On A8 of this morning's New York Times, Cara Buckley's writing about a trend in "A New Sensation in Iraq: Motor Scooters." It's December 25th and many papers are going to shy away from anything ground-breaking both due to the day itself and the fact that a lot of people won't be reading their daily paper today due to gatherings, etc.
Buckley explains that the scooters are an "antidote" to the traffic jams in Baghdad and that popular ones are "Yomaha" and "Mucati Classic." They come largely from China (the two named in the previous sentence are from China) and the Yomaha Classic costs Iraqis the equivalent of $750 US dollars.
Along with mobility (scooters apparently helped you get through the check points more quickly at one point but now they are searched as well -- since motor cycle bombings have been going on for years in Baghdad, that's no surprise), it is hoped that ownership of one conveys the impression that you do not have a great deal of money and might result in your chances of being kidnapped decreasing.
The Chinese ones apparently require work and a business has sprung up that services and repairs them (says one making money that way: "The Japanese ones, they naver have defects. But the Chinese ones, their electric wiring always goes.")
The violence isn't stopping in Iraq and we'll note it, and two other things in the Times this morning, in the next entry. Normally, we wouldn't spend so much time on an article like Buckley's which is feature (human interest) but the reality is that's what you're going to see in many daily papers -- if you even see Iraq -- and the reasons for that have more to do with the fact that not a lot of people will be reading a daily paper today so no one uses December 25th to break any news unless they have to. (For a feature article, it's well written.)
We're noting it (a) because it is well written and (b) because a friend who retired from the daily papers pointed out that some 'watch dog' (and we know which one) might knock it or a similar feature article in another paper. If you have a problem with it, it goes to the papers and the day and has nothing to do with a Buckley or any other reporter turning in such a feature. (This isn't an Operation Happy Talk feature that divorces itself from reality. It's a human interest feature.) If the 'watch dog' does trash the article (or something similar), it will be a week or so from now because while Buckley (and others are filing), little media's taking the day off. Maybe, as a general rule, when you have to take a full week off for a Christian holiday* (whether you're Christian or not), you don't have a lot of ground to stand on if you criticize what others did While You Were Snoozing? (And that's setting aside Little Media's lack of interest in Iraq which has been the key feature in 2007.) The scope of these type of stories go to the expected (and charted) lowered readership on December 25th.
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*Many celebrate today for children and toys only. Nothing wrong with a non-religious celebration but if the point is the joy of children receiving presents and a sit down meal, there's really no need to take a day off. Children receive presents on their birthdays and there's usually a meal then as well. Ruth wrote a great report that went up last night. Her earlier report, that she scrapped to talk about IVAW, was worthwhile as well and pointed out that each Christmas in the first years of her marriage revolved around her husband pulling a hospital shift due to the fact that he was Jewish (as is Ruth) and he, and others, would grab that day so that those celebrating December 25th could be off with their families. As Ruth pointed out, there are a number of Jewish people in Little Media and it's very puzzling to watch them all rush off for days or an entire week off if you contrast that with what you will still find at many hospitals today where you will also find many doctors, nurses and medical staff who do celebrate December 25th but also have to work because it's a responsibility -- one that seems missing in Little Media.
