French Media Leftist Hysteria

[Craig Read]

I did a quick Google on the French media and Iraq looking at the comments of others who had done the same and then reviewing some newspapers myself.

Have to love the one sided 'America is Evil' French media reporting. For anyone who knows a French man or women, you know that thanks to their media and education system they loathe the USA.

Based on my cursory analysis the French media will have a hard time redeeming itself after Iraq.

During the conflict, Le Monde wrote seven "anti-Saddam" articles to 49 "anti-coalition"; at the left-wing Liberation, this ratio was three to 31. On the political right, Le Figaro applauded Mr. Chirac for leading "la resistance française" --"against American hegemony." Perhaps overeager to keep his Iraqi visa, Remy Ourdan, Le Monde's man in Baghdad, "never hid his optimism for the strategy of the dictator".

As some experts pointed out the problem was usually back in Paris, not in the field. France's foreign correspondents are apparently as gritty and independent-minded as they come. Le Figaro's Adrien Jaulmes won France's top journalism prize after covertly hiking into Taliban-run Afghanistan before Kabul fell in 2001, and in early April filed a dispatch from the Iraqi frontline on Saddam's "dirty war," describing the army's use of civilian shields. The story ran in London's Daily Telegraph, which took Le Figaro copy, but not in Le Figaro itself. Mr. Jaulmes's editors presumably decided the article didn't fit the official line.

April 9 according to the Google search was the nadir of French media failure.

Le Monde blared: "Americans Face Chaos in Baghdad." [in 1975 Le Monde hailed Pol Pot's ascent to power in Cambodia with "Phnom Penh Libere."]

Is it any wonder that a third of Frenchmen wanted Saddam Hussein to defeat America?

The sick psychosis of France.

No wonder everyone in Europe hates them.

[righturnonred]

Although this analysis of the French media is no surprise to me, I find it inconceivable that so many fall victim to this kind of propaganda campaign. I often ask myself why it is that some, such as you and I, are so atuned to reality that these efforts have no effect. I just marvel at the enourmous number of "sheeple" in this world who are willing to completely base their determinations on bias, unreliable sources and hearsay. Goebbels would be proud.

[Craig Read]

The French owe the U$12 Billion in past World War 1 debts. If I was Bush I would be emailing the invoice with interest RIGHT NOW.

There is a great book out called 'Useful Idiots'.

The amount of liberal media nonsense over the last 20 yrs is so amazing and overwhelming, that in reading the book i became dizzy from reading quotes from the morons in the media extolling everything from Hussein, to the Soviets, to the Communists in Central America to Red China.

Anything as long as it was not American.

Same nonsense applies in today's current media. MRC a research bureau that monitors media news coverage has some shocking stats. On any major foreign policy issue; Kyoto, Cuba, the Sandanistas, Iraq and so on, both present and past, the Lie-beral viewpoint is carried 5-10 x more often than the counter viewpoint.

Why? Above topics are anti-American.

On Kyoto for instance less than 10 % of news coverage [as analysed by MRC] was devoted to critics of Kyoto. The rest was the usualy panegyric litany of UNO infallibilty and the stupidity of the American white man in destroying the world.

No balance.

Canada is at least as bad as the Europeans. Very few news outlets here have a clue about most topics. The cry- baby left, tears for the old, the disadvantage, the 3rd world poor and 'reformers' capture their imagination. Not actually understanding history, facts, morality, economic wealth accretion, rationales for the poverty or problems, or even seeing tyranny and evil, are de rigour here in Canada.

I do believe however, that according to a Post poll, 2/3 of Canadians still feel 'friendly' towards the US. I just wonder how long that will last ? How long will people's minds continue to function under a barrage of silly anti-Western, anti-American, pro EU drivel ?

[righturnonred]

do believe however, that according to a Post poll, 2/3 of Canadians still feel 'friendly' towards the US

I have to say that does shock me.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear Mr. Read and rightturnonred,

Anti-US sentiment is hardly novel, French, or EU based. It is fast becoming universal. The media does not create, it is simply goes along with what is judged to be marketable, lest they appear 'contrarian', which would soon make them unprofitable. The 'truth' has little to do with news.

As to the reference to 'sheeple', America have become the masters of that type of manipulation, for 'entertainment' et al, and media manipulation of said 'sheeple' is the US' #1 export.

I find it hilarious that the media and entertainment industries deny their role of responsibility in affecting the behaviour 'of the masses' while at the same time running advertisments.

[Craig Read]

Is there ever any logic to your statements?

You said 'the media does not create public perceptions'

Huh? Okay so what planet do you hail from ? Of course the media not only forms public opinions but reinforces them, with years of ceaseless propaganda and coverage. Do you think the anti-americanism in Canada is not media fed ? That is akin to stating that job creationism has no impact on the economy.

Absurd.

The EU media cultivates 'differentiation', 'superiority' and 'arrogance' through the denigration of American values, character and intent. This dogma runs through the education system through to the political elite and is buttressed by the media fascination with 'la gloire du Europe.' Of course niceties such as the holocaust, hitler, napoleon, stalin, and the 30 years war are quickly forgotten.

Canada follows the EU model - state owned broadcasting bashing its largest neighbour - and inculcating Canadians post 1965 that high taxes, socialised medicine and ice hockey a nation make.

Pathetic.

[Craig Read]

And now in France a French reporter who criticised his gov't for its bias, slander and anti-american jihad over the war in Iraq has lost his job.

Alain Hertoghe, an editor at La Croix daily in Paris, recently wrote a study of the French coverage of the Iraq war, "La Guerre a Outrances" (All Out War). Without taking a position on the conflict himself, Mr. Hertoghe discovered that the five leading French dailies had clearly let their government's opposition to the war slant their reporting. As if to prove his point, La Croix fired Mr. Hertoghe last week.

French labor laws protect journalists' freedom of expression as long as the expression doesn't harm the media outlet. Privately owned La Croix said Mr. Hertoghe had "harmed" the company and sacked him. We support the right of any private institution to fire anyone, but we didn't think that was supposed to happen in free-thinking France.

Mr. Hertoghe's book does cite stories in La Croix, all part of the public record, in his analysis. But the 16-year veteran of the Catholic daily reveals no inside information about editorial decisions. La Croix plays a much smaller role in the book than do Le Monde, Liberation and Le Figaro. All of the papers tended to ignore Saddam's brutality and touted the strength of the anti-American opposition. Only an eighth of all articles published during the 19-day conflict gave a favorable image of the Anglo-American war effort, the books says.

Anyone who read the French papers closely this spring would already know this. So why all the fuss? Beyond pointing out the lack of professionalism, the book illustrates the intellectual conformity that has gripped the French over Iraq. This group-think and anti-Americanism extended even to an institution -- the press -- that has an obligation in a free society to think for itself.

Europeans of a certain persuasion are fond of fretting that the long night of (Texas) fascism is descending on America. Yet somehow it is Europe where intolerance usually seems to break out, as Mr. Hertoghe has discovered.

[udawg]

This group-think and anti-Americanism extended even to an institution -- the press -- that has an obligation in a free society to think for itself.

Canada follows the EU model - state owned broadcasting bashing its largest neighbour

This is not anti-Americanism, it's merely anti-war. As you have previously stated in these forums, networks such as CNN (not an American network, i suppose) have reported decidedly leftist views on the war in Iraq.

It's not America the media loves to hate, it's what

America decides to do. And it's the entire media, not just the pathetic Canada and EU.

[udawg]

My mistake, I suppose it is anti-Americanism... war seems to be what America is all about.

[Craig Read]

True enough - the liberal media en masse hate anything to do with freedom, conservatism and moral causes. They are in a dither now that one of their hero's - Hussein - was flushed out of his rat hole. Who now to worship ? Well they always have the corrupt Chirac and the French, and of course Bin Laden [who needs a fair trial they say]. The liberals view conservatism, historical understanding, force and even the cross as signs of the anti-christ. The liberal media perversely has the very system they hate to thank for their capability to publish untruths and half lies and harebrained ideas. Try writing their drivel in Putin's Russia, Ho's China or even in Japan....

Fox News is now growing market share rapidly - one main reason is the type of reporting. It is not anti-american, shrill, moronic or underhanded. Fox News has a growing audience and during the Iraq war had the largest audience share. We need more Fox News channels less chattering Jennings, Korics, and Zahns.

The US better watch out - importing social liberalism from Canada will fatally weaken the US not make it more compassionate.

[Cameron]

The US better watch out - importing social liberalism from Canada will fatally weaken the US not make it more compassionate.

Very true Craig. I've always said, when people ask me why I vote PC (or Conservative), is that the NDP are too weak to run a country. They don't have the right mind-set. You can't go around waving a flag and asking people to stop fighting. It's like giving the police no guns and asking them to go into a crack house and ask them to stop selling crack. Hand out black tape and get the hurses warmed up.

The world is a tough place to live. I've always thrown around the meaning of the war in Iraq, why the US and UK invaded. At the time I was against the war, I thought there was too much controversy, I didn't believe the way the US was going about it was the right way. They could have just said "Iraq is a dump, Sadam is a tyrant and a dictator, we are going in to eliminate him and help re-build Iraq to its former glory". I would have been all for it then, but at the time I had internal conflict with my beliefs and right and wrongs of the progression of the war.

But, now I think Iraq can become something great and become the center piece of the middle-east.

Socialism does have a place in Canada, but you have to be smart in this modern world, you can't hide behind the ignorance's of the past.

I'm still going to vote conservative though.

[Craig Read]

Socialism and state control has no place in a free society. Witness the Frog media and some morsels i found:

>When an April 8 explosion at Baghdad's Palestine Hotel killed two journalists and injured several others, the French media immediately piled on to blame American troops... An Iraqi missile strike (rather than a US tank) is now considered the more likely culprit. The French public has largely been spared this new information.

>[in] "Les Guignols" [The Puppets] ... US soldiers are shown "playing with the decapitated heads of tortured Guantanamo prisoners." In a later scene, an American serviceman strangles his own mother while suffering a combat 'flashback' precipitated by the sight of her gas-guzzling SUV.

>During the war, France 2 news repeatedly reported that Coalition bombs were destroying the country and implied that civilians were being deliberately targeted. When these reports turned out to be false, there was no attempt to disabuse their audience of the previous distortions.

Welcome to France - i watched in fascination the other night a TV5 vitriolic denunciation of everything US and US foreign policy for one hour. Let me tell you it was quite the litany of bombast and absurdity.

[udawg]

Amen to that, Cameron.

The NDP are a good provincial choice... that's the level at which socialist policies can be good ideas.

At the national level however, we need governments who are not afraid to use muscle when necessary, who are willing to take a few losses for the better good. Bleeding hearts like the NDP would be a disaster federally.

Go conservatives.

[Cameron]

Amen to that, Cameron.

The NDP are a good provincial choice... that's the level at which socialist policies can be good ideas.

I don't even know about a provincial level. the NDP here in NS were offering the world to the taxpayers last election. I would pose the question to them of how they are going to pay for all of the services they were offering. The PC's offered, in my view, what we could afford and sustain.

As an example: When the PC's were passing the insurance rate reduction rate bill, the NDP didn't put in any constructive work into the bill with the PC's, they just criticized the PC's for screwing over the NS people, and that they (PC) should implement a public insurance system (at a cost that they pegged at 2 million...whatever) that they had suggested in their platform....(The liberals worked with the PC's BTW, in forming and passing the bill). The NDP were just, blah, blah, blah to anyone that would listen.

Plus, we can all see what a socialist does to Canada, look at the Trudeau years, he screwed this country over for years to come. The debt had risen 1100% and we were spending $1.23 for every $1 collected in taxes when Mulroney came to power....

[udawg]

The NDP did good things for Saskatchewan... before they got arrogant. For the first 8 years or so, there was good, careful spending... public programs we could sustain, and they made a difference.

Of course, they DID get arrogant... and now they think they can do anything. But that's beside the point. For a while, the NDP did good things for us.

[Craig Read]

That is for another thread. The Nitwit Demolition Party is about as relevant in Canada as the Mensheviks are now in Russia. If you want to discuss the merits of the Nitwit party then we should start another thread - i would imagine your comments will suffer at the hands of the realists.

The media do their best in Canada to convince that Axorthian soft power platitudes, Truduea Liberalism and Welfare, Rousseauian emotionalism and French Dirigiste economics are profound philosophies mired in human morality, equality and love.

They are mostly hypocritical hodge-podges of self congratulatory illusions. Creating a nanny state, buttressed by 1930s styled state own broadcasting [we are just missing the Nazi marching bands], and self delusional praise of Canada's international status as a moral power [newsflash; Canada is not considered at all to be relevant internationally at any level], is a cruel joke.

Canada and its left wing media aspire to be France.

Another newsflash - go to France, work there, live there, and you will see why you want to FLEE from there - as do most young and ambitious French. They take a one way ticket to London or New York.

[Craig Read]

Steven Edwards in the NP wrote a great article today on the immaturity of France and the socialist anti-American shrillness of the French media and society.

He outlines why Alain Hertoghe - a Belgian - working for Le Monde was fired for his great book La Guerre a Outrances. Since the socialist left wing Cdns love all that is French [nous sommes bilingue bien sur], i won't bother translating the title......Hertoghe catalogues the lies and misrepresentations in the French media and its massive anti-US stances. As i wrote earlier i was shocked when one week ago, while watching TV5 from Paris i witnessed a one hour 'talk show' that was full of lies and half truths and so anti-american it might even have made the CBC blush.

[you can order hertoghe's book on amazon.fr]

As Edwards wrote...."the French public was amazed when US led forces ended up winning the war." Hertoghe writes that "Even the sight of US tanks rolling unopposed into Baghdad failed to faze them. It was explained by reporting Saddam's henchmen had decided to give up fighting out of compassion for the Iraqi people.'

Sure those loveable fascists - 500.000 civilians murdered and 1 million more dead via various wars. 1.5 million dead souls - no wonder the French loved Hussein so much - besides huge billion dollar contracts Hussein et al killed people in a technocratic fashion - fascinating no doubt the moral French and Germans.

Hertoghe was fired for telling the truth. No french media gave his book a review. What does his firing state ? as Edwards points out:

-France has no freedom of speech

-Journalist integrity means nothing in France

-Anti-Americanism is a rabid disease that infects all of France

-France needs to grow up.

So Canada's new ally and best friend - France - is a centralised, politically corrupt, morally bankrupt state - that trades in death for contracts [ie. Iraq and other fascist/terrorist regimes], while pontificating on the rights of men and its hatred for the US.

Rather sick isn't it. Welcome to Post modern Canada !

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear Mr. Read,

i was shocked when one week ago, while watching TV5 from Paris i witnessed a one hour 'talk show' that was full of lies and half truths and so anti-american it might even have made the CBC blush.

I have seen some American news broadcasts, and some American 'Movies based on a true story' and the 'lies and have truths' are so pro- american it makes one shudder. I do not equate this to "American Media has no free speech", however. I can only agree that "That's business".

-Journalist integrity means nothing in France

It means nothing in the west, if it won't sell either. Who puts profit above integrity as their mantra more so than anyone? The USA.

Anti-Americanism is a rabid disease that infects all of France

Anti-americanism isn't a 'rabid disease', it is common sense. Not against the individuals, of course, just their value system. Freedom, equality, justice etc have long ago taken a back seat to greed.

PS. Earlier, you stated

Is there ever any logic to your statements?

You said 'the media does not create public perceptions'

Huh? Okay so what planet do you hail from ?

I could not find this statement anywhere in my post. Please clarify, if possible.

[Craig Read]

Flea you amaze me with your illogic. The leftist media creates an unvirtuous circle. They preach, you listen, they tell, you respond, they command, you follow. Jingoistic nationalistic platitudes abound in Canada and europe - and reality is usually the victim. The media bias in Canada and the inflexible racism that exists here is nothing more than the mark of immaturity - an adolescent country that won't grow up. That indeed would like to be the same as France. Arrogant and empty.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear Mr. Read,

media creates an unvirtuous circle. They preach, you listen, they tell, you respond, they command, you follow. Jingoistic nationalistic platitudes abound

That is both the purpose of propaganda and the job of the media. Right or left wing.

Not to sound too 'Nietzsche-ian', but I am above manipulation by the media, for I can see it. From higher moral ground.

[KrustyKidd]

What's wrong with the Left? Damm I would make a good one. Here you are, more help from KK;

It appears that Bush, failing to find WMD is going to the moon to continue the search.

OR MAYBE LOOKING FOR BIN LADEN

Do I have to write all your garbage for you?

Or possibly establishing a Neo Con empire. Is there oil in space? Must be, that's all he is interested in.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear KK,

Witty.

While Bush approaches another election, he must promise the American public 'the moon', greencards for wetbacks and the conquering of space. (Since he has so much between his ears). After the election (and here is another 'leftwing prediction for you) the space exploration ideas will be deemed 'too costly' (since there is no inherent value in men on mars) and someone will accidently ask him "you didn't just print more money to pay for this, did you?"

[KrustyKidd]

Diner for four on the line here Lonius. What is the prediction and when?

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear KK,

I will go out on a limb, here and make an actual prediction. IF Bush Jr. gets re-elected, men on mars will be cancelled as a project within 1 year. They may use the term 'postponement of development funding' but claim planning is going ahead, because dreaming costs nothing. The moon bases will be deemed 'too costly at this time' within 1 year, because there will be no 'foreseeable return on investment' unless they find oil on Mars.

I expect that Mr. Bush, should he be re-elected, will use the vast expenditures required to finance these projects 'on the American People' to bolster his popularity in the time remaining in his 'possible' term.

I love steak. Alberta Beef, if you please.

I will buy you and the 'missus' KK a steak dinner or something of equal value if this does not come to pass(Within plausable limits).

[KrustyKidd]

We have to be reasonable of course. I won't hold you to a year or expect you I. To the day anyhow. It is general intent. Already though, you should be aware that Bush is scaling back all sorts of stuff to prepare for this venture. Hubble, Shuttles and all are going by the wayside. Although it appears that he is trashing it, it is, according to his plan progress. With things like that going on it will be difficult to guage a winner between us using this as a finish line in a year.