Rathergate.com (Hat tip to Allah)
Category: General
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DMN: Bloggers and Hubris Beat Up Big Media
This morning’s lead editorial in the Dallas Morning News slams CBS over the Killian forgeries (registration required, try bugmenot.com).
In the world of investigative journalism, they don’t come any bigger than 60 Minutes. That’s why the lightning-quick takedown of the venerable CBS News program’s tale of President Bush’s alleged sweetheart Vietnam-era treatment in the Texas Air National Guard was so shocking.
We don’t know for certain if CBS and correspondent Dan Rather were really snookered by forged documents. CBS is sticking by its story that the papers on which it based its damning report were authentic. But that report was shredded by the school of piranhas in the blogosphere – and Old Media reporters who followed quickly in the Web bloggers’ wake.
The attack started immediately after 60 Minutes II aired the report Wednesday. Hours later, posters at the Free Republic Web site noticed something odd about the documents. The lawyer-run Powerlineblog.com site got interested, and then graphic designer Charles Johnson at littlegreenfootballs.com showed on his site how the documents were likely designed using Microsoft Word and its Times Roman font – which did not exist when Mr. Bush was in the Guard.
Sensing blood in the water, the professional sharks at ABC News, Newsweek, The Dallas Morning News and others took big bites out of the report’s credibility in other areas. Result: The story is now about CBS and what looks like its sloppy reporting, not Mr. Bush and what he did during the Vietnam era.
There’s a little more after this, but I think it’s fairly safe to say that the fat lady’s song has started on this story. Also, good to see another MSM recognize the role that Power Line and lgf played in this. INDC Journal and Allah deserved plugs, as well.
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Dien Bien Phu Defenses Weakening Around CBS
Roughly a day ago I compared the CBS stance on Rather’s Bush-Killian documents to the French stance at Dien Bien Phu, their Indochina demise.
Now, it seems the perimeter is weakening to the point of endangerment of penetration.
From INDC Journal, the WaPo lets go with both barrels.
From Wizbang!, Rather’s world crumbles.
From Vodkapundit, CBS News is backing away from the memos.
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Terrorist Group Claims Two Aussies Kidnapped
A terrorist group in Iraq is claiming to have nabbed two Australian nationals.
Two Australian security contractors yesterday became the latest foreigners to be kidnapped in Iraq after militants apparently ambushed their convoy on a road outside Baghdad.
In a statement, a group calling itself the Islamic Secret Army said it would execute both men “without a second chance” unless their government pulled its troops out of Iraq within 24 hours.
The group said it had seized the Australians, together with two east Asian nationals, in the town of Samarra, a Sunni militant stronghold effectively in the hands of the insurgents.
Is no news since the claim actually good news?
IT WAS a good sign that those claiming to have kidnapped two Australians in Iraq had not released the names of their alleged hostages, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
….
Mr Howard said the Department of Foreign Affairs was yet to verify whether a kidnapping had actually occurred, or whether it was a hoax, but said in past kidnapping cases, the names of those held had been released and their passports displayed on television.
In fact, maybe the claim holds as much water as CBS’ Killian documents.
Australia has accounted for all its nationals known to be working in Iraq following a claim by a radical Islamic group to have kidnapped two Australians, Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said Tuesday.
“At this stage we can find no evidence that any Australians are missing or have been kidnapped, but nevertheless we’ve got to be cautious in what we say because further information could turn up as the day goes on,” Downer said.
He said the Australian embassy in Baghdad had accounted for all 88 civilian Australians registered with it.
“We have also checked with four companies that we know employ Australians and those companies have all accounted for the Australians,” Downer said in a television interview.
“There is, though, one of those four companies that is doing a recheck to finally clarify the situation,” he said.
Let’s hope that this is nothing. However, with elections pending in Australia, one would expect that further moves by the scumbags against our allies are likely to be attempted thanks to the Spanish example.
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Rather’s Dangerous Game
With its firm stance supported only by weak defenses, CBS is walking a high-wire with Dan Rather’s assertions that the Bush-Killian documents are valid. These defenses are repeatedly rapidly overwhelmed by the research of the conservative side of the blogosphere, and this has led me to re-evaluate the situation.
Short of serious substantiation, CBS has two choices: first, crawdad on its assertions and confess its egregious errors in both methodology and mission; second, lay low and continue to deny, hoping it blows over or the rest of the mainstream media rides in to the rescue.
This brings to mind the French at Dien Bien Phu.
From Summons of the Trumpet by Dave Richard Palmer:
The French and the Viet Minh fought the climactic battle at an unimportant and unimposing village high in jungle-covered hills near the Laotian border — Dien Bien Phu. (Memories of that battle would return fourteen years later to haunt and distract American leaders at a crucial moment.) In January 1954, Viet Minh General Vo Nguyen Giap surrounded a large French force at Dien Bien Phu, isolating it from all support except that dropped by parachute. Through February and into March the French held on doggedly. But they were doomed without help — and by March they knew it. Desparately, Paris asked Washington to intervene.
Is CBS setting up MSM’s own Dien Bien Phu, with the bloggers in the role of the surrounding forces? It would certainly seem that the rehashing of the old AWOL stories would be the equivalent of “an unimportant and unimposing village” in this election year. The stakes on the confrontation? Nothing short of the credibility of the entirety of the old media. If the bloggers retreat into the jungle and let Rather escape, then the current situation continues. If critical mass of the story is reached with the public, MSM goes into a crisis. Will the other branches of the old media play it neutral and see how things play out, or will they do their actual job and seriously look at Rather’s claims? Their credibility may hinge on it, as the Swiftboat Vets story has shown that MSM no longer has exclusive claim to the public’s attention.
CBS and Rather are potentially setting up their own Dien Bien Phu. Will the rest of the old media support them or do what’s right and what’s their role in society — investigate and cover the story?
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Bombastic Gore Back on the Stump
After toning down his rhetoric for the Democrats’ Boston shindig, former Vice-President Al Gore has once again bitterly gone over to the Dark Side and returned as Darth Gore. There’s little new in this story, but I’m linking it because I found humor in it.
First, the accompanying picture:
Second, the initial Republican response was a side-splitter:
GOP strategist Keith Appell likens him to “some kind of cheerleader on acid.”
“Some of the things he has said have been outrageous and he says them in this high-pitched scream,” Appell said. “I really don’t know what to call that.”
Third, pollsters are very astute observers:
Pollster Andy Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, said Gore is “emblematic of happier days” to many Democrats.
But Kohut cautioned that “swing voters tend to be moderate, and if he comes across as too over the top, there’s a risk.” The pollster added, though, “Certainly he’s not any more over-the-top than Dick Cheney.”
Swing voters tend to be moderate? Voters who cannot decide between left and right tend to be in the center? Really? Who’d have thunk it. I feel now that I can go to the polls and consider myself an informed voter. Thank you, Mr. Kohut.
And thank you, Associated Press, for the laughs.
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Upping the Ante
I’ve previously posted about the $10,000 challenge. Checking back, I see that the author has been deluged with people contacting him.
Amazingly, my email was flooded with not only people trying to claim the prize, but individuals who so strongly shared my belief that the documents were forgeries that they too, pledged significant amounts of money to the challenge. As of now, including my initial $10,000, the amount pledged stands at $37,900.
Also, the challenge has spawned another web page, stop60minutes.com, which is still in its infancy.
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Another Expert Weighs in on the Forgery
Hat tip to LGF for this tidbit by Joseph M. Newcomer, a self-described pioneer of electronic typesetting with a long list of credentials. He opens with this broadside:
There has been a lot of activity on the Internet recently concerning the forged CBS documents. I do not even dignify this statement with the traditional weasel-word “allegedâ€, because it takes approximately 30 seconds for anyone who is knowledgeable in the history of electronic document production to recognize this whole collection is certainly a forgery, and approximately five minutes to prove to anyone technically competent that the documents are a forgery. I was able to replicate two of the documents within a few minutes. At time I a writing this, CBS is stonewalling. They were hoaxed, pure and simple. CBS failed to exercise anything even approximately like due diligence. I am not sure what sort of “expert” they called in to authenticate the document, but anything I say about his qualifications to judge digital typography is likely to be considered libelous (no matter how true they are) and I would not say them in print in a public forum.
Newcomer then proceeds, at length and with graphic examples, to dissect and destroy CBS’s defense against the MS Word argument.
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‘Large cloud’ Seen Over North Korea
CNN is reporting a mysterious cloud in North Korea that may or may not be the result of a nuclear test.
A large cloud appeared over North Korea in satellite images several days ago, but a U.S. official told CNN it is “no big deal” and not the result of a nuclear explosion.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency is reporting a mushroom cloud over two miles (4 km) wide and a massive explosion in North Korea’s northernmost province on September 9 — the 56th anniversary of North Korea’s founding.
South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Sunday the government was aware of the reports and is checking them.
The U.S. official said the cloud could be the result of a forest fire.
None of North Korea’s known nuclear sites are in the country’s northernmost provinces.
However, The New York Times Saturday reported that President Bush and his top advisers recently received intelligence reports that could indicate North Korea is preparing a nuclear test, citing senior officials with access to the intelligence.
With so little definate, I’ll refrain from comment at this time other than to say I doubt little will be made known about this any time soon. I also note that the American official suggests forest fire while CNN’s URL includes “blast.”
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Luxembourg Holds Massive World War II Liberation Celebrations
Luxembourg celebrates, remembers and thanks.
Luxembourg was only a brief stop for American forces sweeping through France on their way to Germany in World War II. But the liberation of the tiny country of 450,000 left strong memories.
There were bands, speeches, church services, and commemoration medals as this small country looked back to remember the day that its precious freedom was restored from German occupation.
In one ceremony at Luxembourg’s American military cemetery, where General George Patton is buried, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker hailed the American contribution.
“This is a day of thankfulness to these brave American soldiers who from the other side of the ocean came to Europe, and came to this tiny country, to liberate this country,” the prime minister said.
Luxembourg invited 20 American veterans who took part in the liberation 60 years ago, to return to the country for observances. The oldest of those, 90-year-old John Colligan of New York, said recognition means a lot.
“These people, 60 years later, they’re doing it because of appreciation,” he said. “And that’s a long time to keep your mind set that you want to show your appreciation. I admire them for that.”
Pretty good stuff. And then I came to this:
Luxembourgers have their own perspectives on the war. For 82-year-old Victor Fischbach, it was unique. He was forced into the German army like many other able-bodied Luxembourg men. But he later escaped, and, with the help of a priest, spent 13 months hiding in a Luxembourg church with several of his countrymen. Mr. Fischbach says liberation will never be forgotten by Luxembourg.
“When an American speaks about Europe he must think that Luxembourg is, maybe, the best friend, the strongest friend,” said Mr. Fischbach. “And we’ll never forget what we are owing to America. From time to time, I go to the military cemetery, the American cemetery. I go alone and I cry, I cry. I can’t help, I cry. And I say, go there. If you don’t believe any more in America. Go there, and you will find again, and see again what they have done for us.“
Not all have forgotten or, rather, have chosen to not remember.