NPR Check: Q Tips

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Q Tips

I'm going to go back to the old format of just Q Tips, so put any NPR related comments here.

18 comments:

geoff said...: Do you suppose there may be some hypocrites at NPR? Consider Chomsky's description here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yLMlJtwaKU&feature=related when formulating your answer.; 8/29/09, 7:23 PM
Woody (Tokin Librul/Rogue Scholar/ Helluvafella!) said...: There is a piece up on ThinkProgress reporting on Chris Wallace's take on 'torture.'

In the piece, Wan Williams is cited
as "NPR’s Juan Williams" who ridiculed the entire debate.

“In a democracy, you don’t torture people. It’s against the law! We’re having this discussion here, like, ‘Oh well you know if it works, it’s ok.’ No! It’s not ok! You don’t torture people!” Williams said.

Some commentator wrote: If Juan Williams is so principled, why does he continue to work at Fox Propaganda?
August 30th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

To which I replied:
Funny thing, that's something you'd NEVER have heard Wan say on NPR...

That's cuz NPR doesn't use the word "torture" for what our thugs and gunsels do...

If his connection to Murdoch, Wallace, and O'Reilly isn't shameful, why doesn't NPR announce it when they introduce the skeevy, pretentious shitwhistle?; 8/30/09, 12:32 PM
Anonymous said...: nauseating report on tea party movement this morning right out of the gate. Apparently the protesters are people who haven't been given a voice in the two party system. The tea party protesters I personally know were all Bush flunkies, lock step republicans for the last 15 years. Now that they're movement has been exposed they're rebranding as libertarians.; 8/30/09, 4:41 PM
geoff said...: Anon-

Contrast the tea bagging coverage with the antiwar protest coverage that has been discussed earlier in this blog. A handful of deranged astroturfers get kindly attention whereas the antiwar protests were minimized and dismissed.; 8/30/09, 7:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Are we going to get a report on the totally reasonable, not-racist, doesn't-have-its-head up-its-ass, teabagging movement every day until that damn bus gets to DC? It seems that NPR has decided that the teabaggers are just plain "hard working" Americans who have been left out in the cold by the liberal elitists who don't allow them to have a voice in their government. How did NPR and the teabaggers miss the sea change in American politics that occurred last November? I mean, it was in all the papers.; 8/31/09, 6:05 AM
Anonymous said...: Someone should tell Alicia Shepard and Vivian Shiller that NPR can stop shilling for the torturemesters now and call torture what it is.

There is no "debate".

The only people "debating" this are people like Shiller and Shepard, a couple of unethical quacks.

////////////
Sam Stein
McCain Whacks Cheney: Torture Violated Law And Helped The Terrorists (VIDEO)

John McCain:

"I think the interrogations were in violation of the Geneva Conventions and the convention against torture that we ratified under President Reagan," said the Arizona Republican. "I think these interrogations, once publicized, helped al Qaeda recruit. I got that from an al Qaeda operative in a prison camp in Iraq... I think that the ability of us to work with our allies was harmed. And I believe that information, according go the FBI and others, could have been gained through other members."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/30/mccain-whacks-cheney-tort_n_272179.html; 8/31/09, 8:10 AM
Porter Melmoth said...: This morn I encountered a really beautiful example of what might be a new Viv Shill/Always On (TM) motto for NPR: 'By Sounding like Dumbshits, We Learn'.

Renaay was chatting with Mike Sullivan about Burma - uh, you know, MEE-anmarr, Mee-ANNmarr, or whatever the Junta wants - and she was, you know, doing her 'I'm just an all-American gal - despite my Frog name - and you know, there's this wacky country over by Sullivan somewhere that has some problems, or whatever...' act, and Mikey was in casual mode, too. Renaay was like, 'what's WITH those crazy MEE-anmarr dudes, anyway?' (Sounding ditzy can really be quite effective in reaching today's ADD-oriented listeners - trust me, Viv knows!)

Anyway, Mikey almost sounded droll, as if over a latte in Starbuck's, gently educating his ding-dong 'host' at the other end, about Burma in a nutshell, and how warfare can be harmful to citizens in the way of it, and other silly time-filling thoughts. Apparently, there are a bunch of refugees who've crossed over into China. Apparently, Renaay thought that the Junta tightly controls everything within the Burmese borders. (Honey, nobody's EVER tightly controlled everything in Burma. You have a lot to learn, and I hope you never learn it...)

It was as if they were talking about a high school football game that they were hardly interested in.

(Speaking of which, there followed TWO school football tales afterwards, both which involved death, and both of which were dealt with in utter seriousness. Never mind the hundreds - more likely thousands - of Asiatics who've perished beyond the purview of NPR, where life is cheap and icky and, well, way far away...)

Is it any wonder that NPR can be enraging?

For his part, Mikey, in his new conversational (but just as boring) style, seemed anxious to file this routine filler report and get back to the hi-rises and fleshpots of Communist Hanoi, which, rumor has it, make tiresome old Bangkok look like a gopher hole.

Cushy gig, Mike. Spinning Burmese speculative chat from the comforts of the Hanoi Hilton. Enjoy it before Viv gets to your neighborhood and dumps you, replacing you with texting tweeterers on the local scene, who are much more hip - and cost-effective - than you'll ever be. If that actually happens, I'll applaud her.; 8/31/09, 10:40 AM
Anonymous said...: The representation by Shiller and Shepard of what is actually settled international law as some sort of "high school debate" is despicable and is actually a grave threat to the safety of our troops abroad, who may well be tortured in the future as a result of this absurd 'debate' about torture among the talking heads in this country.

These people are disgusting.

Schiller should be fired. She's worse than Kevin Klose by FAR.; 8/31/09, 5:08 PM
Anonymous said...: Planet Money interview with Barney Frank was worth listening to if not for the smack down Frank laid on the Ivy League know nothing looking for "bipartisan consensus" which Frank rightly stated is a load of horseshit.

Apparently NPR has gathered a blue ribbon panel to tell us all what to think and they'll be rolling out their centrism for the next few months. The PM host said we can hear all about it on Planet Money, ME, ATC, et. al....

They're not asking any crazies from the left nor any crazies from the right to participate. Should be a gas. Noxious gas.; 8/31/09, 11:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Their position on the torture debate (ie, that there IS a debate) puts ALL those at NPR (Alicia Shepard, Vivian Schiller, Steve Inskeep, Michell Norris, Daniel Schorr, Terry Gross, Mara Liasson, Don Gonyea, Cokie Roberts, etc) in a class with Dick Cheney.

They are ALL unethical (the whole sorry bunch) and deserve to be shunned, just as Dick Cheney is shunned by the vast majority of Americans.; 9/1/09, 6:51 AM
Porter Melmoth said...: The hypocrisy of NPR shows up every day. I always cringe when they put on their collective - but very tiny - Amnesty International beanie, just to appear 'liberal' to all those still-hopeful listeners.

Yesterday it was a latte discussion about Burma. Today Renaay considered the Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan, and how it might piss off China.

These and countless other examples are nothing but dilettante dabblings and token investigations into politically correct issues that they know listeners hold dear. And it's been proven that NPR, in their virtual endorsement of Cheney & Co.'s Neocon world view, is doing nothing more than making a parody out of these token touch-base issues.; 9/1/09, 10:55 AM
Porter Melmoth said...: Oh, another 'human rights - NPR Style' story today was 'assessing' Muammar Qaddafi of Libya through the years. They can always wheel him out into the spotlight when they need a Saddam/Hitler package to flog.

This isn't as easy in Burma, where there's a junta and no real convenient stand-out figure. So, there's always one-stop-shopping to be found at Muammar's tent.; 9/1/09, 11:04 AM
Juan "Toss" Ensalada said...: The Planet Monkey interview is great!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2009/08/podcast_rep_barney_frank_check.html; 9/1/09, 2:03 PM
Steve B said...: Yes Juan, that Planet Money segment with Barney Frank is fantastic. After listening to that, I now dub Adam Davidson as:

Adam "Dining Room Table" Davidson; 9/1/09, 2:17 PM
Porter Melmoth said...: At least Barney knows what planet AAAAAdam, the First Mad Man of Money is from:

Planet Muh-#$@&-ing, Money-grubbing Monkey.; 9/1/09, 4:08 PM
big!pink!hyperlinkin'!bunny! said...: Couldn't help but think of our very good pals at you-know-where - Alicia, Shepherd of Ombots most certainly included - as I read the latest Tom Tomorrow today.; 9/1/09, 5:54 PM
Porter Melmoth said...: Yes indeed, Tom's tomorrow is in fact, today.

At least in China the official line is that Chairman Mao was 30% right and 70% wrong.; 9/1/09, 6:44 PM
Jay Schiavone said...: Over at TAP, Dean Baker observes a rare occasion where NPR seems to favor conservatives over Democrats:
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/beat_the_press_archive?month=09&year=2009&base_name=henry_paulson_the_straight_sho; 9/2/09, 10:29 AM