Just watched the 9/11 video

[Wetzelbill]

That is heinous. That video is going to go down as one of the most shameless exploitations of an event in history. That's about as bad as Milosevic exploiting the 600 year anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo Field in 1989. Maybe worse because the U.S. is supposed to be better than that.

The GOP protects us from terrorism? Seems like a GOP president was in office when 9/11 happened. Seems like a big-time Republican's firm, Baker Botts, represented Saudi Arabia against a lawsuit from the 9/11 victim's families.

[CatBO]

1. DONATE! $911, $91.10 or $9.11

Whatever you can, show that Republicans do not own 9/11 to use for their partisan purposes!

[Solomon]

2. Where can you see it?

Is there a link?

[BumRushDaShow]

4. DU has it now...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x181819

[chatnoir]

3. Where did you see it?

[BumRushDaShow]

5. DU has it

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x181819

[Wetzelbill]

6. I'm watching PBS they play the convention a little later

About an hour behind. I see a link was already posted.

[RoyGBiv]

7. Dupe

[RoyGBiv]

8. Dupe

[RoyGBiv]

9. Excellent analogy ...

I did a presentation to a group of freshmen in college in 2000 about the importance of understanding history and not allowing our politicians to define what it means for us, that real people kill and die in the here and now because of what those in positions of power and influence tell us we should believe about our past.

I used the example of Kosovo Polje.

A legendary battle for which the victor or the victim, the aggressor or the aggrieved, the hero or the villain is not even truly known has formed the mythological backdrop for the violence that lit the final fuse igniting WWI and has more recently inspired so-called modern, so-called civilized human beings to ruthlessly murder thousands whose greatest crime was to be a 600 year descendant of a cultural group who happened to be present on that field in Kosovo. If you are without knowledge and reason and thus unarmed, your leaders will use a convenient interpretation of your past to inspire you wash the world with blood.

[Wetzelbill]

10. What amazes me

Is that we somehow think we're not susceptible to this stuff. You can sit back and watch the xenophobia after 9/11 or the craziness leading up to the Iraq War then compare that to something like Milosevic's actions and these things aren't that far off.

Glad you liked the example, it struck me as apt, I have a tacit knowledge of it, from reading some of Richard Holbrooke's book and Noel Malcolm's work on the subject.

[RoyGBiv]

12. We're all good Germans ...

We cannot fathom the depravity to which we will succumb, and that is the problem ... we can't fathom it. We see it all as an "other" doing those things.

Interesting thing about Kosovo Polje I didn't know going in was the relationship of the myth to WWI. I had intended just to use the more modern example but was struck by the fact the Archduke was assassinated on the anniversary of the battle of Kosovo Polje. The more interesting part was not simply that he was assassinated that day but that he had chosen to make the trip that resulted in his assassination in part *because* it was that day, a sort of snub to Serbs.

We lived in a fucked up world.

[Wetzelbill]

13. wow I didn't know Ferdinand traveled on that day either

That's fascinating. I plan to read up a little more on all that stuff, I think Gavrilo Princip is an interesting character.

A fucked up world indeed. About half depresses me.

[RoyGBiv]

11. DUPE and wrong place

Dangit ... DEFCON 200 is really screwing with me tonight.