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Fox News Needs Ethical Leadership

Fox News Needs Ethical Leadership

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Isn’t anyone at the helm over there at Fox News? Media Matters is listing some of the reactions of Fox News hosts and reporters to the London attacks. This is sickening.

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade:

KILMEADE: And he [British Prime Minister Tony Blair] made the statement, clearly shaken, but clearly determined. This is his second address in the last hour. First to the people of London, and now at the G8 summit, where their topic Number 1 –believe it or not– was global warming, the second was African aid. And that was the first time since 9-11 when they should know, and they do know now, that terrorism should be Number 1. But it’s important for them all to be together. I think that works to our advantage, in the Western world’s advantage, for people to experience something like this together, just 500 miles from where the attacks have happened.

Tell that to their families. Works to our advantage?

Fox News contributing correspondent Simon Marks:

MARKS: It [Edgeware Road] is an area that has a very large Arab population. Surrounding that station, a large number of Middle Eastern restaurants. So, it’s a further indication, if in fact these attacks were carried out by Al Qaeda-affiliated cells, that these people are, if necessary, prepared to spill Arab blood in addition to the blood of regular — of non-Arab people living in London.

Arab vs “regular” Londoners? London is an international city.

Fox News Washington managing editor Brit Hume:

HUME: You know, the market was down. It was down yesterday, and you know, you may have had some bargain-hunting going on. I mean, my first thought when I heard — just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, “Hmmm, time to buy.” Others may have thought that as well. But you never know about the markets.

His first thought….time to buy? What a schmuck.

And here’s some lovely bashing for the people who helped us win our revolution:
Fox News host John Gibson:

GIBSON: By the way, just wanted to tell you people, we missed — the International Olympic Committee missed a golden opportunity today. If they had picked France, if they had picked France instead of London, to hold the Olympics, it would have been the one time we could look forward to where we didn’t worry about terrorism. They’d blow up Paris, and who cares?

Well, I would care, and so would a whole lot of other people. What have we become here?

Something like this happens, and this is how crass and disgusting the right-dominated Fox News network reacts. Yeah, very moral, very christian, very ethical, very compassionate.

Please, world, don’t judge us by these people.

Energy and Climate Change

Energy and Climate Change

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Did anyone else see Bush speaking at the G8 on climate change? He just kept repeating that we’re doing a lot, we’re spending millions on research, it’s very complicated, we’re spending money on research. Maybe when Florida’s under water, maybe when the new plague is released from polar ice, maybe when …. it’s too late. Meanwhile, they simply edit and delete the results of the research if such disagrees with their ideology – you know, a bit like the doctored evidence to go to war in Iraq, a bit like the way Bolton bullied people who didn’t come up with the results he wanted to see.

I think the other superpower -“the rest of the world” (see the piece, was it yesterday? in the New York Times) – should go ahead and do what they can. States and cities here should do what they can – some mayors have already started. Kudos!

America should not be equated with its current president. The tide will change – get things going now. Every little bit will help. Meanwhile – American reader? Sell the SUV, make your house or apartment or modular home (mobile or immobile) more energy-efficient. One dollar spent on efficiency is worth $7 spent on new energy.

Nukes are coming back – but they won’t be protected from terrorist attacks or from breakdown disasters. The Republicans want to drill a new oil well in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area – and there’s a guy in California with a bill to strike down the Endangered Species Act.

Oil supply is dwindling, and competition for carbon-based energy is growing, but there’s still so much money for them to make in the short-term.

Wanna make money? Start figuring out new energy sources now. YOU could be the big winner!

Ratcheting Up the Terror

Ratcheting Up the Terror

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Well, I guess they needed something for the polls. It was good timing for terrorism… London wins the Olympics, the G8 is going on – everyone is celebrating, then POW! Multiple bombings on the London Metro, something like 40 people dead and 1000 injured, railway cars smashed, a bus exploded.

Blair links it to the G8. The “Secret Al Qaeda Jihad Organization in Europe” that claimed responsibility for the London attacks says that they did so as retaliation for Britain’s involvement in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan – which actually makes more sense. They include “Denmark, Italy and all of the Crusader governments” in future attacks. Horrible, brutal, desperate and wrong – but there is a logic to the claim. Bush says, “The contrast couldn’t be clearer between the intentions and the hearts of those of us who care deeply about human rights and human liberty, and those who kill, those who’ve got such evil in their hearts that they will take the lives of innocent folks. The war on terror goes on.” I’ll bet it does. If it turns out (as many people are arguing, with more evidence than you’d think) that Bush allowed 9/11 to happen, those words will be good to requote. I’m almost cynical enough at this point to begin to suspect that Bush is simply ordering these events to happen. So the US/UK and the terrorists support one another’s darkness – a bit like evangelists and titty bars.

Sometimes humor has a grain too much truth.

Unconfirmed sources report that British Prime Minister Tony Blair is taking full responsibility for the bombing attacks in London today. In a tearful press conference this morning Blair spoke to the nation and asked to be forgiven for involving Britain in the misguided American military adventure in Iraq. – Unconfirmed Sources

After the explosions, the pound dropped to a 19-month low ( but it’s still worth $1.74 or so).

One might almost miss that Egypt’s ambassador to Iraq has been killed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s group – but that’s pretty significant too. We have done nothing, not even Rove-fare, to counteract the impression of us as Crusaders. We’re pretty similar, Crusading Capitalists and Pseudochristians – greedy plunderers of the spoils of war. Like in olden days, the money doesn’t even go to the conquering country as a whole but only to chosen ones, in this case insiders, cronies, CEOs and contracters (like Halliburton, who just won yet another big contract in Iraq!). This administration is hostile to the poor and to the working class of all countries including its own, cowboy swagger notwithstanding.

My heart flies out to everyone in London and all of the British Isles. My deepest sympathies. Don’t let them use this to do to you what they are doing to us. I like what I see so far about the local reaction – they won’t be ruled by fear, unlike us.