:sad: 25,000 bags ordered for NO

[hiphop]

In the news they said that 25,000 body bags have been ordered for NO.

Really, the death toll seems to be exceeding 10,000.



This is so sad. Respect to all the ones who have died, and their families, to the people without home so they find a new home soon, respect to all those who have survived, and to all who have been helping.. however.. this a major major catastrophe and still makes me sad and bitter.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Naturally that has not been reported by mainstream media here yet. I also never heard a number related to Americans lost in the tsunami.

 

[hiphop]

I think the original info is from the New York Times.

The whole article in German says


"Flooded water a poison cocktail"
(excuse my missing english if it´s not 100% accurate)

In the city of New Orleans, damaged by Hurricane Katrina, the officials are apparently preparing for a worse scenario than expected. The FEMA ordered 25.000 body bags for the region. How many vicitms there are can only been evaluated when the water has sunken. Still half the city is under water. he water is getting a cocktail of poison and bacterias. Some people have already died of infections.

http://www.orf.at/050908-90987/index.html

 

[deep]

no pictures, god damn it.


let's just all move on

 

[Irvine511]

Naturally that has not been reported by mainstream media here yet. I also never heard a number related to Americans lost in the tsunami.

actually, Drudge has it up in screaming 32 point font.

i'm more upset about the gag order on photos.

eerily reminscent of Iraq.

let's get some "citizen journalists" down there.

 

[verte76]

Wow, that's alot of body bags. That means there may be that many deaths from the hurricane.

 

[TheQuiet1]

actually, Drudge has it up in screaming 32 point font.

i'm more upset about the gag order on photos.

eerily reminscent of Iraq.

let's get some "citizen journalists" down there.

Why do countries bother doing that? It reminds of the whole Prince Charles gagging order. People just go the internet and look it up on foreign websites. BBC TV News this lunchtime showed plently of pics showing bodies. It does seem sort of pointless in this day and age. And sort of unfair, not everyone will have access to the web (or the knowhow to use it) why should they be kept in the dark when others aren't?

It is terrible about NO. Let's hope lessons are at least learnt and that something this terrible won't be allowed to escalate to the extent it did again.

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

actually, Drudge has it up in screaming 32 point font.

please, please tell me that Drudge doesn't count as mainstream media in the US.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I think the original info is from the New York Times.
l[/url]

Ah. I googled it and only came up with foreign sources. My mistake.

 

[hiphop]

Ah. I googled it and only came up with foreign sources. My mistake.

Mistake? tsah

Its just the media. Clear they don´t have it on CNN. There are definitely other mistakes right now to think about.

The poor people..

 

[Irvine511]

please, please tell me that Drudge doesn't count as mainstream media in the US.

actually, ever since he broke the Lewinsky story, Drudge actually leads the media around.

he has, hands down, the best sources, and is an integral part of the right wing media machine (which is why it's so, so laughable when people label the media "left wing") and echo chamber that brought you the Swift Boat Liars.

he's not mainstream, in the sense that the NYT or WaPo or network news is; but he's absolutely crucial to the tone and agenda that news stories take.

 

[nbcrusader]

98% of the material on Drudge are mere links to mainstream news media.

If anything is written by Drudge directly (the occassional "flash"), it is simply written off as propaganda.

The "right wing media machine" is a good one. Kind of has that Hillary-esque "vast right wing conspiracy" feeling.

It is by no means a stretch to consider sources like the NY Times or WaPo as left of center.

 

[deep]

98% of the material on Drudge are mere links to mainstream news media.
.

Have you ever noticed how misleading his headlines can be?

Often the head line is not in the story

or a real leap?

I have been called on this with some of my thread titles (deservedly so)

Also his selection of stories is much more bias then NYT or WP

 

[Irvine511]

98% of the material on Drudge are mere links to mainstream news media.

If anything is written by Drudge directly (the occassional "flash"), it is simply written off as propaganda.

The "right wing media machine" is a good one. Kind of has that Hillary-esque "vast right wing conspiracy" feeling.

It is by no means a stretch to consider sources like the NY Times or WaPo as left of center.

as someone who works in media, i couldn't disagree with you more.

his headlines are where the spin begins.

you'll also notice that the best places to go to for administration news leaks are places like Drudge or the Washington Times -- there, the administration gets the growing story off the ground with maximum amount of beneficial spin.

the "echo chamber" is also well documented. it shows up on Drudge, bounces around the blogs, is picked up in some right wing leaning media sites and newspapers, the MSM picks up the scent, and it becomes news.

the Swift Boat people are a perfect example of this.

besides, as someone who works in the MSM (although not in a news capacity anymore) i can tell you that content is largely driven by ad sales, thus towing the corporate line.

 

[nbcrusader]

How did you get a job in the right wing media?

 

[Irvine511]

How did you get a job in the right wing media?

the Old Boys Network. there are some advantages to going to an eastern establishment college. and, heck, at least these days it benefits women and minorities and even a few homos.



seriously -- got me a job on a PBS Frontline show, where i will defend to the death every single assertion made on the show (because i did all the fact checking) which is why i'm such a fan of PBS because i know how stringent their standards are, and now that i work in commercial media, the influence of corporate advertising vs. public broadcasting is very palpable.

it's also why i get a bit testy when the "left wing media" charge comes up.

 

[kellyahern]

the Old Boys Network. there are some advantages to going to an eastern establishment college. and, heck, at least these days it benefits women and minorities and even a few homos.



seriously -- got me a job on a PBS Frontline show, where i will defend to the death every single assertion made on the show (because i did all the fact checking) which is why i'm such a fan of PBS because i know how stringent their standards are, and now that i work in commercial media, the influence of corporate advertising vs. public broadcasting is very palpable.

it's also why i get a bit testy when the "left wing media" charge comes up.

That's why I loved Jon Stewart's opening comment the other night. He said something like, "To people saying blah blah blah 'left wing bias'. No. Shut-up. Just. No."


I took him to mean, "You know guys. Just stop it. This is more important than that. This is bigger than that."

Sounds like you had an interesting job Irvine .

and before anyone says it, yes I know Jon Stewart is considered "liberal", but he has a very low tolerance of bs from either party, which is refreshing.

 

[nbcrusader]

seriously -- got me a job on a PBS Frontline show, where i will defend to the death every single assertion made on the show (because i did all the fact checking) which is why i'm such a fan of PBS because i know how stringent their standards are, and now that i work in commercial media, the influence of corporate advertising vs. public broadcasting is very palpable.

Very cool

 

[Irvine511]

Very cool

it was cool. and we even won an Emmy.

and then i was unemployed for 3 months, my boyfriend left me for Florida, and i was forced to teach SAT prep classes in a classroom without airconditioning in Virginia during the summer.



but all's better now.

in fact, i'd say the project i'm currently working on -- educational DVDs -- have an explicitly conservative politics.

we were given a list of "no-no's" from marketing, since they view their target audience for these DVDs as homeschoolers, who tend to be conservative Christians.

one example: we cannot say "the Earth is 4.5 billion years old." we must qualify with, "some scientists believe that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old."

 

[sharky]

I'm not too worried about that number yet. Ok, yea, alot of people are dead but NYC ordered way more body bags than it originally needed at 9/11 when we thought 25,000 people died there. Turned out to be less than 3,000. I think they are overdoing it for a worst-case scenario.

 

[nbcrusader]

in fact, i'd say the project i'm currently working on -- educational DVDs -- have an explicitly conservative politics.

we were given a list of "no-no's" from marketing, since they view their target audience for these DVDs as homeschoolers, who tend to be conservative Christians.

one example: we cannot say "the Earth is 4.5 billion years old." we must qualify with, "some scientists believe that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old."

Even I would find that qualification unnecessary.

That must be some interesting work for you. You're not gonna slip in a special easter egg on the DVD, are you?

Home schooling overall is quite an interesting industry - and conservative Christians are just another market to tap into. Prey on their fears of what will be taught in public school and BAM you've got another buyer.

 

[Teta040]

Wow. Irvine, you actually ARE part of the "liberal media"? LOL. Guys, I didn't know we had a journo here!

And this time, I think the gag order on showing body bags won't mean jack s**t. The main diff between this and the whole Iraqi fiasco that, unlike Iraq, we've SEEN the destruction and death in graphic detail on the nightly news. All people have to do is look at the statistics and fill in the mental images from the week of the storm. They're fixed in our minds forever. We have no graphic footage from Iraq, period, except from Micheal Moore. But the Right can't pin this one down on him. These are "uncontroversial" images...everyone showed them. Citizen Rupert actually had his hands bound for a glorious 6 days last week, the top was blown off the whole Bush Lie Machine and we saw a WHOLE lot of things they'd never have allowed us to see. And no matter how successful they may be in putitng it back in place, ( at least on the surface,) the genie is out of the bottle now. Abu Gharib is one thing--the why and how can be squashed as it doesn't directly concern us, except in an intellectual way. Really. But this hurricane aftermath is going to affect us and is already affecting us in MULTIPLE way..economic, politcal, social, you name it. For example, I think that even if Bush's second Supreme Court judge to replace O' Conner is like Roberts , they'd be very reluctant to bring an affirmative action case up right now, because even if Bush wants it, he wants those black votes too for the Congressional elections, and giving his blessing to a conservative court possibly overturning key civil rights legislation would be politcal suicide for the Legislative branch.

REally, excpet for perhaps the Estate Tax, I think Bush's domestic agenda for the 2nd term is toast. Even if he wants to, he wants to protect the Congress from becoming Democrat, and his own Senators etc will be giving him messages not to promote this or that legislation. His own party will hold him back .

IN addition, while we've been focused on the hurricane, Iraq is coming aprt at the seasm. Just in the past 8 days, we've had the stampede on the bridge killing 1000 people, insurgents raiding the Interior Ministry Buiodijng and Queda coming "out of the closet" in Iraq and taking over a whole small town. The group actually has a flag now, which it raised over the town. A year from now, even 6 months, people will turen their attention back to Iraq....if the place slides into Civil war.

I REALLY feel sorry for the troops now. Before, America was ignoring them and the war and not scrificing. Now, they must serve in TOTAL silence--the folksa thime are more heartsick over this. PLus, how many of them may have family here and want to come back and be with them? Not all can be transferred here. And how many will sign up for 2nd runs? How will this affect miltary recuitment in the South (from which most of the troops now currently come--ironically prob from some of tjhe same imporvershe dfamilies we're all talking albut?)

In a irnoc way, this storm might turn the public against the war like nothing les ehas. However, I'm not going to think any more on that. That's politics....I'll shut up. Eventually we can think on that..but not now. Bush will have to, though.

Irvine..did you see the story on Drudge about the "heartsick" poll on Katrina?

 

[kellyahern]

And this time, I think the gag order on showing body bags won't mean jack s**t. The main diff between this and the whole Iraqi fiasco that, unlike Iraq, we've SEEN the destruction and death in graphic detail on the nightly news.

Yeah, they just showed them on CNN. They did it as tastefully as they could of course, but they showed it for a reason. I think people should see this. Not to rub it in their faces, but this is what everyone down there is going through, this is reality.

 

[deep]

showing dead people

is only going get people upset

and then what?

 

[Teta040]

I'm actually torn about whether or not they should, to tell you the truth, Kelly. Once every few days might be OK, but if they do it day after day (esp as calls grow for hearings or a Commission on Katrina from Congress) people might misinterpret it and give the Feds an excuse to say they're doing it for political reasons. "the "liberal" media again.

Yes, I think we should see it, but no, it should not be overkill. There's a real risk of backlash b/c the American people are looking inward right now and not liking all that they see. Once or twice a week for the next month would be better than every day the next 2 weeks...and have a greater impact. Irvine might say that yes, we need the overkill, but repeatition of the NOLA footage of suffering people would be far more politcally damaging than dead bodies. THAT is the stuff that Bush REALLY does not want you to focus on...aftermath deaths as opposed to straight, clean storm deaths. It would be an indictment of his past and future policies. Thus footage is the kind that Bush had up until now successfully built the whole Lie Machine to hide. It's far more damaging than bodies. ( I took a public relations course in college..but Irvine is the expert.

 

[hiphop]

I'm not too worried about that number yet. Ok, yea, alot of people are dead but NYC ordered way more body bags than it originally needed at 9/11 when we thought 25,000 people died there. Turned out to be less than 3,000. I think they are overdoing it for a worst-case scenario.

To be fair, no one knows how many people died in 9/11. I still think 3000 is vastly underestimated. Just because of the proportion of the WTC buildings that crashed.

 

[hiphop]

Home schooling overall is quite an interesting industry -

Prey on their fears of what will be taught in public school and BAM you've got another buyer.

Yeah we could fire all teachers, close the schools and have more money left for defense. Who cares about a couple of analphabets. Good plan?

 

[Irvine511]

Wow. Irvine, you actually ARE part of the "liberal media"? LOL. Guys, I didn't know we had a journo here!

just to be clear -- i'm in production, not journalism. while i have worked on journalistic programs, that is not my training. i'd love to go back an do investigative pieces, maybe move into news, but for now, i have more artistic intentions than journalistic ones.

however, i do some volunteer journalistic-type work; i write articles for a newsletter for an inner-city health clinic that's focus on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention.

one thing though: let's say i did go into news, would that mean, then, that i would be incapable of reporting without a liberal bias? because this is the charge -- that people who work in news and media are liberal, therefore they are incapable of truly unbiased news.

to that i would say that there's an implicit assumption that i would be unable to do my job. and that's another thing i find irritating about the whole "the media is liberal" charge -- you're assuming that people can't do their jobs, can't separate their politics from their work, or that they view their work as some sort of bullhorn. i would say, however, that most people in media keep their mouths shut. it would be rather taboo, when i was working for PBS or for a more news orientated station than i do now (did that for a few months), to have actual political conversations where you might express an opinion beyond a sort of jaded derision of ALL politicians. i would also add that most people in media have "urban" values -- they believe that women should not be subservient to their husbands, should have a right to choose, that gay people are people too, that racism, sexism, homophobia are all bad things, etc. however, this does not translate into a Democratic platform, not in anyway.

just some thoughts based on observations.

 

[Irvine511]

Even I would find that qualification unnecessary.

That must be some interesting work for you. You're not gonna slip in a special easter egg on the DVD, are you?

Home schooling overall is quite an interesting industry - and conservative Christians are just another market to tap into. Prey on their fears of what will be taught in public school and BAM you've got another buyer.

no, no easter eggs into the DVDs. thought that is an idea ...

it is amazing how the free market preys upon everyone's fears, and at the end of the day, you're just another consumer, and what better way to get people to buy things than to scare them?

 

[sharky]

To be fair, no one knows how many people died in 9/11. I still think 3000 is vastly underestimated. Just because of the proportion of the WTC buildings that crashed.

Those buildings were not really hopping until 9 a.m. so I have to disagree there. I'm sure there were people that were not reported but I don't think the number is that high. And again, lots of body bags but in the WTC case, no bodies. So who knows what's gonna happen?