Us Versus Iraq

[hobbes]

Well, I have listened to the Iraqi information minister if that is what you mean.

Also, I like the Pakistani press. They put on the front page that the US had used nuclear weapons against Iraq and was planning to attack Pakistan next.

There is so much shit out there, how can you definitively know what is unmitigated truth.

In America, we have dissenting opinions about the war, and both sides have outlets for their viewpoints.

Everybody has an agenda, everyone spins the truth, as J2K4 said, it is all about "filtering" the information to discover the truth.

[clocker]

Originally posted by myfiles3000@29 May 2003 - 18:46

there's more value to the argument that you give credit for, hobbes. there are lots of reasons why US media is more narrow, conservative, homogenous than that of other states. Have you spent some time abroad? the difference in media coverage is unmistakable.

I'm not in agreement with you on that point at all,files.

But it's really irrelevant anyway.

Thanks to the miracle of modern technology I can access media information from anywhere in the world. I can be exposed to international bias.
I must agree with hobbes.
Until shown otherwise, I will simply assume that your sources are as biased as you accuse ours of being.
Prove me wrong.

[ShockAndAwe^i^]

Every single day I get more impressed with you guys.
Your all just out looking for a good fight.
When I first came here and read some of the opinions I got so mad that I just lashed out.
You all saw that, and it didn't matter all that much what you believed, you came after me and MADE me defend my position.
It was rough too and only a few reluctantly(because of the language) came to my defense.
This really is great stuff sometimes!

[myfiles3000]

Originally posted by clocker+30 May 2003 - 02:32--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (clocker @ 30 May 2003 - 02:32)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--myfiles3000@29 May 2003 - 18:46

there&#39;s more value to the argument that you give credit for, hobbes. there are lots of reasons why US media is more narrow, conservative, homogenous than that of other states. Have you spent some time abroad? the difference in media coverage is unmistakable.

I&#39;m not in agreement with you on that point at all,files.

But it&#39;s really irrelevant anyway.

Thanks to the miracle of modern technology I can access media information from anywhere in the world. I can be exposed to international bias.
I must agree with hobbes.
Until shown otherwise, I will simply assume that your sources are as biased as you accuse ours of being.
Prove me wrong. [/b][/quote]
well, this is a huge topic, so to start from scratch is daunting, especially since my background is in media. but perhaps we can begin with the rather uncontentious point that american politics is the, or at least one of the, most homogenous in the West. I&#39;ve recently posted on this, to the effect that there&#39;s no viable communist, fascist, nationalist, etc parties -- you&#39;ve got yours Ds and your Rs. This isn&#39;t meant as a criticism of american politics necessarily, just a neutral observation.

and just out of curiosity -- have you spent time abroad, ie, at least a couple of weeks consecutively outside of NAFTA territory? I think those that have will offer much less resistance to my statements.

[hobbes]

I think the Iraqi information minister is outside of NAFTA. He was spot on. Wish we could get this kind of unbiased reporting here.

I think Pakistan also is outside these boundaries.

[clocker]

Originally posted by myfiles3000@29 May 2003 - 20:17


and just out of curiosity -- have you spent time abroad, ie, at least a couple of weeks consecutively outside of NAFTA territory? I think those that have will offer much less resistance to my statements.

I spent summers in Europe (all over) for five consecutive years.

I do remember that you guys have more tits in the newspaper than we do.

[sArA]

Of course, the greatest problem with any amount of information, particularly since the Internet, is that we suffer from information overload....

What this essentially means, is that whilst there is a wealth of viewpoints, stances, and opinions &#39;out there&#39;, the difficulty is differentiating the true from the not so true.

So...as the US is one of the most wired in the world...access to this information is relatively easy for those wishing to look...the problem of course is sifting through the chaff....essentially, we have to make our own minds up, and even if we think we are well informed, it can only be as far as our research to date combined with a few preconceptions.

Americans, Europeans....all have access to it....its the interpretation that is the issue and the problem. There will allways be those willing to take the side they are most comfortable believing, and those who are looking for a radical take...majority opinion is not necessarily the right one any more than the minority.

Ahh well......perception is as always.....subjective....I think therefore I have an opinion&#33;

[myfiles3000]

Originally posted by hobbes@30 May 2003 - 03:23
I think the Iraqi information minister is outside of NAFTA. He was spot on. Wish we could get this kind of unbiased reporting here.

I think Pakistan also is outside these boundaries.

hobbes, don&#39;t be daft. for one thing, I&#39;m comparing, rightly i should think, the media of the US with other DEMOCRACIES, namely in the West. To point to systems that are worse, ie iraq (totalitarian) and pakistan (pseudo-democratic, and on the brink of war for years) is not advancing your argument against mine.

Anyway, can we at least agree that American politics is more homogenous than other western democracies? I making a good faith effort to find some scrap of common ground from which to proceed.

[clocker]

Okay Myfiles.
For the sake of moving past this sticking point I am willing to stipulate that American politics are more homogenous than other western countries ( although how you get more homogenous than a monarchy I&#39;m not certain...).
So how does this pertain to our media access/media bias/general ignorance?

[sArA]

I am not trying to be pedantic here, nor am I anti American... (you lovies&#33 but the homogeneity of US politics in such a diverse country is perhaps one of the problems that is being discussed here....Of course, in politics the difficulty of reaching agreement in a hetergeneous state means that most people just go for the lesser of evils....in the case of the US this is 2...in other western nations...the 3rd or 4th choice often acts only as a protest vote for dissenters of the majority view and not a real choice per se.

Seems like we are all buggered then&#33; Hobsons choice&#33;