arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

"Media have been quick to declare the U.S. war against Iraq a success, but in-depth investigative reporting about the war's likely health and environmental consequences has been scarce. Two important issues getting shortchanged in the press are the U.S.'s controversial use of cluster
bombs and depleted uranium weapons.

According to a May 5 search of the Nexis database, there have been no in-depth reports about cluster bombs on ABC, CBS or NBC's nightly news programs since the start of the war. There have been, however, a few passing mentions of cluster bombs-- enough so that viewers may be aware of their existence. Not so with depleted uranium. Since the beginning of the year, the words "depleted uranium" have not been uttered once on ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News or NBC Nightly News, according to Nexis.

Depleted uranium is a dense metal used in various U.S. and British munitions as ballast and to cut through tank armor. The U.S. military insists it is not a major health threat, but many link it to Gulf War
Syndrome and to increased cancers and birth defects in Iraq. (...)

Cluster bombs are another widely criticized weapon favored by the U.S. (...) When cluster bombs have come up on the major network newscasts, little background information has been provided. ABC's World News Tonight reported (4/1/03) Iraqi officials' claim that nine children had been killed by cluster bombs, but did not elaborate. In another report (World News Tonight Saturday, 4/19/03), anchor Terry Moran introduced a segment by saying, "Four soldiers were hurt today when a little Iraqi girl handed
them part of a cluster bomb," adding, bizarrely, "That's just the way life is in Iraq right now." Later, Moran noted that the little girl was injured, too. (...)

Contrast TV's lack of curiosity to the noteworthy May 12 Time magazine story cited above, in which reporter Michael Weisskopf highlighted the discrepancy between Pentagon claims-- that "only 26 cluster bombs had landed in civilian areas, resulting in one casualty"--with the reality on the ground, where in Karbala alone, local clean-up crews "are harvesting about 1,000 cluster bombs a day." (...)

The repercussions of the U.S. and British use of cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons will be felt in Iraq for a long time to come. It is essential that U.S. media push for a full accounting on these issues from the Pentagon."

DIOGENE(S) 52

Sorry maar een beetje serieus blijven - 15 x nieuws over nieuws duwt de rest de dieperik in - Eén post met inhoudstafel en verwijzing naar Diogenes 52 zal wel genoeg zijn zeker?

Eén zo'n comment in plaats van 52 is ook meer dan voldoende, quiest! Je hoeft het helemaal niet eens te zijn met alles wat op deze site geschreven is, maar tracht misschien eens wat volwassen te worden...