lundi 31 mars 2003

Casualties: high profile ... and low This "morning" we had this from the 'Wall Street Journal' on Peter Arnett's controversial media activity in Iraq. Now he's been sacked. It's big news. [Later: Arnett's response.] Zimbabwe's been wiped off the media map. It shouldn't be: "As the Zanu PF government tightens its grip on power, musicians and revellers are increasingly being caught up in what has become an orgy of police and army brutality." The Zimbabwe Standard has the story (site can be slow to load). 11:38:45 PM  link   your views? [] Reconstruction? Well, that's that: back to weblogging rather than fiddling with it! Somehow, I even managed to persuade my alter ego to write an "about" page... Away from the appalling things happening in Iraq, it's been nice to see Tony Blair making up a little with Jacques Chirac again, in that weekend move which cooled off a few French pals smouldering at the charge that "all this is France's fault for that veto threat". Unsolicited missives about the "real" reasons for war (warning: goes to Flash site) still do the rounds, but to my mind Bush himself is less the villain of the piece than most of these would have it. He's never been much more than an instrument of others (rather more obviously as a Republican president than a Democratic one, according to colleague Richard who knows more about the machinery of these parties than I do). If Seymour Hersh's much talked-about article in today's 'New Yorker' about 'Strangelove' Rumsfeld is to be believed, it could be not just "what price reconstruction?" but "where next?". In 'Le Monde', cartoonist Plantu's daily comment has been getting better and better, particularly when he takes a look at the other side. Should a caption translation be necessary, it's "Happily you're there to def..." "Shut your face!" 7:04:11 PM  link   your views? []

nick b. 2007 do share, don't steal, please credit under artistic licence terms; contributing friends (pix, other work) retain their rights.