>Tom,
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>> I wish Mr. Sing and the others like him throughout the world that use peaceful manners to change the world the best of luck. Sometimes such actions have a positive benefit for society but always place such individuals in harms way.
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>The unfortunate thing is that, in today's media, it is the rowdy/destructive "gatherings" that garner the ink/time, peaceful protest being ho-hummed to non-events.
>Of course this is understandable when the ownership/objectives of media conglomerates are considered. The media (ownership) wants to tilt things to their own advantage, so they will give more time to things that either promote that objective or show chaos in those who do not.
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>>Tom


Jim;

I make a point to watch news sources form the BBC, DW (German), Spanish and our own Fox, CNN, and local sources. By following local news in recent weeks I am not sure what reality is. An example – North Korean action to reopen its atomic nuclear reactor poses a threat to world peace:

1. South Korea, Japan, and China agree with the United States position.
2. South Korea, Japan, and China do not agree with the United States position.

I could cite other recent examples but one is too much! Our own media cannot agree with what our official policy is or with what the policy or reaction of other nations is. This is truly a strange time in world history. I think it has a great deal to do with who the world leaders are and what they are not. Understanding Washington D.C. seems most difficult at this time. Perhaps no one really understands what our President is about. Somehow I do not think we will have to worry about re-election of Mr. Bush. I do not think we will be around to worry about such things.

Our local newspapers such as the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News are also in disagreement about the reality of the above example. Being informed by opinionated entities does not allow us to know the truth. Owners, stockholders, management and nincompoops who are only interested in the mighty dollar formulate the news.

Truth and reality are dissimilar subjects. People tend to read rag (newspapers and magazines) and watch the source of news that most closely resembles his/her own concept of reality. That helps to reinforce the existence of the media as we know it. Sell market share and beat the competition with “news worthy items”. Then vote for the candidate of your choice. Democracy is grand. We sometimes get to choose the lesser of two evils. Then again the bastards get what they deserve.

Tom