Friday, August 01, 2003

Numb

Liberia is really looking in bad shape these days. It's not the only place, of course. More word on abuses in Afghanistan, with 'coalition' forces turning a blind eye, continued violence in Zimbabwe, different types of violence continuing day in, day out. Flavour of the month is LIberia, for some reason. I can't understand why this has become so topical. It has never been mooted as a strategically important position (unlike Israel, for example. Not militarily strategic, but politically so, you understand. By the way, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dad was a member of the Nazi party, did you know that? It's being slung at him now in California by those who would have Gray Davis retained. He's going to annouce on Leno next Wednesdayt whether or not he'll run. How crass is that? I thought it would be hollywood quirky, but it looks now like it's just going to be hollywood glam.)

Maybe it's because the silly season is upon us, and politics is quiet; or maybe it's because someone important decided it was important. How the newsmedia dissect and interpret stories as newsworthy I'll never know. Rwanda only became important after the numbers became sensational.

Numbers. Numb-ers. Makes you think.

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