Interviewer: Will this pager event be enough to start a war?
Interviewee USA General: I don’t think so. This was more of a slap on the hand.
Interviewer: But many people were killed and thousands maimed.
Interviewee USA General: Yes, but the time and scope and intent of the event must be taken into account. We would not recommend the Axis of Evil start a war over this.
Interviewer: Oh, ok.
If somehow I could magically intervene in the interview…
Magical Interviewer: I’d like to throw a wrench into your gears here General…forgive me for thinking critically. Let’s go back in time and examine the decision to invade Iraq. The USA invaded and killed 100’s of thousands based on a lie. Why didn’t we just call ‘it’’ a slap?
Interviewee USA General: Well that was different. You can’t compare apples and oranges.
Magical Interviewer: I fully intend to compare apples and oranges. I will not be goaded into NOT comparing what you believe are apples and oranges simply because you throw that old saw on the table and expect me to bow and ask for forgiveness. The situation is the same. White people do what they want to brown people and brown people are supposed to be patient and not over-react.
But interviewers don’t interview anymore. The deeper motivations and intentions are not delved into or even considered. Expansive thinking is not considered. Have you noticed, even on Judge Napolitano, Danny Haiphong, Dialogue Works and other similar shows the same people are interviewed over and over again. Ritter, Johnson, Escobar, Sachs, McGovern, Hoh, Doctorow, MacGregor, Crooke, Blumenthal… a new echo chamber. And you begin to hear them repeating each other’s talking points. What about sociology, psychology, religion, history beyond military history, anthropology (Individualistic culture, tribal culture, and collective cultures and what role does this play? Race, how much of this is race? What about collective behavior, group think, submission, persecutors, motivational theory, behavioral theory, fear, acedia, anxiety, gender?)
Watch some of the shows like Jimmy Dore and Judge Napolitano and see what you think. (Don’t assume I dislike these interviewers and interviewees. I watch these shows every day for the real news …but …) 1) The interviewer often asks leading questions and I have yet to hear the interviewee disagree, 2) The interviewer asks closed ended questions instead of open ended questions, 3) The interviewer does not reflect upon the answer but immediately moves on to the next question, and 4) The interviewer NEVER asks for a more in-depth response. The same questions and the same answers for a month now.
For example, The USA attacking Iraq based on a lie. But there was more there and some of us saw it 9/12. Yes, 9/12. It was clear the USA represented white Christians who were attacked by brown Muslims. Do you remember Bush wanted to call the invasion, Operation Iraq Crusade, but experts quickly changed it to Operation Iraqi Freedom? Bush kept using the word, crusade, and his staff was asking him to not use that particular word. Factors in that war included religion, ancient history, psychology, poor communication and of course the CIA’s role in constantly weaponizing everyone and everything. I don’t know what the truth is anymore… do you?
Back to the present. The white Zionists kill and maim thousands of brown Muslims in Gaza and now Lebanon … but the USA doesn’t defend the brown Muslims who were terrorized by exploding pagers, walkie-talkies, motorcycle batteries, starvation, bombing, introducing disease, etc. The USA won’t defend the brown Palestinians but instead supports the white genocidal monsters called Zionists. Let’s all take a moment to stand and applaud …. Jesus.
How about these questions when interviewing Harris or Trump. And of they don’t answer the question they got a shock. 1) Please tell us the history of Zionism, 2) Please tell us the major differences between Islam and Christianity, 3) How do YOU tell the difference between these American citizens; Haitian, Maori, Lakota and Congolese, and 4) What lesson can we take from Operation Barbarossa and the Battle of Stalingrad as applied to Russian thoughts and behaviors today? Our leaders are ignorant. They would rather tell lies and fund war.
What’s my point? My point is this. We ALL need to be vigilant in our work. Let’s not get lazy. Let’s interview more than ‘dear friends.’ Let’s not get overly political and become yet another just Red or Blue sided pundit. I’d like to think any intelligent person, red or blue, could read what I write and get something out of it.
You know who else I watch religiously? The Canadian Prepper. That guy is intelligent, non-political, has a ton of inside information and is funny as hell. People may grow wary of his … Holy Shit Tonight is the Night … but even he knows he has a tendency toward the catastrophizing and works on it. Give him a shot. He works at just presenting facts and letting us decide what to think.
All of us are talking about life and death it seems. Not apples and oranges. We owe it to everyone and ourselves to do the work, to look at our own bias’, to not just criticize but offer constructive criticism.
Thank you to the few who read my posts and to the even fewer who respond in any form or fashion. Substack is still a place where we can share the truth and listen and learn from everyone.
Apples, oranges, hand grenades.
One of the major reasons we are involved in this genocide and all our past failed wars is because the media -- the Fourth Estate envisioned by the founders as THE essential defender of Free Speech -- is not doing their job. They have always been complicit, but now they take an active role in promoting war, distorting truth, ignoring history and taking advertising dollars from the very corporations profiting off our wars and obscene war crimes.
As a one-time print journalist, I left the profession with all my illusions erased. While journalists and many news companies still do occasional good work, as a whole the industry is failing their responsibility, the nation and humanity.
You are right Thomas that the same questions and guests are repeated. And I do listen to them for their expertise and for the actual news. May be the intention of the interviewer is to get differing opinions but they all agree to the same thing ( one exception was Dr. Gilbert Doctorow yesterday when he differed the opinion of the others) So it does become redundant. Each interview needs to stand differently with differing questions. I must say though thanks to the Judge and others we are having an alternative to the mouthpieces.
Thanks for the tip on the Canadian Prepper. Shall definitely tune into him.