A CNN journalist interviewed Deepak Chopra last night about his take on the Mumbai attacks and how to prevent similar attacks in the future, but it looked like producers cut Chopra off when he started to get too controversial.
Chopra: What we have seen in Mumbai has been brewing for a long time, and the war on terrorism and the attack on Iraq compounded the situation. What we call "collateral damage" and going after the wrong people actually turns moderates into extremists, and that inflammation then gets organized and appears as this disaster in Bombay. Now the worst thing that could happen is there's a backlash on the Muslims from the fundamental Hindus in India, which then will perpetuate the problem. Inflammation will create more inflammation.
CNN: Let me jump in on that because you're presuming something very important, which is that it's Muslims who have carried out these attacks and, in some cases, with Washington in their sights.
Chopra: Ultimately the message is always toward Washington because it's also the perception that Washington, in their way, directly or indirectly funds both sides of the war on terror. They fund our side, then our petrol dollars going to Saudi Arabia through Pakistan and ultimately these terrorist groups, which are very organized. You know Jonathan, it takes a lot of money to do this. It takes a lot of organization to do this. Where's the money coming from, you know? The money is coming from the vested interests. I'm not talking about conspiracy theories, but what happens is, our policies, our foreign policies, actually perpetuate this problem. Because, you know, 25% of the world's population is Muslim and they're the fastest growing segment of the population of the world. The more we alienate the Muslim population, the more the moderates are likely to become extremists.
CNN: I hope you're - you've - (CNN edits out the rest and inserts him concluding the interview saying "Indian physician and philosopher Deepak Chopra.")
I don't know why CNN wrapped the Chopra interview so hastily, but perhaps it was because the network had a Chevrolet ad to run. Chevrolet. Which is a manufacturer of automobiles. Which are propelled by gasoline. Which comes from oil rich countries like Saudi Arabia. Which fund Islamic fundamentalists. Which do things like attack hotels in India.
As Thomas L. Friedman has been saying for years, "the price of oil and the pace of freedom are inversely correlated." When oil prices are high, anti-democratic regimes become richer and more powerful, terrorists get funding and the world is unsafe. When oil prices are low, the "petroauthoritarian regimes [have] to open themselves to foreign investment and educate and empower their people more in order to earn income." When there is no demand for oil at all, there is simply no money with which to fund terrorists.
I hope that CNN producers didn't edit the end of the Chopra interview in deference to their car company advertisers. Chopra touched on similar topics with Larry King earlier in the day, so perhaps cutting the interview off was just a formatting decision. I'm going to pretend that it's that. Because if I thought that a news network in a democratic country was censoring the connection between oil dependence and terrorism for fear of upsetting advertisers I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
Here's the video:
Anyway, democracy is non acceptable for Muslim population around the world, Already Pakistan is a failure which can not control its own agency. Bangladesh neither can control population nor floods. So another country on religion basis in this region is a Mirage or future trouble.
The only solution of Kashmir is both Pakistan and India should give their occupied territory to U.S, U.S. will be able to control the growing powers (China and India) and terrorist state (Pakistan) in Asia.
I really applaud Deepak for the way he persuades and shows resilience. Ask the Indian Government --what they learnt from his comments. Deepak is more popular in India than he is in the US. So he knows how to educate both the aggrieved parties, India and pakistan, by showing them his wound that he got sixtry years ago, "You both, look at my scars that have remained on my body after sixty years of your bitter animosity and fighting."
Let's be fair.
First and foremost, the extremists must denounce violence and engage with the rest of the world in a meaningful dialogue. By the way, Sharia violates fundamental human rights, even as outlined by the UN.
Mr. Chopra was being censored by CNN, despite the pretension that particular network has to being moderate/liberal. CNN and MSNBC, like FOX, are still very much in the service of the dominant elite interests, and I think it would be to the benefit of your readers to acknowledge that--after all, it has been more or less an established fact that this is the nature of the American news media since the publication of such rigorous studies as Noam Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent". I believe The Huffington Post stands to increase its credibility the further it distances itself from the agenda pursued and the propaganda manufactured by even so-called "liberal" news outlets.
When will America really become the Democracy it espouses to be?
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/02/stories/2008120259961000.htm
America does not want to be blamed in any way for anything that ever happens. We give guns to countries so they will help us. Then they turn on us, and use the guns we give them. That is considered funding terrorism. Of course, it's indirectly, and unintentional, but its what he was talking about in part. And it's no secret. But people just would like to live in a fantasy world where America is perfect, and rulse the world and does no wrong.
its the same reason Papers are not allowed to print photos of solderi's coffins, or wounded on the battlefield. We Americans prefer to believe they don't really get hurt that badly, and don't want to see how many of them die. If we do, thenw e will no longer support the war.
CNN is not an independent media. only the internet is.
impact of terrorist thugs...Chopra's assessment of what's going on in Bombay and elsewhere
in that part of the world is only partial and that's probably the best anyone can expect in a world of contentious views...unfortunately, a vastly overpopulated planet (with no end in sight) has made
Earth a living hell for everyone...yes, bloggers, the probelm is, TOO MANY PEOPLE ON PLANET EARTH...
Chopra's talking about what the cause is, and where the funding comes from, for all this conflict, and what's perpetuating it. He could also have mentioned globalization and the resistance to it by indigenous peoples and fundamentalist religious peoples. And how the globalization movement has to destabilize and uproot those peoples in order to get what it wants.
So whatever was going on with the transmission, I don't think we can attribute it to an attempt to censor Deepak by CNN.
I've got a lot more to worry about than this, and no time for Larry. He did address inequitable distribution of wealth and justice, si?
However, what I have NEVER believed is that the almost DOUBLING of the price of oil in the past 2 years was due to market forces !
We were told that there weren't enough domestic refineries which drove up the price, but why would Big Oil want to spend a penny on building a refinery when they make double the money from a gallon of gas in short supply.
We were also told that there was a huge increase in demand from emerging economies like India and China. Do they expect us to believe that there are significant numbers of Indians and Chinese who suddenly not only have cars, but are able to pay $3 a gallon for gas ?
Nope, this whole oil bubble was driven by speculators. Just like the housing bubble, it was a manufactured sham, and we ended up pumping billions of our taxable income to the oil companies, and thence to the Middle East.