
The Exploitation of Paris - SeanBoocock
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/14/opinion/the-exploitation-of-paris.html
======
safespace1
Salon ran this piece blaming conservatives while the attacks were still
ongoing:
[http://www.salon.com/2015/11/14/and_so_the_hate_speech_begin...](http://www.salon.com/2015/11/14/and_so_the_hate_speech_begins_let_paris_be_the_end_of_the_rights_violent_language_toward_activists/)

And the Guardian as usual did not disappoint:
[http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/14/paris-a...](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/14/paris-
attacks-leave-france-in-trauma-fearing-for-the-future)

And the left-wing media not long ago had little difficulty exploiting the
drowning death of a migrant child due to his father's involvement in human
trafficking to justify mass immigration of Muslim economic migrants--at least
some of whom we now know were involved in the horrific attack on Paris:
[http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/14/us-france-
shooting...](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/14/us-france-shooting-
greece-idUSKCN0T312W20151114)

Consequently, the author's complaints of exploitation ring hollow.

~~~
vezzy-fnord
_Consequently, the author 's complaints of exploitation ring hollow._

Quite the contrary, they only corroborate it.

------
kehrlann
To be honest, the shock and pain and angst and awe we feel here in Paris is so
overwhelming that I feel too numb to realize that, Yes, of course, people will
use this event to promote their own ideological agenda... It makes me sick,
truly.

This should be a call for peace, not war.

~~~
Shivetya
You can call for peace all you want, those committing the atrocities will
revel in it as it simply makes their work easier. Calls for peace instead of
war only work when both sides are rational and one side is clearly not.

~~~
Asbostos
Really? Arguably ISIS would never have existed if the US didn't invade Iraq,
destabilizing it and leaving a power vacuum. Also creating increased hatred
towards the west in the process. I'd say using peace as a response to 9/11
could have saved us from the Paris attacks, as well as ISIS.

~~~
jacquesm
And to bring enough funds into the region to finance an army. The reports of
what happened in Mosul are contradictory so I have no idea any more about
what's true and what is not but the story goes that the Mosul bank heist
financed the initial phase of IS. This is strongly advocated by some and just
as strongly denied by others. There are also stories about planeloads of cash
moved into Iraq.

------
ojbyrne
The Power of Nightmares [1] is a really scary series of movies about how
extremists on both sides use each other to further their agenda.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares)

~~~
ljf
Just posted on a different thread but check out Bitter Lake by Adam Curtis
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gyz6b](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gyz6b)

------
mc32
LOL. Someone in the opinion pages complaining about opportunism... Good one.

I'll take this seriously when the NTY introduces a moratorium on all breaking
news and stops jumping on things when it fits their agenda but jump against it
when it goes against their agendas.

To be sure, concealed carry etc. is anathema to European society and also
isn't the answer... Just look at iraq lots of weapons by civilians, it does
not stop terrorism..But I have to laugh at their indignation of opportunism.

~~~
hackuser
These criticisms seem to a be a meme among right-wingers who want to discredit
the NY Times, apparently for posting things inconvenient to their ideologies.
Having read the NY Times and many other sources for years, I don't see
evidence of these things happening.

Do you have any? The fact that many repeat it, especially inside an
ideological echo chamber, doesn't make it likely to be true.

~~~
ikeboy
When you have things like
[http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/424102/returning-
copy-d...](http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/424102/returning-copy-desk-
briefly-kevin-d-williamson), do you defend them?

~~~
hackuser
Thanks for providing the link. I didn't read every word on the page, but my
thoughts:

1) I see nothing substantive, only nit-picking over wording. _In particular_ ,
the NR critic often just comes up with a different way of writing the same
thing, something anyone can do with any piece of writing. Much is wording that
could go either way, and some depends on what the reporter actually saw. For
example, maybe the reporter can't identify who threw the rocks and so can't
say anything about them. Maybe the reporter saw a scuffle and not a riot; the
NR critic doesn't offer evidence that the statement is in error. _In general_
, it's an old propaganda technique: Just keep up a flood of criticism and
people will think that some of it - just a little! - must be true. It's not.
Professionals in the field of political maniuplation really do pull this stunt
on a regular basis. Look how they demonize every Democratic leader, for
example (Bill Clinton, Hillary, Obama). (Left-wingers do the same, but they
have far less influence than platforms like Fox News, the Wall Street
Journal's editorial page, and Rush - all the most popular in their
industries.)

2) The National Review has an avowed agenda of pro-conservative, anti-
everything else commentary. This isn't the best source; they are going to find
a way criticize the NY Times no matter what, true or not. Perhaps something
from a study of journalism would be better (not that I realistically expect
you to have that at your fingertips).

3) Reading the Israeli papers Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post, I find that if
the NY Times has any bias on any issue, it's not covering the bad things done
by Israelis. The Israeli papers paint a much harsher picture of their own
country. But I'm not sure I can make sense of it; of course the _New York_
Times is not going to cover Israel in the same details as Israeli papers, so
perhaps that explains the difference.

~~~
ikeboy
I'd like to quote from
[http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/how...](http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/how-
the-media-makes-the-israel-story/383262/):

 _There are banal explanations for problems with coverage—reporters are in a
hurry, editors are overloaded and distracted. These are realities, and can
explain small errors and mishaps like ill-conceived headlines, which is why
such details don’t typically strike me as important or worth much analysis.
Some say inflations and omissions are the inevitable results of an honest
attempt to cover events in a challenging and occasionally dangerous reporting
environment, which is what I initially believed myself. A few years on the job
changed my mind. Such excuses can’t explain why the same inflations and
omissions recur again and again, why they are common to so many news outlets,
and why the simple “Israel story” of the international media is so foreign to
people aware of the historical and regional context of events in this place.
The explanation lies elsewhere._

It's also pretty well documented that far more journalists are Democrats than
Republicans, if that makes a difference.

~~~
hackuser
Hey, thanks for the link. That looks very intersting and I'll read it (but
it's probably too long for right this moment).

What does it have to do with the New York Times though? I searched the article
for references to them, and there is only one that isn't relevant to what we
are talking about.

> It's also pretty well documented that far more journalists are Democrats
> than Republicans

And I assume that applies to NY Times reporters too. I agree it's a concern,
but I don't think it necessarily affects people doing their jobs as
professional journalists and we still need some evidence of it. Also, as I
mentioned, the leading platforms in cable news, business news, and talk radio
are heavily Republican; there's hardly a lack of balance.

Thanks again for the link.

~~~
ikeboy
_What does it have to do with the New York Times though? I searched the
article for references to them, and there is only one that isn 't relevant to
what we are talking about._

My point is that even these "minor" nitpicks add up, and if they consistently
point a particular way, that means something. The original NYTimes article
referenced clearly played down one side, you don't get such awkward phrasing
by accident.

 _I agree it 's a concern, but I don't think it necessarily affects people
doing their jobs as professional journalists and we still need some evidence
of it._

See [http://journalism.indiana.edu/general-news/news/press-
releas...](http://journalism.indiana.edu/general-news/news/press-release-
survey-finds-u-s-journalists-less-satisfied-have-less-autonomy/)

* Also, as I mentioned, the leading platforms in cable news, business news, and talk radio are heavily Republican; there's hardly a lack of balance.*

The example you gave of business news is the WSJ, which
[http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/groseclose/pdfs/M...](http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/groseclose/pdfs/MediaBias.pdf)
finds to be more liberal than the NYTimes in _news_ articles.

~~~
hackuser
> My point is that even these "minor" nitpicks add up ... The original NYTimes
> article referenced clearly played down one side

I disagree on both counts, but I think I'm about to repeat myself ...

> the WSJ, which
> [http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/groseclose/pdfs/M...](http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/groseclose/pdfs/M..).
> finds to be more liberal than the NYTimes in news articles.

Interesting, but that study is from before the News Corp (i.e., Rupert
Murdoch, Fox News proprieter) bought it.

------
jkot
> _Too bad there were no concealed carry permits ... anywhere in Europe ...
> since 1818._

Czech rep. has concealed carry

~~~
mikeash
It's all very dumb. A few random people with pistols wouldn't have done
anything to help, and neither would stronger gun control laws. But both sides
use the attack to push their opinions anyway.

------
gyardley
I agree with Bruni's general point, but I'd take Bruni himself a bit more
seriously if he didn't cherry pick his examples from people he traditionally
disagrees with. Repugnant piggybacking on this atrocity is taking place across
the political spectrum.

------
fennecfoxen
I was at dinner by myself, browsing Twitter and just running across Salon
blaming the right wing (
[https://twitter.com/salon/status/665344751928008704](https://twitter.com/salon/status/665344751928008704)
) when the guy sitting at the next table blamed a conspiracy funded by the
Koch Brothers to keep us afraid.

... I prefer these conspiracy nuts to the pundits; they have a better excuse.
But that itself is quite sad.

~~~
unknownkadath
Regardless of where we in the West land on the political spectrum, we all seem
to forget that the people who do these things have some agency. Sure, there
are external factors pushing and pulling on everyone, we all live in a
context, good or bad. Ultimately, the people who carried out the attack looked
at what ISIS has to offer and said, "I'll take _that_."

------
crdb
"[T]he public has access, thanks to the media, to news that they know as
'politics' or 'international relations', 'diplomacy', which only present [...]
what we call 'the formal view'. The formal view always masks the 'real view',
because the latter is almost always considered not receivable by a public that
is _not initiated_ (the widest audience) who would not be able to conceive of
international politics in any other way than via the spectrum of ethics
adapted only to social relationships between individuals." \- Missions,
méthodes, techniques spéciales des services secrets au 21e siècle, Lt Col X
and Jacques Leger (generally quite a good book on modern information wars and
opinion manipulation) [http://www.amazon.fr/Missions-m-thodes-techniques-sp-
ciales-...](http://www.amazon.fr/Missions-m-thodes-techniques-sp-ciales-
services-ebook/dp/B00BRV9MZU/)

------
mindo
Americans and they idiocracy. I'm happy to live in EU and even though these
sort of shocking events happening from time to time I still feel better here
than I would ever do in USA. Count your police gun victims it will never add
up to what just happened in Paris...

~~~
s_baby
You rather live somewhere where this kind of behavior is common:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdvFfSGxtNI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdvFfSGxtNI)

~~~
grp
This behavior exists but is absolutely not common.

Please, stop that disinformation campaign, the guy who creates that video
isn't totally _neutral_ [1].

[1] [https://www.schusterman.org/users/zvika-
klein](https://www.schusterman.org/users/zvika-klein)

