I’m trying to work out how to respond to the news today. On the surface, Iraq’s latest offer appears fantastic: if it’s serious it should destroy all this talk of war and allow for increased security in that region. It’s no surprise, but rather sad, that the US government appears to be dismissing the offer out-of-hand. As with Afghanistan a year before, I wonder what exactly the Iraqi government could do to convince the US of any sincerity. Certainly they could hand over a stockpile of weapons, but that would require them to have the weapons in the first place…. if they don’t have weapons of mass destruction, is there anything they could ever do to convince Bush of the fact?
At the same time, I’m saddened that Bush appears to be getting his way. Iraq backing down is (if it prevents war) a fantastic thing on an immediate humanitarian level, but it will do nothing to deflate Bush’s ever-expanding ego. Though it’s difficult to know at this point whether anything could, and the humanitarian case is the first which should be heard (the Iraqi people shouldn’t be Bush’s pawns, but nor should they be anyone else’s). The talk of Pax Romana/Americana will continue.
John Pilger got away with showing another rather-more-pointed-than-the-norm documentary on ITV last night. I couldn’t really fault his analysis of the plight of the Palestinians–it was great to hear it spoken so clearly on national TV–but I continue to be surprised that the normally far more conservative broadcasters let him get away with that. A hopeful sign?
Spent more time today working on elevation and ICC’s websites. Put together an update for the delicatessen website now that we have confirmed our lineup for October 17th. And the new Julie Lee website should get an unveiling tomorrow (just need to tidy up some font colours).
Main listening: DJ Shadow - _Endtroducing_ / Coldplay _A Rush Of Blood To The Head_ Main reading: Karl Popper _The Structure of Scientific Revolutions_ / Isaac Asimov _The Caves of Steel_