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April 26, 2007
Moyers And The U.S. Left

Regarding Bill Moyer’s recommendable report on media behavior in the run up to the war on Iraq (watch here):

  • The only demand from the serious U.S. left is a ‘sorry’ for the Iraq war media bamboozling which they failed to recognize themselves.
  • There has been and will not be any ‘sorry’ for this by the major media companies.
  • There is no and will not be any demand by the serious U.S. left to stop the ongoing bamboozling with regard to the current U.S. wars on the Somalian, Sudanese and Iranian people and the simmering conflicts with North Korea and other countries.
Posted by b on April 26, 2007 at 19:59 UTC | Permalink
Comments

Riverbend : “The Great Wall of Segregation…” – she leaves Iraq …

Posted by: b | Apr 26 2007 20:20 utc | 1

damn it! it has been such a beautiful day here in the Pfaltz and now it is ruined. Riverbend’s words are so sad. life is certainly not fair. damn it to hell.

Posted by: dan of steele | Apr 26 2007 20:31 utc | 2

yeah, i hear you b. the serious US left is fucked.
every single one of us. hell, compared to how evolved the left is in the rest of the world i’m sure not a one of us can hold a candle.
thanks for reminding us.

Posted by: annie | Apr 26 2007 21:55 utc | 3

reading here closely. always. & i have to remind myself again & again people do fight back. they are doing so in iraq. & there was an impulse that led 12 million people to oppose this war & to force their govts element by element to oppose this illegal & immoral war
but unhappily it is true – the ‘left’ – organisationally is so, so lost – the enemy they imagined in their theology & their dreams is running the world through the most brutal force since nazi germany & they are fundamentally doing nothing. it is the iraqui people who are carrying the burden. the actual burden
& when a culture can allow fools & clowns like hussert imagine themselves investigators & communicators – their capacity for self reflection is almost nil

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Apr 26 2007 22:41 utc | 4

reading here closely. always. & i have to remind myself again & again people do fight back. they are doing so in iraq. & there was an impulse that led 12 million people to oppose this war & to force their govts element by element to oppose this illegal & immoral war
but unhappily it is true – the ‘left’ – organisationally is so, so lost – the enemy they imagined in their theology & their dreams is running the world through the most brutal force since nazi germany & they are fundamentally doing nothing. it is the iraqui people who are carrying the burden. the actual burden
& when a culture can allow fools & clowns like hussert imagine themselves investigators & communicators – their capacity for self reflection is almost nil

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Apr 26 2007 22:41 utc | 5

When we speak of the “serious” U.S. Left, are we speaking of Trots, greens, Naderites, and GreenPeacers.
And can we count the “serious” ones on our fingers and toes, or do we need an abacus.
Strange things happening here. But I guess you just gotta live through it.
Amusing post.

Posted by: Ms. M. | Apr 26 2007 23:06 utc | 6

it would seem the only ‘functioning’ left exists in latin & central america

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Apr 26 2007 23:11 utc | 7

it’s interesting riverbend insists the consciousness of sectarianism in iraq is caused by the u.s., when she has, on several occasions, noted how much the piety of shiism disgusts and frightens her. it’s also worth noting the “expats” she condemns are the shia leaders expelled by saddam, returning to lead a shia revival.

Posted by: slothrop | Apr 27 2007 0:14 utc | 8

Sadr was never an “expat”

Posted by: Susan | Apr 27 2007 0:45 utc | 9

riverbend also went into explaining just why people would grasp on to religion and become fundamentalists and fanatics….. the short version of her explanation is “they are scared”
hey, guess what happened that scared them???? war and brutal occupation

Posted by: Susan | Apr 27 2007 0:47 utc | 10

the long history of sunni oppression of shia is a fact. this history was not invented by the u.s. occupation.

Posted by: slothrop | Apr 27 2007 1:00 utc | 11

I just watched the Moyer’s video and read thru some of the comments. Most of us here are nodding our heads and going, cool! But as I recall, nobody watches PBS so will this show have any impact at all? are any of the talking heads even mentioning it?
of course the only course of action available to corporate media is to completely ignore this story. at the end of the day, if they don’t report it, it didn’t happen.
I so wish it could be different.

Posted by: dan of steele | Apr 27 2007 1:35 utc | 12

“the long history of sunni oppression of shia is a fact. this history was not invented by the u.s. occupation.”
That’s not what the dozen or so Iraqis I have talked have said – but then maybe they are all sunnis and don’t know any better – except for Faiza, she’s a Shi’a. Wonder why she says that after being in Iraq for most of her life? Wonder why the very large family she comes from in Iraq (some of whom are now in the government) don’t feel that way. Wonder why they keep claiming IT ISN’T TRUE??
well, that’s a mystery for sure.
Remember the original Deck of Cards? It was 40% Shi’a. And Saddam had a Christian in his cabinet. Not as remarkable as having a Jew in your cabinet (like Iran) but still….
I posted a song video called “Child of War” on my blog.
Dancewater
Also, speaking of children in war zones, Nogle responded in the thread about “Facing A Skilled, Flexible Foe”. He seems to think I am writing this blog…….

Posted by: Susan | Apr 27 2007 2:42 utc | 13

dos:
Moyers is an insider. Nobody but the people who produce the corporate media watches PBS.
Moyers’ indictment is for their consumption, not ours.
Will it have an effect? Who konws.
As you point out this is all very ho-hum from a point of view outside the regime.

Posted by: John Francis Lee | Apr 27 2007 2:46 utc | 14

Suspicion of US Found Pervasive in Islamic World
Six and a half years after U.S. President George W. Bush launched his ‘global war on terror’, suspicion of U.S. motives remains pervasive throughout the Islamic world, according to a new and highly detailed survey of four countries released here Tuesday.
An average of more than 75 percent of respondents across the four countries — Egypt, Morocco and the world’s two most populous Muslim nations, Indonesia and Pakistan — said they believed that dividing and weakening the Islamic world and maintaining control over Middle East oil were key goals of U.S. foreign policy, according to the survey by the University of Maryland (UM) and WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO).
………Suspicion of U.S. goals was particularly high in Egypt, by far the largest recipient of U.S. aid in the Islamic world since it signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1978, and, to a somewhat lesser extent, in Morocco, another long-time U.S. ally. [I heard on NPR that a high number of the suicide attackers on US troops in Iraq come from a certain neighborhood in Morocco. – dancewater]
http://electroniciraq.net/news/3028.shtml

Posted by: Susan | Apr 27 2007 2:51 utc | 15

I watch pbs.

Posted by: beq | Apr 27 2007 2:53 utc | 16

there’s not anything i have read about the history of iraq, and i’ve read a lot, proving interfaith solidarity.
truth is, a few people’s stories do not explain historic and social totality.

Posted by: slothrop | Apr 27 2007 3:21 utc | 17

and what exactly would prove or disprove interfaith solidarity here in the USA?

Posted by: Susan | Apr 27 2007 4:33 utc | 18

@annie – 3 –
Did I step on your toe? I didn’t mean to.
The “serious” “left” in the U.S. written in italics like above certainly do not include you. I was thinking of the “serious” “liberals” on the talk shows and in Congress etc.

Posted by: b | Apr 27 2007 8:14 utc | 19

annie wrote: hell, compared to how evolved the left is in the rest of the world i’m sure not a one of us can hold a candle.
First, the left elsewhere is not doing brilliantly, in the sense that nothing much is finally achieved. A lot of talk feels good and boosts a ‘democratic’ feeling. (.. the landscape is very varied, etc.) Second, if one examines, say, the opposition to the Iraq war, country wise, Germany, but most particularly, more strongly and continuously, France objected. The German Gvmt was not ‘left’ in the least and Chirac is an old style right winger. The Vatican also came out against the invasion – hardly your hard left organism.
I agree that the US’s ‘left’ is disappointing to say the least, because of the seeming hypocrisy and shifting opinions. That is less marked in Europe, a different cultural style? So what.
But look… ‘insurgents’ in Iraq – people fighting an illegal occupation – are universally considered to be ‘terrorists’. By Europe, by the Arab world in public, by everyone. They are even deprived of a platform by the media and press, it is all attributed to ethnic hate, terrorism, crazed actions by inferior ppl, confusion, etc. This is in contrast, in very different ways, to Ireland, Spain 35, Algeria, and many other examples, where the ‘opponents’ or ‘resistors’ or ‘freedom fighters’ find some support and some voice, whether legitimate under some viewpoint, or not, doesn’t matter here. Some Irish Americans, for ex. supported and funded the IRA. Billy C made a big deal of getting on with both parties.. meaning only, he took it seriously.
The Iraqis have been abandoned by everyone.
Everyone, in their own ways, aligns with the superpower. Either to get brownie points, or to not disturb the apple cart and to make nice. One might see Iran and Turkey as having their own sneaky interests in this matter (not to mention Jordan and Syria who are bearing the brunt of almost 2 million refugees without complaint so far – the US has agreed for this year to take 5000 or 7000 depending on news articles, and none, so far, have arrived I read..but that is standard practice, promises are trumpeted on the tee vee and after that … nobody ever bothers to find out what really took place…) but their reaction is to the disturbance, rather than anything they would have implemented themselves. A failed state, with murder and mayhem, on your border, is an uncomfortable thing, just that simple thing.

Posted by: Noirette | Apr 27 2007 16:19 utc | 20

test, my post is not posting.

Posted by: annie | Apr 27 2007 16:21 utc | 21

i’m breaking up my post, maybe that will help
thank you b. yes, you hurt my feelings. there are a few of us here. one time i got an email from coleman (remember him). he told me the left in america wasn’t really left. i told him some of us were and he wrote back and ask me if i considered kerry left.
whatever. check this out. for our reading impaired relatives. the other video is worthwhile also, and timely.
i watched the moyers show when it aired originally. i don’t get cable. i suppose people who get cable have so many options they don’t watch pbs. here in seattle pbs shares channel 9 w/local public television. tonight they have an interview w/john stewart. whenever i feel like watching tv and am not in the mood for gory murder shows and closeups of people getting cut open i switch to channel nine. last night i watched a special on the andrea doria shipwreck. i found out the swiss didn’t get blamed at the time because it was after the war and apparently italians had a reputation of being baffoons and the swiss wre, well, swiss. my point is that i think lots of people watched the show. yesterday crooks and liars reported inside the beltway there was lots of noise about the show, another called it a washington meltdown. i read an abc editorial defending the WH press brief covered in the show. the comment section got slammed, not one poster agreed w/the writer (of the pages i read). this was in the morning. there must have been 10 pages of comments. i didn’t comment because it required registration. i checked back last night out of curiosity and they had already pulled the comments, something about 72 hr cutoff, but it hadn’t been 72 hrs.

Posted by: annie | Apr 27 2007 16:23 utc | 22

i think lots of people watched the moyer’s show. it was heavily advertised for over a week. i think you underestimate the hostility people are feeling here wrt the state of affairs. people don’t like their boat rocking, they don’t really want to have to be concerned w/the government the way a child doesn’t want to be concerned w/their parents arguments. i think one would have to live in a padded box to be unaware something is terribly wrong.
the rats are jumping ship. tenent is on 60 minutes this sunday (one of the most popular shows on american television, it has been around forever and all the old foggies watch it). he’s trying to clear his name and ramp up the terra and say we don’t torture. i think people are friggin aware america is on a down hill slope. if they don’t know now they are going to know it pretty damn soon.
these people are not extreme. they represent the people who work the party day in and day out. the little guys. the problem is they can’t break thru to the leadership to follow the people.

When the California Democratic Convention begins this weekend, party progressives both inside and outside the San Diego Convention Center will be pressing hard to bring impeachment back on the table as a means of holding the presidency of George W. Bush accountable for crimes they allege have been committed since 2001.
“I’ve been blown away by the response. People are wanting to organize and rally behind one single thing at the convention, and that’s impeachment,” said Joye Swan of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party, who is helping lead an effort to pass a resolution expressing the California Democratic Party’s support for impeaching President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
“With the Speaker saying it’s off the table, it puts others Members of Congress at a lower tier,” Gerbasi argued. “There are some representatives inching toward impeachment, but they may not commit until Pelosi changes her mind and puts it back on the table.”
Pelosi first told her party that she opposed impeaching President Bush in a May 2006 caucus meeting.
To persuade Pelosi to change her position, Swan said, progressives at the convention intend to shadow the Speaker with their concerns throughout the weekend.
“She’s either going to have to very publicly ignore it, or address the elephant in the room,”

impeachment ignored by corporate media
If a national movement calling for the impeachment of the President is rapidly emerging and the corporate media are not covering it, is there really a national movement for the impeachment of the President?
this article didn’t even mention my state
i assume the dems have some plan they feel is more effective right now, possibly inching closer to exposing the election fraud which is at the heart of this DA thing. i am a fan of both waxman and conyers, these guys have been ahead of the curve for a long time making filing after filing for all those years the dems were lame ducks. maybe they do have totally full plates and feel the impeachment will hurt their chances for the future.
it all seems like we are headed into a major trainwreck and nothing can turn it around regardless of impeachment or pulling troops out or whatever. its huge, its like the corporations are running the damn place and we are going to be all swimming in shit before anything is allowed to happen in some healthy way. i have no idea.
but there are millions and millions of people here and i think it is foolish to assume we are all just clueless because you can’t hear our voices all the way in europe or the ME, or asia of africa or any of the other places we are screwing over. we need leaders who are going to pull us out of this crap and we aren’t fighting a foe like ‘republicans’. we are fighting a foe like massive corporate power who will fight tooth and nail to hold onto that power.
who’s drinking the koolaid? if the msm doesn’t tell you the people are fed up, does that mean we aren’t? there are millions of dissatisfied voices that aren’t being heard.
there are no serious left voices on the talk shows. period, none. they throw up some luke warm piece of crap like joe klein and call him liberal. the serious left in congress are harassed and degraded, like mckinney and kucinich. you will not be seeing any serious left in the msm. there is no way they are going to give us a platform unless somebody starts screwing dogs or otherwise f’s up. then it will be sliced and diced and regurgitated into a dean scream.
it is simply an insult to the serious left in this country to even imply anyone that our enemies would showcase, would be considered the serious left.
we exist. and we have more to say than i’m sorry.
do me a favor, get your media to front page that project censored story.
it takes serious money SERIOUS money to compete w/the global foes.
we’re here. all over the country in little towns and big cities. not recognizing us doesn’t mean we don’t exist. having our votes destroyed doesn’t mean we don’t exist. most people don’t know how to make our voices heard. i don’t. but were here, and a lot of us are screaming. every single f’ng gd day

Posted by: annie | Apr 27 2007 16:24 utc | 23

bravo, annie

Posted by: fauxreal | Apr 27 2007 16:59 utc | 24

annie! Yeah!
😉

Posted by: Argh | Apr 27 2007 17:00 utc | 25

Right on rant annie. I wish you had have delivered to the House Speaker in Vermont on Wednesday when we 300 or so gathered to persuade her to at minimum put it on the table in the House. She did. It didn’t pass but it did the Senate last week. I hope Washington will now be first but whoever, just fuck’in do it.
Yes, there is a movement that is beginning to swell from the ground, from the earth that is ultimately our support and source. And We the People are starting to again influence it’s direction.
JFL, from you’re vantage point you’re missing this but that’s ok. It is real and you will begin to hear that from the likes of annie and I.
I don’t trust the dem’s: “we’ve got investigations going. Give us time. Don’t dilute our effort.” They are at best disingenuous but certainly inept. Besides they are part of and fully support the non-stainable enterprises that are denuding our earth and despoiling her gracious beauty. She is our sustenance but the entitled in this world are unable to see through their rose colored lenses to this essential reality.
Even die hard libertarian Justin appreciates socialist Moyer’s documentary:
As the editorial director of Antiwar.com, my job is to make sure that we cut through the government propaganda and get at the truth about what is really going on in the world, and during the run-up to the Iraq war we had quite a time of it. The lies were coming so thick, and so fast, that it was all we at Antiwar.com could do to continually refute them, and yet that is precisely what we did. Moyers takes us through the lies, and shows how the “mainstream” media failed to make any critical analysis of the administration’s allegations. That job, sadly, was left to us.

Posted by: Juannie | Apr 27 2007 17:31 utc | 26

Clapping, clapping, clapping!!!
You go, girl!

Posted by: Jake | Apr 28 2007 5:12 utc | 27

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