Independent Progressive Thought

While commuting to work this morning I heard on the radio that a local hip hop station was upset about the CBCs piece on product placement in hip hop videos. The DJs happily went on to say that we have signed off on product placement and would gladly accept endorsements to feature products on our show. What they don't realise, since they were hired for their "party personalities", is that young teens often don't have the sophistication to realise that it is a product placement and just how profound the influence can be on their buying habits. There is a reason that there is a minimum age requirement for drivers' licenses for instance. It is that a younger child may not have the physical stature and judgement to drive a vehicle. The same is true for being bombarded with soft advertising like product placements. Young people although very bright may not have the mental stature or judgement or introspective skills to assess its impact on them.

posted by Nashib @ 12:07 PM

Has it occurred to anyone that the press' use of the word pacify to describe the US Army's role seems somehow inappropriate ? Sure it has, unlike most of the corporate owned and subservient mainstream media, a very interesting article Pacification, Worth the Price , Apr 7, 2004, Kathy Kelly on CommonDreams.org brings up exactly this issue. Pacify ? It is interesting when the agressors start claiming that they are trying to pacify the situation where they are unwelcome.

posted by Nashib @ 10:49 PM

Witnesses said the marines closed in at about midday, as worshippers gathered for afternoon prayers. A Cobra helicopter gunship fired a Hellfire missile toward the mosque's minaret, damaging but not destroying the tower.

Very interesting that the marines had to be flying over the mosque exactly at the time of the prayer. Was it a confrontation that was provoked by flying a helicoper deliberately closely to a mosque ? Typically mosques have open courtyards and it should have come as no surprise to anyone that buzzing the mosque at prayer time might be an construed to be an unnecessarily aggressive action.

posted by Nashib @ 10:07 PM

An email I received from Saharsha. I am posting it with one very minor change for clarity. Email follows:

The CPA believes that arresting Muqtada will end the resistance. Arresting or killing him will not make one iota of difference. The problem is not the man but the occupation. The Shi'ite have started calling the Americans "Yazid" the murderer of Hussein. They did the same for the Shah of Iran, the Israelis in Lebanon. The same fate awaits the Americans. It is just a matter of time and lives.

Many questions remain. Why did the Americans provoke this fight? Did they hope to control the inevitable on their own terms? Did they miscalculate? What of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani? His end game is much more long term. Will he be able to use this to his advantage? He needs to keep the lines of communication open with the CPA because ultimately he wants to influence the form of government in Iraq and its relationship with the Americans. What should the next steps be? At the very least the cost the Americans must be made to pay must be raised high enough that it becomes impossible for them to sustain their occupation. That could lead the Americans to Sistani's feet.

As long as the Americans and their supporters remain ignorant and racist in their view of the Iraqi people and their feelings, this war can be won. My own personal experience with some of my co-workers is encouraging. They are ignorant, unintelligent and incredibly racist. This will give Iraqis the advantage.

posted by Nashib @ 10:49 PM