[Cosmoline]

This is interesting. it's a Guardian UK newspaper report on the Insurgency in Manila in Feb. 1898. Quite a change from their reporting on the current insurgency. The reporter actually reports on what took place, without pontificating about American imperialism. Though the current Guardian, which set up the archive, labels the report "American Imperialism."


----

Filipino attack on the city repulsed | Warships shelling the insurgents | Heavy American losses |

From a correspondent. Manila, Sunday, 8.45 a.m.
Monday February 6, 1899


The Filipinos attacked the American position around this city at half-past eight last night. It began with sharp firing on the outposts from several quarters at once, and grew to a furious conflict as the night advanced. The insurgents fought savagely, but the defending lines, which have been ready for this for weeks, held their own steadily. At this hour there is still hot firing. The Americans are still successfully repelling the assault.
The United States cruiser Charleston, the monitor Monadnock, and the gunboat Callao are now shelling the quarters to the north and south of the city, from which the chief insurgent fire is kept up.

http://century.guardian.co.uk/1899-1909/Story/0,6051,126404,00.html

[horge]

The Guardian wouldn't denounce Imperialism at a time when its native country was hip deep in it, no? White man's burden, anyone?

By today's standards, the United States of America committed an act of aggression against the Filipino nation. Coming in as an 'ally' against the colonial Spaniards, with whom the US was at war with at the time, and against whom the Filipinos had ALREADY won back virtually every bit of the Philippines save for the city of Manila, the US then turned on its Filipino allies and claimed their archipelago as its own. That is why there was an insurgency.

And yet.

The Philippine and the United States are allies and friends today, not least because of blood jointly sacrificed against the Japanese in WW2, or the way the US sent its best and brightest to prepare Filipinos for self governance, to upgrade our infrastructure, prior to recognizing our independence in 1946.

I think the US case for going into Iraq is/was 10,000x stronger than the case for invading the Philippines, yet the odds of Iraq being a friend and ally of the United States --like the Philippines-- anytime soon are 10,000x worse. The odds have nothing to do with what the US is doing or not doing over in Iraq.



horge

[Art Eatman]

Mabuhay, horge!

:), Art

[Cosmoline]

I wasn't really trying to rehash a 100 year old debate. What I found interesting was how the Guardian's report just REPORTS. There's no commentary at all beyond that. These days every piece of journalism seems to be tainted with the political motives of the journalist and newspaper or TV station. The Guardian of today is particularly well-known for being anti-American and anti-Israel.

[horge]

Mabuhay, Art :)

Hi Cosmo :)
Sorry for sneaking in a bit (well more than a bit) of clarification... but I trust you
still saw my point: that the 1899 Guardian was publishing for a Great Britain that
was largely still of an Imperialist, 'white man's burden' mindset. A newspaper can
slant its articles according to its target readership's sentiments and values, yes?
Can't denounce imperialism if you can't even recognize it as wrong.

If the news item had been about, say, the Siamese monarch being murdered
by rioting citizens, oh, what the published cry of murder most foul might have
been.

The UK populace is ....different now, and so is the Guardian.

Digressively JMO, but:
The UK populace of today is barely spared from total liberalistic damnation,
from a total nerfing/emasculation, by its monarchical and military traditions.

The US is saved (for now) by its codification of a citizen's duty to KBA ---
though it is alarming how much slack is allowed those who would
castrate your Second Amendment, and thereby neuter you as well.

-horge