As we here in Thailand witness the "CEO" of the country authorise the
slaying of 100's of "Muslim separatists" (who he discarded as
"mindless" narcotic-using teenagers), I find, again, the media machine
to be a completely confusing tool. Statistics (from David's report)
mean nothing. What is chosen as "news of the day" is far from
representative. And a small report I read a few days ago that the
Jordanian government foiled "Al Quaeda" attempts to use chemical
weapons that had the potential to kill 20,000 people goes ignored.
The machinery rumbles on.
David wrote (and I am still not at liberty to receive this direct from
the list):
Following the call of Mike to move to more contemporary issues. I read
today in Haaretz:
"Remember Falluja
By Orit Shohat
During the first two weeks of this month, the American army committed
war crimes in Falluja on a scale unprecedented for this war. According
to the relatively few media reports of what took place there, some 600
Iraqis were killed during these two weeks, among them some 450 elderly
people, women and children.
The sight of decapitated children, the rows of dead women and the
shocking pictures of the soccer stadium that was turned into a
temporary grave for hundreds of the slain - all were broadcast to the
world only by the Al Jazeera network. During the operation in Falluja,
according to the organization Doctors Without Borders, U.S. Marines
even occupied the hospitals and prevented hundreds of the wounded from
receiving medical treatment. Snipers fired from the rooftops at anyone
who tried to approach.
This was a retaliatory operation, carried out by the Marines,
accompanied by F-16 fighter planes and assault helicopters, under the
code name "Vigilant Resolve." It was revenge for the killing of four
American security guards on March 31. But while the killing of the
guards, whose bodies were dragged through the streets of the city and
then hung from a bridge, received wide media coverage, and thus
prepared hearts and minds for the military revenge, the hundreds of
victims of the American retaliation were practically a military secret.
The only conclusion that has been drawn thus far from the
indiscriminate killing in Falluja is the expulsion of Al Jazeera from
the city. Since the start of the war, the Americans have persecuted
the network's journalists - not because they report lies, but because
they are virtually the only ones who manage to report the truth. The
Bush administration, in cooperation with the American media, is trying
to hide the sights of war from the world, and particularly from
American voters."
At the same time CNN publishes today:
"Iraqis polled: War did more harm than good but worth it
Nearly half the Iraqis polled in a survey conducted primarily in March
and early April said they believed the U.S.-led war had done more harm
than good, but 61 percent of respondents said Saddam Hussein's ouster
made it worth any hardships. Iraqi interviewers polled 3,444 residents
between March 22 and April 9."
Am I missing something here?! What is a rumor and what is a truth? How
should we behave as world citizens and CHAT theorists now? I read at
CNN also that Ted Koppel will read the names of the American soldiers
killed in Irak next days in Nightline. Would reading the names and
faces of civilians do any effect?
Sorry if I went too contemporary...
David
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