There used to be this saying started by who, or whatever race (believed to have been quoted by the same race to which it was trying to teach a hard core lesson)–a quote that said:
“If you ever want to keep something from a ________ put it in a book.”
Before the Internet, we often sat in front of the television with very limited times slots on getting world news, most of which was filtered to us at the discretion of the news source. And when that kind of thing happens, we are cut off and ignorantly powerless in being able to do something about important issues of the world that may affect us directly, that we care about, or are concerned with [that don’t necessarily affect us directly].
With the convenience of our mobile devices and wifi services, now, with the invention of the Internet; (whether they want to admit it or not) people are putting more hours online even more than they watched television at home years ago.
So if you had a complaint about the meticulous filtering of news reaching you at home (via television), that same thing is occurring ten times over-especially given the main social media sites giving the short list of “trending topics” while too, adhering to the scope of their original business best practices of not necessarily promising to be your world news source (but when they feel like it, will slip world news in around the “hotter” topics in the world of celebrity and other sensationalism subject matter).
Lots happened this week, but the biggest (sensational) topic the world over was Bruce Jenner’s transition to Caityln Jenner-receiving nearly 70 millions views the world over.
The next day (the video/trailer of Caitlyn’s we posted/in circulation) previewing the upcoming reality re-vitality television series starring Caitlyn received 45 millon views (as of this morning)…it’s evening now, so you know it’s even more than that.
Unfortunately, for people interested in real world news, whether or not purposely planned (as conspiracy theorists would have it) or sent out the gate to distract, deflect and thwart; the fact of the matter is: While the sensationalism of Caitlyn Jenner did #BreakTheInternet, other important news and world issues didn’t quite cut the trending topics as long, therefore-got ignored (by comparison to Caitlyn’s news).
Read on:
1. Rand Paul received widespread coverage for delaying the Patriot Act’s renewal at the end of May. As a result of his filibuster and congressional inaction, the Patriot Act and its Section 215—one of the NSA’s justifications for bulk data collection—expired on Monday. Though this was lauded as a victory, this week the Senate pushed through the USA Freedom Act, selling it as a bill to respect the privacy of Americans. In actuality, it renews and arguably strengthens the government surveillance apparatus.
2. On Tuesday, news broke that the FBI has been conducting warrantless surveillance across the United States using a fleet of planes disguised as private aircrafts. It was responsible for mysterious planes flying over the Baltimore protests in May and surveilled as many as 40,000 people in one flight over Anaheim, California. In similar news, it was revealed this week that a single local police department conducted over 300 warrantless searches using highly secretive and controversial Stingray technology.
3. This week, NBC was caught manipulating footage of a witness interview to make the police shooting of unarmed college student, Feras Morad, seem less sinister to its audience. His death was one of nearly 400 police killings logged this year, alone.
4. In what appears to be good news, Congress moved this week to require police to report all killings and uses of force committed on duty. There has previously been no requirement and only 750 of 17,000 police departments voluntarily report such data. The law also requires reporting of police deaths on duty (this was already codified in a law passed in May) but nevertheless, signifies a growing shift toward police accountability.
5. A Department of Homeland Security investigation found that in 95% of cases, the TSA failed to find weapons and mock explosives smuggled through airports. Undercover DHS agents managed to sneak through 67 of 70 incidents without any hassle from the TSA, the administration that claims its services are necessary to keep Americans safe.
6. A “high value” Guantanamo detainee, Majid Khan, alleged this week that he was tortured by CIA agents with tactics worse than previously revealed. Though the Senate’s December torture report detailed gruesome techniques including forced rectal feeding and sleep deprivation, Khan claims he was sexually abused, hung nude from beams, and had his genitals dipped in ice water—among other offenses.
7. In a continuing, unsettling pattern, three more stories came to light of bankers meeting their death. The executive of American Express died mysteriously on an international flight while another jumped off the 24th floor of his apartment building in an apparent drug-induced suicide. Another story released this week detailed a Goldman Sachs employee found dead in her car in April. They join a growing list of bankers whose lives have ended prematurely.
8. In an all too common pattern, news surfaced this week that local police in Palm Beach, Florida engaged in illicit activity. As Anti-Media reported, “At least one minor and at least one sex-worker were invited to a private party on a golf course that was held by members of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department in 2012. Witnesses reported that members of the party were openly using cocaine and that the woman who attended the party was walking around the golf course fully nude.” This parallels the DEA’s recent drug cartel-funded prostitute party scandal as well as a plethora of cases where police use and sell “illicit” substances.
9. In a “once-in-a-century” discovery, archeologists in Russia discovered 2,400-year-old golden bongs. They contained trace amounts of opium and marijuana, suggesting (as the Palm Beach cop cocaine soiree does) that seeking altered states of consciousness is not a crime, but human nature. The findings further prove the failed war on drugs to be futile and obsolete.
10. A declassified Pentagon report revealed this week that Western governments helped to create ISIS, the infamous terrorist organization. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency report, “US and other western governments allied themselves with al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups to oust Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad. They suspected the consequences of this tactic would lead to the rise of an ‘Islamic State.’”
While Caitlyn Jenner’s transition into femininity is a newsworthy and ultimately positive story, the media’s incessant focus on celebrity gossip leaves a vast majority of relevant stories on the sidelines. If in a matter of several days this many stories could go uncovered by the mainstream media, consider how many have been sacrificed over the years in the name of covering celebrity deaths, weddings, breakdowns, and divorces—which come without the social progress of Caitlyn’s debut (Carey Welder of antimedia.org)
