hmmm... so Blair making my skin crawl isn't the common reaction. Must be latent Irish Republicanism or a contempt for war mongering politicians or some combination thereof, either way it probably doesn't reflect well on me.

Maybe its the accent.

I was gonna say more, then I deleted it, then I felt bad like I should post anyway, ...

post it.

Oh come on Shepps! Don't pussy out now...

Truth be told, I was surprised when the UK came to our defense so quickly. I expected more skepticism from them.

I like Tony Blair. I get a sense from him that he really believes that Saddam should be removed for moral reasons...a "noble purpose," if you will. I don't get that vibe from Bush...maybe it's because I'm so cynical about the Bush administration. Having said this, Blair does seem awfully "yes-like," though it would seem that public support is swinging his way.

C'mon yah candy ass!

Seriously though I caught the news conference today and if Blair can drag Bush kicking and screaming to a workable Palestinian solution, I'll get over it.

Here is the text of Blair's 3/18 House of Commons speech. Its doesnt include the thoughtful delivery, and the skilled debate. Its a better arguement that we've gotten from Bush.

On today's Morning Edition, NPR's Anne Garrels reported that supplies of valium were running low in Baghdad. Parents are swiping it up to give it to their kids (apparently, to calm them). Great...not only will they be hungry, but now they'll be drug addicts!

It is far easier to sleep through bombing than the screams of a child.

I have slept through any number of large explosions and thunderstorms (including a power transformer blowing off a power pole DURING a thunderstorm.

There is something in the frequency range of screaming child that just gets your attention, no matter how deep into REM sleep you get.

Perhaps we should include a drug kit in each box on the relief convoys. When the trucks arrive in Baghdad, the kids will beat their parents to the trucks.

Fuck, let's throw some oxycontin on there for fun.

I just saw one of those self-promotional commercials for MSNBC. It was basically MSNBC using reviews that describe how good the frontline reporting of David Bloom is. But one of them struck me as odd, b/c it was from the Washington Post, which works extensively with MSNBC.

Granted, I've liked David Bloom's reports from the field, but perhaps they should have used a more objective source for a review.

From CBC New Brunswick comes the story of a couple living on the Maine-New Brunswick border...and how bizarre things have become since the US went to Code Orange.

In a similar vein comes the story of two towns, different countries, but very much joined.

From MSNBC: The US-Turkey issue--a mutual fuck-up

And lastly, an article that touches on our discussion of yesterday, from the BBC: Dubya and Tony Blair--a perspective of their relationship

Shit...forgot about the stuff I found yesterday...

We've discussed the media coverage in another thread, and how confusing it can be...the BBC analyzes (or is that "analyses") it as well.

Also from the BBC: How Iraqis get their news

And from PRI's The World...an audio history of Iraq.

I've had a chance to really kick back and watch/listen to the 3 major cable news channels (in the US) this weekend. My critique on each one:

--MSNBC: Good, factual-based reporting, good coverage in the field (particularly Peter Arnett), solid analysts (e.g. Norman Schwarzkopf), too much repetition, not a whole lot of slant with a few exceptions (Dan Abrams), a bit too patriotic IMO

--Fox: Good factual-based reporting, gives more of a connected-to-Washington feel, Oliver North in the field is a nice plus, not having to see Geraldo also a plus, a bit too much sarcasm from anchors, most slanted of the three (towards the right)

--CNN: Good factual-based reporting, most experience of the networks, some whiny liberal slant, doesn't seem to have the inside track as it used to, which I think reflects in its reporting

From what I saw of the ratings the night that the war started, NBC was the clear winner, besting ABC by 5 million or so. Add the 4 million from MSNBC and CNBC, and the gap goes to 9 million. Fox News had the most viewers on cable (close to 8 million), beating CNN by almost a million.

Which brings me to ask...do we WANT slant in our newscast? Oh sure, we may claim that we want fair and accurate news, but does it give us comfort to hear viewpoints that are more in-line with our own?

Based on my viewing this weekend, you can get relatively fair and accurate news from the above 3 cable news channels. And each one has well-known personalities. And each one has neato graphics and their own little polls. And, each one fucks up...probably more often than they should. (It's 24 hour news...whaddaya gonna do?)

So, to answer my own question, I would say, yes, I do like to hear those with the same viewpoint as mine. It tells me that I'm not alone. But at the same time, I still want that opposing viewpoint. I want to know why those opposite me feel and think the way they do. And in some cases, it provides humor for me.

Saw Fox do a bit of baiting today -- or was it really news? -- that Peter Arnett was on Iraqi TV, talking about how great the Ministry of Information has been to the reporters and how his reports have really bolstered anti-war sentiment world-wide.

I saw that on CNN, which presents it pretty straight-forward.

If he is indeed a hard dove, it hasn't shown in his reporting, IMO.

An anchor on Fox today was ragging on this editorial (I think this is the right one) in the Baltimore Sun (a pretty liberal newspaper). And that's completely cool, but I wouldn't recommend doing it with a reporter from the Washington Times (apparently owned by the Moonies).

I mostly saw Arnett's little foray into the Iraqi media as major sucking up to the powers that be (for now).

On the other hand, I think that fawning over the Iraqi Ministry of Information (the very name brings Orwellian repression to mind) at the present moment may have been one of those regrettable career moves. Perhaps he'll later claim that he was just buttering them up so he could get the best access to scoops.

"Mr. Arnett, Hamdan Abdul Haleh here...how'd you like an exclusive on the fall of Baghdad?" Yeah, right...