I note that last night a ten year old son was chosen to make a statement at the Concert for New York organised by Paul McCartney, about his father Tom, who was a fireman killed at the WTC.
Around the same time we now know a ten year old son of Mullah Omar died of injuries in a bombing raid. I do not draw attention to the coincidence our of sentimental pacifism. Atrocities are part of any war. And ten year old boys can throw stones and kill soldiers in Palestine. But these coincidences are not without economic significance relevant to a mailing list like this. Increasingly major companies and enterprises have to compete in the world market for image and status. The German insurance and banking combine Allianz has an advertisement repeatedly on CNN about a sweet 4 year old girl making her business daddy promise to call her on the telephone. For the moment the best visual news values were with Tom's brave son. But it will cross the minds of other people that Al Jazeera might get equally poweful pictures of other ten year olds. They do not have to be shown in the west to cripple the Coalition against Terror. Chris Burford London
