[mp3-jplayer tracks=”CounterSpin February 22 2013 @https://eadn-wc04-3257648.nxedge.io/audio/counterspin/CounterSpin022213.mp3″]
The recent reelection of Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, in the eyes of the US media, signals the further entrenching of a “bad left” government in Latin America. What does this mean for US reporting and portrayals of Ecuador and its president? We’ll talk with Dan Beeton of the Center for Economic and Policy Research about a familiar old script.
Also on CounterSpin today, on the eve of Barack Obama’s State of the Union address reports surfaced about a North Korean nuclear test. That kicked off a round of coverage about North Korea’s belligerence and its threat to peace in the region and beyond. But is there more to the North Korea story than the media are telling us? UC Santa Cruz professor Christine Hong joins us to discuss that missing context.
LINKS:
-Reporting Ahead of Ecuadorean Elections Fits a Familiar Narrative,” by Dan Beeton (CEPR Blog, 2/17/13)
-“Lurching Towards War: A Post-Mortem on Strategic Patience,” by Christine Hong and Hyun Lee (FPIF, 2/15/13)
I was really hoping Christine Hong would mention the utterly brutal and unnecessary carpet bombing suffered by North Korea as the U.S. unleashed their thousands of B29s and high explosives, flattening every town and village in the country, according to the excellent Chapter 5 of “The Cold War” series by Ted Turner Productions. U.S. killed over 2 million people in this war, none of whom ever lifted a finger to attack America. For shame. It was all about money, power, and hegemony in Asia against Russia.