There's was a letter in the L.A. Times on Saturday that cuts to the heart of something fundamental about what's going on. As people hold different positions about the efficacy of war, this goes beyond who's right and who's wrong into who we are as people who are having the disagreement. The Times headline is, “On fairness, bias in war reporting”: April 12 2003 I was in Egypt when the war started and spent quite a bit of time in the hotel watching all the television channels available: BBC, CNN, a German channel, a French channel, the Egyptian news hour in English and several Arabic-language channels…Being able to flip back and forth between channels revealed how differently CNN approached the conflict from the rest of the world. In comparison to what else I was seeing, CNN really did seem like a video game. It was all focused on technology. They were either showing fancy graphics of the ground, abstracted; footage of equipment like helicopters, aircraft carriers, night goggles, and how they worked; or distant shots of buildings flaring up as bombs hit them. In contrast, all the Arabic-language stations showed human beings almost continuously. It was very eerie to switch from the green shots of CNN to long pans of people in hospitals, people weeping on the streets, people carrying coffins, people working in shops, as well as extensive interviews with very scared-looking American soldiers and long pans of dead American and British soldiers on the ground. This will be the strongest memory I carry away from my hours of watching: As Americans, we no longer seem human or connected to the human. While the rest of the world still thinks a human being more interesting than a burning building, our leaders protest when we are shown the only real consequences of the war that any human being should care about: the dead and wounded from both sides, and the tremendous grief of those left behind. Wendy Belcher This prompted me to pass along a poem, by one of his listmembers, that Swedish listmember of ours, Boudewijn Wegerif, sent out, which spoke to my feelings. A fair amount of email circulates having to do with shielding oneself from the war — leave the TV off, meditate, etc. This isn't my way. I can feel my own transcendent understanding deepening, to where perhaps I can do more about the world situation, when I relate to what is happening as Sarah Meyer does. When I got in touch with Sarah Meyer, about posting her poem, she sent me this astonishing tidbit that got sent to her today. What does it say about how tight the noose might be on dissent, even in England, when what's said on TheConversation.org is “innappropriate content” for a member of Parliament? —–Original Message—– From: Paul Busby [mailto:PALL@BUZZBEE.fsbusiness.co.uk] Democracy raises its head. Odd that I didn't send it to Parliament! —– Original Message —– > Message subject: Fw: Theconversation.org :Making sense of these times > In the event that you believe the email has been blocked incorrectly From: Paul Busby [PALL@BUZZBEE.fsbusiness.co.uk] Yesterday my friend and fellow anti-war activist, Sarah Meyer, forwarded on to me Theconversation.org home page. The first article (“Propaganda and Media Manipulation”) impressed me a lot and so I forwarded it on to lots of people, here in Sussex, in the USA and in Hungary. one of the people I sent it to was Ellen Pearson, the correspondence secretary to Charles Kennedy, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. This party is the only one in Parliament which has officially opposed this war although individual members of other Parties have also voiced their strong opposition to it. Having had this message back – whoever sent it – I will now print the articles and deliver it to our Lewes Member of Parliament and ask him to pursue the matter. I'll also send the message and the page in question to other organisations in Britain, such as Liberty, CND, the Stop the War Coalition, etc to follow it up. This may only be the tip of the iceberg. How many other emails, letters and phone call messages are also censored, I wonder. Thanks for including it in your excellent website. From: Suzanne Pearce [spearce@igc.org] I think Sarah Meyer's poem and others evoking the reality of this war (and all war) should be sent in great numbers, flooding the mailboxes of policy makers. We could also send some passages from great literature of all eras, commenting like a Greek chorus. From Suzanne Taylor to Suzanne Pearce: Glad you were moved, too. Women get a bead on things, I think, that men don't. You might like to see some other women's voices I posted — under WomenSpeak on the last iteration of my site. From: Paul Busby [PALL@BUZZBEE.fsbusiness.co.uk] Just a note to follow up a story. Ashort time ago I wrote to you about the British House of Commons blocking an email I sent them (a copy of your website). I thought that it was censorship. I referred the matter to my Member of Parliament. He sent me a letter yesterday to inform me the reason for it is that a new filter has been installed in the House of Commons to prevent members from being plagued by pornographic material. It also filters out messages which contain certain words – not sure which, but it will probably include all swear words and a number of slang expressions. The result of this is that there have been some “bizarre consequences” and a fellow Liberal Democrat MP is now calling for the system to be looked into and amended. The reason why your webpage was rejected then is that it had a photo of some naked ladies spelling out the words “Thou Shall't Not Kill” on their backs, and in another article the word “shit” was in the context that “our schools are shit…” So, automated censorship could be what it amounts to, although for the best of reasons. It's OK to write to your MP to support violence, killing and wounding people, but any nudity or hint of bodily functions gets blocked…leading to constipation in this case! Obviously politicians must not be reminded that they are also human (or are they?), and Members must not be stimulated at any time.
Culver CityWITNESS TO WAR
By Sarah Meyer
Summer Cottage, Rodmell, E. Sussex, UK
For those who have been a Witness to War,
please don't show us any morered hoovered carpets,
pictures of presidents
or prime ministers or politicians
or military experts talking about 'moral high ground,'
'victory' and 'democracy.'
Don't show us press conferences,
diplomats behind microphones,
reporters in flak jackets, Hollywood stars,
soldiers in clean uniforms and expensive goggles,
cleaning planes leaving ships costing more than a meal
that would feed a country.
Show us children hanging from trees,
a mother wailing for her dead, dust tears,
shelled houses, empty towns.
Show us raped women, burning men;
soldiers riddled with shrapnel, or twisted dead,
shoes with only bones,
mass funerals, mass graves.
Show us body parts,
legs, arms, head flung ripped apart.
Show us the blood;
Show us refugees in dirt and despair.
Show us the ravaged earth
In silence.
Let us hear the nightmares of soldiers,
Show us reality unedited.
Let us hear and see the truth.
Listen to the people of peace.
Hear our rage.
Show tears.
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 6:23 AM
To: Sarah Meyer
Subject: Fw: RE:Fw: Theconversation.org : Making sense of these times
But I did sent it to Charles Kennedy's secretary, who has a
different email address. [Charles Kennedy is the leader of the Liberal
Democrats….ST]
From: <email.abuse.m33@parliament.uk>
To: <PALL@buzzbee.fsbusiness.co.uk>
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 11:01 AM
Subject: RE:Fw: Theconversation.org :: Making sense of these times
> This is to advise you that your email has been blocked and will be
> deleted by the Houses of Parliament in due course since we believe it
> has inappropriate content. The intended recipient has not received
> the email.
> please contact the intended recipient directly to discuss it's
> release.
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