News Roundup - Hour 2
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-10-22/news-roundup-hour-2
Britain announces its largest public spending cuts since World War Two. The Pentagon seeks approval for a major arms deal with Saudi Arabia. And nearly a quarter of the ballots cast in Afghanistan's parliamentary election are expected to be thrown out because of fraud. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
Guests
Tom Gjelten
correspondent, NPR, and author of "Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause."
Elise Labott
senior State Department producer for CNN.
James Kitfield
senior correspondent, National Journal magazine.
Comments
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Reference:
Trial of Major Nidal Hasan
The stoical demeanor displayed by Major Hasan at the trial at Fort Hood simply reinforces the fact that he willfully took the lives of Americans serving to defend the values of freedom.
Hopefully, he will not become a martyr for radical Islam, which is what he apparantly wanted, but simply an inmate for some years until his natural death.
He does not deserve the death penalty, he deserves to live.
Diane, I hope your panel will have the courage to address the firing of Juan Williams. I think this was a huge misstep by NPR management, and it has prompted me to rescind my regular support of KERA and NPR. Please address this issue.
big-time weapons sales to the saudis, unlimited spending for the US military at any time, neverending full support of the US military by congress (few exceptions) and citizens (few exceptions) - i must be missing a point here when it comes to the understanding of government.
my logic tells me that the US military is a part of government and has its own programs - just like a healthcare program and many other government programs. why are the people who cry out loud about too big government and overspending never complain about this part of the government - the military? that's where the money is really wasted for government, tax money.
where are the protests against the extremely socialistic military government programs? i call this hypocracy. socialism bad on one end and good on the other side? i should not be surprised about hypocracy, i guess...
Following the discussion about the protests in France, will the panel comment about Tea Parties forming in Europe? I heard an item about it on the radio and I found it curious that something like a Tea Party taking root in European countries considering our different political cultures.
It's not very attractive bashing the French--you panelists;
most of the things you said were half-truthful at best.
And the sum of your comments regarding Pakistan
can be summed up: "I don't know, keep shovelling them money".
We (US) are being taken for Fieldsian suckers by almost
all parties in the Middle East.
Thank you, Diane, for your comment during the discussion of protests in France, Germany and the US for your succinct and utterly timely comment: "We must never forget Kent State". You silenced all the younger US commentators on the subject, and you are so good to have said what you did. Thank you again, on behalf of all those of my generation whom I never knew. I was a student in France at that time.
I was disappointed there was no discussion of socialism v. capitalist democracy.
The reason French citizens protest is simple: their government is socialist and they pay nearly half their incomes to support the government programs being altered. They have a much greater sense of ownership in government programs their taxes support, a much greater stake in any changes taking place.
In a capitalist democracy like the United States there are no protests on the same scale. People are more concerned with indulging their consumer instincts. The hyper-capitalism saturating American culture today serves to anesthetize the public from any civic involvement whatsoever. That's the point.
Although apalled I am not at all suprised that neither Diane nor her guests grasped this fact. I would not expect any critical analysis from any member of The Media. There is no such thing as "objectivity". Although journalists strive for objectivity the end result is the PRETENSE of objectivity.
It seems that in America, especially among The Media, discussion of social class and capitalist democracy is "strictly verboten".
I am listening on tape delay from Paris where I have been for more than a week. I appreciate the conversation about the situation in France but it has trivialized the reasons that there is such opposition to the retirement reforms. With such a powerful and long-standing social welfare system in place, it is understandable thqt so mqny French don't want any change, especially during a time of such eonomic uncertainty. This is basic human nature.
If you continue these conversations it would be very helpful to include information about the French social welfare system which, among other things, provides among the best, and subsidized, medical care in the world, unemployment benefits that currently allow many out of work to maintain close to their former standard of living, and huge public housing projects from which it is almost impossible to evict tenants.
Also, please note that life in Paris remains largely unaffected by strikes, gas shortages and work slowdowns although the situation is much worse in other parts of the country. This is a fascinating time to be in France and no one should stay away because of fears about the current situation.
Diane,
You and someone else commented that you haven't seen large protests in the US since the Vietnam War ended. Please remember about those protests: (1) They began in 1964. I marched in Times Square with my 2-month old son in support of ending the war *before* the Gulf of Tonkin lie. (2) When you mentioned the shootings at Kent State, you didn't mention the other events of 1964-68 which were covered extensively by the only national media we had at the time.
In contrast, i saw almost NO national media coverage of the huge marches against the beginning of the U.S. War on Iraq. In the Seattle-Tacoma area, we marched, stood on street corners, hung banners from overpasses, etc., for a good 6 months before the first U.S. troops invaded Iraq. Our numbers grew larger as it became increasingly obvious that mainstream media in the U.S. was ignoring us as much as the Washington insiders were. Many of us had protested, also, against the beginning of the invasion of Afghanistan.
Just as the Gulf War "made" CNN, so the War on Iraq "made" Fox News. Fox didn't care to show protesters against what it perceived as its corporate interest. And the rest of the visual media trotted along behind.
I was a bit startled to hear Diane Rehm say striking was all well and good until it started to interfere with daily life. Isn't that one purpose of striking? If one strikes only when it is convenient, it's hardly an effective tool of protest. I lived in France for several years, and found both apathy and engagement - I would love if more people in the US were as engaged as many French are in the political process.
I continue to be astounded by American anti-French attitudes, and expected better from Diane. Let's work to counter ignorant bigotry, not perpetuate it.
Ms. Labott claims that the British Government is displaying courage by making severe cuts to their budget at a time when their economic recovery is extremely fragile. Many economists believe that this is, instead of being courageous, extremely foolhardy. If the British Government had chosen to wait until they were sure the economy was stable before cutting spending, would she have commended them for their bravery?