THE ENDURING PATTERN OF LIBERAL VALUES The writer Gore Vidal, with impressive family connections to high levels

in the political elite (including the Zionist agent Al Gore), has this to say: 'In my lifetime and country I have watched our governors manipulate Opinion with the greatest of ease. Certain races, arbitrary categories of human beings, political systems are demonised or trivialized on a daily and unrelenting basis. These are carefully crafted subliminal opinionated messages that hiss through the airwaves and into the minds of everyone from the first switching on of the cathode tube to the last TV supper when the light goes out. 'America's Public Enemy Number One (alas, our public enemies become yours, too) are the Arabs, bestial, sub-human terrorists. The American Israel lobby can take full credit for this campaign and their canny investment in American politicians is so astute that this year 65 out of 100 Senators, acting on the lobby's orders, forbade the Administration to allow Arafat on American soil long enough to address the United Nations. 'I would stop all military aid to the Middle East. This would oblige the hard-liners in Israel to make peace with the Palestinians. We have supported Israel for forty years. No other minority in the history of the United States has ever extorted so much Treasury money for its Holy Land as the Israeli lobby. 'The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the wonders of the Western world. No First World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all objectivity - much less dissent. ' Of course, it is possible for any citizen with time to spare and a canny eye, to work out what is actually going on. But for the many there is no time, and the network news is the only news even though it may not be news at all, but only a series of flashing fictions intended to keep docile the huddled masses, like the avowed commercials keep the addled consumers avid for products. 'Currently, the Arabs are being thoroughly demonised by the Israel lobby while the Japanese are being, somewhat nervously, demonised by elements of the corporate state. But neither will do as a long-term devil because the Arabs are too numerous (and have too much oil) while the Japanese will simply order us to stop it; should we disobey them, they will buy the networks and show us many hours of the soothing tea ceremony.' [A View from the Diner's Club: Essays 1987-1991, by Gore Vidal. Published by Andre Deutsch.]