Nearly four hundred civilians have been killed in the past two weeks, and today another carbombing in Baghdad claimed another seventeen lives. 25 US troops have also died so far this month, a spike in the casualty rate over the last couple of months. On television just before, they had the Iraq episode of ER, which I guess was in North America a few months ago - reminded me somewhat of MASH, the helicopters coming into the medical base.
Read a column in the New York Times sometime last week, I think it was Thomas Friedman, who said that if the censorship of the coverage from Iraq was loosened or lifted, public opinion of the war would plummet - if there are hundreds dead in two weeks, obviously there are thousands injured in these attacks, both of the Iraqis and coalition forces, but the impression you get from the media coverage in the States is that everything is OK as long as the most important thing on the news is the baseball LOL.
And the reason I post so many links to Iraq stories on here is not that I agree with the war or anything, but for the fact that although pictures and television can say a thousand words in just a glance, there is something distant about being behind a flat screen or as a photo. With good journalism, such as that piece I linked yesterday from Fort Wayne, it can feel like you are actually there with the troops (for better or worse, depending on your view of the war - despite all the political decisions to start the war and stuff, I support the actual troops over there, they are doing the best they can - also partly the you break it you fix it Powell doctrine).
Srebrenica. Another blot on the 'international community's' conscience. Just mention it because some of the survivors of the invasion of the town and subsequent massacre have brought a court case in the Netherlands to sue the Dutch military (remember, it was their peacekeepers in the town at the time of the Serb forces overrunning it). Geez I love to choose depressing topics from the newswires don't I?
Oh, good to see at least some people still have a sense of humour - there was a test email from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs saying that Perth was under threat from terrorists or something. This email was accidentally sent out to the public, I am sure quickly recalled, but all these people whinging at the top of the story about trashing WA's image blah blah blah - the Perth City Council agreed tongue in cheek with the warning, saying 'The weather is a bit dodgy.' Classic comeback :)
In the immortal words of Monty Python, and now onto something completely different.
Big Brother. No, I promise to keep comments to a minimum, but I need to update my links list, and for starters to add Ausculture's BB blog - hysterically funny so far, pimp pimp LOL. Not that pimping from this blog will do much, my readers seem to have deserted me this week. Eh, not to worry, will just go to one of those traffic generator sites probably LOL.
Later peeps
Pauly
Read a column in the New York Times sometime last week, I think it was Thomas Friedman, who said that if the censorship of the coverage from Iraq was loosened or lifted, public opinion of the war would plummet - if there are hundreds dead in two weeks, obviously there are thousands injured in these attacks, both of the Iraqis and coalition forces, but the impression you get from the media coverage in the States is that everything is OK as long as the most important thing on the news is the baseball LOL.
And the reason I post so many links to Iraq stories on here is not that I agree with the war or anything, but for the fact that although pictures and television can say a thousand words in just a glance, there is something distant about being behind a flat screen or as a photo. With good journalism, such as that piece I linked yesterday from Fort Wayne, it can feel like you are actually there with the troops (for better or worse, depending on your view of the war - despite all the political decisions to start the war and stuff, I support the actual troops over there, they are doing the best they can - also partly the you break it you fix it Powell doctrine).
Srebrenica. Another blot on the 'international community's' conscience. Just mention it because some of the survivors of the invasion of the town and subsequent massacre have brought a court case in the Netherlands to sue the Dutch military (remember, it was their peacekeepers in the town at the time of the Serb forces overrunning it). Geez I love to choose depressing topics from the newswires don't I?
Oh, good to see at least some people still have a sense of humour - there was a test email from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs saying that Perth was under threat from terrorists or something. This email was accidentally sent out to the public, I am sure quickly recalled, but all these people whinging at the top of the story about trashing WA's image blah blah blah - the Perth City Council agreed tongue in cheek with the warning, saying 'The weather is a bit dodgy.' Classic comeback :)
In the immortal words of Monty Python, and now onto something completely different.
Big Brother. No, I promise to keep comments to a minimum, but I need to update my links list, and for starters to add Ausculture's BB blog - hysterically funny so far, pimp pimp LOL. Not that pimping from this blog will do much, my readers seem to have deserted me this week. Eh, not to worry, will just go to one of those traffic generator sites probably LOL.
Later peeps
Pauly
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