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Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend.... -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (8445)	3/14/2005 1:35:56 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

WaPo Editor Hands China Propaganda Coup Little Green Footballs Washington Post Managing Editor Philip Bennett delivers a very useful statement to China, which they promptly feature at People’s Daily: ’I don’t think US should be the leader of the world’. (Thanks to all who emailed.) <<< Yong Tang: Since the standard is not applied equally in the world, it is damaging Bush’s effort to promote the so -called democracy, isn’t it? Bennett: It depends upon what you are trying to achieve. I guess the question I would ask is: if you look around the world in strategically important places, is the US actively engaged there promoting democracy or not? I don’t think there is much evidence that promoting democracy is what the US is doing. It is what it says it is doing. You were here in Washington DC During the Bush’s inaugural ceremony this year. During the speech Bush said quite forcefully that spreading freedom is the No. One issue for his second term. Then a day after that he backed off from that statement. He said that spreading freedom is just a long term goal, not an immediate goal of policy. So I think there is still realism that is applied to different relations. The ideologues in the Bush administration are very influential in decisions made toward Iraq and other provocative moves by the administration. But still there is a level of pragmatism that plays a role in the Bush administration’s decisions. For example, The US relations with China today is on a very pragmatic footing right now. Yong Tang: In such sense, do you think America should be the leader of the world? Bennett: No, I don’t think US should be the leader of the world. My job is helping my readers trying to understand what is happening now. What is happening now is very difficult to understand. The world is very complex. There are various complex forces occurring in it. I don’t think you can imagine a world where one country or one group of people could lead everybody else. I can’t imagine that could happen. I also think it is unhealthy to have one country as the leader of the world. People in other countries don’t want to be led by foreign countries. They may want to have good relations with it or they may want to share with what is good in that country. That is also a sort of colonial question. The world has gone through colonialism and imperialism. We have seen the danger and shortcomings of those systems. If we are heading into another period of imperialism where the US thinks itself as the leader of the area and its interest should prevail over all other interests of its neighbors and others, then I think the world will be in an unhappy period. Yong Tang: So the world order should be democratic? Bennett: Democracy means many things. How do you define democracy? As a Chinese journalist, you may have your own definition of democracy which corresponds to your history and your way of seeing the world. I may have another definition. Someone else may have their own definitions. Democracy means a lot of different things. >>> If you’ve ever wondered why US mainstream media seems so negative toward their own country, this interview with Bennett gives you a good look into the thinking behind that self-hating behavior. It’s not pretty. littlegreenfootballs.com

To: Sully- who wrote (8445)	3/17/2005 1:05:07 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

AN OPEN LETTER TO MICHAEL GETLER By Michelle Malkin March 17, 2005 05:02 AM Washington Post managing editor Philip Bennett has not yet responded to my request that he release a copy of the tape of his interview with People's Daily Online. I've just sent the following letter to Post ombudsman Michael Getler (ombudsman@washpost.com): <<< Mr. Getler: I'm sure by now you've heard about the controversial remarks that People's Daily Online attributed to Philip Bennett, your managing editor. Bennett says the interview includes "numerous and important inaccuracies," but the small portion of the transcript that he released deals with his response to only one question. Some of the quotes he has not yet disputed include the following: - "One of the jobs of our correspondents in Baghdad is to tell our readers what the Bush administration is trying to hide. Bush says democracy is advancing in Iraq, but our correspondents say the situation there is much more complex than that." - "If I were a young journalist today, figuring out where I should go to make my career, I would go to China.... I think China is the best place in the world to be an American journalist right now. " - "As you said, we are not aggressive enough in challenging and testing the statements the government is making. For me, this episode [the administration's claims that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq] is a good example of how difficult it is to independently verify the government's claims when the government is lying to you." I would like to know if Mr. Bennett really said these things, and I imagine many other Post readers would like to know as well. It is my understanding, based on Mr. Bennett's interview with Hugh Hewitt, that the People's Daily Online interview was taped. Bennett can quickly and easily set the record straight by releasing the tape and/or a transcript of the entire interview. I ask you to join me in asking Mr. Bennett to do so. Sincerely, Michelle Malkin Syndicated columnist/author www.michellemalkin.com malkin@comcast.net >>> Related: - New York Times editorial, "A Chinese journalist in peril" nytimes.com - Washington Post's managing editor speaks his mind michellemalkin.com - Reacting to Philip Bennett michellemalkin.com - Philip Bennett update michellemalkin.com Update: A few readers have contacted Getler themselves. Some were kind enough to cc me. I'll post excerpts as I receive them. Curtiss Cale: "That Mr. Bennett might assert to foreign press, without substantiation, claims that the current administration is 'hiding' information and 'lying' about Iraq, is reason enough for this matter to be addressed directly. Did Mr. Bennett really say these things? If not, a specific denial is required. If so, then substantiation of his claims is required by virtue of his position as managing editor of The Washington Post." Chris Weil: "As one of your American readers working in China, I would like to urge you to press Mr. Philip Bennett to release a full un-edited tape and transcript of his original interview with People's Daily Online. After reading the published interview from here, I grew particularly disturbed at the potential ignorance and hubris reflected in the comments of one of my own countrymen in a position of prominence and 'public service'." Randolph Stefanson: "Michelle Malkin, writing recently, advised that Mr. Bennett had failed or refused to release the entire tape or tape transcript of his conversation with People's Daily Online in order to eliminate doubt as to what was said by him in that interview. I am certain that the Post, if investigating a controversial conversation of this type would demand release of the tape. I am certain that Mr. Bennett will take the high road and release these materials so that all doubt might be resolved." David Jasmer: "How about releasing the tape of Philip Bennett's interview with People's Daily Online? By doing so, we may judge for ourselves the truth concerning the numerous and important inaccuracies Mr. Bennett attributes to the People's Daily Online. " michellemalkin.com