SOCIAL IMPRESSIONS

Israeli president, Moshe Katsav, will face rape charges against two females during his years of public service. It is alleged that Katsav sexually violated an employee when he served as tourism minister and assaulted another staff member during his presidency. Concerned about possible suspicions of his indecent behavior, Katsav tapped into his staff’s phone calls to gauge if information was being relayed to the authorities and threatened witnesses.

Instead of enjoying the immunity that is afforded to him due to his position, he has opted to take a “leave of absence” in order to defend himself against the charges of sexual assault, rape and abuse of power. Either way, his immunity would have been short-lived. The privilege is only in effect until the end of his seven-year presidential tenure, which will be at the end of this year. Although Katsav will still hold the role of president, he will not perform any of his public duties. The hearing will not be scheduled for another few months. If he is found guilty, he will face up to 16 years in prison.

Prior to Katsav’s presidential term, his predecessor, Ezer Weizman, was forced out of office due to a corruption scandal. Furthermore, the presidential role is regarded as a ceremonial task. Will these aspects come into play in the next Israeli election?

With Saddam Hussein captured, tried and executed, the American “War on Terrorism” has expanded its focus beyond Al-Qaida and Iraq. Lebanon-based terrorist organization, Hezbollah, is now included in President Bush’s “Axis of Evil”. According to U.S. Intelligence, the 2006 conflict involving Israel and Lebanon has heightened America’s concern. Due to its alliance with Israel, America is worried about hostile attacks on its soil that would threaten the safety of its people.

The Bush administration will continue its efforts to diminish Al-Qaida, as the organization’s power and prevalence is still quite strong. This is true despite many of its key leaders being captured, and several cells having been infiltrated and closed down. Al-Qaida has not sustained any permanent damage imposed by America and has continued to grow despite attempts to disseminate the organization.

Iraq also continues to be a focal point of American efforts. In order to establish a secular democratic government, President Bush announced on Wednesday that he intends to deploy more than 20,000 soldiers to collapse the sectarian violence in Iraq. That decision has been met with significant skepticism from the Democrats and moderate Republicans. According to a recent AP poll, 70 percent of Americans also oppose this decision.

Bush has repeatedly claimed that his main goal is to garner a “win” in Iraq. Many political scientists speculate that the White House is attempting to prevent a similar outcome to Vietnam. The administration seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. If the U.S. doesn’t diminish Hezbollah and Al-Qaida, and control the situation in Iraq, they will continue their attacks against Americans including foreign embassies and massive attacks on US soil like 9-11. However, if the U.S. does attack them, that will only feed their anger. Is there a middle ground in this situation?

Some consider America to be a melting pot of people from different backgrounds, creeds, religions, and cultures. However, that mixture increasingly seems to be one of oil and water. They co-exist but don’t blend. This modern form of racism that is prevalent in today’s society doesn’t eliminate the racial tensions, religious conflicts and cultural condemnation. Yesterday, I read “Houston suburb in dispute over mosque plans” that brought this reality front and center.

O.J. Simpson is clearly attempting to relive his stardom years, as he promised after the day he was cleared, by authoring a book and being featured in a TV special called, “O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here’s How it Happened.” This show was supposed to air on November during the sweeps period to discuss how he would have committed the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in 1994.

After News. Corp. received criticism from the public regarding their willingness to air this special on their Fox channels, they cancelled the show and apologized to their audience. The book has been canceled as well. Although this show didn’t cost the network much money to produce, it had the potential of losing a substantial amount in advertising. As we all know, advertisers try to enjoy a safe distance from potentially offensive programs, as they don’t want to insult their stockholders or deter their consumers from using their product/service.

However, it has been said that bad publicity is good publicity. With everyone condemning O.J. Simpson for his tasteless attempt at making a big return, would they have boycotted Fox or avoided the show? Is it inconceivable that people actually would tune in due to their inherent curiosity or to fuel their existent hatred?

It is increasingly becoming apparent that people like to be shocked. Despite the fact that “The Passion of the Christ” and “Fahrenheit 911″ sparked heated controversy, they topped the box office charts in 2004. So what if News Corp changed its mind, again, published the book and aired the show? Would people actually buy that book? Would the show boost Fox’s ratings (they are lagging this season), or leave lasting damage instead?

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