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Friday, December 16, 2005

Conveeeenient... 

Morning news: Senate blocks renewal of the Patriot Act. Hoo-ray for them. Afternoon news: Al Qaeda in Iraq releases a new video. Booga-booga, look at the terra-ists, support mah plans.

Except, if you actually read a description of the video, instead of just look at the scary pictures and listen to the disingenuous description on the TV news, it isn't exactly that at all. The video is described as what insurgents had planned to do when they attacked Abu Ghraib prison last April. So, a planning manual for something that happened in Iraq eight months ago and, to compare the plans in the video with what really happened, not successfully at all.

Now, in seeing the images, I had my doubts on the origin of the video, especially when images of Abu Ghraib torture scrolled along the bottom of the video -- from left to right.

Getting my drift here? If not, pick up any book in Arabic and look for the title page. Hey, guess what, you're holding the book "backwards."

Seems odd to me that a right-to-left reading culture would video edit scrolling images left to right.

In any case, it really strikes me as a case of somebody somewhere panicking as things don't go well for the Patriot Act in the Senate, and pulling any old bit of captured footage out of their ass, claiming it's some brand new fear-mongering. But that ol' terror alert color hasn't changed, has it? I can't even remember the last time it changed.

So, move along here folks, nothing to see. Just the Boogeyman in the corner, but pay no attention to that arm in its back. I was going to say Karl Rove's arm, then Dick Cheney's, or maybe W's -- but, hell, which one of them is in charge nowadays? It's hard to tell, although it seems like W is paddling the Ship of State all by himself lately, and has no idea which way he wants it to go.

Too bad the way he's got it headed is straight for those falls up there...

Comments:
Hey, I saw your ode to Noodly appendages and the path of creation today. Priceless. Decided to check out your page, and I find you unraveling the illusions of "news" footage and information management services our governing bodies use to keep us docile and, well, dull.
Keep up the good work, citizen.
 
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