Between IT and the Baath

Syria will today be ending its 10th Baath Party congress. Ignore the naysayers; I can confirm the country is on a rapid track to progress: Indeed, the gathering has hurled Syria at least 10 years ahead, from the 1960s, when the Baath took power, to the 1970s.

And if you don't believe me, read the opening speech by Bashar Assad. I highlight one particular passage, reminding one and all that Syria's maximum leader was once the president of the Syrian Computer Society, a fact that previously had Western optimists on Syria salivating.

This comes amidst a huge influx of information and ideas made possible by the communications and IT revolution which has made room for theories and projects, as well as lifestyles which have overwhelmed Arabs and threatened their existence and cultural identity, and has increased the doubts and skepticism in the mind of young Arabs. The forces behind these events have created an illusory virtual reality that inspires our feelings in a way which drives us in a direction identified by others, without us being aware of the reality of what is actually happening, and through our gradual detachment from the reality in which we live, and because of our inability to discern the implications correctly. This leads in the end to the cultural, political and moral collapse of the Arab individual and his ultimate defeat even without a fight. The ultimate objective of all this is the destruction of Arab identity; for the enemies of the Arab nation are opposed to our possessing any identity or upholding any creed that could protect our existence and cohesion, guide our vision and direction, or on which we can rely in our steadfastness.

Ah, can you smell the mildew? (Thanks to Gordon Robison for pointing the passage out.)

Comments

[tros]

I was a journalism major this past spring semester. Northeastern University's primary focus is on it's co-op program, and the primary focus of it's journalism program is to place students in jobs. In case you didn't know, Boston is currently a 1.5 newspaper town. I had a choice between the Boston Herald, which is such a rag that they hired legions of people to give it away on the street, and that Puritanical container for New York Times reprints, the Boston Globe. I spent a lot of time reading up on journalism before I tried it, and think that Jay Rosen is at least as credible as anyone at Northeastern's journalism department.

In my introductory courses I had the distinct impression that the entire journalism profession had become divorced from reality, and since I did not want to be placed in a failing business I decided it wasn't for me.

This isn't entirely on topic, but since that guy is talking computers, media, and politics, I thought I would add my 2 cents:

http://braincrab.blogspot.com/2005/02/drugs-opening-doors-of-perception.html
"When we define "real" or "objective" it assumes that the person who is being objective is honestly translating his direct and unadulterated perception of the physical world into a language that others can understand. After this translation, the event takes on a realness of its own. While they can not be said to have happened independently of the observer, the observer is real enough, and hallucinogenic events brought on by chemical changes in the observer's brain are, in a way, real events."

[Akronian]

What the fuck are you talking about?

[tros]

The forces behind these events have created an illusory virtual reality that inspires our feelings in a way which drives us in a direction identified by others, without us being aware of the reality of what is actually happening, and through our gradual detachment from the reality in which we live, and because of our inability to discern the implications correctly.

I wanted to compare his illusory virtual reality to the one I experienced while I was tripping, and the one that allows the drug war to continue the way it does. I think that the War on Terror and the War on Drugs are both maintained by the same type of retarded journalism.

[Akronian]

Oh. Thank you for clarifying.

[joe]

I don't get what's particularly 70s about the blurb. Is there some pan-Arab inside baseball reference that's going over my head, or did Mr. Young just pick a decade at random?

[Douglas Fletcher]

It appears Tros is stuck in a data loop somewhere near page 257 of the Last Whole Earth Catalog.

I don't get what's particularly 70s about the blurb.

I have little idea of what the face of 1970s pan-Arabism was but it appears Basher is saying something like "We're dumbass backwards Arabs, and by gum we're going to keep being dumbass backwards Arabs."

Then again that could be the face of 2070s pan-
Arabism, for all I know.

[tros]

I have little idea of what the face of 1970s pan-Arabism was but it appears Basher is saying something like "We're dumbass backwards Arabs, and by gum we're going to keep being dumbass backwards Arabs."

Do you think he maybe means a secular Arab identity is better than the disgusting religious fanaticism being pushed by Fox News and their counterparts at Al-Jazeera? I was under the impression that the Baath party was a secular organization, and that Sadaam's religious fad was more of an insane dictator thing.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Man, it was better when an Arab leader's computer-related comments would have been something like, "You know, the Arabs were using computers when your ancestors were still worshipping slugs and scratching your balls with poison ivy."

[mediageek]

Blah, Blah, Blah, jingoistic, xenophobic luddite crap, Blah, Blah, Blah.

*yawn*

[bago]

Computers lead to Information Theory.
Information Theory leads to Bayesian Analysis.
Bayesian Analysis is the weighting of sources.
That kind of analytical thought leads to the downfall of his regime.

[Larry A]

Unfortunately if you translate what Assad said into English he'd have a great future at the FCC.