Ireland talking about vote fraud bloggers vs. traditional media

[Helga Scow Stern]

(Originally in GDP, I am reposting this here, where it belongs.)

Another excellent piece of work from DU's Paddy Maynooth:

(Moderators: I was given permission by the author to post this in its entirety.)

Traditional media must fight vote fraud bloggers

Conor Brady is correct to point out the dangers of new media for which there are “no mechanisms for the validation of content, for the screening out of material that is inaccurate, dangerous or likely to spread hatred, panic or fear.” Brady points out that “there are no effective sanctions if the blogger screws up, gets it wrong or spreads disinformation that results in people being hurt – or worse.” (Blogging On, Village 27 May – 2 June.)

But these dangerous deficiencies also apply to the old media’s coverage of the appointment of George W. Bush as president and the invasion of Iraq.

Fox declared Bush the winner of the 2000 presidential election before it was possible to call, and the other networks jumped on, with no validation of content, to make this spurious news item a fact.

Similarly, the traditional media published the lies about Iraq’s (non-existent) weapons of mass destruction and links to al-Qaeda that justified the invasion.

The /traditional media/ failed to screen out material that was inaccurate and dangerous, and spread hatred, panic and fear. The /traditional media/ screwed up, got it wrong and spread disinformation that resulted in tens of thousands of Iraqis being hurt so they will hurt no more.

The market knows that the traditional media screwed up. A Harris Poll published by NewsMax in January revealed that 62 percent of Americans distrusted the newspapers, 58 percent distrusted television, and only 43 percent trusted the radio. This helps to explain the growth of the blogs.

Now, the traditional media are failing to cover the controversy about vote fraud in last year’s US presidential election that is raging in the new media.

Progressive blogs quote an analysis conducted for US Count Votes by an array of university-based statisticians who find that they cannot reject the hypothesis that discrepancies between exit polls and vote tallies were due to “errors” in the vote tallies that gave Bush a majority.

Conservative blogs denounce this hypothesis as a spurious conspiracy theory.

While Conor O’Clery has mentioned this controversy in his column in The Irish Times on 16 April, the rest of the traditional media in Ireland have been dozing.

But the traditional media cannot afford to doze while the evidence is being debated elsewhere. They must fight to hold on to punters – i.e. customers – who would much prefer to follow the debate in the comfort afforded by the paper, TV or radio.

original post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1823983

[CottonBear]

1. So Ireland cares more about vote fraud than Republicans? Sad.

:( I'm glad someone's talking about it. I just wish it was the US MSM.

[Paddy Maynooth]

3. Keep the lines of communication with MSM open

I know how frustrating it is struggling to break the censorship of the Masocho-Sadist Media, as I was one of a group of activists who fought a similar battle in Denmark 2002-3, where anything that questioned the long-standing US/British propaganda about Iraq was taboo.

(Saddam's real crimes weren't bad enough, Operation Rockingham had to invent some imaginary ones, too?)

But it is worth the struggle. The Danish media now look sceptically at everything they read about Iraq, and even the conservative papers regularly cast an unflattering light on the scandals of the invasion.


Please keep sending selected items of hard factual documentation to your favourite journalists, editors and producers, with polite suggestions that they write about the most important issues. Use specific, active headlines in the subject lines of your e-mail messages to grab their attention. Or deliver well-researched stuff by hand if you think they may get too much e-mail but not so much snail mail.

BTW, I don't usually use the kind of harsh language you see here, but since the author of the piece I was replying to used the phrase "screw up", nobody can complain that _I_ was rude. :)

Best,
Paddy.

[myschkin]

4. Proposal

Paddy, why don´t you make a workshop for media activism here at DU...?

I´m sure the DUers would appreciate that and Ojai Person would help you...

[Paddy Maynooth]

9. I'm sure there are lots of DU'ers who could exchange practical tips

about doing public relations work on important political issues with me. And some very committed newbies who would put these tips to good use.

I'm up for participating with my two eurocent worth, particularly if it means getting the old media to cover last November's election fraud.

[CottonBear]

6. Thanks for the positive post Paddy! We need people like you!

"Masocho-Sadist Media" LOL!
Thanks for the great suggestions and all of your hard work in Denmark. I'm doing my best here in Geogia, USA.

BTW, my Scots-Irish relatives came to North Carolina from Ireland in the 1700's. I've always wanted to visit there. I want to go on an equestirian vacation there. My mom went a few years back and she loved the people, the countryside and the historic sights!

[Paddy Maynooth]

10. Well, you'll be welcome over here!

Americans are well received over here, though Bush supporters may have to search to find sympathy. :)

Since you've got Irish roots, how about writing to the Irish ambassador and asking him to support the call to investigate the 2004 election fraud? I can send you a template for such a letter, including address, if you're up for it.

And since Bush is visiting Scotland next month, you could send a similar letter to the British ambassador, emphasising the Scottish connection. :)

Glad you liked the joke about the sadomasochist media. It's about time we refused to recognise them as the mainstream. WE are the mainstream and they are the OLD media, which will go extinct if they don't get with the program.

I'd love to know more about what you're doing over there.

[CottonBear]

11. I'd love to write to the ambassadors regarding the election fraud.

Please do send a template and an address. I'd love to send them a letter. Do they have an e-mail address? We've been sending George Galloway e-mails about the Downing Street Minutes. He's gotten over 12,000 from us Yanks so far! He even mentioned DU in a BBC interview! He said that we have "political acumen." :)

Oh my, the poor Scots: we're going to inflict Bu$h on them. They send us Galloway and we send them idiot son. :(

You can't imagine how much I detest Bu$h. He is stupid and evil.
:grr:

We call the MSM the Corporate Media because the MSM is owned by corporations. MSNBC (TV) is called MSGOP. FOX is Faux News. CNN is Corporate News Network.

We all watch, read and listen to the BBC and read The Guardian for real news. It's sad but true. The situation here is dire.

Good luck on your side of the pond! Cheers! :) :hi:

[Paddy Maynooth]

14. Letter to the Irish ambassador requesting help to expose Bush fraud 2004

Fighting talk, CottonBear!

Here comes a draft that you can use as the basis for a letter to my country's ambassador in Washington.

Of course, you must provide your own name and address, date, signature, etc. And please do modify this to suit your own style of writing, choice of key sources of factual information about the election fraud, etc.

If you work with IT, you could refer to Avi Rubin's analysis of the security holes. If you have specific information about irregularities in your own state, please do provide documentation.

Polite satire of the Bush administration - e.g. "an administration which wants to export democracy to Iraq but wants to abolish it at home!" - is welcome! See if you can be more polite than a diplomat but still make your point!

Please, any other readers, do write a similar letter to the Irish ambassador.

More contact details, including e-mail addresses to consulates, in another post.


****

- your address -

Ambassador Noel Fahey
Embassy of Ireland
2234 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008

- month day - , 2005


Dear Mr. Fahey,

I write to draw your attention to some of the key documentation indicating that Mr. Bush was again appointed without a legitimate mandate in the elections of November 2004.

Please visit the Web site of US Count Votes, which displays a copy of a recent analysis of exit poll discrepancies authored and endorsed by an array of United States experts in statistics, government, computing, etc.

This is probably the best available scientific analysis of discrepancies between exit poll data and vote tallies in the presidental election of 2004:
Analysis of the 2004 Presidential Election Exit Poll Discrepancies
http://tinyurl.com/5cf6h
As you will note, this analysis is endorsed by an overwhelming array of PhD-qualified researchers working at universities all across the United States.

I urgently request that you alert your foreign minister to this documentation and urge your government to apply its influence to persuade my government to perform a thorough investigation of the discrepancies.

Being of Irish-Scots descent, I feel a special affinity for Ireland, and I know that your country and mine enjoy very close economic and diplomatic relations. I ask that the government and the people of Ireland show your friendship for the United States now in our time of need by raising vitally important questions about events that threaten to destroy our democracy.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

Yours sincerely,

- your signature -
- your name, printed -

[Paddy Maynooth]

15. Contact details for Irish embassy and consulates

I think letters on paper may make a greater impression, if you can manage it, but fax and e-mail are also good options. See details below.

This seems to be the ambassador's e-mail address:
[e-mail]
At least, it appears on the relevant page on the Department of Foreign Affairs' Web site, but for some reason not on the Washington embassy's own Web site. I guess you can try it and see.

Let us know when he replies. (He will reply. You won't be the first.)

Please consider sending a copy of your letter to your local newspaper and to one of the Irish media listed on the Web site mentioned at the bottom.

Good luck!
Paddy.



EMBASSY OF IRELAND, WASHINGTON DC

ADDRESS:
Embassy of Ireland
2234 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008

TELEPHONE:
[phone]

FAX:
[phone]

E-mail:
[e-mail]


CONSULATE GENERAL, NEW YORK

ADDRESS:
Consulate General of Ireland
Ireland House
345 Park Avenue
17th Floor
New York NY 10154-0037

FAX:
Consulate : - [phone]

E- MAIL:
[e-mail]


CONSULATE GENERAL, CHICAGO

ADDRESS:
Consulate General of Ireland
400 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 911
Chicago, IL 60611

FAX:
[phone]

E- MAIL:
[e-mail]


CONSULATE GENERAL, SAN FRANCISCO

ADDRESS:
Consulate General of Ireland
100 Pine St., 33rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111

FAX:
[phone]

E- MAIL:
[e-mail]


CONSULATE GENERAL OF IRELAND, BOSTON

ADDRESS:
Consulate General of Ireland
535 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116

FAX:
[phone]

E- MAIL:
[e-mail]



More information:

Diplomatic and Consular Information for United States of America
http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/irishembassy/United_States_of_America.htm

EMBASSY OF IRELAND, WASHINGTON DC
http://www.irelandemb.org/contact.html


IRISH-AMERICAN MEDIA
http://www.irelandemb.org/irar.html

IRISH MEDIA
http://www.irelandemb.org/media.html

[Paddy Maynooth]

16. Contact details for British ambassador to the United States

Here are the contact details for the British ambassador:
His Excellency David G. Manning
Embassy of the United Kingdom
3100 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20008
202-588-6500
fax [phone]

Here is his picture, with a short bio:
http://www.washdiplomat.com/ambprof/uk_nire.html

I don't see an e-mail address for him personally. Perhaps you could try searching on this Web site:
http://www.britainusa.com/
I can't immediately see anything for the ambassador himself.


When you are writing to the British ambassador, please open your letter as follows:
"Dear Sir Manning," or "Your Excellency,"

Tell him how much you appreciated George Galloway's recent visit to Washington, where the Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow mentioned some very interesting points in the history of the British-American relationship in international affairs. (This is really taking the mickey, as Galloway referred to the UK and US selling weapons to Saddam, but they deserve it.)

Tell him how much Galloway's visit has done to strengthen the affinity you feel for the people of Britain, and of Scotland in particular.

Tell him how much you appreciate the London Times' coverage of the Downing Street minutes, which shows how much the American media's coverage leaves to be desired, and how disappointed you are that the British media have failed to cover last November's election fraud.

Tell him how delighted you are that the people of Britain are preparing a very special outdoor party to welcome Bush on the occasion of his upcoming visit to Scotland.
(Being a diplomat, he'll get the joke and wonder whether it's deliberate or not, as long as you don't refer to Web sites like this:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/)

Tell him you hope the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister will take the opportunity of Bush's visit to Scotland on 2-6 July to draw the usurper president aside to discuss last year's election fraud.

And so on.

Please maintain the appearance of politeness. That is to say, use polite language, but make all the ironic references to Bush as a fraud and a warmonger you like. The ambassador will understand every hint and these may make a bigger impression on him than explicit references.

Good luck!
Paddy

[Paddy Maynooth]

17. Contact details for other ambassadors to the United States

Here is a list of foreign ambassadors to the United States:
http://www.washdiplomat.com/ambprofrnt.html

Just pick a country and click on the link.

Please do modify my draft letter to the Irish ambassador to write to as many other ambassadors as you can.


As Bush is going to visit Denmark on 6 July, that may be a particularly choice:
The Royal Danish Embassy
3200 Whitehaven St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

In this case, you could mention how much you appreciate the work of diligent, highly professional Danish journalists such as Bo Elkjær for writing about evidence of fraud in last November´s election. That will make him realise how important Denmark is to the American pro-democracy movement and how well informed activists on your side are. ;)

Good luck!
Paddy.

[Peace Patriot]

20. Thanks for "masocho sadist media" (MSM)! We need some Irish humor...

...to get "mainstream" out of "mainstream media." They are NOT mainstream! They are fascist propagandists for the Bush Cartel and news MONOPOLISTS (all big news organizations in the hands of a few billionaire war profiteers). And WE keep reinforcing their deliberately created DELUSION that they reflect majority or "mainstream" American opinion, by using this acronym "MSM." They do NOT represent mainstream opinion. Their own opinion polls prove it--42% approval of Bush (with consistently dismal ratings over the last year), and with 60% to 70% of Americans disapproving of every major Bush policy, foreign and domestic.

My favorite: 63% of Americans disapprove of torturing prisoners UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. That's the America I know and love. And it is NOT reflected in news monopoly news and opinion.

I've been attacking this with serious criticism of OUR use of "MSM" (--WE are helping propagate this delusion)--and not getting very far. Humor is needed! THANKS!

[Paddy Maynooth]

2. This has been accepted as a letter in Village Magazine

- which is the hottest thing in current affairs magazines in Ireland right now. It's a new magazine, less than six months old, and the editor is one of the most well renowned commentators on current affairs in Ireland.

http://www.villagemagazine.ie/index.html

It seems likely that all relevant editors and journalists on Village will be asked to chew on this stop-dozing call, and it is possible that some of the other media will also pick up on the story. It's clear that the blogs have got them worried, else they wouldn't be dissing them. :)


As far as I know, this has now gone to press and should be on the news stands from tomorrow morning. At least, I got a phone call on Monday to say that it would. As soon as I actually see it in print, I will post an e-mail address to thank the editor.

And if some of you good people can pick up a copy of the magazine at an international news stand, maybe you can even join in the debate on the letters page? After all, the best way to thank the editors is to buy the magazine. :)

Thanks for posting this, Ojai Person!

Paddy.

[CottonBear]

7. Thanks for the link!

:) I'm bookmarking it now!

edit: Welcome to DU! :hi:

[electropop]

5. The correct term is "election fraud"

though "vote fraud" is marginally better than "voter fraud," the GOP term.

[CottonBear]

8. Election fraud it is then. I was just using the Irish terminology.

Irish English vs. American English! :)

[Liberty Belle]

12. It seems the Irish media can see through Bush's blarney

and have the nerve to print the truth.

Maybe we need some Irish journalists right here in America.

[Paddy Maynooth]

13. Or maybe you should just buy Irish or British news media instead?

Ultimately, you can put the financial thumbscrews on them by cancelling subscriptions and buying Irish or British magazines and newspapers instead. (See how the Times of London published the full text of Galloway's speech?)

Be sure to send them a letter telling them why you cancelled!

[Liberty Belle]

18. Good suggestion!

[Paddy Maynooth]

19. Please thank Village magazine for publishing my letter

I can now confirm that Village has published this letter in the issue dated 3-9 June.

Please write a brief thank-you message to the editor of the letters pages at the following address:
[e-mail]

The letter is headed "Fight vote fraud bloggers" and is signed Dr. Coilín Oscar ÓhAiseadha (which is the alias I use for that kind of thing ;).

So please write something like this:

"Dear editor,
Thank you for publishing Dr. ÓhAiseadha´s very thought-provoking and timely letter entitled "Fight vote fraud bloggers", in which he highlights the failure of the traditional media to cover the very real evidence of fraud in my country's presidential elections of November 2004. The corporate media in the United States are stubbornly refusing to address the vitally important events involved.
I hope this letter will encourage Village's reporters - or other Irish journalists and broadcasters - to investigate and cover the very disturbing threat to American democracy that is presented by the fraudulent appointment of Mr Bush, without a legitimate mandate, TWICE IN A ROW.
Yours sincerely,
- your name -
- your occupation (optional) -
- your city/state - "

The above is a suggestion only. Please change the wording so that each letter is substantially different! The staff at the magazine will be very impressed to know how American readers they have! ;)

Best,
Paddy.