Job Discussion Forums

[007]

[cassava]

[veiledsentiments]

Sadly, I can only agree wholeheartedly... I would be hard pressed to decide which is worse... national or international coverage on our media.

Small papers usually do well on local coverage... there is, at least, that...

VS

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[cassava]

I can remember many years ago when the US mainstream media was fairly responsible and productive. However, these days quality and standards have fallen to unbelievable depths. Ideology, vulgarity, drivel and general twaddle seem to predominate everywhere in the mainstream American media.

In Canada, many of us are trying to keep out a version of that horrible Fox News. We simply don't need that kind of crassness and bias.

[Sheikh N Bake]

I would suggest that in the electronic media you watch the PBS News Hour, Face the Nation, Meet the Press. They haven't been around since 1948 for nothing, and they are good. As for the print media, it's preposterous to suggest that the NY Times and the Washington Post, not to mention some mags such as the New Yorker, are "twaddle." It is true that the nightly network news are not worth watching. But I am seeing detailed and indepth financial and domestic political reports on MSNBC and even the US edition of CNN. You people are throwing the baby out with the bath water and are apparently not able to make balanced judgments.

[veiledsentiments]

I lived in the DC area for many years and naturally had the Post on my doorstep every morning. Sorry, but both it the NYT have deteriorated so badly in the last ten years that I now avoid both of them. The Post in particular has become appallingly right wing. Way too much of what they print has devolved into what I could call 'twaddle' without feeling at all dishonest. It is no wonder that the print media is dying...

I watch the BBC on PBS and bits from MSNBC, mostly online. My main source of news now is online. But I think you are being a bit arrogant to assume that you are the only one here who can make a balanced judgment.

It is all about opinion...

VS

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Right-wingier than the Washington Times?

nctba

[Kornan DeKobb]

[johnslat]

Well, perhaps at least part of how one forms one's judgment of the news media is this:

If they disagree with my opinions, they're "twaddle."

I know that's how I feel about Fox "News."

At any rate, with all the resources available now, thanks to the Net, it shouldn't be too hard to keep "reliably informed" if one is willing to do the research - of course, being "reliably informed" might mean just finding sources that concur with my pre-formed opinions.

Objectivity ain't easy.

Regards,
Subjective John

[veiledsentiments]

I have no problem with opinions that don't agree with mine. Where I have a problem is the repeated reporting of obvious, easily debunked lies as if they were facts.

VS

[Stephen Jones]

Nasheed has got himself into a full-blown constitutional crisis in six months and The Maldives has the least ecological policies of any country in the world.

Despite Ellen, Sierra Leone has stubbornly remained one of the poorest countries in the world, and I have seen no evidence it is any less corrupt than its predecessors.

Frankly I think Abdullah should sue for being on the list.

[johnslat]

Dear Stephen,

Ah, well - maybe some good news (provided I can trust the source: The Eurasia Review) from the Maldives:

Maldives Constitutional Crisis Averted And Compromise Reached

FRIDAY, 20 AUGUST 2010 16:10

Dr. S.Chandasekharan.

The constitutional crisis that has been developing ever since the resignation of the entire cabinet last month reached a critical stage when the Parliament (Majlis) failed to approve the bills relating to the judiciary before 8th of August- the crucial date by which all transitional arrangements under chapter XIV of the new constitution come to an end.

Surprisingly, the Speaker cancelled the parliamentary meeting on the 7th of August for want of �cooperation� from the parties, though he did not specify the reasons for cancellation. The dead line was mid night of 7th of August!

The Attorney General Husnu Suood precipitated the issue by resigning on 8th of August from his post claiming that his position in the Constitution had become void by the failure of the parliament to enact legislation ensuring the continuation of the State institutions.

This stand of the Attorney General appears to have had the approval of the government as the keys of the Supreme Court building were handed over to MNDF on 7th evening.. What is more, the government made arrangements to appoint an interim appellate court consisting of four members of �high repute� to oversee the administrative aspects of the Supreme Court.

But the four newly appointed members resigned the same day to avoid embarrassment and complications and the government was then looking for alternative arrangements.

In the meantime the civil court on a petition filed by the opposition, ordered the MNDF to hand over the keys back to the Supreme Court authorities as it held the view that the Supreme Court bench remained �valid.� At this point the government was to go on appeal against the orders of the civil court to the appellate High Court. Fortunately good sense prevailed on both sides and an ugly situation was averted.

Transitional/ interim arrangements for the functioning of the Supreme Court are provided under Article 284 of the Constitution that states specifically that the Supreme Court appointed under the transitional chapter shall continue until the establishment of the Supreme Court as provided for in Article 145 Constitution which is of a permanent nature.

The opposition had two valid points in opposing the government order of not only closing the Supreme Court but also in appointing an interim appellate court consisting of four members to oversee the administrative aspects of the court.

The first was that the Supreme Court then functioning was already an interim one and forming another interim court was not legal. The second was that Article 284 is not linked to any time limit and the time limit of two years provided for other institutions will not apply to the Supreme Court.

But the provocation for these ugly developments certainly emanated from the opposition. The Judicial Service Commission did not act in good faith either.

The bill relating to the appointment of the judges, their powers, responsibilities, ethical standards to be followed, rules on appointment, their salaries and allowances etc. was pending before the Majlis (Parliament) and no effort was taken to pass the bills before 8th of August. Despite the absence of any law, 59 judges took oath of office on 4th of August to pre empt the Judges bill.

The Judges bill was later approved by the Parliament on 11th of August and President Nasheed approved the bill the same day.

In a rare act of unity the Majlis committee appointed to study the 6 nominees to the Supreme Court made by the President, approved the nomination unanimously as also the nomination of Ahmed Faiz Hussain as the Chief Justice. On the 13th the Majlis also approved the three nominations from the names proposed by the President to the Human Rights Commission of Maldives.

President Nasheed was gracious enough to thank the opposition leader of DRP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali for his cooperation. In his weekly address, he attributed the successful establishment of Supreme Court to the joint efforts and cooperation by the opposition DRP and the ruling party MDP.

There is peace at last for the present! It is hoped that this cross party cooperation continues in the long term interests of democracy in the country. For President Nasheed, I suspect compromises which go against his principles may be painful. But he has shown his statesmanship in going along with the opposition to avoid a very critical constitutional crisis.

But he did make out a case for strengthening the justice system in the country. He said �If there is no justice in a country, there can be no development or peace."

http://www.eurasiareview.com/201008207235/maldives-constitutional-crisis-averted-and-compromise-reached.html

But can I trust the source?


Regards,
John

[Sheikh N Bake]

[johnslat]

And just recently, The NYT published "The War Logs," the material about Afghanistan that WikiLeaks - well - leaked:

"The Source of the Material

The documents � some 92,000 individual reports in all � were made available to The Times and the European news organizations by WikiLeaks, an organization devoted to exposing secrets of all kinds, on the condition that the papers not report on the data until July 25, when WikiLeaks said it intended to post the material on the Internet. WikiLeaks did not reveal where it obtained the material. WikiLeaks was not involved in the news organizations� research, reporting, analysis and writing. The Times spent about a month mining the data for disclosures and patterns, verifying and cross-checking with other information sources, and preparing the articles that are published today. The three news organizations agreed to publish their articles simultaneously, but each prepared its own articles."



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/26editors-note.html?_r=1

"In Disclosing Secret Documents, WikiLeaks Seeks �Transparency�"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/26wiki.html

"Pakistan Aids Insurgency in Afghanistan, Reports Assert
By MARK MAZZETTI, JANE PERLEZ, ERIC SCHMITT and ANDREW W. LEHREN
Published: July 25, 2010"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26isi.html

"View Is Bleaker Than Official Portrayal of War in Afghanistan
Published: July 25, 2010"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26warlogs.html

"Strategic Plans Spawned Bitter End for a Lonely Outpost
By C. J. CHIVERS
Published: July 25, 2010"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26keating.html

"Text From a Selection of the Secret Dispatches
Below are a selection of the reports from a six-year archive of classified military documents published by WikiLeaks. These examples provide an unvarnished, ground-level picture of the war in Afghanistan. Some of the documents suggest that the Pakistani military and its spy agency have been unspoken allies of the Afghan insurgency. Some names and details have been redacted by The Times to conceal suspects' identities, or because they might put people in danger or reveal key tactical military capabilities."

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/26warlogs.html#nytint-foot...


Now, for "those already in the know" (i.e. all of us,) a lot of this stuff was hardly "news" (WOW - the Pakistan Intelligence Service (the ISI - but I think the acronym PIS would be better) is helping the Taliban!!!!) but there are probably a lot of NYT's readers who don't share our vast and comprehensive knowledge.)

Regards,
John