Is there any better case to be made for the return of the Fairness Doctrine than the anti-pirate media echo chamber of the last 24 hours? Just about everyone is praising the Navy SEAL snipers' three shots/three kills, but I have yet to see a story in the mainstream media on the pirates' families. What of the "root causes" of piracy--dire economic circumstances brought on by global capitalism, American interventionism and surely, somehow, Israel and President Bush? While the MSM may be too scared to speak truth to power, London Independent columnist Johann Hari isn't afraid to make the pro-pirate argument at (where else?) the Huffington Post. Apparently, you see, all of Somalia's problems are caused by the West (not, as some might have suspected, the Islamic Courts Union). In a nutshell, Hari says that Somalians have resorted to piracy (1) because Europeans have allegedly dumped toxic waste off of Somalian shores and (2) "European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood." Hari's piece includes the inevitable comparison between the Somali pirates and George Washington's hired guns, and it ends by asking who the real pirates are:
The story of the 2009 war on piracy was best summarised by another pirate, who lived and died in the fourth century BC. He was captured and brought to Alexander the Great, who demanded to know "what he meant by keeping possession of the sea." The pirate smiled, and responded: "What you mean by seizing the whole earth; but because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, while you, who do it with a great fleet, are called emperor." Once again, our great imperial fleets sail in today - but who is the robber?
Deep, man. Let's hope Hari keeps this story in mind if he's ever the victim of a carjacking.