The U.s. Is A Cosmetic Democracy.

More Terrorists Are Given Training And Sanctuary In The United States Than Anywhere On Earth. They Include Mass Murderers, Torturers, Former And Future Tyrants And Assorted International Criminals. This Is Virtually Unknown To The American Public, Thanks To The Freest Media On Earth.

We Are Beckoned To See The World Through A One-way Mirror, As If We Are Threatened And Innocent And The Rest Of Humanity Is Threatening, Or Wretched, Or Expendable. Our Memory Is Struggling To Rescue The Truth That Human Rights Were Not Handed Down As Privileges From A Parliament, Or A Boardroom, Or An Institution, But That Peace Is Only Possible With Justice And With Information That Gives Us The Power To Act Justly.

Bill Clinton Persuaded Some People That He Was Really A Civilized Character And His Administration Had The Best Interests Of Humanity At Heart. These Days We Don't Have To Put Up With That Nonsense. It's Very Clear That The George W. Bush Administration Is Out Of Control. It Contains Some Truly Dangerous People.

It Is Not Enough For Journalists To See Themselves As Mere Messengers Without Understanding The Hidden Agendas Of The Message And The Myths That Surround It.

Since September 11, The Mirror Has Reached Back To Its Roots, And Decided, It Seems, To Be Something Of Its Old Self Again. I Received A Call Asking If I Would Write For It Again, Which I've Done. It's A Pleasure To Be Able To Do That. It's Become An Important Antidote To A Media That Is, Most Of It, Supportive Of The Establishment, Some Of It Quite Rabidly Rightwing. The Mirror Is Breaking Ranks, And That's Good News.