-Caveat Lector- http://www.anacortesonline.com/Article.tpl?id=696 Dr. SmugBush, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Ignore The War A new column by Brent Stavig -- Now that the second week of the Attack on Iraq is winding to a close, and the troops are pushing closer to Bodybaghdad, I’ve been overcome with a sense of tranquility. For days I’ve been wrangling and grappling, spewing and chewing, postulating and prognosticating over a situation that I completely disagree with. I’ve been disillusioned with the great people of America, and their willingness to support a war that is about many things but certainly not about liberating the citizens of Iraq or ridding the world of it’s de facto thug leader Saddam and his arsenal of chemical weapons. A thick haze had blunted my sight as I tried to reach through the disinformation for a clear explanation as to why Americans weren’t being given the true facts by our government. And lastly, I was shocked and awed when hearing the two- headed dragon named Donald Rumsfeld announce at a Pentagon briefing, “this war is an act of humanity”. But today I am peaceful with my surroundings and myself. I’m once again enjoying the company of friends, going out to movies, taking in a band at a local bar, and most importantly laughing again. “How did you transcend the agony of being surrounded by a world of hypocrisy?” you might ask. The answer is surprisingly simple: I stopped listening, reading, and watching reports about the Imperialist war against the sovereign nation called Iraq. I weaned myself off of any “information” from “imbedded” “journalists” reporting “facts” from the “front lines”. To do this is quite simple: you only need to turn off any outlets of state-controlled media. To most people this would entail not paying any attention to almost all sources of news they have access to, and this understanding would be correct. In order for the United States government to adequately control your opinions, thoughts, reactions, and any possible actions to the news that you receive, they have conveniently overtaken, via defense contractors like General Electric, the majority of major media in America. Most of the information we get is censored and distorted to help shape our views of any particular situation. The government simply can’t risk the possibility that Americans might think for themselves and oppose their directives. Sounds rather Orwellian doesn’t it? (George Orwell wrote a book called “1984” about the government taking over all aspects of the public’s lives.) There are credible reports that some writers for the Associated Press and Knight Ridder are members of the CIA. Their job is to take the facts of a story, like the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, and twist the truth around so it’s palpable to the American palette. Sounds kind of fun doesn’t it? Eliminate the fact that the rules of the Geneva Convention were breached when the United States transported Afghani prisoners of war across the border, and then you have a story that the American public can support! It sounds kind of like a conspiracy theory doesn’t it? Next time you see an article about American foreign policy written by the Associated Press, with no name accredited to it, you might be reading some CIA fiction! Unless a newspaper is independently owned and operated you stand a slim chance of discovering any real facts about the war against Iraq. This includes The New York Times, The Seattle Times, The Wall Street Journal, and virtually every major-market newspaper out there. Of course, once in a while an article makes it to “print” that actually resembles something close to the truth and you have to wonder how the heck it got past the editor, after all: it’s his/her, job/life on the line. The next thing you have to question is television. Virtually all television news is doctored, censored, twisted, distorted, and glossed over to make sure the American people know how to feel. Do they show pictures of dead American soldiers? Yes, unfortunately. Do they show pictures of dead and wounded Iraqi civilians? No, unfortunately. There is a reason for what these programs decide to show and what not to show; they want to manipulate your emotions. This applies to NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and PBS. The only television news stations that come close to honest reporting are ITN World News, and the BBC. Radio is another vast wasteland of distorted truth. Of all the radio talk show hosts in Seattle, I can only think of ONE who disagrees with the policies of the men who pull President Bush’s strings; Mike Webb. Doesn’t it seem odd that of all the ego-driven radio personalities on the air, only ONE would have the nerve to risk his career by disagreeing with the status quo? It seems to me that simply for the sake of ratings more radio personalities would go against popular opinion. But sadly, most people like having a paycheck at the end of the week so they do what’s expected of them at the expense of their morals and sense of self worth. So the question remains: Where can I go to find accurate and honest information about the situation across the pond? I will list four Internet sites that consistently have well-written and intelligent articles about things the Bush Puppet Extravaganza doesn’t want you to know. 1.) www.truthout.org (especially the writings by William Rivers Pitt) 2.) www.alternet.org (all the writers are incredibly insightful) 3.) www.wsws.org (don’t let the Socialist word scare you, these articles are lengthy, fact-filled, and brimming with the truth) 4.) http://electroniciraq.net (a wonderful website directly from the front lines) Spend a few hours or days reading the material on these web sites and I guarantee you’ll never watch television news, read the newspapers, or listen to talk radio the same way again. In the wonderful movie “Network” the protagonist news anchor, after receiving a lecture about how the world is controlled by big business, implores his viewers to “Turn off your televisions, open your windows, and shout in your loudest voice ‘I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!’” This is probably the best advice we can follow in these times of blatant lies and false promises. The films “Dr. Strangelove” and “Network” are both about how the military industrial complex and Big Business (who usually work in tandem) are the ones who truly control the world politic (in an out-of-control manner). The average citizen is just supposed to sit back and ingest the information being presented to them via trustworthy news-anchors and believe that the evil in the world is being dealt with appropriately. I will continue to boycott the “war cheerleaders” who parade through our newspapers, magazines, televisions, and radios. Instead, I will occasionally go to the web sites I’ve listed for a crystal-clear view of what is really happening. Truth is where you find it, they say, and who can blame people who won’t consider alternative perspectives for standing their ground? We all have a right to believe what we choose, but issues like war are always complicated and questionable. It would serve humanity well if we refuse to be “played” by the state-controlled media and formulate our own views based on a broad spectrum of information. Finally, I would think that a daily prayer from us all for our brothers and sisters who are directly affected by the current war would be appropriate.Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra
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