DescentBB

I have to ask you Lothar if you've considered what type of Iraqis have the ability to communicate with us over the internet. More affluent, english speaking Iraqis who understand the west much better. You're likely speaking with the educated elite which is probably not a reasonable cross-section.

Also not likely the Iraqis whose house has been blown up (no more pc!)

yes, of course I've considered the fact that Iraqis with PC's are probably well above the median in terms of income and wealth. But they're still closer to the Iraqi street than Suncho or Dan Rather.

Take what they say with a grain of salt. But don't ignore what they say completely. Like you said elsewhere, you can never eliminate bias -- all you can do is try to understand it and reduce it.

Suncho wrote:...Bush is endangering American lives by trying to control the world.

Your base is propoganda--President Bush is not trying to control the world.

America most certainly is trying to dominate the world, at least in terms of power. How is this propaganda? We're the biggest and the strongest, we want to keep it that way. Ever heard the phrase Pax Americana thrown around by some conservatives?

"control the world", "dominate the world", "be the dominant force in the world", and "influence the world" are all slightly different concepts.

I'd say the US and president Bush definitely want to influence the world. They defininitely want to be the dominant force in the world, and be able to steer world policies without too much hassle. I doubt there's a strong push to completely dominate or control the world, though. Guys like Osama would like to control the world -- to subject everyone to Sharia law -- but I think Bush would be perfectly happy to let people on the other side of the world govern themselves, as long as they're not busy plotting our demise. I think the American public, for the most part, is the same way -- we couldn't care less who's in charge in the Middle East, as long as they're not plotting to hurt us, forcibly convert us, or charge us ridiculous prices for oil (the same is true for any other region, replacing "oil" with the appropriate export.)

pebkac that issue in sweeden is certainly eye catching. i have not heard about it until now.

(although it may fuel some poster's internal racist fires)
you should definitely post about it in a new thread, it's a headline all of it's own, and is quite intruiging (but spelt correctly).