Obama administration ‘blocking’ information from the press

~ greenteeth

Obama White House makes war on free speech – via Russia Today

Now some will say this story is worthless because it comes via Russia Today and … well you can’t believe anything those nasty Russian propagandists might tell you. And if you say, “I’ll make up my own mind thanks,” these people will wave a bit on paper bearing a university seal and say, “I’ve got a PhD that proves I’m more intelligent than you, so you must defer to my wisdom.”

A few things to understand there – first, the letters PhD actually stand for Phenomenally Dumb; second, Russia Today is not like the old Soviet Union’s official newspaper Pravda, RT is funded by the Russian Government and staffed by British, American, Canadian and Australian reporters and its purpose is to provide and English language news channel that reports news the governments of western nations do not want reported and thus, governments being controlled by the same international financiers as the media, broadcast and print news will not touch.

This story, for example is not a Russia Today spin piece but comes via RT from Associated Press (AP) a highly respected news agency that is clearly getting frustrated with the control freakery of the American government, which routinely blocks access to information.

You will not have seen a word about this war on free speech and press freedom being waged by the Obama Administration in the USA and that is why we must turn to Russia Today.

The Russian government, after all, is not so stupid as to refuse to score political points by telling the truth when the truth will hurt those they want to hurt.

War On Free Speech

Uncovering information that should be available to the public has become increasingly difficult under the presidency of Barack Obama, an Associated Press bureau chief says. In some cases, it surpasses the secrecy of the George W. Bush administration.

The White House’s penchant for secrecy does not just apply to the federal government, according to AP’s Washington bureau chief, Sally Buzbee. During a joint meeting of news editors, she stated that the same kind of behavior is starting to appear in state and local governments.

Buzbee pointed out eight ways that the Obama administration is stifling public access to information – including keeping reporters away from witnessing any military action the United States takes as it battles Islamic State extremists in the Middle East.

“The public can’t see any of it,” Buzbee said, referring to the military campaign. “News organizations can’t shoot photos or video of bombers as they take off – there are no embeds. In fact, the administration won’t even say what country the [US] bombers fly from.”

She also expressed frustration with the government’s handling of the upcoming 9/11 trial, during which journalists are prohibited from looking at even non-classified court filings in real time.

“We don’t know what prosecutors are asking for, or what defense attorneys are arguing,” she said.

Meanwhile, basic information about the prison complex in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is being withheld from the public, despite the fact that the Bush administration freely shared this data. The media is unable to learn how many inmates are on hunger strike in the infamous prison, or how frequently assaults on guards take place.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have become harder than ever to process, Buzbee added. Government officials often fail to do so unless media outlets bring a lawsuit to bear.

READ MORE: National security reporter shared drafts with CIA press office, emails reveal

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