4.10.2006

global

I'm still sick, with what I'm thinking must be a flu or strep or something. My doc has walk-in hours tonight, so maybe I'll go over there, for whatever that's worth.

So I have lots of time to blog, but no clear brain to do it with. I'll take the lazy route and point out three international news stories that caught my eye, each for a different reason.

First: the French students won. French President Jacques Chirac announced that the new anti-youth employment law will be scrapped. So not only does French culture sustain such huge protests, the government actually listens to the will of the people. You'll understand why this amazes and thrills me, given my background.

Next: the election in Peru is too close to call, but it appears that the leftist nationalist Ollanta Humala may have won. If so, Peru seems poised to join its neighbours - Venezuela under Hugo Chavez, Bolivia under Evo Morales and Chile under Michelle Bachelet - in embracing a more socialist economy.

According to the conflicting stories I've read, Humala may be a less clearly democratic choice than the others. He's been accused of being the notorious "Captain Carlos," who committed mass murders and atrocities in Peru's prolonged civil war with Shining Path. From this distance, it's impossible to say if the allegations are true or a smear campaign.

It's no coincidence that these leftist governments can take root while the US is so heavily focused on the Middle East.

And lastly, I trust you all know that Seymour Hersh has reported that the US is now poised to attack Iran. We've been expecting this for how long now? More than two years, for sure.

If you don't know him, Seymour Hersh is the man who exposed the horrors of Abu Ghraib - and My Lai 30 years earlier - and things like Gulf War Syndrome in between. As a writer, I stand in awe of Hersh, who has spent his life shining light into dark places and demanding accountability. The Iran story is pretty scary; you can read it here.

And so the endless war continues.

5 comments:

Wrye said...

Tim F at Balloon juice had a good line:

"Seymour Hersh has another scoop that, if right, will only further cement his reputation as this generation’s Seymour Hersh."

barefoot hiker said...

I'm still sick, with what I'm thinking must be a flu or strep or something.

Yeah... there's a lot of that goin' around. :)

laura k said...

Yeah... there's a lot of that goin' around. :)

Ouch! Hope you feel better, LP. You've just given me greater incentive to see the doctor later today.

will only further cement his reputation as this generation’s Seymour Hersh.

Heh. Very good. Journalists like that don't grow on trees. He is a (too) rare breed.

doggerelblogger said...

I am always amazed at the people Hersh can get to talk to him - it's astonishing, the things he has brought to light. Really.

laura k said...

I've thought about that, too - all the contacts he's built up, because people trust him. And people go to him with information - often things they need to unburden themselves of, things they've seen and can't live with, don't want to keep to themselves.