Another mainstream shift. Here are two segments that Jon Stewart’s Daily Show did last week mocking the U.S. for cutting off UNESCO funding because the agency voted to admit Palestine as a member. The pieces feature brilliant comedic turns by John Oliver. The butt of his report is Robert Wexler, the dogged former Florida congressman who now heads some Israel lobby organization. Oliver exposes the U.S. move as heartless and hurtful to our image around the world.
The reports are best politically for their repetition of the word Palestine, though in the end they come up short. The comedians are unable to talk about the Israel lobby, which is what effected the aid cutoff. They can’t name the villain, though Stewart knows the villain. Wexler is his contemporary, and this is a Jewish problem. Just impossible to talk about openly. I guess that’s next.
It struck me that Wexler was presented as a “former congress member”, which, of course, he is, without however mentioning that he resigned his seat to take up his current position as president of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace.
There was also a good video Jon did about the US/Israel/Iran. He approached it from an American perspective (for the most part). Was funny and even-handed I thought.
Oh my. One of the most brilliant pieces I have ever seen on the Daily Show. Laughing, almost crying so terribly absurd. John Oliver/writers totally captured. US (Israel’s proxy) slaps Unesco, Gabon down for doing the right thing. John Oliver delivers..clearly Jon Stewart and team in support. Has taken the Daily Show a long time to get here and address the I/P situation honestly which they have been doing the last several years but as the saying goes “better late than never” Clearly when they do open the gates they cover the issue in a way no other real or fake real MSM outlet does.
How is it Wexler and others do not get that they are being slammed. How does this benefit his angle or agenda?
On Sunday Fareed Zakaria opened up his program with why he supports containment if the claims about Iran were actually accurate.
OK, the USA is unexplainedly evil, right, got that. we could change the law but were not going to, and — always remember — we’re the good guys! (Yes, let’s always try to persuade ourselves of that!).
And the kids were SOOOO cute. Africa strikes back!
Boffo. Great stuff. (More news than the NYT).
This is not satire but worth noting. Gareth Porter writes that Israel is killing the wrong Iranian scientists.
http://consortiumnews.com/2012/03/19/israel-killing-wrong-iranian-scientists/