Just had to note that NPR on Wednesday felt the need to immediately publicize the fact that Joe the Plunger (no toilet too nasty or clogged) is joining the society of no-nothing journalists (maybe there's some sympathy at NPR for such?) by heading off to Israel.Also, this morning I had to post a comment on NPR's web site about the US being a peace broker in the Israel Palestine conflict. Ari Shapiro is interviewing Aaron Miller - yet again (see here and here). Is there a rational, thinking human in the world who actually thinks the US is some kind of fair broker between Israel and the Palestinians?
14 comments:
New Tom Tomorrow illustration, appropriate tie-in to the thread!
http://www.thismodernworld.com/blog/bayguardian.jpg
Oh bloody hell. US abstains from UN call for ceasefire, and Israel goes right on with their murderous rampage. You got that right, My2; we're a peace BREAKER, not a peace BROKER.
If Obama were the least bit interested in brokering a peace between the Israelis and palestinians, he would have Jimmy Carter over there talking to the two sides RIGHT NOW.
Carter understands the issue far better than most and the treaty he brokered between Israel and Egypt is perhaps the only bright spot in the whole dark history of the area.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/08-11
But Obama is a phony. He told a bunch of lies so he could get elected and has already begun to renege on them.
Anonymous, as far as I know, Obama is not the president, Bush is. Can we wait until he is inaugurated before we start calling him a lying phony who reneges on promises?
I agree with george o- I mean, eric b. Benefitting the doubt takes patience, and I've been impatient for all 800 years of the Bush Dark Age, but we are on the threshold of at least daring to hope for some mini-miracles, if not some pleasant surprises. However, no-Pollyanna-ism is in play with this child. The Bush Dark Age has made me skeptical and wary (duh!). I do not expect miracles in light of the Palestinian situation, but I fully expect Obama to approach it as a crisis equal to the world financial crisis.
NPR of course will be nowhere worthwhile in any such approach. They will be among the LAST sources to consult, and even then, only for painful comparisons.
Has NPR mentioned the International Red Cross report of finding children beside the corpses of their mothers?
^ Dunno, but NBC, via Martin Fletcher, indeed did.
Yowch, Smarmy McNews trounced by the Pedantic Peacock yet again?! What's the world comin' to?
Joe the Plunger (no toilet too nasty or clogged) is joining the society of no-nothing journalists (maybe there's some sympathy at NPR for such?)
maybe he can take over Inskeep's job when he's on vacation.
Both seem to have a special expertise routing crap.
Obama is not the president, Bush is. Can we wait until he is inaugurated before we start calling him a lying phony who reneges on promises?"
Obama's excuse that "we can only have one president at a time" is phony in and of itself -- to say nothing of pathetic.
Effectively, on the isreali/Palestinian issue, we ZERO presidents at this time.
besides, where in our Constitution does it say that the President elect has to give up his right as a US citizen to speak out against the government?
There is certainly nothing preventing Obama from calling for a ceasefire at this point, at the very least.
My god, Reagan was arranging for the release of American hostages from Iran before he got into office, so Obama can certainly be speaking up on the current "war on gaza".
In fact, if he did so, he would greatly enhance his chances of being perceived by both sides as an unbiased mediator in any future peace process.
But Obama has not done that.
"But Obama has not done that."
Absolutely true. Would that he had.
Just some thoughts on why he hasn't:
BushCorp is an absolutely venal, hardass and ruthless mafia organization. Anyone who 'muscles in' on it is bound to be at risk.
No one knows yet the extent of the Bush pardons or the pre-emptive pardon factor. Obama has to be very careful about navigating the shoals of Bush collateral effect.
Agreed: Obama should speak up immediately about a ceasefire, but I think he's hogtied, and the Israeli Neocons know this, that's why they're blitzkrieging Gaza while they have the green light, which the BushCorp mafia has certainly given them.
To my mind, pinning too great an expectation on Obama to perform even average miracles at this point is an unwanted risk.
Oh, for the halcyon days of St. Reagan and his secret hostage dealings.
http://scribblativeagincourting.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/when-the-reagan-campaign-secretly-delayed-the-iranian-hostage-release/
o my mind, pinning too great an expectation on Obama to perform even average miracles at this point is an unwanted risk.
I don't expect miracles, just that elected public officials not hide behind clearly bogus excuses like "There can be only one President at a time" (when Obama had no qualms speaking out on the economy/bailout issue).
Obama's excuse is not just phony, it is a lie.
I know it, you know it, and he certainly knows it.
The thing that never ceases to amaze me about our politicians is their assumption that every member of the American public is a complete idiot.
Is this something that Harvard and Yale teach perhaps? That Harvard/Yale students are the chosen geniuses and everyone is a moron? It certainly appears that way.
The fact is, there are a lot of very smart people in this country (eg, scientists and engineers) who are much smarter than the vast majority of our politicians are. Obama may be smarter than most politicians, but he could not hold a candle to the average engineer or scientist in that regard.
I majored in physics in college and I'd bet that most of these "leaders" (with the possible exception of someone like Carter, who studied nuclear engineering) would not last a single week in a physics or engineering class.
Thank you thank you thank you for mentioning the NPR story on "Joe" the "Plumber" and his little trip to the Middle East--as though any of it was a legitimate news story about a legitimate journalist!
And yes, NPR aired an interview on Friday afternoon around 5:30 Eastern time in which a Red Cross official discussed finding the bodies of children/infants next to their mothers' corpses. The interviewer (can't remember which idiot it was) didn't even bat a metaphorical eye.
First time to be on this blog--will definitely be back. Thanks.
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