Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Corporate media, handmaiden of the ruling class
A week ago, ABC News Nightline broadcast a truly shocking segment, in which the brother of the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates savagely tortures a man:
The victim was beaten with wooden planks with nails protruding from them and then the prince poured salt on his bleeding wounds.I'm guessing even Dick Cheney wouldn't deny this was torture. Iran's Press TV (linked above) and British sources like BBC and The Guardian have covered the story, but not a single American source outside of ABC News. Press TV explains why:
The video also shows the prince setting fire to parts of the victim's body, giving him electric shocks with a cattle prod, ramming desert sand into his mouth, and firing bullets around him with an automatic rifle.
The gruesome footage released by ABC News also shows Sheikh Issa driving over the victim repeatedly with his luxury Mercedes SUV. The sound of breaking bones is clearly audible in this scene.
On the video, the victim identified as Afghan grain dealer Mohammed Shah Poor, screams and asks for mercy but the UAE prince sadistically orders the cameraman to come closer to get a better record of the man's suffering.
A UAE police officer in uniform can also be seen helping Issa and his men torturing the Afghan man.
UAE is one of the closest allies of the US in the Middle East and the US Navy operates out of a major base near Dubai. It is also one of the biggest customers for US weapons, having signed a $6.9 billion arms deal with Washington in 2008. The UAE is seen by the US as a critical ally in its self-styled "war on terror."It also won't surprise you that the U.S. State Department, and Secretary Clinton, have thus far had no comment.
As I say so often, can you imagine if this story involved the brother of Hugo Chavez, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or any other official bogeyman of the U.S. government and its handmaiden media? But it didn't, and the corporate media, with the singular exception of ABC News in this instance, is doing its part to keep the story out of the public eye.
