Tuesday, August 3, 2004

Again from An Ordinary Person's Guide to Empire by Arundhati Roy. At the end of the title essay she says: "Despite the pall of gloom that hangs over us today, I'd like to file a cautious plea for hope: In time of war, one wants one's weakest enemy at the helm of his forces. And President George W. Bush is certainly that." 7:13:44 PM    comment []

From The Register's article on US terror alerts become a political football: "Not to put too fine a point on it, last week sucked for the Bush Administration. It's no wonder, then, that a multi-city security rain dance should be choreographed - no wonder that police in paramilitary jumpsuits and helmets and boots should appear on the streets and in the subways with fully automatic weapons. It's no wonder that streets should be closed to traffic and cars stopped at random. The rest of the news is just too depressing." 6:50:58 PM    comment []

Last weekend this guy was on the corner of East Broadway and Eldridge preaching in english. He did not do any market research as myself and possibly a dozen other people in the course of the day were able to understand him. He probably went home cursing that he had spent his whole day "casting his pearls before swine." 5:51:23 PM    comment []

Currently reading: An Ordinary Person's Guide to Empire by Arundhati Roy. She says among other things that "Crisis reportage in the twenty-first century has evolved into an independent art form[~]almost a science" (p. 6). She further says that "In this era of crisis reportage, if you don't have a crisis to call your own, you're not in the news. And if you're not in the news, you don't exist." (p. 9) This goes a long way to explain the almost irresponsible actions of the Homeland Security Department in their release of "terrorist" threats to "specific" targets. I have not seen the television news programs this happy and irrelevant since the last big snowstorm. They were almost wetting their pants over this. I agree with Howard Dean. I think these "terrorist" warnings are a direct response to what the Democrats are doing in the campaign. It is a surefire way to replace them and their message on the front pages of the press and out of primetime; put out a scare message and the media will be more at your beck and all. 12:17:53 PM    comment []