triggerhappymedia

What if…all the people who attended Obama’s inauguration descended upon Wall Street for one massive demonstration?

It won’t happen. The current economic crisis has fueled a lot of talk about corporate greed and self-interested executives. But below the surface there is also a sense of admiration- envy even- for those who live the high life, fly in private jets, drop $1400 on a trash bin.  It may be cynical to say, but since when does morality trump wealth and status in this country?

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Trigger: Economic woes at heart of French strike

From this week’s interview on Real Time with Bill Maher:

Maher: In the book [The God Delusion] you establish a scale of one to seven of atheism- one being someone who is utterly certain there is a God, and seven being someone who is utterly certain there is not. But you yourself say you’re only a six. Can you tell us why?

Dawkins: I think any scientist would be unwise to commit himself to saying there definitely is not anything. I mean, I can’t definitely commit myself to saying there are no fairies. I’m pretty sure there are no fairies, but I think it would be unscientific to do what the extreme religious people do and say “I know there is a God.” I can’t say I know there is no God. I can’t say I know there are no pink unicorns. So I think maybe a 6.9 is reasonable.

I thought Richard Dawkins was a proud atheist? Sounds a touch agnostic to me, but it does make sense.

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Trigger: Real Time with Bill Maher interview clip

Speaking of fearless journalists, a friend recently sent me a link to John Pilger’s first full-length film, The War on Democracy.

Pilger is an investigative journalist and war correspondent with 55 television documentaries and 12 books under his belt. After watching The War on Democracy (which details half a century of deadly and destructive US intervention in Latin America) I was moved to check out more of Pilger’s work. I highly recommend the following programs available online:

• Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror- investigation of American and British claims that motivated the ‘war on terror’, 2003.

• Palestine Is Still the Issue- the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the lack of progress towards peace, 2002.

• The New Rulers of the World- report on globalization and sweatshop labor, 2001-2002.

• Apartheid Did Not Die- Pilger returns to South Africa thirty years after being banned for his reporting during the apartheid, 1998.

• Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia- the destruction of a once peaceful and beautiful country during the Pol Pot/Khmer Rouge regime, 1979.

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Trigger/Site: John Pilger

Ways to celebrate: Purchase independent publications // Support organizations or journalists whose work challenges that of the corporate media // Keep discussing online and in your communities issues that the mainstream media won’t cover // Use your consumer power. Don’t give money or viewership to media that lies, misleads, or omits for the sake of a story or agenda.

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Trigger: Media Democracy Day

On the game show Power of Ten, a young woman from Alabama was asked the following question:

What percentage of randomly polled Americans think that the United States is the best country in the world?

The woman guessed that many patriotic Americans would think so.

The host questioned her. “That’s true,” he said. “But think about how many Americans are unhappy right now about the war in Iraq, high taxes, the health care system. Maybe these people wouldn’t say that America is the best country in the world, and this would make the percentage lower.”

“Well,” the woman replied,”those people who think this isn’t the best country in the world should–

(DEBATE, VOTE, PROTEST, WRITE LETTERS, ORGANIZE, DO SOMETHING!!)

–go live somewhere else.”

Applause.

The answer: 82%

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Trigger/Site: Dulce et decorum est