Sundays 4-6 pm
WMFO Medford 91.5
To listen:
Today in our world…
Noriega
Remember General Manuel Noriega, the dictator we ousted with our military back in 1989? No? Well, I had to confess that I had forgotten all about him. But, Everett Ellis Briggs reminds us in his op-ed piece in the New York Times today that Noriega was supposed to have been released from prison today after serving 15 years of a 30 year sentence for drug trafficking. Seems strange that we can just go into a country and grab someone, have a trial and put him in jail, but I guess we can. Well, I guess we can since he was on our payroll for helping us fund the contras in Nicaragua (paid for by selling weapons to Iran, but boy is that another issue). Apparently France wants in on this too - that’s his next stop, since the French want him for money laundering.
Speaking of drug trafficking, money laundering, Noriega and Panama - I was in Panama in February 1988 on business and while at dinner with a business associate was introduced to a friend of her’s who worked for the National Bank of Panama, and his business associate, whose occupation was a little vague, until we had had a few drinks and he revealed all. Let’s just say, he was in drugs and he was meeting with the National Bank of Panama. Yup. I was there.
9-11
What does 9-11 mean to you? How should we remember it?
It seems strange to just go to work as if it was an ordinary day. I have colleagues who are flying to New York for a business meeting on Tuesday. That seems strange to me.
I heard a conservative talk show host say two things that seemed contradictory to me. On the one hand, she was decrying that the twin towers had not been rebuilt - she felt we should be like Israel, where they quickly rebuild things that have been destroyed. She felt that the site of the towers was an open wound. On the other hand, she recommended that anyone who could should go to the site of the twin towers, find a quiet spot, and pay attention to the ghosts of 9-11. First, the ghosts of those that died - the workers, the firefighters, the police. Second, the ghosts of the killers, screaming Allah as they killed 3,000 people.
Does this resonate with you? Does the lack of new building on the site of the twin towers leave you with an open wound that would be healed with rebuilding? And, do you feel the need to be reminded of the horror of that day? Is the focus that she was talking about a necessary reminder or a kind of victim mentality?
And, what are the lessons of 9-11? After six years, what do we think about Afghanistan? Iraq? Al Quada in Afghanistan? Al Quada in Mesopotamia (are they the threat even though they only represent 2% of the Sunni insurgency)?
Is it useful or necessary to understand the motivations of the killers? Do we have an effective strategy for confronting and dealing with the fact that people want to kill us? Do we have confidence in our current leadership to fully understand what we are dealing with?
What is the role of religion in 9-11? Fundamentalism? Is this the Christians and Jews against the Muslims? Or is it a struggle between secular democracies and those who wish to shape society under God’s authority?
The President of Iran, Mahmoud Amadinejad, sent a letter to George Bush where he said:
“If Prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph or Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) were with us today, how would they have judged such behavior? … I have been told that Your Excellency follows the teachings of Jesus (peace be upon him) and believes in the divine promise of the rule of the righteous on Earth…” Ahmadinejad continued, reminding his fellow believer that “according to divine verses, we have all been called upon to worship one God and follow the teachings of divine Prophets.” There follows a kind of altar call, in which the American president is invited to bring his actions into line with these verses. And then comes a threatening prophecy: “Liberalism and Western-style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today, these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems. . . . Whether we like it or not, the world is gravitating towards faith in the Almighty and justice and the will of God will prevail over all things.” The Politics of God, by Mark Lilla, New York Times, August 19, 2007
In his piece, Mark Lilla makes the case that we are the anomoly - a secular democracy is a fragile experiment that we cannot assume will continue here, let alone be embraced by those in other countries. What strikes me about this is that I have been told by Americans that our’s is a Christian nation (as distinct from a Judeo-Christian nation, which is the new pc way to say it), and they want our country to be overtly Christian. My reactions to both of these statements is, I don’t want a theocracy. I want the government to be secular, with a wall between the church and the state. I want people to have the freedom to practice whatever religion they choose to practice, including the freedom to not practice any religion.
I think we’ve got it about right here in the United States. Nevertheless, it is clear from 9-11 that there are those who not only do not respect this separation, but are willing to use violent methods to shove their religion down our throats.
That is, if you believe this is about theocracies vs. secular democracies.
Energy
There’s a new game developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit and offered by Chevron. More about it here….
Chevron is calling on all of us to help solve the very difficult problem of how we’re going to power our society in the ‘post easy-oil era.’ So, greenies - let’s get busy.
Media
Media Minutes, from Free Press
The Youth Media Council is working for media justice and making a difference. Executive Director Malkia Cyril talks about mediating the public conversation to create better public policy. And as American news organizations cut back on international coverage, Americans are increasingly unhappy with the quality of television news.
Related Links
American’s Unhappy with Quality of TV News
Malkia Cyril and Youth Media Council
War News Radio
September 7th, 2007
 |
This week on War News Radio, we hear the story of Radio Dijla, a radio station in Baghdad that has come to symbolize the violence as well as reconstruction across the country. Listen now to Will Godwin and Adam Clapp’s report.
And coming soon to a theater near you: the Iraq War. We’ll hear about the wave of war movies about Iraq that will be released by Hollywood this fall. Listen now to Hansi Lo Wang’s report.
These stories, plus the week’s news, from War News Radio.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.