16 February 2007

Accountability, Anyone?

Today brought this wire story from the AP asserting that Iran's elite Quds force is "enmeshed in Iraq". What really, really bothers me about this article is that it presents this - not incidentally the Bushies' latest talking point - as incontrovertible fact, then doesn't really offer anything to back it up. The article states that "[t]o make their case, U.S. military officials this week showed reporters in Baghdad pieces of EFP equipment, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades that they said were directly traceable to Iranian manufacture." The problem is that the writer left out the part where the officials admitted that the direct involvement of the Iranian government in this was not confirmed, but inferred.

Now, do I believe the Iranian government has some involvement in Iraq? Sure. They've got a strong interest in doing so, and it would be naïve to think that they'd stay out of it. What bothers me about the article is that it essentially fowards the Administration's accusation that Iran is directly engaged in a dirty war with us, with no attribution for the main assertions and no real critical analysis. Remember Colin Powell at the UN with his vial of white powder and photos of "mobile chemical weapons factories"? Have the media learned nothing in the past 4 years? How many times does the Bush team have to cry wolf before these reporters realize that they are the butt of his very worn and not-at-all-funny joke?

There's a very good article here about the media's unmitigated use of anonymous sources for such stories. The problem I have with the AP story is that for much of it, the reporter doesn't even quote Anonymous, which to my mind is even worse.

In a related story, country music singer Kenny Chesney asserts that he is not gay.

Take a Deep Breath

Okay, now that I got that off my chest, a little knitting update. Not surprisingly, I had a good bit of time on my hands at work last night, with absolutely nothing coming in for the entire first half of my 15 hour shift. And my hands were being cooperative, so I was able to get a fair bit done on the sweater sleeve, up to the end of the ball I was working with. I still have about another 4.5 inches to go to finish the sleeve, though, as I have longer-than-average arms.

And in case you've forgotten what the yarn I'm using for this looks like, here's a gratuitous bit of yarn porn:

021607NW_Chunky

2 comments:

knitnzu said...

Yeah, no kidding. And lovely yarn porn!

Sheepish Annie said...

The media has become as suspect as their sources these days. Just trying to give us the "quick fix" they think we want rather than the in-depth and accurate information we need to make good decisions.

But the yarn makes me happy...perhaps I can live in my little denial bubble through the weekend at least!