ae aoe — Comment The answers in the news The following is an editorial which appeared in the January 16 issues of the New Democratic Party newspaper the Common- wealth published in Regina, Saskatchewan. Its writer Skip Hambling puts into perspective the role the big business news media has played in developing an hysteria around recent events ° in the Middle East. ; “Murderer!” He stabbed the picture of the Ayatollah Khomeini filling the front page of the newspaper lying on my desk and passed his one word sentence. “*Murderer!”’ . He said no more and went back to his work in the outer office. I was quite*taken aback by that little office encounter. The strength and sincerity of the emotion caught me unprepared. Alone in my office again I asked myself: Why would a man not normally given to expressing strong sentiments about anything, least of all international politics, feel prepared to blurt out, un- solicited, such a comment? If it was the mistreatment of human: beings that so troubled him, why had he never made a remark to me about the thousands, not dozens, of innocent people brutalized, tortured and murdered under the direction of the deposed Shah? And finally, why would he expect such a loaded comment to be readily taken with approval? : The answer to these questions came easily enough. The six o'clock news, the daily press and the newsmagazines had done . their work. They had cued the correct emotions and approved their expression. Khomeini was a lunatic, Iran a country gone mad, the United States of America a friendly giant grievously wronged. Everybody says so. It must be so. ° The power of the great North American mind-control machine had again been demonstrated. The proof was in my co-work- er’s reaction. First, it is inconceivable anyone with enough intelligence to adjust a TV set could have lived through the last decade without becoming a complete agnostic with respect to what they see, hear or read in the news media. Exposé after exposé has revealed how the medium manages the message and how the medium itself is managed. We see and hear what the great all-seeing and all- knowing “‘They’’ — from Bay Street to the Pentagon — want us to see and hear. It’s not that everthing is lies. It is just that telling what is from what isn’t is next to impossible. It is no longer a case of ‘‘all I know is what I read in the newspapers’’; but rather ‘‘all I don’t know is what I read in the newspapers.” Second, the tone of moral indignation and outrage adopted by the United States both in relation to Iran and Afghanistan is more than a little precious and disingenuous. This is the nation, after all, that, from the days of James Munroe and manifest destiny to Richard Nixon and undeclared war against Cambodia,-played fast and loose with the world. National sovereignty and the rights of peoples not living in the United States to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were — and likely still are — honored or not on the whims of Washington. The United States has likewise made much of the fact “civilized’’ people don’t violate embassy grounds, the reverred preserve stripe pant and top hat diplomacy. It being infinitely less barbaric, of course, to bomb Cambodia without declaring war, to orchestrate the overthrow and murder of the democratically- elected leader of Chile, to have supported and support suppres- sive regimes from Greece, to Argentina to Iran that use torture and illegal arrest as the usual tools of statecraft and to have paid people to arrange the assassination of foreign leaders. ' It is difficult to see past the hypocrisy to whatever legitimacy there is to the current American complaint. And finally, there is in it all the resounding tinkle of religious intolerance. Muslims are, after all, the classic Infidel. They are what the Crusaders were all about. So if Richard the Lionhearted couldn’t show them the light, maybe a division or two of U.S. ‘Marines will do the trick. It’s just so much unfinished business to us in the West. It’s all too neat, pat, cute and smug. We have done no wrong. God is on our side. Can there be any doubt? I hope the hostages in Iran return home safe. I hope the Afghanistan situation does not lead us again to the brink of world war. But I have lived too long in this world to believe anymore in the heroes and villains, school of journalism and world politics. ’ Thousands of Iranians died at the hands of the Shah. Their strug- gle for freedom has been grossly misrepresented by the media. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 22, 1980—Page 10 Native people plan for north: LA RONGE, Sask. — The As- sociation of Métis and Non- Status Indians of Saskatchewan (AMNSIS) recently advanced proposals for the planned development of the north in keep- ing with the interests of the people there, in the first place the Native people. On Jan. 9, AMNSIS presented a paper (Labor Force Report) to an Employment Conference at Cumberland House, assessing the needed procedures in the north- eastern part of the province where unemployment ranges from 50% to 80%. The gist of the report is that residents of the north must be assured the job and other benefits from projects undertaken there. Earlier, at the beginning of Ap- ril 1979, here in La Ronge, mem- > bers of the Steering Committee for Northern Development (an independent body) and interested members of the public met and discussed issues facing northern people as economic development proceeds. As a result, a position paper was drafted, which has been under discussion for nearly a year now. : The proposals of the two groups complement one another and together show promise of as- suring a planned, publicly- controlled, development from which the people of the area should be among the main bene- ficiaries. ; Significant Employment The AMNSIS paper included assessment of the proposed Key Lake mining development, stat- ing: ‘“The Key Lake development is one which could provide signi- ficant employment for our people. However, based on experiences - in the northwest, where the Cluff Lake project is located, such employment and development opportunities will only be realized if there is adequate preparation, | planning and programming to prepare our people for. participa- - tion.” Solutions offered, included the following: ‘1. The establishment of a community college under the au- : .spices of the AMNSIS area board that would assist in the develop- ment of training plans and in monitoring the training offered by the Department of Northern Sas- katchewan (DNS) and the mining companies operating in the north- erm administration district. 2. A commitment by the government to encourage and facilitate participation by area re- sidents in northern economic de- velopment. 3. Instruction by the govern- ment to DNS, the mining com- panies and the union halls to de- velop employee recruiting pro- grams’in the area to ensure resi- dents of the area a fair share of jobs. 4..The development of infor- mation programs, pre-employ- ment orientation programs, job counselling, affirmative action programs and similar support services. : 5. The development of regular air transport to key employee pick-up sites to be situated at Cumberland House, South End, Sandy Bay, La Ronge and Pelican Narrows. . Want Development Board The position paper drafted by the Steering Committee for Rod Durocher, AMNSIS vice-president _ @ The profits from primary ™© sources have to be used to create secondary industry in the north, e.g., furniture’ manufacturing: petrochemicals, etc. e A northern publicly-owned financial institution to supply CaP” ‘ital to northern industry, could based on royalties from resource — development. Assistance from senior governments is als0 ” needed. e Local government should be ~ able to call on resource develop- ment for financing local govern ment. e An overall development plan would have to embody provincia — and federal energy and resource ~ * policies for the north. Northern Development proposed ~ a Northern Development Board of 13 members, 11 of them to be elected regionally. Among the Committee’s prop- osals were: : e Slow the pace of mineral development pending the putting in place of a Development Board, to involve northerners before any development is allowed to go ahead. e Develop resources under public ownership and democratic control. It is recognized that development, including uranium and other minerals, must take place. However, it must be geared to northern needs. Public ownership and democratic con- trol of non-renewable resources is essential. Renewable resources must provide an economic re- source at the community level —" fishing, trapping, lumbering. e Research into the effects On — the environment by development - must be undertaken. Measures ~ must be taken to ensure that the” environment is not damaged and that resource companies repall © damage that does occur. : e There must be a policy of full” employment for the north — both en the basis of northerns’ ability to do the work, or ability to learn to do the work, not-on artificial academic qualifications. Job training and retraining programs — are needed which are legally rec- ognized. : 4 e The proposed Northern De-— velopment Board must bear in mind the protection of aboriginal — rights and Native land claims settlements -in any overall [ development plan. j The proposals also’ express support for unionization of labor — in the uranium industry, and for long-term studies into worker safety and working conditions. PROGRESS BOOKS World Marxist Review 1980 marks the 110th anniversary of Lenin’s birth. Throughout the year, World Marxist Review will be giving special attention _to Lenin’s theoretical heritage, his role as founder of the Bolshevik Party, leader of the first victorious socialist revolution and head of the world’s first socialist state. : In the January issue, WMR presents Lenin’s article, ‘The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism’. Other articles in the January issue include: e Nicaragua: from armed struggle to construction e who wants to fan the ‘Kampuchean question’ and why? e rationalization in the service of capital e new dimensions of international solidarity e combating Trotskyism in Britain today Subscriptions may be ordered from: 71 Bathurst Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2P6 Subscriptions — $7.50 per year (12 issues) or $1.00 per copy. Information Bulletin— free with a subscription to WMR or 10 cents per copy.