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Occupation Watch
cobalt123
07:18h
Under the present circumstances of global publicity for the tortures of Iraquis by US and Brit troops that have now been fully-exposed to us, complete with photos, video and testimony, consider looking into the Occupation Watch site on a regular basis. Where there once existed pages of news storys on places such as CNN, the "disappeared" may still be available.
Here is the lead story on the latest home page: "Torture in Iraq: Has the U.S. Become the Evil It Deplored? On Wednesday, April 28, 60 Minutes II broadcast photos of American soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners. The gruesome photos depicting physical and sexual abuse by American military personnel are bringing long-needed attention to a travesty that Amnesty International, the Occupation Watch Center, independent journalists, and delegates from recent delegations to Iraq have highlighted continually for more than a year. With the Americans as “both the judges and tortures” who are the Iraqis to turn to? The following articles document the human rights abuses and torture of Iraqi prisoners and civilians throughout the occupation. Mike and River, again, thank you for your efforts to publicize these stories. Doesn't the word "story" somehow underwhelm you in the scheme of things? What words can describe the horror of torture used for whatever grand purpose? Today, Baghdad Burning, Occupation Watch, Iraq Dispatches, and Redeye's Corner are added to the sidebar. "Sidebar" perhaps can be termed "main bar" in these distressing days. ... Link
What America Looks Like
cobalt123
19:49h
And American's wonder why the Iraqis fight our breath of "freedom"??????????? This image from cnn The caption? "European newspapers featured pictures that purportedly show abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. jailers." So, it's European newspapers that report the stories and the images. There is little published in the US. And it is "purportedly", even though there are videos and photographs AND sufficiently corraborated testimony. The UK has also got it's own horror, with a story in the Mirror, complete with photos. There we are treated to an image of a Brit troop urinating on an Iraqi. Mike Golby in out2lunch ( a fellow OSP'r) details the stories and creates stunning and horrible photomontages from what the world is seeing now of US and British treatment of Iraqis. He brings to me word of a female blogger in Iraq, in Baghdad Burning. "River" tags her blog with "Girl Blog from Iraq... let's talk war, politics and occupation". What does she tag AMERIKA with? This link takes you to her current entry where she links to the story in the Mirror.
and here is where words fail me... ... Link
Mother Jones Article on Blogs
cobalt123
06:47h
The Revolution Will Not Be Blogged
George Packer For starters, I am a female blogger and very involved in the blogosphere on personal, artistic and political levels. This author has completely dismissed the value of blogs as a tool to educate and to inform the public. I write from an American POV. The founding of America and growth of democracy depends on an educated public with access to information upon which to make informed decisions. Contrary to Parker's belief that blogging is done by those who sit around their apartments in pajamas and no action happens, many bloggers record important parts of their lives that are ACTIVE. For example, my adult son with disabilities would greatly benefit from passage of two laws that have been stuck in committees since May 2003: MiCASSA and the Money Follows the Person Act. I have submitted testimony to the federal record, and use a blog I started, Eldercare and Disability Forum to store and share useful information for disability advocates. In two political-oriented blogs, I collect and disseminate information and resources via summary of events and links. I am not a journalist. I am a living participant of the global world and my own narrow community. Why should bloggers be held to some unstated standard, perhaps that of a reporter or journalist? Why should blogs be judged in the comparison to existing mainstream journalism? Leave it alone, and blogs do just fine, thank you, to record the impact of politics, world events, and personal issues upon individuals and people who who are ignored and isolated. Read them, appreciate the sharing, or "turn the channel". How can giving a voice to people be not the central value of blogs? Empowerment takes many forms, my friend, and this article uses the language of snobbery and rarefication that the writer accuses of bloggers. "A curious thing about this rarefied world is that bloggers are almost unfailingly contemptuous toward everyone except one another."Did this statement come from your own restricted viewing stream of the blogosphere? It may seem some of that in some blogs, but not in the majority that I travel with. Perhaps this writer needs to "get out more" and talk with real bloggers who enrich our world with real social records and history of these times. Politics is not just commentary and opinion: it affects people. Actions and policies of governments affect people. The writer seems to feel that only blogs that blow holes "in the sealed rooms of the major editorial pages and Sunday talk shows " are of importance. Experience and exposure to realities affect people who vote. Deny this opportunity to not only "publish" online but also invite contributions and comment? What's with the statement "So far this year, bloggers have been remarkably unadept at predicting events" - this condemnation seems ridiculous. It pontificates the writer's narrow view of the grand purpose of blogging. The writer's figure (guesstimate) of the "13%" as in "Although only 13 percent of Americans regularly get their campaign news from the Internet " seems to me a significant milestone in the use of the Internet, which includes blogs. Many political campaigns would love to market to such a percentage of those who may be more likely to vote. Recent political election history shows that even a third of that percentage you quote is quite capable of overturning election results. Your statement that "Blogs remain private, written in the language and tone of knowingness, insider shorthand, instant mastery. Read them enough and any subject will go dead" reflects a pseudo-intellectual or academian personal opinion from an outsider towards those active in the "real world". You might consider getting out of your own pajamas and get a life. ... Link Next page |
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