Thursday, March 19, 2009

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.


Tuesday, March 17, 2009

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