or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
•
"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
•
"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
October 18, 2009
Saddam & Laura & Propaganda
This is from the FBI's summary of its interview with Saddam Hussein on March 23, 2004. During the interview they made him watch a 1993 documentary called "Saddam Hussein's Latest War" about his crushing of the Shiite rebellion after the 1991 Gulf War:
Hussein stated, "I do not have a comment." He added that it was "beneath him" to comment about this documentary. Hussein characterized the film as not being objective...Hussein questioned the appropriateness of interviewing the President of Iraq about such a "propaganda film." He added, "We should stop this program"...He affirmed that he would not comment on such propaganda films.
Here's Laura Bush at a press conference just three and a half months later on July 7, 2004:
Q Mrs. Bush, have you seen the movie Fahrenheit 9/11?Posted at October 18, 2009 05:30 PMMRS. BUSH: No, of course I haven't seen it.
Q Do you have any thoughts about how it's portraying your husband?
MRS. BUSH: Well, that it's propaganda.
...they made him watch a 1993 documentary called "Saddam Hussein's Latest War" about his crushing of the Shiite rebellion after the 1991 Gulf War
We spend three trillion dollars for that?
Posted by: SteveB at October 19, 2009 10:01 AMWe spend three trillion dollars for that?
I'm sure they didn't give him free popcorn which would just be a foolish waste of money.
Posted by: cemmcs at October 19, 2009 12:35 PMIt's kind of remarkable to look back on the "trial" and hanging of Saddam Hussein. What a fiasco of justice, especially considering we funded and supported Hussein during the bulk of his criminal activity in Iraq.
Posted by: Clint at October 19, 2009 01:20 PMWhen we finally get Bush and Cheney into custody, we should force them to watch that Ken Burns documentary about baseball.
Posted by: SteveB at October 19, 2009 04:17 PMWhat should we ("we"?) force Obama to watch when we get him into custody? Manufacturing Consent, maybe? (Maybe not such a bad idea.)
Posted by: Duncan at October 19, 2009 04:22 PMWhat should we ("we"?) force Obama to watch when we get him into custody? Manufacturing Consent, maybe?
The horrifying truth would probably turn out to be that he's already seen it.
Posted by: Jonathan Schwarz at October 19, 2009 04:32 PMDo the Europeans show documentaries? As WE will never put Bush&Cheney or Obama into custody.
Posted by: Mike Meyer at October 19, 2009 05:22 PMWhat would Obama hate to watch? I doubt he'd enjoy watching a documentary about Predators and Reapers killing innocent people in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The racism involved in indiscrimate bombing of tribal peoples in Asia is so obvious that even a Norwegian can pick up on it, so Obama certainly must get it. I wouldn't be surprised if Obama even knows that when Lloyd George made his infamous remark about Britain reserving the right to bomb niggers in 1932, the specific context was Waziristan.
The same people are getting bombed now, for reasons that haven't that improved much with time, so I doubt Obama would be eager to sit through two hours about that.
Jon: I wouldn't be surprised if Obama has in fact seen it, but probably long long ago. Perhaps watching it again would be a painful reminder of what he has become.
N E: Not a bad suggestion, since that would be an even more painful reminder of what Obama has become. Not since he became President, but since his idealistic youth.
Posted by: Duncan at October 19, 2009 10:26 PMDuncan:
Whether Obama would associate a film like that with what HE has become is unclear to me, but it certainly would remind him very clearly what is happening while he is Commander in Chief. Maybe seeing that would reach something in him, maye it would remind him of things that get lost in the razzamatazz of power.
But maybe not. General George Marshall, of whom I am no great admirer, used to present FDR with casualty lists during WWII to remind FDR of the sacrifices being made by the country. I doubt FDR needed that reminder, especially from Marshall, who was a man of limited vision and ideas and common prejudices, though formidable command abilities. So it's not just lefties who hope this sort of thing would bring some misguided President to his senses enough to see the obvious. I'd bet McChrystal would like to make Obama watch documentaries of the USS Cole or the marine baracks in Lenanon in 1983 or Khobar Towers in 1985 blowing up over and over again.
Posted by: N E at October 20, 2009 08:52 PM
