Friday, December 29, 2006
The dystopian present
Whenever you see the word "dystopian," it always seems to be associated with the future, as in, for example, the way people describe the world of V for Vendetta. But, as one of the best of the mainstream reporters shows us, dystopia is alive and not so well, in Baghdad today. Hannah Allam, former Knight-Ridder/McClatchey Baghdad bureau chief, returns after just a year away and paints a truly chilling picture of life in Baghdad.
While George Bush searches in vain for a way to "win" in Iraq, the people of Iraq would be satisfied with just surviving to this time next year. And the people of Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, Lebanon, Venezuela, and more, can only hope that U.S. imperialism's plan for "victory" in their countries doesn't bring them the same fate. Well, that's not quite true. They can do more than hope. They can fight back. And that's what many of them are doing, or preparing to do.
