Apple Factory Abuses Were an NPR job - MediaBias

NPR just admitted that the whole story was basically faked.

(This American Life) The response to the original episode, “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory,” was significant. It quickly became the single most popular podcast in This American Life’s history, with 888,000 downloads (typically the number is 750,000) and 206,000 streams to date. After hearing the broadcast, listener Mark Shields started a petition calling for better working conditions for Apple's Chinese workers, and soon delivered almost a quarter-million signatures to Apple.
The same month the episode aired, The New York Times ran a front-page investigative series about Apple's overseas manufacturing, and there were news reports about Foxconn workers threatening group suicide in a protest over their treatment.
Faced with all this scrutiny of its manufacturing practices, Apple announced that for the first time it will allow an outside third party to audit working conditions at those factories and – for the first time ever – it released a list of its suppliers.

(pjmedia.com)This really ought to be more of a bombshell story than it has been so far. NPR’s nails-on-a-chalkboard radio magazine “This American Life” in January broadcast a devastating hit piece which exposed Apple as a brutal taskmaster overseeing near-slavery conditions in its Chinese factories. The piece led to innumerable follow-up stories in major media outlets bashing Apple as the new Snidely Whiplash of Capitalism. Liberal Web sites and groups collected signatures for anti-Apple petitions, started Apple boycotts, picketed Apple outlets…

How did Mike Daisey explain his mendacity? With one of the best non-apologies in the history of lying:

(This American Life)“I’m not going to say that I didn’t take a few shortcuts in my passion to be heard,” Daisey tells Schmitz and Glass. “My mistake, the mistake I truly regret, is that I had it on your show as journalism, and it’s not journalism. It’s theater.”

(pjmedia.com) Mr. Daisey’s explanation of his serial lying — “a few shortcuts in my passion to be heard” — and NPR’s eager willingness to embrace his story, could actually be applied to almost all liberal journalism these days. In fact, that’s what they teach in Journalism School now — “Advocacy Journalism,” in which the narrative (generally a sob story with capitalism as the villain) is more important than hewing to the facts. If the narrative and the facts aren’t aligned — go with the narrative.

The fact that Mr. Daisey tried, and almost succeeded, in taking down a major corporation with a pack of lies, which were then parroted by nearly every leftist in the nation, should be the journalistic scandal of the year.

But who controls the media? The same people who ran with Daisey’s narrative. Expect the story to sink like a stone.

...makes you think about what kind of credible journalism goes into a story about Israel... but the truth about that is out there as well when NPR got caught soliciting money for International News from Jihadist sources

After Meeting With Obama British PM Cameron Says UK Would Not Support Israeli Attack On Iran

(Hitler on the Munich Agreement with Chamberlain) If ever that silly old man comes interfering here again with his umbrella, I'll kick him downstairs and jump on his stomach in front of the photographers.

(Weasel) Otherwise known as mission accomplished for Barack.

(JPost) —The UK would not support an Israeli strike on Iran, British Prime Minister David Cameron said in an interview with NBC published Thursday.
“I don’t think as we stand today that military action by Israel would be justified.” Cameron said. “I don’t think the Israelis should take that action now, we’ve told them they shouldn’t, and we’ve said that we wouldn’t support it if they did.”
In a bid to dispel the idea that there might be a rift in Israel-UK relations, Cameron added that “we are a friend of Israel. Israel has a right to exist as a democratic state. It’s very important that Israel knows it has strong allies like America and like the United Kingdom.”
That said, Cameron stressed that sanctions remain the preferred tactic for ending the Iranian regime’s nuclear program. “I don’t support action now because, frankly, we’ve got more road to run in putting in place sanctions, in putting in place tough measures against the Iranian regime

some things don't change

Saudi grand mufti calls for destruction of churches

(Photo via arabianbusiness.com)
(Now Lebanon)According to Arabian Business, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah has called for the destruction on all churches in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
He said it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.” This comes after Kuwaiti MP Osama Al-Munawer called for banning the construction of “non-Islamic worship places.”
The most disturbing part is that the grand mufti has a lot of influence when it comes to tipping the balance regarding religious matters. So this issue will not blow over unless people protest, more specifically the Saudis.
The ignorance or narrow-mindedness of some obscure sheikhs banning bananas or Chevys is one thing. This, however, is bigotry at its finest.

Anyone see anyone in the Obama administration talking about this? Nah... our secretary of state is too busy inspecting her vagina to make sure she's still a woman.

Portman and Hollywood turn coats against Assad

(JPOST/ By REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson) Frustrated by the failure of diplomats to end the killings in Syria, activists are betting stars such as Natalie Portman and the Internet can be more effective. Celebrities rallied on Thursday, the first anniversary of the conflict, in support of a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad and the United Nations: Stop One Year of Bloodshed. Actresses Susan Sarandon and Portman penned hand-written notes which campaigners posted on Facebook.

If these celebrities were serious they would apologize for their public relations recently for the Assad regime. They would start out fresh and call out the abuses of power in Jordan and other Arab nations. They would question why Kerry, Pelosi in a stupid looking burqa and most recently Dennis J. Kucinich were sent to Syria as diplomats when they were warned. They did it to spit in the face of those of us who knew better. They did it for political gain and the blood of Syrians suffer because of their arrogant actions

children killed during gunfire at funerals in Gaza.

I'd blame this one on the Israelis if I were a Palestinian

(EOZ) A 17-year old died immediately and the other died of his wounds in Shifa hospital in Gaza.

(Carl) The 'Palestinians' are finally admitting that an 8-year old boy whom they claimed was killed in an Israeli air strike was actually killed by 'Palestinian' gunfire during a funeral procession.

A Palestinian boy accidentally struck by a bullet when militants fired in the air during a funeral died of his injuries Wednesday, family members and witnesses said.
Palestinian health official Adham Abu Salmia initially said that 8-year-old Barka al-Mugrahbi died of wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike on Monday.
Israel's military said it did not carry out a strike in the area then.
The boy's relatives and witnesses later said the boy was marching in a funeral procession for a Gaza militant when he was struck in the head by an errant bullet.
At the time, gunmen were firing in the air, they said.

(Carl) What kind of moron fires a gun in the air during a funeral procession around children? The same kind that uses children as human shields as in the picture above (also taken on Wednesday).

this is why atheists created the Darwin award, but they appear to have too much "faith" in the idea. The reality is that stupid people kill others and very rarely do we get to hear that they kill themselves. It does make for a nice internet meme though.