Kerning
Maybe It's the Weather in Seattle
Media Blog
Stephen Spruiell Reporting
07/21 09:03 AM
Media Blog reader Steve Morris spotted a sad story in the Seattle Times:
In an effort to make sure people don’t feel good about anything, the Seattle Times Web site had the following headline:
“State unemployment rate dips, but many can’t find work”
Lede: “Washington employers had more than 70,000 job openings in May, but John Brittingham didn’t get any of them.”
The story goes on to detail the disparity between the skills of the unemployed and the requirements of the available jobs. Just a great headline, I thought.
In related news, the markets have hit three-year highs but Murph Chang doesn't own any stock! I blame CAFTA.
Kerning
More Background on Iraq Body Count
07/20 05:17 PM
The Scrutinator has the story on the radical leftists whose report on civilian casualties is the elite media's cause of the day. Key points from his post:
Their list of media sources is long, but it’s unlikely that most of these sources have trusted reporters doing independent, original, eye-witness reporting throughout Iraq (e.g., the Miami Herald, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times). So it’s not likely that all stories are really from independent sources. They consider as news sources commondreams.org (“Breaking news & views for the progressive community”) and intellnet.org (now defunct with the message “well folks, that time in my life has finally arrived; I have finally graduated and found employment…”), and the famously anti-American Al Jazeera.
By their accounting, if a group of Saddam loyalists or terrorists went from house to house murdering indiscriminately, they count that exactly as though a coalition soldier pulled the trigger. Are these equivalent? Not a chance.
“The test for us remains whether the bullet (or equivalent) is attributed to a piece of weaponry where the trigger was pulled by a US or allied finger, or is due to "collateral damage" by either side (with the burden of responsibility falling squarely on the shoulders of those who initiate war without UN Security Council authorization). … In short, we record all civilians deaths attributed to our military intervention in Iraq.” If one has a different interpretation of “those who initiate war without UN Security Council authorization”, then the numbers are meaningless. Technically, Iraq didn’t comply with the conditions for the first Gulf War’s cease-fire, nor with a dozen other UN Resolutions. Finally, Bush gave Saddam the 48-hour ultimatum to seek exile, and it was his refusal that led to war. Any of these facts technically and/or morally shift the burden of responsibility, making the entire project meaningless.
Taking that same statement to its logical conclusion, if we were to shift the burden of responsibility, then by their own statements, we could carpet-bomb Fallujah and they would put every civilian death “squarely on the shoulders” of Saddam. Yeah, right.
Their standard would apply equally to our actions in Afghanistan, too. We didn’t get explicit UN permission there either.
My conclusion: anti-American propaganda.
That's my conclusion too. Unfortunately, the media don't seem to share it.
media.nationalreview.com |
