Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Fox News last night was reporting that Iraqi soldiers were surrendering on the Northern border.  Now there is no news of this at all today in the NYT.  I can only assume this is yet another example of Fox News taking idle rumors, turning them into news that fits their political agenda, and irresponsibly reporting it for one day without ever saying anything about it again.  Has anyone seen anything on this?  God, I despise Fox News. 2:36:16 PM    Let's hear it. []

Got some new randomness on March Madness Hyperbole. 2:29:17 PM    Let's hear it. []

American Today I had this conversation with the cashier in the grocery store: Cashier:  Vous etes Francaise? Me:  (quietly laughing) Non. Cashier:  American? Me:  (pausing for a moment)Uh....non.  Canadian. Cashier:  Enchante! Melissa and I had talked casually about the prospect of saying that we're Canadian.  Properly speaking, Tunisia isn't the Middle East, but this is still an Arabic-speaking (above conversation notwithstanding) country, primarily Muslim, sandwiched between Algeria and Libya.  I don't feel unsafe.  There have been some antiwar protests here and there, and I am positive that there is some solid Anti-Americanism.  But I have yet to get the sense that "Anti-America" is translating to "Anti-American".  If you're an American in an Arab country, that's a critical distinction.  After the bombing starts, I imagine there will be some protests and possibly some incidents, so we intend to stay indoors for a couple of days.  I was at the store to stock up for a few days.  Really, even that small measure is probably unwarranted.  I'm sure if we get sent back home to DC that I'll actually find myself feeling more vulnerable.  We could be more likely to fall victim to a small scale riot or something here, but a large scale terrorist attack is more frightening, and that's a lot more likely in the States, to say the absolute least.  But it's difficult to not look askance at someone standing on the corner near our house, with no apparent reason.  It's tough not to conjure up images of a pipe bomb over the fence or other incredibly unlikely but nevertheless frightening circumstances.  I am a bit stunned that I lied today about who I am.  I'm proud to be an American, even if I'm a bit ashamed of the way we're treating the rest of the world right now.  I don't want to hide who I am.  It's not as though I was going to get bum-rushed once I spoke the fateful words, "Je suis Americain!" I lied, nevertheless.  And I imagine I'll do it again if it comes to that.  Best to keep a low-profile.  But what I have to figure out is how much is self-preservation, and how much is distancing from the war.  Or are they the same? 1:50:33 PM    Let's hear it. []