Tag: Philosophy

The New York Times Has an Ugly Anti-Palestinian Bias

The fact that the New York Times assigned its investigation of October 7 sexual assault claims to Anat Schwartz, a non-journalist with anti-Palestinian beliefs and ties to the Israeli military, is an extreme reflection of the paper’s unflagging pro-Israel bias.

Beneath these surface layers of anti-Palestinian bias, though, there may be a deeper and simpler issue. As Noam Chomsky and his late coauthor Edward Herman argued in Manufacturing Consent, one of the defining biases of mainstream media in general — of which the New York Times was emblematic long before the beginning of these dramatic recent conflicts of interest — has been a deep deference to and ideological affinity with the US national security state.

That was true of how they covered the Vietnam War when Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon were carpet-bombing that country to crush a peasant revolution. That was true of the Iraq War when the Times uncritically published the George W. Bush administration’s lies about “weapons of mass destruction.” We should not be surprised to discover that it’s true about Gaza, where the mass slaughter and displacement of civilians is being carried out with American funds and American weapons.

 

Source: The New York Times Has an Ugly Anti-Palestinian Bias

NZ election: Jacinda Ardern victory result of core philosophy

Jacinda Ardern waves to supporters at an Auckland cafe on Sunday morning, after her election victory.

The trick with Jacinda Ardern is that it isn’t a trick. I once thought it might be. I now want a hug from Jacinda before I die. This permanent change comes from a place of shame. During my non-believer phase, circa March 2017, I spotted Ardern at a St Patrick’s Day festival of fiddly-dee songs. Probably in the way retired All Blacks players bore the new caps, I decided to give Ardern the benefit of my inglorious three years’ experience as an MP.

NZ election: Jacinda Ardern victory result of core philosophy