European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress.

Just watched a tv documentary about the Le Mans crash of 1955. They featured the footage of the car scything into the crowd very heavily: Starting with the still of the mercedes crashing into the back of the Healey and flying into the air and then the view from the pits as the debris cut people down. Again and again. And then in slow motion. Again and again.

It was pretty distressing.

And afterwards I realised that we almost never see footage like this anymore. Something like Phan Thị Kim Phúc running down a road isn't shown anymore. We show a Duisburg, or a Hillsborough but the one off tragedyt ? We look away.

We have our sanitised "Shock and Awe" footage, but broadcasters prefer not to show us the aftermath, the mistakes. We hear about the wedding parties slain, but we never see them.

And I'm not sure this is a good thing. Too much concentration on the bangs, too little on the misery leaves us unable to see war in the round. the EU came out of a profound shock at the end of WWII that, as we surveyed our smashed cities, that we must never wage war on each other again. Okay, this meant that we transferred our aggressions onto darker skinned people safely a long way away and we didn't have to look at their terror except on the 6 o'clock news. But we started the idea that war isn't politics by other mean, it's something we can no longer afford.

But we need to have our noses rubbed in our own shit now and again to remember that life isn't a video game, that we can't just play again when the city is rubble and the DU & white phosphorus has been dropped.

shocking and horrible tho' it is. Maybe we need to see the blood in car crashes, bomb blasts, wars now and again. To remind ourselves that we shouldn't be doing this.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 10:51:48 AM EST

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

I too regularly think that the News is overly sanitised

Sanitised war coverage on TV reflects our ambivalence to conflict - Times Online

There is, as Bill Rammell correctly points out, an extraordinary disconnection between the British people and the warriors sent to fight on our behalf. True, the 24-hour news media constantly pump information from the battlefront into our homes, but often that news is sanitised: it seldom shows the reality of modern war -- the periods of boredom punctuated by moments of pure horror and fear.
The US ban on showing footage or photographs of soldiers returning in body bags is part of a wider feeling, shared in this country, that the public should not be exposed to such upsetting images. This may reflect a gentler and more humane society, but it also says much about our profound ambivalence about the real nature of war.

(my Bold)

It doesn't show the heroism of the troops coping with things we wouldn't like to? Well it dosn't show the civilians caught up in carnage, the Bodies damaged where people are playing big boys games or the sheer pointlessness of much of the acxtivity involved in War. The public shouldnt be exposed to upsetting images? Well yes they should, We're back to the old with rights come responsibilities. If you want to vote for a bunch of maniacs, then you have a duty to face up to the consequences of your actions.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 11:10:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

The ~~Gaseous~~ Mass Media gets it moolah from advertising sales. The greater the number of eyeballs the more they can charge. A little bit of Reality Based blood, guts, and gore and goes quite a ways to Collectivizing Eyeballs. Actual Reality Based blood, guts, and gore causes people to turn away.

Our glorious Leaders have taken a page from the Romans. The difference is people are killed, maimed, and mutilated "virtually" for the amusement of the audience, not actually.

If you never fail, you're not trying hard enough.

by ATinNM on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 01:35:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

The foot that I have in plaster is beginning to look and feel quite swollen in comparison with the other. I don't think this is normal.

I'm going back to the clinic tomorrow morning, should I worry in the meantime ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 12:35:23 PM EST

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

how swollen is quite swollen?

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 01:13:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Swell!

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 01:15:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Noticeable compared to the other foot. The plaster isn't tight, in fact it's open at the front.

I'm trying to keep it horizontal and wiggling my toes cos i wonder if the immobility is upsetting the re-distribution of teh "fluids"

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 01:32:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Well the advice from the qualified first-aider sitting in the kitchen is if its tight go to A+E, otherwise ring NHS direct and let them check through things with you

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 01:52:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

At the moment it seems to be improved if I keep it horizontal and wiggle my toes. But the moment I put my foot to the floor it balloons again.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 02:06:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

Better yet, keep it elevated with respect to the center of mass of your body. I presume you had a serious sprain along with the chip. This entails lots of damage to small blood vessels. At least you made it through the weekend before possible complications became evident. I have known people who died because they were inconsiderate enough to have a complication on the weekend.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer at eurotrib.com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 03:35:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

ARGeezer:

I have known people who died because they were inconsiderate enough to have a complication on the weekend.

You're cheerful.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 04:18:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

could be the summer heat not helping, but seeing how women's feet bulge around tight shoes, it's not surprising.

psst...wanna get rich?

Alternative Energy Speculator

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And the thing about Nick is that he thinks you can save the earth AND make a ton of cash in the process.
For example:
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Sunways, a solar company, blew the rest out of the water with a 1,200% gain.
And to tell you the truth, I have to hand it to him. He's right. You can make mind-blowing gains from green stocks.

shall we start an ET INVESTMENT CO?

"Resonance is the reply from the unknown... Unleash the opera of phenomena." W.A. Mathieu

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 01:53:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Wanna get rich ? I'd be happy to get off my knees financially ;-))

I'd like CH & JaP to cast their eyes over that first.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 02:04:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Oh for God's sakes, make it stop.

If you never fail, you're not trying hard enough.

by ATinNM on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 02:23:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

32% a month that's <counts fingers> 2800% annual so how do you manage to make that up from shares where the best one made 1200%? does he miss out the putting the profits on the 3:30 at Ascot step at the end?

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 03:15:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

You're no fun {harumph}

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 03:43:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Well personally I think its probably more fun to stick your finances on the 3:30 at Ascot (and more likely to end up with you in a winning position)

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 04:06:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

A game that can be played when unable to go to sleep is guessing to which diaries recent comments belong.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 04:14:59 PM EST

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Took the tricolour daughter to 'Inception' this afternoon. Mightily impressed.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 04:45:39 PM EST

Re: Monday Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

As energy use goes, so goes the economy | Grist

t's fairly well-known that economic activity tends to track energy use. It follows that we can learn some interesting things about the economy by examining trends in energy use.
For example: the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) tracks electricity sales, and its data holds intriguing -- and troubling -- clues on the prospects for growth in the U.S. economy.
In the U.S., electricity sales grow at a steady 1-2 percent rate per year, with occasional troughs mapping to slowdowns in economic activity.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Jul 26th, 2010 at 08:36:07 PM EST

Twisted Literature (4.00 / 3)

Skennah Kowa

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jul 27th, 2010 at 12:46:04 AM EST

Re: Twisted Literature (none / 0)

Madness

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jul 27th, 2010 at 08:05:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Monday Monday Open Thread | 25 comments (25 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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