April 10, 2003
Goodness, and I would have thought that if we were indeed “widening” our “hold”, civil strife would fall. Clearly I have much to learn about our brave new way of thinking here in the 21st Century.
Coming soon: “Allies Vanquish Disease; Millions Die of Plague.” [10:51 PM]
No, see, as your hold widens, it becomes weaker and less secure. You need a concentrated powerful grip to hold on to something as unruly as Iraq, so of course civil unrest will get greater as your grip widens and thins.
That's our story and we're sticking to it.
MKK
I find myself wondering, again, just how the UK and US media differ in the coverage of Iraq. There's a natural tendency in the UK to report from British-controlled areas, and there's certainly a lot of US-linked news we don't get. Things like soldiers chowing bubble-gum.
So I find myself wondering: what sort of image of events in Basra is coming across in the USA?
Is there a real difference, and why?
Dave, the images in the US are of Saddam's statues falling, and jubilant Iraqis dancing in the streets, and waving to US troops. Every so often there'll be a short clip of US soldiers shooting at unseen targets.
Patrick, your shrill, partisan, objectively pro-Assadite screeds are proof that you are unamerican. Real Americans trust our [dare I say it? Yes!] God-Sent King ^H^H^H^H President, and understand that We! Must! Invade! Syria! Now! (think Shatner here).
After all, as Warlord Rumsfield recently said, 'absence of evidence of existance of WMD's in Iraq is evidence of movement of WMD's to Syria'.
The fact that it's now Januay, 2004, and primary season, is absolutely irrelevant, as is the fact that the economy is not doing well (because of the Evul Librul Klinton, of course).
I hit the floor laughing as soon as I saw that title, Patrick. You could have just posted it and said nothing. I would have seen the irony.
The tragedy is that you had to explain it to others and they still don't get it.
Sigh.
My favorite unintentionally funny headline remains one my dad says the Herald (or one of the other Boston dailies) ran back in the 1940s: Ball-Bound Girl Grabs Dick: about a woman rescued from a punk by a detective on her way to a ballroom dance....
Acutally, it seems very clear and not at all contradictory, given other news reports. The US/UK coalition continues the takeover of Iraq (Allies Widen Hold on Iraq) and the "liberated" Iraqis are getting pissy, taking payback on other Iraqi who've offended them, looting like mad, and all those other things that have happened, time and time again, when a repressed, angry populace suddenly realizes that nobody's going to shoot them for doing so. (Civil Strife Rises) Of course, some of those Iraqi are pissed at us, but that's another thread.
So, laugh away at the joke, Mr. Rosenberg. It's only Iraqis and the odd US soldier dying. Nobody important.
Nobody important at all.
Interesting. I followed the link to the NYT site, and I see the following headline: "Allies Enter Mosul After Seeing Signs of Possible Surrender".
Is the link broken, or did they change the headline?
John Gordon: As of right now, the Times is reporting that we've left Mosul after coming under heavy fire.
Hm. Actually it did say that a little while ago. Now it says Mosul fell without a fight.
Actually it turns out I have it in a window still.
Top of the page:
NEWS ALERT
U.S. Troops Pull Out of Mosul After Coming Under Heavy Fire (9:19 AM ET)
Just Below that:
Chaos in Mosul Spreads as Iraqis Surrender
The New York Times web page changes its headlines through the day as news develops. What I quoted was the banner headline as of late last night, and it's also the banner across the top of the newsprint copies I saw on the stands this morning.
"So, laugh away at the joke, Mr. Rosenberg. It's only Iraqis and the odd
US soldier dying."
Bet they're making some pretty rough jokes, too. A talent for truly macabre humour can only be an asset to the thinking person in these times. Better than going batshit.
Dave Bell -- both the US and Brit coverage (CNN and BBC websites, anyhow) look 'sanitized' to me compared with the NZ coverage. See:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3400811&thesection=news&thesubsection=world
Of course, our =big= headlines are usually about whether or not Helen Clark should apologize yet again the Bush for making the comment about how we wouldn't have this war if Gore had been in the White House....
Isn't "widening your hold" a lot like "loosening your grip"?
The one that threw me today was CNN's Bush, first lady visit wounded.
I clicked there because I wanted to know how the first lady got wounded. The comma replacing the word and confused me.
John - an almost-headline that I axed when working as the editor of a high school newspaper, submitted by our sports reporter about the previous day's successful womens' water polo match in which many points were scored by team member Kristie Dickie: "Dickie rises to occasion".
Erik: Actually, the Joel you're responding to is Joel Gazis-Sax, not Joel Rosenberg. Although before I checked the link in his name, I jumped to the same conclusion you did.
The absurdity of the headline is probably best explained as a side effect of the NYT's continuing attempts to set forth a negative spin on the downfall of Baathist autocracy. After all, a high CNN official admitted today that their network had been suppressing news of Baathist atrocities in past years in order to preserve their access to the regime. Why shouldn't we believe that this silly NYT headline represents the same sort of spin, rather than an accurate summation of events?
Well, there's the picture showing that the statue-toppling was staged, and there's the various other pictures showing truly large-scale looting, and the Red Cross pullout, and the pictures of the various fires in Baghdad; none of that comes across as civil order being maintained in the areas of conquest, somehow.
Mostly, there's the fact that the rest of the worldwide news media is describing a situation that more closely resembles that shown in the New York Times than it resembles that shown on Fox News.
Certainly, it's possible that everyone in the world is lying save for the Wurlitzer. It's also possible that ancient astronauts built the Pyramids. Many Americans believe both propositions.
Late, this is, but needed. My abject apologies to Mr. Rosenberg, who I accused without reason or cause.
Certainly, it's possible that everyone in the world is lying save for the Wurlitzer. It's also possible that ancient astronauts built the Pyramids. Many Americans believe both propositions.
[voice=scary]How dare you suggest otherwise, shol'va?! [/voice]
Hard-Hitting Moderator: Teresa Nielsen Hayden.
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