A CULTURE OF SECRECY

What has happened to the principle that American
democracy should be accessible and transparent?

"Political language . . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder
respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."
–George Orwell, Politics and the English Language

By Charles Lewis

02/03/05 "CPI" -- WASHINGTON, — In the world's oldest democracy,
pressure on investigative journalists is usually exerted in sophisticated, non-
lethal ways, under the public radar.

Every day in Washington, D.C., thousands of government and corporate public
relations flaks and lobbyists purvey their "talking points" with a friendly smile,
no matter how odious the client, no matter how intellectually dishonest or
morally dubious their message.

Journalists must trudge through the shameless "spin"-that vanilla word
admiringly used these days instead of "lying," which has a harshly
judgmental, jarringly rude ring in Washington power circles. 

Sometimes the persuasion becomes less subtle. For example, when the ''Center
for Public Integrity'' obtained and prepared to publish online the secret, proposed
draft sequel to the USA Patriot Act, known as "Patriot II," we got calls from the
U.S. Justice Department beseeching us not to publish." [endquote]

Did they or didn't they publish ?

The whole very informative story is here: http://tinyurl.com/4dssc


'Information Clearing House' by the way being one of the best web
sites for news which - as they say - one never would see on CNN...

ICH - Url.: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/


FOREIGN PRESS FOUNDATION
http://tinyurl.com/4ar5e
Editor : Henk Ruyssenaars
http://tinyurl.com/5uvtv
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