Hypocrisy: U.S. to host World Press Freedom Day

The United States, which has been condemning the release of documents by WikiLeaks, will be hosting World Press Freedom Day in 2011. From the State Department's press release:

The theme for next year's commemoration will be 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. The United States places technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals' right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age.

Yeah, right.

Naturally, one expects this kind of hypocrisy from the government. But what has made the WikiLeaks controversy even worse is that the mainstream press is making Julian Assange the focus of the story rather than the secrets corrupt government officials sought to conceal from the rest of us. Whatever happened to pursuing the truth and keeping the people informed?

Study: Newspapers stopped describing waterboarding as 'torture' during Bush years

(Yahoo!) - Is waterboarding torture? If you picked up a major U.S. newspaper before 2004, the answer would likely be yes, according to a new Harvard University study.

But in the post-9/11 world, when the practice of immobilizing and virtually drowning detainees became a politically charged issue, that straightforward definition grew murky. The study, conducted by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, examined coverage in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today, and found a noticeable shift in language concerning waterboarding.

(Full story)

Mainstream media lying about Rand Paul

MSNBC has even gone so far as to release a fraudulent transcript of Paul's interview with Rachel Maddow.

New York Times calls for government regulation of the Internet

You know the future of liberty is in question when those who are supposed to be speaking out in defense of our freedoms side with those intent on taking them away. So much for the watchdog press.

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