NEWSWEEK LIED! PEOPLE DIED!
(CNN) -- Newsweek magazine issued a retraction Monday of a May 9 report on the alleged desecration of the Quran at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The report -- which said American interrogators put copies of the Quran on toilets or in one case, flushed one down a toilet -- was blamed for anti-American riots in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world last week.
- http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf
/05/17/newsweek.quran/index.html
So where are all the protests and chanting from people so concerned over "lies" leading to death? Do you think this guy is going to change his sign?
And why does CNN try to gloss over the fact that people did die? The following paragraph appears near the center of the article (which, as I learned in journalism classes, is the least read section of an article):
CNN confirmed at least four deaths last week stemming from riots in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Newsweek reported rioting in Afghanistan and "throughout much of the Muslim world" last week had "cost at least 15 lives."
Is this another step to the grave for the old liberal mainstream media? They are so quick to jump on any aspect of a story that paints America (and the Bush administration specifically) in a negative light that they don't care if it's true or not.
Thank goodness for people like Arthur Chrenkoff (Good News From Iraq, Good News From Afghanistan, Good News from the Islamic World) who are working to counter balance the "bad news only" tendencies of the old media.
Update: 5/18/04 I be lovin' me some Liberal Larry! I always get a laugh out of reading his site, Blame Bush! (because Bush is to blame for everything). For instance, his latest article covering the Newsweek fiasco entitled "Bush Ruins Newsweek's Credibility with Muslim Fanatics" is classic Liberal Larry and makes the point in a way that most bloggers could never pull off:
But the real victim here is Newsweek. By forcing the magazine's editors to crawl on their knees and apologize for telling the truth or a close fascimile thereof, the Bushies have intentionally and maliciously cast aspersions on Newsweek's credibility. Once the news source of record for both progressive-minded Americans and Muslim fanatics, Newsweek is now drawing skepticism from Muslim fanatics.
I'm still laughing.
