Are the Dearborn, MI demonstrations shown on CNN bought and paid for?

[Bozita]

Think faith-based initiatives.

The Shi'ite imam leads a crowd of 20-40 who remain in close camera focus.

The camera never pans out. Might the "crowd" be insufficient for TV coverage?

Hmmmm. People of Arabic backgrounds in Dearborn look to Project ACCESS, a social service agency, for a lot of their needs in adjusting to a new country and new ways of doing things.

Does tonight's demonstration indicate coffers more full?

Or, ...?

[LoZoccolo]

1. Why would you ask a bunch of people who really don't know? n/t

[Bobbie Jo]

2. Yeah...but are they legals?

Just wondering...

Another thought...Dearborn? Is this the only place in the U.S. rejoicing the killing?

[Bozita]

5. Dearborn's Arab population boomed in the early '90s

Mostly Shi'ite and mostly Iraqi.

Mighta had something to do with Bush the Elder encouraging Shi'ites in Iraq to overthrow their leader. GHWB never backed up his own promises, and a lot of folks died.

Iraqi Shia with money and/or connections fled. Many came to Dearborn.

The CNN videos looked to me to be remarkably similar to demonstrations in the streets of the Middle East.

The cameras would always zoom in. NEVER zoom out.

[bullimiami]

3. like the highly profiled 'demonstrations' here in miami when they thought castro

might be dying.

just a small group of people gathered in a parking lot of a restaurant, banners and p.a. and a radio station remote set up across the street.
never could they show a wide shot so you could see just how few there really were.

another manufactured 'news' event.

we had many times that number at many anti-war and anti-bush rallies but they were always played down and certainly never made national news.

[TNforDNC]

4. if this is going to be a proper conspiracy

we should include zionists.

[lettre de cachet]

6. The local news

On the Detroit local news, they reported that there were a couple hundred people. They did pan out and I think they reported correctly. Still, it was nowhere near as many as when Iraq fell or Saddam was captured.

[Bozita]

8. When the statue was toppled, the news showed video of Fordson High students ...

... heading for lunch and crossing Schaeffer to get to the fast food outlets on the east side of the street.

When they saw the cameras and helicopters, some jumped up and down.

There was some demonstrating. But there was a lot more bullshit.

[lettre de cachet]

11. Didn't know that

Ha, there's not too much difference between our media and Pravda.

[Catherine Vincent]

7. They could be Middle eastern-Americans or Muslim-American and

not necessarily Iraqi-American.

[greenman3610]

9. there are enough iraqis, I'm sure in Detroit area to turn out a small demo

even without any particular government encouragement.


Fact is, the invasion originally had large support among
the local arab population, based on "liberation", etc,
but, after a year or so, as they all started hearing from
their relatives what was really going on, that support
dried up.
Last time I looked it was down from 70-80 plus
to low 30s, that was years ago.

[bklyncowgirl]

10. No need for paying them off--if they're Shiites they're probably celebrating

He was a hero to the Sunnis, the devil to the Shiites and Kurds. I don't think we need to develop a whole conspiracy theory about people in a Shiite area dancing on the man's grave.

On the other hand I don't recall much input from the other side on CNN. The whole focus seemed to be on how happy Iraqis were that he's gone.

The problem is that other Iraqis are going to be really really pissed.