| It would have been difficult for anyone to miss the abounding coverage and fawning by the corporate media over Nelson Mandela following his death last December. The NYT, BBC, CNN and the rest climbed over one another to bestow the South African leader with honor, praise and accolades. Their posthumous
effusions were in stark contrast to the ways they've always treated African states since the first colonization of the continent. Moreover, we couldn't help but compare the corporate media's adulation and respect for Mandela with the bitterness and hatred expressed in their treatment of Hugo Chávez during his lifetime and upon his untimely death. Penetrating questions remain as to whether or not Mandela's work achieved any real structural changes such as those Hugo Chávez established with permanence in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during his 14 years in office. How and why did the South African leader who "ended Apartheid" become the darling of western governments and media? In the film documentary below, John Pilger helps us understand. - Les Blough, Editor Axis of Logic |