Yesterday my roommate and I went to see the movie Control Room. It recently opened at a local film festival, the AFI Silverdocs, and it is a documentary about the coverage of the Iraq War on al Jazeera. I highly reccomend it and believe everyone should see it simply on the basis that it gives you an insight into the way the Arab world views Americans. It was a very eye opening experience. Most of the movies is filmed as the behind the scenes coverage of the station, with interviews of the staff and managers of the station that explain their position on things and how and why they broadcast certain things that they got heavily criticized for by the Bush administration. Just to warn you I am about to spoil the end for you - not that it really is a spoiler because it is a documentary. One of the most interesting things in the movie is the exchanges between a US soldier who is one of the American press officials. He is not the guy that gives the big press conferences, but is who the media interview afterwards for clarifications of the US position. He is a good character because he represents the "average American" perception of the conflict. He is not high military brass. As the movie progresses he starts to gain an understanding of the Arab culture and how they view America. One of the best exchenges he has is with an al Jazeera reporter that once worked for the BBC. In trying to explain the American position and how Americans view this conflict in relation to the one in Isreal, the BBC reporter interrupts him and says, "I understand what you are saying, and I understand how the west sees these as two different conflicts, but the Arab world sees them as one. Though the REALLY bad things Isreal does are not done by Americans, the Arab world sees them as one in the same." The soldier responds: "That is interesting. Because if everyone in Arab world sees the Isreal conflict and the Iraq war as linked. There is noone in America that would even think of those two things as the same. The two countries could be on opposite sides of the world for how Americans view the conflict." It was really interesting to hear that those two conflict are considered one by the Arab world. I would never ever think that. That revelation alone is worth the price of the ticket. I think all Americans should see that movie so they can understand how the Arab world views us. That is a really important element that has been overlooked in our approach to foreign policy. Unfortunately, I doubt many will see this movie, and many of those that do aren't the ones that need to see it most.

This leads into another documentary I saw this past week - The Fog of War . It was another amazing and eye opening movie. It is set up as a series of life lessons that Secretary of Defense Robert McNamera (he held that position during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations for the start and escalation of Vietnam) One of the points he made directly ties into Control Room - Empathize with your enemies. He explains that how we viewed the Vietnam conflict was so strongly from our view that we did not realize that it was viewed by them as a fight for independence. When he went to Vietnam years later and met with his counterparts on the opposite side, and they were telling them how they viewed the war and how they would never be puppets of the Chinese because they hated the Chinese was a revelation to him. He goes on to say that Vietnam failed because we failed to understand this critical fact about our enemy. I think this can be applied to the current war. Because we do not understand the Arab world and how they view us, we will never be successful. That is why everyone needs to see the movie Control Room. Another interesting thing I learned from Fog of War was how close we actually were to nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Castro had essentially told Kruschev that he sho
ul
d fire the missiles, even though it would mean total annihilation for Cuba. It was really quite scary. I highly reccomend that movie as well.

Sorry to get so political on your ass in this journal. To change topics: How to Disappear Completely is an amazing song and the entire Kid A album is one of the greates albums of all time. That is all. Thank you. Bye.

It was pointed out to me that you need to sign into the Washington Post to access those stories. Though I am sure you ALL have Post profiles, I figured I should repost them for the benefit of those that don't as well as another additional story from today's post.

In the Loop
By Al Kamen
Friday, June 18, 2004; Page A27

Dead Dove Disaster:

This just in from BBC News! While Americans are preoccupied with investigations of world terrorism, other nations have different concerns.

So we find that "the Sri Lankan authorities have ordered an inquiry," the BBC reported, "after a dove-freeing ceremony intended to symbolize peace went disastrously wrong."

Seems "one bird was dead before takeoff and 'dropped like a brick,' " the BBC said, quoting its cameraman, Sriyantha Walpola, "soon after it left the hands of the public security minister, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, at a ceremony last weekend."

And it wasn't as if a flock was taking off. Seems the poor bird was one of seven being released at a recent U.N. ceremony attended by Lt. Gen. James L. Campbell, commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific. His bird flew off quite smartly.

So "instead of soaring majestically into the air to symbolize the government's commitment to peace and goodwill," the BBC reported, the bird nose-dived to the ground.

Not to worry.

"A three-member delegation of the military police," led by an army major no less, has been called in "to investigate the mystery of the dead dove." They will look into the circumstances and try to see if there was any sabotage, a defense ministry spokesman said.

Sure, maybe it was the fault of Tamil Tiger separatists. Or maybe it was keeping the birds waiting for a half-hour in 90-degree heat and excessive humidity?

Clear as Mud:

Some folks in Congress are upset by our Saudi friends' occasional hallucinatory outbursts.

Crown Prince Abdullah -- remember, he's the enlightened one in the family, the one the Bush administration is counting on -- was shown on a tape obtained by NBC News blaming a recent wave of terrorist attacks on Zionists.

"Zionism is behind it," Abdullah said, through a translator. "It has become clear now. It has become clear to us," he said. "It is not 100 percent, but 95 percent that the Zionist hands are behind what has happened."

This might be a bit perplexing, since al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

But not to worry. Prince Nayef, the interior minister, explained what's going on. "Al Qaeda is backed by Israel and Zionism." Ah, but of course.

So Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) has circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter asking for House members to condemn these "scurrilous and inflammatory charges."

It was only a matter of time before people figured out those obvious ties between Osama bin Laden and Ariel Sharon.
    

Just think of it: A Zionist wave is sweeping the Arabian peninsula. Who knew?





Blind Man Drives Golf Cart in Ga. City

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - A blind man drove a golf cart for two miles through the
winding streets of Peachtree City, accompanied by his guide dog - and an
inebriated friend giving instructions - before running into a parked car, police
said.

Nobody was hurt, but Samuel McClain, 35, of Stockbridge and Michael Johnston,
47, of Peachtree City were charged with reckless conduct "due to the blatant
disregard for public safety," a police report said.

The report said McClain was driving the cart Saturday while Johnston gave
directions after having six or seven beers and "admittedly under the influence
of alcoholic beverage." Also on the cart was McClain's golden re
tr
iever guide
dog.

The city of 34,000 about 25 miles south of Atlanta has about 80 miles of paved
cart paths and 9,000 registered carts that residents use for daily tasks like
going to the grocery or taking children to school.





Va. Tells Men: No Sex With Young Girls

RICHMOND, Va. - The state is posting billboards with messages such as "Isn't
she a little young?" as part of a campaign to dissuade men from having sex with
underage girls.

The campaign is aimed at reducing the number of young girls who have children
with older men, the Virginia Department of Health said Monday.

In 1999 and 2000 in Virginia, men over 18 were responsible for 219 births
involving girls who were 13 and 14, the department said.

Messages such as "Isn't she a little young?" and "Sex with a minor, don't go
there" also appear on posters, coasters and napkins in bars, restaurants and
stores in five cities.

"We encourage adult men to talk to their peers and discourage them from
pursuing teenagers. What they are doing is unhealthy and against the law," said
Robert Franklin, a health department official.

Here are two funny stories I found at washingtonpost.com yesterday at work. I highly reccomend reading them.

Blind Man Drives Golf Cart in Ga. City


Va. Tells Men: No Sex With Young Girls

Hello all. I guess I haven't updated in a while. I guess I have been sort of busy/lazy as of late. Here is the craziness of a story for you. Last night my roommate chris invited my other roommate siv and I to a birthday party. Chris is an orientation leader for my school this summer, which means he takes incoming freshman that come to get orientated on tours and team building games and stuff. Anyway, one of the other orientation leaders was having a birthday, so another friend of ours, Vaani, who is also an orientation leader, offers to have it at her house. Because Chris is picking up the cake and has to pick up some other people for the party, we get to the house right on time. When we knock on the door, Vaani's roommate answers and says Vaani does not live there. She has her stuff in the house, but is living on campus while she is an orientation leader because it is easier. We tell her that Vaani is having a party at the house tonight. That was the first she had heard of that. We called Vaani and she told her what was going on, but Vaani still was not at the house. Needless to say, it was quite awkward sitting there at someone else's house for a party, especially when the host isn't there and the roommate that is is still eating dinner because she did not know about the party. Luckily we knew the roommate so it wasn't as awkward as it could've been.

Hmmm. That was a good story when it happened. I don't know if the humor/awkwardness translated well in the retelling. Oh well, you can suffer through my bad stories. Everyone else who knows me does.

My CDs have been in complete disarry since I moved into my apartment in january. The problem is that I gave up the shelves I used to keep them on for our apartment's dvd collection. I put my cds on my desk shelves, but as they wouldn't all fit horizontally, I was forced to put them vertically. This made it a pain in the ass to put the cds back and subsequently my cds and their cases became scattered all around my desk. This lasted until today when I finally put all the CDs back in their proper cases and reorganized them so they could sit horizontally. It makes me so happy to have them organized. It is definitely one of my anal/ocd things. They are organized alphabetically by artist (if it is a person than I use the last name) then by original release date (even if they are reissues), with singles always following the album they were on (even if the single came out first). Now I can look and smile.
Here is a crappy drawing of it:


Sorry it is so bad, but I did pop my sketching cherry.

Oh, and though I don't know you, Happy Birthday Comedicqueen.

That't all for now. Bye

I would just like to give props to Jill and Mike on the videos. They were really funny. People became too predictable on the sesame street answer. And on the virginity, come on at least try rhyming, there are lots of dirty words to chose from - "Cock. Balls. / We get the picture Frank you don't have to celebrate it."

Allentown is this weekend? I am jealous. I wish I could be home for it. Last year I got my buffalo belt buckle. Maybe this year I would've splurged on the belt studded with buffalo nickles to match. Now I will never know. If someone is there and feels like spending $40 dollars on someone else, feel free to pick one up for me.

That is all for now and "Stay away from the deli tray" (if anyone can name who said that quote or at least what it is from, they will seriously get the maddest props EVER from me - whatever that is worth)

In regards to terry's response [inlink]terry,243[/inlink], I do agree that respect is earned and not given. I was not meaning to start a political debate on RR's policies and whether they were good or bad. I was just trying to make the point that feelings about the President are subjective and as such they cannot be used as a good method for the government (not individuals) to determine whether the flag should be flown at half mast.

On to other things RR, I visited his casket last night, and oh was it a visit. I will start this story from the beginning. Originally, I was intending on walking down to the Capitol right after I got out of work, which is about 7ish. When I got out I was walking with my coworker and all the roads around the White House were blocked up. Having nothing better to do, I decided to wait and see what was going on. About a half-hour later, we saw the presidential caravan. I was surprised that the windows weren't really all that tinted. It was neat.

I then continued my journey, but was then distracted by a filene's basement. On monday I got a navy blazer, but I still needed another suit, so I stopped. I found a navy suit that looked nice and was cheap, but as they were closing I was unable to try on the pants. So naturally, I just bought it any way. It ended up being cheaper than I thought, like $120. But as I now had a suit, I had to go home, which added another 2 hours to when I got in line (I did get to change out of the suit though).

When I finally got there it was 10:30. Going there I thought, good it will be late so there won't be as many people. Apparently everyone else and their mother thought that too. As a result, I stood in line for six and a half hours (I wasn't even one of those who was there the longest).

I got into the Capitol at 5:10 AM. It was really a beautiful setting. We went in through the front door and the Capitol and the Mall looked so majestic. Little patches of navy blue were starting to break through the dark purple night sky. Once we got inside, it was an regal setting to say the least. The whole scene, with the soldiers and the coffin, set against the backdrop of the always breathtaking Rotunda. It was worth the wait. I will never forget it.

Some less moving side notes. When I went, I didn't know how I was going to get home because I was alone, didn't have a car, and the Metro closed at midnight. I was probably going to have to walk the 7+ miles if my roommates had gone to bed. Luckily all of those things didn't matter because two of my friend who live in the same building were in the next row and I just hung out and got a ride home with them. Even if I didn't find them, the Metro was opening in another hour. The craziness.

I would also like to commend all the people that worked on this, from the park police, to the capitol police, to the DC police, to the Metro bus drivers, to the Red Cross Disaster relief volunteers that handed out free water. For the short notice and the number of people, they did an awesome job and made sure everyone was taken care of.

Anyway, It was an awesome experience and I am glad I did it. It is a story to tell the kids. Sorry if I droned too much. Take care.

I went down with my office to see Reagan's casket process down Constitution Ave to the Capitol building today. We stood right at the beginning and I got to see them take the casket out of the hearse and put it onto the horsedrawn platform. The ceremony of the situation was quite breath taking. The most touching thing by far was the riderless horse. All this week I had been reading about the ceremony and the meaning in the riderless horse with the riders boots turned backwards in the stirrups. But once I was there and saw it and connected it to the fact that Ronald Reagan would never ride a horse again, it was really touching. I know it sounds lame but it was something just being there.

In regards to Paul's journal [inlink]paul,1010[/inlink] about flying the flag half mast. I would say it is up to you how you fly the flag. If you do not think he was a good president then don't. It is your right as a matter of free speech to fly your flag how you want.

In regards to flying the flag at half mast in general for the president, I think the requirement for and length of flying the flag at half mast is codified. I know Reagan and his policies were not liked by all and they hurt a lot of people, but what makes a president a "good person" That is such a subjective term. A lot of people would argue that Reagan was a good person if not a great one. I'm not saying that he was or wasn't. But how could one quantify whether he is worthy of it? Should it be how much they were elected by? Kennedy was barely elected to his first term. If it weren't for a few sketchy votes in Chicago, he would have lost. But many would argue Kennedy is one of our greatest presidents. Should it be the economy during their term? For FDR's first three terms the economy remained in a little slump known as the Great Depression. But many would say that he is one of our best presidents and deserving of the flags being a half mast. Should it be their protection of liberty? Lincoln suspended the right of habeas corpus while president, but he is considered such a great president that he gets a holiday. My point is, determining whether a president was good or not is impossible and can be up for debate. Lacking a solid manner to measure their accomplishments, I think the flag should be flown at half mast at the death of anyone who has served as our president. You are welcome to disagree with me and I would be interested to hear your thoughts on what I said Paul. I apologize if I sound condescending. I don't mean to. That is just what I think. If you don't want to fly your flag at half mast to show your displeasure with him, I encourage you to. That is the beauty of this country. Our speech is not subject to the orders of the government, and I pray that it never will be.

So I bought a navy suit coat for work yesterday. I only have two suits that fit me and two others that don't so it was done out of necessity. I wish the fabric was a bit finer but the nicer one was $200 more. I can live with the rough fabric and $200. It is a typical JCPenny blazer, but when I put it on with my khakis and tie this morning I looked like such a preppy ass. It looked like I was about to go sailing on my yaucht after a rousing game of tennis at the country club. Oh well, I gots to do what I gots to do.

Got a crazy call at work today. Someone was telling me how HUD was screwing her and refusing to pay her rent. I'm not exactly sure, she was rambling incoherently for most of the time. I tried to explain to her that we don't handle that. She said that as we give the budget to HUD therefore we had power to tell them to give out the money. I felt bad cause I'm sure whatever she had to deal with sucked but I couldn't do anything for her. She insisted we did so I just took a message and we won't call her back. I feel bad lying to her and acting like we are going to do something. I tried not to act like we were going to call her back too much cause I don't want to get her hopes up, but if she does not believe me what am I supposed to do. I don't know.

On happier news, I finally got my user profile and email. I feel almost legit. Now I only need a photo ID so I can get into the building without having to get cleared in as an appointment each day by my boss. Maybe someday.

Hmmm, I hope I don't get in trouble if this was ever found by a coworker. Just in case, all the situations I describe of me at work are entirely hypothetical, both before and after this point.

That takes care of that. Stay out of trouble, and hopefully I will too.

Along with contributing to this site, I also have started writing articles for one of my friends website that he recently put up, Intellectual Wastebasket. Here is the link: It is also in my links section. Unlike these posts, I actually put thought into developing my position. This article uses experiences that I have had in Buffalo to address what I see as a nationwide problem of government sponsored campaign ads for incumbents. I am curious to hear what other Buffalonians thoughts are on the topic as there is a good chance you have experienced my examples first hand. It is under the "News & Politics" section and the article is titled "Olczak: $ign$" (Sorry about the lame title it was all I could come up with). Please let me know what you think either by posting a response on that site or emailing me through this site. I'd appreciate any feedback I could get even if you think I am a complete moron. Thanks.

In other news, our President declared friday a national day of mourning which means I don't have to go into work Friday. WOOOO HOOOO!!! On Wednesday, my office is thinking of going to see his casket process down to the Capitol and maybe even go see him lie in state in the Rotunda. Oh the joys of working with Republicans.

Hope all is well with everyone. To Jillian: I emailed you back if you have any questions please let me know, we can work out the times or whatever. To everyone, please read the article and let me know what you think. Thanks