Arkady's Thoughts

With support of the stimulus bill waning even further ( Half of America believes bill will worsen the situation ), I was surprised to see CNN's headline story today in the money section defending this package. The title: Out of work? Stimulus bill will help A few lines are mentioned regarding the intended job creation, but no explanation or details. Instead the article breaks down several key points of the bill and how it will help those that are unemployed. I was expecting to see a list of potential jobs or industries, but instead we are greeted with the following. Bigger checks: Those that are unemployed get more money. About $25 a week more. Extended benefits: Those that are unemployed get more money for a longer period of time. Expanding coverage: Billions go to individual states to expand the definition of who is eligible for bigger checks + extended benefits. Don't forget 500 million in administrative costs (btw, about 41 states asked for help, which means about 20 bi...

CNN's lead story: Doctor: Gaza patients dying before treatment Gaza's main hospital, already full of Palestinians wounded in the week-long Israeli air assault, reached critical mass on Sunday, according to a Norwegian doctor volunteering at Shifa Hospital. full story And showing the following picture (Notice that the people in the background are actually Israelis!?): Secondary story: Aid stuck at Egyptian border Third Story: Israeli troops push forward, splitting Gaza I probably should not be at all amused at this point, but it is just rather dissapointing to know that a good number of Americans are being fed a constant diet of civilian death stories. After a while any sensible individual would conclude that the only thing Israel can do is cause death among innocent civilians. Bravo CNN, bravo.

In this election season there has been a surge in participation, from youth to minorities to those who never cared to vote. With this surge comes a natural desire to learn and gather information - not for everyone, but for many. Interestingly enough the choice of information even in this great country of ours is not as vast as one would think. The media is split and traditional journalism is lost somewhere in the fray. From a casual observer's standpoint I see two major TV networks; CNN and Fox News. Ignoring for now local papers and internet, let us assume that most Americans get their news information from the aforementioned sources. Both conservatives and liberals however, vehemently accuse both networks of extreme bias. Those in the middle have to choose which source is the legitimate source for their political and daily needs. I am noticing that CNN emerges as the status quo of the neutral. That assesment not withstanding it's consequence immediately shuts the door...