Welcome to Hell, leave your handbasket at the door

As the forum title implies: This is the forum for "anything else" which doesn't fit into one of the other forums.
Post Reply
User avatar
fnordboy
Ed Zwick Wannabe
Posts: 1954
Joined: Sep 25th 2002, 10:29 am
Location: Exit 16E, NJ
Contact:

Welcome to Hell, leave your handbasket at the door

Post by fnordboy » Mar 19th 2003, 11:41 pm

Well, so it begins:

Strike On Iraq

User avatar
GaryEA
So-Called Addict
Posts: 773
Joined: Oct 30th 2002, 6:45 pm
Location: Exit 15W, NJ
Contact:

Post by GaryEA » Mar 20th 2003, 12:51 am

Suddenly, I feel twenty again. Watching the pre-dawn Baghdad skyline on CNN, this time in color. Looked beautiful.

But it's certainly being presented differently this time. In 1991, I don't think any television news agency would have had the stones to run a countdown clock all day like MSNBC did today.

Dick Clark uses a countdown. Star Wars fans waiting for Episode III use a countdown. Does war need a countdown?

Don't answer that.

When the Iraqi capital started to moan with the first claps of anti-aircraft fire, CNN simply put on the bottom of the screen - "War with Iraq Has Begun". Okay, that was simple.

Yet the most odd phrases are coming out of my television... "shock and awe", "decapitation effort", "bunker busters", "the disarmament of Iraq has begun", "this is not his father's miltary". Who's writing this stuff? Michael Bay?

But many thanks go to Aaron Brown and Dan Rather for keeping this from turning into a bizarre episode of "Max Headroom", a show that touched on all of these surreality I've witnesses tonight.

I hope this war is quick, bloodless and over soon (Can we have a countdown for that?) All my best to the soldiers and their families.

...sigh.

Gary

User avatar
Natasha (candygirl)
MSCL.com Team
MSCL.com Team
Posts: 5374
Joined: Dec 7th 2001, 3:05 am
Location: California

Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Mar 20th 2003, 1:21 am

What has annoyed me for weeks now is that the commercials for the local news have included a little blurb where one of the anchors says, "We have never been closer to war." Uhhh, you mean we've never been closer until NOW? And NOW? And ten minutes from NOW? And we weren't this close to war before Desert Storm? Or World War 2? Or during the Cuban missile crisis? Or at any time during the Cold War?

I'm really not trying to be dismissive of going to war, but just when I think that the news can't get any stupider...it does. A lot.
Natasha aka candygirl :: MSCL.com

Look, if this is weird for you, being tutored? I don't mind helping you a little longer.
You could have sex with me if you really want to help...I guess that's a "no"?

User avatar
GaryEA
So-Called Addict
Posts: 773
Joined: Oct 30th 2002, 6:45 pm
Location: Exit 15W, NJ
Contact:

Post by GaryEA » Mar 20th 2003, 1:49 am

Hopefully, they'll start recycling those phrases, and say that the war will end in "days instead of months", and then "hours instead of days". Finally, it'll be over with and the soldiers will come home.

One would hope.

Gary

User avatar
Natasha (candygirl)
MSCL.com Team
MSCL.com Team
Posts: 5374
Joined: Dec 7th 2001, 3:05 am
Location: California

Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Mar 20th 2003, 2:33 am

Amen to that.
Natasha aka candygirl :: MSCL.com

Look, if this is weird for you, being tutored? I don't mind helping you a little longer.
You could have sex with me if you really want to help...I guess that's a "no"?

User avatar
fnordboy
Ed Zwick Wannabe
Posts: 1954
Joined: Sep 25th 2002, 10:29 am
Location: Exit 16E, NJ
Contact:

Post by fnordboy » Mar 20th 2003, 4:01 am

Very interesting developments. Too tired to post them here, plus I am sure you have all heard them.

It is quite interesting this time around, even though the war is being televised like the last time, it isn't as televised. And the media outlets know about as much as the public does, atleast now in these opening sequences. Wonder how long till they are strapping the cameras to the tomahawks like last time. :roll:

See what happens I guess.

User avatar
Nostradamus
Marshall Wannabe
Posts: 1213
Joined: Jun 29th 2002, 6:42 am
Location: No matter where you go, There you are.

Post by Nostradamus » Mar 20th 2003, 7:22 am

GaryEA wrote:Finally, it'll be over with and the soldiers will come home.

One would hope.

Gary
I hope so too, though it does not seem likely in the near future:

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_pag ... 01,00.html
I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.
-- Clarence Darrow

I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.
-- Mark Twain

User avatar
lance
Ed Zwick Wannabe
Posts: 1983
Joined: Jul 6th 2002, 4:47 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Contact:

A Sad day

Post by lance » Mar 20th 2003, 10:18 am

Hello all,

Today I think many people breathe a deep sigh of disappointment. My prayers and thoughts go out to soliders, their families and civilians on both sides of the conflict. I sincerely hope that the conflict is overwith quickly.

Here in Cincy there will be prayer vigil sposored by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati at the Federal Building at 5:00 EST.

Speaking of the American media, apparently the American Media has been ignoring an interesting set of stories recently. According to the Guardian Unlimited (please see: politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,917653,00.html)

the article asserts the Observer (another British paper) that US, specifially the NSA, bugged the security council members of Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Bulgaria, Guinea and Pakistan. The article goes on to say that British officals have found more bugs in EU offices. The unsaid implication here is that the US may, may, be involved in this as well.

Call me naive, but I thought the days of Nixon wire taps were long gone. But oh yeah, Congress passed the "Patriot Act" I guess all civil liberties are off.

Best,

Lance Man

User avatar
fnordboy
Ed Zwick Wannabe
Posts: 1954
Joined: Sep 25th 2002, 10:29 am
Location: Exit 16E, NJ
Contact:

Re: A Sad day

Post by fnordboy » Mar 20th 2003, 12:35 pm

lance wrote:
Call me naive, but I thought the days of Nixon wire taps were long gone. But oh yeah, Congress passed the "Patriot Act" I guess all civil liberties are off.
Your naive! ;)

Of course the days of taps are not long gone. Our gov't has a history of being sneaky and getting wha they want by any means necessary. It is not surprising and I saw that on Drudge yesterday, though I thought I remember hearing about it awhile back but I don't know.

User avatar
Nostradamus
Marshall Wannabe
Posts: 1213
Joined: Jun 29th 2002, 6:42 am
Location: No matter where you go, There you are.

Post by Nostradamus » Mar 21st 2003, 10:21 am

Phone tapping is the tip of the NSA iceberg:

http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/ ... twork.html

Not that European governments don't practice such snooping as well:

http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/ ... 4euro.html

In one of my favorite Frank and Ernest cartoons, a pollster asks the duo if they trust the government; one of the pair responds, "As much as it trusts me!"
I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.
-- Clarence Darrow

I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.
-- Mark Twain

User avatar
SanDeE*
So-Called Addict
Posts: 989
Joined: Sep 24th 2002, 4:40 am

Post by SanDeE* » Mar 21st 2003, 7:46 pm

I have a family member that shipped out yesterday for Iraq. My heart goes out to all the people that had to go and their families and friends. I'm just sick from the whole situation. I'm trying to remain as optimistic as possible, and I make it to every peace rally I can. I saw a headline a couple of days ago that read, "Bush Abandons Diplomacy." Tell me about it.

Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall,
Heaven help us all.

~Stevie Wonder, "Heaven Help Us All"

Great song. Not entirely about war, but I heard it today and this particular line just choked me up.
Um, in my room, one seam is a little off and I stare at it constantly. It's, like, destroying me.

~~Kristin~~

User avatar
lance
Ed Zwick Wannabe
Posts: 1983
Joined: Jul 6th 2002, 4:47 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Contact:

prayers

Post by lance » Mar 21st 2003, 10:59 pm

Kristin wrote:I have a family member that shipped out yesterday for Iraq. My heart goes out to all the people that had to go and their families and friends. I'm just sick from the whole situation. I'm trying to remain as optimistic as possible, and I make it to every peace rally I can. I saw a headline a couple of days ago that read, "Bush Abandons Diplomacy." Tell me about it.

Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall,
Heaven help us all.

~Stevie Wonder, "Heaven Help Us All"

Great song. Not entirely about war, but I heard it today and this particular line just choked me up.
Kristen,

I will keep your family member in my prayers. I went to the prayer vigil/protest last night. About 200 people showed up. A nice mix: white, black, college students, older folks like me, my mom was there, Catholic and Protestant clergy and handful of muslims. Amazing how many people mom knows. There were a couple of pro-war protestors.

The protest was peaceful and a pretty nice affair. While I was there several cars honked their support. Even a couple of Metro Bus drivers honked. The turnout wasn't anything like Chicago or San Francisco got but it was still encouraging.

Best,

Lance Man

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests