As for how cultured or ignorants americans can be, I cannot attest nor I think anybody who has not a wide experience can.

But as for which information is being given to americans by rightists-controlled media (almost all) there is a big debate in the world, and I personally think that you have passed from one of the freest presses in the world to a monolithic one controlled form your Government not very different from old Pravda et al.

Maybe that's what Cristobo, M. Moore and others are trying to counterpart, with scarce power, in front of the allmighty american rightist lobbies.

Cristobo,
I appreciate your candor, but I will submit again that media reports, rightist, leftist, centrist, or otherwise, are based on perception.
Any journalist can formulate bar graphs, pie charts, and statistics and call it fact.
Call me a cynic but I refuse to believe in anybody's "facts" unless they can be supported by emperical evidence, something which, for example, America's favorite bloatbag, Michael Moore, has yet to do...

Cogito cogito ergo sum cogito

Ummm, it seems Gazpacho we don't read the same history books and don't reach the same conclusions...

Jews don't have more (or less) rights than any other religion/ethnia/race or collectivity, no matter how bad they were treated in WWII and no matter the Holocaust. The same rules apply for people of any country and religion.

They had no historical rights over Palestine. For the same reason United Kingdom has no historical rights over United States.

When jews arrived to Palestine there was not a problem with locals, who tolerated and even welcomed them (jews were by far richer and more cultivated). Most had suffered nazi tortures and wanted only to leave in peace. But sionists started to put bombs first to UK former government (even a spanish ambassador was killed by sionist bombs) and then to palestinians, starting their own ethnic cleansing with the sole purpose of forcing locals out of their former country (nowadays 9 million palestines live in the nearby countries) and founding a country based on jewsish precepts (akind an Islamic Republic as many of the countries of Middle East).

I don't agree with the arguing yoy gave for US support to Israel: why US might need an ally in the zone? why US are paying that incredible amount of money (along with military support) to Israel... and the main (but not the unique) reason I find is that US has a million jews among its population. It may be argued that US need an ally against terrorism or to guarantee oil resources... but that was not the case 40 years ago, and US has been giving economical support to Israel from its very begining as a country.

I really think that a minority of jews are giving a very bad reputation to the majority of them mixing up religion, money and politics, and that US is making itself a bad favour tolerating the excessess of its favourite ally.

Don't you think?

Fernando

Booklady,
Thank you for your kind words. I hope that you and your family made it safely through the hurricanes.

Cogito cogito ergo sum cogito

Puna,
I thank you as well. As for Jimmy Carter's remarks...he must very well think that we Floridians are illiterate rednecks. I well remember the 2000 voting ballot and was able to differentiate between "W", Pat Buchanan, and Al Gorleone. Furthermore, I did not see any cops or attack dogs at the polling precinct.
I have always thought Jimmy Carter a decent man, but I can give no credence to a fellow who gave a pass to Hugo Chavez.

Cogito cogito ergo sum cogito

In answer to your question, Puna, I am more optimistic than President Carter. Let's hope Tom Brokaw learned his lesson, though.

The panhandle is on another time-zone, Central Time, than the rest of the peninsula. The media's assertion that Florida had voted for Gore, kept a lot of people from going to the polls. Many Republicans and Democrats were discouraged to vote by that stupid early announcement by Tom Brokaw at 7:49 Eastern time, a full hour ahead of the closing of the polls in the Panhandle!!! After Brokaw made the announcement all the other media outlets, like the lemmings that they are, followed suit, and the rest is history.

We might have had a clearer picture of the winner if those folks had gone ahead and voted.

Of course, I don't like the newfangled machines that they have installed, PC operated, because in some places you do not have a written copy. Too many technical problems could occur. I forgot all about these during the hurricanes. We had our local elections and it was the first test in many counties.

Pinguino,
Well, thanks, I hope you and yours did as well.
Carmen

Critobo and Fernando,

I thank you for the advice of who the U.S. should have as a friend. I'm sure you'd be equally appreciative if I was to suggest who Spain should have as a friend.

As to who started the Israeli vs. Palestinian conflict, by now it's rather moot.

If the whole point of this discussion, according to Cristobo, is that the American press does not do a good job in presenting both sides of an issue, than I totally agree. I just don't believe that the U.S. is alone in presenting an agenda to the public.

Puna, I forgot to thank you for your help (although I still don't catch it).

???? Antagonic towards Cristobo? Towards Booklady? Towards other paragraphs of his own articles?

No matter.

As for this, Gazpacho:

It has been many times in the board, a recent one that although it is not the clearest example, it's good enough is the thread "Zapatero has embarked in a dangerous road" or something like that. There we are advised (warned) of possible (bad) consequences of our policies.

Ignacio,

You're right, there was a few post criticizing your choice of president, but if you check, that was certainly not by me. Who you elect for president is not for me to say. I am more concerned with the Socialism of your country, which I consider a great evil, but since the majority of Europe wants this form of government, more power to you. I did read many postings, mostly from brand new members, criticizing your choice for president, but I did not post anything of the sort.

So please, don't suggest that I am the one telling you how to run your country. Waste of time if I did, really, reality always proves me right.

I will tell you one thing that could perhaps excuse those who criticized Spain's reaction after your attack on March the 11th. When our World Trade Center was attacked, Spain was the first to offer military aid to the U.S. My heart swelled with pride, that a country, I had such fond memories of, would be such a good ally. And we needed allies as we still do. So, maybe you can put yourself in my shoes and feel the disappointment many of us felt when at the first provocation, you withdrew your support.

But even though I felt this way, I still don't feel it's my place to criticize your decisions. You were and are a sovereign country, not our vassal. I'm quicker to remember that you offered support than I am to remember your withdrawal.

Cristobo,

I just scanned through these essays just now. What utter tripe. This is just more anti-U.S. propaganda. I should have known. I'd rather watch a Michael Moore film than be caught reading this stuff.

Gazpacho
What is your idea of anti-American propaganda? In this case, for example, to whom does it serve? Is it all simply part of a cosmic plot against goodness and decency? Why should this plot involve a journalist travelling all over a country in war, making interviews to locals and watching the hyped (and so far, nonexistent) “reconstruction”?
Is it a propaganda lie when the second article mentions that there is not power supply available anywhere in Irak? Is it a falsehood that Bremer, being an occupier, had not any legal support to impose his constitution upon Irakis?
Before you dismiss a text, think for a while if you have any argument to debunk it. If not, God knows, perhaps there is some truth in it. At least, that is what we unsophisticated and ignorant Euros use to do: pondering before talking. Never mind: that is only because we don`t waste our time reading as much as you do, and don`t know the TRUTH beforehand. Stupid we!
Of course you are right, it is not our business if you choose Israel as your “ally”, whatever this means to you. It is your blood and your taxes that have been spoiled in the Middle East for decades, so I guess if it is OK for you, it is OK for me too. But we the rest of the world can`t help having an opinion on the issue, so if you find it tough or unbearable to hear it, don`t even raise the question. I remind you it was YOU, not us, who mentioned that Israel was your faithful ally.