According to a story in today’s The Independent on Sunday, a poll conducted by the University of Maryland showed most American respondents surveyed were unaware of the testimony of David Kay, the administration’s chief weapons inspector, that he had found no weapons, or that of Richard Clarke, the former counter-terrorism czar whose book Against All Enemies has been the talk of Washington for the past month.
A staggering 82 per cent of respondents believed most experts supported the notion that Iraq was providing “substantial support” to al-Qa’ida — a contention that President Bush has been forced to disavow. Almost 60 per cent were unaware that world opinion was against the war in Iraq, with 21 per cent saying the world was behind the U.S.-led invasion and 38 per cent saying views were “evenly divided”.
The poll also showed a correlation between Americans’ ignorance and their political affiliation. Among those who believed WMD had been found in Iraq, 72 per cent said they would vote to re-elect President Bush in November, while 23 per cent said they supported his Democratic challenger, John Kerry. Among those who knew that no WMD had been found, 74 per cent supported Mr. Kerry and 23 per cent backed the President.
Steven Kull, director of the U.S.-based Program on International Policy Attitudes, comments: “For some Americans, their desire to support the war may be leading them to screen out information that weapons of mass destruction have not been found. Given the intensive news coverage and high levels of public attention to the topic, this level of misinformation suggests that some Americans may be avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance.”

Iraq. Iraq. Iraq. Bush. Bush. Bush.
Sometimes, it seems that’s all we hear about in the news. More and more, the national media of Western countries seem unable to recall the world beyond Iraq’s borders.
When was the last time you saw published reports about the holocaust in the Sudan (and the involvement of the Canadian oil company, Talisman, in this largely unreported incidence of African genocide?), or the mass, forced eviction of thousands of families from their homes in Angola?
This morning, VanRamblings publishes Mark Fiore’s most recent animation, which provides needed insight into the current situation in the Sudan.

Thanks to the folks at Talk Left for pointing us to the world’s smallest political quiz. As you can see below, VanRamblings came out as (and I’m sure this will surprise all of VanRamblings many readers) … “left liberal.”


According to the folks who put this quiz together, “left liberals” prefer self-government in personal matters and central decision-making on economics. They want government to serve the disadvantaged in the name of fairness. Leftists tolerate social diversity, but work for economic equality.
There’s a somewhat longer, more in-depth quiz here, for those who possess both the time and the inclination.

A gallery of 289 photographs of war dead at Dover Air Force Base has been made available
by The Memory Hole. Click on the photo above to access the gallery. Take a few minutes to browse the photos, in memoriam for the sons and daughters who have been killed in Iraq.

The front page of last Sunday’s Seattle Times.

Following from a Freedom of Information Act request, the U.S. Air Force released 289 photographs of the flag-draped coffins of American soldiers to The Memory Hole website yesterday (photos 72 through 361). As of this writing, all photos have been verified as those of soldiers who have died during the war in Iraq.
Tami Silicio, a Kuwait-based cargo worker whose haunting photograph (above) of flag-draped coffins of fallen U.S. soldiers was published on the front page of last Sunday’s edition of The Seattle Times (left), alerted Memory Hole editor Russ Kick to the existence of the photos. While Mr. Kick set about to gain access to and publish the photos, Ms. Silicio was fired by Maytag Aircraft “for violating U.S. government and company regulations,” in supplying the photo to The Times (watch this video for background and commentary).
As of this writing, 709 members of the American Armed Forces have lost their lives in Iraq — along with hundreds more foreign soldiers and civilians. Thousands upon thousands of Iraqis have lost their lives. Thousands more Americans have been wounded — many losing limbs.
“This is a war of images and a war of ideas, and I think the administration and the Pentagon are reluctant to give the other side what they want,” Max Boot, of the Council on Foreign Affairs, told NBC News last night.