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This could almost be the title of a new blog, but I haven’t thought the idea through sufficiently to consider whether it’s worth pursuing… just wanted to note that while the loony right of the Anglo-Saxon world might view Le Monde as systematically biased against America, the equally crazy Reseau Voltaire accuses Le Monde of supporting Ariel Sharon’s Israel, by naming Jerusalem as the capital of the country… criticism obviously cuts both ways…

Reseau Voltaire has an interesting site, and you only need to the the current front page image of Hugo Chavez embracing Fidel Castro to gain some idea of its politics… it’s extensive and credulous coverage of the September 11th Pentagon attack conspiracy theory also lends one to doubt the veracity of anything else it might say. Their “Bush Regime Card Game” is also a moderately amusing summation of this website’s worldview. In some ways it’s refreshing to see extreme views like this presented in such an attractive and comprehensive web design, but the actual contents need to be consumed with a large pinch of salt.

The New Zealand Herald hoarding outside the Esplanade Dairy this morning screamed:



Man Digs Himself to Near Disaster

The headlines was a reference to this story, (and my mind boggles as to why someone might want to dig into a sand dune to find water for fun. However I suppose I enjoy playing free improv, which might be the musical equivalent of risking being buried alive. But I digress, and these parentheses must stop. Right now), but I couldn’t help reading a more global message into this, particularly in the light of some very strongly worded columns in the New York Times regarding the state of America’s war in Iraq.

Bob Herbert notes that even the Pentagon and White House have stopped talking about an exit strategy. Thomas Friedman places Iraq in a wider historical and geopolitical context, noting that there are “militant messianists” not only wreaking destruction in Iraq, but jeopardising any chance of a peace in Israel & Palestine from both sides of the roadblocks and security walls. And Maureen Dowd is yet another commentator to note that Bush apparently only wants to hear good news on Iraq from his political advisors.

The US military need more money, more adequate armour, and most critically, more manpower- Pentagon planners realise that America simply doesn’t have enough soldiers to do the job. There are plans to abolish the 24 month limit on active service for National Guard and reservists.

Maureen Dowd sums it up…”The administration that had no plan for what to do with Iraq when it got it, now has no plan for getting out.” As my Mum always says:

“The First Rule of Holes – when you’re in one, stop digging.”

It sounds like lucky Paul Porter learned his lesson yesterday on Bethell’s Beach. Unfortunately, George W. Bush and his mates are still trying to reach China.

Where does the madness end? At least Russell Brown took some time out from his holiday to provide some well-aimed deconstruction of United Future’s draft law and order policy. Chemical castration, cumulative sentences and yet more “tough on drugs” rhetoric doesn’t seem to add up to a justice system where we can stop “building prisons” as United Future Justice Spokesperson Marc Alexander claims. At least they aren’t telling us what sort of haircut we should have, unlike Kim Jong-Il.

And further to my noting of anti-Frenchie cheese-eater blogs a few days ago, it’s a comfort to know that there are people like LeMondewatch to protect us from ever being swayed by insidious anti-American sentiments boiling away among the intellectual elites of Europe. How dare those wine-chugging frog journos suggest a rapprochement with the Arab-Muslim world? This is dangerous talk indeed! I’m going to have to cancel my subscription! Ooh, and I better stop watching/listening to the BBC, too. Yup, I think a solid, extended course of self-censorship is in order.

Last night went to see OdESSA at Safari Lounge. Two other bands from Christchurch and Dunedin also played, but I’d prefer to not to talk about them.

So yeah, pretty much as expected, OdESSA once again proved that they are one of the absolute best live acts in this country, and Pender is up there with some of the best frontmen I’ve ever seen – and that includes Beck! They deserve a much bigger audience and far more exposure, and they’re such a lovely bunch of chaps too.

Also, while I’m in reviewing mode, I saw The Motorcycle Diaries last week. Unlike OdESSA, I’m not sure that the film quite lived up to its hype. The scenery, spanning Patagonia to Amazonia via Valparaiso and the Andes certainly confirmed a personal desire to travel in South America one day, and as a document of a journey and an awakening conciousness, the film was fairly effective. I just get the impression that the shadow of Che Guevara still looms too large today for this film to be taken for what it is.

Meanwhile, the BBC has this report on the decline of Catholicism in an increasingly secular France.

(Yup, more tsunami-related blogging) The outpouring of compassion following the disaster in Asia is all well and good. Australia’s putting up a billion dollars for Indonesia, Japan half a billion US dollars. We’ve got 24 world leaders in Jakarta today, American aircraft carriers working alongside New Zealand’s held-together-with-chickenwire Hercules, police forensic experts from around the world converging on Thailand. The response has been extraordinary.

But why does it take the drame of a ten metre high oceanic wave to provoke this sort of willingness to help those less fortunate in the world? A Considerable Speck links to a great article by Rabbi Michael Lerner, who contrasts the current worldwide aid-fever with the non-existent reaction to a recent UN report stating that 29,000 children die every day due to preventable diseases and malnutrition.

“the Tsunami’s story line is safe and predictable and unlikely to challenge the current global distribution of wealth or power. Most reporters and news editors have internalized their sense of what the top-management in their industry considers “news- worthy” and thus they didn’t give much attention to the U.N. story and its dramatic and tragic dimensions.”



How unconscious can we be? Very, it appears.

Unconciousness revealed also, in this interview in Le Monde with Rochus Misch, the last surviving member of Hitler’s bodyguard and the last person to emerge alive from the Fuehrerbunker in Berlin on May 2nd, 1945. Misch worked on Hitler’s personal staff for 5 years, and although one could not accuse him of conspiring in the brutal acts of the Nazi regime, he claims he was never made aware during his work as telephonist and mail courier of the atrocities being carried out in the name of his boss. There is no question, according to Misch, of admitting that Hitler was a murderer…



“Misch, lui aussi, se trouvait au cœur de toutes les informations qui parvenaient à la tête de l’Etat nazi. Mais il n’a rien vu ou voulu voir. Pas question, même aujourd’hui, d’admettre Hitler comme un meurtrier ; impossible d’accepter une quelconque culpabilité. “C’était mon chef, répète-t-il. Avec moi, il était attentionné et gentil. J’ai fait mon travail sans blesser quelqu’un. Je ne regrette rien, cela ne serait pas honnête. J’ai suivi et estime avoir payé avec mes neuf années d’emprisonnement.”



Washingtonpost.com links to a PDF version of the 2002 memo co-authored by Attorney General nominee Alberto R. Gonzales which provides legal arguments justifying US policy towards torture/interrogation of suspected terrorists following 9/11. Gonzales seems to be the perfect Ashcroft replacement, really.

Oh, and if you want to go bury your head in the sand again, how about joining this illustrious sporting organisation?