The media

Is it just me or is this whole Rev. Jeremiah Wright Scandal a bit of a farce? I mean, besides the fact that it's simply ridiculous to try and smear Obama with the words of his former pastor, the bigger issue, if you ask me, is that Wright is right. The man is telling it like it is. He may be saying some things that certain people don't want to hear, but, hell, I'd say that's a good thing. The man's not crazy. Nor is he the raving lunatic the media is trying to make him out to be. He's simply a guy speaking some truth.

I was just listening to a great 30-minute interview with Avi Lewis on CBC radio a little earlier and it reminded me of just what we've been missing with him no longer on Canadian TV, with him no longer entertaining and informing us with his progressive ideas, provocative interviews and passionate insistence on justice. It also reminded me of the letter I sent to the CBC last month:

It just doesn't get much more blatant than this! Usually you have to compare your Insignificant Others to your Significant Beloveds in general comparative terms, it's a rare chance indeed to be able to compare their relative value in real time. In fact, I do believe this is what scientists would call absolute proof of a hypothesis. But this is exciting for more reasons than that. I mean, how often do you get a chance to see the lives of a group of people treated with such complete and utter disdain, contempt and indifference right before your very eyes as you sit and watch the news?

Westerners are killed and it's a tragedy, non-Westerners are killed and it's a minor item. It goes on and on like this. It drives me crazy! While watching the news this morning I was once again completely struck by the different value put on Western lives compared to those of The Insignificant Others. I mean, I notice it just about every single day, but today was pretty extreme.

Vimy Ridge Vimy Ridge Vimy Ridge, all this drama over Vimy Ridge. If you live in Canada then you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, then I should tell you that this weekend has been the 90th anniversary of the Canadian victory over the Germans at Vimy Ridge during World War I. Yes, 3,600 Canadian soldiers died and more than 7,000 were wounded during the four-day assault (while 20,000 German soldiers were killed or injured), but why all the glorifying of a battle in such a meaningless war, I ask?

This rant also appears in the Touching The Untouchables section as Touching The Untouchables #6: Vimy Ridge. It appears here as well for anyone who thinks they might like history but feels afraid, or at least a little nervous, when it comes to touching any sort of untouchables.

Vimy Ridge Vimy Ridge Vimy Ridge, all this drama over Vimy Ridge. If you live in Canada then you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, then I should tell you that this weekend has been the 90th anniversary of the Canadian victory over the Germans at Vimy Ridge during World War I. Yes, 3,600 Canadian soldiers died and more than 7,000 were wounded during the four-day assault (while 20,000 German soldiers were killed or injured), but why all the glorifying of a battle in such a meaningless war, I ask?

Are you one of those people who after reading one too many of my rants feels like saying: "Hey, don't be so bloody pessimistic, the world may seem to be a giant house of horrors at times, but really it's not all that bad"? Well, you may be surprised to hear that I totally agree with you. So many countries have indeed been moving forward and progressing in so many different ways recently. Things are looking up the world over. Let's count the ways.

We all know who is ultimately responsible for the total and utter catastrophe that Iraq has become since being unjustly and illegally invaded and occupied three and a half years ago; I mean, the whole world knows who is ultimately guilty for the horrendous ongoing carnage and wholesale destruction in and of that country; but let's talk for a moment about some other immoral bastards. Specifically, what's with these psychopaths in Iraq torturing and murdering hundreds of innocent people a month for no other reason than they happen to belong to the other side of the sectarian divide (Shia or Sunni). Not only are these death squads slaughtering completely innocent civilians on a daily basis, but, before senselessly killing them, they're actually torturing these people for absolutely no other reason than hatred. Torture, not for information or any other purpose, just for psychotic pleasure, it would seem.

I'd like to ask one simple question: Just what kind of country are we? What kind of people are we? And I'm not just talking about Canada and Canadians, but the whole Western world. Do we really see ourselves as the champions of the strong over the weak? Are we really for the oppressors rather than the oppressed? The colonizers rather than the colonized? Yes, I'm at least partly referring to Israel and their treatment of the Palestinians (and at times the Lebanese as well), but I'm also talking about many other conflicts around the world. It seems that we now, in almost all cases, side with those in power; that is, those doing the most killing, oppressing and terrorizing; those committing the worst war crimes and human rights abuses. And when I say "we" I, of course, mean the "we" represented by our governments and the majority of our media. Aside from the Darfur conflict in Sudan, it seems we've taken sides AGAINST the weak, the oppressed, the downtrodden and the victimized in just about every conflict and struggle around the globe in recent years; AGAINST people who are only fighting for that which we all take for granted and accept as our inherent rights. So, seriously, what the hell's wrong with us? That's what I want to know.

Well over 100 civilians killed in Lebanon and the headline on all the mainstream news websites is "8 Israelis killed in Haifa". 15 Lebanese children killed in one strike alone and Bush just keeps going on about Israel's right to defend itself from "terror". And, I repeat, 15 Lebanese children killed and the news that just has to be reported is "8 Israelis killed in Haifa". The entire country of Lebanon living under Israel's reign of terror, mass killings and destruction and the talk is, as always, of Islamic "terrorists"... and "8 Israelis killed in Haifa". Thousands of Arabs kidnapped and taken away to rot in Israeli gulags, after ridiculous show trials, and the emphasis is on 2 kidnapped Israeli soldiers held in Lebanon... and "8 Israelis killed in Haifa". Is there something wrong with this picture or what?