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The Weblog at The View from the Core - Friday, September 26, 2003
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"Iraq: A Federal Judge's Point of View" A lecture by Judge Don Walters: .... Despite my initial opposition to the war, I am now convinced, whether we find any weapons of mass destruction or prove Saddam sheltered and financed terrorists, absolutely, we should have overthrown the Baathists, indeed, we should have done it sooner. What changed my mind? When we left mid June, 57 mass graves had been found, one with the bodies of 1200 children. There have been credible reports of murder, brutality and torture of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Iraqi citizens. There is poverty on a monumental scale and fear on a larger one. That fear is still palpable. I have seen the machines and places of torture. I will tell you one story told to me by the Chief of Pediatrics at the Medical College in Basra. It was one of the most shocking to me, but I heard worse. One of Saddam's security agents was sent to question a Shiite in his home. The interrogation took place in the living room in the presence of the man's wife, who held their three month old child. A question was asked and the thug did not like the answer; he asked it again, same answer. He grabbed the baby from its mother and plucked its eye out. And then repeated his question. Worse things happened with the knowledge, indeed with the participation, of Saddam, his family and the Baathist regime. Thousands suffered while we were messing about with France and Russia and Germany and the UN. Every one of them knew what was going on there, but France and the UN were making millions administering the food for oil program. We cannot, I know, remake the world, nor do I believe we should. We cannot stamp out evil, I know. But this time we were morally right and our economic and strategic interests were involved. I submit that just because we can't do everything doesn't mean that we should do nothing.... Alas, the webpage suffers from deficiencies. Most of the text is a hyperlink! And the page is undated, but seems to be earlier than Sep. 1. Lane Core Jr. CIW P Fri. 09/26/03 08:33:57 AM |
"In a Poll, Baghdad Residents Call Freedom Worth the Price" In NYT, Sep. 24, by Patrick Tyler: After five months of foreign military occupation and the ouster of Saddam Hussein, nearly two-thirds of Baghdad residents believe that the removal of the Iraqi dictator has been worth the hardships they have been forced to endure, a new Gallup poll shows. Despite the systemic collapse of government and civic institutions, a wave of looting and violence, and shortages of water and electricity, 67 percent of 1,178 Iraqis told a Gallup survey team that within five years, their lives would be better than before the American and British invasion. Only 8 percent of those queried said they believed that their lives would be worse off as a result of the military campaign to remove Mr. Hussein and his Baath Party leadership from power.... Gee, Patrick. What does that tell you about the situation, say, a year ago? And what did you and your newspaper report about the situation a year ago? Lane Core Jr. CIW P Fri. 09/26/03 07:40:43 AM |
"Why Do Stories Get Killed?" Dan Levine reviews Into the Buzzsaw, a book by former network news producer Kristina Borjesson: .... So why are stories killed? One theme woven through the essays in the book is a culture of fear in American newsrooms: Fear of contradicting highly placed government spokespeople and compromising access in the future. Borjesson remembers sitting in an FBI press conference about the TWA flight. One man asked an FBI agent why the Navy was involved in the flight investigation when it was a possible suspect. The agent's response? "Remove him!" Two men leapt over to the questioner and grabbed him by the arms," Borjesson wrote. "There was a momentary chill in the air after the guy had been dragged out of the room." Speaking of the incident now, Borjesson says it was the duty of other reporters in the room to stand up and ask the very same questions, as a show of solidarity. And then the entire incident should have been reported. But at the time, she did nothing. "I was frozen in my seat," she says.... Lane Core Jr. CIW P Fri. 09/26/03 07:03:18 AM |
The War Against Christianity Thanks to Margaret for calling my attention to this article by Ann Coulter, Sep. 24, reviewing David Limbaugh's new book: .... Not all mentions of religion constitute "hate speech." In Tupelo, Miss., school administrators methodically purged all Christmas carols of any religious content – and then led the children in a chant of: "Celebrate Kwanzaa!" At Pattison Elementary school in Katy, Texas, Christmas songs are banned, but students are threatened with grade reductions for refusing to sing songs celebrating other religious faiths. In New York City, the chancellor of the Department of Education prohibited the display of Nativity scenes in public schools, while expressly allowing the Jewish menorah and the Islamic star and crescent to be displayed. Some would say that was overkill inasmuch as New York City is already the home of the world's largest public display built in commemoration of Islam: Ground Zero. Between issuing laws prohibiting discrimination against transgendered individuals and running up a $38 billion deficit, the California Legislature mandated a three-week immersion course in Islam for all seventh-graders. A "crash course" in Islam, you might call it, if that weren't so ironic. Students are required to adopt Muslim names, plan a trip to Mecca, play a jihad game, pray to "Allah, the Compassionate" and to chant "Praise to Allah! Lord of Creation!" They are encouraged to dress in Muslim garb. Students are discouraged, however, from stoning girls at the school dances, abusing their "Jew" math teachers or blowing up their classmates. A popular student textbook, "Across the Centuries," treats the Inquisition and Salem witch-hunts as typical of Christianity, but never gets around to mentioning the Muslims' conquest of Spain, the Battle of Tours, or the execution of Jews in Qurayza. Or 9-11. There is no surer proof of Christ's divinity than that he is still so hated some 2,000 years after his death. Limbaugh's "Persecution" covers it all in staggering, heartbreaking detail. His methodical description of what is happening in our public schools alone will call to mind the hate speech banned in Columbine: "Jesus Wept." Lane Core Jr. CIW P Fri. 09/26/03 06:40:58 AM |
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