<nettime> [IRAQ] 030324 digest #1 [x6]

["nettime's_embedded_controller" <nettime@bbs.thing.net>]

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Message-Id: <p05200f01baa41da50f94@[151.38.211.239]>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 03:30:33 +0100
To: nettime-l@bbs.thing.net
From: Alessandro Ludovico <a.ludovico@neural.it>
Subject: From the Belly of the Beast (war propaganda machine)

http://www.neural.it/english/fromthebellyofthebeast.htm


 From the Belly of the Beast (war propaganda machine).

by Karen Coyle
http://www.kcoyle.net/
member of Computer Professionals for Social responsability

Gulf War II

The propaganda machine is in high gear, at war against the truth. The 
bombardments are constant and calculated. This has been planned 
carefully over time.

The propaganda box sits in every home showing footage that it claims 
is of a distant war. We citizens, of course, have no way to 
independently verify that, but then most citizens are quite happy to 
accept it at face value.

We see peaceful streets by day in a lovely, prosperous and modern 
city. The night shots show explosions happening at a safe distance. 
What is the magical spot from which all of this is being observed?

Later we see pictures of damaged buildings, but they are all empty, 
as are the streets. There are no people involved, and no blood. It is 
the USA vs. architecture, as if the city of Bagdad itself is our 
enemy.

The numbers of casualties, all of them ours, all of them military, 
are so small that each one has an individual name. We see photos of 
them in dress uniform. The families state that they are proud. For 
each one of these there is the story from home: the heavily made-up 
wife who just gave birth to twins and is trying to smile for the 
camera, the child who has graduated from school, the community that 
has rallied to help re-paint a home or repair a fence.

More people are dying on the highways across the USA each day than in 
this war, according to our news. Of course, even more are dying 
around the world of AIDS or lung cancer, and we aren't seeing their 
pictures or helping their families. At least not according to the 
television news.

The programming is designed like a curriculum with problems and 
solutions. As we begin bombing the networks show a segment in which 
experts explain the difference between the previous Gulf War's bombs 
and those used today. Although we were assured during the previous 
war that our bombs were all accurately hitting their targets, word 
got out afterward that in fact the accuracy had been dismally low. 
Today's experts explain that the bombs being used today are far 
superior to those used previously, and that when we are told this 
time that they are hitting their targets it is true, because today's 
bombs really are accurate.

As we enter and capture the first impoverished, primitive village, a 
famous reporter is shown interviewing Iraqi women living in the USA 
who enthusiastically assure us that the Iraqi people will welcome the 
American liberators with open arms. The newspapers report Iraqis 
running into the streets shouting "Peace to all." No one suggests 
that the phrase might be a plea for mercy by an unarmed peasant 
facing a soldier wearing enough weaponry to raze the entire village 
in an eye blink.

Reporters riding with US troops are able to phone home over satellite 
connections and show us grainy pictures of heavily laden convoys in 
the Iraqi desert. Like the proverbial beasts of burden, the trucks 
are barely visible under their packages of goods, food and shelter. 
What they are bringing to the trade table is different from the silks 
and spices that once traveled these roads, but they are carrying 
luxury goods beyond the ken of many of Iraq's people: high tech 
sensor devices, protective clothing against all kinds of dangers, 
vital medical supplies and, perhaps even more important, enough food 
and water to feed an army. In a country that feeds itself only 
because of international aid -- aid that has been withdrawn as the US 
troops arrive -- the trucks are like self-contained units of American 
wealth motoring past.

I feel sullied watching any of this, or reading newspapers. It's an 
insult to be treated like a mindless human unit being prepared for 
the post-war political fall-out. I can't even think about the fact 
that many people in this country are believing every word of it. I 
can't let myself think that the propaganda war machine will win.

Pray for peace.


March, 2003.



Alessandro Ludovico
Neural.it - http://www.neural.it/ daily updated news + reviews
English content - http://www.neural.it/english/
Suoni Futuri Digitali - http://www.neural.it/projects/sfd/


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Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:28:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: nettime-l@bbs.thing.net
Subject: Confession of a Demonstrator
Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.53.0303232128140.20483@panix1.panix.com>


Confession of a Demonstrator


--of course this is mine; i'm so embarrassed. how can anyone control or
strategize demonstrations. in a democracy we are free to express
ourselves. i don't know where anway is or what c.a.r. is for that matter.
i'm always afraid to express myself. my rage comes out in other ways. this
is one of them. one dreams of attack/pursuit against the right. one dreams
of putting them out of our misery. but it's dreamwork and that's all. no
good comes of it.
--in life i'm a coward. i live in the dreamwork. i'm afraid of jail,
arrest, gestapo. i don't know how to play the system. i'm afraid of dying
constantly. i want to help but i can't even help myself. i publish under a
pseudonym. there is no helmut paul. at least there is no helmut paul that
sent me this.  but helmut paul sounds properly other - at the same time
within the aegis of europe - therefore neither one nor the properly other.
--i believe protests do little good. they show the rest of the world that
there is resistance in the u.s. but - at least under the present regime -
result in little practical results. we change nothing. we insist on our
communality. we march and discuss. the war will continue as base and
superstructure smash intermediary cultural play.
--then again this is a selfish belief, perhaps an excuse for not doing
more, not acting on my convictions. clearly ultra-violence will change
things, most likely for the worse. in any case, i'm not capable of that. i
understand the fury of those who are arrested. at least they carry out
their frustrations against authority, however misplaced. i'm not even
capable of that. if someone told me two plus two don't equal four, i'd
believe it. i'm ready to fall for anything.
--i'm a sick man... something is wrong with my mind. i can't carry on and
can't expect anyone else to. i'm horrified by the progress of the war.
what if it were me firing or being fired upon. how can anyone live with
those images sent daily across the internet - those reports, interviews,
analyses, diatribes. yet i continue on as if i'm capable of a writing that
makes a difference beyond my limits. i don't carry a gun for either side.
i can't even hunt. i went fishing one time and that was it. i couldn't
watch the animal suffocating in the air. now it's all of us who are
suffocating. i still don't carry a gun.
--i only clear the air. the text below is mine. i'm sorry if i misled
anyone. i take full responsibility. it was a bad thing to do. i can no
longer speak for myself. i don't know what is right or wrong. i hate the
evil in the world. i only hate it. i don't act. i don't act.--

"American demonstrators!

"-- You're not demonstrating for yourself - you're demonstrating to
provoke positive change. You want to change the way things are. You have
goals you want met. You're willing to act to meet those goals.
-- March in an orderly fashion. Indicate you're a soldier for peace.
Rioting releases energy, but does not advance the cause.
-- Dress somberly, even in black. Don't turn the march into a circus. You
don't want to be dismissed as crazy. Indicate you're part of a massive
upwelling of public opinion. Show you're part of the public. Indicate
you'd put your life on the line for the cause of peace. Show you're as
serious and brave as a soldier in war.
-- Carry out symbolic actions such as flag and effigy burning. Do these
with the sacredness of serious metaphor. Remember your symbolic targets at
all times.
-- Forget clever signs and costumes. They entertain but distract. Silence
itself can be a weapon. A straightforward sign gets a message across. You
must unnerve the enemy.
-- Realize that the world outside the US is watching. You must indicate
the resistance from within, as strongly as possible. You must make the
leaders of the US realize you are part of a force that must be contended
with.
-- Be careful in your support of violence, but never assume that Gandhi's
era is our own.
-- Know your enemy. Become knowledgeable. Read as much as you can on the
current crisis and its roots. Read the texts of your enemy as well.
-- Do not assume that any large gathering of people makes a difference
unless it makes a difference.
-- Choose your targets carefully. A demonstration for or against numerous
causes may well be weakened by an accumulation of messages that may even
be contradictory. Remove auxiliary issues or religious and other rhetoric.
Focus.
-- Prepare for the long haul. Speak loud but clearly. Let there be no
mistake.
-- Leave your armchair for the production of resistance. Involve others.
Spread the word. Contact others.
-- Never give up. Never give in to false pessimism or optimism. Remain a
realist at all times.
-- Provoke.

"Helmut Paul, C.A.R., Anway"



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From: Brett Shand <brett@earthlight.co.nz>
To: <nettime-l@bbs.thing.net>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 14:33:34 +1200
Subject: Iraq and War
Message-Id: <E18xHmF-0005dq-00@mahler.earthlight.co.nz>

As the war on Iraq begins to look less and less like a war and more and more like a public execution, I am reminded of this letter to editor of the 'The Times', Nov 13th 1849:

Charles Dickens wrote:

"I was a witness of the execution at Horsemonger Lane this morning. I went
there with the intention of observing the crowd gathered to behold it, and I
had excellent opportunities of doing so, at intervals all through the night,
and continuously from day-break until after the spectacle was over... I believe
that a sight so inconceivably awful as the wickedness and levity of the immense
crowd collected at that execution this morning could be imagined by no man, and
could be presented in no heathen land under the sun. The horrors of the gibbet
and of the crime which brought the wretched murderers to it faded in my mind
before the atrocious bearing, looks, and language of the assembled spectators.
When I came upon the scene at midnight, the shrillness of the cries and howls
that were raised from time to time, denoting that they came from a concourse of
boys and girls already assembled in the best places, made my blood run cold. As
the night went on, screeching, and laughing, and yelling in strong chorus of
parodies on negro melodies, with substitutions of 'Mrs. Manning' for
'Susannah', and the like, were added to these. When the day dawned, thieves,
low prostitutes, ruffians, and vagabonds of every kind, flocked on to the
ground, with every variety of offensive and foul behaviour. Fightings,
faintings, whistlings, imitations of Punch, brutal jokes, tumultuous
demonstrations of indecent delight when swooning women were dragged out of the
crowd by the police, with their dresses disordered, gave a new zest to the
general entertainment. When the sun rose brightly-as it did-it gilded thousands
upon thousands of upturned faces, so inexpressibly odious in their brutal mirth
or callousness, that a man had cause to feel ashamed of the shape he wore, and
to shrink from himself, as fashioned in the image of the Devil. When the two
miserable creatures who attracted all this ghastly sight about them were turned
quivering into the air, there was no more emotion, no more pity, no more
thought that two immortal souls had gone to ju previous obscenities, than if
the name of Christ had never been heard in this world, and there were no belief
among men but that they perished like the beasts."

Brett



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Message-Id: <a05200f06baa45bc7fd6a@[10.100.100.5]>
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 22:53:07 -0800
To: Nettime <nettime-l@bbs.thing.net>
From: "Randall M. Packer" <secretary@usdept-arttech.net>
Subject: Operation Artistic Freedom

US Department of Art & Technology
Washington, DC
http://www.usdept-arttech.net
Office of the Secretary

OFFICIAL STATEMENT ISSUED BY:
Randall M. Packer
Secretary, US Department of Art & Technology

Operation Artistic Freedom

THE SECRETARY: American and international artists have begun a 
concerted campaign - Operation Artistic Freedom. Our coalition is 
broad and from across the globe.

In this declaration of war on war, our cause is just. Artists are all 
that stand between a world at peace, and a world of chaos and 
constant risk. And our mission is clear, to carry out 10,000 Acts of 
Artistic Mediation, in defense of humanity.

The future of peace and democracy now depend on artistic forces. WE 
must conduct ourselves in the highest traditions of the avant-garde. 
WE must do our job with skill, imagination, and bravery, and with the 
finest of cultural critics beside us. At every stage of this conflict 
the world will see the power of the artist, freed from the limits and 
constraints of the dominant culture, to construct temporary settings 
of life and their transformation into a higher passionate nature.

I want Americans and all the world to know that coalition artistic 
forces will make every effort to spare innocent civilians from war 
cries and religious crusades, which now appear to be leading us 
quickly and inevitably down the path to the Day of Reckoning.

A campaign in these times of extraordinary crisis could be longer and 
more difficult than some have predicted. Yet, in a whirlwind of 
madness and horror, terror and peril, hail and fire, our faith is 
sure, our resolve is firm, and our artistic union is strong.

I call on the most progressive artists and intellectuals of all 
nations to put an end to these terrible threats endangering the 
civilized world.

Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to 
apply artistic forces of virtualization. I say, virtualization 
remains the greatest power on earth! With that tremendous power 
alone; we will shock and awe!

This will not be a campaign of half-measures. We will fight for the 
security and peace of the world, and we will accept no outcome but 
victory.

Virtualization is the international expression of our times, the 
great rebellion of aesthetic mobilization.

Thank you.

Randall M. Packer
Secretary, US Department of Art & Technology


*******

Contact: Press Secretary of the US Department of Art & Technology
press@usdept-arttech.net

The US Department of Art & Technology
http://www.usdept-arttech.net

The US Department of Art and Technology is the United States 
principal conduit for facilitating the artist's need to extend 
aesthetic inquiry into the broader culture where ideas become real 
action. It also serves the psychological and spiritual well-being of 
all Americans by supporting cultural efforts that provide immunity 
from the extension of new media technologies into the social sphere.

The Experimental Party
http://www.experimentalparty.org

The Experimental Party - the "party of experimentation" -  is an 
artist-based political party that has been formed to activate 
citizens across the country in an effort to bring the artists' 
message to center stage of the political process. This is a political 
awakening, 'representation through virtualization' is the major 
political thrust of the Experimental Party, it is the driving force.



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Message-Id: <v0422080abaa44ca7c96a@[64.154.73.131]>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 01:03:31 -0500
To: "nettime-l@bbs.thing.net" <nettime-l@bbs.thing.net>
From: "Paul D. Miller" <anansi1@earthlink.net>
Subject: Allah be chillin' Pt2

Things are so surreal at this point that I can only think that G.W. 
Bush is actually getting, like, poetic. Check out Andre Breton's 
"Manifesto of Surrealism" in light of Bush's speech on the reasons 
for going to war, and bounce that off of the "freedom fries" concept 
of Rep Bob Ney who renamed them by act of Congress, and you can only 
imagine what's going on with America these days.

Breton wrote the definition of Surrealism a while ago as being - " 
Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to 
express - verbally, by means of the written word, or by any other 
manner - the actual functioning of thought.  Dictated by thought, in 
the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any 
aesthetic or moral concern..."


dialectical triangulation places all three of the scenarios below in 
the same vector - one of howling bullshit traipsing around as 
"reality." When's the next episode, and what do you want with your 
freedom fries?

Paul



Banning French Fries
You want "freedom fries" with that?
By Timothy Noah
Posted Tuesday, March 11, 2003, at 1:43 PM PT

http://slate.msn.com/id/2079975/

Henceforth, french fries and French toast will no longer be served in 
the cafeterias of the House of Representatives' three office 
buildings. Instead, the cafeterias will offer "freedom fries" and 
"freedom toast." It has been so decreed by Rep. Bob Ney, an Ohio 
Republican who chairs the committee on House administration. No word 
yet on whether the House similarly plans to adopt the neologisms 
"freedom horn," "freedom doors," "freedom kissing," and "freedom 
tickler."

Rep. Ney's action (urged on by Rep. Walter Jones, a North Carolina 
Republican) is meant to demonize France for its exasperating refusal 
to support a war against Iraq. It's an echo of the propaganda frenzy 
against Germany during World War I, when Americans renamed sauerkraut 
"liberty cabbage," dachshunds "liberty dogs," hamburgers "liberty 
steaks," and German measles "liberty measles." Beethoven was banned 
outright. In retrospect, this demonization of all things German seems 
ridiculous. But it wasn't as ridiculous as Ney's current demonization 
of France. Germany, after all, was America's enemy, whereas France is 
America's NATO ally. If chauvinistic warmongers want to start 
renaming stuff, it should be Iraqi stuff. There's probably not much 
point in going after Iraqi food such as masgoof (barbecued fish) and 
pacha (sort of an Iraqi haggis) because Americans don't eat them. A 
better idea would be to tear out every page in the Bible that 
features an Iraqi place name, such as Babylon, Babel, the Garden of 
Eden, Nineveh, and Ur. The Christian right will object, but we all 
have to make sacrifices during wartime.


compare this article to the speech of Bush a couple of days ago 
setting the tone for "Operation Iraqi Freedom"

President's Remarks
  view
  listen President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat
Remarks by the President on Iraq
Cincinnati Museum Center - Cincinnati Union Terminal
Cincinnati, Ohio


8:02 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you for that very gracious and 
warm Cincinnati welcome. I'm honored to be here tonight; I appreciate 
you all coming.

Tonight I want to take a few minutes to discuss a grave threat to 
peace, and America's determination to lead the world in confronting 
that threat.
	 
The threat comes from Iraq. It arises directly from the Iraqi 
regime's own actions -- its history of aggression, and its drive 
toward an arsenal of terror. Eleven years ago, as a condition for 
ending the Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi regime was required to destroy 
its weapons of mass destruction, to cease all development of such 
weapons, and to stop all support for terrorist groups. The Iraqi 
regime has violated all of those obligations. It possesses and 
produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear 
weapons. It has given shelter and support to terrorism, and practices 
terror against its own people. The entire world has witnessed Iraq's 
eleven-year history of defiance, deception and bad faith.

We also must never forget the most vivid events of recent history. On 
September the 11th, 2001, America felt its vulnerability -- even to 
threats that gather on the other side of the earth. We resolved then, 
and we are resolved today, to confront every threat, from any source, 
that could bring sudden terror and suffering to America.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html
and then compare to Goebbels sppech at Nuremberg on Propaganda:

 

Background: If you have seen a clip of Goebbels speaking, it is 
likely the conclusion to this speech, taken from Riefenstahl's film 
of the 1934 rally, Triumph des Willens. Goebbels gave a speech each 
year at the Nuremberg Rally, often focusing on propaganda. Here he 
presents Nazi propaganda as the model for the rest of the world, 
calling it the "backgroud music" to government policy.

The Source: Der Kongress zur Nürnberg 1934 (Munich: Zentralverlag der 
NSDAP., Frz. Eher Nachf., 1934), pp. 130-141.




Goebbels at Nuremberg - 1934

by Joseph Goebbels




It is difficult to define the concept of propaganda thoroughly and 
precisely. This is especially true since in past decades it was 
subject to unfavorable definitions, particularly as the enemy defined 
it with regards to us Germans. First, then, we must defend it. Those 
abroad sometimes claim that in the past we Germans were particularly 
good in this area, but that unfortunately is not consistent with the 
facts. We learned this all too clearly during the World War. While 
the enemy states produced unprecedented atrocity propaganda aimed at 
Germany throughout the whole world, we did nothing and were 
completely defenseless against it. Only when enemy foreign propaganda 
had nearly won over the greater part of the neutral states did the 
German government begin to sense the enormous power of propaganda. It 
was too late. Just as we were militarily and economically unprepared 
for the war, so too with propaganda. We lost the war in this area 
more than in any other.

The cleverest trick used in propaganda against Germany during the war 
was to accuse Germany of what our enemies themselves were doing. Even 
today large parts of world opinion are convinced that the typical 
characteristics of German propaganda are lying, crudeness, reversing 
the facts and the like. One needs only to remember the stories that 
were spread throughout the world at the beginning of the war about 
German soldiers chopping off children's hands and crucifying women to 
realize that Germany then was a defenseless victim of this campaign 
of calumny. It neither had nor used any means of defense.

The concept of propaganda has undergone a fundamental transformation, 
particularly as the result of political practice in Germany. 
Throughout the world today, people are beginning to see that a modern 
state, whether democratic or authoritarian, cannot withstand the 
subterranean forces of anarchy and chaos without propaganda. It is 
not only a matter of doing the right thing; the people must 
understand that the right thing is the right thing. Propaganda 
includes everything that helps the people to realize this.

Political propaganda in principle is active and revolutionary. It is 
aimed at the broad masses. It speaks the language of the people 
because it wants to be understood by the people. Its task is the 
highest creative art of putting sometimes complicated events and 
facts in a way simple enough to be understood by the man on the 
street. Its foundation is that there is nothing the people cannot 
understand, rather things must be put in a way that they can 
understand. It is a question of making it clear to him by using the 
proper approach, evidence and language.

Propaganda is a means to an end. Its purpose is to lead the people to 
an understanding that will allow them to willingly and without 
internal resistance devote themselves to the tasks and goals of a 
superior leadership. If propaganda is to succeed, it must know what 
it wants. It must keep a clear and firm goal in mind, and seek the 
appropriate means and methods to reach that goal. Propaganda as such 
is neither good nor evil. Its moral value is determined by the the 
goals it seeks.

Propaganda must be creative. It is by no means a matter for the 
bureaucracy or official administration, rather it is a matter of 
productive fantasy. The genuine propagandist must be a true artist. 
He must be a master of the popular soul, using it as an instrument to 
express the majesty of a genuine political will. Propaganda can be 
pro or con. In neither case does it have to be negative. The only 
thing that is important is whether or not its words are true and 
genuine expressions of the people. During its period of opposition, 
the National Socialist movement proved that criticism can be 
constructive, indeed that in a time which the government is in the 
hands of destructive powers it may be the only constructive element.






============================================================================
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe 
they are free...."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Port:status>OPEN
wildstyle access: www.djspooky.com

Paul D. Miller a.k.a. Dj Spooky that Subliminal Kid

Office Mailing Address:

Subliminal Kid Inc.
101 W. 23rd St. #2463
New York, NY 10011



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Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 09:32:56 +0100 (CET)
From: august <august@alien.mur.at>
To: nettime-l@bbs.thing.net
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.1030324084632.871C-100000@alien>


dear Nettime,

I've been exchanging some emails with my family in the states, trying to
engage them. They are very much split on the recent course of action. 
Some are strong Bush supporters, others are adimently against him.  I'm
talking here with my uncle, a 25 year marine veteran who has fought and
lost friends in other military actions.  He is quietly opposed to Bush and
this war.  My other uncle, who I've excluded from my email postings, is a
National Guard member and is in Iraq right now and in grave danger.

Here in Vienna, I can only find variations of the same opinion: that this
war is wrong, unjust, and hypocritical.

Maybe, as someone on the list so kindly pointed out, this is a sign of my
"ignorant" views and "aggressive" protest.

 - august.


PS:  My comments and tone are aimed to reach a certain cultural bracket. 


-----Original Message-----
From: august [mailto:august@alien.mur.at]
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2003 5:49 AM
Subject: RE: protesting



> War is a bad thing. Even when the cause is a just one--it's still horrible.
> It is because of this that so many strong opinions are formed.

Uncle ****, again, you couldn't be more right.

And, I'm sorry if my opinions are ill-toned or if I've been "preachy" as
****** pointed out.  The last thing I will claim is that I have all the
answers.  I don't.

So, whether you agree with this action or not, it's hard not to notice a
few things.

	1) This is an invasion.  Whether you call it just or not, we are
unilaterally invading another nation.  This carries great responsibility. 
And, if Afghanistan is a sign, then we are in for a humanitarian disaster
and yet another blotch on the US's blood-stained foreign policy.  We spent
4.5 billion dollars bombing Afghanistan and offered only 300 million as
relief.  The president "forgot" to include a budget for the Afghanis in
this years fiscal policy, and added a measly 300m at the last minute under
pressure from congress, 35 million of which is just for a 5-star hotel in
Kabul. So far, we have spent only 65 million for food and water in Iraq,
and I dont know how many billions on weaponry and assault.  (the list of
anti-humanitarian action is much longer than this, you can check it
yourself.  just look around.) 


	2) the world is getting smaller every day.  With every
'humanitarian' and 'freedom-fighting' bombing campaign, we are distancing
ourselves further from the world, feeding fuel to anti-american
sentiments. People tend to take notice when you are dropping bombs on
them.  What did Clint Eastwood say?  oh yeah "Don't piss on my back and
tell me it's raining."  People in the world are outraged.  Whether you
believe they have a right to be outraged or not, you should at least be
able to see their anger and frustration.  How are we going to face the
world (as a leader nonetheless) if we are not even accepted as a part of
it?  This has long-term ramifications for the bed-wetting liberals and the
gun-toting right-wingers alike.


	3.) over the last 10 years, the US has increased it's military
action in the world.  With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US is
standing as the sole world leader.  Whether you think we have a right to
police the world or not, please at least admit that this power is going
unchecked and unbalanced and is against every American democratic value
that we hold so dearly.  At the moment, as we did under the Clinton
adminstration, we are showing to the world that what we say, goes.  Hardly
democratic or diplomatic.  Clinton hid it under more adept terminology,
but Bush exposed us with "If you aren't with us, you're against us."


	4.) Nobody is clean.  Chirac and Putin each have their diplomatic
follies, not to mention Chechenya.  Schroeder and the other Europeans also
want the Opec curency to be based on the Euro, and not the dollar.  The
Germans have also granted the US fly-by rights and the use of military
bases.  The Turks are able to be bought by the US.  How much was it?  24
billion dollars?  Everywhere I look, there is deceit.  I seriously doubt
Gore would have done it differently.  Maybe he would be smart enough to
allow Blix to continue a bit longer, but I think he certainly would have
attacked eventually.  Hard to say. 


Where does this leave us?  I have no idea.  Thus, my confusion.  My best
guess is that it is necessary and imparative to trust in diplomacy and see
to it that we are accepted as citizens of the world. Of course, I have
other thoughts on how we could have avoided this, how we could go about
reconciling the mis-judgements and wrong-doings, but I will spare you the
anti-war propaganda. 



---


on another note, the demonstration yesterday couldn't have gone better. 
Conservative numbers say there were 40,000 people in the streets.  My
estimate would say at least 100,000.  Not bad, for a city of 2 million. 
It was interesting to see the kinds of people showing up.  Lots of
children and elderly, pale people and people of color, people with towels
on their heads, people without towels alltogether, postmen, hair-dressers,
you name it. It was a calm non-violent day; even the police were wearing
the rainbow colored peace stickers and flags that were handed out.  It was
cold but sunny.  And, at the very least it was a good party and a nice day
to take a brisk walk through Vienna.


- auggie.




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