Its gets more surreal by the day. Does Condoleezza Rice really think she is honoring Edward R. Murrow, or is this yet a new, heretofore unplumbed depth of craven cynical manipulation of history and principle for propaganda exploitation by this regime. What’s next, George Bush giving out George Orwell Integrity In Journalism Awards to Fox, or Donald Rumsfeld bestowing the Gen. Smedley Butler Award for achievements in selfless military and government service?

Amid undenied charges that the Pentagon is paying Iraqi journalists to write “good news” stories about the country’s progress, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has announced a new international exchange program for journalists named for famed broadcaster Edward R. Murrow and emphasizing “the democratic principles that guided Mr. Murrow’s practice of his craft - integrity and ethics and courage and social responsibility”.

“We all know that the bedrock pillar of a free society is a free press and that it is crucial for the foundation of any democracy,” Rice said.

The new initiative - The Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program - is a partnership of the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the non-partisan Aspen Institute, and the journalism schools of six US universities.

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