Reagan's Falsified Obituary
By Norman Solomon
6-11-4
If journalism is history's first draft, the death of Ronald Reagan has
caused a step-up in the mass production of falsified history.
It's mourning in America.
The main technique is omission. People who suffered from the Reagan
presidency have no media standing today. It's not cool to mention
victims of his policies in, for example, Central America.
President Reagan lauded and subsidized the contra guerrillas --
extolling them as "freedom fighters" while they terrorized the
population in Nicaragua, killing thousands of civilians. And he
proudly funneled large-scale support to governments aligned with death
squads murdering thousands more in Guatemala and El Salvador.
With all the media-fueled mourning in America, there's been none left
for the victims of Reaganite policies in Angola, either. His tireless
support for the guerrilla forces of Unita "freedom fighter" Jonas
Savimbi deserves much of the credit for making Angola the artificial
limb capital of the world. Reagan saw to it that Uncle Sam walked in
the bloody footsteps of colonial Portugal and apartheid South Africa
to sustain Savimbi's monstrous warfare.
"Every year since the mid-1980s, I have interviewed dozens of
displaced peasants who described attacks on their villages by Unita,
kidnaping of young men and boys, looting, beatings, and killings,
while in hospital beds the rows of mutilated women bore witness to the
mining of their fields," journalist Victoria Brittain wrote in the New
Statesman magazine a decade ago. "Defectors from Unita told more
chilling stories of mass rallies at the headquarters in Jamba where
women were burned alive as witches. These were not stories the outside
world wanted to hear about Unita, whose leader was regularly received
at the White House." Very warmly. By Ronald Reagan.
Mainstream news outlets encourage us to mourn his passing but not to
grieve a whit for his victims.
Reagan lavished big money from the U.S. Treasury on anti-Soviet
mujahadeen -- "freedom fighters" in Afghanistan who evolved into
groupings like Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Yet his supposed idealism
rarely gets a critical look through the obit-omit media lens.
Since he passed away, American media outlets have drowned the country
in nonstop veneration for Reagan as a symbol of devotion to principle.
There's precious little U.S. media space for the kind of reporting
that Agence France Presse provided a few days after he died: "Reagan,
determined to check arch-foe Iran, opened a back door to Iraq through
which flowed U.S. intelligence and hundreds of millions of dollars in
loan guarantees even as Washington professed neutrality in Baghdad's
war with Tehran. ... Sales of UH-1H helicopters and Hughes MD-500
Defender helicopters were approved by Washington. Though sold as
civilian aircraft, nobody objected when they were quickly converted
for military use."
President Reagan was in the habit of telling whoppers. His tales
ranged far and wide: to deny environmental degradation, or blithely
pretend that widespread human rights violations by <U.S.-backed>
regimes didn't exist, or denigrate low-income people in the United
States. Yet now, more than ever, he's being hailed as the Great
Communicator.
Promoting huge tax breaks for multimillionaires and large
corporations, he presided over an unprecedented transfer of wealth to
the already rich at the expense of everyone else. But today's dominant
media images present him as a beloved populist hero.
That's media mourning in America.
He's being hailed as a champion of "small government" -- yet he vastly
increased the size of Defense Department budgets and methodically
appointed federal judges who enlarged the intrusive powers of
government.
President Reagan spoke out for labor rights in Poland while
spearheading anti-union measures in the United States and avidly
supporting regimes on several continents that repressed workers and
oversaw systematic murders of labor activists. Now, rewritten media
history is touting him as a friend to working people.
It's media mourning in America.
He was a president so immersed in anti-gay bigotry and so bereft of
non-Hallmark-style compassion that from the time the Centers for
Disease Control announced the discovery of AIDS in mid-1981, until
1987, he couldn't bring himself to publicly utter the name of the
deadly disease -- part of a policy approach that surely cost many
thousands of lives. Yet he is being lauded by countless pundits for
his sunny disposition.
Reagan thumbed his nose at basic civil rights legislation, including
efforts to protect voting rights. In words and deeds, he conveyed
disinterest in helping to move the country beyond the curse of racism.
But his media persona endures as a man with a big smile and an even
bigger heart.
The mourning in America is overwhelming. But the country is starved
for honesty.
Norman Solomon is co-author, with foreign correspondent Reese Erlich,
of "Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You."
http://www.counterpunch.org/solomon06112004.html
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| User: "Leigh_Bee" |
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| Title: Re: Reagan's falsified obituary |
13 Jun 2004 05:15:58 AM |
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wrote in message news:<e3tlc09vadmih7e4fk8sjl34v1m3ara1og@4ax.com>...
Reagan's Falsified Obituary
By Norman Solomon
6-11-4
If journalism is history's first draft, the death of Ronald Reagan has
caused a step-up in the mass production of falsified history.
It's mourning in America.
The main technique is omission. People who suffered from the Reagan
presidency have no media standing today. It's not cool to mention
victims of his policies in, for example, Central America.
President Reagan lauded and subsidized the contra guerrillas --
extolling them as "freedom fighters" while they terrorized the
population in Nicaragua, killing thousands of civilians. And he
proudly funneled large-scale support to governments aligned with death
squads murdering thousands more in Guatemala and El Salvador.
SNIP
Norman Solomon is co-author, with foreign correspondent Reese Erlich,
of "Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You."
http://www.counterpunch.org/solomon06112004.html
I suppose that the US has not had a leader they "revere" pass away,
the last one being Nixon, On Ronnies side though he was rather humble
and polite, a contrast to the New leader!
Though you would have to admit his legacy is really with us now.
LB
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| User: "Madelin McKinnon" |
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| Title: Re: Reagan's falsified obituary |
13 Jun 2004 02:40:04 PM |
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(Leigh_Bee) wrote in message news:<39cd5fe.0406130215.676565b3@posting.google.com>...
Zak@home.com wrote in message news:<e3tlc09vadmih7e4fk8sjl34v1m3ara1og@4ax.com>...
Reagan's Falsified Obituary
By Norman Solomon
6-11-4
If journalism is history's first draft, the death of Ronald Reagan has
caused a step-up in the mass production of falsified history.
It's mourning in America.
The main technique is omission. People who suffered from the Reagan
presidency have no media standing today. It's not cool to mention
victims of his policies in, for example, Central America.
President Reagan lauded and subsidized the contra guerrillas --
extolling them as "freedom fighters" while they terrorized the
population in Nicaragua, killing thousands of civilians. And he
proudly funneled large-scale support to governments aligned with death
squads murdering thousands more in Guatemala and El Salvador.
According to the media, Reagan did not exist between 1992 and 1994.
The media has developed the same amnesian as Reagan did, when he was
asked to explain Iran-Contra. At least Reagan had an excuse, why does
the media ignore history?
http://www.geocities.com/mobaster/gipper.htm
.
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| User: "Madelin McKinnon" |
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| Title: Re: Reagan's falsified obituary |
13 Jun 2004 08:32:02 PM |
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(Madelin McKinnon) wrote in message news:<8916096a.0406131140.481241b@posting.google.com>...
leigh8bee@optusnet.com.au (Leigh_Bee) wrote in message news:<39cd5fe.0406130215.676565b3@posting.google.com>...
Zak@home.com wrote in message news:<e3tlc09vadmih7e4fk8sjl34v1m3ara1og@4ax.com>...
Reagan's Falsified Obituary
By Norman Solomon
6-11-4
If journalism is history's first draft, the death of Ronald Reagan has
caused a step-up in the mass production of falsified history.
It's mourning in America.
The main technique is omission. People who suffered from the Reagan
presidency have no media standing today. It's not cool to mention
victims of his policies in, for example, Central America.
President Reagan lauded and subsidized the contra guerrillas --
extolling them as "freedom fighters" while they terrorized the
population in Nicaragua, killing thousands of civilians. And he
proudly funneled large-scale support to governments aligned with death
squads murdering thousands more in Guatemala and El Salvador.
Some even think that the homophobic, Raegan Administration
deliberately introduced aids...
According to the media, Reagan did not exist between 1992 and 1994.
The media has developed the same amnesian as Reagan did, when he was
asked to explain Iran-Contra. At least Reagan had an excuse, why does
the media ignore history?
http://www.geocities.com/mobaster/gipper.htm
.
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| User: "Jane" |
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| Title: Re: Reagan's falsified obituary |
14 Jun 2004 05:02:57 AM |
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(Madelin McKinnon) wrote in message news:<8916096a.0406131732.2dac7a6f@posting.google.com>...
(Madelin McKinnon) wrote in message news:<8916096a.0406131140.481241b@posting.google.com>...
leigh8bee@optusnet.com.au (Leigh_Bee) wrote in message news:<39cd5fe.0406130215.676565b3@posting.google.com>...
Zak@home.com wrote in message news:<e3tlc09vadmih7e4fk8sjl34v1m3ara1og@4ax.com>...
Reagan's Falsified Obituary
By Norman Solomon
6-11-4
If journalism is history's first draft, the death of Ronald Reagan has
caused a step-up in the mass production of falsified history.
It's mourning in America.
The main technique is omission. People who suffered from the Reagan
presidency have no media standing today. It's not cool to mention
victims of his policies in, for example, Central America.
President Reagan lauded and subsidized the contra guerrillas --
extolling them as "freedom fighters" while they terrorized the
population in Nicaragua, killing thousands of civilians. And he
proudly funneled large-scale support to governments aligned with death
squads murdering thousands more in Guatemala and El Salvador.
Some even think that the homophobic, Raegan Administration
deliberately introduced aids...
Yeah, sure he did (not!) Read Randy Shilts' "And the Band Played On".
An oldy but a goody...and written by a journalist who was homosexual
himself and later died of the disease. Not everything is a
conspiracy!
Jane
According to the media, Reagan did not exist between 1992 and 1994.
The media has developed the same amnesian as Reagan did, when he was
asked to explain Iran-Contra. At least Reagan had an excuse, why does
the media ignore history?
http://www.geocities.com/mobaster/gipper.htm
.
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| User: "Madelin McKinnon" |
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| Title: Re: Reagan's falsified obituary |
14 Jun 2004 08:25:21 AM |
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(Jane) wrote in message news:<a8a04f01.0406140202.67d8f477@posting.google.com>...
rstacey@runbox.com (Madelin McKinnon) wrote in message news:<8916096a.0406131732.2dac7a6f@posting.google.com>...
rstacey@runbox.com (Madelin McKinnon) wrote in message news:<8916096a.0406131140.481241b@posting.google.com>...
leigh8bee@optusnet.com.au (Leigh_Bee) wrote in message news:<39cd5fe.0406130215.676565b3@posting.google.com>...
Zak@home.com wrote in message news:<e3tlc09vadmih7e4fk8sjl34v1m3ara1og@4ax.com>...
Reagan's Falsified Obituary
By Norman Solomon
6-11-4
If journalism is history's first draft, the death of Ronald Reagan has
caused a step-up in the mass production of falsified history.
It's mourning in America.
The main technique is omission. People who suffered from the Reagan
presidency have no media standing today. It's not cool to mention
victims of his policies in, for example, Central America.
President Reagan lauded and subsidized the contra guerrillas --
extolling them as "freedom fighters" while they terrorized the
population in Nicaragua, killing thousands of civilians. And he
proudly funneled large-scale support to governments aligned with death
squads murdering thousands more in Guatemala and El Salvador.
Some even think that the homophobic, Raegan Administration
deliberately introduced aids...
Yeah, sure he did (not!) Read Randy Shilts' "And the Band Played On".
An oldy but a goody...and written by a journalist who was homosexual
himself and later died of the disease. Not everything is a
conspiracy!
That's what I thought too, until I studied the facts.
Jane
According to the media, Reagan did not exist between 1992 and 1994.
The media has developed the same amnesian as Reagan did, when he was
asked to explain Iran-Contra. At least Reagan had an excuse, why does
the media ignore history?
http://www.geocities.com/mobaster/gipper.htm
.
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| User: "Jane" |
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| Title: Re: Reagan's falsified obituary |
14 Jun 2004 12:27:48 PM |
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(Madelin McKinnon) wrote in message news:<8916096a.0406140525.52119d82@posting.google.com>...
pushlinque@hotmail.com (Jane) wrote in message news:<a8a04f01.0406140202.67d8f477@posting.google.com>...
(Madelin McKinnon) wrote in message news:<8916096a.0406131732.2dac7a6f@posting.google.com>...
(Madelin McKinnon) wrote in message news:<8916096a.0406131140.481241b@posting.google.com>...
leigh8bee@optusnet.com.au (Leigh_Bee) wrote in message news:<39cd5fe.0406130215.676565b3@posting.google.com>...
Zak@home.com wrote in message news:<e3tlc09vadmih7e4fk8sjl34v1m3ara1og@4ax.com>...
Reagan's Falsified Obituary
By Norman Solomon
6-11-4
If journalism is history's first draft, the death of Ronald Reagan has
caused a step-up in the mass production of falsified history.
It's mourning in America.
The main technique is omission. People who suffered from the Reagan
presidency have no media standing today. It's not cool to mention
victims of his policies in, for example, Central America.
President Reagan lauded and subsidized the contra guerrillas --
extolling them as "freedom fighters" while they terrorized the
population in Nicaragua, killing thousands of civilians. And he
proudly funneled large-scale support to governments aligned with death
squads murdering thousands more in Guatemala and El Salvador.
Some even think that the homophobic, Raegan Administration
deliberately introduced aids...
Yeah, sure he did (not!) Read Randy Shilts' "And the Band Played On".
An oldy but a goody...and written by a journalist who was homosexual
himself and later died of the disease. Not everything is a
conspiracy!
That's what I thought too, until I studied the facts.
Please enlighten me with these "facts"
Jane
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| User: "Tadapope" |
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| Title: Re: Reagan's falsified obituary |
14 Jun 2004 12:51:58 AM |
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You mean he's not really dead?
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| User: "Werewolfy" |
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| Title: Re: Reagan's falsified obituary |
14 Jun 2004 04:50:44 AM |
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(Tadapope) wrote in message news:<20040614015158.13357.00000991@mb-m04.aol.com>...
You mean he's not really dead?
================================================================================
Damn Popey! I was just about to type exactly that ;) You beat me!
Werewolfy
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