Surviving Capitalism (Not) : The U.S., Indonesia & the NY Times

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The U.S., Indonesia & the NY Times

Click here to access article by Conn M. Hallinan from NYTimes eXaminer.

This "antidote" to the US "newspaper of record" exposes the continuing NY Times coverup of the CIA engineered coup in Indonesia in 1965 that installed an anti-communist government. Although when it was happening the NY Times went out of its way to limit their coverage, now they completely omit US complicity in this monstrous human rights crime. Some refer to this censorship as an example of "sanitizing history" (See this and this). As a result very few Americans are aware of this crime committed by their government. The CIA engineered coup was part of the rollback strategy which attempted to eliminate all governments which did not subscribe to capitalism.

For a brief real history of this sordid episode, read this piece based on a British historian's investigations. For a longer exposé read Indonesia: the Second Greatest Crime of the Century by Deirdre Griswold.