Crimea, the first such instance of violence on the Crimean Peninsula since the beginning of the crisis. A Ukrainian serviceman and a member of the Crimean self-defense forces were reportedly killed by the shots from a still-unidentified source. Quick to condemn the violence, Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has called the shootings a "war crime."

US official accuses Russia of firing at Ukrainian troops, refuses to explain herself

Russia considers the shooting a provocation, and Crimean authorities are openly saying that it bears resemblance to the deaths in Kiev in February, where snipers allegedly killed both protesters and police amid a bloody confrontation.
Commenting on the incident on her Twitter account, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said:

The US official’s statement may imply that she considers Russia as the culprit behind the provocation, but when RT’s Anastasia Churkina asked her to clarify the position on such serious allegations, Psaki became evasive.
“We don’t see how it’s possibly true that the Russian claim that someone else was the aggressor, that the Ukrainians were the aggressor can possibly be true, given they [the Russians] entered the Ukrainian base” she said.

Russia never accused Ukraine of any wrongdoing in the incident, but when Psaki was told that, her reply was, “They have said that a little bit. I think we’re ready to move on. Do we have another topic?”

It’s not the first time State Department spokeswoman has dodged hard questions on the Ukrainian turmoil. In early February it was her job to give an explanation over the leaked record of an alleged phone conversation between Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Victoria Nuland and US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, in which they appeared to discuss who should be in the new Ukrainian cabinet.

At the time Psaki refused to confirm that the tape was authentic or to view it as proof of America’s meddling in the Ukrainian crisis. But she did call the leaking of the tape “a new low in Russian tradecraft.” She didn’t offer any evidence to back that accusation.

 

[Natural Citizen]

John Kerry attacks RT during Ukraine address

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During a press conference with the State Department on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry rounded on RT, lashing out at its Ukraine coverage.

Dismissing the entire eastern Ukrainian, anti-Maidan movement as being sponsored and controlled by Moscow, Kerry did not address allegations of American involvement in Ukraine. Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that America was “running the show in Ukraine” and referenced the visits to Kiev of CIA head John Brennan and Vice-President Joe Biden.

Lavrov decried John Kerry’s latest comments about RT as “uncivilized” and “prosecutorial.”

“[The West] was convinced for some time that it had a full monopoly on mass media,” said Lavrov in a statement. “Russia Today has won a large audience in the US and Western Europe, not to mention in Latin America and the Arab world."

RT's Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan responded to Kerry, saying the channel was preparing a letter seeking an apology from the State Department and asking for evidence to back up their assertions.

“We are planning to write an official request to the State Department for concrete examples of when RT has distorted facts,” said Simonyan. “It’s unfortunate that the head of the State Department knows so little about what’s going on in Ukraine at the moment."

“It surprises me that at this difficult and embarrassing time for the US, Secretary of State John Kerry has nothing else to worry about apart from our television channel,” Simonyan tweeted.

Ukraine LIVE UPDATES FEED - http://rt.com/news/eastern-ukraine-army-operation-680/​

 

[Natural Citizen]

Negotiations for the world’s biggest trade deal have been conducted in total secrecy over the last four years. What’s worse, deliberations are being held between world leaders and multinational corporations that are paving the way for a global corporate coup.

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) consists of twelve Pacific Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US.

Over 600 corporate advisors are consulting on the TPP to establish an international court tribunal made up of corporate representatives, which could supercede the sovereignty of countries involved and override existing laws. But despite the drastic implications this deal could have concerning everything from food safety to intellectual property rights, a stunning new report by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) reveals that neither ABC, CBS, nor NBC have even so much as mentioned the TPP since Obama’s State of the Union address in February of 2013.

Kevin Zeese, co-founder of It’s Our Economy, explains why the mainstream media has ignored the story and calls the TPP a ‘privatization’ of state owned enterprises.




Breaking the Set explains how the media distracted citizens in order to allow Congress to sneakily introduce a measure to put the TPP on a legislative fast track, an undemocratic move that undermines public debate.



Margaret Flowers, Organizer for Popular Resistance, discusses why fast tracking the TPP is so dangerous to the democratic process, and why everyone should care about this trade deal.



legislative representative of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Mike Dolan. Dolan breaks down the content of the TPP chapter released by Wikileaks and explains how the legislation will affect global citizens.




Two-thirds of Americans stand in opposition to a TPP fast track. Make sure your voice is heard too.

Learn more at:
www.stoptpp.org
www.exposethetpp.org
https://www.citizen.org/TPP

 

[Natural Citizen]

Avoiding facts? MSM uncertain who is behind deadly Odessa blaze

Despite clear evidence that the pro-Kiev radicals set Odessa’s House of Trade Unions ablaze on Friday killing dozens, the mainstream media is being ambiguous about the causes of the tragedy.

On Friday, Ukraine’s eastern town of Odessa saw brutal street battles between pro-autonomy activists and nationalist radicals which left 46 people dead. The majority of the victims died in the Trade Unions House that was set on fire by pro-Kiev radicals.

Very carefully worded commentary on the tragedy in Odessa came from the mainstream Western media, as if they were trying to avoid assigning the blame to those who actually set the building on fire. Their coverage of the event was heavily reliant on statements from Kiev that blamed the violence on pro-autonomy activists, as well as witness accounts given by the nationalist Right Sector members.

Based on their reports, it may seem that the House of Trade Unions just caught fire.

“At some stage yesterday – and it still unclear exactly how this started – but there were rival pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian protests here. It led to fierce street clashes, which culminated in a huge fire in a building last night,” reported Sky News.

“Violence is escalating in Ukraine. Police in normally calm Odessa say a clash between pro-Russians and government supporters led to a fire that killed at least 31 people,” said a report by Fox News.

But the actual video footage from the scene of the incident clearly shows how pro-Kiev radicals are throwing Molotov cocktails into the Trade Unions House where pro-autonomy activists were trapped.



Asked by the Washington Post who had thrown Molotov cocktails, a pro-Ukrainian activist Diana Berg admitted “Our people — but now they are helping them to escape the building.”

The BBC website merely quoted the regional office of Ukraine's Interior Ministry, writing that “it did not give details of how the blaze started,” stressing that “the exact sequence of events is still unclear.”

Reuters news agency reported that “a pro-Kiev march was ambushed, petrol bombs, stones, explosive devices were thrown, police soon lost control and the building was later set on fire.”

CNN covered the incident by stating that it was “unclear exactly what may have caused it [the fire].” Later, however, the channel acknowledged the fire was started byKiev supporters throwing Molotov cocktails at the building.

The New York Times goes with the headline: ‘Ukraine Presses Pro-Russia Militants After Fighting Spreads to a Port City.’ The words “pro-Russian militants” could create the impression that those were not just ordinary people and anti-Kiev demonstrators trapped inside a burning building, but militants. And that kind of wording can almost justify the act of killing, notes RT’s Gayane Chichakyan.

The Guardian quotes a member of extreme-right nationalist group Right Sector as saying "The aim is to completely clear Odessa [of pro-Russians]… They are all paid Russian separatists.”

Continued... Avoiding facts? MSM uncertain who is behind deadly Odessa blaze

 

[Natural Citizen]

This is a long paper so I'll just add a few paragraphs of it. It's rather spot on and the use of language referenced by corporate media is also something we're seeing spread onto web forums and other blogs. It's interesting.

How the corporate media whitewashes Ukraine..

Cities in eastern and southern Ukraine have become battlefields as the junta in Kiev has unleashed military and paramilitary thugs on the people of those regions.
At the same time the media, with its critical role in shaping public opinion, has also become one of the principal theaters in this ongoing conflict, with Western propaganda being one of the most potent weapons.

Seventy-three years ago this October, the infamous “Odessa Massacre” of 1941, which killed more than 30,000 Jews in the Ukrainian port city and surrounding areas, was carried out by Romanian fascist troops in collaboration with their Nazi patrons and allies. The pogrom, merely one of many against Jews and other minorities in Ukraine, is a stark historical reminder to the people of Odessa (and all those throughout the former Soviet Union who fought against fascism during the war) of the depravity, inhumanity, and barbarism of Nazis and their collaborators.

And now, 73 years later, Odessa is the scene of yet another horrific war crime carried out by fascists against innocent civilians. The fire and massacre at the Trade Unions building which killed dozens of anti-fascist activists and employees in the building, will serve as a painful testimony to the ongoing struggle against the junta in Kiev and its neo-Nazi paramilitary foot soldiers. This obvious war crime, along with a number of others committed by the Right Sector and other ultra-nationalist (read fascist) militias, should undoubtedly be the issue making headlines around the world.

And yet, it seems that somehow the slaughter of innocents, and the issue of criminal accountability for those who ordered and carried out the massacre, has been completely and systematically distorted and/or omitted from the Western narrative. Instead, the corporate media has deliberately attempted to obscure the true nature of the events of that day, and those leading up to and subsequent to it, in order to dilute the impact of the self-evident, and quite damning, criminality of the fascist militias and their leaders and patrons. By using subtle, coded language that deliberately minimizes the barbarism of the events and shifts blame from Kiev to Moscow, the mainstream Western media once again acts as the dutiful servant of the US-EU ruling establishment.

In examining the way in which the events in Odessa, and those that have taken place in other regions since May 1, have been portrayed, a few common features emerge. First and foremost is the language used to describe the anti-fascist demonstrators who made up the majority of the victims in Odessa. In a woefully dishonest and biased article published by Reuters entitled “Ukraine moving police special forces to control Odessa,” the authors utilize critical terminology such as “pro-Russian separatists” and “militants,” in fact using them interchangeably as a means of “branding” the activists as something other than peaceful Ukrainians demonstrating for their rights.


Naturally, the phrase “pro-Russian separatists” is entirely misleading on a number of levels. First, the anti-fascist, anti-junta activists (as they should rightly be labeled) are not separatists in the true sense of the word. They do not seek secession outright, but have been demonstrating for weeks in favor of a federalized Ukraine where the rights of Russian-speakers and other minorities would be respected and constitutionally guaranteed. They were demanding that their long-standing historical, familial, and economic ties with Russia not be severed by force of an illegal government in Kiev and its paramilitary shock troops. Far from being “separatists” these activists, scores of whom have already been killed, injured, and/or taken prisoner, have been standing up for a just and peaceful Ukraine instead of the ochlocracy brought about by the junta.

Continuead - How the corporate media whitewashes Ukraine

 

[Natural Citizen]

Re-Pressed

Ukraine dangerously interfering with press freedom – Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Ukraine’s military and security services are “dangerously interfering with press freedom” by detaining journalists working with Russian news agencies and denying others entry into the country.

The New-York-based advocacy group called on Ukrainian authorities to “immediately” explain the recent detention of three journalists, one of whom has since been released.

HRW called on Ukrainian authorities to “immediately clarify the whereabouts of Saichenko and Sidyakin” and state unequivocally whether “lawful charges are being pursued against them,” Human Rights Watch said.

The group said failing to do so would implicit authorities in an act of “enforced disappearance,” which is “prohibited under international law” and violates “multiple human rights obligations.” The group notes that arbitrary detention and denial of freedom of expression contravention the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which Ukraine is party to.

Continued - Ukraine dangerously interfering with press freedom



Recent...

Russian journalists arrested for breaking ‘Kiev’s UN-marked helicopters’ news – report
US parrots Kiev claims detained Russian journalists were ‘aiding terrorists’
Russian journalists detained by Kiev forces near Kramatorsk in E. Ukraine
Ukrainian APCs open fire at RT's video agency crew near Kramatorsk
OSCE calls on Kiev to free Russian journalists, ‘stop intimidating media’
RT reporter Graham Phillips released in Ukraine after being held for 36 hours
Kiev denies OSCE mission access to LifeNews detained journalists
‘Nonsense!’ Putin slams Kiev’s stance on detained Russian reporters
Moscow demands OSCE take measures to free journalists detained by Kiev
RT journalist to be handed to UK consul in Kiev, SBU proceedings against him ‘over’
Duma motion attacks Ukrainian detention of Russian reporters
Detained RT contributor could be taken to Kiev for further interrogation
Ukraine bans entry to RT crew sent to cover presidential election
No connection with RT contributor after interrogation by Kiev forces

 

[Natural Citizen]

Discussed here are some critical topics/questions regarding the malfeasance that seemingly guides recent western media reporting pertaining to Ukraine and MH17. Topics also include NATO training that was going on in the area that fateful day that was specifically designed to better detect airspace.

More interestingly, the narrative of "Russian Aggression" that has been spun without the facts is becoming dangerously elevated by some politicians in Congress. The U.S. and certain political factions are trying to actually legislate anti-Russian sentiments based on media and political spin. They call it the "Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014". Of course, Europe would need to be on board to help this along and so it is important to listen for various Senators and congressmen to specifically discuss Europe. They should give themselves away as far as their actual position in scope. Many of these neocons are trying desperately to use the issue as a mechanism to permanently base U.S. military in many NATO nations around the world. Military, financial, political and diplomatic support, etc...

Anyhow...it's a rather broad discussion and touches upon some rather critical developments that western/corporate media and some in Congress won't touch with a ten foot pole.





Aside - Legislating the Way to World War 3?

The US Congress is doing its part to escalate the tensions with Russia over Ukraine and a host of other issues. In so doing, the legislative and executive branches of the US Government work hand in glove to further the US-NATO agenda in Eastern Europe.

The bill, propagandistically titled the “Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014,” (S.2277) was proposed by right wing Republican Senator Bob Corker, and has been cosponsored by a significant number of prominent Republicans in the Senate.

From the Bill -

S.2277 “Directs the President to: (1) implement a plan for increasing U.S. and NATO support for the armed forces of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, and other NATO member-states; and (2) direct the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO to seek consideration for permanently basing NATO forces in such countries.”

S.2277 “Directs the President to submit a plan to Congress for accelerating NATO and European missile defense efforts.”

S.2277 “Directs the President to impose asset blocking and U.S. exclusion sanctions, if Russian armed forces have not withdrawn from Crimea within seven days after enactment of this Act” and “Directs the President to impose asset blocking and U.S. exclusion sanctions, if Russian armed forces have not withdrawn from the eastern border of Ukraine within seven days after enactment of this Act, or if agents of the Russian Federation do not cease actions to destabilize the control of the government of Ukraine over eastern Ukraine.”

S. 2277 “Directs DOD to assess the capabilities and needs of the Ukrainian armed forces. Authorizes the President, upon completion of such assessment, to provide specified military assistance to Ukraine” and “Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should: (1) provide Ukraine with information about Russian military and intelligence capabilities on Ukraine’s eastern border and within Ukraine’s territorial borders, including Crimea; and (2) ensure that such intelligence information is protected from further disclosure.”

Of course, the military angle doesn’t stop there, as S.2277 also “Provides major non-NATO ally status for Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova (during the period in which each of such countries meets specified criteria) for purposes of the transfer or possible transfer of defense articles or defense services,” and “Directs the President to increase: (1) U.S. Armed Forces interactions with the armed forces of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia; and (2) U.S and NATO security assistance to such states.”

Toward the end of S.2277 one finds a seemingly innocuous clause that, when read carefully, may just be one of the most important in the whole bill. S.2277 “Amends the Natural Gas Act to apply the expedited application and approval process for natural gas exports to World Trade Organization members,” and “Urges the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Trade and Development Agency, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the World Bank Group, and the European Bank for Reconstruction to promote assistance to Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova in order to exploit natural gas and oil reserves and to develop alternative energy sources.”

S.2277 “Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) strengthen democratic institutions, the independent media, and political and civil society organizations in countries of the former Soviet Union; and (2) increase educational and cultural exchanges with countries of the former Soviet Union” and “Directs the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Voice of America (VOA) to provide Congress with a plan for increasing and maintaining through FY2017 the quantity of U.S.-funded Russian-language broadcasting into countries of the former Soviet Union, with priority for broadcasting into Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova.”

S.2277 should come as no surprise to anyone who has been following US conduct in Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict. It is an attempt to legislate a confrontation with Russia in order to further the imperial agenda of the US and NATO. It is not the first, and certainly not the last, attempt by the political establishment in the US of escalating the conflict. Those of us interested in peace, stability, and opposition to US imperialism are certainly not shocked. That being said, S.2277 should remind us all that Ukraine is not the whole conflict, it is merely a theater in the larger war being waged by Washington – a war for power, hegemony, and another century of control. However, resistance to these forces continues. Exposing dangerous legislation such as S.2277 is merely a start.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Scarborough Scolds Arrested Reporters: When Cop Says to Move, You Move Along

Original video that I had shared here is deleted so have to replace it with this one. Is the only one I've found.

 

[Natural Citizen]

I can't figure out the malfeasant side here...

 

[Natural Citizen]

Graphic content: CNN’s top 10 embarrassing blunders...

Once a market leader among Western 24-hour news channels, CNN has now become infamous for its slipshod mislabeling of maps across the world. This week the network hit a new low, transforming a synagogue into a mosque.

What's worse, CNN ran a graphic that said that the attack happened at a "Jerusalem mosque," provoking a wave of social media outrage.

Top 10 here...

Continued - Graphic content: CNN’s top 10 embarrassing blunders

 

[Natural Citizen]

CNN heavily redacts RT host's interview.

RT foreign policy correspondent basically took the CNN talking head to the woodshed but then CNN cut it from what they aired.

Ben Swann reports...

 

[Natural Citizen]

Paris mayor gets green light to sue Fox over 'Muslim no-go zones'...

Screenshot from YouTube user I Hooper

Parisian lawmakers have given the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, the green light to sue US-based Fox News for falsely reporting on Islamic neighborhoods in the French capital where non-Muslims purportedly fear to go.

"I will not accept insults against our city and its people," Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said, as quoted by The Local. "What's in question here is not fun or... a bad joke, it's lies."

It was Fox host Sean Hannity, who was one of the first to popularize the urban myth, when on January 7 he said that in Paris “they have no-go zones. If you’re non-Muslim, you’re not allowed. Not police, not even fire department if there’s a fire. Sharia courts have been allowed to be established. Prayer rugs in just about every hotel.”

Fox host Jeanine Pirro welcomed “terrorism analyst”Steve Emerson, the founder of the Investigative Project on Terrorism in 1995, who described these shadowy Parisian zones as “sort of amorphous, they’re not contiguous necessarily, but they’re sort of safe havens.”

“And they’re places where the governments, like France, Britain, Sweden, Germany — they don’t exercise any sovereignty so you basically have zones where Sharia courts are set up, where Muslim density is very intense, where police don’t go in,”Emerson continued.

On Fox and Friends, host Brian Kilmeade, speaking on the Muslim population in France, asserted: “Nobody gets jobs, they don’t want to be French. They just want to live in Europe and take over the country.”

The channel then featured a satellite image of the French capital, which featured 8 highlighted areas described as “Muslim enclaves” that are responsible for “breeding radicals.”

The outrageous claims by Fox News not only attracted a lawsuit, they provided fodder for French humorists.



Barthès took his camera crew to the streets of these so-called no-go zones where interviews with perplexed locals effectively undermined the Fox News reporting.

Continued - Paris mayor gets green light to sue Fox over 'Muslim no-go zones'