Shark attacks are back in the news. But, remember the summer of 2001? The media was abuzz with shark attacks, the world over.

Despite the media coverage shark attacks were down in 2001. The year saw 76 attacks worldwide, which was less than the 85 the year before. Fatalities from shark attacks declined from twelve in 2000, to five in 2001. Sharks

CNN and Fox were the biggest hypesters. "Special Reports" were common, with loud intro music, footage of sharks swimming – menacingly, and children swimming in the water - innocently.

At the end of the summer of 2001 four planes were hijacked and used as missiles. One flew into the pentagon, two flew into the World Trade Center towers, and one crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Over 3,000 people were killed.

The US went to war with Afghanistan to capture or kill the mastermind, Osama Bin Laden, and his supporters. The 2001 attack was used as pretense to attack Iraq in 2003. The invasion and occupation of Iraq is now know to all intelligent people as being a blunder, trumped up with absolutely false information.

So, sharks are attacking again on the news. As for me, I'm not watching. I'm reading international news. I'm listening to the news sources that report the real news. BBC World Service and Democracy Now are two of the best.

Shun the mainstream media. Shun the shark.

Mike Brown