Burma

Undisclosed Hillary Bundler at CNN: She 'Revived America's Reputation'
By Tom Blumer | August 18, 2015 | 3:43 PM EDT

Yesterday, CNN.com published a attempted defense of Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State by Eleni Kounalakis. An "Editor's Note" before the piece begins describes Ms. Kounalakis as the "United States ambassador to Hungary from 2010 to 2013," the author of a book on her time there, and "a senior adviser to the Albright Stonebridge Group" (as in "Madeline Albright").

The "editor" at CNN "forgot" to mention one "little" thing, noted by John Hinderaker at Powerline: "... she was one of Hillary’s top (2008) fundraisers, a fundraiser who was paid off with an ambassadorship, and therefore hardly an objective observer of Hillary’s successes (or lack thereof) as Secretary of State."

Alex Wagner Worships at the Holy Burmese Shrine of Her Beloved Barack
By P.J. Gladnick | November 20, 2012 | 8:56 PM EST

Alex Wagner worships no other god before her Lord Barack.

Think that statement is over the top? Not after you watch this worshipful video of MSNBC's Alex Wagner in which, among her other hallelujahs to her personal god who assumed earthly form in Burma, is this gem: “A man who is better at stagecraft than almost any leader in US history.” This is but one of several gushing praises of Obama which gives the impression that Wagner could be in dire need of some serious Barack cult deprogramming.

CBS Highlights Refugees Helped by Christian Groups, America 'Best Place in the World'
By Brad Wilmouth | December 2, 2011 | 12:56 AM EST

Thursday's CBS Evening News ended with an uplifting report highlighting refugees from Burma who were resettled in the United States to escape ethnic persecution in their home country.
 

#From the December 18 Good Morning America on ABC:

Pentagon Rescinds Franklin Graham’s Invitation, Al Sharpton is Welcome at White House
By Colleen Raezler | April 23, 2010 | 10:21 AM EDT
The Pentagon rescinded the invitation of evangelist Franklin Graham to speak at its May 6 National Day of Prayer event because of complaints about his previous comments about Islam.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation expressed its concern over Graham's involvement with the event in an April 19 letter sent to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. MRFF's complaint about Graham, the son of Rev. Billy Graham, focused on remarks he made after 9/11 in which he called Islam "wicked" and "evil" and his lack of apology for those words.

Col. Tom Collins, an Army spokesman, told ABC News on April 22, "This Army honors all faiths and tries to inculcate our soldiers and work force with an appreciation of all faiths and his past comments just were not appropriate for this venue."

Matt Lauer from Beijing: Chinese Happier Than Americans
By Geoffrey Dickens | August 5, 2008 | 1:37 PM EDT

Update at bottom of post.

In a pre-taped segment, delivered from the Forbidden City in Beijing, NBC's Matt Lauer pointed out a poll that showed the Chinese are happier than Americans and repeated his line that protestors could be seen as "party crashers," on Tuesday's "Today" show.

During an interview with NBC News China analyst, Joshua Cooper Ramo, Lauer made the following observation:

LAUER: There's a recent poll that said some very high percentage of the people in China are happy with their lot in life. Something around 80 percent. You compare that to polls in the United States that say only about 25 percent of Americans are, what's the root of their happiness here?

Then a little later in the segment the "Today" co-host, repeating an earlier worry he made on Monday's program, declared the average Chinese citizen would disapprove of any protests:

Oops! Newsweek CW Reverses Itself on Chinese Earthquake Response
By Ken Shepherd | May 19, 2008 | 12:48 PM EDT

Last week I noted how Newsweek.com's Conventional Wisdom gave an "up" arrow to China, praising its response to a devastating earthquake:

Chinese government: Unlike Burma's generals, officials are responding quickly and openly to natural disaster.

Now the Jonathan Alter-edited featurette has reversed itself for the May 26, 2008 dead-tree edition:

[down arrow] China: Quake damage highlights price of shoddy building codes. Tragedy of one-child policy.

Below are the contrasting screenshots:

NYT Columnist Sees 'Magic' in Military Invasion of Myanmar
By Mark Finkelstein | May 14, 2008 | 6:54 AM EDT
Again today, the New York Times demonstrates that the MSM isn't opposed to America's invasion of foreign countries. There's really only one precondition: the national security interests of the United States must not be at stake.

Thus it is that the NYT op-ed page today runs Aid at the Point of a Gun by Robert D. Kaplan, a national correspondent for The Atlantic and a fellow at the Center for a New American Security. The gist is that while it could bring ongoing obligations, the armed invasion of Myanmar for purposes of bringing aid to the cyclone victims is justifiable and feasible. Extended excerpt [emphasis added]:
France’s foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, has spoken of the possibility of an armed humanitarian intervention, and there is an increasing degree of chatter about the possibility of an American-led invasion of the Irrawaddy River Delta.
Newsweek CW: Up Arrow for Chinese; May Be Dictators, But They Aren't Isolationist!
By Ken Shepherd | May 13, 2008 | 2:42 PM EDT

Screencap of Newsweek from 5/13/08 | NewsBusters.orgNewsweek's Conventional Wisdom feature has oft been the target of much snarkage here at NewsBusters, and the featurette failed to disappoint today with this doozy:

Headline Bias in Burmese Relief Story?
By Ken Shepherd | May 12, 2008 | 12:13 PM EDT

MSNBC.com screencap | NewsBusters.orgPoor teaser headline selection by MSNBC.com? I report, you decide.

At right is a screencap of a teaser headline from the Web site about U.S. humanitarian aid reaching Myanmar Burma. As the AP story linked makes clear, the fault for the delay in the aid's arrival is that of the military dictatorship, not any incompetence or lack of concern by Washington.

Yet the teaser headline reads: "First U.S. aid plane lands in Myanmar; UPDATED: Relief comes more than week after cyclone."

The same headline and subhead are found on the AP article as found when readers follow the link. The AP story itself makes clear the Burmese government has and continues to be an obstacle to reaching devastated Burmese civilians with much needed food and medical relief: