March 22, 2003

other people's stories

other people's stories It's a collection of other people's stories.
posted by rdr at 11:49 PM PST - 4 comments

Not All Iraqis Dancing in the Streets.

Not All Iraqis Dancing in the Streets. To watch the neutered embedded reporters, you would think that every Iraqi is overjoyed to see America in his or her country. But the reality seems to be quite different: "Why are you here in this country? Are you trying to take over? Are you going to take our country forever? Are the Israelis coming next? Are you here to steal our oil? When are you going to get out?"
posted by owillis at 10:50 PM PST - 35 comments

I was a naive fool to be a human shield for Saddam

I was a naive fool to be a human shield for Saddam
posted by ericost at 10:40 PM PST - 32 comments

Violet Books

Violet Books: Antiquarian Supernatural, Fantasy & Mysterious Literatures, including the Gallery of Rare Dustwrappers, the Golden Age of Illustration Index, or the Westerns Dustwrapper Galleries, and more.
posted by hama7 at 8:29 PM PST - 6 comments

You may not read Arabic, but the pictures speak for themselves.

You may not read Arabic, but do the pictures speak for themselves? [warning: graphic images] One big difference between Desert Storm and the current operation is the emergence of Gulf satellite news stations such as Al-Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV, beaming live into homes across the Arab world. Questions of access aside, it's a given that these news sources will be broadcasting materials that inflame opinion, and would never get past the 'taste and decency' rules of British or American stations. Trouble is, most westerners don't read Arabic: so, should we be bookmarking such sources for another perspective?
posted by riviera at 6:36 PM PST - 38 comments

A critique of Operation Pretentious Platitude

Operation Pretentious Platitude One of the awful aspects of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" is having to listen to this name used without irony.

"It all comes down to branding" ... "Don't waste a public relations opportunity -- remember that the operation name is the first bullet in the war of images." "Churchill ... warned specifically against using words that imply an "overconfident sentiment." He knew as well as anyone how history delights in throwing unforeseen ironies our way." Here's a list of mostly recent real names.

But how about "Operation Rouge-wearing Caliph"? "Operation Evangelical Fatwa"? "Operation Expect No Mercy From Our Privet Bush"? "Operation Overpriced Cannon"? "Operation Irate Economy"? "Operation International-law-ignoring Manticore"?. Try for yourself. (Here's how it's done).
posted by lathrop at 5:50 PM PST - 34 comments

X-Men 1.5

So how do you make an X-Men DVD without mentioning the comics? Fascinatingly candid interview with the producers of the new X-Men 1.5 DVD describing the bizarre issues involved with putting together special features on this and other DVDs, including the afformentioned anomally, a side effect of the current legal situation between FOX and Marvel Comics.
posted by feelinglistless at 3:36 PM PST - 7 comments

Back Hurts, Brain Shrinks

Back pain causes brain shrinkage. I think a lot of people have back pain, then.
posted by nyxxxx at 2:29 PM PST - 24 comments

Orbiter

Orbiter - A Free Space Flight Simulator Starving for a high realism space simulator ever since Microsoft's Space Simulator was discontinued? Look no further than Orbiter, a free realistic space simulator written and maintained by Dr. Martin Schweiger. How realistic? You might want to start off by consulting NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Basics Of Space Flight to get you grounded so to speak. This is a free, non-commercial simulator that uses accurate math and orbital physics (more or less) to try to model space flight. However hard it may appear, after orbiting Earth with the high-res (8192x4096) mod-pack installed, or sitting on the launch pad with the seamless OrbiterSound 2.1b sound environment installed, you will be well rewarded for reading the manual and participating in the dance of the heavens. (Even if all you want to do is fly around the solar system!)
posted by Tystnaden at 1:48 PM PST - 10 comments

Are Embedded Journalists In Iraq Being Short-sheeted?

Embedded? Or In Bed With The Military Spin Doctors? Quite apart from the significant sexual and conspiratorial overtones of the word and concept themselves (when applied to people), there's something more than a little disquieting about the participant observation aspect of the large-scale practice of embedded reporting in the current invasion of Iraq - as opposed to the journalistic tradition of direct observation. Altogether too gung-ho - and inevitably so - I'd say. Me no like. And don't really trust myself to be able to epistemologically introduce, in my understanding of what I see, the (already minimal) distance that I'd previously taken for granted in standard reportage. What can be done to offset this bias? [Here is a very recent, detailed Department of Defense guide to what a media embed consists of [pdf format] and the release journalists must sign in order to be embedded.]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 12:46 PM PST - 23 comments

Baghdad WebCam

A WebCam in Baghdad The BBC are streaming live pictures from an unmanned camera in the centre of Baghdad, complete with sound. (RealPlayer required.)
posted by Mwongozi at 12:28 PM PST - 12 comments

Google refuses anti-war ad

Google refuses "Who Would Jesus Bomb" AdWord from anti-war site Unknown News The search engine's evolving rationale in the case, posted along the left-hand side of the page, is interesting. [more inside]
posted by mediareport at 12:22 PM PST - 29 comments

Poets Against the War

Poets Against The War
Sons and Daughters of Baghdad:
The hour of your liberation draws near
We extend towards you our white hand
Once embraced by many in vain:
Indian, African, Vietnamese,
And washed clean of their colored red stain.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 12:20 PM PST - 10 comments

Something nice.

Something nice. In a refreshingly simple and visually appealing presentation, "Places" explores the synergy between artists and the locations that inspire them. From a virtual landscape created from the surface of an agate, to a 1787 map of Mecca included in the Dala'il al-Khayrat ("Guides to Good Things"), to an 1885 photograph of a single moment captured in the reflection of a gazing ball, these eight fascinating examples seem to suggest that places are nothing so much as what our own observation reveals of them at any given time.
posted by taz at 11:28 AM PST - 4 comments

The Ngadjonji

The Ngadjonji. The history and culture of a Queensland rainforest tribe.
"Theirs was a culture with no chiefs or kings. If the senior men and women of each clan had implied status, it was because of their wisdom and the highest attributes a (Ngadjonji) could possess was a keen memory and great skill in hunting, gathering and bushcraft ... "
Of related interest :- the Aboriginal Memorial, in Canberra, created by 43 artists of the Ramingining community in Arnhem Land.
posted by plep at 11:16 AM PST - 4 comments

Nature Portfolios from Hungarian Photographers

NaturArt - fed up with man's ugliness to man? Escape to this Budapest gallery's oasis of nature photography. Don't be off-put by the Hungarian text, hit start and wait for the main menu, then go to portfolios to access the works of about 30 photographers, Tagok for mini galleries, or diaporama for a lovely film. Flash & sound alert, but very well worth it if you have the time to explore.
posted by madamjujujive at 9:07 AM PST - 12 comments

It couldn't happen here, you say?...

As one, the students shouted, "Strength through discipline!" - "The Third Wave", A Dangerous Experiment. More disturbing even than the "Milgram Experiment": "When Ron Jones started teaching at Cubberley High School in the fall of 1968, it was considered the most innovative of Palo Alto's high schools. ....His methods were experimental and his goal was to bring social studies to life.....Jones turned his class into an efficient youth organization, which he called the Third Wave. Some students were informers, and some were told they couldn't go certain places on campus. He insisted on rigid posture and that questions be answered formally and quickly....."It was strange how quickly the students took to a uniform code of behavior. I began to wonder just how far they cold be pushed," Jones wrote....But soon the experiment began spinning out of control.... five days into the experiment, Jones announced, "We can bring (the nation) a new sense of order, community, pride, and action. Everything rests on you and your willingness to take a stand." As one, the students shouted, "Strength through discipline!" ". Ron Jones wrote about it in No substitute for Madness, which is out of print in English but required reading in German public schools. As Umberto Eco notes in "Eternal Fascism", this is a timeless tale of human nature.
posted by troutfishing at 8:28 AM PST - 40 comments

Wakey wakey Mr Blair

Wakey wakey Mr Blair There's been a lot of media comment recently concerning Tony Blair's visible signs of exhaustion. This piece illustrates just how quickly he needs to wake up to what's going on if he's ever to sleep soundly again. Clare Short should show him the way and save her credibility at the same time
posted by skellum at 5:09 AM PST - 13 comments

Great Iraq Conflict Coverage Gallery

Great Iraq Conflict Coverage Gallery A link-filled listing of war blogs (dealing with Iraq war), maps, embedded jopurnalists' reports...nice one-stop source.
posted by Postroad at 4:29 AM PST - 3 comments

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