Left I on the News

[Updated; see below]

And they are not. In language echoed throughout the Western media, the New York Times reports today:

North Korea defied the United States, its allies and a series of U.N. resolutions by launching a rocket on Sunday that it said propelled a satellite into space but that much of the world viewed as an unsuccessful effort to prove it is edging toward the capability to shoot a nuclear warhead on a longer-range missile.

No, "much of the world" did no such thing. Much of that small fraction of the world whose opinions are reflected in the pages of the New York Times, as well as in Congress, the White House, and the govdernments of their key allies in Western Europe and Japan may well have done so. But even "much of the world" in those countries are a thousand times more concerned about being thrown out of their job, losing their home, or a bad health incident which will drive them into bankruptcy than they are about a North Korean missile launch, and "much of the rest of the world" is firmly behind the right of countries to be free of interference by imperialism.

North Korea did incur the wrath of the U.N. Security Council. But "much of the world" is represented in the U.N. General Assembly. The same U.N. General Assembly which has voted for 17 consecutive years to condemn the U.S. blockade of Cuba, a condemnation which has been met with the upraised middle finger of the United States.

Definitions of, and concern for the opinions of, "much of the world," is very selective indeed in the United States government and media.

Update: Further evidence of the U.S. concern for the opinion of "much of the world" - in Prague today, Obama continued to lie about the supposed Iranian threat:

He also reiterated his pledge to install a missile defense system in Eastern Europe as long as Iran poses a possible nuclear threat to the region.

A crucial component of the missile shield -- a radar tracking system -- would be based outside Prague under terms of a treaty signed by the Czech government and the Bush administration last July. But polls show that about 70 percent of Czechs are against the shield.

Ah, but "much of the world" is for it, I'm sure.

This Czech has Obama's number:

After the speech, several hundred people marched through central Prague denouncing the shield project. They carried balloons and placards reading, "Yes We Can -- Say No To Missile Shield" and "We Want Democracy -- 70 Percent of Czechs Opposed to U.S. Military Base."

Sabri Djerbi, a 24-year-old university student from Prague, said he was disappointed but not surprised that Obama endorsed the missile shield, after questioning the merits of the project during his presidential campaign.

"The people who tell him what to do are the same people who told George Bush what to do," Djerbi said. "They are just puppets. When Obama won, the American people cried and cried, saying, 'This is the best day of my life.' But no, I knew he wouldn't be any different, really."