Media gems - Tim Franks of the BBC collects clichés and calls the result a diary

If you want to do the same, here is the recipe:

• Deny that the place has a tradition which it obviously has (cartoons, in this case): "But in the Middle East, there has not been much of that tradition."
• Use a simplistic argument to explain your false claim. Religion is what works best: "Islamic tradition has discouraged figurative depiction of human beings; in Judaism, pictures are used only sparingly."
• Now, finish by insisuating that a pro-US dictatorship is better than other dictatorships. In order to do that, what better than an unverified claim by someone from the region? "At least, he said, Jordan is in a "much, much better situation" than Syria, among other Middle Eastern countries. "

The piece of junk is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7945817.stm

P.S.: I am among those who responded to that article. The BBC published it on that page.

Plain good old colonialism

"En refusant cette responsabilité, la France ne serait pas seulement infidèle à ses alliés. Elle serait surtout infidèle à elle-même, à sa grandeur et à sa vocation. Il s'agit d'un choix qui engage l'identité de notre nation. Un choix d'alliance et de valeurs. Et davantage encore le choix d'un destin."

Source: http://www.lemonde.fr/opinions/article/2009/03/17/la-france-dans-l-otan-fidele-a-son-destin-par-bernard-kouchner_1168754_3232.html