Democracy & Media Monopolization

I’ve written here and there on the subject of “free press/media” in the past, but in light of the recent National Conference on Media Reform it seemed as good a time as any to harp on this unpleasant issue once again.  It’s often been argued that a free media is one of the cornerstones of a successful democratic system of governance, but the question of what precisely marks media as “free” has been one the United States has struggled with for at least a century.  In light of a number of successful examples of public media around the world, as well as the increasing issues with media consolidation, the US model of success through private competition grows steadily more uncertain.
Continue reading »

Well, that didn’t take long

The Arab league supported implementing a no-fly zone in Libya just up until the moment someone implemented it.

The United States was not going to play a leading role in implementing the no-fly zone just up until the moment someone implemented it.

Why do I feel like I’ve seen this movie before and I know how it’s going to end? Look, I have no problem if outsiders want to intervene in Libya, I just wish that the (US-trained and US-armed) militaries in the region were taking more of a role here. Is that really too much to ask? (Go Qatar! Four whole planes? Wow, thanks for the support!) At a minimum, if the Arab League is not going to help enforce the no fly zone they say they support, is it too much to ask for them to keep there mouths shut when someone takes them up on their offer?

The main reason I am against the US taking an active role in enforcing the no fly zone without active support from Arab governments is because I don’t want the blame to fall on the US government if the whole operation goes pear-shaped. I really don’t want to be having a conversation a year from now about how Gaddafi wasn’t any worse than Dictator X and the only reason the US is in Libya is for the oil.

Supporting democracy in the Middle East

Matt Yglesias:

…the easiest step America could take to deal a blow to Arab autocracy would be to stop selling weapons to Arab autocrats that they turn around and fire on their people.

Disconnect

There is a political party in the US that feels the US government is very effective in projecting an immense amount of power globally. There is also a political party in the US that feels the US government is insufficiently capable of operating a health insurance program.

Here’s the disconnect: it’s the same party.

Wrong answer

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley resigned today (i.e., was fired) as a result of critical remarks he made about the Obama administration’s rather inhumane treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of passing confidential cables to Wikileaks. This is the wrong response. Manning has not been convicted. The right answer would be to respect Manning’s human rights. It’s a sad day in a democracy when a government official is fired because he criticizes his government’s human rights violations over its own people, while the violations continue.