Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) reminds us that writers of the US corporate media like people to know the uniqueness of the US:
In a News Analysis piece (7/11/09), New York Times reporter Adam Nossiter attempts to illustrate the difference between some African countries and more enlightened nations, writing:
The gulf separating the West and many African leaders on fundamental issues like human rights was on display just last week. The African Union announced that it would refuse to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in its attempt to prosecute the Sudanese president, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, for crimes against humanity, over the mass killings in Darfur.
Whatever you think of the ICC’s pursuit of Al-Bashir (some human rights observers thought it an unwise move), is enthusiasm for the International Criminal Court really a good test for whether a country is really similar to “the West”? If so, then the United States of America, with our history of determined opposition to the court,… would not seem to meet the test for membership in “the West” either.
Sadly, Newsweek’s attitude towards democracy and human rights (this time in Honduras) is little better.