Is anyone else as annoyed with the CNN coverage of the tragedy in Mumbai? It's not just the total eclipse of every other story in the world, it's the obsessive attempt to tie this to al Qaeda. Sure it's possible, but at this stage all kinds of things are possible, yet we have Wolf Blitzer inter alia, asking one "expert" after another and getting the same "uh, we don't know, it could be anyone."
Blitzer: Yes, but they're all saying these people had combat training
Expert: But of course India and Pakistan have been fighting in places like the Kashmere for decades and both sides have many, many combat veterans; many groups have many reasons to want to hurt India.
Blitzer: yes, but they're organized - like Qaeda. They have funding, like Qaeda.
Expert: So? The Boy Scouts are organized and it will be weeks or longer before anyone knows who they are.
Blitzer: Qaeda, Qaeda, They could attack us. Qaeda, Qaeda. Oh the humanity!
And on, and on all day long while the "Possible al Qaeda connection" banner scrolls across the bottom of the screen. It won't be too much longer before I have to conclude that these people have no other agenda than ratings and no scruples about fomenting fear and hysteria.
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6 comments:
All I get for US National news is Fox. Other than initially, they haven't been touting an Qaeda tie in. There was some talk that maybe they received some Qaeda training.
It's a sad day when CNN is less responsible than Fox. Blitzer, at the moment, is continuing to put words in the mouths of interviewees about Al Qaeda. I've had the thing on all day and it's been this way since about 9:00AM: QaedaQaedaQaedaQaeda and "searching for the fingerprints of Al Qaeda.
Is it typical of Americans that we think everything is about us? India has its own enemies.
Al Kaida seems to be staple fare in US politics as well as in various american TV series.
However, there is no action worhwhile mentioning it.
Georg
Qaeda is a convenient bogey man. If we didn't have them, we'd have to invent them.
If we didn't have them, we'd have to invent them.
Our government probably did. Al Qaeda means "the base". Look at every other "Islamic" group in the world and they don't choose silly ass names like "the base". That's a Western word and a Western concept.
Al Qaeda is a boogeyman invented by the CIA to keep the sheeple in line. Good cop bad cop.
I used to rib people about Bush talking about his base by calling it his Qaeda, but nobody got it.
Faced with he evidence that the Mumbai guys were called Lashkar e Toiba, CNN briefly started calling them "Qaeda linked Lashkar e toiba" Too much of a tongue twister though and they've stopped for the moment.
Providing bogey men is so profitable that, ever since the Soviets fell apart, it's been necessary to at least augment the news and sometimes all but create diabolical enemies. Obviously it works.
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