March 14, 2003

Comments



I've been wanting to comment about the whole Iraq situation...it's been weird to be simply posting about my wanting to be in SF or the meals I've had. The reality is, however, I've been so buried in my work that I have to admit this war is not #1 on my radar screen at this moment. It's totally sad and I don't feel good about it. Yet this week, I've been barely able to keep track of my own life.

I guess that is my statement - how total detachment is possible. I watch the news. But then I get up in the morning, ride a train full of advertisements about fashion, gossip, and cigarettes. It’s quite easy to ignore the impending war.

But regarding the news, the U.S. sure doesn't look good from over here. I don't know what the media is pumping over there, but News Station showed one night:

*Video cuts of a bunch of country leaders one after another saying more inspection time is needed, then a cut to Bush leaning over a imposing podium announcing, fine, the US is ready to act alone. Compared to the images of Japanese politicians we see here, Bush looks stupidly cocky.

*Images of the 'mother of all bombs' being tested in Florida. Residents explaining how their houses shook and it felt like an earthquake. Then Bush's brother saying how it's the “sound of peace" or something like that. I can't remember exactly but News Station didn’t miss the irony and made sure viewers knew this was Bush’s bro speaking.

*A snippet of some military guy saying they're ready to protect America's “friends and allies.” If they [Iraq] want to be provocative, we're ready. "That's our business." Just struck me how any war vocabulary was gingerly avoided.

Maybe this was all on the 6 o’clock news in the U.S. too. But the way these clips were arranged made the US look like a 5 year old having a tantrum. And this is used to critque Koizumi too. Is Japan gonna support this 5 year old?

Posted by Mie at March 14, 2003 08:05 PM | TrackBack
Comments

You know, for months I've had a big dead TV in my living room that I haven't gotten around to having fixed, because I just don't watch that much. Recently we found a little color one on the curb and I watched the first TV news I've seen in months.

I was horrified.

Apelike, Bush was leaning over the podium and ranting and squirming, as though he needed to somehow get more than the 100% of the attention that he was already receiving. As if his emotion would somehow turn his rants into truth.

My first thought was "Get that kid some Ritalin".

This is my president?
This is my country?
What happened?

He looked more like a dictator from some steamy little jungle country than the "Leader of the Free World". He's openly lying to us as he strips away freedom after freedom and spoons us propoganda through scripted press conferences.
I couldn't watch.

I haven't turned the TV on since.
It's too depressing to me.

We used to be the good guys...

Posted by: Jim at March 15, 2003 12:19 AM

Their is a growing resentment towards President Bush here in the U.S. as well. Antiwar protest are a daily event throughout the country as support for Bush dwindles. It seems more like this country just boast the illusion of democracy where our opinions don't really matter if you disagree with foreign policy.
Maybe the message will get through...maybe not.

Posted by: jeff at March 15, 2003 01:36 AM

Bush Jr. is the worst U.S. president I've ever lived through or heard of, probably the worst in the history of the nation. The media here in the states is not playing it that way though, they seem to be rather well controlled by the powers that be. Important dissenting opinions or reports on actual facts that don't support the administration are relegated to the back pages of newspapers or not reported at all on the TV news.

And the TV news, good lord. Headline News is 50% or more entertainment news and sports. The progress we've made in international relationships over the histroy of this country is being decimated and on the crawler messages at the bottom of the screen they're glibly telling me what celebrities birthdays are today and what movie (owned by CNN's parent company no doubt) are about to open.

So the other day I turned on Fox News for the first time. It's like they're reporting on a parallel universe! Every fifteen minutes it's BREAKING NEWS ALERT and dramatic music as the talking heads breathlessly announce the latest way america is about to be destroyed or whatever other fear they can use to grab your attention, and when they're not doing that they've got these complete nutcases on the air who rant and rave and editorialize rather than report the news.

I've realized that there is ZERO true journalism left in telvision news stations. There might still be some good shows (on PBS or here and there) but none of the 24 hour news stations are engaged in anything even remotely close to honest investigative journalism. It's like a caricature of a conspiracy. Newspapers are not much better (but they are better). Truly online is the only place left to find even a nugget of honest reporting.

I'm not the only one who thinks so, there have been reports (online of course) of how more and more americans are turning to foreign online news sources to get their news because as a people we're finally starting to realize we're being duped. Personally I find the Christian Science Monitor (suprisingly religious-rhetoric-free) to be the best quality western online news scurce.

Is this the beginning of the end for professional journalism? Certainly a lot of people believe that what we're doing right now, blogging, is the future method of choice for an informed global populace. If the onus for journalism shifts to The People though, likely the corruption will come with it. I don't know though, all I know is things are getting worse here in america, much much worse.

Posted by: Dav at March 15, 2003 02:25 AM

Dear Mie,
No,Mr.Bush also looks like a 5 year old
having a tantrum, on this side of the Pacific!
Kuma

Posted by: KUMA at March 15, 2003 04:50 AM

Yeah, as a French in the US for 9 years, you can imagine my situation ;) There is a huge difference between the American people and it's government right now. Actually, the real scarry thing is how the media (CNN, FOX News, and even often the New York Times, etc...) is force feeding pure propaganda 24/7 to the people. StilI, see anti-war sign and tags all over NYC, I don't know a single person who's for that war, yet you hear of polls that the majority is backing Bush... mmm...
You gotta check this picture I took in a Kmart the other day... Scarry stuff...

Posted by: Mr. X at March 16, 2003 06:15 AM

Yeah, as a French in the US for 9 years, you can imagine my situation ;) There is a huge difference between the American people and it's government right now. Actually, the real scarry thing is how the media (CNN, FOX News, and even often the New York Times, etc...) is force feeding pure propaganda 24/7 to the people. StilI, see anti-war sign and tags all over NYC, I don't know a single person who's for that war, yet you hear of polls that the majority is backing Bush... mmm...
You gotta check this picture I took in a Kmart the other day... Scarry stuff...

Posted by: Mr. X at March 16, 2003 06:19 AM

oops, sorry... :)

Posted by: Mr. X at March 16, 2003 06:21 AM

bush is a moron.
and the spanish prez is a bigger moron for supporting him.

Posted by: paburo at March 16, 2003 12:04 PM

I'm quite glad to read your comments. So much just doesn't make sense right now and it's good to know others feel the same. It's been fascinating to see the role of the internet in all sorts of organizing efforts and dissemination of information. But like Dav said, as more information becomes available on the net, the responsibility of sifting through it all becomes bigger. Hard to tell what will be happening with this technology.

Posted by: Mie at March 16, 2003 03:13 PM

Mr. X,
Just looked at the Kmart pic. Disgusting. Very very scary. Feeding that to young kids. I just don't know what to say...

Posted by: Mie at March 16, 2003 05:26 PM

Kuma,

Regarding tantrums, that reminds me of something I've recently been formulating in my mind: that the world's problems can perhaps be wholly ascribed to adults behaving like children. Greed, bullying, brattiness. I'm not just talking political leaders, I mean almost all adults. If we adults acted in the ways we (should) teach our children to act, then the world would be a much nicer place to live.

Posted by: Dav at March 17, 2003 03:40 AM

I have to echo Jim's sentiment, above. "We used to be the good guys."

The thing I find weird about the TV news here is how they they've been using the captions "The War with Iraq" and "New from the Front Lines" for weeks now. No wonder we have a sense of inevitability. It certainly doesn't make one feel that a diplomatic solution was seriously attempted.

Bush acts less like a president and more like a CEO planning a hostile takeover to profit his friends and cronies.

Posted by: M at March 18, 2003 10:34 PM

Bush and Tony Blair are the only political leaders who have the guts to do there jobs. What is the sole purpose of the government of the United States? To protect the American people! Read your constitutions! Is Hussein a threat to the American people? Yes. How about to the world? Yes. He has enough ricen to kill the world 9 times over, plus, he is crazy enough to use it on the world. He's crazy enough to have a professional rapist ( does Bush have a professional rapist?)(does any sane world leader that you know of have a professional rapist?). What makes you think he wouldn't use nuclear weapons if he had them? He's gotta go. Period! Once he is removed from the frame, it increases the chance for peace in the middle east. After all, terrorists do not have the means to produce nuclear weapons and chemical and biological weapons on their own....States, however, do! If Hussein goes, this will decrease the chances of these weapons getting into the hands of terrorist organizations. As for France, they have $60 Billion worth of contracts with Saddam Hussein that they do not wish to abandon. They would rather see another American city go up in flames, than see there double-dealings with Saddam go into the toilet. The French...real nobel people.

Posted by: jason at March 20, 2003 06:32 AM

Jason, if you think the sole purpose of a government is to protect its people you live in a very sad and scary imaginary world. You should check out Bowling for Columbine.

And your arguments are weak.

Is Hussein a threat to the American people? Yes. How about to the world?

Hussein is less of a threat than Osama Bin Laden. Why don't we send 200,000 troops looking for him?
(Answer, he has no oil and no lucrative reconstruction business opportunities riding on him ...same with that nutjob in North Korea).

He has enough ricen (sic) to kill the world 9 times over, plus, he is crazy enough to use it on the world.

First, America has even more chemical weapons. Lots of countries have chemical weapons. North Korea has a NUCLEAR BOMB and isn't looking too sane these days....

He's crazy enough to have a professional rapist ( does Bush have a professional rapist?)(does any sane world leader that you know of have a professional rapist?).

Rape has been used as a tool of oppression in lots of countries throughout the history of mankind, Saddam didn't invent it you know. But nevertheless no one is arguing that Saddam is not an evil dictator who has done many evil things. That's a given. The point is that getting rid of him does not require a war and does not require the destruction of America's standing in the international community.

What makes you think he wouldn't use nuclear weapons if he had them?

Personally I think any nation with a nuclear weapon is capable of using it.

He's gotta go. Period!

Yes sir, he does. There's lots of ways to skin a cat.

Once he is removed from the frame, it increases the chance for peace in the middle east. After all, terrorists do not have the means to produce nuclear weapons and chemical and biological weapons on their own....States, however, do!

Your assessment of the chances of peace in the middle east seems to lack depth. How much research have you put into this?

If Hussein goes, this will decrease the chances of these weapons getting into the hands of terrorist organizations.

Sure it will, destruction of any and all weapons decrease the chance of them getting into the wrong hands. But the truth of the matter is, there's plenty of places to get weapons.

France, they have $60 Billion worth of contracts

Ha ha! "Corporate greed" from an american...Whew, talk about your pot calling the kettle black pot

Wake up man, you're being used and you're falling for it hook, line, and sinker.

Maybe Bush got lucky and we aced Hussein with that first shot. I'll be pretty pleased if he did, because that should end the war quickly and with a lot fewer casualties. Then Dick Cheney's Halliburton friends can move in and start the 1.5 billion dollar reconstruction effort.

http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/files/031903.html"

Posted by: Dav at March 20, 2003 03:22 PM

Thank you Dav. I couldn't have come close to properly responding, but I wanted to. yes yes yes.

Posted by: Mie at March 21, 2003 06:34 PM

HOW STUPID THE FREE WORLD IS. What passive glasses you all must wear. I a Muslim exscaped from Iraq in 1990 his mob killed my brother, 2 cousins and raped my best freinds wife in front of him. He is a madman I know I lived there thirty-two years. My people have been slattered by him and we lived in Baghdad in fear he would kill another one of us just to scare us into loyalty. The people in the south he really didnot like he has killed hundreds of thousands of people and you question if he needs to go. He has taken $.90 of every dollar and spent it on weapons or filling his and his sons pockets with BILLIONS. all the time his people are starving and need medicein. Ask yourself A) Does saddam have chemical weapons(yes) B) Would he use them? He already did against Iran and his own people. C) Does he hate U.S. enough to share them with terroist? (YES) (D)If he had a missle that could reach Isreal would he use them? He did in desert storm war.He had twelve years to disarm and live in peace instead he armed and hide them. The UN took 6 months to find 120 missles how long would it take them to find a tanker truck of poison (20years).He wants to die a marter. He has had uranium since France sold it to him in 1986-87 and the equipment to make the BOMB since 1988 he just has no way to deliver it, until someone comes to get it. HE WILL USE IT NO QUESTION!!!
Al-Sharq

Posted by: Al-Sharq at March 25, 2003 03:29 PM

Al-Sharq:
I'm am glad that you wrote that comment. I am very much in favor of crushing those who wish to do America and Israel harm, but, I am EVEN MORE in favor of liberating a people who have been squashed by the EVIL and GREED of dictators, such as Hussein. The problem that we, Americans, have is that we have lived in a safe bubble for the past 50 years and I have never had to suffer the way that your people have. It took the bombing of Pearl Harbor for us to take a stand against EVIL, and now it has taken the death of 3000 Americans to awaken those in this country who are NOT GOING TO STAND BY AND LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN. People can call George Bush a "cowboy", but I call him the new "sherriff" in town, who is going to capture or kill any tinpot dictator and every oil-spigot dictator with murderous plans. And if killing off the DISEASES OFHUMANITY means that people like the Iraqis will be freed, all the better! Peace to you, and all those who want a better world (sometimes war is the only means of getting it.) We must fight fire with fire!

Posted by: jason at March 26, 2003 07:14 AM

DAV,
What, are we supposed to just wait until we catch OBL before we can move on? Let me remind you that to this day, Adolf Hitler has never been found.
Hussein is more dangerous! He has many more resources at his disposal than OBL. Let me remind you again... States have the means of producing weapons of mass destruction, not individual organizations (remember that they must have a PLACE to build them. they don't carry weapons factories in their backpacks).
Yes, the chances of peace in the middle east are not so great, but, you don't get there all at once. One step at a time.
You laugh at my American Corporate Greed ,eh? Let me ask you a question, do you drive a car? Do you have an air conditioner? Do you use a refrigerator? Do you buy food from a grocery store? Do you use electricity? Ahhh! You, too, are taking advantage of the fruits of Corporate Greed. I am a capitalist! I am proud of that fact. But, when business dealings are made with terrorists, they should not be permitted to block the welfare of millions(America), for the good of the company (France).

I saw Bowling For Fatso. It's a bunch of intellectually dishonest leftist garbage. First of all, his stats of 15000 people dying every year from gunshot wounds sounds horrible, but 98% of those who died from gunshot wounds were involved in criminal activity. So, I say "GOOD." He makes it sound like guns are the most dangerous thing in America. Well, I don't personally know anyone who has died of from a gunshot wound (and I have lived in Canada, NYC, Virginia, and Florida). I personally know people who have died in car accidents, cigarette-related cancer, and drug-overdoses. As a matter of fact, in towns and cities where concealed weapons are permitted crime rates decrease dramatically (criminals do not want to rob someone, or burglarize someone's home if there is a possibility of getting themselves shot). Also, Michael Moron did not tell you that the first thing the Nazis did before annihilating 6 million Jews and 15 million Christrians was DISARM THE PEOPLE! Guns are not the problem.
Oh, and Marilyn Manson is really a caring guy. When Moron asked him what he would say to those wretched human wastes who killed innocent people, he said, "I would have listened to them....which no one else did." I say that Manson should be shot too. Those kids should have been put in BOOTCAMP because they obviously did not have a dad to kick their asses as soon as the big baggy pants and the earrings appeared. Kids need discipline, Michael Moore. Why did Michael Moore not flash some of the blame on the idiot parents.Those kids are not innocent little people who just happened to gain access to guns. They chose not to conform to society, and they didn't want to take responsibility for acting and dressing the way they did, and thus, they couldn't take it when people made fun of them. When I was in high school I dressed like a moron too. And I learned quickly that people's reactions to me were a reflection of what I was putting out there. If you can't handle the reaction, change the formula.
Then, Moron tries to make it look like it's Dick Clark's fault for making a welfare momma get off her lazy, irresponsible ass and WORK. He doesn't even blame the uncle who left his gun in reach of the child. If Michael Moron had any common sense he would blame the irresponsiblity of both the mother (who had no education, no job, and willfully spread her legs open so some deadbeat, worthless peice of human garbage could impregnate her, and leave her with little mouth to feed), and the uncle who attained his gun illegally. I'm sick and tired of the lies of the socialists like Michael Moore.

Posted by: JASON at March 26, 2003 08:37 AM
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