The Associated Press is a wire service. That means it's deals with breaking news. Recently, the administration's attack on the AP (the secret seizure by the Justice Dept of phone records of the AP) led to a lot of blowhards who don't seem to grasp the importance of the AP.
AP isn't perfect, we've criticized it here. But the disdain and the I'm-so-above-the-AP that so many displayed? We noted Heidi Boghosian's remarks two Friday's ago. But Heidi's president of the National Lawyers Guild and the NLG didn't say one damn word. They didn't even Tweet.
Now they're trying to pimp the Left Forum. A gathering of tired Socialists and Communists who get together once a year to pretend they do something when all they ever do is what the Democratic Party tells them to.
They'll have their usual 'talks' which are workshops that accomplish nothing. Ever. But one way they could have gotten attention? Using the AP scandal to publicize their workshops on Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks.
Please, grasp it's not just that they're losers, it's that they're stupid losers.
Forever unable to connect with 'the masses' due to their derision of them.
Ruth's been corresponding with a labor 'writer.' This isn't David Bacon, by the way. David's his own thing, his own drum. He doesn't take orders from anyone and keeps his head down. We highlight David's work as much as we can here so I don't want anyone thinking it's David.
This guy isn't a reporter. He does more 'features' or 'columns' or whatever.
He's been in labor leadership.
And Ruth asked me to look at an e-mail. He's ranting about how much he hates people, how dumb people are, blah, blah, blah.
And this is a labor 'leader'?
If you're wondering, this labor 'leader' is among those pissing on AP. At least privately. (I've never read his published writing and have no interest -- not his labor writing, not his other bad writing.)
In a working group, a functioning collection of individuals, you wouldn't need a reason to defend the AP, you'd just do it because it's the right thing to do. Instead the Danny Schecters of the world thought what we needed was their garbage. Why, in 1920, the AP . . .
Who gives a ___? Honestly, who does?
It's not as if any of these people are doing a damn thing with their own spaces -- bad columns, bad radio. They're not doing a damn thing. Not one of these jerks has noted what Tim Arango (New York Times) reported last September, Barack's sending US forces back into Iraq.
They can't deal with that. It's too much for them. They need the same easy topics that everyone else talks about. They're a mob. An unruly mob trying to start up lynching every month. They're useless.
I would argue that today, in order to deflect attention from the massive deaths in Iraq, a staged event took place.
Here's Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN), "Iraqi troops raided a suspected terror cell of five people who
specialize in making chemical compounds for sarin, mustard and nerve
gases, the defense ministry said Saturday." Here's Al Jazeera:
The members of the cell were preparing to launch attacks
domestically, and also had a network to smuggle the toxins to
neighbouring countries, and also to Europe, Canada and the United
States, Askari said.
The members of the cell were preparing to launch attacks
domestically, and also had a network to smuggle the toxins to
neighbouring countries, and also to Europe, Canada and the United
States, Askari said.
Reuters notes:
Officials showed reporters three suspects dressed in yellow jumpsuits
with their heads covered by masks. They also displayed bottles of
chemicals and other lab equipment as well as remote controlled toy
helicopters authorities said the men planned to use to disperse the gas.
Judith Miller lives. Judith Miller lives in an non skeptical press filled with stenographers who willingly jot down every word, can't confirm any of it but duly repeat it and consider that to have been journalism.
With one exception. This is from Adam Schreck's report for the Associated Press:
Reporters were shown four of the alleged suspects, who were hooded, and a
table displaying beakers and jars of chemical compounds. At one point,
soldiers wearing gas masks and gloves brought out containers containing
alleged chemical ingredients. Neither Askari nor the reporters at the
news conference were given any protective gear.
Yes, that is strange. Iraq doesn't care for the press but would the government really risk killing reporters and what of Askari?
Seems like a bit of staged drama took place in the hopes that it would change the topic of the news cycle.
Only one outlet bothered to raise even the most basic question.
And where was Heidi? Has Law and Disorder Radio bothered to cover Iraq? No. They were scheduled to ne morning in December. They were supposed to cover the fate of women and girls in Iraqi prisons. But instead Michael Smith and Michael Ratner decided to stroke their sexism and riff for ten minutes on how awful they thought a film directed by a woman was. Neither had seen the film. The film hasn't killed anyone, the film hasn't raped anyone. The film hasn't imprisoned anyone. Women and girls in Iraqi prisons are said to be abused and raped. They could have used the spotlight from a US radio program.
Danny Schechter used Iraq to make a documentary and enrich his pockets and advance his name. But he doesn't even try to keep up with Iraq today. He's clueless.
For four years, they did nothing on Iraq. Because they never cared about Iraq, they never cared about Iraqis. It was all about Bush for them. For the last years, it's been all about Barack. And Iraqis have suffered, they've had their votes denied, they lived with birth defects, currently they're terrorized by the Nouri's US-trained and funded SWAT force, the suffering never ends. But none of that mattered in the last years.
The so-called 'left' media of The Nation, et al, that huge useless circle jerk that can't report but can do a lot of columns, has wasted everyone's time with nothing but Barack-mania.
They're not fit to be considered adults. They should all be ashamed of themselves.
They thought they were better than the AP. The AP crashes, the AP rises. It's there every day trying. These cowards who couldn't defend it? They don't even try.
In Philipp Stolzl's Erased (screenplay by Arash Amel), Aaron Eckhart asks Olga Kurylenko, "How did you become everything we fought against?" They should have to answer that question today, all those useless pieces of trash who couldn't defend the AP. Of course, if they were honest, they'd just crib Kurlenko's reply in the film, "It's just business, Ben."
It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)
The number of US service members the Dept of Defense states died in the Iraq War is [PDF format warning] 4488.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
i hate the war
the ballet
