Applauding Bob Costas

[dfw2sfo]

I was pleased to read that Bob Costas refused to fill in for Larry King because the topics to cover included the girl who disappeared in Aruba. People are killed, get kidnapped, are raped every day and this one deserves so much national attention? It is tragic for this family but the wall to wall coverage is excessive.

[doggies]

most people i know are sick and tired of her story ...her family...especially..jug twitty....please tell me..what morally upright..church going mamas girl would leave a bar with three strangers...sounds like she liked the gang and the bang...innocent my ass......:7

[JT Brooklyn]

The "Larry King Show" has just about run it's course. They are now down to Celebrating the Birthdays of People who died 20 years ago. So continuing to cover a story,almost 3 mos old makes sense to them. It's a Sad story all around, with not a solution in site! But CNN just doesn't have anyone to replace his show with. So HIS show will get progressively more and more Boring! Some guys go out with Style like J. Carson, J. Lenno... BUT King wants to be carried out, which will probably happen.. IMHO.. CNN is just getting "plain dull", with all the Women they have on the air now. "Bill Hemmer" splitting didn't help their cause either. LOL :+

[Chairmans Pig]

>"Bill Hemmer" splitting didn't

>help their cause either. LOL :+

 

I saw Bill Hemmer in a NY restaurant a couple weeks back (Cru). Not as good looking in person as he is on TV.

 

CP

[sdgaypornfan]

I agree with doggies...

[TRAVLINLOT]

>most people i know are sick and tired of her story ...her

>family...especially..jug twitty....please tell me..what

>morally upright..church going mamas girl would leave a bar

>with three strangers...sounds like she liked the gang and the

>bang...innocent my ass......:7

 

A very tragic thing to happen to anyone. Amazing how the media only reports on white, affluent families...... its surprising how these horrible things don't happen to the poor, non church going, minority, non-white people. Yea sure!

[ErikMcAlister]

>its

>surprising how these horrible things don't happen to the poor,

>non church going, minority, non-white people. Yea sure!

 

Do such families generally find themselves able to send their children to Aruba for post-graduation celebration?

 

BTW, I'm sick of the Natalee coverage as well, but the 'it happens to poor black folk!' comment just strikes me as untenable.

[JT Brooklyn]

TRAVL..True.. another example is the "Honeymooner" who went over the side of the Cruise ship. He also fits the "White & Wealthy", let's see how long we can Play this Story out Scenario! I guess the War we are in and the loss of lives, isn't enuff to justify what the "News Media etc" think is worthy of our attention everyday! :+

[Doug69]

>BTW, I'm sick of the Natalee coverage as well, but the 'it

>happens to poor black folk!' comment just strikes me as

>untenable.

 

There's a pretty simple reason why the media keeps showing this over and over - it's what people want to watch. The Greta Van Sustern Show has apparently focused exclusively on this story for months and has, as a result, achieved record ratings. If people are interested in pretty, young white girls who get abducted and killed on tropical islands but are not interested in ghetto slayings over drugs, that is hardly the fault of the media.

 

And all this hand-wringing over what people want to watch is a bit silly. Huge numbers of people in our society prefer to fritter away their time thinking and talking about totally frivolous matters.

 

Anyone who reads this Board even casually should be well aware of that. Coming to this Board to lament that attention is paid to frivolous, irrelevant chatter is like going to a Food Forum and complaining that there's so much attention being paid to cooking.

 

Isn't it Suzanne Sommers' birthday today? And god, Jake Gyllenhal is so hot; I MET HIM ONCE!! And I LOVED that episode of QUEER AS FOLK! What kind of jock straps do you like twinks to wear? Can you believe those idiots who want to talk more about something as petty as Natalee Holloway?

[woodlawn]

>Anyone who reads this Board even casually should be well aware

>of that. Coming to this Board to lament that attention is

>paid to frivolous, irrelevant chatter is like going to a Food

>Forum and complaining that there's so much attention being

>paid to cooking.

 

I must agree. It's absurd that the corporate media spend so much time focusing on stories like the Aruba disappearance and the Runaway Bride that have absolutely nothing to do with the lives of most Americans, while stories that have a profound effect on people's lives -- like our trade relationship with China -- get much less coverage. But it's silly for the same people who spend their time posting about trivia here to complain about the media's obsession with trivia, is it not?

[Guest JohnPela]

>

>>Anyone who reads this Board even casually should be well

>aware

>>of that. Coming to this Board to lament that attention is

>>paid to frivolous, irrelevant chatter is like going to a

>Food

>>Forum and complaining that there's so much attention being

>>paid to cooking.

>

>I must agree. It's absurd that the corporate media spend so

>much time focusing on stories like the Aruba disappearance and

>the Runaway Bride that have absolutely nothing to do with the

>lives of most Americans, while stories that have a profound

>effect on people's lives -- like our trade relationship with

>China -- get much less coverage. But it's silly for the same

>people who spend their time posting about trivia here to

>complain about the media's obsession with trivia, is it not?

 

I agree with the above: If anyone does not want to have such above stories continuously on the news then you have to stop listening, reading or watching such news stories. People lamented about Princess Diana's death but previous to that sure couldn't get enough of the revealing pics and stories about her personal life. The media will concentrate on these sort of stories as long as there is public demand for it.

[curious2000]

But it's silly for the same

>people who spend their time posting about trivia here to

>complain about the media's obsession with trivia, is it not?

 

This is quite a silly and hypocritical statement coming from someone who did the exact same thing on the "other" messege board ( on the ezboard escortspeak messege board). For those of you who didn't see it, here is the exact topic started by woodlawn:

 

P. Diddy changes name to Poop Doody

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually I have no idea what P. Diddy's new name is -- I merely saw a headline on one of the news sites I visit stating that he had announced a name change. I have never claimed to have a good understanding of Hip Hop culture, and I find much of what Hip Hop artists say and do to be grotesque or ridiculous. When I first heard that there was an artist named "Snoop Doggy Dog" I thought it was a joke. The same is true when I first heard of "Puff Daddy." When I heard an announcement that Puffy Combs was changing his name to "P. Diddy," I checked the calendar to make sure it wasn't April Fools Day.

 

I can't imagine what the new moniker will be, although I am fairly sure it won't be anything remotely conventional. I would welcome suggestions, however, and will award a valuable prize to whomever comes closest. And no fair peaking to find out!

 

My guess would be Poopy Pimp, since that is the silliest thing I can think of offhand.

 

_______________

 

why are you complaining about others on this site for doing the exact same thing you did on that site?What is the difference whether it's here in the Lounge or in the General Discussion forum on EscortSpeak? how do you explain that? Or are you just proving you are just as silly as any of the others are who waste time posting about trivia, and then made to look even more ridiculous by complaining about others who do the exact same thing you do?

:-)

[trilingual]

Since I now spend half the year in Brazil I've gotten used to watching BBC World and CNN International for TV news, in addition to the local newscasts. Both BBC World and CNNI's news programs are professional, straightforward, ungimmicky, and substantial. In the U.S. I'd tended to give up on CNN, but CNN's Headline News was somewhat tolerable. No more. Formats have changed, and both CNNs now spend even more time on freeway car chases and run-of-the-mill crimes than ever, and virtually no time on any real news. It must attract viewers, or they wouldn't do it. It makes we reach for the remote to switch it off! There's obviously a deliberate plan to dumb down America, because the new shows and most TV shows there have becomemore mindless than ever. It's no wonder that BushCo can pull the wool over so many Americans' eyes -- they no longer have enough clues to be able to question whqat they're watching or being told. If this is what the U.S. is turning into, it will rue the day. . . Hopefully I'll be dead by then! :-(

[BewareofNick]

> Hopefully I'll be dead

>by then! :-(

 

From your mouth to God's ears, Granny.

[woodlawn]

> But it's silly for the same

>>people who spend their time posting about trivia here to

>>complain about the media's obsession with trivia, is it not?

 

>This is quite a silly and hypocritical statement coming from

>someone who did the exact same thing on the "other" messege

>board

 

No, it isn't.

 

>why are you complaining about others on this site for doing

>the exact same thing you did on that site?What is the

>difference whether it's here in the Lounge or in the General

>Discussion forum on EscortSpeak? how do you explain that?

 

For those capable of reading English, the explanation is quite simple. I did not start a thread here (or anywhere else) to complain about the corporate media's obsession with these "damsel in distress" stories. If I had done so it would be appropriate to say of me, as it is appropriate to say of those who did so, that it is silly to complain about the very same thing one does oneself. Does that clear it up for you?

[Doug69]

>There's obviously a deliberate plan

>to dumb down America, because the new shows and most TV shows

>there have becomemore mindless than ever.

 

Right, and this is in sharp contrast to Brazil, where most Brazilians spend hour after hour watching television programs featuring quantum physics, lofty debates about competing philosophies of liberty, and documentaries exploring various esoteric economic theories. They never spend their time watching inane soap operas, soccer matches, or the WB Channel, and the newspapers they read don't feature anything tawdry or sleazy at all - only hard, important, dignified news.

 

It's only in the U.S. where the vast majority of the population sits around consuming junk entertainment and junk news. The rest of the world is much more elevated and intelligent than the stupid, fat, lazy Americans - everyone knows that.

[Rick Munroe]

Derek and I cancelled our cable account last year and we don't miss it at all. I don't know a single fact about the Aruba story other than that a girl is missing or dead in Aruba. It's very liberating. :7

[woodlawn]

> There's obviously a deliberate plan

>to dumb down America, because the new shows and most TV shows

>there have becomemore mindless than ever.

 

The only "plan" the corporate media have is to make money. If they found that stories about America's trade relationship with China got high ratings, they would talk about it 24 hours a day.

 

> It's no wonder that

>BushCo can pull the wool over so many Americans' eyes

 

And how is it that Brazil's president, "Lula" da Silva, manages to pull the wool over the eyes of the people in that country? Isn't he enmeshed in a huge corruption scandal and threatened with impeachment?

[Doug69]

>And how is it that Brazil's president, "Lula" da Silva,

>manages to pull the wool over the eyes of the people in that

>country? Isn't he enmeshed in a huge corruption scandal and

>threatened with impeachment?

 

Funny that you mention that. Basically, the top and middle echelon of Lula's entire party has been revealed as fundamentally corrupt - receiving bribes for basic governmental actions, paying other parties to vote a certain way, lying about it all and covering it up. Even Lula's closest aide has had to resign in disgrace. Lula's only options are: (a) admit that he knew about all of this corruption in his party apparatus and was therefore himself corrupt or (b) claim ignorance of everything going on in front of his nose and therefore seem stupid and incompetent.

 

He has chosen (b), and despite the fact that his party and his government are collapsing around him, support for Lula has remained steady. That's because the population is consumed with watching soap operas and soccer matches and reading in newspapers about celebrities and gruesome, sensational crimes - y'know, exactly what Trilingual just said was happening only in the U.S.

 

I like this Board because it's such a clear microcosm of everything around us - people obsessed with their petty, irrelevant distractions at the expense of anything that matters. Only someone who has real psychological problems would try to claim that these afflictions exist only in one country, even while it is going on as potently as possible right under their big, old nose in the country they never-endingly attempt to glorify.

[curious2000]

>> But it's silly for the same

>>>people who spend their time posting about trivia here to

>>>complain about the media's obsession with trivia, is it not?

>

>

>>This is quite a silly and hypocritical statement coming

>from

>>someone who did the exact same thing on the "other" messege

>>board

>

>No, it isn't.

>

>>why are you complaining about others on this site for doing

>>the exact same thing you did on that site?What is the

>>difference whether it's here in the Lounge or in the General

>>Discussion forum on EscortSpeak? how do you explain that?

>

>For those capable of reading English, the explanation is quite

>simple. I did not start a thread here (or anywhere else) to

>complain about the corporate media's obsession with these

>"damsel in distress" stories. If I had done so it would be

>appropriate to say of me, as it is appropriate to say of those

>who did so, that it is silly to complain about the very same

>thing one does oneself. Does that clear it up for you?

 

No, it does not clear it up. The only thing it clears up is that you refuse to accept you are a hypocrite and continue to look ridiculous. You did indeed complain about the media's obsession with trivial topics while posting about trivial topics yourself ( while not on this site, but on the other site) so therefore you are just as silly.

[woodlawn]

>No, it does not clear it up. The only thing it clears up is

>that you refuse to accept you are a hypocrite and continue to

>look ridiculous. You did indeed complain about the media's

>obsession with trivial topics while posting about trivial

>topics yourself

 

You are lying. I merely agreed with Doug's comments. And the use of the word "hypocrite" is not appropriate from someone like you, who showed up here to spread rumors about Devon's incarceration in a mental hospital in what you called your "Christiane Amanpour moment" while at the same time you pretended to be concerned about Devon's welfare.

[curious2000]

>

>>No, it does not clear it up. The only thing it clears up is

>>that you refuse to accept you are a hypocrite and continue

>to

>>look ridiculous. You did indeed complain about the media's

>>obsession with trivial topics while posting about trivial

>>topics yourself

>

>You are lying. I merely agreed with Doug's comments. And the

>use of the word "hypocrite" is not appropriate from someone

>like you, who showed up here to spread rumors about Devon's

>incarceration in a mental hospital in what you called your

>"Christiane Amanpour moment" while at the same time you

>pretended to be concerned about Devon's welfare.

 

You are just wrong agian. You can't grasp the irony and hypocrisy of what you yourself wrote. Your agreement with Doug's comments that the media is too obsessed with trivia, and that you find it silly that posters who post topics about trivial matters and then complain about it when the media reports about trivial matters is just "hypocritical" because you did the exact same thing! Your use of they word "lying" in not appropriate in this situation, as you do not know me and how I really feel about Devon. Sadly, most all of the rumors and concerns expressed by myself and many others all ended up being real and true. Another thing you refuse to believe is that I was genuinely concerned for a fellow human being. I was not pretending anything, so therefore your statement that I was is a "lie". Since you must have spent time researching the archives about my past posts in order to dredge all this up again speaks volumes about you. How sad that you have nothing better to do. I think the readers here can read english and can make up their own minds about how silly and ridiculous you keep making yourself look

 

I think you are just pissed off and embarrassed because I outed you for posting about a "trivial" silly topic on the other site.When others have done the same thing before on this site, you usually ridicule them about being so surface and boring and not posting about deep, insightful ,or what you think is interesting subject matter. I don't blame you for being pissed off. You seem to want to always appear superior to the rest of us and only capable of posting about non-trivial topics. Now, you appear to be guilty of the same thing and no better than the rest of us who somtimes want to post about a t.v. show or some celebrity we think is hot or what P.Diddy's new name might be.

 

So, my point is that you are still just as silly as those you call silly.

[Guest alanm]

I was in Europe on 9/11/01 and the following two weeks as well as the day of the 7/7/05 London bombings and several days after. I watched CNN Internation and BBC World throughout both of those tragedies, mostly early in the morning and late at night.

 

There's no question that the converage of these two major events was timely, conprehensive and serious. Yes, the same stories were run over and over, but that is to be expected when news channels decide to suspend all other coverage. I arrived in Europe on the day after the Michael Jackson verdict (6/14/05), which thankfully received almost no coverage on either channel. To be fair, glances at the local news channels in most European countries show that the US is about where everyone else is, perhaps even a little ahead with the exception of Germany and the U.K.

 

If your point is that the US could do better, you need to admit that this country is not alone especially when compared to Brazilian TV. On my last visit to Rio I was wishing for a funny and intelligent "I Love Lucy" rerun, anything was better than the crap on my TV.

 

There's plenty to knock about the US, and you never miss a chance to just that. It has long since gotten old.

[Doug69]

>You are just wrong agian. You can't grasp the irony and

>hypocrisy of what you yourself wrote. Your agreement with

>Doug's comments that the media is too obsessed with trivia, . . .

 

I'm not intervening here to defend anyone, only to point out that you are distorting what I wrote completely in order to make your point against Woodlawn.

 

I did NOT – as you claim - post to complain "that the media is too obsessed with trivia." To the contrary, I defended the media's fixation on trivia by pointing out that they do this because this is what people obviously want to see.

 

I then noted the irony that this complaint about the media's obsession with trivial matters (such as the Natalee Holloway garbage) is being voiced - of all places - on this Board, where the vast majority of participants talk about nothing and want to talk about nothing other than the most painfully trivial matters imaginable.

 

Therefore, by agreeing with my comments, Woodlawn did NOT complain about the media's fixation on trivial issues, because I did not complain about that.

 

Since your entire accusation of hypocrisy against him rests on your assertion that he complained about the media's fixation on trivial matters (only to thereafter himself talk about trivial matters), I think you owe him an apology.

 

Sadly, most all of the

>rumors and concerns expressed by myself and many others all

>ended up being real and true. Another thing you refuse to

>believe is that I was genuinely concerned for a fellow human

>being.

 

Sadly, I remember your reprehensible behavior regarding Devon all too well. Unlike Woodlawn, I liked Devon and would even go so far as to have considered myself a friend of his at the time. I spoke with him several times privately during his meltdown and never once posted about those conversations or anything else that I knew about him on this Board, because doing so would so obviously be harmful to him.

 

I recall vividly during this time how disgusted I was by people who came to this Board in the middle of his quite serious crises in order to gossip and spread rumors PUBLICLY about him, and was even more disgusted when the people engaged in this base rumor-mongering did it while pretending to be concerned for his welfare, as though it helps someone in the middle of a meltdown to have people come to a public message Board and excitedly post rumors about their personal problems.

 

I don't think this behavior has much to do with the point you raised with Woodlawn, except that it reveals that you’re probably not the best person to be doling out lectures about hypocrisy. A person who pretends to be concerned about someone while publicly spreading destructive, invasive rumors about them for fun should probably spend time focused on their own hypocrisy rather than on the hypocrisy of others.

[curious2000]

>

>I don't think this behavior has much to do with the point you

>raised with Woodlawn, except that it reveals that you’re

>probably not the best person to be doling out lectures about

>hypocrisy.

 

 

LOL, oh, but you and Woodlawn are qualified to dole out lectures about hypocrisy? yeah riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

 

A person who pretends to be concerned about

>someone while publicly spreading destructive, invasive rumors

>about them for fun should probably spend time focused on their

>own hypocrisy rather than on the hypocrisy of others.

 

I don't spread rumors for "fun" or pretend to be concerned about anything no matter how much you want to believe otherwise. I was engaged in a topic not started by me about Devon's ordeal. And you failed to mention I also apologized back then for any comments I made that may have been hurtful to Devon. I owed Devon an aplogy and gave it.

 

I don't owe Woodlawn or you an apology for anything I wrote about the irony of Woodlawn's agreement with your comments about how people should not complain about trivial topics in the media while posting about trivial matters themselves. The readers can make up thier own mind about it.