Shopping news

Not to be confused with the book Shipping News. Okay, I am a news junkie, admitted and unrepentant. And it has been two years since I’ve spent anytime in the States. And yes I have heard that the US doesn’t get real news, but I was hoping the reports were exaggerating.

They weren’t. Most of this morning’s and most of the past week’s newscasts have dominated by shopping news, how much we are buying, where we are buying, what we are buying. Gift cards, return policies, interviews with shoppers. I think one newscast covers more shopping news than all the European news stations put together.

This morning’s broadcast of Today covered people returning merchandising and after Christmas shopping although they delved into James Brown’s death, his widow being locked out, and the tornados in Florida.

What they didn’t cover is Iran’s internal meetings and their decisions on nuclear continuination, Somalia and Ethiopia’s battles, Nigeria’s pipeline blasts, the problems in Lebanon, the fact that Olmert is releasing some of Palestine’s money to Palestine and the opening of one gate between Palestine and Israel to ease the flow of traffic. Nothing about the power changes in Turkmenistan, which could lead to more upheavals in that part of the world. Nothing about the Taliban gains. Nothing about British troops storming an Iraqi jail and rescuing 127 prisoners. Nothing about the $2 billion in fraud estimates over Katrina. Nothing about the disappearance of Lohachara island under the rising seas.

Driving to the library where I have internet access to the outside world I passed shopping centre after shopping centre filled with shoppers. Years ago these were filled with palm trees and natural beauty. Sometimes I see American consumption as the old pac man game eating up the environment. But mostly I see that I am not visiting American citizens and the entire nation has been transformed from citizens to consumers and only that is newsworthy.

At least the shopping news is a break in the ever-ending cycle of medicine ads for illnesses that the rest of the world ignores.

Meanwhile people can listen to what really counts, the rules of their gift certificates.