[cherdano]

Heh, I am quicker than Winston this time:
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand, by the New York Times.

This article is 11 pages, but well worth reading. It describes how many of the "military analysts" appearing on TV are actually colluding behind the scenes with the Pentagon.

[Winstonm]

Actually, having this "outing" appear in the NYT is somewhat of a Catch-22: those who care and can read are not surprised; those that should be aware either don't care or don't read.

[Winstonm]

Here's something new just in from Guardian.uk

Quote

Investigators have identified a number of British arms dealers trading with Tehran, triggering alarm among government officials who fear Iran's nuclear programme may be receiving significant support from UK sources.

The probe by customs officers suggests that at least seven Britons have been defying sanctions by supplying the Iranian air force, its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, and even the country's controversial nuclear ambitions.

Officials say they are perturbed by the number of British dealers who appear to be trading with Tehran, despite a third round of restrictions being recently imposed by the United Nations on exporting arms and components to Iran. However, investigators argue that it is the generous riches being offered by Iran, not any shared ideology, that is seducing the dealers.

Wonder if this will make it into the NYT.

[Winstonm]

Are walls the right solution? (emphasis added)

Quote

Construction began on The Berlin Wall early in the morning of Sunday, August 13, 1961.  In a masterfully-planned operation, spanning just 24 hours, the streets of Berlin were torn up, barricades of paving stones were erected, tanks were gathered at crucial places and subways and local railway services were interrupted, so that within a day the West of Berlin was completely sealed off from the East. As of that same day inhabitants of East Berlin and the GDR were no longer allowed to enter the West of the city (including the 60,000 who had been commuters). In response to international criticism that such drastic measures inevitably drew, the GDR claimed that the barricade had been raised as an ‘anti-fascist protection wall’, and that they had moved to prevent a third world war.

Don't worry - it's for your own good. (emphasis added)

Quote

BAGHDAD — U.S. soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division in a Baghdad district are “building a three-mile protective wall on the dividing line between a Sunni enclave and the surrounding Shiite neighborhood,” according to a U.S. military press release issued Wednesday.

Troops with the 407th Brigade Support Battalion began constructing the wall on April 10 and will continue work “almost nightly until the wall is complete,” the release read.

“The area the wall will protect is the largest predominately Sunni neighborhood in East Baghdad. Majority-Shiite neighborhoods surround it on three sides. Like other religiously divided regions in the city, the area has been trapped in a spiral of sectarian violence and retaliation,” according to the release.

One wall was built by the "bad" guys; the other was built by the "good" guys; other than that, is there really a difference?

[goodwintr]

No, of course, no difference, if you accept the explanation that the Berlin wall was erected to keep the fascists out.

[cherdano]

Winstonm, on Apr 20 2008, 07:24 AM, said:

Actually, having this "outing" appear in the NYT is somewhat of a Catch-22: those who care and can read are not surprised; those that should be aware either don't care or don't read.

I also find it curious that this thread didn't draw any comments for a while from the crowd that usually loves to discuss anything related to Iraq in the watercooler...

[jdonn]

cherdano, on Apr 20 2008, 12:12 PM, said:

Winstonm, on Apr 20 2008, 07:24 AM, said:

Actually, having this "outing" appear in the NYT is somewhat of a Catch-22: those who care and can read are not surprised; those that should be aware either don't care or don't read.

I also find it curious that this thread didn't draw any comments for a while from the crowd that usually loves to discuss anything related to Iraq in the watercooler...

If you must know I'm too lazy to read 11 pages, so shoot me. I may get around to reading it later though, I trust your recommendation that it's worthwhile.

[Winstonm]

I am of the belief that the propaganda machine - which is about all the MSM is these days - has been discounted already by rational thinkers. This explains the dramatic drop in viewership and increse in the internet as a source of information.

This NYT's "bombshell" simply has little shock value to those who care and is being ignored by those who only want to know who is left standing on American Idol.