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Saturday, January 25, 2014

Dumbocracy and the Media

     On January 22, 2014 violent protests broke out in Kiev, Ukraine. Below are some photographs taken during the protests. I did a search on Google for news for January 22nd and 23rd. There was no mention of any protests in the Ukraine in the US. There were sports scores. There was celebrity gossip. There was talk about Justin friggin Beiber getting arrested, but no talk of anything that actually mattered. I did see a story by Fox News on the 24th but not much else of note. Here is one of the issues I have with the media and us. This has become a supply and demand problem. News agencies don't talk about news anymore. They talk about what you want to hear so you'll watch. If you don't watch then they are out of a job. Not only do you want to watch you want it slanted to your beliefs no matter if they are based on fact or not. You see my point is that the media is a symptom of the problem. The fact is we are the problem. We are not as informed as we should be and apparently we don't want to be. Not only do you not demand real news you don't even demand that the fake news you receive is even accurate.

     In 1997 Jane Akre and her husband Steve Wilson were employees for WVTV in Tampa, FL, which is a FOX owned station. They were both fired that year for refusing to knowingly include false information in their story of the Monsanto Corporation's production of RBGH, which is a drug designed to make cows give more milk.They sued under Florida's Whistleblower Law and were awarded $425,000 settlement by jury decision. Several appeals later this decision was overturned in favor of FOX. The court declared that the FCC policy against falsification that Fox violated was just a policy and not a “law, rule, or regulation”, and so the whistle blower law did not apply. In other words, it's just kind of a guideline not an actual law so news agencies have the freedom to fabricate news and make up any lie they want and present it to the public as truth. Now a few years earlier NBC news was sued successfully for rigging a test on car safety. This isn't just just FOX and I don't want to single them out. All news organizations do it that was just an example.

    If you want the truth your just going to have to do work to find it and I hope that you do. Most won't because as a society we've become lazy. People bitch about a story on Justin Beiber but they still talk about it and post internet memes about Bieber, the Kardashians, Real Housewives of where the hell ever. As long as you keep them in the eye your going to keep seeing news about them. Why does the fucking E Channel even exist? Why do you care what celebrities do? You shouldn't. If you really truly want better then demand it and stop talking about irrelevant stupid bullshit. Otherwise your part of the problem you should shut the fuck up and stop bitching because your getting exactly what you deserve.
    Here are some photos from around the net on the riots in the Ukraine. A story your probably not following because Justin Beiber isn't driving drunk there listening to Kanye West talk about how great he is muffled between Kim Kardashians butt cheeks.