Power of Nightmares

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Oct 31 2006, 10:54 AM) [snapback]341242[/snapback]</div>

I was going to ask this exact same thing before I download the file. When I watch it, I'd much rather sit in front of my television than my computer screen. I don't have an Xbox, but I do have a regular DVD player. Does the DVD disc need to be a specific type?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Oct 31 2006, 10:54 AM) [snapback]341242[/snapback]</div>

Dragon,

FFmpegx will create a DVD for you:

http://www.ffmpegx.com/

 

What I most liked about the documentary is the thesis that neocons and middle easter religious fundamentalists see the world as an "ideological struggle". A phrase used verbatim by pundits and some politicians. This in contrast to politicians that strive for stability and peace.

This might explain the weird alliance between Clinton and Bush Senior.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Nov 1 2006, 12:54 AM) [snapback]341242[/snapback]</div>

It plays fine in my DVD player using the built-in Disck Copy. Nothing else was needed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Oct 31 2006, 09:54 AM) [snapback]341242[/snapback]</div>

I don't have an X-Box rather a normal DVD player, it plays fine on that. That being said, some older players will only play pressed DVD's but most newer ones will play at least one format of burned, either +R or -R. This may also be the case with the X-Box, but I can't say for sure. I think you can look up your player model on Videohelp and find out the specs. on your player or X-Box.

 

I just finished watching all 3 parts. It took me all week off and on. While watching, I paused very often and googled, wikipediad, ciafactbooked, g'mapped, nytimesed etc what was being said.

I am almost old enough to be a Duck and Cover kid. A lot of the "Atomic Cafe" stuff seemed to have happened before I was born, but we 60's kids still had a boatload of propaganda that resonated throughout our childhoods. For example, I did have duck-and-cover-like drills at school, the maps of USSR were certainly painted red in my mind, and I remember hearing stories of Gorbachev being the Antichrist because of that birthmark on his head (sign of the beast). I grew up thinking how strange it was to have adults who seemed hungry to find evil somewhere in the world. This documentary conjured up a lot of those memories. Whether I watched this series or not, I'd have to agree that similar pufferies are being told today.

I have never been much of a follower/student of current events or political science. In retrospect, I find it shallow of me to have a lot of the world events portrayed in the series happen in my lifetime and they simply remained in my periphery or were given little deep thought by me. I am assuming that I am like a lot of Americans in this respect, with 9/11 being the first time this was slammed down in front of me (or maybe this assumption is wrong, I could just be the lone dumbass). Having an ill-equiped mind is why I took so long to watch the series; I had to supplement the info in the series with some catch-up reading, education, and context. That exercise certainly made listening to and reading the news much more interesting this week as well.

The series placed a fairly good frame around past events, and the framing in general seems plausible. I have to deduct some points for what I thought was wordsmithing of some events; leading a casual watcher to conclude something non-factual (an example that pops into mind is the way they presented Clinton and Lewinsky, implying that it did not happen. I had to rewind the video 4 times to hear exactly what they were saying. My wife watched and came to a similar "it didn't happen?" conclusion.) They didn't need to pull such stunts; it only brings into question what else they might have tweaked to make a point. I am also confused as to why they did not mention the first trade center bombing; maybe I missed that, or maybe the timing did not line up with their storyline.

I am a mixed-bag: always open yet cynical towards new ideas, this documentary included. I often question the motives of the speaker. It is ironic that as I watched the series raising the specter of hidden persuaders and manipulation, I felt compelled to measure the series with it's own yardstick, hence another reason for the supplemental reading and research.

I'd certainly recommend it to folks who want or need an alternative to the normal stuff we see. I'd would not sell it to them with unbridled passion (an exercise restricted to the Prius), but it is certainly worth the effort to watch and mull over.

Did it change some of my thinking? Yes, and for that, thanks for bringing this to the table 360guy....


PS. As for the DVD formats, make sure you have the DVD+R or DVD-R or DVD+-R all figured out on the recorder and external players in your circle of technology. It's a bitch to work out sometimes.

 

bigdaddy:

Thank you for your thoughtful views. I too agree with you that this documentary isn't the end all for this subject. But it certainly does have viewpoints that I had never seen or read anywhere else. And for that I think it was very important to share with people. You never see this perspective on American media for sure and it does bring up very plausible alternatives. It certainly made me think.

Does terrorism exist. Hmmm, yes. But it has always existed. There has always been evil to deal with. But I haven't seen enough evidence that we should be so concerned that it threatens either our way of life or that whole series of cities should have fear factors thrust upon them like our government would have us believe. That is the biggest difference I think between my views and the administrations. They want us to believe that if they aren't voted back in that those big bad terrorists are gonna get us. I don't think so. It is just the power of nightmares (fear) that are at work. So anything to get your vote is fair game. I personally believe that is such a negative way to get my vote.

I'm glad you took the time to view it.

Cheers