Film festival article ignored pro-Palestinian side of debate

I am writing in regard to the article in Wednesday's Wildcat, "Controversy arises at film festival." It is ironic to me that several of those in attendance mentioned the slanted view of the media in this conflict, and then the actual reporting on the debate itself was more slanted than I could imagine.

The films were mostly interviews with residents of the occupied territories sitting on the demolished remnants of their homes days after they had been destroyed by Israeli troops. Of course these people are going to be upset and presenting an emotional point of view. The purpose of the films was not to present "both sides" of the issue, and the filmmakers had no responsibility to do so. [Read article]

New policies are irrational reactions to the war

Perhaps if the U.S. State Department's terrorism rating wasn't at orange, the English department would be concluding its annual 24-hour reading marathon today. And if the war against Iraq had never begun, the Arizona State Legislature would probably not be wasting tax dollars volleying a ridiculous measure that requires UA employees to pledge they are not terrorists. [Read article]

We must seek the truth, especially when lives are at stake, and we shouldn't unquestioningly believe our government, the media or professors. There are important issues (e.g., the motivations of the United States and other nations, and the war's worldwide effects) that should be debated. But the war is not genocide, terrorism, or racist.

The United States is not committing genocide. Genocide has a specific, legal meaning. The willful erasure or annihilation of Iraqis as a people would be genocide. But neither Sept. 11, nor the unfortunate deaths of Iraqi civilians are genocide. We don't have to trust the U.S. "propaganda machine" on this. On April 10, 2003, the civilian deaths reported (from many non-U.S. sources) on www.iraqbodycount.net were 1,152 (min.)/1,388 (max). Even the 1,388 maximum figure is not "erasure" of the 22 million Iraqis. [Read article]

There is an entertaining exercise that we all have played from time to time out of sheer boredom, if not for fun. Sometimes I sit around, mired in ennui, and think of a famous person before beginning this little game.

Six degrees of separation.

The world is not such a large place after all. Whenever tragedies, such as Sept. 11 or the Oklahoma City bombing, occur, we all have some tie to them. Whether it's a friend of a friend of a friend's something or other or somebody we know directly, a part of us dies whenever our country experiences a tumultuous event. [Read article]