A Gray Tuesday

I watched the complete Mike Wallace/Ahmadinejad interview on C-SPAN last evening. All I can say is “What a tool.” Both of ‘em. Actually, Wallace did a credible fair job. And the CBS editing job was pretty good, too. I had read somewhere (no link) that one of the conditions Ahmadinejad had in granting the interview was that the entire interview had to be broadcast, not just an edited portion. Thus: enter C-SPAN. You didn’t miss anything if you only saw the “60 Minutes” version. Wait. You did miss something. “60 Minutes” doesn’t take viewer calls after the program is over; C-SPAN does. You missed a bevy (flock? covey?) of serious moonbats calling in to condemn US policy towards Iran. Those idiots upset me a lot more than Ahmadinejad…I knew Ahmadinejad was an idiot, going in. I’m never prepared for my fellow Americans who side with those who would kill us. I should know better.

Bernard Goldberg (author of Bias, among other things) thinks Mike Wallace did a good job. He also thinks Ahmadinejad is media-savvy. I agree with Goldberg about Ahmadinejad.

Speaking of The Unhinged (Brit Division)…From The Independent (UK), this, on the US media’s Hezbollah War reporting:

As the conflict has gone on, the media interpretation of it has only hardened. Essentially, the line touted by cable news hosts and their correspondents - closely adhering to the line adopted by the Bush administration and its neoconservative supporters - is that Hizbollah is part of a giant anti-Israeli and anti-American terror network that also includes Hamas, al-Qa'ida, the governments of Syria and Iran, and the insurgents in Iraq. Little effort is made to distinguish between these groups, or explain what their goals might be. The conflict is presented as a straight fight between good and evil, in which US interests and Israeli interests intersect almost completely. Anyone who suggests otherwise is likely to be pounced on and ripped to shreds. (ed: emphasis mine)

Hmmm. Written as if the writer believes my bold bits aren’t true. I guess it’s only us neocons who have the intellectual capacity to recognize an organized, orchestrated threat when we see one. The “goals” of Iran and its proxies seem pretty damned clear to me. On the other hand, I suppose The Independent would prefer the American media cover the war in the same manner as the BBC’s “fair and balanced” approach, or, to cite another “correct” example, CNN International’s coverage. Yeah, that would be good. My ass.

C-SPAN televised yesterday’s Daily Rant from good ol’ Hassan, a 30-minute harangue that was hard to watch, but watch it I did. I don’t think Nasrallah has been to Hezbollah media “charm school” (if there is such a thing). To say he rambles is today’s gross understatement. I did take one thing away from his rant, however. It’ll be a cold day in Hell before Hezbollah disarms. Israel and Lebanon are in for a long hard slog vis-à-vis Hezbollah. One feels bad for the Lebanese, as there appear to be no good choices here. It looks like another civil war is brewing; that or the establishment of a Shi’a theocracy. Nasrallah is already beginning to act like a head of state. I’ll be totally surprised if this cease-fire lasts longer than 72 hours.

Today’s Pic: The Tetons, May 2000. It was flippin’ cold.

Just so you know…I finally (gasp!) did the frickin’ laundry yesterday. Based on this year’s Laundromat Schedule, I have enough clean clothes to last me until hockey season begins.