Stoopid Stuff

Our Shame

So three of the desparate, hopeless "lost souls" held at Guantanamo Bay concentration camp finally found a way out. Probably the only escape that will ever be available to them. The military is investigating multiple war crimes, murders and massacres by American troops in Iraq. The Council of Europe issued a report describing the secret prison network and "Extrordinary Rendition" program of the American CIA. Makes an American's chest just swell with pride, doesn't it?

How can anyone believe that the best way to counter the threat of Terrorism against America is to emulate the worst aspects of the worst totalitarian regimes in recent history? In Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia and Saddam's Iraq, they held their enemies in concentration camps run by the military. They routinely tortured and killed people they deemed a threat, not just in a misguided attempt to elicit information but also to intimidate the population. Military units regularly killed, tortured and raped civilians under their control. And oh yeah, these governments knew no compunction in monitoring the actions of their citizens through all manner of legal and extra-legal surveillance.

Guantanamo in particular offends me. The obvious, blatent manipulation evident in the fact that they put the concentration camp outside the borders of the US, so they could determine what statutes they would choose to apply. The tragic fact that we KNOW that most of the "detainees" at Gitmo are completely innocent, mere peasants or shopkeepers in Afghanistan, turned in over old rivalries or reward money. And America is in a bad position--If these detainees are charged, they can testify in court to their treatment in detention, including not just torture, but cruel and inhumane treatment. If they are released, they can give the same information to the press.

We have said that as "terrorists" (whatever that means in this context) are "illegal combatants" and not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention, US or International Law. It is only a matter of time before some of our soldiers are captured, and subjected to torture and cruel treatment. And we will squeal in outrage, and the world will call us on our hypocrisy. We have yielded the so-called moral high ground, in the name of our most dark and primeval fear and hatred.

It is sad to see what these evil men have done to my beloved country. They have taken America from an example to all, from the "shining city on the hill" to the depths of an authoritarian government, ruling with an iron fist, existing only to perpetuate their power and the wealth of their supporters, sacrificing our future for the excesses of the present. It will take much longer to undo the damage than it has taken to cause it. For decades, America will be equated with the worst that men can do, invading and occupying sovereign nations, killing, torturing, imprisoning, employing the military as a preferred option rather than a last resort, human rights and civil liberties sacrificed on the altar of power and wealth. Other nations and their peoples may fear America, but their respect and trust will have to be earned back.

posted by mikey @ 2:31 PM 1 comments

Movie Time

I checked out "A History of Violence" last night. I've got a few quibbles, but it's the best movie I've seen since "Master and Commander". I had read a number of posts about "A History of Violence" in the blogoshpere, and my expectations were established incorrectly. I had read about the "ambiguities" in the film, and got the impression that it was unclear whether Tom had a criminal past or if it was truly a case of mistaken identity. But oviously, that was not the case. Cronenberg makes it clear before the film is half over that Tom had actually been Joey.

But in fact, this is a film about redemption. Joey WANTED to become Tom. And Tom is who he became. He wasn't bloodthirsty, he wasn't looking for trouble. He loved his new life and his family. Just because he was forced by circumstance to use the skills he had developed in his other life, it was not who he was. I especially like that message. You can become someone different, something better. Not faking it, not pretending, but actually change. I can't understand why there should be any doubt about this--it's apparent. Part of the dynamic of the film is Tom's family doubting who he was. They had known him for something approaching twenty years, and yet these events made them doubt what they knew him to be. I don't know. I would think that twenty years of day-in day-out experience should carry at least as much weight as one brief out-of-character moment.

As to the quibbles, I really only have two. I thought the film very much glossed over the psychological and emotional consequences of the killing of Fogarty by Jack. There was going to be a series of reactions, from the high of taking a life to the depression and self-loathing that can follow. But mainly, I have to question the approach Tom takes to personal combat. In all three events, he faces armed killers with empty hands, counting on his hand-to-hand skills and close combat capabilities to appropriate a weapon. In the first instance, he had no choice, as he had no way to know what was going to happen. In the second case, he put down the shotgun when they showed they had his son. OK, that makes sense, and he certainly wasn't going to go with them. But I'd have been more comfortable with the outcome if he had given himself some other "edge" before the confrontation. A meat cleaver. A sock full of quarters and tied. Something with which he could have quickly disabled the gunmen. But the third even, in Philly. That was the one that bothered me most. Going in, he could have acquired a weapon or two and controlled the circumstances of the meeting a little bit. But once again, starting barehanded, he kills the bad guys without sustaining any serious wounds. But who knows, maybe he was that good.

posted by mikey @ 10:56 AM 2 comments

Yay America!!

Did you ever see a Budweiser comercial? I mean, seriously, pay attention to a Budweiser comercial? Damn. I mean, I'm an angry lefty, right? And by the end of the Budweiser comercial, I'm standing at attention, saluting the flag and looking all around for commie traitors and countries to invade. Wow. What a masterful marvel of marketing!

This is who I am
This is where I'm from
This is what I believe in
When the day is done...

Goddam, SIGN me up!! I wanna play on THAT team, y'know? We'll kick their asses!!!

posted by mikey @ 7:28 PM 0 comments