Jessica Lynch - "Hero" of the Iraq War

[jmfryar]

The guy who sits next to me in class (and a pretty good friend) is a cop in a city in Connecticut. He was complaining one night about the fact that the chief of police won't be aggressive against drug dealers in the city because:

1. If he makes arrests for drugs they are reported.
2. If they are reported, they become statistics.
3. If the become statistics, they are compared to other statistics.

So, in other words, if he steps in and makes arrests for drugs, then there is an increase in arrests over the past year, then there is a percieved increase in crime, when in fact there is LESS crime because the arrests were made.

The issue, if they made the arrests, would be an increase in crime statistics, which would result in the image of a crime ridden town, which would decrease the property values.

So to combat this, the head of the police department looks at the previous years statistics and determines HOW MANY ARRESTS CAN BE MADE for certain crimes.

It gets worse...

The reason inner cities are regarded as hotbeds for drugs is the nature of the city. If I parked a survellience van on a suburban street, everyone would notice...if I park one on an urban street, no one's gonna notice. Urban areas are densely populated and it is easier to spot what is going on...urban areas are behind closed doors, making it far more difficult to determine what is happening...

Property values in urban areas are already notoriously low, but suburbs will do just about ANYTHING to avoid a perceived reputation for crime and will actively NOT pursue criminals and crime in order to keep property values up.

Crime statistics are the most inaccurate, poorly reported, statistically irrelevant data that has ever been conceived that does FAR more damage than good.

[Serenity]

ID Theft -
The 10 highest rates of ID theft (per 100,000 population) occur in:
Washington DC 123
California 91
Arizona 88
Nevada 85
Texas 69
Florida 68
New York 67
Washington 66
Maryland 66
Oregon 64

Source: Federal Trade Commission, based on 140, 000 complaints in 2002 to its Theft Data Clearinghouse and reported in October 2003 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

[Serenity]

Haggis, people get victimized when they wander off the beaten path and are conspicuously out-of-place. I read the same warning about Ireland 4 years ago. I lived in Mexico for 10 years and never had any trouble in urban or suburban areas yet I've heard and read recently that kidnapping tourists for ransom is on the rise. Or forcing you into a cab and driving you from ATM to ATM until your card doesn't work. Americans retire there because the cost of living is much lower than in the US (Barfle? New Mexico, Old Mexico?).

Walk softly and carry a big stick is right!

[jmfryar]

Hijacking it back to its stated theme...

i was in a book store the other day and saw a biography of the guy who saved Private Lynch...

Now THERE'S a movie I'd like to see...a slice of life in Iraq during this transition and why a native of that country would go out of his way to help an American GI

[Nicole Marie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A2760-2003Jun16&notFound=true

http://keyetv.com/localnews/local_story_297203449.html

Interesting...

[piqaboo]

Here's a short, intense biography. Sometimes, the world really stinks.

Death of Marine involved in JLynch rescue

[barfle]

Piq, there's nothing I can say about that beyond agreeing with you that sometimes it's just not fair.

[dai bread]

I'm glad he got his community's support.

[redlover1]

Staying on Topic Here......

Why is the world friggin enamored with this woman now that her 15 mins of fame are over when there are REAL soldiers getting blown to bits as we speak????? Check this thread out....

http://www.msnbc.com/news/988313.asp

Are we supposed to care when her wedding is or what color her dress is?!?! Good lord, maybe this counrty IS that superficial to only care about Joe Millionaire or Survivor nowadays. If that's the case, the Unites States is in some serious trouble.......

Devin

[shostakovich]

Yup. We're in deep trouble for that and many other reasons. Lousy priorities account for a lot of the trouble.
Cynical Shos

[redlover1]

Yes Shos, lousy priorities is definitely a major culprit. We just don't know what is important anymore it seems.

Devin

[BenODen]

An alternate view is that the media likes to feed us drivel when there're not enough compelling events. It's very hard to cover issues themselves in a short news story on Radio or TV, or even in a 500 or 1000 word article, so they just cover events when they happen and feed us with other interesting things to fill the rest of the time.

So, this Jessica Lynch marriage stuff is the 'public intrest' tangent to the 'Iraq War' issue that serves to draw us in as well.

It's part of the competitive nature of Media. We don't care ONLY about the public interest stories, but there are popular stories that people like and follow and media outlets carry because they can attract people. Without competition we would get even more more propaganda than we do though, so this competition is a two edged sword, eh?

-Benito

[Nicole Marie]

Hi Benito, expanding on your comments on competition (I think this was where you were headed).

Working in radio I have seen first hand the deregulation of media in this country and how one viewpoint can saturate a market. Media companies at one time could not own TV, radio and print in one market. But then can now. In Hartford one company owns the two major newspapers, two major TV stations and 3 radio stations. Another owns 5 radio stations, and another owns 3 radio stations. You will only get one viewpoint when you pick up the paper on the morning, turn on your car radio and watch the evening news. We see this all the time in major media networks and we often are pushed these BS stories. Who gives a crap what Jessica Lynch is going to wear to her wedding? People are getting shot in Iraq; the hole in the ozone is getting bigger etc. Do we really care? It's seems most of us don't but this is what we are sold. People stick to the same radio, TV and newspapers. That's why it's so easy to sell this crap, we are creatures of habit and don't venture beyond the bubble we've set up for ourselves. And if you watch and listen to a network owned by the same company, all you will hear is the same story. Of course those stories are of a personal interest to that media giant. Take them with a grain of salt.

Recently the FCC and other federal departments have seen the error of their ways. The FCC just sent out "orders" (as I like to call them) and have asked radio stations to get more local content on the airwaves. If you want your license renewed then you take the recommendation of the FCC seriously; we have with our local station WTMI AM 1290. Watch your newspapers and TV stations, you'll see more PSA's and local stories soon. Maybe now we'll see more stories that are of importance then the flavor of Lynch's wedding cake.

[redlover1]

H.R.H.,

Thanks for the clarification and insight to how the industry operates. I guess what you said is true since in Los Angeles and the major markets, there are only a few corporations that own the newspapers, radio and TV stations. In essence, they control what we read, listen and watch. So if, lets say, Rupert Murdoch knows that Jessica will get more ratings, he will "saturate" the venues with fluff on ALL of his outlets. Viacom I know owns KCBS, our local CBS outlet here in So Cal and they own KNX 1070 AM radio, our local 24/7 news station. ABC and NBC each have their own radio stations as well. Not sure about the newspaper ownerships.

So basically, we are screwed to listen to the national fluff then. That's what you are essentially saying right Nicole?

Thanks

Devin

[Nicole Marie]

You nailed it Devin! Media giants feed us these crap stories. I go to the Internet and read different aspects of the news. Don't take one point of view. Read about the war, environment, politics etc. from the point of view of Europe, Asia, African media etc. Somewhere in between you'll find the "almost truth". In this country we are used to the media giants and we just take the stories they feed us and don't get that the media company has a personal interest. That interest could be anything from the almighty dollar to political ass kissing. Grain of salt folks; take it with a grain of salt. Healthy skepticism never hurt anyone.

[redlover1]

Good idea Nicole! I never thought about reading opinions from other country's perspectives. I should start doing that to see things from other points of view. I guess I can't be upset anymore that we are being force fed crap though.... well I can still be a little upset hahaha. What websites do you peruse to read about current events in the United States from outside the country if I may ask?

Thanks

Devin

[Nicole Marie]

Here are a few:

For a point of view on finance I visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/

The BBC www.bbc.com

http://www.einnews.com/

http://www.asianewsnet.net/

http://www.internationalnews.com/ansub/

Do your own digging too. Just type in a story or area of the world in a search engine and see what pops up. If you do some digging you'll find some good sites. I also subscribe to newspapers from Italy and Portugal (I have family there) and it's interesting to see these points of view. The old saying "Step out of your shoes into someone elses." It's nice to see the world from a different view.

[piqaboo]

Y.R.H.,
great resources, thanks!

I'm a bit shy on reading time, so I try to tune into the BBC World News in the evening, when I can find a station that plays it. British perspective is close to USA, but sufficiently different to provoke thought.

[BigJon]

I really like the way the BBC TV prioritizes its news stories. It seems to me that the stories with the most global importance go first. I hate all the local news outlets here in Philly with the “if it bleeds, it leads” story priority, over-hyped station break advertising and dismal reliance on “man-in-the-street” reportage that adds nothing to the story.

I tell my students not to get their news from U.S. TV. The poor journalism, the excessive hype of non-news stories, and the fear mongering can leave you depressed, scared and dumber than when you started watching.

How many children were abducted by strangers last year in the U.S.? If you watch the news in the U.S. you’d think it was a rampant epidemic. I talk with people who can’t even let their kids out of their sight, yet the odds of stranger abduction are nearly infinitesimally low. There is an unjustified culture of fear that has grown up around child abduction that causes people to get twisted up in knots protecting their children. The culture has been largely nurtured by the TV news form of reportage. And I believe that the culture will ultimately harm the development of our children.

BigJon

[Nicole Marie]

You go Girl!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3251731.stm