Olympic Coverage And Timing Of Dubai Ports Announcement?

[Joe Fields]

These days I find it increasingly tougher to take my tinfoil hat off. In fact, I'm about ready to replace it with a cast iron hat. But how many of you have been left wondering if there is or isn't a coincidence between the all-consuming olympic coverage on T.V. and the leaking of the Dubai Ports takeover of at least 6 ports, and possibly 21 of them?

The news coverage has been comparatively weak, considering the real emotional hornets nest that has been stirred up.The administration has been expert at being able to control the media, thus successfully spinning any and all transgressions.

What better time to leak such controversy.

We're already seeing a softening of politician's stances on this matter. And where is the outrage among dem. leaders? A few noises, but no real fire in their bellies. How disappointing and increasingly typical.

[theHandpuppet]

1. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar

There's a new outrage by BushCo every week. So no, I don't think the coverage of the Olympics had anything to do with BushCo's latest slap in the face to the American public. If it wasn't the Olympics it would be the latest missing white girl or nice suburban housewife killed by handsome hubby. The corporate media has little real interest in NEWS; it's bread and circuses time, with an emphasis on ratings and advertising dollars. In addition, BushCo has slipped all manner of deviousness under the radar -- the Patriot Act is coming up for anopther vote, for example. How many folks are talking about that? What's the excuse this time -- Mardi Gras?

[Joe Fields]

3. Did I say the media was complicit? No. What I said was.....

that I wonder if Bushco used the olympic coverage as a cover for the blowback they knew would happen when word leaked out. You really think the timing was coincidental?

[Atman]

2. Nah...Olympics were owned by NBC

You might have watched an unfair and unbalanced proportion of NBC and it's various incarnations, like MSNBC, CNBC, local affiliates...they've had Olympics on all the time. But Dave Letterman has been joking about NBC wouldn't allow anyone to show any hilights because they owned the footage, so he was doing the "Blurred Olympic Coverage" or something like that, and showed highlights so severly blurred out you could only see blobs of color and movement. I know that doesn't prove anything, it was just an amusing aside. But, no, I don't think the Olympics were over-hyped. They're a pretty big deal, coming only once every four/two years as they do.

[Joe Fields]

5. You have missed my point entirely.

Excuse me, if I didn't make my point clear. I'm well aware that NBC had planned this coverage of the olympic years in advance. Don't you think Bushco knew that, also, and used it to their advantage, knowing that press coverage of the Dubai Ports deal would be muted?

[Armstead]

4. Don't assume so much coordination -- Life is filled with coincidence

First, the press reaction was not tepid. It was -- in comparative terms -- very open. Of course, they did their usual superficial job about avoiding the depth of all the issues. But they have at least, been very aggressive in covering it.

There would never be a "good" time to leak this information. It is quite possible that it is eactly what it appears to be. A combination of bad bureaucratic "business as usual" coming to light for a change; the arrogane of assuming that they could slip another on under the radar, and a complete disconnect between their public policies and their real actions.

The difference is that this time, they got caught flatfooted at it, and they were not prepared to actually have to defend their actions on something that hit so many raw nerves.

Think Terri Schiavo.