Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Good, the Bad and...


  • The Good
I have to credit NPR with doing a pretty good interview this morning on the dissenting Army captains who published a signed opinion piece in the Washington Post. These officers, who have left the military, offer one interesting take on the war in Iraq. It was especially refreshing to hear them after all the "upbeat" news spinning out of Iraq. Wouldn't it be great if NPR didn't wait for people like these former captains to publish something in the Washington Post and instead did a little more original searching for multiple views and opinions on the Iraq nightmare? NPR's website also links to the website of Luis Carlos Montalvan, one of the captains, which is worth a look.

  • The Bad
Wouldn't be NPR without the bad, would it? Jackie Northam provides one of the stupidest reports on Pakistan and Musharraf that I've heard in a long time. As Porter notes in today's Open Thread below, where is Philip Reeve's expertise on Musharraf and his disappearing uniform? He last talked on the topic over a week ago. Contrast his thoughtful pieces with this worthless filler from Northam:

Inskeep asks her if Musharraf has really given up anything by "taking off his uniform." She responds, "He has given up an enormous amount of power and influence" even though she later admits to Inskeep that he "he handpicked the next head of the army." Then Northam - apparently thinking she's a walking Zogby poll and can speak for the 164,741,924 citizens of Pakistan - tells us "people seem to like him here; they think it's a good choice." In spite of serious human rights shortcomings, Northam reminds us that this handpicked chief "is pro-American though...and most importantly for the US is that he's on board with this fight against terrorism as is Musharraf. And that's important Steve...." Talk about on board - Bush couldn't have said it better himself - or could he?

  • And...
And the ugly? Well there's always plenty of that on NPR, but the commenter, artes moriendi, in the Open Thread below has a deserving candidate - Mara Liasson's sorry piece on the Clintons.

2 comments:

Porter Melmoth said...

Taking off uniforms usually results in underwear exposure or partial, if not total, nudity. I can't figure out why our gal in Islamabad, Jackie N, as well as Dubya himself, don't know that.

IQ testing for both the occupant of the White House and foreign correspondents at NPR is not at all necessary. Because both parties are always right and should never be questioned.

Porter Melmoth said...

Oh, I remember now why Dubya doesn't 'connect the dots' as far as clothes shedding is concerned. H.C. Andersen's 'The Emperor's New Clothes' was not in his childhood repertoire. However, 'My Pet Goat' has been racked up on his adult reading list, along with 'a couple of Shakespeares', plus Camus' existential masterpiece of alienation and crisis of place, 'The Stranger'.