KR---if say something critical of WH--you are out!

[rodeodance]

http://warandpiece.com/
December 03, 2005

......Knight Ridder reports that the State Department has been using political "litmus tests" before sending American representatives overseas, to see if they have ever said a word critical of the Bush administration's Iraq policy:

The State Department has been using political litmus tests to screen private American citizens before they can be sent overseas to represent the United States, weeding out critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy, according to department officials and internal e-mails.

In one recent case, a leading expert on conflict resolution who is a former senior State Department adviser was scheduled to participate in a U.S. Embassy-sponsored videoconference in Jerusalem last month, but at the last minute he was told that his participation no longer was required.

State Department officials explained the cancellation as a scheduling matter. But internal department e-mails show that officials in Washington pressed to have other scholars replace the expert, David L. Phillips, who wrote a book, "Losing Iraq," that's critical of President Bush's handling of Iraqi reconstruction.......

[acmavm]

1. And the news here is????? n/t

[PurgedVoter]

2. Black balling. How many Republicans are fighting this?

The stain runs deep. It is not just the White House.

[IowaGuy]

3. gettin' closer every day to Stalinist type purges.......n/t

[longship]

4. R & K

I'm recommending all of these type of threads. People need to know what our government is doing in our name, and so-called in the name of "freedom".
:kick:ed

[rodeodance]

5. Btw----this reminds me of something--

Btw----this reminds me of something----I was listening to jim lehrer news hour--think it was last night. they had a good discussion on about the irag newspaper propaganda issue. one RW and lone university professor. i forget names. the RWinger was for it naturally while the prof. made some good points about how can we promote democracy while paying for prop. etc.
the rwinger bored me--but then at the end he said something about what was needed to promote the image of the US--then is made a crack about 'karen hughes being a disaster in the ME"---I almost fell off my chair cracking up---this from a bush supporter---but was glad to hear it!!
anyway, --the irony--is that k hughes is the director of promoting our image. just tooooooo good!!

[rodeodance]

6. here are some examples from the article.

...In another instance of apparent politicization, a request by the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, to arrange a visit by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who lived in Indonesia when he was young, was delayed for seven months. The visit never occurred.

A prominent translator of Islamic poetry who toured Afghanistan to rave reviews last March fell out of favor when he later criticized the Iraq war in front of a department official, two U.S. officials said.

The practices appear to be the latest examples of the Bush administration's efforts to tightly control information, maintain "message discipline" and promote news about the United States and its policies.

Bush opponents have been excluded routinely from the president's domestic events and campaign rallies. This week, Knight Ridder and other news organizations reported that the Pentagon has paid Iraqi journalists and newspapers to publish positive stories about the U.S. reconstruction effort there. ..........

[rodeodance]

7. But there certainly is a `white list' of those who can go,

Current and former officials involved with the State Department's overseas speakers program said potential candidates were vetted - via Internet searches, for example - for any comments or writings that criticized White House policy.

"There's definitely a political litmus test. You don't have to be a Republican, but you better not have said anything against them," one official said.

The official said he knew of no blacklist of banned scholars. "But there certainly is a `white list' of those who can go," he added. ........

[rodeodance]

8. here is link to KR article

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/13314542.htm

[rodeodance]

9. the speakers program is overseen by Karen Hughes--eeks. says it all!!

.....Feldman, a political appointee and former media executive, was traveling and couldn't be reached for comment. Seven calls made to two of his press officers and to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack weren't returned by the end of the day Friday.

The effort, known as the "U.S. Speakers/Specialist Program," is part of a public diplomacy effort to change negative foreign opinions of the United States. It's overseen by Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes, although the questionable practices reportedly began before she took up her post in September.

Using political views to screen candidates appears to violate the speaker program's charter, which is to present a "range of responsible opinion" in the United States to overseas audiences, not to hawk a particular administration's policies.

[blm]

10. KnightRidder, itself, is about to booted permanently. Bush cronies

who bought up shares of KR are trying to force a breakup of the company which would dilute its power nationally.

No more DC bureau to investigate and expose Bush and his WH of thugs.

[burythehatchet]

11. While that is sad, I guess it beats getting a missle on the head

I wonder how the people are Al-Jazeera feel.:(

[lvx35]

12. Well, no more american diplomats people like! nt

[lebkuchen]

13. This policy is obvious to anyone working on a US military base

My #1 and #2 bosses are Bushies to the max, and have no problem pushing Bush's political view to subordinates, which violates federal standards of ethics.

It happened around this time of year last year. If it happens again, I will go to my US senators for relief.