Censored 2008: The Top 25 Censored Stories of 2006#07

As always with the yearbooks of the Project Censored, the edition of 2008 contains a wealth of all important information (not disinformation) which the media monopolies, completely controlled by the few, refuse deliberately to divulge. Initiatives, like the Project Censored, are the lighthouses of truly democratic news gathering. They are the necessary messengers of the really important facts, of the truth (what really happens and happened). Regarding the anti-democratic media monopolies, which could flower after the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine (requiring that public broadcasters provide equal time to opposing viewpoints) by the Reagan administration, Ben Bagdikian states: `At issue is the possession of power to surround almost every man, woman and child in the country with controlled images and words in order to alter the political agenda of the country.' The common theme of the 2008 yearbook is the systemic erosion of human rights, civil liberties and personal freedoms all over the world. This edition is hitting extremely hard: `Corporate avarice interlocked with governmental police power is fascism and a police State in the making.' It stresses the all importance for a democracy of a free internet. It points its finger at sometimes truly `astonishing' facts: there is no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11 (sic!), the `pulling' of the WTC 7 tower on 9/11 without being hit, the scandal of the intellectual property rights issue (`communities could find themselves forced to pay for patented plant varieties based on genetic sources from their own soil'!), the stolen 2004 elections ( the statistically impossible gap between the exit polls and the ultimate results) or the official denial of the link between global warming and hurricanes. Among many others, important items are the use of deliberate fake news and misinformation. All Project Censored books are a must read for all those who want to understand the world we live in.

Project censored is the brainchild of Dr. Carl Jensen, a former professor of Communication Studies at Sonoma State University, who in 1976 launched the effort to report the news of social and national significance not reported in the national-mainstream media. Every year, over 200 faculty and students pour over 700 underreported but important stories submitted by librarians, journalists, scholars et al. and select the top 25 to submit to a panel of judges before publication. Censored 2008 is another magnificent book that every US citizen should read, including the social elitists and political conservatives who are, to no one's surprise, the staunchest critics of this effort. How many Americans are aware that the $12 billion newly printed and shrink wrapped $100 bills flown to Iraq by Ambassador Paul Bremer are unaccounted for? During Bremer's questioning in February 2006, most news media were too busy covering the death of Anna Nicole Smith rather than airing the hearing on this important issue. And how many US citizens are aware that the construction of the US Embassy in Baghdad with a price tag of over $700 million was awarded to a Kuwaiti company in a largely political decision as a show of appreciation to Kuwait for its support of the US invasion of Iraq? Unfortunately, various 9/11 conspiracy theories were included in "Censored 2008", which, when put together would implicate the CIA, Larry Silverstein, the owner of the 3 collapsed WTC buildings, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), CNN, BBC and Bin Laden himself (colluding with the CIA?!). Two of Project Censored's esteemed judges resigned in protest as a result of the publication of these questionable theories in 2007. Ignoring this hiccup, Censored 2008 and efforts like it are necessary in any society to publicize news that is either deliberately ignored or falsified. It is the job of the citizens of every country to dig deeper than what is fed to them through "for profit" news agencies to ensure democracy is not tampered with. Incidentally, I found it peculiar that in the last chapter, Greg Guma accuses Walter Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America", of pandering to ratings. All the while, Cronkite's endorsement can be seen in the title section of Project Censored's web site. I guess project censored truly tells it like it is, but I doubt Mr. Cronkite read pages 355-356 ("The Power to Misinform") before he gave it his stamp of approval. Warning: Reading too many pages of this book in one sitting can be depressing if you're not familiar with the evils that men do.

This book is a MUST read for EVERYbody. Our freedoms are being taken away as we sleep. WAKE UP everyone and read what's really going on! I was pleased with how quickly I received my order and that it was in good shape!!

This is another great Project Censored Yearbook. This book contains important stories that are lergely overlooked by the mainstream media even though these stories have great relevance toward public policy and the future of America and the World. The Yearbook also contains articles on media analysis and updates of previous Project Censored stories.

The first rater didn't seem to like what was published. That's ok. But to criticize the book itself for what the media is or isn't doing is giving the book an unfair rating. It seems like they were rating the issues. The book well-written, easy to use and clear. I liked the follow-ups given to some stories. There is information about last year's censored stories. Good book and good reading.