Ok I have a few, very limited comments here about the war, or more accurately about the war coverage. I'm fairly sure this is the best televised and media covered war. Most of the major networks have pre-empted all programming, including popular shows and soap opera, to show us continuous footage of bombing and aerial raids. What strikes me about the coverage is how repetitive it is. After watching for about five minutes, the footage looks all the same (particularly footage shot at night) and the commentary is pretty much the same information we've been hearing for months, now repeated every five minutes instead of every night. I was talking to a friend last night on the phone and I asked him if the networks were planning on showing the war non-stop until its conclusion. He guessed it would. I, personally, am surprised. I would like to know if the ratings have jumped for the channels (like TBS and USA) that are continuing to show regular programming. I'm assuming that after two days, the American public is going to get bored with all of this and want to return to their regularly scheduled programming. They are going to want episodes of Ship Mates and Friends, if for no other reason, to relieve the monotony. Another friend of mine suggested that this apathy towards war footage is exactly what the US government wants. That constant broadcasting is intentionally breeding in the American people a disinterest in the war, so the government can do whatever it wants. This would work if we assume that the private interests of the broadcasting companies are aligned with the interests of the government. What with conglomeration being what it is the US this isn't as far fetched as it initially sounds. The manipulation of the media by the government, particularly slight of hand tactics, is quite old. (The first to suggest diversionary tactics to ensure political success is Machiavelli in his politcal treatise, The Prince .) The war can be seen as diversionary on several different fronts, first to distract the American people from the economic situation of this country (Machiavelli recommended that the Prince always wage war. If the people are dependent upon him for defense, they will not have the time or interest in being critical of his policies. They will be too busy trying to survive. ) So in one model the war is waged to distract Americans from the current situation, in another model the coverage of the war is meant to distract Americans from the war itself. A distraction built upon a distraction.