An Elegy For The News

An Elegy For The News

(click above for article)

The murder of 1.7 million Iraqi children through sanctions between 1991 and 2001 has been quietly overlooked by the media. This shows in the glorifying of its author, Bill Clinton. Other examples of media silence are also given.

Excerpt:

As far as I know, only one man has pointed out the holocaust—for that is what it surely is—and he is Norman Finkelstein. “As in the Nazi holocaust, a million children have likely perished,” he observes in his book ‘The Holocaust Industry, (London : Verso, 2000, p 148): “ . . . the United States and Britain forced murderous UN sanction on that hapless country [Iraq] in an attempt to depose him [Saddam Hussein]. As in the Holocaust, a million children have likely perished. [more than a million, as The Economist tells us].” Madeleine Albright, Clinton’s lackey, went on television to say that the ‘price is worth it.’ And his partner in murder, Al Gore, has been rewarded with a Nobel Peace Prize, a rapidly devaluing currency. Mass killers are anointed and beatified.

civil society and violence

According to Chris Hedges' analysis, civil society - the churches and synagogues - have been directly complicit in the violence of war. That is not surprising: civil society has a long and dishonourable record as an instigator of violence from the Inquisition to the slave trade.

On the other hand, Islamic civilisation has hardly any civil society: western donors are busy trying to create one. Heaven forbid!

Take jihad. According to the Britannica, jihad is a recent phenomenon (I mean, of course, after the initial 100-year expansion of the Muslim world); when the west began to colonise the Muslims world, only dervishes, according to Bernard Lewis, showed some resistance.

Jihad was revived (after a brief spell in Africa) by the Americans when confronted with expansionist communism in Afghanistan. Since then, the same holy war - with almost the same personnel - has been turned against the west. And how many people have the jihadis killed? A couple of thousand.

It is interesting that the article does not mention the number of children murdered through sanctions in Iraq between the two Gulf wars: 1.7 million. During the height of the sanctions, a lower figure (still seven-digit), was cited by Norman Finkelstein in his book "The Holocaust Industry". When the figure stood at 500,000, he observes, Madeleine Albright went on prime time TV to say that it 'was worth it'.

Is it surprising that jihadis should try to hurt the west? Is 911 really a conundrum?

Who saved Israel in 1948? No, not America! Guess again!

Today, western governments fulminate against Iran's president for allegedly wishing the destruction of Israel (through sheer mistranslation).

Where were the western governments when Israel was nearly wiped off the map in the 1948 war? If it hadn't been for a most unlikely saviour (from the present perspective) called Joseph Stalin, who ordered a timely and decisive shipment of Czech arms, Israel would not have been there any longer.

Why didn't western governments lift a finger to help Israel then? This is the question posed by Norman Finkelstein in his book "The Holocaust Industry". His answer may not be wholly satisfactory, but his question is perfectly legitimate.

liberal and illiberal democracy: an empty distinction

A distinction has recently been made between liberal and illiberal democracy – with America being the paragon of the former variety.

America has never been a liberal democracy – until 1865 it was a slave-owning republic. Then the 'Jim Crow' period followed; the blacks were lynched at the drop of a hat until 1964; until the Civil Rights Act, they were not allowed to mix with their white superiors; today, they comprise 40% of the US prison population, even though they constitute only 14% of US population.

And that's ignoring all the other illiberal tendencies of the US: the decimation of the he Native Americans in the great westward expansion under the slogan "Manifest Destiny" (which, according to Norman Finkelstein, was Hitler's model for his eastward push under the slogan 'lebensraum'); the wars that followed the fulfillment of 'manifest destiny'; the overseas adventures, such as the Vietnam War, and today the illegal war in Iraq.

Similar crimes can be attributed to most, if not all, the democracies: that is to say, the idea of a 'liberal democracy' is a red herring, to pursued for profit by the canny and to their ruin by the foolish.