> >
> > i think the original question about tibet (from doug?) raised exactly
> > the opposite point. u.s. liberals, hollywood-types in particular, have
> > rallied to the tibet cause because of some perceived mystical
> > specialness of tibet and of the dali lama. where was/is the cavalcade of
> > concerts/movies/benefits to aid east timor? so it's not the reflexive
> > support of self-determination for timor but rather the unreflective
> > romantic rallying to the cry for 'independence for Tibet' << that causes
> > everyone's computers to instantly reboot. >>
> >
>
> I bet that this is due to the fact that most people in the u.s., our
> celebrities included, don't know shit about politics or our recent world
> history, other than representations in movies. I doubt this was a
> deliberate choice. I mean, it's difficult enough for me to find accurate
> international news when I put forth an effort. You can't really blame
> people for being ignorant, who just watch the 11 o'clock news. There was
> an interesting article by Amy Goodman in Z who was at the Reebok human
> rights awards and sat next to Michael Stipe, and she was unaware of who he
> was and popular culture, and she felt that he and the other stars were
> pretty unaware of her domain.
>
>
>
> Speaking of popular culture, it's interesting to note how the "free
> press" covers(up) corporate behavior abroad. In my hometown, the daily
> paper, The Sacramento Bee, will run a letter to the editor criticizing
> Michael Jordan for promoting Nike while refusing to help those oppressed
> souls making its products. While The Bee largely ignores the grassroots
> activists Amy Goodman relies on to document Nike abuses, the efforts
of Amy and her anti-sweatshop sources help pave the way for the Nike
reality to further enter the public mind through criticism of Michael
Jordan.
Seth Sandronsky Sacramento, CA