Viti

I feel like I am in a parallel universe. Some Iraqis came upon some Marines, and the Newscaster, in the most "Jesus is so good " or even "Look at these beautiful children we can feed and send to school for 1.00 a day" voice is saying things like

"She is weeping knowing she is surrounded by US Marines and safe finally"

"The precious little boy is just shocked by his good forune, look at him trying to tie his shoelace"

"Wow, what an amazing event to be here, I just can't describe the joy...this woman hugged me and grabbed my hand cried because we are saving them.."

bleh...it's like an Amway pep rally

NOT that I am not pleased to see Iraqis happy to feel safe...but there is something terribly, terribly wrong when they have to lay on the sugar to that extreme in order to justify the EXPLOSIONS in the background. I would want to love on the Americans too because hopefully they won't drop a bomb on themselves and I might be safe amongst them.

Viti

Now a guy is up there with a map talking about today's movements and strategies in Iraq as if it was a football game he was recapping...surreality anyone?

Soyin Milka

I agree with you LadyShea.

Is CNN the only news channel with computer animated simulation of urban combat? I haven't seen anything like that on other news channels so far...

I've been watching a lot of news, from a dozen countries. The americans are the ones showing the most images of grateful irakis. It's the opposite on french TV. I guess this won't surprise many persons. But the french still have reporters in Baghdag and they are still able to go meet people there and talk to them (Under baathist watchful eye I assume). I saw many images of irakis angry at the americans on european news channels.

So much biased news. It becomes difficult to know what are the real feelings of the irakis toward all this. I hope they feel safe enough to tell us soon, and that we'll be ready to listen even if it's not what we want to hear.

Soyin

Zar

I saw most of this segment before I had to turn it off out of embarassment and revulsion. It is fine to give shelter to a family in distress. But they milked and milked and milked it for all it was worth. I couldn't even see where the threat was coming from, and the soldiers around them seemed pretty unconcerned about it (one U.S. soldier was facing toward them and bent over the edge of the mount of dirt they hid behind and away from the direction of the "threat" they were looking at, apparently not too worried about getting his back filled with enemy lead.) The journalist seemed overjoyed at this "exclusive" catch. One could almost say he was only too glad to do his part for the War Party machine back home.

capsaicin67

Sounds like you're watching MSNBC. Yes, there is something embarrassing about their approach. It's all so circusy. Survivor Iraq. The thing that rubs me the wrongest is when they report on the stock market in the same breath as reporting war news. It's gross.

MSNBC also had an anchor last evening that made it clear that he was very dismayed and shocked at Sen. Kerry's comment that we need a regime change in the US, too. He found that very, very disturbing. I found it to be the same shit I'd expect to hear from most politicians trying to compete for the office of president. I don't think I'm very impressed with any of the Dems yet, and would like to see Bush un-elected, but I really didn't get shocked by the use of the word "regime". Journalism has been largely replaced by infomercials for the Republican party and opinion/commentary/entertainment. We still have access to other stuff in the US, certainly, but the mainstream tv and radio is a pretty heavy on the obnoxious, entertainment, agenda driven stuff.

leonarde

Posted:Uh, in what way? How could anyone talk about "today's movements and strategies" in a war WITHOUT sounding quite a bit like a coach or sports commentator? Sports has strategies too and the famous expression "The Battle of Waterloo(?) was won on the playing fields of Eton" is rather old by now and a commonplace. Is this by any chance the FIRST war you've paid attention to while it was happening?

Cheers!

seanie

"The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton" is indeed a famous quote attributed to Wellington.

However it's bollocks.

First off Wellington fucking hated Eton.

Secondly, at the time of Waterloo, Eton didn't have any playing fields.

Clutch

Uh... is this the first time you've wondered about how sports commentators talk? Maybe you should a watch a game some time. LadyShea was remarking on the tone of the discussion -- at least, this much seemed incandescently obvious to me. If it resembled the tone of contemporary sports commentary, this is a damning criticism indeed.

lunachick

Hey, Lady Shea - I guess the people in those tacky "look how we've saved them" shots were speaking Farsi, right? What they were probably saying is "Please don't kill me, I have a family, please don't kill me".

On this side of the Pacific, we've seen a mix - some people looking relieved that their town has been captured; and some angrily shouting down America and crying support for Saddam. And some just crying.

Unfortunately, even with a dollar a day to save that token media child, you'll be lucky to please any majority of people there. But whatever helps the "war effort", right? Whatever makes you feel good.

Besides, why should anyone trust the Americans? - your administration has left Afghanistan high and dry again.

And the cycle continues on spin.

I agree, LS - bleh.

Evangelion

ROTFL! You go, seanie! :notworthy

On another note...

Don't knock it. I was pretty happy the first time I tied my shoelaces all by myself, too.