Chewbacca, Refugee Camps, and Other Acts of Madness.
So now that the Lost One has a little more time on his hands, he feels he needs to winge about the lack of journalistic integrity on the CBC. While the Lost One is not a Canadian, he does get the channel through his cable package. On Sunday morning, as the Lost One was preparing to attend church, he turned on his television set and flipped to the CBC. They had the most interesting show on called Sunday which was showing a documentary made by Iraqis living in Iraq. Out of some morbid sense of curiosity, the Lost One decided to leave it their while he dressed. Oh, but how he wishes he hadn't.
To start out their film, they went through the many things they thought were wrong with their country. Most of the complaints in this phase of the film, the Lost One must admit, were legit. No power, no gas, and no water. All of these were shown with a bit of fist shaking at the pro tem government and at the US. If that was where the documentary had ended, the Lost One would have been chagrined, but by no means angry at the film makers. That wasn't the end.
Next, came the complaints about gasoline, which is incredibly difficult to get as insurgents (read terrorists, Ba'athist sycophants, or crazy extremists) keep attacking the oil fields, tanker trucks, and gas stations all of which was the US' fault. Apparently. "How dare you," goes the rant, "not perfectly protect us from the crazies." A point that would have had a little punch (not nearly as much as the director seems to think it would), if the director had bothered to point out the US is not the only side fighting out there.
It got even worse when the filmmakers followed an Iraqi down Baghdad Airport road which leads to the main airport and is a source of American resupply, a constant spot of Insurgent attack. And of course rather then blame the Insurgents we get a constant stream of anti-American vitriol , my person favorite being, "Look at the trees, they used to be so beautiful before the American's cut them all down. " I'm so sorry, we never would have cut down the trees which provide cover for those who are trying to shoot up American and Iraqi civilian cars, if we had known that their was an arboretum in the way. How dare the American's choose that way to protect themselves and the surrounding populace.
All of this the Lost One could have shrugged off as the frustrated mutterings of people living in fear for their lives, but the director then cut to a group of Iraqis who had fled to Jordan. These people were shown preparing to return to Iraq, after the US had left. What was so maddening was that this group of people was actively campaigning for people to not vote in the (then) upcoming election. That's just plain treasonous, not to the government of the US (these people were Iraqi), but to their own countrymen. Actively trying to subvert the democratic process, for no better reason then ego, was hard to watch.
It was also hard to watch one of the men go to the college he attended and ask people if they were voting the next day. No, said the first one, with the Americans there what was the point? Kay-o. No, said the second, the Americans have failed to provide adequate security. Person after person declares they aren't voting, until the man asks one woman (that fact that a woman, from that part of the world, had the option is it's own kind of testimony), who's reply was a terse, "Of course." You could almost here the director's thought's as the camera freezes for a second, Oh, My...Who let her in here!? before quickly changing scenes to another no voter before the woman can explain why it's, "of Course". The last view we get of these people as the documentary switches to it's next attack is one of the group members watching CNN report the news of the election, claiming it's a historic day while they look on with grave concern... To put it most simply the election was the first time the Iraqi people had been able to choose their own destiny since(...Carry the one...Make allowances for differences in the Gregorian and Julian calendars...Take into account the Arab calendar is a Lunar calendar...Factor in leap years...) ever. The Iraqi people had gone from potentate, to British Rule, back to potentate, to rubber stamped one-candidate "elections" under the dictator.
After the election, a universally hailed success of unparalleled proportions (even lefty moonbat Noam Chomsky hailed it as a historic form of non-violent protest by the Iraqi people...Voting in an US directed election, with materials provided by US taxpayers, mostly for candidates friendly to the US...Boy, they sure showed us.) was done, the Lost One expected the cameras to cover a tearful apology, or at least some red faced backpeddling. What we got was tour of a refugee camp full of people who had to leave Fallujah because the fighting between insurgents and US troops was too hot for them to stay. The election was never mentioned again. What in the world...
Even days later the Lost One was still searching for a parallel, a non-sequitur large enough to equate to this one. It may have taken nearly a week, but he found one. And from the American Judicial system* at that. In this transcript** of the case Chef V. Recording Artists of America recently deceased attorney Johnnie Cochran gives his closing argument (a word of Warning, prepare to follow some pretty dense legal thinking):
**Well, maybe not so much a transcript as my very faded memory (you'd think some poor sod out there would have nothing better to do then post full transcripts of South Park at great personal expense just to have something to do. What else have nerd got going in their lives? Besides blogging, of course.) of the episode.
In the end, the camp stories had about as much to do with the elections, as Chewbacca and monkeys with intellectual property cases. And that's what burns, you can be obstructionist, you can be ungrateful, you can be angry. But at least tell the truth. We all deserve that. Especially from "news" sources. Now I get why the folk at Canadian Comment hate the CBC so very badly.
To start out their film, they went through the many things they thought were wrong with their country. Most of the complaints in this phase of the film, the Lost One must admit, were legit. No power, no gas, and no water. All of these were shown with a bit of fist shaking at the pro tem government and at the US. If that was where the documentary had ended, the Lost One would have been chagrined, but by no means angry at the film makers. That wasn't the end.
Next, came the complaints about gasoline, which is incredibly difficult to get as insurgents (read terrorists, Ba'athist sycophants, or crazy extremists) keep attacking the oil fields, tanker trucks, and gas stations all of which was the US' fault. Apparently. "How dare you," goes the rant, "not perfectly protect us from the crazies." A point that would have had a little punch (not nearly as much as the director seems to think it would), if the director had bothered to point out the US is not the only side fighting out there.
It got even worse when the filmmakers followed an Iraqi down Baghdad Airport road which leads to the main airport and is a source of American resupply, a constant spot of Insurgent attack. And of course rather then blame the Insurgents we get a constant stream of anti-American vitriol , my person favorite being, "Look at the trees, they used to be so beautiful before the American's cut them all down. " I'm so sorry, we never would have cut down the trees which provide cover for those who are trying to shoot up American and Iraqi civilian cars, if we had known that their was an arboretum in the way. How dare the American's choose that way to protect themselves and the surrounding populace.
All of this the Lost One could have shrugged off as the frustrated mutterings of people living in fear for their lives, but the director then cut to a group of Iraqis who had fled to Jordan. These people were shown preparing to return to Iraq, after the US had left. What was so maddening was that this group of people was actively campaigning for people to not vote in the (then) upcoming election. That's just plain treasonous, not to the government of the US (these people were Iraqi), but to their own countrymen. Actively trying to subvert the democratic process, for no better reason then ego, was hard to watch.
It was also hard to watch one of the men go to the college he attended and ask people if they were voting the next day. No, said the first one, with the Americans there what was the point? Kay-o. No, said the second, the Americans have failed to provide adequate security. Person after person declares they aren't voting, until the man asks one woman (that fact that a woman, from that part of the world, had the option is it's own kind of testimony), who's reply was a terse, "Of course." You could almost here the director's thought's as the camera freezes for a second, Oh, My...Who let her in here!? before quickly changing scenes to another no voter before the woman can explain why it's, "of Course". The last view we get of these people as the documentary switches to it's next attack is one of the group members watching CNN report the news of the election, claiming it's a historic day while they look on with grave concern... To put it most simply the election was the first time the Iraqi people had been able to choose their own destiny since(...Carry the one...Make allowances for differences in the Gregorian and Julian calendars...Take into account the Arab calendar is a Lunar calendar...Factor in leap years...) ever. The Iraqi people had gone from potentate, to British Rule, back to potentate, to rubber stamped one-candidate "elections" under the dictator.
After the election, a universally hailed success of unparalleled proportions (even lefty moonbat Noam Chomsky hailed it as a historic form of non-violent protest by the Iraqi people...Voting in an US directed election, with materials provided by US taxpayers, mostly for candidates friendly to the US...Boy, they sure showed us.) was done, the Lost One expected the cameras to cover a tearful apology, or at least some red faced backpeddling. What we got was tour of a refugee camp full of people who had to leave Fallujah because the fighting between insurgents and US troops was too hot for them to stay. The election was never mentioned again. What in the world...
Even days later the Lost One was still searching for a parallel, a non-sequitur large enough to equate to this one. It may have taken nearly a week, but he found one. And from the American Judicial system* at that. In this transcript** of the case Chef V. Recording Artists of America recently deceased attorney Johnnie Cochran gives his closing argument (a word of Warning, prepare to follow some pretty dense legal thinking):
Johnnie Cochran:*Well, maybe not so much the American Judicial system, as an episode of South Park that had a court room scene...
Ladies and Gentleman of this supposed journey, I have only one question to ask you, does that make sense? Chewbacca was a 6 foot tall wookiee from Kashyyyk, does that make sense?
Reporter:
Ouch, for the claimant, it looks like Johnnie Cochran is using his patented Chewbacca defense.
Second Reporter:
Yes, Sir, you hate to see that happen to a Rookie. Well, that's why Mr. Cochran is the best let's get back to the action.
J.C.:
Ewoks live on Endor and are only three feet tall, does that make sense? Chewbacca takes his vacations on Endor. Ladies and Gentlemen of this supposed jury, that does not make sense.
(Mr. Cochran pulls a dancing monkey complete with a little fez out of his briefcase)
Look at the silly monkey! Look at it!! Does that make sense?
Chef's lawyer (to Chef):
I think we're in trouble...
**Well, maybe not so much a transcript as my very faded memory (you'd think some poor sod out there would have nothing better to do then post full transcripts of South Park at great personal expense just to have something to do. What else have nerd got going in their lives? Besides blogging, of course.) of the episode.
In the end, the camp stories had about as much to do with the elections, as Chewbacca and monkeys with intellectual property cases. And that's what burns, you can be obstructionist, you can be ungrateful, you can be angry. But at least tell the truth. We all deserve that. Especially from "news" sources. Now I get why the folk at Canadian Comment hate the CBC so very badly.
posted by Lost in The World at
11:52 AM
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