THIS RNC BLOG UPDATED DURING THE DAY

BACKWARD MARCH (7:30 AM)

I awoke to word that President Bush has reverted to form on two fronts. The word flip-flop comes to mind but it has been so overused. The New York Times has both stories. First, there is this reassuring news:

“In Retreat, Bush Says U.S. Will Win War on Terrorism

“President Bush moved to put out a political brush fire,after NBC broadcast an interview with Mr. Bush in which hesaid he did not think the U.S. could win the war on terror.”

And then this: “Republicans circled back to President Bush’s winning 2000campaign theme of “compassionate conservatism.”

Put the two together, and you have compassionate war.

UNNECESSARY FORCE

In the war in our streets department, Alternet is reporting that the NY city police took its cues from the Pentagon’s playbook and went on the offensive against protesters. Don Hazen reports: “The NYPD protester strategy on Tuesday was akin to the U.S. military’s display of overwhelming and sometimes unnecessary force in Iraq?

“?.an extremely aggressive New York Police Department pre-empted protest actions, trapped marchers in no-escape cul de sacs, and surrounded groups and individuals in orange netting as though they were capturing schools of fish. Police arrested hundreds (the New York Times reports at least 900), perhaps more than 1,000. Most of the arrested were young people who were merely exercising their right to free and peaceful assembly.”

FOX-GOP SYNERGY

As Fox appears more and more to be the official broadcaster of the GOP convention, its ratings are spiking. Broadcast and Cable reports: ” Fox News Channel drew big ratings for its coverage of the Republican National Convention Monday night, attracting 3.87 million viewers.”

ISRAELI PEACE BLOC WANTS?..PEACE

From the Middle East comes an appeal from the Israel Peace Bloc Gush Shalom. They call ” upon the Government of Israel to cease its efforts to impose byforce unilateral solutions, and start immediate negotiations for a comprehensive cease-fire with thePalestinians and cessation of all belligerent actsbetween Israel and the Palestinians. The murderoussuicide bombing at Be’er Sheba, which deserves allcondemnation, proves once again that there are nomilitary solutions. It highlights the futility of thosewho claim to “burn the fact of defeat into Palestinianconsciousness”, “reach the bottom of the barrel ofterrorism” and other arrogant statement by the heads ofthe army and security services. Nor can unilaterallyimposed solutions bring us peace or quiet.”

PENTAGON GETS AROUND TO INVESTIGATING WAR CRIMES

The Pentagon has announced plans to investigate war crimes. They move slowly over there. These were committed during the Vietnam War and were exposed by the Toledo Blade newspaper. Note how much national attention this story has received compared to the Swift Boat allegations.

“WASHINGTON - In a case that has reached the top levels of the Pentagon, military investigators will begin interviewing former soldiers of an elite platoon accused of slaughtering scores of unarmed civilians in the Vietnam War.

“The Army will begin meeting with witnesses as part an ongoing review under the direction of acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee, who was asked to look into the matter by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Army agents will meet with former paratroopers who said they watched the executions of villagers by Tiger Force in 1967 in the longest series of atrocities by a U.S. fighting unit in the conflict.

“The move represents the first effort by the military to talk to soldiers since a Blade series in October revealed the platoon’s brutal sweep through 40 villages where civilians were tortured and killed. The newspaper found that field commanders knew of the soldiers’ actions, and in some cases, encouraged the violence. ?”

front, former Serbian President Slobodan Milosovic opened his defense at his trial in the Hague.

YOUR LETTERS — THIS ONE FROM COPHENHAGEN

Lasse Jensen writes from Denmark: “I read a full-page article in the Danish daily POLITIKEN this morning about your film and I have previously followed your work on the net…I am a former news executive (head of Danish national TV News) now an independent producer and media critic (I host & produce a weekly “on the media” programme on national Danish radio. I would love to see your film — I understand from the story today that Danish TV2 has rejected it - and i am sure the film could be shown on Danish national TV ?. I also think your film has excellent possibilities for a cinema distribution in Denmark, where docs in cinemas is flourishing (and not only Fahrenheit - Oliver Stone’s Persona Non Grata, “Control Room” about Al Jazeera, the Kissinger-documentary and the McNamara film are also successfully distributed here.anything I can do…?”

CORPORATE KLEPTOCRACY

The British press is reporting on a new report that blames Lord Conrad Black, the newspaper publisher of turning his company Hollinger into a “corporate kleptocracy.” There’s a good scrabble word for you. ”

Dan Kennedy made a point I wish I had in his Boston Phoenix Media Log:

“NOT BAD FOR A CYBORG. But the nets missed a chance to cut to Dick Cheney when Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “And when Nelson Mandela smiled in election victory after all those years in prison, America celebrated, too.”

“Cheney, when he was a Wyoming congressman, voted against a 1986 resolution calling for Mandela to be freed from a South African prison.”

Back as developments warrant…

TERMINATE THIS (12:30 AM)

“America is back,” exudes Arnold S. But did it ever go away? The Pumping Iron California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the son of a Nazi turned bodybuilder, turned movie star, i who was later packaged as a political moderate, a liberal, a centrist was front and center at the RNC last night selling President George Bush’s bid for a second term. Once an actor …

RETRACT THIS

As the president’s supporters tried to retract his statement that the terror war could not he won, he was officially nominated by his Party. No surprise there. None.

As the Republicans continued to pump the war on terror, the terrorists making war were pumping back with new bus bombings in Israel (l6 dead) and train bombings in Moscow and attacks in Iran and Afghanistan. The question is no longer if the terror war can be won but can Washington stop it from being lost. To hear Laura tell it faith is the key - in her hubby’s "strength and conviction."

ARREST THIS

And the protests go on and on and on. One thousand arrested so far and its just day two. Here’s a report from an activist group:

“Today’s actions follow numerous demonstrations this week as the Republican National Convention meets in midtown, beginning with a march of half a million people on Sunday organized by United for Peace and Justice, Monday’s Still We Rise Coalition march and rally for justice, and the Monday evening March for Our Lives culminating at Madison Square Garden. This is the largest series of protests in the history of America outside of a political convention, with approximately 1,000 arrests by day two of the RNC.

“George Bush thinks he can stand here in NY in the ashes of ground zero and win our trust — but he has lied to us,” said David Graeber, New Yorker and professor of anthropology at Yale University. “The Republicans are giving handouts to Halliburton while cutting veteran’s benefits and attacking education while invading Iraq. This is an agenda of empire that breeds more terror and insecurity in the world.” Sixty-eight percent of New York’s registered voters approve of nonviolent civil disobedience, according to a poll released by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute last Thursday. The poll also found that 70% of NY voters disapprove of the Bush administration.”

ut despite the protests, President Bush is expected to get a media “bounce” from the Convention which in reality is a well produced TV show. MoveOn.org is worried about the bounce and is trying to undercut its impact:

“After four days of the Republican convention, national polls will likely find President Bush in the lead in the race for the White House. The Bush campaign is banking on using this so-called bounce to claim an early victory.

“Of course, this bounce business is a mind game. Polls measure how the nation feels at a given time, but they’re terrible at measuring who’s going to actually get out and vote in battleground states. And when you look at those numbers, this is our race to lose. ?So while Karl Rove tries to psych us out with poll numbers next week, we’re going to maintain a laser focus on one critically important task: getting our people to the polls through our ambitious Leave No Voter Behind field program.

>Mr. Bush is still getting positive media coverage. A review of the film Journeys with George made by Alexandria Pelosi during the 2000 campaign looks into the media-Bush dynamic. Writes Scott D. O’Reilly on Interventionmag.com:

Unfortunately, Bush comes across as remarkably superficial, schmaltzy, and intellectually vacuous. In a scene that may be a metaphor for Pelosi’s entire experience covering the Bush campaign for roughly three months, the young filmmaker strives mightily to engage Bush in a serious conversation about what he stands for as a candidate. But Bush doesn’t even attempt to converse about issues or even resort to a standard campaign boilerplate. Rather, Pelosi’s futile attempts to ask Bush if his administration will represent "the little guy" elicits nothing but playful doubletalk, culminating in Bush’s artful dodge that he–by his own admission an unremarkable 5′ 11″ tall–is a little guy too.

And so it goes. Throughout the entire campaign tour, the press corps laments the dearth of ideas, news, or substance in the campaign and the candidate they are covering. But the press manages to have a great time nevertheless, partying hearty while they recognize the Faustian bargain they’ve made: Provide positive coverage of the candidate or else they’ll lose the precious access to the candidate upon whom their careers depend.

In the end, Bush ends up giving away nothing about his inner self, his political core, or the ultra-conservative agenda he will soon unleash. He has managed to give the appearance of access and intimacy in return for favorable coverage, but has remained a virtual cipher. Like Chauncey Gardiner from the film Being There, one hardly knows if Bush is some sort of political savant or just an idiot. Is there a method to Bush’s hokey madness? As a columnist for the Financial Times of London opines, Bush is a lot smarter than he seems. It’s not hard to disagree with this assessment.”

roops Wounded in Iraq Near 7,000: The death toll for U.S. military personnel is 975, plus three Defense Department civilians”

www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/breaking_news/9544895.htm

CANADA’S NEWSPAPER WAR

Coldtype,net reports: "Chris Cobb’s widely-praised new book Ego And Ink chronicles the creation and launch of Conrad Black’s National Post and the subsequent vicious newspaper war in Canada between the Post, the venerable Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. Ego And Ink details a circulation battle in which millions of newspapers were either given away or sold well below cost in cut price subscription deals. Together, it cost the three newspapers more than $1 billion to artificially inflate their circulation figures.

We had a packed house for our film WMD in a double bill with State of the Union at the Loew’s Ewalk on 42nd Street last night. John Kerry’s sister was in the audience along with former Dead Kennedy Jello Biafra. We will be posting a report on www.wmdthefilm.com.

Thanks for all who have written in praise of my RNC blog on the run. More tomorrow. I will be moderating a panel of authors discussing Florida 2000 and now at Housing Works on Cosby Street at 7PM. CSPAN is supposed to be in da house. From there it’s on to the March on the Media. I will speak outside Fox News at 9 PM, weather and police permitting.

Your views welcome: dissector@mediachannel.org