Photo Courtesy of US Navy

The title of this post comes from a tweet by Richard Morse, or as we know him on twitter @RAMHaiti. He's been posting, as his generator and cell phone allow, continuously every 15-20 minutes about the situation in Haiti and what people are reporting back to him from what they see on the streets.

As I look through myh twitter stream I see people and organizations reporting directly from Haiti without any incidents. The tweets are usually S.O.S. alerts, pleas for water/food/supplies, road block or fallin debris alerts and other daily or asking request for survivor information. It's why it's so important that people like Ansel, the journalist of @mediahacker, call the mainstream media (BIgMediaCo or "Legacy Media") for trying to push tabloid writing as factural journalism. From Tell CNN to stop hyping fears of violence in Haiti. For shame.

They started pushing the violence meme the day after the earthquake. I was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer that evening via Skype. Part way through the interview, they cut to their correspondent for a live chat from the airport.

He spoke briefly with Mario Andreso, the chief of Haiti’s national police, who warned of out-of-control violence from all the prisoners who escaped the penitentiary the day of the quake. The CNN reporter repeated the claims uncritically.

When they came back to me, I began to explain that I had walked through the remains of the jail (here’s the video). That many of the prisoners were reportedly shot dead by police as they tried to escape. And that I had not seen or heard of violence so far.

The prison was a hellish place, with almost no medical facilities. Did it contain some genuine thugs? Yes. But it also contained many political prisoners and people who never received a fair trial from Haiti’s flawed courts. These are simple facts that CNN is too happy to overlook. I was quickly interrupted by Blitzer and they went to commercial break.

Haitians on the streets are not worried about the jail. Food, water, fuel, medicine, and shelter is all I hear.

These digital warriors in the trenches who have been reporting facts and not fictions of machete wielding mandingos or children of tonton macoutes are people or organizations such @MyriamFehmiu @karljeanjeune @GlobalVoices @InternetHaiti @carelpedre @fredodupoux @pierrecote @smithjoanna @unicefusa, the always trustworthy @MSF_USA and even the Israeli Defense Forces propaganda machine, @IDFinHaiti.


 more this way»

Got this today via email:

CNN’s Dobbs Problem Just Got Bigger
Media Matters calls on public to pressure “The Most Trusted Name In News”

Washington, DC -- After CNN President Jon Klein reportedly called Lou Dobbs’ coverage of conspiracy theories about President Obama’s birth certificate “legitimate” on Friday, July 24, Media Matters for America President Eric Burns sent an email to its thousands of online activists today asking for their help to publicly pressure CNN to credibly address its Lou Dobbs problem.

In the email, Burns writes: “Klein's caving to Dobbs raises a serious, troubling question: Who is really calling the shots at CNN?”

Burns also called on readers to sign a public petition, saying: “Dobbs’ relentless promotion of outlandish conspiracy theories seriously damages CNN’s credibility. It is time for ‘The Most Trusted Name in News’ to prove it deserves viewers’ trust.”

Those receiving the email are encouraged to sign the petition at http://dobbsconspiracy.com

I guess they are continuing the work started by NCLR and Southern Poverty Law Center with We Can Stop The Hate.

I just wished that instead of looking for a competitive advantage, these advocacy organizations worked with more a meshing and co-opetitive spirit. That instead of announcing their efforts as being completely independent they touted right off the bat how they're taking other people's advocacy work and pushing it to the next level with their effort.

Anyway ...

You know what's really sad? That nobody in the Latino Spanish-speaking mainstream media is taking CNN or Lou Dobbs or for that matter US mainstream media to task. Of course, the histories of the Latino MSM is not one of upsetting the status quo either.

Sigh ...

A negrita can still dream, no?

The complete email of their petition is after the jump:

###

 more this way»

Location

So Latinos (along with Asians, Native Americans and other 'minorities') are the real ghosts in the media machine. Not that I needed Media Matters to tell me that :

The nearly complete absence of Latinos from the cable shows' guest lists is particularly notable. In 2004, the U.S. Census estimated that Hispanics made up 14 percent of the American population; given patterns of population growth, that number is undoubtedly higher today. Yet Hispanics made up less than 2 percent of the guests on these programs during these three weeks. In fact, this number represents a total of only 13 guest appearances, six of which were by Geraldo Rivera.

No better, by the way, for Asians, Native Americans and other 'minorities'.

The problem with the MSM's corrections to these problems is to get a neo-nazi Speedy Gonzalez look-a-like to be the talking 'cabeza' du jour.

Or, even better --they do as Media Matters and hire just one guy with a latino-sounding name.
 more this way»

It never ceases to amaze me how the main stream media hacks continue their march to bloggifying their journalistic practices at the same time they harrass, insult and undermine the work of blogging pioneers.

The title of this Saletan post says it all : Why banging your sister is icky. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine:

A study offers new evidence that natural selection drives the incest taboo. On average, your level of disgust at the notion of sex with a sibling correlates with how long you cohabited with that sibling and watched your mom care for her as a small child. So does your level of altruistic behavior toward the sibling. These experiential factors correlate more strongly with incest aversion than does your belief that the sibling is genetically related to you. The researchers posit a mental "kinship estimator" that converts "maternal perinatal association" into altruism and sexual disgust, driving you to choose a mate outside your family. Old idea: Nature makes you horny for your sister, but faith teaches you it's icky. New idea: Nature tells you it's icky, and faith takes the credit.

Tell that is not something Lorraine or Amanda would have posted on a blog?

I rest my case ... hypocrite.