Monday, September 29, 2008

"Doctors in Iraq will have the right to carry guns to protect themselves, the government said on Monday, in a bid to address the security concerns of a profession that has been targeted by gangsters and militants." That is odd. Because watching the report on Iraq on 60 minutes yesterday made Iraq look like Disney Land (or World). My favorite part was when the reporter asked Iraqis about their views of the US (while she was surrounded by the commander of US troops and a whole army of soldiers and helicopters). This counts as a public opinion survey in a land under occupation. Surprisingly, the Iraqis still managed to offer criticisms of the American occupation. And the US military's translator was very funny: he would use his tone of translation to make the answers of Iraqis less offensive to American ears. When Iraqis would say that they don't want the Americans, he would translate it in a tone of: welcome to Iraq. He reminded me of the translator in Woody Allen's Movie, Banana, when the escapee from a mental asylum translated English into Spanish-accented English.