h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Ten months after the occupation of Iraq in April 2003, the electricity service has still not been fully restored."

"The situation is in stark contrast with what happened after the 1991 Gulf War which left the main Iraqi electrical power stations in ruins.

It took the then Iraqi government three months to restore electricity to its pre-war level."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3B59D75D-EF48-4805-8597-4A8819EFF585.htm

I know, I know, it's Aljazeera. I know, I know, Hitler made the trains run on time. But still: they can put golf carts on Mars but they can't fix an electricity system in less than ten months?

Heck, we can't even fix our own electricity grid! We still haven't done anything about that, and that did more damage than the 9/11. The bill that would have done something about it got stuck in congress b/c the repubs attached drilling in the arctic national wildlife refuge, and other things to it.

dave

its just dumb.

well, maybe a kinda combination of dumbness and underhand motivations.

I still don't believe that the allies had a coherant plan for what to do with Iraq next. I guess they'd want the 'Standard Package' - installation of puppet leader, massive sell-off of state assets to American corporations and permanent basing for US troops. These all seem like neat ideas to their power base (The President, US Corporations and Military) but they're very difficult to apply coherently to a nation thats bombed out and divided, and of an utterly different language and political culture.

What they've ended up with so far is a violent chaos. An oil rich ancient nation in the dark.

And, seriously, what about freedom of the Press?

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/244E4886-DDAB-4385-B78D-AF455C5543EC.htm

Only when it suits them, dear. What I find amazing is that Janet Jackson's breast knocked the whole "Hey, they really didn't have WMD...oops!" off the front page. If I was more conspiracy minded, I'd say that they've got something big planned, and arranged the whole Super Bowl fiasco to cover it up.

Or is that just *too* paranoid!

My feeling about the superbreast furore, as I posted on another thread, is this:

It smells like "oh look: a circus we can use to divert the plebians until they forget about the little challenges to the imperial plans we patricians have been trying to execute."

I don't get the impression that the "people" are upset. I get the impression that two people at the top are upset. Even the President wasn't upset. Of course, if he hadn't slept through it (doesn't he get enough sleep in Cabinet meetings?) maybe he would get upset.

I would have thought that raving, foaming at the mouth fundamentalist christians wouldn't like that sort of thing...maybe bush is going to propose a constitutional amendment banning nipples on TV.

dave

http://www.nytimes.com/
Big 4 stories: no mention of Jackson

http://www.cnn.com/
Small sidelines: Jackson is 5th from the top

http://www.washingtonpost.com/
no mention of Jackson in big 7-8 stories

http://online.wsj.com/public/us
http://www.time.com/time/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032542/
http://www.businessweek.com/
no mention of Jackson

Is it really distracting the US from WMD? For readers of the enquirer, people, and weekly world news; probably.

dave

I agree, Dave. As I said, I don't think many people give a hoot about it. But the FCC chairman is going to spend a wack of their money to "investigate" it. And, really, what's to investigate?

And now I promise not to mention it again.

Ah, well. That was yesterday. Today the big story is riacin in the Senate mail room. I really have to wonder about the US news media (infotainment, anyone?) and their attempts to redirect people's attention.

It's a sad country I live in, really. It's a shame that I can't emigrate any time soon.

what should the top story be Montana, just out of curiosity. What would you be reporting?

Ahhh, let's see. I'll give you five, in no particular order (and this is only US-oriented news...Sharon's surprise move to take 17 settlements out of the Gaza Strip is certainly up there!)

1. The fact that 7 months after Shrub announces that "major combat" is over, over 100 people die in suicide bombings in less than 48 hours.

2. The presidential primaries and caucases that are being held today (7 of them, 269 votes up for grabs).

3. The fact that from a 236 billion dollar surplus in 2000, Shrub's tax cuts and budget deals have taken us to an estimated 500 billion plus deficit this year.

4. That Colin Powell announced earlier this morning that regardless of having WMD, the US would have chosen to invade Iraq.

5. Investigating Dick Cheney and Anton Scalia's fishing trip. Sorry, but two buddies fishing just doesn't wash.

2,3 & 4 are being/have been reported on.

1 & 5 I'll give you.

dave

It may well be, anhaga... or it could be another Hutton enquiry, still, we'll wait and see.

<>
Yeeuuchh...
Still, he *looks* nice...

Dave, why do you keep posting a link to that everywhere? It seems to fascinate you. Maybe you should take out an advert in thw Times of London, and print it there.

Hey, I cerrtainly find all of those interesting, Montana...