The wave of attacks, four of them involving car bombs, took place as Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki declared that the Iraqi government planned to take full control of security from the American-led forces before the end of the year.
In the worst of the bombings, a car packed with explosives exploded at an intersection in the Sadriya neighborhood that serves as a hub for buses traveling to the Shiite district of Sadr City. The blast killed at least 140 people and wounded 150; incinerated scores of vehicles, including several minibuses full of passengers; and charred nearby shops, witnesses and the police said.
The above is from Kirk Semple's "Bombs Rip Through Baghdad, Killing 171" in this morning's New York Times. The deadliest day of the year thus far in Iraq and how much attention will it receive? The 'newsie' CNN Headline News' laughable talking, coiffed heads seemed so saddened yesterday to have to tear themselves away from their twin soap operas to note (briefly) the "goings on" (so newsie of them) in Iraq.
CNN notes this morning:
Baghdad was struck by a fresh suicide bombing Thursday, just hours after a wave of attacks in the city killed nearly 200 people in the worst day of violence since the launch of a new security crackdown earlier this year.
At least 10 people were killed and 21 injured when a car exploded near a parked fuel tanker in central Baghdad's Jadriya neighborhood, an Interior Ministry official said.
In the aftermath of Wednesday's attacks -- the worst of which was on a marketplace -- an Iraqi army brigade commander was arrested.
AFP, citing a defence ministry official, notes the toll of this morning's bombing is at 11. Now we all laugh at Headline News (which deserves all the laughter it can get -- it's made itself a joke) but look at the coverage of yesterday's attacks. One article in the Times. What about "Lotta Links"? They go with "scores" killed and it's buried far down on their website. They need the soap opera (and money -- send money is their big headline this morning) and when they grasp that the shooter's sister works in Iraq (contractor under the US State Dept.), they'll probably link to that and work "Iraq" into the title. (Scroll down two-thirds of the page -- and probably past over 70 links, and you'll find a tiny headline noting 170 dead.)
It's really pathetic, what passes for coverage. It's really pathetic that the US started war, the illegal war, is now the "goings on" to be quickly dismissed as everyone rushes off to the twin soap operas.
900,000 orphans and there's no time to address that just like there was no time to address the two-day conference in Geneva. Are you being informed or are you getting chit-chats and sermons on the Soap Operas from the Mount?
And the Times? Why do you have multiple reporters in Iraq (not counting stringers who do the bulk of the work) when yesterday results in only one story?
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
the new york times
kirk semple
