True Lies

Rating:
Summary: Straight facts: Gathered at the source
Review: A book that should be read by all, from the layman to the president. Instead of relying on commercial news sources, these gentlemen took it upon themselves to dig as deep as possible to find the REAL stories behind the spin. Working with primary sources and avoiding conspiracy theories that often sink such efforts, they have produced a book to be read and studied by hard core conservatives, bleeding heart liberals, and most importantly, the vast majority of us in between.

Rating:
Summary: Kerouac Meets Thompson at the Edge of Empire
Review: GNN.TV has done it again,

After exhaustive research into the world of real, GNN.TV has finally found what the anonymous Bush Admin official meant when he said they were no longer in the "reality-based community" (as quoted in the October 17th edition of the New York Times Magazine by Ron Suskind.

With powerful and cool-headed writing the authors describe in vivid detail the abundance of misinformation and self-censoring being perpetuated by the traditional media outlets. From the actual events in the NBC newsroom on the infameous "calling" of florida for Bush in 2000, to the overt suppression of information by the whitehouse and CNN transcripts of press conferences (with embarassing questions) TRUE LIES lays it all out.

It is impossible for any rational and "reality-based" individual to read this book and not question the self-deceiving nature of our society. How could we rise as an empire in the world when we don't believe that we are an empire (that we were actually BORN from one!).

Written in the GONZO-BEATNIK fashion a freeflowing consciousness of stories and events that take us from the crash site of flight 93 to the streets of baghdad, TRUE LIES is a wild ride and a must read for anyone with ears to hear and an eye to see.





Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Honest, critical, necessary look at the cracks in the mainstream political narrative.

Looking forward to more from Anthony and GNN.

Rating:
Summary: True Journalism
Review: I picked up this book out of increasing interest in the current state of media politics, but also largely because of my curiosity in what GNN was trying to push. I was not disappointed in the least. This is easily one of the most engaging books I've read recently.

I'm currently reading Amy Goodman's The Exception to the Rulers, which is also good, but is upon reading the subtitle (Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media that Love Them), is immediately identifiable as having a leftist bias (which to an extent probably limits readership). What impressed me most about True Lies, was that while it's progressive, it doesn't come off as leftist propaganda. In a time of increasing political polarization and media bias, Lappé and Marshall bring some dignity back to the field of journalism. They dig deep to uncover answers themselves rather than regurgitate the garbage most mainstream media tends to pass around in its incestuous circle. Not only do they tackle important issues and questions surrounding 9/11, the war in Iraq, and our own elections, but they do it with integrity. Instead of trying to push an angle, they present multiple viewpoints that are many times not fully conclusive. This might sound like somewhat of a letdown, but to the contrary, it sets a tone that engages readers to take it one step further and start questioning these issues on their own.

And on top of being professional, engaging and informative, this book is very accessible. As someone who is only now becoming more increasingly engaged in politics and media awareness, this book was very easy to read.

I can't wait to see what's next.
(*on that note - if you enjoy this book, make sure to check out GNN's documentary "BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge," which is easily one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, for all the same reasons True Lies is so well done.)

Rating:
Summary: Moving the Medium
Review: Investigative reporting can be painful. It's not for everyone, but Lappe and Marshall have shotput the medium closer towards the mainstream. They've used language that is accessible not only to web-savvy activists but to people like me who are more apt to read the newspaper on their commute. Some of their musings are definitely out there but you can't dispute their basic premise. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's willing to challenge their view of the way things work in America and the world. It's worth your time and money. You might want to read it before November 2nd.

Rating:
Summary: A great current event jumpstart to alternative information
Review: The state of journalism today is horrible and sickening. I've worked in the field for 15 years. When I was majoring in journalism in college the first rule of journalism was, accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. But that ethic has been used as an excuse not to report anything at all. What happened to Gary Webb (RIP) and what happened to the employees at CBS was deplorable. One or two inaccuracies, while unfortunate do not denounce the truth their stories present. This is what happens to journalists who try to bring you the truth, which is also why REAL investigate journalism in the U.S. is all but dead. It is absolutely essential today for people to find alternative sources of news. Because mainsteam media is not there to inform you... it is there to control and influence what you think. This book is a great start for people to re-educate themselves on today's current events so they can begin to make sensible decisions and take actions in their own lives.

Rating:
Summary: LEFT-WING NOISE vs RIGHT-WING NOISE
Review: This book deals with some very important matters: the electoral frauds of 2000 and 2002, [and the recently-enacted fraud of 2004]; the quagmire of lies surrounding 9/11; the ugly and demoralizing ways in which Conservatives tar all opposition with the brush of unpatriotic Anti-Americanism; the Pentagon's disgraceful war agains its own soldiers [via DU shells, A-Vac and Lariam]; and the grossly under-reported scandal of what Bev Harris calls Black Box Voting [ISBN: 1890916900], in which those who make the electronic voting machines also make the decision about which votes count, and how to count them.

There is no doubt that all of these are critical issues, deserving of careful scrutiny by a scarcely-informed electorate. But, in this as in everything, remember the Golden Rule: ALWAYS SEPARATE THE MESSAGE FROM THE MESSENGER.

The Message here, in a nutshell, is that government and the media lie to us. This is hardly ground-breaking news; but, it is, at least, a salutary reminder to Stay Awake.

The Messenger delivering this anti-media message, however, is neck-deep in the very media we are warned to be wary of. The thumbnail biographies printed on the opening flyleaf tell us that Lappe and Marshall (and Inaba too) are VideoBiz types. They are part of that vast Dumbed Down Wasteland that savvy media types once dubbed Generation X. Raised on MTV (or, actually, eMpTyV), their only reality is visual, their only values commercial. For that reason perhaps, they seem to think that they alone [the `indie media' types allegedly untarnished by corporate crassness; the `progressive' intrepid reporters who boldly go where mainstream media blithely refuse to go; etc., etc] ... that they alone can save us in Our Current Crisis. How? The progressives, we are told, need to master "the arts of communication and propaganda" (p. 258); then "create, package and disseminate" (259) their message in "a pop-cultural aesthetic" (259) that "taps the deepest instincts, ideals and prejudices of the public mind" because "These are values that cannot be manufactured" (260).

A more revealingly anti-democratic creed can scarcely be imagined.

God forbid that anyone would actually present arguments and evidence that appeal to our Reason!

Just as "Sesame Strreet" was once paraded by savvy media-types as "Education", so now Democracy will appear before us as a Hip-Hop Video. And we'll all get to vote for the Video of Our Choice. Wow! This is, like, sooo exciting! No! Really!

Wake Up Folks: It's all part of VideoBiz's relentless dis-education of America.

You want a Real Solution? It's simple: Turn off the Video Boxes. Read a Book. Think.

According to these guys our only choice is to be Stewed by the Left or Screwed by the Right.

Is it any wonder, then, that we say with The Bard: "A pox on both your houses."

Rating:
Summary: An Antidote to Ted Koppell
Review: This book is an excellent antidote to the "liberal" media bias towards sound bites and sensationalism. It presents the untold stories of the Iraq war, the 2000 election and other important events with a critical outlook that is sorely lacking in most reporting these days. While progressives are it's most natural audience, anyone who is fed up with the shallow reporting of recent events should take a look at this book.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful and intelligent discourse for media and politics
Review: This is a guaranteed must-read for people interested in media studies, the double-edged sword between media and political connections and undecided voters before November rolls around.

Lappe and Marshall (a widely-published journalist dedicated to informing and reporting [rather than promoting the status quo], the other an award-winning filmmaker [the GNN movie "Battleground" just won a Silver Hugo @ the Chicago Int'l. Film Festival]) expose a concise and insightful look into the questions surrounding S-11, political-industrial-military-corporate connections and a discussion on the view of the American mainstream media's transformation since deregulation.

Simple calculations that could have easily questioned the speed of Air Force planes on the morning of S-11, as an example, is shown how the American mainstream media has become a voice for powerful interests at an exponential rate over the past 20 years.

As a former journalist for both a small-town newspaper and a closely-knit political newspaper, this reviewer will agree that reporters are asked to question and dispute a consistent flood of information that can turn into a continuous conveyor belt of propaganda, if it leaves no room for a reporter to argue or if an editor/publisher has a hidden agenda of their own.

In closing, we can see the results of the media developing into a corporate mentality, by guarding itself and its highly-regarded information sources from internal differences, such as the internal attack against Jon Stewart. The AP calls his well-stated comments as 'an outburst' on Crossfire and appears to make a mockery of his appearance to be on 60 Minutes. It is almost as if an ombudsman in any industry is a thing of the past in American culture... that is, if the message ever got out.

Rating:
Summary: Why haven't I heard this before??
Review: This is the reaction that I believe most Americans will have when reading the important, relevant, and entirely suppressed stories in True Lies. Lappe, Marshal et al do a meticulously researched and beautifully stylized job of presenting the most important news items you've never heard. In this new media age, it is more important than ever to have dedicated journalists who aren't afraid to rake through the rubbish tossed our way by the white house to find the truth embedded in the lies.
From hacked elections to media driven character assassinations to radioactive weapons used by the US, if you didn't read about it here, chances are you didn't read about it.