For 30 years Project Censored at Sonoma State University has been reporting the real news that corporate media refuses to cover. The 250 student researchers and faculty find cutting-edge news stories that go under-reported in the mainstream corporate media.
Real news is not there for the selling of material goods or entertainment. Real news can only be measured through its success in building democracy, stimulating grassroots activism, and motivating resistance to top-down institutions. Democratic activism underlies the purpose, reason, and message of free speech. Here again is Project Censored”s release of the news that didn”t make the news 9 a compilation of the best examples of journalism that the corporate media marginalized in 2005-06.
Full reviews of the stories are published in “Censored 2007: 30th Anniversary Edition” from Seven Stories Press, available at www.projectcensored.org/.
1. Future of Internet Debate Ignored by Media — Throughout 2005 and 2006, a large underground debate raged regarding the future of the Internet. Referred to as “network neutrality,” the issue has become a tug of war with cable companies on the one hand and consumers and Internet service providers on the other.
2. Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran — As recently as January 2005 and a decade before, Halliburton sold key components for a nuclear reactor to an Iranian oil development company in violations of U.S. sanctions.
3. Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger — Sea temperature and chemistry changes, along with contamination and reckless fishing practices, intertwine to imperil the world”s largest communal life source.
4. Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the U.S. — The number of hungry and homeless people in US cities continued to grow in 2005.
5. High-Tech Genocide in Congo — The world”s most neglected emergency is the ongoing tragedy of the Congo, where 6 to 7 million have died since 1996 as a consequence of invasions and wars sponsored by western powers trying to gain control of the region”s mineral wealth.
6. Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy — Special Counsel Scott Bloch, appointed by President Bush in 2004, is overseeing the virtual elimination of federal whistleblower rights in the U.S. government.
7. U.S. Operatives Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and Iraq — The American Civil Liberties Union released documents of 44 autopsies held in Afghanistan and Iraq Oct. 25, 2005. Twenty-one of those deaths were listed as homicides. These documents present irrefutable evidence that US operatives tortured detainees to death during interrogation.
8. Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act — In December 2005, Congress passed the 2006 Defense Authorization Act, which renders Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) “operational files” fully immune to FOIA requests, the main mechanism by which watchdog groups, journalists and individuals can access federal documents.
9. The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall — Despite the 2004 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision that called for tearing down the Israel-Palestinian Wall, construction of the Wall has accelerated using World Bank funds.
10. Expanded Air War in Iraq Kills More Civilians — A key element of Bush”s drawdown plans in Iraq includes increased uses of airpower. Expanded air strikes will likely lead to increased civilian deaths.
11. Dangers of Genetically Modified Food Confirmed — Several recent studies confirm fears that genetically modified (GM) foods damage human health.
12. Pentagon Plans to Build New Landmines — The U.S. plans to resume production of antipersonnel landmines.
13. New Evidence Establishes Dangers of Roundup — New studies reveal that Roundup, the most widely used weed killer in the world, poses serious human health threats.
14. Homeland Security Contracts KBR to Build Detention Centers in the U.S. — Halliburton”s subsidiary KBR has been awarded a $385 million contingency contract by the Department of Homeland Security to build detention camps in the United States for immigrations surges and “news programs.”
15. Chemical Industry is EPA”s Primary Research Partner — The American Chemical Council is now EPA”s leading research partner.
16. Ecuador and Mexico Defy U.S. on International Criminal Court — Ecuador and Mexico have refused to sign bilateral immunity agreements (BIA) with the U.S., in ratification of the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty, despite the Bush Administration”s threat to withhold economic aid.
17. Iraq Invasion Promotes OPEC Agenda — The U.S. occupation of Iraq has been used by the U.S. to acquire access to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
18. Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story — Research by Brigham Young University physics professor, Steven E. Jones, concludes that the official 9/11 explanation for the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings is implausible according to laws of physics.
19. Destruction of Rainforests Worst Ever — New developments in satellite imaging technology reveal that the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed twice as quickly as previously estimated.
20. Bottled Water: A Global Environmental Problem — Consumers spend a collective $100 billion every year on bottled water in the belief — often mistaken — that it is better for us than what flows from our taps. Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year.
21. Gold Mining Threatens Ancient Andean Glaciers — Barrick Gold, a powerful multinational gold mining company, planned to melt three Andean glaciers in order to access gold deposits through open pit mining.
22. Billions in Homeland Security Spending Undisclosed — More than $8 billion in Homeland Security funds has been doled out to states since the September 11, 2001 attacks, but the public has little chance of knowing how this money is actually being spent.
23. U.S. Oil Targets Kyoto in Europe — Lobbyists funded by the U.S. oil industry have launched a campaign in Europe aimed at derailing efforts to enforce the Kyoto Protocol against global warming
24. Cheney”s Halliburton Stock Rose Over 3000 Percent Last Year — Vice President Dick Cheney”s stock options in Halliburton rose from $241,498 in 2004 to over $8 million in 2005, an increase of more than 3,000 percent.
25. U.S. Military in Paraguay Threatens Region — South American countries are concerned that a massive air base at Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay is designed to be a US military stronghold in the region.
Peter Phillips is a professor of sociology at Sonoma State University and director of Project Censored (www.projectcensored. org/).
