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Announcement :: Media |
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More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
Current rating: 0 |
by David Johnson
Email: unionyes (nospam) ameritech.net (unverified!)
Phone: 356-8247 |
22 Sep 2006
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Last Sunday's News Gazette editorial featured an attack a longtime union and anti-war activist!
The Publishing Editor of the News Gazette ( John Foreman ) wrote a THREE column opinion piece ( last Sunday 9 / 17 / 06 ) attacking all who criticized Bush's war as the " bash America first crowd " and specifically attacked FW. Bob Wahlfeldt was called a " draftee potato peeler in Virginia for the duration of WW -2 ".
FYI, FW. Wahlfeldt was a Navy rescue swimmer who from 1943 to 1945, swimming in shark infested waters and artillery barrages from enemy ships and planes to rescue downed U.S. pilots and torpedoed ship survivors. This publisher of the News Gazette ( John Foreman ) revealed his extremist right-wing ideology and his ignorance in this opinion piece and refused to meet with FW Wahlfeldt on Monday and Tuesday when FW. Wahlfeldt went to the News Gazette with his military service records in hand. |
FW. Bob Wahlfeldt wrote a letter to the News Gazette identifying himself as a WW-2 veteran and opposing the appearnce of an Army reserve colonel at a local grade school who was quoted in the News Gazette as telling the
children that ; " we are in a war against terorism against people who are intolerant of other people's beliefs ".
FW. Wahlfeldt stated that this was recruitment and propoganda for Bush's war.
The Publishing Editor of the News Gazette ( John Foreman ) wrote a THREE column opinion piece ( last Sunday 9 / 17 / 06 ) attacking all who criticized Bush's war as the " bash America first crowd " and specifically attacked FW. Bob Wahlfeldt was called a " draftee potato peeler in Virginia for the duration of WW -2 ". FYI , FW. Wahlfeldt was a Navy rescue swimmer who from 1943 to 1945 swam in shark infested waters and artillery
barrages from enemy ships and planes, to rescue downed U.S. pilots and torpedoed ship survivors.
This publisher of the News Gazette ( John Foreman ) reveled his extremist right-wing ideology and his ignorance in this opinion piece and refused to meet with FW Wahlfeldt on Monday and Tuesday when FW. Wahlfeldt went to the News Gazette with his military service records in hand.
This attack on FW. Wahlfeldt is the brick that has broken the camel's back with the News Gazette and their skewed right-wing biased reporting. whose views are not shared by the vast majority of this community, not to mention their refusal to cover and almost total media black-out of any Labor event.
Lets give them something to report about or at the very least, show the community that we are sick of their lies and distortions.
Saturday October 7th has been suggested as a tenative date to fight back against this right-wing rag that pretends to be a community newspaper.
Please respond to let me know if you are willing and able to come out for this picket.
More than likely it would be at 1pm.
FW ( Fellow Worker ) David Johnson
356-8247
posted for DJ, working class hero, by Paul Mueth who suggests that the comment area be used to dsicuss co-ordinate media actions, letters, demonstrating at NG office or at Foreman's house if it's near busy street with sidewalks |
See also:
http://www.news-gazette.com/feedback/
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This work is in the public domain. |
Comments
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by NG non-reader
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
22 Sep 2006
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I can't find the original NG article. Could you post a link to it? |
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Apparently Not On-Line? |
by regular reader
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
22 Sep 2006
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I looked at the N-G website. Under Opinions, they only have today's opnions, with no link I could find to an archive. Basically, it was in last Sunday's paper.
The most ironic part in it is where Foreman says the N-G runs opinions they don't agree with because they believe in free speech. I guess that applies, until you catch Foreman in a lie.
The exact paragraph in question is:
"(By the way, I also got a kick out of a writer who identified himself as a World War II veteran and explained that he only respected members of the military who served in the good wars. Might it be fair of me to assume he was a draftee who helped lick Hitler by peeling potatoes in Virginia? Heck, I'd respect him even for that.)"
Well, maybe. It sounds a lot more like a whole paragraph of diss, with a tiny bit of a cherry on the end, as if this tiny tip of the hat disclaims the intent of the whole paragraph. Foreman obvioulsy and clearly intended to belittle Bob, his service, and his standing as a citizen and a veteran to critique the idiot/criminal president.
Now, Foreman seems to be impervious to an appeal from Bob that he live up to the N-G's own policy on corrections:
"The N-G strives to present fair and accurate reporting, and to correctany errors as promptly as possible."
Maybe Foreman is hiding behind the figleaf of the editorial page, since it is not strictly speaking reportin. In that case, maybe Foreman should print a disclaimer on the editorial page saying:
"We reserve the right to insult and lie about anyone in our editorials. We may -- or may not -- grant the right of reply, depending upon how stupid and vile it makes us look." |
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I Was Thinking |
by citizen pained
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
22 Sep 2006
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I wonder if it was Bob who pulled Bush's daddy out of the water after his plane went down with the other two crew members?
Probably he didn't, but if so, that might be the only mistake I think Bob could be accussed of making.
Yeah, this stinks. It's just like a Republican like Foreman to use our servicemembers as they please to whip up war fever and take people's minds off the issues, then cast them aside when they aren't the convenient tools they're expected to be for imperialism. |
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by BD
BD (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
22 Sep 2006
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We must remember that JF's infantile slander is typical of the NG bias.
We can develop a rap sheet of the NG's ideological slant - please feel free to add to the list.
-unfair reporting of Patrick Thompson trial.
-downplaying of recent racial profiling statistics.
-refusal to print editorials by Community Courtwatch members, including myself and Chris Evans.
-failure to report repeated abuses of Sgt. William Alan Myers, jail guard caught tasing an inmate and found to have wrongly tased 3 other individuals.
-refusal to print news about Champaign Police Chief Finney's son because NG journalists generally liked the Chief.
C-U Citizens for Peace and Justice is meeting Saturday 4pm at IMC to discuss strategies for combined Unity March/NG protest/People's Day of Mobilization. |
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by karl roenfanz ( rosey )
k_rosey48 (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
22 Sep 2006
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could it be that their afraid of the police giving them tickets for imaginary crimes? or bowing to the political powers? thats what happens in evansville, ind. |
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by NG non-reader
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
22 Sep 2006
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Thanks for quoting the paragraph about Bob. I'll make a couple comments. First, it's an opinion piece, not a news article, and although it's rude and disrespectful, it doesn't tell any outright lies, as far as I can tell. Apparently, the writer was ticked off that Bob said that he only respects members of the military who served in "good wars," which is basically the same as saying that he doesn't respect people who served in the "bad wars" (Vietnam and Iraq, I presume). If that's what Bob really said, I'd be upset at him too, because there were as many reasons for serving in those wars as there are people who served, and to make a blanket statement of disrespect towards those people is simply wrong. That said, Foreman's response was disrespectful (he was basically giving Bob a taste of his own medicine), but he didn't come out and say that Bob peeled potatoes. He just said that he "assumes" that from Bob's comments. A more appropriate response to Foreman's opinion would be to lambaste him in the opinion forum. Something of much greater concern is the NG's bias in selecting what news stories to report. Now THAT might be something worth picketing about. |
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by NG non-reader
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
22 Sep 2006
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Thanks for the clarification. I agree that Foreman misrepresented what Bob wrote. Bob definitely didn't say or even imply that "he only respected members of the military who served in the good wars." |
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by NG non-reader
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
22 Sep 2006
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My last comment would make more sense if Bob's original letter hadn't disappeared. Please repost it. |
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Hot Tip: Use Distinct Titles |
by ML
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
22 Sep 2006
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I got in for the evening, deleted a number of pages of spam comments, but didn't find any previous comments that had Bob's letter in it.
It is possible that a previous comment was deleted and purged accidentally. Web editors here at UC IMC eliminate hundreds of spammed ad comments daily and, very occasionally, a legitimate comment may get taken out by accident.
Since there is so much spam, we have to judge it mostly on the title alone whether or not it is a legitimate post. That is one big reason we are working to get the new website online ASAP.
I wanted to let users know that this can happen. To prevent having your comment mistaken for spam, it is best to title any comment with a specific unique title so that it stands out. Definitely do NOT use any single word title or anything else like which sounds like it could be a spam email subject line. Do not use only someone's first name for a title, either. Spammers are not very creative about anything except jamming up your inbox, so most any comment title that you would delete in your email inbox without bothering to read gets the same treatment here.
Do not rely on the auto-generated "Re:..." title when making comments. About half the spam is generated by bots to ustilize an old title, mostly to a couple of dozen old article titles the editors are already familiar with.
However, since we often have to delete literally pages and pages of spam comments at a time by looking through them quickly, so that legitimate users' comments can be found and read easily by eliminating this trash that pushes legitimate comments far abck into the archives, it is possible a mistake can be made. We delete and purge spam comments by policy, completely taking them off the server, since they generate unwanted server loads, even if hidden, and most of them are variations on various phishing scams. If a mistake is made, then the only remedy is to repost something.
Please bear with us and our apologies is a mistake happens. It is rare, but possible. A solution is in the works. |
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by Bob's letter to the N-G
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
24 Sep 2006
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This is the letter to the N-G editor that Mr. Foreman "got a kick out of".
As you can see there is no mention by Bob of him respecting only those who were in the "good wars". Seems like another example of N-G disinformation! Here is the original letter. Hopefully it won't disappear from the comment section this time:
I was discouraged to read that a US military officer was a recent speaker at Carrrie Busey Elementary School in Champaign. I was even more surprised at his reaction when someone questioned the presentation he gave in uniform to young students. How can his presentation given in uniform (no matter how humorous or sincere) in which he tells about a country the US invaded and now occupies not be mistaken as an effort to put a happy face and spin on “A Glimpse of War”? No, many of us were not present in Kuwait in December of 2002 as the US prepared to invade. Nor were we in Iraq only 4 months after the March of 2003 invasion when Col. Rudzinski safely returned home. He hasn’t been back recently and so I doubt he knows the horrors his fellow soldiers are currently experiencing or the devastation of the innocent Iraqi civilians.
I am former WWII military and I was disappointed in the disrespectful response from Col. Rudzinski. If he wants to call all of us fools who disagree with him and his “presentation” given in uniform then he will have a long and growing list of those he will have to designate as ignorant. The “bash America always” crowd as he disrespectfully calls us includes many like myself who love my country always, but my government (and fellow military) only when they deserve it! |
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by th0rn
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
24 Sep 2006
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It's exactly stuff like this that makes me loathe the Snooze-Gazoo. Yes, please build the "rap sheet" post it prominently, and keep adding to it. The NG and Foreman are welcome to keep lying and propagandizing, but it should be easy for the public to discover what a bunch of scumbags they really are. Once the truth is widespread and irrefutable, their readership will start dropping off, and with it, their ad revenue. I'm sure it's already happening. Make a big noise, and keep screaming. Did I already say how much I loathe the NG? |
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by Patrick and Martel
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
25 Sep 2006
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I Patrick Thompson and Martel Miller will be in attendance to help protest against the News-Gazette and we will also help promote the demonstration. |
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The streets are ours -- to be used as we see fit. |
by Worker T. Rule
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
25 Sep 2006
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Sisters and Brothers,
I believe the question of whether or not it is appropriate to take the dialogue regarding FW Wahlfeldt to the streets and to the door step of the boss paper NG is first a question for the individual maligned, Bob himself, and second a question for the communities that are also affected by the ideological and personal assault perpetrated by the author and the editors of the paper.
The rhetoric used against our friend and neighbor is nothing new or shocking. But we do not have to submit to the injury. And we do not need to be pacified by any persons who might identify in this case with the dominant values that define acceptable political debate and action in terms of courtesy and responding in boss or government controlled contexts. What could Bob or any of his friends or sympathizers expect from this paper when such attempts are made?
Surely not fair treatment -- afterall, this attack was veiled as an opinion, but insead it was a pointed personal attack where our brother was singled out and then used for a general attack against dissent and dissenters. Thus, this INJURY TO ONE, became and INJURY TO ALL.
What then are our choices? Well, we can expect that if our enemies received the same sort of attack the response would be with lawsuits, think tank media blitzes, and public addresses to defend their interests, in the contexts where they have the upper hand.
My friends have taught me that those of us not enjoying power and wealth begin with two places of limited power in addition to the greatest source of our power: our labor, on the shop floor. The first is in our homes, for there are too many for the powerful to infiltrate, burn, or bulldoze. The second is in the street, for there are too many of us and too many of us watching for them to, in many cases, capture, fire on, or bomb out of existence.
Obviously, the injury from the attack is not the same as the havoc unleashed on our brothers and sisters around the world using the bulk of the nation's tax dollars for the bombs and torture and rape and murderous wars. Nor is it as serious as the injuries brought on by the other bulk of our, used in the captivity and torture and rape that descends into institutional murder of our fellow citizens in the prison slave complex of the bosses and politicians. Or the injustice through the lack of taxes being spent for the health and welfare of our sisters who are raising our youngest brothers and sisters as single parents.
And yet, the call has been made to respond to the injury by the NG. The attack was different than a theoretical or realistic criticism, which I think would make sense to respond to only in that forum. And I would not discount using this avenue to respond, as well.
But, I do not believe whether or not to protest is a question of appropriateness in this case. I would hope to welcome criticism based on tactical and strategic grounds. Something like, "If you're going to be out in the street why not include some of the systematic abuses the NG doles out on a daily basis, such as it's biased coverage of violence in the schools that perpetuates racism in our culture to the harm of African Americans, and, as a result, everyone to varying degrees."
Or, "Why has the NG not covered the suffering of the GI's returning from combat and the complete lack of healthcare they receive -- that's issue to include when you're demanding some respect!" Or, "Why stop at a protest, why not demonstrate the problem with the paper by...because it continually fails to give a perspective that is structurally critical of the status quo rather than the superficial commentary provided by what serves as the liberal perspective."
This type of dialogue will assist us with building the many movements for justice into one. So that individually and collectively we can see as resistance all responses to classism, as exemplified by the 'potato-peeler' comment, or the racism ennacted in the coverage of our schools, or the homophobia apparent in the omission of coverage of the gay marriage movement as an equal rights struggle - rather than a politician's movement, which is actually going to limit our rights by constitutional amendment.
At any point people take to the streets it is an inspiration to us all, even when it is tactically or strategically flawed. At any point an individual or group stands in opposition to oppression it is our duty to join with them in what ways we believe to be tactically and strategically effective. I hope that when I am in the line of fire my friends will come to my side, and I hope those who hear of it will support us as well.
As for this protest, I expect it will be effective at showing we will not be intimidated to shy away from simply speaking our mind. And that we will come to each other's defense when we are attacked personally or as a group. I expect the media, and NG in particular, if they chose to cover the event, will attempt to spin it as the left trying to censor the media. Ironic, since self-censorship may be their greatest achievement.
More importantly, I believe we will rise from our homes or safe places where we build our solidarity with eachother and go into public places to reach out to the community to plan the protest, and on into the streets, we will again prove that the spirit of freedom is not dead and that we can unite in ways that each of our individual and group voices can be heard to defend our interests and build the solutions to tyranny today, as is our hope for everyday.
As for planning on-line, that's pretty difficult. It's hard for me to develop trust or even know who I'm addressing.
for One Big Union,
Worker T. Rule
iww.org |
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Re: More Media Bias and Slander, Disinformation etc |
by Altazor
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
25 Sep 2006
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Time to stand up!?!? This time... Bring pots and pans to bang on, out of tune trumpets, drums, madness and rage!! Be Surreal... have fun... and make some REAL F@#$%ing noise for a change! No more 'polite,' "If you please sir?" BS. |
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