Arnaud de Borchgrave's stinging criticism of the US media is worth a read, IMO.
>>For 10 years following the end of the Cold War, three administrations
(including two Clinton terms) saw only the global triumph of democratic
capitalism. Unbeknownst to the media, globalization became shorthand
for American economic and cultural imperialism for countless millions, not
only in the developing world, but also in developed European countries,
from Seattle two years ago to Genoa last July. Anti-capitalist
demonstrations were duly noted, but the dots were never connected to
the forces that now lionize bin Laden.
For most of the developing world, it was still a matter of how to put food
on the family table, not twice or three times but once a day. Muslim
clerics from Indonesia to Pakistan, the world's two most populous Islamic
states, and from Egypt to Morocco, tell their impoverished flocks that
America lives in the lap of luxury thanks to the sweat of their brow. And
to add insult to injury, they say that America is supplying billions of dollars
worth of military hardware to Israel to keep the Palestinians enslaved.
All the ingredients for the Clash of Civilizations, posited by Prof Samuel
Huntington in his famous book, have slowly hardened without the
ever-alert mass media machine taking notice. <<
More at:
atimes.com
De Borchgrave's "The Spike," written during the Cold War, about how news stories don't get printed, is well written, I think. |
