Yes and no, Not Scared. For example, one of my pet hates is gossip magazines. I don’t know if you have the type we have over here, but we’ve a whole bunch of crap that masquerades as, predominantly, ‘women’s interest’ magazines. What constitutes women’s intesest according to these publishers is who Paris Hilton is porking, if Britney bikini waxed this week, how much some third-rate wannabe actress spent on a new dress. And of course, which celebrity diet is *hot* this week and which of last week’s is definitely *cold*.

I detest these damn things - just filling people’s heads with absolute garbage, making them pay for the privilege, and encouraging them to accept this ethos as ‘normal’ life and to buy, buy, buy whatever crap these celebrities are into this particular second.

There is a choice - don’t buy it! If people didn’t, then publishers might actually produce something worthy of our attention to make money instead.

To varying degrees, I feel pretty much the same about most media. Yes, you’re right - some are better than others. And as you’ve discovered, there’s a wealth of info - FREE - on the web. It’s up to the individual to decide where his priorities lie and if it’s worth them seeking out alternatives to the mainstream. If enough people did, the mainstream would have to change.

I don’t get much time for surfing for fun, so I haven’t seen the website you mention, that I recall. Thanks for the link.

Thanks for expanding on your original thoughts, Steve

The media survives by default. There’s an old saying….keep you friends close and your enemies closer. Just because we are buying the newspapers, doesn’t mean we are “BUYING” the newspapers.

If there was another option, another media outlet that didn’t have an agenda, we would buy that but please name one that isn’t corrupt!?!? Believe it or not, I enjoy one of the less corrupt news outlets….The BBC. I know it’s not perfect but it’s not CNN OR FOX NEWS. It seems a little more fair and has less of an agenda.

Have you been to http://www.prisonplanet.com ? and do you know of Alex Jones? He’s America’s biggest critic of our media and government. He’s making a name for himself and many believe he’ll be found dead within the next few years. He speaks many truths but the mainstream media calls him paranoid and crazy….check him out.

Because I try to keep my posts to around 800 words, so I don’t overwhelm readers, I’m very limited as to how much I can include in each one. I hope readers will take the time to read a number of my posts and see that many are connected and one will often expand on points raised in another.

As far as I’m concerned, the fear was there to see from American’s themselves - it was not media people who didn’t stop to help people in need, it was the American people!

(As for greedy and fat? Statistics on American consumption (not just of food) and obesity are there for all to see. And bad? I never said American’s were bad people. I like America; I like its people and its culture.)

Yes, the media spreads this fear, but I think you’ll find it’s the average American who buys it, or else, how can the media survive? If no one in your country believed the media, no one would buy newspapers, tune into TV stations, listen to the radio, and all these controlling corporations would go bust. If the vast majority of Americans don’t buy this crap, how can it still exist?

As for corporate greed and control? You obviously haven’t read many of my posts - off the top of my head, try these:

http://www.lionsledbysheep.com/2008/08/28/snow/

http://www.lionsledbysheep.com/2008/09/11/oil/

http://www.lionsledbysheep.com/2008/05/01/like-christmas-day-every-day/

Unfortunately, most of the American people, as the English do here in England, do buy the crap the media dishes out. Our only hope is to raise awareness of this, open enough eyes, and hope that people will stand up and say enough is enough. Then things might change. Sadly, that day is a long way off!

Thanks for taking the time to contribute to the discussion.
Steve

Please know that most of what you hear about America, comes from our liberal media. Americans are NOT the way you’ve made them out to be. The propaganda you are spreading comes from a media that TRIES to scare, TRIES to convince the world that we are bad people, greedy people, fat people and people who just don’t care. The liberal media only cares about $$$$$$$ and you bought it! Our own media sold us out. For the real reasons on why our media sold us out and created lies about America, research who OWNS American media. There’s a certain group of people who have million$ of rea$on$ to $ell u$ out and if you call them out on it, there’s a backlash from these groups of people that can’t be fought because they own the media and the banks.

You are right…there is lots of fear being spread but it’s not by American citizens, it’s by the American media. Make sure you understand that and make sure you spread the word that American citizens know this too and we are working together to overthrow the American media and the corruption in bed with the American media.

As for being saved by tourists because we were in tourist areas - are you saying that Americans don’t visit their own national treasures? If so, that makes you a very sad nation. But I know that’s not true. A ranger in Sequioa National Park told us that 50% of their visitors are American. Further, the Mojave desert is hardly a tourist trap! For the sake of brevity, I didn’t go into the whole story of each problem we had, so you’ll just have to trust me that there were Americans about and they just passed on by. The tourist argument simply doesn’t hold water.

I don’t know if this is some kind of macho BS or if you truly believe that America doesn’t have a problem with fear and isn’t manipulated by the government and corporations. Or maybe you just think I’m into bashing the US? Both those former attitudes are probably to blame for many of the problems your country has to face - denial is a major problem in most areas of life. As for the latter attitude - that I’m an America hater - see my previous comments - I’ve been there on two summer holidays in recent years; I set my novel there; most of my online friends are American…

As for European rationality - I didn’t single America out; I did say that other countries suffered fear-mongering and manipulation, too.

The only point I would agree on is that we should deal with the world’s tyrants together. But unless there’s real profit in it for those in control I don’t see that happening any time soon, which simply enforces the propositions laid out in my post.

Thanks for contributing, Greg. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to share your thoughts. Intelligent comments are always welcome, even if they suggest I’m talking complete garbage!
Steve

Probably the reason that you were saved by tourists is that there weren’t any American citizens in the immediate area to help you out. Otherwise they would have. Most of us would be quite happy to lend a hand if we were in a position to do so, and we wouldn’t give a sh*t about what color you were or what country you were from.

Heck, if it did turn out that you were some really unsavory character? Maybe that American would have a gun and give you what you needed.

I would be quite easy to go into critiques of the European and British points of view and wonder about where their rationality went, but that’s another rant.

# Alternative energy was once the preserve of crackpots.
# Global warming was once laughed at.
# Conservation was once sneered at as uneconomical and unnecesary

Times, change, economics, change, and the world changes. Alt energy was laughed at because “mainstream” energy was so cheap. Global Warming WAS taken seriously, but is now being increasingly laughed at as being total BS, and conservation is in about the same place as Alt energy.

It’s a fun fantasy of some that we Americans live in fear. We don’t. And I think it’s cool that you British aren’t at all concerned about train bombs, crime, immigration, etc. Takes guts. Maybe we should shake hands on that.

And you know, maybe our energy would be better spent helping each other up, reducing the size of our respective nanny-state governments, and getting together to deal with the real scoundrels, such as S. Hussein (done!,) Castro, Mugabe, etc.

I’m glad to you hear you’re a helper, Denise, like many of my readers. Nice to know there are people like you out there. But yes, it is eye opening to experience, first-hand, just how many people turn a blind eye to those in need. Not that you can blame people entirely after their government has them so frightened they don’t know whether they’re coming or going. Thanks, Denise.

Steve

Like a species smelling the coming of it’s own extinction America cowers at the knowledge that she will not be Rome for long. And evidently we’ve decided to go down kicking and screaming.

As I said in an earlier reply to a Cate’s comment: “WWII? Yes, it was good of you to turn up for that bash… though, it would have been all the better if you’d arrived a little earlier! Had you not finally done something when you did, though, somehow I doubt that it would’ve continued to be ‘nothing to do with’ you for very much longer!

That said, check out the bottom of page 273 of ‘What if…?’ - I promise you that you’ll be absolutely stunned at what you read there and it will give you a whole new perspective on corporate America and your government of the day! Honest! I’m not fooling.”

Thanks, Susan. Hope your weekend is going well,
Steve