Have decided that I either want to sound like Marge Simpson or Emma Thompson. I like Billie Holiday, but don't think I could pull it off I can just imagine Gerry offering to walk a mile in Paisley's moccassins...
Brilliant post. You've nailed it. I saw it last night, and was blown away. Despite the fact that Iraq has been the story on the news every night for the past 15 months, you're dead right that the journalists have just been unquestioning. Here in the UK, charges by the BBC that a dossier to justify the WMD claim was "sexed up" resulted in the journalists involved being asked to resign, and the Chair and Director General being shown the d
I got 4. May the Good Lord be with you!
At the recent opening of the trial, Iraq vs Saddam, his voice was dubbed, so that it might not incite fear to his audience. Before the 1994 IRA ceasefire, Gerry Adams and other leading members of Sinn Féin had their words spoken by an actor (generally the gayest jobbing actor that could be found in Belfast) on both British and Irish media. Censorship, obvio
Great advice. I'm in the process of adjusting to new in-laws, and you never said a truer word.
Ah. I was under the impression that Cheney's age and health, as well as his links to various controversies was ruling him out of the 2004 race. Must have been ideal speculation. It's hard to get them taken up. But I'll certainly try! I thought this was funny: http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2000/06/durst26.html
I don't have a vote in this election as someone from the UK (wish I did, I'd like to influence my government's foreign policy...) but I'm delghted with this decision. Edwards is a great choice. It's a pretty balanced ticket geographically now. I was discussing this with a friend, and he wanted Edwards for President, and a woman or person of colour for VP. He voted Nader last time, and rued the day, but he's going for Kerry this time, and making sure al
Back in the day, I used to harbour notions of being a journalist. I experienced a little of this when I spent a summer working for my local rag. The editor, frustrated by having to report the church fete rather than politics (in NI, it didn't do to be political in the local papers, or else you would alienate some of your readership) went the sensationalist route. Fran
I think you're dead right M Post - one fo my friends wrote to me after 9/11 and said that the US wasn't looking for justice, it was looking for revenge, and I think you could apply the same principle here. It's a very human thing, especially after so many innocents were killed, but higher principles should be aspired to, I think. Damn near impossible of course. Really liked your post Kingbee! Thanks for the link.
Kingbee Thanks very much for posting me your link, I hadn't seen your blog. You make some really persuasive points. As predicted, Hussein is making a mockery of what is essentially a kangaroo court, and I'm afraid is going to actually make himself look good to the Iraqi people in the process - if Allawi is going to appease the Americans, then Saddam's defiance in contrast is going to strike a much stronger chord.
Good. I don't think the siege mentality ever went away, as the threat of having the Protestant culture / religion subsumed seemed omnipresent. Personally, I think the threat was elevated by people within the Loyalist community (um, Drumcree) in order to try to provide cohesion to a fragmented people, specifically in response to the world's reaction to the now acceptable Sinn Féin. On the back foot, they reacted in time-honoured fashion. Stupidly, the p
Cheers folks. Poetmom99, you're welcome! Any you'd recommend to me? M-Post - there are about 25 discworld books, and the next one, Mort, is one of the best. Pratchett really starts to develop as he continues, and I liked the stories that centred around the Night Watch. johnsoup, yeah I agree. I've been perusing that website for a while. Must try One hundred yea
Damn right! Arundati Roy, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Iris Murdoch, Barbara Kingsolver?
I moved to London from Belfast about five months ago, and apart from the jolt in the arm which my social and cultural life received, I haven't read so many books since before my GCSEs kicked in. At university, I had to read books all day, and generally wasn't awake enough to try and read something else after a long day's night in the library (obviously, this was in m
I recently happened upon BBC World's programme about the American phenomena (maybe that's too strong a word - "cult" might be better) of the SRT. Not a new fundamentalist group, but scarcely less sinister, the "Silver Ring Thing" goes around the America telling people not to have sex until they're married, and to wear a ring on your finger to remind you of the promise
I am sure many Iraqis never dared to imagine this day. Saddam, lest I forget and get carried away by my moral outrage about this illegal war, was a dictator with no regard for human life. His subjects lived in constant fear. He maimed, killed and tortured countless people, without mercy and without justification. His greed caused millions to live in poverty. In short,
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