Headlines from DemocracyNow.org, a daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 650 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the US.
Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
President Obama has signed his first piece of legislation into law, reversing a Supreme Court ruling that blocked women from filing pay discrimination lawsuits. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is named for a female employee of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company who was paid 40 percent less than male colleagues doing the same job. Ledbetter lost her suit against Goodyear after the court ruled she did not file a complaint on time.
President Obama: “This is only the beginning. I know that if we stay focused, as Lilly did, and keep standing for what’s right, as Lilly did, we will close that pay gap, and we will make sure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances and the same freedoms to pursue their dreams as our sons.”
Obama Denounces “Shameful” Wall Street Bonuses
Meanwhile, President Obama has criticized Wall Street following news financial executives received an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses last year. The average payout amounted to $112,000.
President Obama: “When I saw an article today indicating that Wall Street bankers had given themselves $20 billion worth of bonuses, the same amount of bonuses as they gave themselves in 2004, at a time when most of these institutions were teetering on collapse and they are asking for taxpayers to help sustain them, and when taxpayers find themselves in the difficult position that if they don’t provide help, that the entire system could come down on top of our heads, that is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful.”
Although bonuses declined from 2007, the $18.4 billion equaled the same amount paid in 2004.
Reps.: Cancel $400M Stadium Naming for Taxpayer-Rescued Citigroup
Meanwhile, here in New York, Major League Baseball’s New York Mets are facing calls to cancel a $400 million stadium naming rights deal with Citigroup. Congress members Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Ted Poe of Texas are demanding the annulment of a contract naming the new Mets stadium CitiField. Kucinich said, “It’s totally unacceptable that Citigroup should be able to spend $400 million in naming rights when they’re the recipients of a massive federal bailout.”
Lobbyists Grossed Record $3.2B in 2008
A new study has found the lobbying industry pulled in record amounts last year. The Center for Responsive Politics says special interest groups paid lobbyists $3.2 billion in 2008, the most ever on record, and a 13 percent increase from 2007. The total amounts to more than $17 million for every day Congress was in session last year. More on lobbying later in the broadcast.
Senate Backs Child Healthcare Expansion
The Senate has passed a measure expanding government health insurance for low-income children. The $33 billion State Children’s Health Insurance Program measure would be funded in part by a tax increase on cigarette packs. The House passed its version of the SCHIP expansion earlier this month. Former President George W. Bush twice vetoed similar measures, but President Obama has vowed to sign it into law.
Blagojevich Removed From Office in Unanimous Impeachment
In Illinois, Governor Rod Blagojevich has been removed from office in a unanimous impeachment vote. On Thursday, the state Senate voted fifty-nine to nothing to impeach Blagojevich for abuse of power. Blagojevich was indicted last year on bribery and wire fraud charges. The allegations included trying to sell President Obama’s vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder. The impeachment vote came shortly after Blagojevich ended his boycott of the proceedings and tried to plead his case.
Rod Blagojevich: “There is no evidence before your body here that shows, no evidence that there was any wrongdoing by me as Governor and, again, if you give me a chance to bring witnesses in, I can show you that I didn’t do anything wrong. I did a lot of things that were mostly right, and that some of the things that are said about me are simply not true.”
Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn has taken over from Blagojevich as Illinois governor.
Israeli Peace Offer Would Maintain 230,000 West Bank Settlers
The Israeli government has admitted its most recent peace offer to Palestinian negotiators would still leave more than 200,000 Jewish settlers in the Occupied West Bank. The offer was made in talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In meetings with U.S. envoy George Mitchell, both Olmert and Abbas confirmed the Israeli offer would remove just 60,000 settlers of the two hundred ninety-thousand in the West Bank. The remaining 230,000 settlers would stay in the large settlement blocs that nearly cut the West Bank in half. Not a single Palestinian refugee would be granted the right to return to their former home in Israel. Palestinians were offered an equal amount of Israeli land in return and shared sovereignty over parts of East Jerusalem. But the settlements are widely considered illegal under international law and a non-starter for many Palestinians. Palestinian negotiators reportedly refused a demand to sign off on the deal that would then be handled by the winner of the upcoming Israeli elections.
Israeli PM Promises “Maximum Settlers” on Palestinian Land
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leading polls and has rejected any territorial concession to the Palestinians. And even though the offer would still ensure Israeli control over key settlement blocs, Netanyahu’s opponent, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, has distanced herself from the proposal as being too generous. Livni said: “I will advance only an agreement that represents our interests. Maintaining maximum settlers and places that we hold dear such as Jerusalem-not a single refugee will enter.” Meanwhile, Mitchell continued his Mideast tour with meetings in the Occupied West Bank. On Thursday, Mitchell sat down with Abbas in Ramallah.
Middle East Envoy George Mitchell: “To be successful in preventing the illicit traffic of arms into Gaza, there must be a mechanism to allow the flow of legal goods and that should be with the participation of the Palestinian Authority. President Obama has also underlined our commitment to a better future for all Palestinians, whose legitimate aspirations for an independent and viable state should be met.”
Report: Israel Hid Settlement Data
Mitchell’s visit comes amidst reports the Israeli government has deliberately hid its own data showing rapid construction in West Bank settlements. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports an internal government survey found construction in three out of four settlements was conducted without proper permits and in many cases on private Palestinian land. The Israeli group Peace Now said this week settlement expansion grew fifty-seven percent last year. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Abbas told Mitchell that Israel’s blockade of Gaza and its expanding West Bank settlements are the main obstacles to peace.
Saeb Erekat: “For the Israelis to continue their settlement activities, and at the same time to continue trying to separate between the West Bank and Gaza, because we believe that the Israeli attacks and aggression-one of the objective is to keep the West Bank separated from Gaza, and this cannot stand. The West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem are a single territorial unit, that’s the territory of the Palestinian state, and we will spare no effort, as President Abbas told Mr. Mitchell, to pursue with the assistance for our Egyptian brothers, the path of national reconciliation.”
Mitchell won’t be traveling to Gaza as the Obama White House continues the Bush administration’s boycott of the democratically-elected Hamas government. In Gaza, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh urged Obama to break with Bush policy.
Ismail Haniyeh: “To build relations, as President Obama said, with the Arab and Islamic world stemming from mutual respect and mutual interests, we say the gate to this relationship with our Arab and Islamic world is from Palestine, from the Palestinian cause and from the need of a change in the US policy when it comes to the Palestinian rights and their suffering.”
UN Launches Gaza Appeal
The UN meanwhile has launched a new humanitarian appeal to help rebuild Gaza and aid victims of the Israeli attack. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon spoke from the gathering of business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon: “The population were already vulnerable because of so many months of severely restricted supplies. That is why humanitarian special appeal for Gaza that we are announcing today is so timely and so important. With the help of this 630 million dollar appeal the United Nations and other aid agencies can jump into action to help the 1.4 million civilians in the Gaza strip to recover.”
Turkish PM Walks Out of Panel With Israeli President
In other news from Davos, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked out of a panel discussion Thursday after a heated exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres. Erdogan had tried to respond to Peres’ defense of Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Israeli President Shimon Peres: “What is there to fight? So the ceasefire is, as far as Israel is concerned, it is not a problem for us. We have never started, we shall never start fire, and when they fired against us we replied but after a great restraint, and thousands of people were killed too. They weren’t killed in a concentrated manner, so what?”
Erdogan tried to respond but was cut off by debate moderator, Washington Post reporter David Ignatius. But he later angrily continued his response.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “You killed people. I remember the children who died on beaches, and I remember two former prime ministers in your country who said that they felt very happy when they were able to enter Palestine on tanks. Now, those are former prime ministers who have said that they have been very satisfied with themselves when they entered the Palestinian territories on tanks and I find it very sad that people applaud what you have said because there have been many people who have been killed and I think that it is very wrong and not humanitarian to applaud any actions that have had that kind of a result.”
Iraq Seeks Blackwater Replacement
In Iraq, the State Department is searching for a replacement to the private military company Blackwater Worldwide. Iraq announced this week it won’t renew Blackwater’s license to guard U.S. personnel and installations. The U.S. says it will comply with the order and has already spoken to the companies Dyncorp International and Triple Canopy. Five Blackwater guards were charged last month for the September 2007 mass-shootings of seventeen unarmed civilians in Baghdad’s Nissour Square.
French Workers Hold Nationwide Strike
In France, more than a million workers took to the streets nationwide in a general strike against the French’s government’s response to the global financial crisis. The strike was the largest in Western Europe to date since the crisis unfolded last September. Critics say French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s $33 billion recovery program has favored banks over workers.
Latin American Leaders Criticize U.S. at World Social Forum
In Brazil, the ninth World Social Forum continues in the Amazon city of Belem. On Thursday, a panel of Latin American presidents criticized the U.S. for its role in the financial crisis and its double standards in allowing massive state intervention in financial markets. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa spoke alongside Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Paraguay’s Fernando Lugo, and Bolivia’s Evo Morales.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa: “The guilty parties in the crisis try to give lessons on morality and good economic handling. The most powerful people on the planet have united to find a therapy for the dying. They’re getting together–the central bankers, the representatives of the large financial firms, the people primarily responsible for the crisis.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is also attending the forum, choosing to boycott the gathering of business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
Army Suicides at Record High
Back in the United States, suicides amongst U.S. troops have increased to a three-decade high. Pentagon officials say at least 128 soldiers took their own lives last year. The final tally could be higher as more than a dozen other deaths are still under investigation. It’s the highest total since record-keeping began in 1980.
RNC Protester Accuses Informant of Entrapment
In Minnesota, jury deliberations have begun in the case of a protester accused of making Molotov cocktails during the Republican National Convention. The case has attracted further scrutiny after it was revealed a key government witness is Brandon Darby, a long time activist turned FBI informant. The accused protester, David Guy McKay, says he fell victim to entrapment. McKay says Darby came up with the idea for the firebombs and encouraged the activists to make them.
10 Arrested Blocking AIPAC Gala
And here in New York, activists opposed to the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on Gaza disrupted a gala event last night put on by the lobby group AIPAC. The demonstrators chained themselves together to block two entrances at the Marriott hotel. Police forced them apart by burning off the chains with blow-torches. Ten people were arrested.
Supporting State Terrorism: The US Media on Israel & Palestine
As I sit down to write my monthly column, it is now the third week of intensive Israeli bombing of the Gaza. A United Nations compound was recently hit, as have been a hospital, the Islamic University of Gaza and several neighborhoods. The civilian death toll in the Gaza had reached 700 by mid-January with no end in sight, as the Israeli bombing continues and Israeli tanks and troops have entered the Gaza.
Unfortunately, this is not the general picture that one would receive from the US news media. Probably more than any other foreign policy issue, the US media’s reporting on Israel/Palestine is extremely biased in favor of Israel. There are numerous reasons for this bias–reasons that I want to explore.
First, it is important to acknowledge the US government relations with Israel. Israel has been the number one recipient of US aid for nearly 30 years. On average, the US provides $3 billion annually to Israel in general aid and billions more in military aid. According to Frieda Berrigan with the New America Foundation’s Arms and Security Project, in 2008 the US provided $22 billion in arms sales to Israel. According to the DC-based End the Occupation Campaign, many of the weapons that Israel is currently using to bomb Gaza were provided by the US. Some of those weapons are F 16 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, and TOW, Hellfire, and Bunker Buster missiles. However, if one looks at the print and broadcast media they would be hard pressed to see a single word about US weapons going to Israel.
Second, the US diplomatic relationship with Israel is such that the US has been the only country in the world to consistently stand with Israel when the rest of the world condemns Israeli policy in Palestine. Whenever the United Nations passes a resolution condemning the Israeli occupation the US and maybe one other country will vote with Israel, so it is usually a vote of like 180 to 3 in the General Assembly and only the US blocks a vote against Israel in the UN Security Council. When was the last time you saw the US news media report on UN resolutions against Israel?
The US diplomatic support for Israel is so strong that is consistently receives bipartisan support. Very few politicians are willing to challenge the US support of Israel and those who have were targeted and lost re-election campaigns. Author and former Congressman Paul Findley has documented how politicians in the US are attacked for any criticism of Israel in his book They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel’s Lobby
. Every US administration since Richard Nixon has been a staunch supporter of Israel and the new administration are not likely to change that trend. One of the first things Obama did once he sealed the Democratic nomination in June was to go to the largest Israel lobby group in the US (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee – AIPAC) and assure them that he is committed to maintaining US support of Israel.
In early January, while the international community was overwhelmingly condemning the Israeli attacks against the Gaza, US politicians were voting to support Israel. The US Senate voted 80-0 in favor of “Israel’s right to defend itself” and the US House followed suit by voting 390 – 5. Even Liberal Democrats like Senator Carl Levin voted for the resolution, which is no surprise since he has been one of the largest recipients of Israel lobby money over the past twenty years.
Since the military and diplomatic policy is aligned with Israel, it is no surprise that US media coverage of Israel/Palestine overwhelmingly favors Israel. This favorable coverage is due to the fact that most US news agencies depend upon government officials as primary sources and is not inclined to challenge those positions for fear of losing access to these same sources.
Another major reason for the news bias in favor of Israel is that many reporters and news editors know that if they take a critical position against Israel that they will be pressured and possibly attacked by the US-based Israel lobby groups. These attacks will often include accusations of anti-Semitism and possibly even being labeled as Holocaust deniers. The claims of anti-Semitism against those that are critical of Israel are generally not well founded, but who in the journalistic field wants to risk being called anti-Semitic?
This fear of being labeled anti-Semitic even impacts the general public, which is one of the reasons for people to not participate in campaigns that challenge US policy towards Israel. When activists organized rallies against the Israeli bombing of the Gaza in early January some of those activists received hate mail. I also read the comment sections of the Grand Rapids Press and WZZM 13 after they posted stories about the rallies and most of the comments were not only pro-Israel, they accused the Arabs who organized the demonstrations of being supporters of terrorism. One commentator on the WZZM 13 site compared those who condemned Israel’s bombing on Gaza to supporters of Hitler and Pol Pot. The same person said that they hoped that the organizers of the rallies would be put on the US government terrorist watch list.
One additional area of US support for Israel comes from sectors of the Christian evangelical community. Many fundamentalist churches see unconditional US support for Israel as a biblical mandate and even necessary for the Second Coming of Jesus. One of the biggest proponents of this theological interpretation is Rev. John Hagee who is based in San Antonio, Texas. Hagee calls himself a Christian Zionist and devotes a weeklong revival every year to encourage people to support Israel no matter what. Hagee even thinks that Israel should go further with its military policy and advocated in 2006, when Israel was bombing Lebanon, that Israel should have just “dropped a nuclear bomb on that country.” An excellent book that chronicles the history of Christian Zionism is Allies for Armageddon: The Rise of Christian Zionism.
Lastly, the near unanimous media support for Israel is part of a larger cultural hatred of Arabs and Muslims. I highly recommend that people read the work of the late Edward Said (particularly Orientalism
) and Culture and Imperialism
and Jack Sheehan’s important book Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. The reality is that it is the norm in the US to see Arabs and Muslims in popular culture as terrorists. Whenever you see someone in the popular media wearing a kafia, a traditional scarf for Arabs, it is usually someone who is wielding a gun or burning a flag. These types of gross stereotypes and how the US news media reports on Israel/Palestine are part of what needs to be changed if the public perception of what is happening in the Middle East is ever to change.
Jeff Smith is a regular contributor to www.mediamouse.org and does workshops on media bias & racial stereotyping in the media.
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