Sean and David Goldman/NY Dailynews
Little things mean a lot and CNN recently did a piece on the return of Sean Goldman to his father and their return to the United States. The Goldman's first stop is going to be Orlando where David Goldman is going to take his son to Disney World.
Frederica Whitfield reporting on the return of Sean Goldman questioned Ines Ferre, the correspondent covering the return and Whitfield opened the interview wanting to know the answer to what she seemed to think was a very perplexing question that she wanted the correspondent to answer.
Given all that's happened in the Goldman case, the angst, the five years of legal wrangling, the fact that a trade agreement between the U.S. and Brazil and been held up in the senate because of it, and after reporting that David and Sean Goldman upon reaching the US were going to make their first at Disney World, the question the CNN anchor felt she needed an answer to was, "Why Disney"?
Let's see. Nine year old boy, separated from his father for 5 years in a foreign country, after years of legal delays is finally reunited with his father, father picks him up in Brazil, returns to the U.S. and the first thing he does is take son to Disney World. Strange isnt it? We're lucky to have such incisive journalists at CNN who know how to get right to the heart of a news story.
Great question Federica ( guests on news shows always say "great question" even when the question is the dumbest, stupidest most inane question anyone could ask. Think they figure flattery will get them everywhere?)
Its always important to point out the degree of stupidity that seems to drive the mainstream media and how far beneath the intelligence of the people they are reporting to they really are. Its important because its really impossible to trust them to get things right or to rely on them on more important matters like health care reform, the economy and war.
It was this kind of gross negligence that has shaped the country because it was this kind of negligence that was so apparent during the Democratic primaries and presidential campaign when it was clear the media was in Obama's pocket.
The fact that Whitfield felt that David Goldman taking his son to Disney World needed clarifying, needed an explanation, and it was the first question she asked, ought to be what CNN looks at when they see their sagging ratings ( which they are).
And though Im not in the habit of giving free advice to giant companies like CNN,( I much prefer they pay for it), the next time they try and figure out what to do in order to boost their ratings, I suggest they try something other than changing the set.
By the way, during the same broadcast CNN reported ( in exactly this language) "Military drops ban on US soldiers getting pregnant".
Actually there never was a ban on soldiers getting pregnant. What we all know what they meant: the military was reversing its decision to court martial soldiers who get pregnant in a war zone. But the morons who write the news and the editors who approve it, couldn't seem to find exactly the right words to get the story straight. Nice.
In terms of accuracy maybe someone can convince the National Enquirer to start covering world and domestic affairs instead of Tiger Woods' and Jennifer Aniston's.
Comments
I was wondering why Disney too.
what I really wonder is how there can be so many heartless people who don't care about the child's feelings and just see him a a prize won in a battle. It's disgusting.
gee, Santa must have left you a lump of coal--lighten up, can't you? Is this even what the Obama Administration Examiner is supposed to be writing about--let alone pushing so hard to convince us that he's so much smarter than the paid and trained reporters on a national news network
This writer got it exactly right. We should all be concerned about the quality of news coverage and commend not condemn people who critique it. Just because he doesn't work for a major network it doesn't mean he can't have an informed opinion.
GoodManWhoCares:
David Goldman doesn't consider Sean a "prize" but instead considers him his beloved son.
Do not worry. Sean will return to Brazil because the truth is always greater than the fantasy. David Goldman is a parasite. TV, Hilary Clinton and Chris Smith are paying the expenses of David Goldman
First off, nbc helped david and sena get back to the USA,second it was planned to go to orlanod to get away from news media for awhile so sean could adjust with his dad and be happy as a child after all this for yrs,i find it disgusting the first post, no sena will not be back in brazil any time soon i bet you that, his granmonster and stepmonster did enough damage to the child,he needs to now be happy with his dad and family and enjoy life, i bet when his stepmonster rushed him through media which was planned,that once david and sena were "wheels up" sean felt freedom and love,so leave it alone, leave them alone, cnn are a bunch of morons who ask stupid questions.
Re: Jo
David Goldman does not work and the Goldman family has never offered a penny to feed Sean. David Goldman stole one hundred thousand dollars from the mother of Sean. David Goldman is gigolo. Reality is always greater than the fantasy.
THE TRUTH???? The truth is David Goldman’s first legal double standard was in October 2005 when the Brazilian courts stated that Sean was taken illegally but he had to stay in Brazil. What is a father to do? Forget he had a child? Give up on his son? Never!
David has fought long and hard to be reunited with his son. He was bullied by a Brazilian family with money and connections. The Lin e Silva family paraded Sean down the street as a prized possession – a true demonstration of a family’s love? I think not! If the Lin e Silva’s really loved Sean they would have protected him to the ends of the earth. That is what David is doing. He is giving Sean time to adjust to life in the USA and securing his privacy.
I also wondered about the Disney thing, since Sean must have been exhausted after the long flight from Rio. But then again, I am not in favor of how this turned out. Sean was NOT unhappy in his Brazilian family, and they are good people (I live in Rio).
Just to clear up, once again, what happened at the American Consulate: the Lins e Silva family were not given permission to enter the garage...the Consulate never contacted them about this, and you need permission to enter the garage, so they parked in the street. The press has used this as another way to attack Sean's Brazilian family, who have loved and cared for him for most of his life.
I'm Brazilian and I will tell you this: the Lins e Silva and Biachi were given permission to enter the private garage, but preferred the midia circus to call attention. They are selfish and manipulative. I'm happy David got his son back!
what do you expect from an industry that "intelectuals" like katie couric are represented as their poster children? keith olbermann was runner up!
First, families Bianchi and L. Silva are not rich. They live by honest work. Men like David Goldman are new to the world? And the tragedy of the daughter of Marlon Brando?
Dismayed by some of these comments. David Goldman sacrificed his career to work full time at getting his son back. How could he afford all the flights - missed work - hotel expenses - legal fees if he didn't get some assistance from NBC. David's tv interviews have been handled very well - he was clearly using publicity to help get Sean back and it worked beautifully.
It is immaterial that Sean may have been happy with his stepfather. That man had no rights to Sean and used his corrupt political connections to try to keep him. I truly never thought that Brazil would ever do the right thing and return Sean to his father and am thrilled that it happened.
I am certainly not going to criticize a trip to Disney. It is a terrific way for father and son to renew their relationship.
Clearly some of these posters are incapable of empathy. Oh yeah - welcome to the internet.
if my child was taken away by a mate, to another country where i couldnt speak the language, and then that awful mate didnt return my son or tell me when he or she was coming back, and instead got a quickie divorce, married someone else, had a baby and died in childbirth of that baby..........how the heck is my child PART of the new huband's family suddenly? That is just ridiculous....that brazilian family thought they could pull it off.. but DNA speaks louder tha
To Evelyn Martinelli:
LOL, what makes you think that Sean will return to Brazil anytime soon? His stepfather had no right to keep him from his father, and David Goldman sure as Hell isn't going to let his son go after trying for 5 years to get him back.
As an adopted child who does know biodad, I shudder at what this child has been put through. I suffered the loss of my adopted dad as a teen, but thankfully back in those days, no monster would have thought to take me away from my home after the loss of a parent. I love my bio dad and my adopted dad (rest his soul). I was allowed to finish my childhood with mainly maternal relatives without being subjected to what Sean was. I have good relations with all my relatives because of this. I feel that I have a unique take on the issue as one who was in a similar situation, but I had a father who cared about my feelings.
In response to Evelyn Martinelli's comment above, the lawyer for the Lin e Silva family stated that they purposely chose to make the exchange a public spectacle to show their disapproval of the ruling. The embassy also notified the attorney about the option to conduct the exchange in a secure area. The Lin e Silva family continue to demonstrate their years of abuse of Sean to the last minute. Question: Were you paid by the Lin e Silva family to write your comment, or are you clueless?
As an adopted child who does know biodad, I shudder at what this child has been put through. I suffered the loss of my adopted dad as a teen, but thankfully back in those days, no monster would have thought to take me away from my home after the loss of a parent. I love my bio dad and my adopted dad (rest his soul). I was allowed to finish my childhood with mainly maternal relatives without being subjected to what Sean was. I have good relations with all my relatives because of this. I feel that I have a unique take on the issue as one who was in a similar situation, but I had a father who cared about my feelings.
To Evelyn Martinelli - time to either get on or off the meds, baby! Screw that Brazilian family- they will gwt what they deserve for child abduction. The mother already did,
As an adopted child who does know biodad, I shudder at what this child has been put through. I suffered the loss of my adopted dad as a teen, but thankfully back in those days, no monster would have thought to take me away from my home after the loss of a parent. I love my bio dad and my adopted dad (rest his soul). I was allowed to finish my childhood with mainly maternal relatives without being subjected to what Sean was. I have good relations with all my relatives because of this. I feel that I have a unique take on the issue as one who was in a similar situation, but I had a father who cared about my feelings.
Poor kid. He's been back in the states for two days and his father has chosen to sell his privacy to the highest bidder.
Who the hell are you "Evil-yn Martinelli?" You don't know David Goldman.How dare you call him a gigilo and say he doesn't work. Every time he tried to send anything to his son, it was returned to sender. The Bianchi's would have led Sean to believe David didn't care if they had their way. Obviously David didn't let that happen and fought for his son to the bitter, pathetic end. The way they chose to parade Sean through the streets was blatent child abuse. You obviously are talking out of something other than your mouth, everything you posted is completely inaccurate.Obviously the court system, government, all authoritive figures who determined Sean be with David disagree with how you feel. So YOU better start facing reality, and all you other fools making comments about David. SEAN IS WITH HIS FATHER NOW! Stop Hating. THis is the REALITY. Face it!
Bravo Marc!!! I get it!!! It appears though that most of your commenters didn't. O.K. listen up commenters, and I'll let you in on a little secret!! This is NOT a piece about the Goldmans, the kidnapping, the Brazilian family OR Brazil. Now, it IS an article about how poorly the mainstream media report on the news, how little they understand about the subject they are reporting about, and how they confuse the public they report to instead of informing them. I do have to disagree with one thing you said Marc. "Its always important to point out the degree of stupidity that seems to drive the mainstream media and how far beneath the intelligence of the people they are reporting to they really are." Given the comments on this page, I think they are reporting ABOVE the intelligence of most of their audience. The rest of us are at a disadvantage if we REALLY want to know what's going on in the world, presented in a logical and coherent manner. Thank God for the internet and people like you.
LOL! yeah, I agree with you. I think it goes along with the dumbing down of America, which is sad.
This story is NBC's. CNN is sorta distant and don't understand it very well. Why Disney? Well, why not? I'm Brazilian and I'd love to visit Disney world, even at 44.
This story is NBC's. CNN is sorta distant and they don't understand it very well. Why Disney? Well, why not? I'm Brazilian and I'd love to visit Disney world, even at 44.
I'm amazed at some of the ignorance reflected in these posts. If I took a child from someone and keep it for 5 years, loved & raised it as my own, even though I have no legal right to it, but the kid is really happy with me, should this fact preclude the parent to whom the child rightfully belongs from having his/her child? Unbelievable.
As for David Goldman selling his son's privacy to the highest bidder, I don't see that he has done so. If not for NBC, this case may never have gotten the worldwide attention it did. I believe that in all probability, David Goldman will be an advocate for parents who are in situations similar to his and with the benefit of his unfortunate experience, he is in the unique position of having an understanding of what these parents are going through and could be instrumental in bringing other children back home to their parents from whom they were taken away in violation of international law.
This sentence makes no sense, does anyone proofread these articles?:
Given all that's happened in the Goldman case, the angst, the five years of legal wrangling, the fact that a trade agreement between the U.S. and Brazil and been held up in the senate because of it, and after reporting that David and Sean Goldman upon reaching the US were going to make their first at Disney World, the question the CNN anchor felt she needed an answer to was, "Why Disney"?
Marc, thanks for this post. Not only is CNN brain dead over the Goldman case (kept reporting it as a "custody battle" rather than an international kidnapping, for example), but CBS has done a very inept and biased job of reporting this story.
Hilda is wrong that the Lins e Silva family was not given permission to enter the garage at the consulate, as reported in Globo Post by Seth Kugel.
NBC gets it. I mean NBC understands what this story is about - the father of a kidnapped child trying to recover his child. I had written about the media coverage [the good, the bad and the ugly] in depth on my Blog Updates in Michigan Family Law. You'll have to Google that and use the David & Sean Goldman archives to find these two most recent posts since no URLs are allowed here.
This is as silly as saying "never mind, Mr. Goldman is a grown-up guy... he´ll adjust without his son". Pretentious much... people are in God mode here describing Sean's feelings. Sure! Let's take the kid to Disneyland and take some happy pictures. Taking away the baby from the father was horrendous, now subtracting the kid from the family... "they'll adapt". Double standard people is expected to make naive contradictions.
What you may fail to realize is that... ever since we "elected" Obama, there are no international kidnappings. Or terrorist attacks. Cuz the whole world loves us now!
Yep. That's right.
Ask CNN.
I've also noticed that CNN is quick to credit Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Hillary Clinton (D) as playing meaningful roles in the boy's return, and completely disregarding the work of Congressman Chris Smith (R) who travelled to Brazil several times with Goldman and was Goldman's strongest advocate, probably because of Smith's unwavering pro-life stance, which isn't just about abortion, but about fighting human rights violations and uniting families. Typical.
I think the trip to Disney World was a very appropriate way for David to ease Sean into his return to the United States. I read that David's siblings and their children were also there. It sounds to me like a wonderful way to re-introduce Sean to his family in the United States and to start the bonding process.
This case is full of mysteries and lies. One of the keys is no longer secret because Mr David Goldman said in an interview that has the syndrome Guillian-Barre syndrome. In addition, Mrs. Bianca died of a mysterious illness. Is there any relation of Guillain-Barre syndrome with HIV?
The brazilian arogant, disgusting family wants to go to court again?
I wish I would be able to contact Mr. Goldman and beg him to keep them far away from his child.
As for the idiots who criticize him for "selling" his son to NBC
are they aware that the poor father is in big financial debt because what the mother and her family put him through for 5 years?
He should write a book and get milions, he deserves it !
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