* LIBERATION THEOLOGY
* WAITING FOR “A DAY”
* GLOBAL TRIBE AIRS TONIGHT

Missing words in last night’s State of the Union sermon: Osama, risks, costs of war, cosequences of war, collateral damage, alternatives to war, duration of war, Putin, France, Germany, anybody else… democracy. Newsweek’s Howard Fineman called it “liberation theology, but from the right this time.” Maureen Dowd was on fire in her op-ed gallery at the NY Times; ” There was no smoking gun last night. There was merely a smoky allusion… The axis of evil has shrunk to Saddam, evil incarnate. Iran and North Korea were put aside with the dismissive comment: “Different threats require different strategies.” It was a masterful performance but was it persuasive? From the constant invocation of the name of the most high in the sky, HE who blesses the United States of Amerca, GOD or G-D as is your preference, we have put ourselves in holier hands. But what about the people?

HOORAY FOR HARDBALL

Most of the post-speech commentary was as bland as the official Democratic response — measured, respectful, somewhat fawning. I never thought I would be saying this but Chris Mathews on MSNBC was in fine form, tearing apart some of its santimonious, dismissing the policy proposals, making fun of the references to Hydrogen cars, a clear sop to environmentalists, questioning the use of 50 million AIDS victims as appropriate and then questioning the sally against Saddam. It was a rare moment of real Hard Ball, Hard Talk or Hard anything. Ted Kennedy who seemed to be sleeping through it was at his fighting best rallying the faithful to fight back. His tone was far sharper that Governor Locke who had just delivered the official we democrats can do it better speech. His points were well made, but his delivery and tone– too boring.

A fascinating measure of what people were thinking was provided by Frank Luntz, the conservative pollster who put together a focus group equipped with those devices that the people who make TV pilots use to measure moment by moment reaction. He charted the reaction which showed that Republicans in red hung on approved of every word while Democratic approval started dipping the moment Bush started speaking with those strange cadences, smirks, stares and points with overdone emphasis. At points, he looked lobotomized.

PRACTICING FOR THE PERFORMANCE

Thanks to the Chicago Tribune, I learned that Bush actionally rehearsed parts of his speech before he gave it to an invited audience. When all politics is media politics, it is essential to get it right for the cameras.” Check this out:

‘Lobbyists for GOP to hear speech in advance

‘WASHINGTON — Hours before President Bush delivers his State of the Union address to the nation Tuesday night, the White House will deliver a sneak preview to a select audience of Republican lobbyists and executives. In an e-mail invitation sent Monday, the administration asked top strategists and opinion leaders to attend a closed-door “State of the Union Briefing” inside the White House complex. It’s a mission in political choreography…

‘The invitation, obtained by the Tribune, was sent to nearly 70 top GOP strategists, pollsters and conservative groups such as American Cause, founded by Pat Buchanan. Personnel from AT&T and Eli Lilly & Co., companies that could be affected by the administration’s weightiest proposals, also were invited.”

PERFORMANCE ART

It was a skitzy performance. The first half was about his concerns for the American people, his compassion for those menaced by drugs and others in need for recovery, as well as much focus on tax cuts that Democrats says haven’t worked and can’t. He was self-assured, a a well pratciced speaker who you couldn’t misunderestimate this time. No flubs. Only one use of the I –word. Bush the Bad looked like a human bring. Here was Bush the benificent finally acting on AIDs (after being pressured into doing so.” But then the turn came and soon Bush the belligerant was staring down Saddam and the rest of us, threatening to disarm Iraq There was no mention of regime change which is our policy. Soon he was promising to bring freedom to Iraq if they want it or not. Iraqis interviewed on CNN this morning didn’t seem to want it and I didn’t see any meancing government officials threatening to kill them if they said the wrong thing. One a farmer, said we have to bring freedom to our country, not you.

NUKES NO MORE

Alexander Cockburn notes in his column this week that “Only 22 percent support the What-the-Hell, Let’s-Go-It-Alone path. ….Jude Wanniski argues that there is complicated footwork designed to let the White House crow that it made Saddam blink, and allow the job of inspection to proceed on a proper footing, with compliant Iraqis cowed into cooperation by tough talk from the U.S.

“On the oft-cited openness of South Africa to inspection, Wanniski cites the well-informed Dr. Gordon Prather, to the effect that “South Africa signed the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] in June 1991 and a Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] in Sept. 1991. Yet, it was not till March 1993 that SA admitted having had a nuke program, which it claimed it destroyed prior to signing the NPT. This was the first that the IAEA had heard about the SA ever having had nukes, much less about the destruction of the nukes…”

According to Wanniski, Prather insists that the “mechanisms devised by the IAEA in 1998 to prevent any country from importing materials to develop a nuke program are air-tight. In other words, there’s no way Iraq can be a nuclear threat in the future, with or without Saddam.”

WHO PAYS?

As for the domestic INTERESTS that lurk behind domestic ISSUES, Texas journo Molly Ivins goes where few media outlets dare to tread writing, “The state of the union is that money talks and publicpolicy is sold to the highest bidder. Those who give money in politicalcontributions — less than one-tenth of one percent of the U.S. populationgave 83 percent of all campaign contributions in the 2002 elections — getback billions in tax breaks, subsidies and the right to exploit public landat ridiculously low prices.

‘This system in turn costs ordinary Americans billions of dollars, not tomention the costs to health, safety and the environment, and the cost of nothaving enough money for good schools.’ Data on this is available through the group Public Campaign.

‘”For example, the top corporations that paid zero taxes from 1996 to1998 –including AT&T, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chase Manhattan, Enron,ExxonMobil, General Electric, Microsoft, Pfizer and Phillip Morris — gave$150.1 million to campaigns from 1991 to 2001. Public Campaign reports theygot $55 billion in tax breaks from 96 to 98 alone, perennial legislationto gut the alternative minimum tax and billions in rebates to selectcorporations. Public Campaign also notes that we paid with a huge shift inwho pays more into the federal treasuries: Three times as much money nowcomes from working people’s payroll taxes as from corporate tax payments.”

THE NEXT ROUND AT THE UN

The UN Security Council meets later today but the real confrontation there has been put off for a week until February 5 when Colin Powell is expected to have his ‘Adlai Stevenson’ moment and unveil all the US intelligence that Washington has yet to share with the inspectors about Saddam’s perfidies and deceptions, as well as his alleged links to terrorists. Apprently, monday’s UN report by inspector in chief Hans Blix was not convincing to all. As Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post (which now has a satircal competitor in the website www.dcpox.com)puts it, Blix was boring. What else matters?

“Boy, that U.N. is must-see-TV, isn’t it?

“First Hans Blix drones on for nearly an hour in proper British English, followed by the soporific tones of international atomic agency man Mohamed ElBaradei. It was all very 19th century. Haven’t these guys ever heard of playing to the cameras?

“There was a scripted quality to the whole performance. Anyone who reads a newspaper knew the substance of what Blix was going to say about his U.N. weapons inspections. Anyone who owns a TV knew that the Bush administration was prepared to dismiss the report as further evidence of Iraqi intransigence. All that remained was for the actual words to be uttered.

WHO WILL BE CONVINCED?

And what about the content. British Air Marshal Sir Timothy Garden says (on Iraqconflict.org) that its implications will not have any great effect: “The much-debated report by the inspectors to the Security Council on 27 January is unlikely to have any great effect on the dynamics of the decisions to be made. Those wanting an early war will emphasise concerns about transparency and active co-operation. Those arguing for peaceful disarmament will highlight the access gained so far, and the time it takes to complete the inspection process. Discussions will doubtless continue until 14 February, by which time the US forces are likely to be ready for action. This may focus the minds of UN SC member states.”

A DAY — NOT D DAY

The war, when it comes, is likely to be bloody and tenacious reports Jim Ridgeway in the Village Voice: “As President Bush was putting the finishing touches on his State of the Union address, the Pentagon top brass were talking about “A-Day,” short for “Air Strikes Day.”

‘On A-Day the air force and navy will launch 300 to 400 cruise missiles at targets in Iraq, CBS reported Saturday. That’s more missiles than were launched during the entire 40-day Persian Gulf war of 1991.

‘Then, on A-Day plus one, they’ll bombard Iraq with 400 more missiles. “There will not be a safe place in Baghdad,” one Pentagon official told CBS. There are 4 million civilians in Baghdad, of whom 2 million are children….

They won’t admit it, but this is another horrible policy shift. This is what Hitler did to London in World War II. What Bush proposes is not collateral damage, but a level of civilian destruction not seen since the Second World War, with tens of thousands of intended civilian casualties.”

THE NEW WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

While you wait for the war on Iraq, the war in Afghanistan is still raging as AP reports “- U.S. and Afghan forces battled rebels aligned with renegade leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Tuesday in the largest-scale fighting in Afghanistan in 10 months.At least 18 rebels were killed in the fighting, which began Monday in the southeastern mountains, the U.S. military said. The U.S. and Afghan forces suffered no casualties and there were no civilian injuries.The military said 80 rebels were involved in the conflict, and ˜ on the American side ˜ up to 350 soldiers, including troops from the 82nd Airborne division, U.S. Special Forces, and allied Afghan militia troops.” Who are these ‘rebels’ Most of the press isn’t saying. Karen Wald sends along this bit of missing context:.

“People, and Americans in particular should note that Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and these called “rebels” are not Al Quaida or the Taliban! No, he is one the U.S. “allies” - part of the so-called “Northern Alliance” - (remember them?) - You know - those bought and paid for, but ever so “democratic”, terrorist, gangster “feedom fighters” who were going to “liberate” Afghanistan from the evil Al Quaida and Taliban (who themselves were former - (and some say still!), bought and paid for, U.S allies!) - and make the country safe for “Western — ie “American” values! …”

MEDIA NEWS: WOLF AT WORK

In our media news this morning, we have an article in the new issue of EXTRA, published by FAIR, the media watchdog group to bring to your attention. It is about CNN and Wolf Blitzer; “On the rare occasion when a mainstream news show features a forthrightcritic of U.S. policy, the interviewer can sometime seem more like agovernment spokesperson than a journalist. That’s what happened when CNN’sWolf Blitzer interviewed Dr. Helen Caldicott about the connection betweenthe U.S.’s use of depleted uranium during the 1991 Gulf War and thedramatic rise in birth defects in southern Iraq.

“Blitzer at first challenged her facts, appropriately enough: “Dr. Caldicott, let me interrupt and point out what the Pentagon has said repeatedly over these years. That in all of their testing of these depleted uranium shells, they found no scientific evidence whatsoever that any rates of cancer, any kinds of cancer are higher when subjected to these areas as any other areas.”

“Caldicott responded by pointing to evidence in her recent book, The New Nuclear Danger, that the Pentagon was well aware of the dangers of depleted uranium: “…

When Caldicott tried to tell Blitzer that the main issue with birth defects was not the sanctions but the fact that the U.S. left radioactive uranium 238 all over Iraqi battlefields, he cut her off and pointed out that the Iraqi government has used torture. “Do you feel comfortable, in effect, going out there and defending the Iraqi regime?,” he asked–a line similar to CNN colleague Connie Chung’s suggestion (10/7/02) that a congressmember who questioned George W. Bush was telling people to “believe Saddam Hussein”

WARCRIMES FILM SCREENS IN WASHINGTON

I have told you about the new film that has been playing in Europe documenting was crimes in Afghanistan. It is having a first U.S. Showing at the the CENTER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA at American University Feb. 6, 5:30 pm, Wechsler Theater, Mary Graydon Center, American Universit Free and open to the public

(Directions: http://www.american.edu/maps/)

” One of the ongoing controversies of the war in Afghanistan is thesubject of a new film, “Afghan Massacre: Convoy of Death,” by Scottishfilmmaker Jamie Doran. Doran charges that the U.S. may be implicated in warcrimes, when up to thousands of Taliban soldiers were murdered aftersurrender to American-led forces at Mazar-i-Sharif in November 2001. TheU.S. government has repudiated the charges. Other journalists have beenreluctant to draw the same conclusions, while agreeing with many of thefacts. The film has not yet been seen in the US, but has been shown inEurope, where the U.S. government discouraged screening.”

BRAZIL’S LULA: STAR OF DAVOS

I have noted here that the World Economic Forum in Davos gets much more media play than the World Social Forum in Brazil. It is interesting that Brazil’s new left leaning President has recived more attention in Davos than any other world . ‘MEDIA TENOR analyzed how media worldwide were presenting Brazil over the last year and looked at how Brazil’s new president, Lula da Silva, who attended both meetings and is one of the founders of the forum in Porto Alegre, has been faring in the media. ANSWER; FARING BETTER THAN COLIN POWELL!

JOIN THE GLOBAL TRIBE

Last but hardy least, a program recommendation for American readers. Tune in to the new program GLOBAL TRIBE ON PBS tonight at 8. It features the very watchable and dynamic Amy ELDON as she travels around the world in a highly visual visit to the Phillipines and then Mexico. This is a compelling series to help turn younger viewers on to the world, its peoples, cultures, problems and heroes. KATHY ELDON co-produces for CREATIVE VISIONS and KCET. It offers a fast paced blend of personable reporting in a travelogue format. I would of course prefer more political analysis but you have to start somewhere and this is a great start. Journalist may remember Amy’s late brother DAN ELDON, a photographer for Reuters who was killed in Somalia. GLOBAL TRIBE carries on in his spirit of gutsy engagement with a changing world. GO AMY!

ANGRY E-MAIL

“Larry Piltz comments on some recent items: ‘John Bolton helped storm the offices of the Dade County electoral workers in 2000?!? This should be in banner headlines! Here is a professional, fanatical anticommunist ideologue leading the Republican Brown-Shirts charge against Democracy itself. This man is a foaming-at-the-mouth provocateur whatever his role-of-the-day, and his operations hint at the fuller measure of violently wanton “Texas Totalitarianism” at work everywhere. Somebody help publicize this cautionary detail; reveal the true nature of this Oiligarchy regime. Do you want Republican Brown-Shirts running your precincts and streets?

“2. Regarding Bush’s Texas-brewed, special apocalyptic religion and the overt browbeating religiosity of his White House, please note that leaders who have even partly swallowed the whole shady Armageddon mythology (as part of the lunacy of what Gore Vidal calls one of the Bronze Age “Sky God” religions) will tend to blindly and eagerly sign off on policies and actions that would, in a sweeping self-prophetic manner, create the very conditions that would bring such an unnecessary war into existence, along with the legendary attendant slaughter.

God save us from this divinely dimwitted, phony type of religious inspiration!

“YOU KNOW IT AND I KNOW IT”

Check out today’s Globalvision News Network (gvnews.net) for a new piece of mine on other aspects of the media war. I close with some thoughts from one John Swinton, a scribbler of an earlier eram who offered this lament about journalism, circa l883. (Courtesy of Ted Pease.)

Journalists”There is no such thing in America as an independent press, unless it is in the country towns. You know it, and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to write his honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand they would never appear in print. I am paid $150 a week for keeping my honest opinions out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for doing similar things. If I should permit honest opinions to be printed in one issue of my paper, like Othello, before 24 hours, my occupation would be gone. . . . You know this and I know it, and what folly is this to be toasting an ‘independent press.’ We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping-jacks; they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.”

Not all us. Your comments are welcome. Share them by posting on the weblog or writing dissector@mediachannel.org—