Tuesday, February 08, 2005
War!
We haven't gone on a warpath lately. Let's.
Timeline of events
Feb. 5, 2005, 4:14 am: (Get some sleep, dudes) Carl Densing at The Cal Patriot Blog posts some whining about some French whining in the form of the magazine L’Anti-Americain.
Highlight: "The founder said that his tabloid is more of a criticism of Bush rather than an attack on American society. Really? Then why not rename it 'L’Anti-Bush'?"
Feb. 7, 2005, 11:07 pm: Lubna Takruri at worldandus (yes, it looked like World Anus to me when I first saw the web addess, too), Francis Pisani's class's webpage for tracking "perceptions of the united states in the world," posts some whining about Densing's whining about French whining. Densing and co. are referred to as "The California Patriots," a dream in the hearts of 49ers fans, and nothing more.
Highlight: "In this post, the patriotic writer spits at France, scoffs at Le Monde, and accuses the tabloid's creator of fueling anti-Americanism under the guise of Bush-criticism. This post's angry tone is amusing."
Feb. 8, 2005, 8:20am: Our resident Frenchie, David Orland at Res Ipsa Loquitur posts some whining about Takruri's whining about Densing's whining about French whining, basically pointing out how not-objective and petty the coverage is.
Highlight: "None of this would be worth mentioning were it not for the curious way the World's Anus has rushed to the defense of what is, to all appearances, an extremely mediocre exercise in journalistic provocation -- for no other reason, it would seem, than that the mediocrity in question is inspired by hatred for the United States."
All parties involved have violated my arbitrary ethics standards. Res Ipsa has no comments, while the Patriot blog is attached to a publication. However, I consider World and Us to have crossed a line by stepping away from its claimed role as a monitor of international sentiment just to take a shot at some group marginally within my blogsphere.
As self-appointed protector of this Berkeley Blogsphere, and tribal elder, I call for a jihad against the pathetic World and Us (which, in its news link section, only links the UK Guardian, I might add) until it either:
a) Is utterly destroyed
b) Ammends its claim to be an objective viewer of international sentiment and admits that it's really just trying to highlight how much people don't like America, and how that's Bush's/Conservatives' fault
(Note that the main source seems to be Takruri, as other posters are more interested in finding out how others think. Get this quote: "Indeed, here is another example of the conservative American right tooting the horn of so-called 'anti-Americanism.'" Those damn conservatives. And the ones on the right, no less. You can find Pisani's objectives here)
c) Actually does what it says it wants to do.
To arms! Drive the infidels from our shores and free local blogging from the clutches of bored "visiting scholars" trying new class project formats! But... uh... do it legally, because I don't need the lawsuits.
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