What the MSM ignores...

... in Iraq is something you shouldn't.  So I send you to Michael Yon and his photo essay on Muslims and Christians attending a Catholic service... together.  An excerpt with photo follows:

Today, Muslims mostly filled the front pews of St John’s. Muslims who want their Christian friends and neighbors to come home. The Christians who might see these photos likely will recognize their friends here. The Muslims in this neighborhood worry that other people will take the homes of their Christian neighbors, and that the Christians will never come back. And so they came to St John’s today in force, and they showed their faces, and they said, “Come back to Iraq. Come home.” They wanted the cameras to catch it. They wanted to spread the word: Come home. Muslims keep telling me to get it on the news. “Tell the Christians to come home to their country Iraq.”

One would think that this would be news worthy.  One would think that it should lead a 6:30 network news show.  One would think that perhaps this would be on the front page of their local paper. 

One would be wrong.  This is news fit NOT to print, fit instead to ignore.

Why?

Simple.  It's a sign that a corner has been turned in Iraq.  It's a sign that needs to be seen to be believed.  Yet instead, it's ignored.

And some continue to think that our media is not biased.

What colossal idiots.

In the mean-time, there are those of us who shake our heads in disgust at the white-washing being perpetrated, at the gullibility of those being white-washed, at the good news ignored and the bad news made up, all to do what? 

To foist a lie.  To fool the foolish.  To fill the mindless and feed their hatred and fuel the continued vilification of those who see the lie for what it is. 

The Anchoress describes what's happening aptly:

Now, I grant you, it is the nature of the news business to feature the sensational stuff; “if it bleeds it leads” is a real philosophy. If a thousand NYC taxicabs get through a day without an accident, that’s not news; if one jumps the curb and kills 8 bystanders - yes, it’s news. But if a hundred bystanders are killed a month - for several months - and then that stopped happening, it seems like that would be newsworthy, particularly if the good citizens of NYC had been fretting and worrying about such events.

Likewise, when the press has done its job to keep Americans informed on the deaths, setbacks and problems endured by her sons and daughters in the military, should they not also keep Americans informed of the successes of those same sons and daughters? Seems to me, that’s not asking very much. Seems sensible, in fact, particularly when you think of the press as a vanguard of the public trust.

I must ask, if the President of the United States had had a D after his name when he deposed Saddam Hussein and liberated a few million people and tried to establish a Democracy in the midsts of tyranny and tribal skirmishes - and if it looked like he was, after a very difficult time and some serious missteps - succeeding, do you really think you wouldn’t be hearing about it? 

Come on - the last president who had a “D” after his name saw the 5.6% unemployment rates trumpeted as “essentially full employment” with no “ifs, ands or buts” about it. Every day was a rainbow day when the last President was in office, and most of the news was good news. If the stock market went up - you heard about it. If it went down, that was just a correction and some profit-taking; no big whoop. And even if American interests and vessels were being blown up here, or overseas, there was no terrorism. The only real terrorist was the homegrown one, and I think he was the only one put to death for it, too, if I recall. When the American president has a D after his name, the troops that were deployed were never in harm’s way, and they were all going to be “home by Christmas.”

If the American President had a D after his name, do you think you would have to be your own news service in order to get some relief from the unendingly bleak-everything-everywhere-is-bad-and-the-world-will-continue-to-spin-into darkness and all-nations-will-continue to-hate the USA until-W-is-out-of-office and -our-guy-presumably-Hillary is-in-the- White House?

It’s going to take getting another D into the White House for good news to be allowed out to play in the American psyche, again.  It may well take getting another D into the White House for our troops to be able to rely upon their funding, for their heroism to be noted and applauded with appropriate fanfare.

You know she's nailed it.  You know it.

All of what we see, and what we don't see, in the media, the MSM, is about getting another D in the White House.  And that's all that matters. 

Thankfully there are those like Michael Yon who bring you not just the story but the accompanying images, words and images that bring you the truth.

And truth, as it has been throughout the ages, is so effectual.

Which is why they try to suppress it.

Comments

[Joe]

Really, she's created a straw man argument--create a fake premise and then prove it (or prove it false).

When we talk mainstream media, I assume that means that the Chicago Tribune, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Washington Times, Fox News, and Clearchannel all are examples of--what? The NFM--NeoFringe Media?

Cmon--all you have to do is read the papers of the past or review the news stories. Journalists (honest, real, professional ones, anyway) look for the story--no matter the party of the person in power. It's naive at best and propagandistic at worst to claim that a story is NOT being told simply because of political bent of reporters.

Too, let's remember that the owners of NBC, ABC, the New York Times, and Fox News are all capitalists...plain and simple.

[Rick]

I couldn't disagree with you more Joe (and hey, thanks for stopping by... hope you and yours are doing fine) as my latest post details.

[salvages]

It's a sign that a corner has been turned in Iraq.

Uh, no, not really.

You do know that before the invasion the religious groups got along better in Iraq than anywhere else in the Middle East right? That it was the illegal invasion and occupation that opened the rifts up. So at best this photo merely suggests that a bit of Iraq has returned to the status quo.

So no, no corner turned.

And if you look at the other parts of Iraq:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcWJu9bbzrJZ7uNHjvMn0BuTGqHQD8T19CN80

Despite a decline in violence in Iraq, northern Iraq has become more violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere, the region's top U.S. commander said.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=75396

IRAQ: Extremists fuel anti-women violence in Basra

Women not wearing the traditional dress and head scarf, known as hijab, in Basra risk being killed by extremists
BAGHDAD, 20 November 2007 (IRIN) - Anti-women violence in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, about 600 km south of the capital, Baghdad, has increased markedly in recent months and has forced women to stay indoors, police and local NGOs have said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL2071260320071120

A car bomb killed one person and wounded six in the Bayaa district of southwestern Baghdad, police said. Another police source said two people had been killed.

You can see it's business as usual.

But it's a very nice picture and really so worth the countless lives lost and ruined.

[tim]

Yes, Iraq was better off with Saddam in power.

[Mommynator]

You're right, of course, salvages.

We had all those cool rape rooms, that awesome plastic shredder to feed people through, the biological and chemical experimentation on the general populace, the beheadings and hangings and electrical implements to the gentals, as well as the fear and the attempt to drive wedges between various factions of the population. Yep just good times all around.

A little story to illustrate.

During my son's first deployment, he had a chance to visit one of Saddam's palaces near Baghdad. Magnificent looking place until you got up close and personal with the construction.

Seems that Saddam didn't give two craps or a flying handshake if he had the best artisans or tradesmen around, if you were told to hang a chandelier and attach it to the electrical, you damn well better do it even if you hadn't a clue. If you were told to lay tile even if you didn't know exactly how it should be done properly, you did it. Because if you didn't, you and your family would be treated to one of the above-named delights.

He has photos of the burned ceilings and walls, the cracked and detached tiles and all the rest of the structural horrors. He said it was actually dangerous to walk through certain parts of the palace because it was so structurally unsound.

Yeah, sounds like the good life to me, salvages, doesn't it?

Oh, in case you think I'm not telling truth about the photos, go to this link:

http://www.xanga.com/acidbeaver?nextdate=6%2f18%2f2006+11%3a19%3a9.530&direction=p

Just keep paging down and read the commentary. You'll clearly see the shoddy (but understandably so) work.

[salvage]

So what exactly is your point? That because Saddam was evil it doesn't matter what happens in Iraq?

Bad things still happen to Iraqis, you get that right? They still live in a miserable and dangerous place only instead of that danger and misery coming from Saddam it comes from a bunch of Saddam wannabees, religious fanatics, Blackwater cowboys, stray JDAMS, criminals and depending on what sect you are and what area you're in the Iraqi police and governemnt.

The only difference is that instead of the misery being Saddam's fault it's now America's responsibility.

At the cost of thousands of soldier's lives, thousands of more limbs and billions of dollars.

And there's also the reality that four million Iraqis have fled Iraq, they didn't do that when Saddam was around. Kind of a clue huh?

But to admit Iraq a failure would be to admit that your Dear Leader was in error and that's unpossible!

[Mommynator]

salvage - honestly, you need to up your medications.

We liberate the Iraqis so they can live without fear.

Fewer terrorists are made because people can actually live like human beings.

We gain an ally who will help in the fight against terrorists and terrorism.

And you think that's bad.

Interesting universe you live in.

[Morgan K Freeberg]

Chasing down a source for your claim that four million refugees have left Iraq, provides a fascinating insight into your thinking, or the thinking of whoever fed you this piece of propaganda...both of those, I would venture to guess.

The phone calls were chilling. The voice on the end always delivering the same message: Don't work with the foreigners.

Gorges Toma, an Iraqi electrician who worked with Western contractors, did what he was told and stopped working. But it did little to help save his brother whose charred body was found in his car. "Right after I stopped [working], they killed my brother," Toma says. He sold his car and anything else of value and moved his family of nine to Turkey, where they remain more than two and a half years later.

The Toma family is among the growing refugee population to have fled Iraq since the war began in March 2003. According to the U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, more than 2.2 million Iraqis have sought refuge in neighboring countries...

So I would guess this has some overlap with whatever it is you're reading, and your summary of it is "instead of the misery being Saddam's fault it's now America's responsibility." A-holes and d-heads threaten the Iraqi locals, the Iraqi locals comply, the a-holes and d-heads torch them alive anyway, the locals that are left naturally leave because the a-holes and d-heads aren't going to stop being a-holes and d-heads.

So there's a refugee crisis now.

In your world, it's George Bush's fault. Just like hurricanes, I guess.

Mommynator's right. Up the meds. If they're down, that is...or take 'em down if they're up.

[salvage]

>So I would guess this has some overlap with whatever it is you're reading,

There are refugees within Iraq, people who were forces to leave one area and are now destitute in another.

You should read more.

>In your world, it's George Bush's fault. Just like hurricanes, I guess.

Simple questions; would there be four million displaced Iraqis if President Bush had not invaded Iraq for non-existent WMD? What if Bush had been warned that this is exactly what would have happened as a result of an Iraqi occupation from an impeachable source, would it be his fault then?

>We liberate the Iraqis so they can live without fear.

They’re still living in fear, that’s why four million of them have run away. Did you know that’s the biggest refugee crisis in the Middle East since the formation of Israel? Did you know that all of the terrorist movements against Israel were formed in refugee camps?

>Fewer terrorists are made because people can actually live like human beings.

There are more terrorists and terrorism thanks to the invasion, this is not my opinion this is a fact that has been confirmed by every major intelligence and counter terrorism agency in the world, including the CIA. The refugee crisis is the exact sort of pool that al Qeada can draw on for recruits. America is making tomorrow’s terrorists today. Iraq’s already dilapidated infrastructure has been wrecked further as well as her economy. Clean water and electricity are harder to come by there now than ever before.

>We gain an ally who will help in the fight against terrorists and terrorism.

You have gained nothing of the sort, Iraq can't even handle her own terrorist, how on Earth are they going to help the rest of the world? Did you know that Iraq has multiple terrorist attacks a day? Did you know that America has lost many allies over Iraq and that her approval rating is down the world over? Or have you not noticed the “Coalition of the Willing” has shrunk? If Iraq is such a success wouldn't it make sense that more nations would want to join to share in that success?

>And you think that's bad.

Yes. Don't you?

>Interesting universe you live in.

Yeah, I’m the one with the reality problems, please prove anyone of my statements above wrong.

It’s hysterical, it really is the depth of self-delusion on display here, you truly believe that Bush’s America, no matter what, can do no wrong. North Korea could use citizens like you.

[Morgan K Freeberg]

>You should read more.

I claim victory, since it's by now WELL established this is what you say when cornered.

But I'll press on anyway.

The number you tossed out was four million. I tried to find something that would substantiate it, and this is one of the very few pieces I could find that came anywhere close to it.

It says "According to the U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, more than 2.2 million Iraqis have sought refuge in neighboring countries, most of them in Syria and Jordan. Another two million Iraqis have been displaced inside their own country, according to UNHCR."

For a total of 4.2 million. IF you believe everything uncritically, with a bias toward pushing the number up.

You should read the things you're trying to attack, more carefully. And you should cite your sources better.

[salvage]

>I claim victory, since it's by now WELL established this is what you say when cornered.

Claim...? That's all it is for you isn't it? It's not right or wrong, it's win or lose, you've chosen the "Iraq is the right thing!" side so now "victory" is all that matters, not facts not reality.

Sad and pathetic and shows that you'd rather be ignorant and "victorious" than right.

Now, CAN YOU READ? I'm having doubts, did ya notice this:

There are refugees within Iraq, people who were forces to leave one area and are now destitute in another.

See? There are millions of Iraqis who were living their lives in one part of Iraq but thanks to your Dear Leader and his war Iraqis have been divided along sectarian lines making areas they've lived their whole lives far too dangerous to live in. SO THEY LEAVE to areas where they have no support, areas that have their own problems and can't handle an influx of even more poor and desperate souls.

See they're the ones that can't afford the trip out of Iraq proper.

Displacement created an estimated two million internal refugees in a nation with a shattered infrastructure and collapsing economy.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Is that a sign of victory or failure?

Now all the articles that explain this reality are out there, why don't you go and find out for yourself? If I'm wrong y'all come back and let me know.