With no knowlege that Judith Miller and Dexter Filkins were an item, the world was taken by surprise today to learn that they had a child together. Weighing in at approximately 4,000 tons (the baby's carrying the weight of the US administration), the child has moved beyond goo-gaa and today takes her baby steps across A6 of the New York Times under the banner "Chlorine Gas Attack by Truck Bomber Kills Up to 30 in Iraq."
Alissa J. Rubin is the child's given name -- her parents wisely grasping that to saddle her with either "Miller" or "Filkins" would doom her jounalism days to snorts and giggles -- and demonstrating her heritage and the skills taught by her wet nurse Michael R. Gordon, Rubin dishes like she's commanding attention at the least popular table in the middle school.
On Diwayaniya she tells that "soldiers distributed pamphlets asking people to cooperate with the American and Iraqi troops" and that's it. Which soldiers? She makes no mention of Polish soldiers or what their leaflets said. From yesterday's snapshot:
AFP notes at least one dead and that "Polish aircraft dropped leaflets over the city ordering local police officers to stay home, warning that anyone who went out with a weapon will be considered a target, a military spokesman confirmed."
She rewrites the US military statement on the matter for several paragraphs indicating she watched Daddy Dexy using his Article Helper from the box to round out his own pieces. (As the box of Article Helper brags: "Just add baseless assertions!")
On the chlorine attacks, she works in "Insurgents linked to Al Qaeda have become increasingly adept at stealing the chlorine . . ." Linked by whom? Taught so very well by her parents, she grasps that the Times only requries facts and backing when you're 'reporting' matches with official US policy. At those times, you bend over backwards to cite officials so that anyone who might question the 'logic' will immediately grasp that they are one voice up against an entire world. When your 'reporting' is on groups or people who irritate US official-dom (offical-dumb?), you can type up any assertion without proof. What Rubin didn't learn from her parents and her wet nurse, godmother Cokie obviously taught her. The sole question remains whether or not Dexy's gotten his figure back yet?
11 corpses were discovered in Baghdad on Friday and, for all her words and columns, that may be the only news Rubin provides this morning. File it under "When Embeds Procreate."
Ruth will have a report today. I'll be doing another entry (much) later today. This is rushed because I need to shower and catch a plane shortly. Things noted each Saturday will be noted in that entry.
The following community sites have updated since yesterday morning:
Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix;
Kat's Kat's Korner;
Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man;
Mike's Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot;
and Trina's Trina's Kitchen
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