FOUNDING FATHERS WERE BRITS

TEHUANTEPEC, MEXICO: FEBRUARY 19
This journey has taken me through every Latin American country other than Paraguay and El Salvador. Texas is the next frontier. I am nearing the end. Riding through Mexico, I must write my conclusions. Boris Corredor's criticism of the BBC kept me awake a while last night. I have been visiting Hispanic America fo thirty years. Hispanic Americans were accustomed to visitors from the US. Brits were viewed as different. We were quieter, less arrogant, better informed, more polite. I write in generalizations. An individual North American might be treasured. A Brit could be a real pain in the arse.
A change has taken place. We have become indivisible. Any attempt at stressing the difference is countered by a reminder that the Founding Fathers were Brits and racists.
There is a sameness.
Our cultural view of Latin America draws on the same sources.
We speak the same language, watch the same movies, read the same books, dance to the same Latin American rhythms.
There is more, of course: US support for Britain in the Falklands/Malvinas war. Britain's support of the US in the invasion of Iraq.
Our present alliance in Afghanistan.
President George W Bush is held in contempt through out Latin America. We Brits share in the opprobrium.

DIATRIBES LOWER CHOLESTEROL LEVELS

government official's home


TEHUANTEPEC, MEXICO: FEBRUARY 18
In Tehuantepec, political activists spray diatribes on walls. My previous post on the BBC was a diatribe. My wife, Bernadette, will be cross. She has instructed me not to write diatribes. Diatribes are boring. Prawns with garlic and chili are Bernadette's favorite dish. I ate prawns with oysters for lunch with Fernando Peto. I ate prawns in chili sauce while answering Boris Corredor's criticism of the BBC. The prawns were big and juicy and delicious.
Boris and Adela are Professors of Literature. They speak perfect English. They choose to converse with me in Spanish.
My son, Joshua, criticizes the mistakes I make in Spanish.
I make many errors. However, writing a diatribe has made me uppity.
Perhaps diatribes are good for the soul – or lower one's cholesterol level?

Al JAZEERA: ENEMY OF PEOPLE

TEHUANTEPEC, MEXICO: FEBRUARY 18
Boris Corredor criticizes BBC World News. Why is it so bland?
The easy answer is that Prime Minister Blair and his supporters frightened the BBC's management. Blair was aided by a judge. The judge presided over an inquiry to BBC reporting of the build up to the Iraq invasion.
I suspect that the judge believed that he was serving the nation by protecting Government. In fact he furthered the distrust the nation has in its politicians and judiciary.
The judge was also parochial. He never considered the respect that the BBC once earned for Britain. In my youth, the terorised in far countries crouched over radios to listen to BBC broadcasts. The BBC represented truth. BBC journalists were fearless. The BBC was a unique link to a wider world.
This is the service that Blair and his Director of Communications, Alistair Campbell, sacrificed for short term political advantage. The judge who aided them betrayed his nation and all those served by the BBC.
His name?
Lord Hutton .
Does he sleep well?
And the journalists who once worked for the BBC?
Some of the best now report for Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera is financed by the Government of Qatar – a small Sheikdom in the Persian Gulf and a supporter of the United States of America.
The Qatar Government believes that financing a respected international news service earns them credit.
The US army slammed missiles into Al Jazeera's Baghdad and Kabul offices.
President George W Bush wanted to bomb Al Jazeera's offices in Qatar.
President George W Bush claims that the US is the final bastion of freedom.
To quote Kurt Vonnegurt (a great philosopher of the absurd): Ah, well...