Tag: NBC

Closing Thought–08Jan19

Bravo Mr. Arkin!

I know I go on and on about our reps growing a spine and standing up to the war complex that we have created….I finally have someone that I can look up to within the MSM…..NBC’s William Arkin……

A journalist with NBC has resigned from the network with a statement which highlights the immense resistance that ostensibly liberal mass media outlets have to antiwar narratives, skepticism of US military agendas, and any movement in the opposite direction of endless military expansionism.

“January 4 is my last day at NBC News and I’d like to say goodbye to my friends, hopefully not for good,” begins an email titled ‘My goodbye letter to NBC’ sent to various contacts by William M Arkin, an award-winning journalist who has been associated with the network for 30 years.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve left NBC, but this time the parting is more bittersweet, the world and the state of journalism in tandem crisis,” the email continues. “My expertise, though seeming to be all the more central to the challenges and dangers we face, also seems to be less valued at the moment. And I find myself completely out of synch with the network, being neither a day-to-day reporter nor interested in the Trump circus.”

https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/01/03/reporter-quits-nbc-citing-networks-support-for-endless-war/

Finally someone with ‘nads to oppose the M-IC and its number tool, the MSM…..

I have found a new respect for at least one mainstream journalist…..but sadly it will not make much difference.

The Interview Of The Year?

First I would like to thank everyone who stopped by IST yesterday…..we had over 120 comments…one of my better days……thanx to my friends.

Remember Megyn Kelly?

She is that ex-FOX star that switched sides and went to work for the opposition, MSNBC and NBC.

She scored an interview with Putin for her first one for her new home…a coup for her.

Her second major interview has caused a bit of a row and caused a bit of turmoil……..

Megyn Kelly’s first interview for her new Sunday show on NBC News was none other than Vladimir Putin. But the guest coming up on her June 18 show may be generating even more attention: conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of Infowars. Given that Jones has suggested, among other things, that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax and that 9/11 was an “inside job,” the choice is generating a ton of criticism already. Coverage:

  • Teaser: NBC has released a teaser of the interview, in which Kelly challenges Jones on Sandy Hook in particular and accuses him of a “dodge” in his response. See it here.
  • Typical sentiment: A post at AV Club voices a common sentiment among those criticizing the choice. “She may be calling him out for his claims that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, but she’s still giving him an opportunity to defend that repugnant argument,” writes Sam Barsanti.
  • Kelly’s defense: She notes that President Trump has praised Jones and wants to give him White House press credentials. “Many don’t know him; our job is 2 shine a light,” she tweets.
  • Mother’s response: “By making this choice, you grieve our hearts and the memory of our child,” tweets Nelba Marquez-Greene, whose daughter, Ana Grace, was killed in the school shooting. “You have a powerful platform. I encourage you to ‘shine light’ on affirming the losses suffered here- NOT on a person who mocks those losses…. Evil doesn’t need another platform.”
  • Much more:HuffPost rounds up the many critical tweets surfacing about the interview. One in particular catching attention: “My nephew survived Sandy Hook. I am not tolerating this. Will never watch @megynkelly or @NBCNews again if they choose to air this.”
  • Jones’ reaction: On Friday, Jones posted a video in which he goes after Kelly personally in the wake of their interview, notes Mediaite. “Not feminine. Cold. Robotic. Dead,” Jones said. “I felt zero attraction to Megyn Kelly. That’s not an insult to Megyn Kelly. I talked to a lot of other folks that know her. They say, ‘No. It’s the same.’ Because you’re dealing with…sociopath? A psychopath? I don’t know.”
  • ‘Performance artist’: In his recent child custody case, Jones told the court that he is merely a “performance artist.” He lost the case.

Morning show: Kelly launches a morning show on NBC in the fall, and she just landed a big-name producer, reports Page Six.

Let the consequences begin…and there may be more…..

Megyn Kelly’s interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is set to air Sunday on NBC, and there’s been no shortage of outrage over her decision to give airtime to the man who says the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax. The Wall Street Journal reports by way of a source that JP Morgan Chase is speaking with its wallet: It has reportedly pulled its local TV and digital ads from all NBC News slots, including Kelly’s show, from now through the Jones interview.

The Journal didn’t get a comment from NBC or confirmation from JP Morgan, but it did cite a tweet from JP Morgan CMO Kristin Lemkau that falls in line with the narrative: “As an advertiser, I’m repulsed that @megynkelly would give a second of airtime to someone who says Sandy Hook and Aurora are hoaxes.” Read Kelly’s defense of the Jones interview, and Jones’ unkind words for Kelly, here.

The chaos over this interview has caused the star to offer up and explanation…..

Megyn Kelly is underfire for her decision to sit down with Infowars host Alex Jones, who has peddled conspiracy theories, including the idea that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was faked by the government. But on Tuesday she defended the interview, which will air on NBC News Sunday. “I find Alex Jones’s suggestion that Sandy Hook was ‘a hoax’ as personally revolting as every other rational person does,” Kelly said in a statement posted to Twitter. “It left me, and many other Americans, asking the very question that prompted this interview: how does Jones, who traffics in these outrageous conspiracy theories, have the respect of the president of the United States and a growing audience of millions?”

“President Trump, by praising and citing him, appearing on his show, and giving him White House press credentials, has helped elevate Jones, to the alarm of many,” Kelly continues. “Our goal in sitting down with him was to shine a light—as journalists are supposed to do—on this influential figure, and yes—to discuss the considerable falsehoods he has promoted with near impunity.” The statement came in response to the announcement that nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise has dumped her as the host of its gala in DC Wednesday night thanks to the Jones interview. Previews for Sunday’s interview show Jones appearing to change the subject when asked about his Sandy Hook comments, saying that what people should really be concerned about are “animal-human hybrids.”

This situation is all too much fun for junkies like me……where will this go?

How will the ratings play out?

Somewhere there is another shoe waiting to fall.

Thus Spake Bashir

Most Americans hate the ground that Basir al-Assad walks on….he is the devil incarnate……I spend a lot of time studying and researching the Middle East so anything he does or says is of interest to me…..so when I saw that NBC had secured an interview with him I had to watch it to see if I could learn anything useful….

I was truly surprised at the interview…the NBC dude asked some pretty direct question….most of which were pointed trying to get a rise out of Assad…..all in all he handled himself well….he stayed composed and level head during the whole interview and he answered all questions….at times he tried to be cryptic but he gave answers to them all….

When asked about the US battle with ISIS he said……

Speaking in an interview with NBC, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad slammed US involvement in his nation’s war against ISIS, insisting it is “counterproductive and ineffective,” as well as illegal since it is done without permission from or coordination with the Syrian government.

Assad went on to say he didn’t believe the US was serious about defeating ISIS, insisting that terror factions only started suffering real losses when Russia became involved, and that they’d been growing steadily before, when the US coalition was the only international force involved.

“We wanted to defeat the terrorists, while the United States wanted to manage those groups in order to topple the government in Syria,” Assad noted, insisting he is confident that the terror groups will be defeated outright in just a matter of months.

I will have to say that I agree with him on his observation……the US is not really serious about our fight with ISIS…..our arms drops go to the terrorists…..we cannot train more than a few moderate fighters at a time…..

It looks like it is just a funnel for the M-IC…..the more we fight in Syria the more money the defense industry makes…..

The more we try to fight ISIS the more money we have to spend….a win-win for the M-IC…..plus the rhetoric makes for good politics back home in the USA….

Assad made some good points and I can see where he was coming from on most of them…..but if my reader would like to know more about this interview then I have a link to a transcript…..

Source: President al-Assad’s interview with NBC News – Syrian Arab News Agency

There is something to be said for Assad’s comments….but he is perceived as a bad guy so take that with a grain of salt.

How NBC Knowingly Let Syria Rebels’ False War Propaganda Stand For Years | The Nation

This is a continuation of my previous post on NBC’s failure in Syria and the Middle East……..

As one who spends a lot of time reading, researching and writing on the Middle East……I have used NBC’s Richard Engel as a reliable source……a lot has happened and I am starting to question the reliability.

I still think that Engel is a very good and thorough journalist in the Middle East and more than qualified to report on the situation in the region……what I am questioning is NBC as a reliable purveyor of news for the Middle East.

So much is coming out about the situation in Syria and ISIS thatr leads me to believe that they are only a source for propaganda and not news…….

I use to like CNN as a reliable source of information for the Middle East and they have lost my respect and I No longer turn to them for accuracy………and now NBC is starting to generate doubts for me…….

 

How NBC Knowingly Let Syria Rebels’ False War Propaganda Stand For Years | The Nation.

NBC’s Conduct in Engel Kidnapping Story is More Troubling than the Brian Williams Scandal – The Intercept

As one who spends a lot of time with the Middle East and events that occur I like Richard Engel….he knows the region and he speaks Arabic so he can interview people without using a go between….

I heard some rumblings about his kidnapping last summer…..some of them were disturbing……….

I recall when I saw the news that he and his team had been kidnapped in Syria I was concerned….journalist have not been too fortunate in Syria and Iraq…..and then he was “rescued”……

Now a story has come out about that kidnapping and NBC…..it is a disturbing story at that……..while Engel still has my respect and confidence I cannot say the same for NBC……..they are starting to show the same lack of professional journalism as CNN has shown…….

 

NBC’s Conduct in Engel Kidnapping Story is More Troubling than the Brian Williams Scandal – The Intercept.

Is Brian Williams The Only Liar?

Appears as today is my day to bitch and moan about the media……I cannot think of a group that needs criticism more than the MSM….how about you?

The Right has been having a field day with the revelation that Brian Williams told a lie about his time in Iraq.  The problem I have is not that he lied but rather Bush gets a ride for all his lies about Iraq, especially from the same Right wing primates.

But with all the hub-bub about Williams I would like to ask….is he the only media liar?

What is the old saying about pointing a finger?

 

Bill O’Reilly Has His Own Brian Williams Problem | Mother Jones.

 

To be fair Billy boy has denied any lies about his reporting…….

Bill O’Reilly aggressively defended his own war reporting last night, dismissing accusations that he embellished his work about the Falklands and El Salvador in the 1980s as a “political hit job” from a “far left zealot” and “liar.” The Fox News host is referring to David Corn of Mother Jones, who posted a piece Thursday headliined, “Bill O’Reilly Has His Own Brian Williams Problem,” notes the Wall Street Journal. Specifically, Corn says O’Reilly has repeatedly stated that he reported from the Falklands while he was with CBS. Part of O’Reilly’s response:

  • “Everything I’ve said about my reportorial career—everything—is true. Thirty-three years ago in June, Argentina surrendered to Great Britain, ending the Falklands War. I was covering the conflict from Argentina and Uruguay for CBS News. After learning of the surrender, angry mobs in Buenos Aires stormed the presidential palace—the Casa Rosada—trying to overthrow the government of General Leopoldo Galtieri. I was there on the street with my camera crews. The violence was horrific, as Argentine soldiers fired into the crowd, who were responding with violent acts of their own. My video of the combat led the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather that evening and, later on, I filed a report that ran nationwide. That’s what happened. I never said I was on the Falkland Islands, as Corn purports. I said I covered the Falklands War, which I did.”

Corn begs to differ, citing examples including O’Reilly’s own 2001 book in which he writes, “I’ve reported on the ground in active war zones from El Salvador to the Falklands.” You can read the transcript of O’Reilly’s remarks here, and Corn’s annotated response here.

The game of news tennis goes on……Billy boy would not lie to his adoring public, now would he?  A self-styled idol such as Bill would not stoop so low as to lie about anything……(Sorry have stop there….my sides are killing me from the laughter that is pouring out uncontrollably).