Weirdest Dream lately :
I dreamed I was on the "other side" when my Dad was passing. I spoke to him and made sure he was okay. Then I woke, and knew he was gone. 30 minutes later, we got the call from the hospital saying that his blood pressure had crashed in the last 30 minutes.
Currently working on :
A BTVS related story called "Long Goodbye" which deals with a member of the Watchers Council being vamped as part of an experiment.
Also completing my nanowrimo effort.
A blog for that outspoken and aggressive member of the Buffy Bulletin Board.
Thursday, April 03, 2003
This is not an anti-war site
While it's fair to say I hate this invasion of Iraq, and I think Bush is a soft headed tit who's a danger to us all, this blog is neither an anti-war site, nor is it an anti-American site. I don't comment on every single aspect of the war, and I have neither the time nor the inclination to educate visitors here to Americas legion of abuses past and present. There are better people than I to do that.
That said, my opinions on the invasion and the Bush Administration have caused some backlash by those who are unable or unwilling to stare some uncomfortable truths in the face.
The administration is not America. The people are America. Everytime I see footage from those very large anti-war marches, I am glad. That's democracy in action.
When I see footage of police in riot gear macing those demonstrators, or herding people into "free speech zones" it disgusts me.
It is quite possible to love America and the ideals it was built on, and still hate most of its actions today, especially in the areas of foreign policy.
Having lived for many years in a country riddled with terrorism, and having grown up in a country that was under martial law, I value very much the freedom to speak and say what I wish. Having spent some time in education, I feel passionately about encouraging people to think for themselves, and question things. Question authority. Question your teachers. Question the state. Question the church.
I happen to believe (and I know I'm not alone in this) that Americans are one of the most consistantly lied to people on the planet. As such, much as I love some American people, it can be very frustrating trying to show them that the world as they knew it to be, isn't actually so.
It's harder still when the people involved have been in the army or law enforcement, because they are basically immersed (more so than the average citizen) in a situation where you have to follow orders unquestioningly.
This means that sometimes, good people can be ordered to do some reprehensible things. And yet, the claim "I was only following orders" is not recognised as a valid defence. So it's very much a catch-22.
Most soldiers in the army are not there because they want to be tools of repression for a rogue state. They are there because they genuinely believe they are doing the right thing, making a positive difference. How sad it is that they are also among the people least likely to question if their goal is served.
I've lived in a bunch of countries over my life, and my world view is naturally more global than most. Neither east nor west. Neither democrat, nor republican.
As such, I don't have any knee-jerk reaction when it comes to pointing out the flaws in both the Bush and Clinton administrations. I've noticed a tendency to do that when I've seen Americans from different sides of the fence debate about the issues. The democrat criticises Bush. The Republican doesn't answer the charges, merely says "well how can you say that when Clinton did 'x'." The trend seems to be "automatic defense of my position, automatic retaliation on yours".
On a final note, because this is getting a lot longer than I thought it was going to be, I'd like to go back to addressing the issue of credibility. I've cited more than just Arabic news sources in my blog. Robert Fisk is an internationally known journalist. I've referenced stories from the London Times and Guardian, as well as the Mirror and the Observer. I also read some of the American press and papers from NewZealand and Australia.
It is an unfortunate truth that the coalition has been caught in more lies than the Iraqi administration. And by caught, I don't mean "Pravda" ran a story saying something else. I mean the US/UK retracted the story. Usually however, there is very little coverage given to the retraction in the mainstream media, as they are all busy with the next big lie. I'll do a piece later on some examples of that.
This doesn't mean I believe everything Iraq says, it just means that at the moment, they have more credibility than the US/UK. And considering what a bastard Saddam is, that is just a sad state of affairs to be in.
Thursday, April 03, 2003
