Art Pottery, Politics and Food

Wednesday, June 04, 2003

Results of Pew research, available in this morning’s Washington Post but oddly released almost 4 months ago on February 27, 2003, clearly show the Bush Administration ”losing a propaganda war for the hearts and minds of millions of Arabs”:

The survey, conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, suggests that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden inspires more confidence than President Bush across much of the Arab and Muslim world. It also shows a further slump in public perceptions of the United States over the past year around the globe, with favorable ratings down to as low as 1 percent in Jordan and the Palestinian territories…"We have gone from bad to worse over the past year," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center…"We have been unable to make the case against bin Laden with Muslims because they see the United States as a threat."

Clearly our disengaged President’s monosyllabic nonsequiturs are not playing in foreign lands where leaders are normally expected to possess a vocabulary and not simply a state controlled media.
Curiously the Pew research shows America’s highly exportable pop culture to be held in higher esteem by the Arab world than Mr. Bush’s own political party:

…The survey suggested little correlation between support for bin Laden and hostility to American ideas and cultural products. People who expressed a favorable opinion of bin Laden were just as likely to appreciate American technology and cultural products as people opposed to bin Laden…

Memo to corporations supporting Mr. Bush:
Perhaps in America, the planet Earth’s wildest Party Country, we should be beating our swords into CDs, gleaming fuel-efficient cars and the usual dazzling array of timesaving appliances! Hey all you “wild and crazy” Ahmeds and Hamids of the world! Grab yourself a brew-ski and par-tay with all the hot, hot guys and gals in a democratic market economy. You know you want some!

Condipatra

Dr. Rice smolders as J.W. Waterhouse's Cleo

Speaking of “wanting some” allow me to draw your attention to this item in Lloyd Grove’s increasingly interesting Washington Post column:

Cybergossip Matt Drudge…claims that the Democratic National Committee has assembled a "really thick . . . dirt file" on Condoleezza Rice…As for the so-called "dirt file," DNC Communications Director Debra DeShong gave a non-denial denial. "We don't talk about our research," she said, "but we understand that Arnold Schwarzenegger" -- who might face President Bush's national security adviser in the GOP primary of a future California governor's race -- "has a real good file on her."

Gir-r-rl! Ooh, Condi, I’ve always suspected that beneath that understated monochromatic exterior there beats the heart of a tigress! Me-ow!

This depressing MSNBC link shows that Shuttle astronauts could have been rescued if NASA's corporate bureauracy had bothered. There's a lesson here, America!

Photos: USNews, CNN, ArtDaily.com

- posted by Sean @ 12:28 PM

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