Not enough time in the day...
Apr. 30th, 2004 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpWell, of course it depends on what you want to do.
Radiograms? Done.
Additional translation work? On deck.
I had brought some home-burned CDs to see if I could find some needed files, but it's too late to submit travel expense reports now, anyway.
Plus, something's been bugging me...
<rant>
Yesterday's 60 Minutes II telecast, which highlighted mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by a handful of U.S. soldiers, simply has to be awarded the "Doing Your Enemy's Work for Him" prize for the year. It's not that such behavior should be swept under the rug (and as a former interrogator-translator in the Marines, I am acutely sensitive to the issue of handling prisoners with due respect), because it hasn't. But broadcasting the images to a worldwide audience (including, naturally, the Islamic world) has got to be the most boneheaded stunt I can imagine, unless you're actively working for the other side's benefit.
Now, it may be said that since the story relates something that really happened, that not broadcasting it would somehow constitute "censorship." Such an argument would betray a lack of understanding of what censorship is, and I would disagree with it. I would characterize a decision to broadcast or not to broadcast as a choice.
There are many other things to focus on with respect to the activities of US soldiers in Iraq. Moreover, very many of these would likely depict said soldiers in a positive light. So I find it disturbing that CBS would choose to devote such a disproportionately large amount of broadcast time to highlight misconduct by a minuscule number of people, and to do so in a graphic manner.
</rant>
Cheers...
Radiograms? Done.
Additional translation work? On deck.
I had brought some home-burned CDs to see if I could find some needed files, but it's too late to submit travel expense reports now, anyway.
Plus, something's been bugging me...
<rant>
Yesterday's 60 Minutes II telecast, which highlighted mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by a handful of U.S. soldiers, simply has to be awarded the "Doing Your Enemy's Work for Him" prize for the year. It's not that such behavior should be swept under the rug (and as a former interrogator-translator in the Marines, I am acutely sensitive to the issue of handling prisoners with due respect), because it hasn't. But broadcasting the images to a worldwide audience (including, naturally, the Islamic world) has got to be the most boneheaded stunt I can imagine, unless you're actively working for the other side's benefit.
Now, it may be said that since the story relates something that really happened, that not broadcasting it would somehow constitute "censorship." Such an argument would betray a lack of understanding of what censorship is, and I would disagree with it. I would characterize a decision to broadcast or not to broadcast as a choice.
There are many other things to focus on with respect to the activities of US soldiers in Iraq. Moreover, very many of these would likely depict said soldiers in a positive light. So I find it disturbing that CBS would choose to devote such a disproportionately large amount of broadcast time to highlight misconduct by a minuscule number of people, and to do so in a graphic manner.
</rant>
Cheers...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
60 Minutes is nothing
Date: 2004-05-01 08:08 am (UTC)As part of my current project, we're wiring up a bunch of plasma screens to the antennae and sat receivers on the roof and can pull down just about any country's broadcasting. Seeing what's been on in Jordan, Syria, Quatar, etc. I don't think anyone's even bothering with 60 minutes. It didn't help, but really I think compared to the act itself, the damage was minimal.
What did more damage I think was letting Bush babble on like some stuttering drunk on a live feed about how he felt about the photos. That was truly embarassing. And it was on al Jazeera, with subtitles, and they kept putting ... ... ... when he was stammering.