Well, I predict by this time next week The Center Of The News Universe is gonna be in a country where the troops are already trying to surrender even though the war hasn’t started yet, and that mass media coverage of other vital (and even science oriented!) threats is gonna come to a standstill at a time when it can least afford to do so. Against that backdrop, SFT offers the following reminders of where the Weapons of Mass Destruction really are. Afghanistan, now under American occupation, has regained its place in the world as the world’s leading exporter of heroin, producing 3400 tons of the stuff in 2002, up from an estimated 185 tons in 2001 before “nation-building” efforts by the U.S. had begun. Next-door Iran (note: Iran – NOT Iraq) is preparing to enrich uranium, potentially to weapons grade levels using two different methods at two different factories – by gas centrifuge at Natanz and by gas diffusion at Isfahan – in addition to a plutonium producing reactor at Bushehr. Meanwhile, North Korea has reactivated its plutonium reactor at Yongbyon, is processing fuel rods to make more weapons grade nuclear material to add to their small-but-growing existing nuclear arsenal, and is expected to resume testing of their three-stage Taepo Dong 2 rocket which can reach the West Coast of the United States, unlike the 90-mile-range Iraqi “toy” Al-Samoud missiles currently undergoing UN supervised destruction. And as the U.S. pulls back 37,000 troops (including my niece) away from the Korean DMZ and moves 24 B-52 and B-1 bombers to Guam for possible operations against North Korea, Pyongyang is ranting that “…if American forces carry out a pre-emptive strike on the Yongbyon facility, North Korea will immediately target, carry the war to the US mainland” adding that New York, Washington and Chicago would be “aflame”.”
And in the greatest threat of all to America, the best written warning I’ve seen of how utterly pathetic the American news media has been at covering these (science oriented!) topics and the Bush Administration’s (editorial aside: lack of) response comes not from the heart of the Homeland but instead, from friendly Canada…
Update [2003-3-10 18:40:15 by rickyjames]: Or (gasp!) Hollywood…and New York…
George Bush as Shane? If you aren’t easily offended you may find a better analogy from Bill Hicks or go here for another point from the late philosopher-comedian regarding fundamentalist christians in the White House. Or leave it to Shakespeare: “’tis a tale told by an idiot; full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” or somesuch. The press need to step up the levels of investigative journalism, not kowtow to political clout, if we are ever to find out if we are justified in entering into this war.