"The purpose of CNN is to make money - and there isn't that much appetite for political coverage which would have small Greenwald-like figures taking a radical leftist snipe at the candidates at every opportunity."

If you are correct, then CNN should not advertise itself as a news organization and its employees should immediately disavow the constitutional priviledges they are accorded as journalists. They could be known only as employees of C?N, Inc. and then they'll fall under the same rules as the rest of us. Instead, they're so afraid of being treated like a real reporter, Helen Thomas, that they piss all over themselves when one of the Princes of Versailles looks at them crosswise.

No one is asking that John King conduct aggressively adversarial interviews. What John King should be doing is asking relevant questions, regardless of whether they are adversarial or not, in a manner which will return an honest and open answer and then let the chips fall where they may. Instead, his questions appear to be formulated from the knees as a sort of journalistic fellatio.

BTW, what's wrong with journalists being adversarial? Nobody is asking these reporters to waterboard the subjects fo their interviews. We're just asking that they apply some rather basic interview skills, get relevant answers and then report the results whatever they may be.....that's called journalism.

"Of course it isn't a fact. Christ was born in Bethlehem."

And you know this? How?

What would have happened if John King just happened to interview one of the Wise Men or Shepherds for Bible, Inc.?

King:"Well, Joseph of Nazareth, did you have a good time over Christmas?"

JoN: "Yes, it was a fine time. We got a lot of presents."

King: "What will you name your new baby?"

JoN: "Well, John. We believe we will name him after yo since you've been so good to us and haven't asked just how Mary got preggars without doing the nasty with me. We will call him 'King of the Jews", Jesus for short."

King: "Wow. I'm flabergasted. I have to rush out now and file my scroll. Thanks for the in-depth interview."

JoN: "See you at Easter in a few years, John. Please ask Judas to come with you."

King: "Will do, pal."

From this interview, you wouldn't know anything about Bethlehem and yet...we even know the exact place the stable was standing. Unlike King, those guys (the scribes) were real journalists.

Better trolls, please.

"Nobody, and I mean nobody, at CNN will be calling John King to the manager's office to admonish him for his ethical breaches.

The whole idea is BS."

Congratulations, Einstein. You've finally begun to understand the problem.

"The provincial police probably knew beforehand that the case had absolutely no standing but decided to stall it as long as it could to prevent adding more fuel to controversy."

Didn't someone once say that "justice delayed is justice denied?"

"Unfortunately, Glenn can never just disagree with someone. He always has to name-call and denigrate, which is schoolyard behavior, not the words of an supposed adult."

Project much?

"(Wonder if the limerick about the lady from Nantucket would now meet a similar fate.)"

That would be quite impossible since the "lady" from Nantucket is a man.

..and now that everyone has repeated that old ditty about the man from Nantucket in their heads.....it's time to get back to the thread.

Proceed.

"I was just appending and venting, I looked at my post afterward, I hope RMP and Pedinska didn't think I was calling them neocon -- I wasn't. I should have put it in a separate note, sorry, I was upset."

Wow! You just made it in under the wire. The Glenn Greenwald Hate Speech Commission was just about the receive a certified complaint from both RMP and Pedinska for your calling them neocons.

Please be more considerate in the future or the GGHSC will hang your ass out to dry.

"BTW, people are continuing to die and blood is continuing to run in Pakistan. A gruesome reminder of what must be sacrificed to get democracy back if it slips away. Stuff this up your Jack Bauer, neocon. These people were trying to protect some protesting lawyers who wanted a restoration of the rule of law. But they don't count, they aren't Americans, they need to live under a dictator because Bush says that dictator is good for us (warning: deeply troubling images of a multiple casualty incident)."

http://lahore.metblogs.com/archives/2008/01/who_will_guard_1.phtml

On a more serious note, I read several of the comments received by the paper which published that story and most are appalled at the violence but they almost uniformly blame the carnage on muslim fanatics.

I wonder if they would object as strenuously to the carnage produced by 40,000 lbs. of high explosive dropped on Southern Baghdad if photos of that carnage were allowed.

What's the difference between someone blowm up by a car bomb and someone blown up by a 500 lb. HE bomb dropped by some airplane driver from 40,000 feet?

{rant}

AND WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE DOING GIVING THE SAUDIS MORE BILLIONS of military aid?

I swear. This country is nuts.

{/rant}

"It is the contemplation of such as this that I am hoping to escape for just a couple of days while singing Carmen Ohio in Key West. I feel your pain too, and will raise a glass in salute to both of you."

Please sing loudly or drink copiously. It may help to drown out the repeated catterwalling of "Hold that Tiger" which I am obligated to perform for the next....ummm 23 days...due to losing a bet with my neighbor. The obnoxious LSU flag on the front of my home is also due to come down at the end of that period so please have at least 2 glasses in salute.