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APRIL — MAY 2004 @ REVIEWS international law; indeed, this administration good combatting evil. They did it before in B oO oO K Ss is rewriting the lawbooks. These are dan- Gulf War I, and they're doing it again in the q erous times, and democracy is under threat — sequel. The public is shockingly misled on Reviewed by Ruth Parnell as never before, both in the us and abroad. the number a US casualties, rounded and HEGEMONY OR SURVIVAL: With new technological advances come ever _ dead, that are the tragic result of their America's quest for global dominance more frightening possibilities, including the | government's ulterior motive of gaining by Noam Chomsky militarisation of space. precious oil resources. While White House Allen & Unwin, Australia, 2003 (first pub- The good American people need to realise officials use repetition, misinformation, fear lished by Henry Holt & Co. USA, 2003 what their government is inflicting on them _ tactics, doublespeak and other propaganda ISBN 1-74114-162-1 (278pp tpb) and the world at large. In the name of truth, —_ techniques to create false impressions, e.g., freedom and justice, they need to wake up if __ that links exist between Saddam Hussein, Availability: Bookstores; Amazon.com merica's quest for global dominance at we're to have a collective future at all. al-Qa'ida and 9-11, media commentators all costs is an extreme threat to the sur- apply self-censorship and toe the official vival of humanity and our environment. So WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION tine without providing any critical analysis says Noam Chomsky, the foremost intellec- by Sheldon Rampton & John Stauber or their cove cho Saas and h tual critic of US policy at home and abroad, _/eremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, USA, 2003 eceptions. b ve fou its whet! hey © war in his first major book in a decade. ISBN 1-58542-276-2 (246pp pb) _ on termor ’s he ous’ an i ththe It took less than a year from the tragic Availability: Penguin Group website, enemues, in the wine places an wit the events of 9-11 for the world, Europe in par- _http://www.penguin.com Wor sons of Mass Deception ean hel ° ticular, to wake up to the fact that the United [t takes brave Americans these days to fine tne vout spin-detecror mechanisin and States government posed more of a threat to stand up and declare that the Emperor is be alert tothe mee lies" we're being fed ny global freedom than did Saddam Hussein. wearing no clothes, who can see through the ° § tee. Chomsky considers why the current fagade of the Bush neo-conservative agenda Bush/neo-con plan for world hegemony for the con that it is. Sheldon Rampton and WEAPONS uF MASS (domination) has not come out of the blue; John Stauber, of the US Center for Media & it's part of a "grand imperial strategy" that Democracy (as well as editors of PR Watch DECEPTION the US has been pursuing for well over half and authors of Trust Us, We're Experts! and a century (if not for twice that, closer to Mad Cow USA [see Reviews, NEXUS 9/03, The Fry pf Frexapandy io Reed | er ha home), spurred on in part by "humanitarian —_5/04]), go out on a limb to show how propa- interventions" with hidden agendas and the —_ganda has been used to such powerful effect corporations that have much to gain from to win over the hearts and minds of this global domination drive. Chomsky is at Americans in the US-led War on Iraq and his incisive, logical best, and his arguments the post-Saddam era. carry weight that we can only hope will fil- Unfortunately, Americans who don't ter through to ordinary citizens. access the international media are very ill The current US government's grand plan informed on how foreigners view US for "preventive war" belies its true purpose, | government/military actions. That view is ie., to gain territorial and economic power, not complimentary. The domestic media and Chomsky explains how this strategy sources are manipulated so that the general falls within the definition of war crimes and _ populace is fed a diet of hype that shows is far removed from what's acceptable under __ their fellow Americans in Iraq as forces of NEXUS +65 www.nexusmagazine.com