How to Buy The New Republic

Ever see a prominent magazine prostitute itself?

It happens all the time (witness the publicity for "King Kong"), but seldom as blatantly as in the Dec. 12 issue of fake-intellectual establishment journal The New Republic. Included are not one, but TWO fake symposiums paid for by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia celebrating the entrance of this regressively backward medieval Kingdom into the World Trade Organization.

The New Republic is a very slim magazine, yet finds space in the same issue for a cover story by Spencer Ackerman about moderate Muslims-- a story the Royal Embassy is sure to applaud-- and even contains an editorial which gives a sly nod of approval of the Saudi King's endorsement of Israeli politician Amir Peretz.

Sorry if I think we should have nothing to do with this nation of oppression and hatred, which exports an especially virulent strain of Islam; that we should be rushing to end our dependence on oil so we can disconnect ourselves from them, instead of funding, through our gasoline dollars, the very terrorism we're spending billions of tax dollars ostensibly to stop. It's a policy of madness.

TNR is entitled to their perspective. But how about some Truth-In-Advertising? Like, "This entire issue is paid for by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia and our editors have bent over backward to please them in response"??