Sally had lived between Tucson and Oaxaca since 2006. When in Arizona, Sally helped raise awareness and support for the struggle in Oaxaca, as well as engaging in solidarity work on the U.S. / Mexico border and in the Tucson community.
Here is her last report published by AZ Indy Media: Army out of Chiapas, Oaxaca,and the country!
First of all, when I speak of the news media here, I’m referring specifically to mainstream (corporate and politically owned media). I’m referring to cable television news, the mainstream press, and yes, even
NPR.
When there is a debate in the news, each station will moderate a conversation between two people who supposedly represent each side of a given issue. One person takes the “conservative” viewpoint and one takes the “liberal” viewpoint. The trouble is, the conservative position is usually far to the right, while the so-called liberal side is, in fact, closer to the center. This helps to create more of a resolve at the end of the debate. The truth is, the far left is not represented anywhere in mainstream news.
Here is my explanation. Think of the people who represent the most extreme right point of view, the conservative of the conservatives. People like Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson, or Jerry Falwell come to mind for me. Now, think of the people that represent the other side of the spectrum. I’m not referring simply to democrats or self-described spineless liberals; I’m talking about the far left. The question is, do they have the same access to mainstream media as the far right?
Markos Moulitsas Zúniga is founder and publisher of Daily Kos, the largest progressive community blog in the United States. Named “the single most successful entrepreneur of the progressive movement.” While I respect his work and his accomplishments on and off the Internet, he does not represent the far left in this country. Further, popular “liberal” bloggers like him are not popular because of their stance on political, social, and environmental issues, rather they are popular because of what they have to say about the other side. Besides, the only time I’ve ever seen him on television is on the O’Reilly Factor.
MSNBC has recently countered Fox’s obnoxious punditry with Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews. The station just dropped them because they are “too liberal.” Being liberal has become synonymous with Bush-bashing and being a democrat. And democrats are not the far left of this country. With a 30% approval rating, it’s pretty damn safe to be a Bush-basher.
As long as bitter, spineless, all criticism/no substance “journalists” like Olbermann and Matthews are painted as “too liberal,” the far left will never be represented in the media. In this way, those fragmented quotes from the far left that do make it into the media are considered crazy and “out of step with Americans” and the insanity of the far right is more accepted.
It is the corporate owned media that is out of step. If racist, sexist, senile assholes like Pat Robertson get a prime-time television show, who is on television from the left to counter it? Olbermann? Give me a break! If pill-popping, far-right (who is also racist and sexist) radio voices like Rush Limbaugh are broadcasted coast to coast, who will counter it on the left? Terri Gross? Once again, give me a break! As long as people like Olbermann and Gross are represented as “too liberal,” Sarah Palin can go on television and tell us that constructing a gas and oil pipeline through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is “God’s will” and nobody seems to bat an eye. Nevermind the fact that when members of other religions refer to “God’s will,” our media calls them “terrorists” and “fundamentalists.”
The next time you turn on the television, look for interviews with RNC protestors who were arrested. Look for animal rights activists. Look not for people who want to drill sparingly in Alaska or offshore here and there, but those who think we should stop drilling all together. Look for words like patriarchy, institutional racism, exploitation of third world communities, theft of resources, and corporate responsibility. Look for anyone critiquing our foreign policy without being accused of “hating America.” Look for any talk of dismantling fundamentally unsustainable systems and I guarantee you won’t find it. One of the central rules of propaganda is if you want a group of people to think of an issue in a particular way, your premises need to reflect the opposite of reality. So when the corporate-owned media describes itself as “too liberal,” this is done to make radically conservative points of view appear more credible. More of this in the video below.
Five Arizona felons filed suit Thursday challenging state laws that keep them from voting because of their criminal convictions.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Phoenix by the American Civil Liberties Union challenges a state law that denies certain rights to those who have been convicted of at least two felonies. These felons can get the right to vote only by getting permission from a judge.
The remarks come in China’s first national plan on climate change.
nice plan…
CERRON GRANDE RESERVOIR, El Salvador
An artificial lake in El Salvador brimming with sewage and industrial waste is mystifying scientists by attracting thousands of migratory and sea birds.
Built in 1974 to drive El Salvador’s biggest hydroelectric project, the 33,360-acre Cerron Grande reservoir collects some 3,800 tons of excrement each year from the sewage pipes, as well as factory run-off and traces of heavy metals like chromium and lead, the government estimates.
So scientists are puzzling over the fact that some 150,000 seabirds from more than 130 species have chosen to make the reservoir their home. At least 90 of the species are migratory birds arriving from as far away as Alaska.
Speaking of dancing on graves, I’ve been renting the After Dark Horror Fest’s ‘8 Films to Die For’ series.
There is one called Gravedancers that I watched last week. It is certainly one of the better ones. Apparently if you dance on a grave, that spirit comes back and tries to kill you. The one I’d recommend, however, is Darkride. It’s really bloody, which is a plus for horror fans, but it also has Patrick Renna in it….the fat red head kid from Sandlot. He’s all grown up and he’s evil.
I haven’t seen them all yet, including Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horror, which promises to be one of the best urban horror flicks to date. I’ll be the judge of that.
I watched Reincarnation last night and, though it was made by the dude who did The Grudge series, I thought it was pretty lame.
The horror flick I’m really looking forward to is Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween. Yes, you read this correctly…and it will hit theaters at the end of August….this year! Here is the trailer.
Where was I going with all this? Oh yeah. As tempting as it might be, don’t dance on Jerry Falwell’s grave, or he’ll come back and kill you.
A vegan couple were sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the death of their malnourished 6-week-old baby boy, who was fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice.
Superior Court Judge L.A. McConnell imposed the mandatory sentences on Jade Sanders, 27, and Lamont Thomas, 31. Their son, Crown Shakur, weighed just 3 1/2 pounds when he died of starvation on April 25, 2004.
The couple were found guilty May 2 of malice murder, felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children. A jury deliberated about seven hours before returning the guilty verdicts.
Defense lawyers said the first-time parents did the best they could while adhering to the lifestyle of vegans, who typically use no animal products. They said Sanders and Thomas did not realize the baby, who was born at home, was in danger until minutes before he died.
I’m a vegetarian and I eat soy from time to time, but it’s really not that good for you.If anything soy milk is terrible for newborns. It’s not a substitute for real milk. It is nothing like real milk. If breast milk counts as “animal products” (which I would obviously argue that it does) than a vegan diet for a newborn doesn’t make a lick of sense. It’s like an article I read a few weeks ago about a vegetarian family that killed their dog because they wouldn’t give it meat.
From Enn:
WASHINGTON — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told environmentalists Wednesday they needed to stop nagging and make their cause sexy, likening it to bodybuilding’s evolution from a weird pursuit to mainstream.
“Bodybuilding used to have a very sketchy image,” the former bodybuilding champion told an environmental forum at Georgetown University. “… It had fanatics and it had weird people. …But we changed that. … It became sexy, attractive.
….”we have to make it mainstream, we have to make it sexy, we have to make it attractive so that everyone wants to participate,” Schwarzenegger said.
First of all, who the hell is “we?” Second of all, what does that say about our culture? That in order to convince people that we need a healthly landbase, clean air to breathe, and clean water to drink, we have to “make it sexy.”
People doing activist work, in this writers opinion, are already sexy as hell. I think Arnold is talking about democrats though, which aren’t sexy. As a joke, someone a while back sent me this link (Warning: this is a porn site). It’s run by a bunch of hippies from the Netherlands or something, who donate the money they make off their site to help save the rainforests. Maybe someone should send Arnold the link while the rest of us actually address the problem.
Update: I’ve been drinking wine, so I just emailed Governor Schwarzenegger’s office.
I received this as part of a message after I sent it:
“Governor Schwarzenegger is committed to restoring your confidence in state government. As the Governor has said, with hard work and your help, California will once again be the “Golden Dream by the Sea”.
…..more like the “Golden Dream Under the Sea.” ZING!
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Chicago and Los Angeles will likely face increasing heat waves. Severe storm surges could hit New York and Boston. And cities that rely on melting snow for water may run into serious shortages.
These are some of the findings about North America in a report by hundreds of scientists that try to explain how global warming is changing life on Earth.
From his office in Nevada, entrepreneur Dennis Hope has spawned a multi-million-dollar property business selling plots of lunar real estate at $20 (£10) an acre.
Mr Hope exploited a loophole in the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty and he has been claiming ownership of the Earth’s Moon - and seven planets and their moons - for more than 20 years.
These are “truly unowned lands”, he says. “We’re doing exactly what our forefathers did when they came to the New World from the European continent.”
Hope says he has so far sold more than 400 million acres (1.6m sq km), leaving a further eight billion acres still up for grabs.
Buyers include Hollywood stars, large corporations - including the Hilton and Marriot hotel chains - and even former US presidents Ronald Regan and Jimmy Carter. George W Bush is also said to be a stake holder.
You’ve stumbled upon the adventures of an English teacher and writer, peddling deeper connections to a physical and emotional reality in Northern Arizona.
kyle[at]undertheconcrete[dot]org
