Great.

"No, no. We're not insulated from the awful experience of war. We really do have a deep understanding of the consequences of what we're doing, and we make a thoughtful, informed decision before we take such actions. Otherwise, we wouldn't take such actions unless we really thought there were no other solution. We don't think of it all as one big videogame. Really. What's that? Sony did what? Oh. Um..."

I saw a student wearing a fraternity t-shirt on campus the other day. His nickname was listed as "shock'n'awe" on the back.

I'm really at a loss for something smart to say about all this. All the things I want to say seem obvious: why do some (including the news media) accept the phraseology of the government uncritically? how can anyone take a seemingly lighthearted approach to a phrase that describes a kind of terror and horror that almost none of us could ever imagine? These are obvious questions, aren't they?

American news outlets issued grave reports on coalition soldiers in Iraq finding a mural appearing to portray the attack on the twin towers. What do we think those living in the Middle East will feel about our cavalier treatment -- and commercial exploitation -- of the violence we've visited upon their region?

Check out cartoonist Carol Lay's take on the phrase.
http://www.waylay.com/Store/OrigPages/472.html

From cnn.com:
"Responding to criticism that it was trying to take advantage of the Iraq war for commercial gain, Sony Corp said on Wednesday it will not use the phrase "shock and awe" for PlayStation videogames made by a subsidiary."

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/04/16/japan.sony.reut/index.html