The New Rulers of the World
Though a slightly slimmer volume than some of its celebrated predecessors, The New Rulers of the World will surely be read no less avidly. Pilger is unique not just for his undimmed anger but also for the sharpness of his focus, the range of the targets he chooses and the meticulous precision with which he hits them – often with their own words. It’s also the vitality of the human stories he tells that makes his work so luminous and inspiring. He provides us with plenty of ammunition too. Looking for the sanctuaries of international terrorists? How about New York (Thiounn Prasith, Pol Pot’s henchman in Cambodia), Miami (Chilean military junta member Armando Fernandez Larios) or Hawaii (Argentine military junta member Jorge Enrico)? Pilger describes the al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan as ‘kindergartens compared with the world’s leading university of terrorism at Fort Benning in Georgia’.
There is a minor difficulty with the title – the ‘new’ rulers of the world turn out to be quite old. As Pilger points out, however, an entirely new danger is that the US Government’s military reach now far exceeds its economic grasp – which has passed to transnational corporations – making it predisposed to rely on armed force.
‘Who will put aside the chessboard,’ he asks, ‘and explain that only when great grievance, injustice and insecurity are lifted from nations will terrorism recede?’ Reading this book renders the question almost rhetorical.
- Product information
- by John Pilger
- Publisher
- Verso
- Product number
- ISBN 1-85984-393-X
- Star rating
- Product link
- http://www.versobooks.com ">http://www.versobooks.com
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
