Alexander Cockburn presents a lucid and witty lecture on how the mainstream media edit reality. Using many examples, he demonstrates how news is designed, regulated and managed to exclude stories and information that are not ideologically serviceable. The unspoken elite consensus, Cockburn contends, largely determines how issues are framed and topics chosen. His thesis will […]

Interview by David Barsamian. Recorded at KGNU.

Few people realize that Hitler’s genocidal policies in Europe were influenced by the U.S.’ treatment of Native Americans. An essential component of genocide is to denigrate and dehumanize the target group. Indians were defined by their conquerors as “sub-human beasts of burden.” Germany has accepted its responsibility. In North America, by contrast, no such admission […]

To hear Washington tell it, terrorism happens in a vacuum. “They” attack us because of our freedoms, because our way of life is just so much better. The explanation and remedy sound rather like an indulgent father, “They hate us because we’re beautiful. Now you don’t worry, just go shopping and we’ll bomb the evil doers.” Information not carried […]