The Power of Nightmares

he still stands

a great documetary about the manufacturing of fear by western governments, especially the US. I'm only about 15 minutes in but so far it is really great... here is the introduction;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk1WkmioQvA

Sidnum

Oh, this looks awesome. Thanks!

aerial

Whoever made the video IS the Nightmare....more fearmongering by anti fearmongers

he still stands

aerial wrote:

Whoever made the video IS the Nightmare....more fearmongering by anti fearmongers

^^^ the delusion of the illusion... or something like that

polaris_x

or you can watch V for Vendetta ...

wolfamongwolves

I remember this when it was on BBC back in 2004, I think. It mirrored exactly what I was learning in my Masters class at the time - a terrific companion piece. Of course, certain people will instantly dismiss it as fear-mongering without watching it, whereas what is actually about is how governments and terrorists alike have blatantly engaged in fearmongering themselves in order to push their own self-interested agendas. Powerful stuff, and even though it may have it's own perspective, many top conservative thinkers, such as Irving and William Kristol, are given an opportunity to give their side.

The full three episodes are here:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5lByw7kvS0&feature=fvst
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai6LhnW4Oa8&NR=1
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvzR8w1 ... re=related

Cosmo

aerial wrote:

Whoever made the video IS the Nightmare....more fearmongering by anti fearmongers

..
Ever watch Glenn Beck?
If so, have you built your bunker and sold off your children for gold, yet?

Sidnum

Cosmo wrote:

aerial wrote:

Whoever made the video IS the Nightmare....more fearmongering by anti fearmongers

..
Ever watch Glenn Beck?
If so, have you built your bunker and sold off your children for gold, yet?

ComeToTX

a friend gave ma a burned DVD of this in '04 or '05. i finally watched it about 6 months ago. good stuff...and scary.

Jason P

Cosmo wrote:

..
Ever watch Glenn Beck?
If so, have you built your bunker and sold off your children for gold, yet?

I was eating dinner at the old man's place last night with Glenn Beck on in the background ... Glenn announced that there were only eight more shows left ... I quietly said a thank-you prayer in my head and did an invisible fist pump.

I remember watching Glenn Beck right around the last presidential election and I'm amazed at how much he has changed in such a short span. Memories are always a little distorted, but I recall actually liking the man's opinions at one time. But now he is such a conspiracy theorist, it's not even funny!

Now Glenn will still be able to poison my Dad's mind with his radio show, but at least I can eat dinner with him again without Glenn "connecting the dots" for me and having my Dad complain on how I should be afraid of what the show's topic is that day.

One note: For approximately 30 years I didn't follow politics and most of my friends didn't either. We were all happier. We didn't worry about shit we really shouldn't worry about. I've been following politics lately since my friends have gotten into it, but I'm starting to realize it's just wasted calories ... almost like following a soap opera or WWE plot lines. The problem with following politics is that you will ALWAYS be angry and upset about something ... but what does it really gain us?

It's one thing to be informed so that you can make good decisions in the voting booth, but it's another thing to allow a subject to torture you bad enough that it starts to consume you. I imagine that most of us on AMT torture ourselves unnecessarily ... but it's hard to not look at a bad car wreck.

Any thoughts?



Worst Case Scenario of Getting Consumed with Politics - You end up like Sean Penn or Ted Nugent.

Tough choice on if I'd rather end up like Sean or Ted. A year ago, Ted would have been the easy choice as he seems like he is having a hell of a time enjoying life .... but now Sean is dating Scarlett Johansson! As much fun as it would be to have a massive guitar collection and walk around with a cross-bow all day, I'm leaning towards the Penn avenue! :twisted: :ugeek:

inlet13

Jason P wrote:

Cosmo wrote:

..
Ever watch Glenn Beck?
If so, have you built your bunker and sold off your children for gold, yet?

I was eating dinner at the old man's place last night with Glenn Beck on in the background ... Glenn announced that there were only eight more shows left ... I quietly said a thank-you prayer in my head and did an invisible fist pump.

I remember watching Glenn Beck right around the last presidential election and I'm amazed at how much he has changed in such a short span. Memories are always a little distorted, but I recall actually liking the man's opinions at one time. But now he is such a conspiracy theorist, it's not even funny!

Now Glenn will still be able to poison my Dad's mind with his radio show, but at least I can eat dinner with him again without Glenn "connecting the dots" for me and having my Dad complain on how I should be afraid of what the show's topic is that day.

One note: For approximately 30 years I didn't follow politics and most of my friends didn't either. We were all happier. We didn't worry about shit we really shouldn't worry about. I've been following politics lately since my friends have gotten into it, but I'm starting to realize it's just wasted calories ... almost like following a soap opera or WWE plot lines. The problem with following politics is that you will ALWAYS be angry and upset about something ... but what does it really gain us?

It's one thing to be informed so that you can make good decisions in the voting booth, but it's another thing to allow a subject to torture you bad enough that it starts to consume you. I imagine that most of us on AMT torture ourselves unnecessarily ... but it's hard to not look at a bad car wreck.

Any thoughts?



Worst Case Scenario of Getting Consumed with Politics - You end up like Sean Penn or Ted Nugent.

Tough choice on if I'd rather end up like Sean or Ted. A year ago, Ted would have been the easy choice as he seems like he is having a hell of a time enjoying life .... but now Sean is dating Scarlett Johansson! As much fun as it would be to have a massive guitar collection and walk around with a cross-bow all day, I'm leaning towards the Penn avenue! :twisted: :ugeek:

This is a great post. I think you're absolutely right. I've ventured over here lately and people are all know-it-alls, and I respond back as a know-it-all. I don't really know it all. I have an opinion. They have theirs. I kinda don't know why I came here. It seems like a wasteland of angry, angry people... who ironically tend to support the current administration.

My time here, or discussing politics outside of here, is not going to change anything... because when we do this we just end up alienating people who could otherwise be our friends/acquaintances. It's extremely rare that someone actually listens to an opposing viewpoint with an open mind and changes their mind on the spot. Actually, I don't know if it's ever happened. I'll be honest, I don't know if I've done it.

Being into politics is not a game. It's real life. This isn't football. And the truth is, our vote in the end, really doesn't matter. We're too small. So, many try to convince others, not realizing that in the end, they are just distancing their viewpoint from other peoples.

And does it really matter in the end? Probably not. I know on my deathbed I won't be talking politics.

Jason P

inlet13 wrote:

This is a great post. I think you're absolutely right. I've ventured over here lately and people are all know-it-alls, and I respond back as a know-it-all. I don't really know it all. I have an opinion. They have theirs. I kinda don't know why I came here. It seems like a wasteland of angry, angry people... who ironically tend to support the current administration.

My time here, or discussing politics outside of here, is not going to change anything... because when we do this we just end up alienating people who could otherwise be our friends/acquaintances. It's extremely rare that someone actually listens to an opposing viewpoint with an open mind and changes their mind on the spot. Actually, I don't know if it's ever happened. I'll be honest, I don't know if I've done it.

Being into politics is not a game. It's real life. This isn't football. And the truth is, our vote in the end, really doesn't matter. We're too small. So, many try to convince others, not realizing that in the end, they are just distancing their viewpoint from other peoples.

And does it really matter in the end? Probably not. I know on my deathbed I won't be talking politics.

Thank you for your insights.

In regards to your closing sentences, I'm amazed at how many parties I've been to where everyone is having a great time until politics are brought up ... then people that were laughing with each other all night are now pissed at each other. Strange that we let it grip us that deeply.

I guarentee you this - At PJ20, politics will be the last thing on my mind ... well, until Ed breaks into No More.

In the end, I think it's important to be aware of the topics and what is happening around us, but it's easy to cross that line where you let your mind be swamped by talk radio and 24 hr new channels where it becomes unhealthy.