So, where IS all the good news?

Mephisto

Philosopher
Mephisto
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
6,064
We've heard ad nauseum how the media pays no attention to the "good news" in Iraq almost to the point that it sounds as if the media is to blame for all the "bad news."

You've heard it on TV, probably on the radio, on talk shows and newscasts, but WHY aren't those "feel-good" stories being covered?
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"Unfortunately, the same people who bellow that the media are ignoring the good news become suspiciously quiet when it’s time to say what that good news is. Fox News, The Weekly Standard, the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, and other war supporters run occasional features on Good News You’re Not Hearing, but it’s clear the real attraction is the “not hearing” rather than the “good news.”

http://www.reason.com/0602/co.tc.hold.shtml
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HEY, but that's only right - the people need something to feel good about to justify all the death and destruction as well as the growing number of American and British casualties. What's WRONG with wanting to hear the real news once in awhile?

"In one sign that the administration and the military are working harder to keep a lid on negative stories, Salon reports that an Army Reserve staff sargent from Texas, with 20 years experience who is now serving in Iraq, may face up to 20 years in prison for "disloyalty and insubordination."The reason? He wrote an article criticizing the occupation of Iraq on an anti-war website, LewRockwell.com."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0930/dailyUpdate.html
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Oh, but that's all BS and you know it, right? You want TODAY'S news, not some rehashing of what's inevitably going to happen in a war. I want to know what's going on NOW!

"DAILY WAR NEWS FOR MONDAY, April 3, 2006

Photo: Iraqi men hold up a helmet of the type worn by coalition forces after a roadside explosion targetting a US Patrol Sunday April 2, 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad. Roadside bombs targeted U.S. convoys Sunday in Ramadi west of Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul (…) (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) [Note: This is almost certainly the incident described below in which four U.S. troops "died from enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province April 2" (CENTCOM) and documented in the IHLAS videos also below.]

Bring ‘em on: Four American troops were killed by hostile fire in the volatile Anbar province, the military said Monday. The U.S. military statement did not provide more details about the deaths of the U.S. troops in Anbar. It was the largest number of Americans killed in an attack since Feb. 22, when four soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb near Hawija, 150 miles north of Baghdad."

http://dailywarnews.blogspot.com/

(edited to add)

Oh yeah! I almost forgot about all the wonderful hospitals the Iraqi's have now.

"Three doctors staff the workshop, which serves 40-60 patients per day. Rahman stated, "The number we are treating has gone up dramatically during the occupation due to people stepping on mines." The doctor added that a rise in injuries from unexploded ordnance, car accidents, and shootings by US soldiers has added to the usual cases of amputations from diabetes and scoliosis."

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/251
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We could do as Bill Mahr did in his last show and really look at the bright side:

"A lot of people died in Iraq today, but it's no one you know.

Foreigners are pouring into Iraq by the thousands, but none of them are Mexican . . . "

Maybe we can get around the Constitution and plant good news stories in American newspapers as well?
 
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ABC News tried to do a "good news" news story, but it just didn't work out:

We got there, and the guy who had set it up with us- we shot-we shot for a little while, and the guy who had helped us arrange it was assassinated the very morning while we were there on the set. And so our cameras were rolling while the director and the producer and the cast and crew found out that the guy that had green-lit the show and the guy that had set up our being there was killed. So no matter how hard we try to cover the positive, the violence has a way of rearing its head.
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Perhaps death by small arms fire and road-side bombs are much better than "mushroom clouds" and biological weapons ....

Charlie (still waiting for the WMD's) Monoxide
 
Mephisto said:
We could do as Bill Mahr did in his last show and really look at the bright side:

"A lot of people died in Iraq today, but it's no one you know.

Foreigners are pouring into Iraq by the thousands, but none of them are Mexican . . . "
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Satire is the unappreciated terror-weapon of history.

This radical Bushco interventionist venture, which goes against the grain of US culture, has not only been a failure but has whipped up an isolationalist backlash. One which seems set to mess about the rural economies of Southern border states such as Texas, Bush Minor's spiritual home.

The Law of Unintended Consequences will not be mocked!
 
zakur said:
ABC News tried to do a "good news" news story, but it just didn't work out:
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A really sad story as many people who WANT the truth to be told are getting killed by the truth.

I can't see how the journalists can be blamed for not covering the stories. They're accompanied by the military who are suffering casualties daily. There have also been a significant number of journalists who have sacrificed their lives for their stories.
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"Wednesday, February 08, 2006
How many journalists killed in Iraq?

Writing in the International Herald Tribune, Eason Jordan, the former chief news executive of CNN, notes that the most commonly cited tally--61, from the Committee to Protect Journalists--doesn't count media support staff or deaths from accident or illness. "

http://www.dartcenter.org/blog/2006/02/how-many-journalists-killed-in-iraq.html
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P.S. Are you REALLY going to trust a website titled: Crooks & Liars? ;)
 
NPR's The World ran a story last week about a republican congressman who had taken a fact-finding journey to Iraq and posted a number of pictures on his website showing how peachy things were in some areas.

One posted pic showed an intersection/street scene with merchants merchanting, taxi drivers chatting, and all apparently sweetness and light.

Something didn't look right to certain "liberal" bloggers, however, and with a bit of international detective work determined that the street scene was actually in Turkey...

The congressperson concerned maintains it was merely a mistake on the part of his staff.
 
Bikewer said:
One posted pic showed an intersection/street scene with merchants merchanting, taxi drivers chatting, and all apparently sweetness and light.

Something didn't look right to certain "liberal" bloggers, however, and with a bit of international detective work determined that the street scene was actually in Turkey...
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Vehicle licence plates can be a give-away.

The congressperson concerned maintains it was merely a mistake on the part of his staff.
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And the lack of good news is somebody else's mistake.

Good news : spring has sprung in Cardiff, Bute Park is a riot of daffodils, my peach and apple trees are budding furiously.
 
Bikewer said:
NPR's The World ran a story last week about a republican congressman who had taken a fact-finding journey to Iraq and posted a number of pictures on his website showing how peachy things were in some areas.

One posted pic showed an intersection/street scene with merchants merchanting, taxi drivers chatting, and all apparently sweetness and light.

Something didn't look right to certain "liberal" bloggers, however, and with a bit of international detective work determined that the street scene was actually in Turkey...

The congressperson concerned maintains it was merely a mistake on the part of his staff.
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Probably one reason PBS is considered liberal]/i] - they like to actually report the truth. And speaking of the truth . . . isn't it a bit sad that bloggers are better journalists than the most journalists, who appear happy with their corn-fed news releases?

I'm sure it was a mistake on the part of his staff . . . who forgot to "Photoshop" the license plates and the street signs. ;)
 
I enjoyed this article, which while it does highlight many problems and challenges, also speaks to what is going right in Mosul. Good reading.
 
Bikewer said:
NPR's The World ran a story last week about a republican congressman who had taken a fact-finding journey to Iraq and posted a number of pictures on his website showing how peachy things were in some areas.

One posted pic showed an intersection/street scene with merchants merchanting, taxi drivers chatting, and all apparently sweetness and light.

Something didn't look right to certain "liberal" bloggers, however, and with a bit of international detective work determined that the street scene was actually in Turkey...

The congressperson concerned maintains it was merely a mistake on the part of his staff.
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That would be Howard Kaloogian, running for Duke Cunningham's vacated seat. The fake Baghdad photos are just the tip of the iceberg with this guy.
 
The Don said:
This is the link Mycroft provided

http://michaelyon-online.com/media/pdf/ComingNormalcy.pdf
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Gracie signior. - I thought the link interesting and pertinent, but not exactly "new" news. Of particular interest was the Captain who, working independantly and without authorization, captured a significant number of dangerous people. I've NEVER questioned the dedication and sacrifice of our troops, but it's noteworthy that the best results were obtained by individual actions by a amazing young officer. Unfortunately, that action occurred in March of 05. I wonder if that young man is still alive?

I've yet to read much beyond that point in the article, but find it informative and will hopefully finish it up today. :)

P.S. Thanks, to you too, Mycroft (assuming that's the article you were citing?)
 
Finally, some good news!

It's all about HOW the news is reported, right?

Here's a newsworthy story.

"9 US Troops Dead
Truck Bomb at Shiite Mosque

The CBC reports that 9 US troops were announced dead on Monday, the highest one-day total this year. Guerrillas killed 4, a flash flood killed the other 5."

What's the good news? Well 10 soldiers weren't killed, and of the 9 killed, only 4 were killed by insurgents, God killed the remaining 5.
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"Also on Monday, guerrillas detonated three massive car bombs in Baghdad, two of them in Shiite neighborhoods. A truck bomber killed 10 and wounded 38 at the Shurufi Mosque in the Shaab quarter, not far from the Mustafa Husayniyah where a US/Iraqi force killed a number of Shiites Sunday a week ago. Al-Sharq al-Awsat says that the total deaths in Iraq from guerrilla violence Monday was 27."

What's the good news?

Less than 30 people were killed, and they were no longer being tortured by Saddam.
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"In the southern port city of Basra, guerrillas killed six persons in a drive-by shooting."

What's the good news?

Hey, at least they didn't kill ten!
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"In a truly excellent article, Asher Susser of the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University argues that a break-up of Iraq into sectarian or ethnic statelets would be a catastrophe for Israel, Turkey and Jordan (all three of which have good diplomatic relations with one another)."

What's the good news?

Isn't it great that our administration has brought together Israel and two Muslim countries?
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"Sectarian violence is interfering with the schooling of children. The truancy rate in Iraq is up to about a third of students, who are afraid to come out because of the fighting. The proportion of students in Baghdad who do not go to school is even greater. In neighborhoods like Dora and Ghazaliyah, violence is endemic. "

What's the good news?

They have the RIGHT to go to school if they chose to.
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"If you want to know what a lot of people in the Middle East actually think of the US presence in Iraq and its saber rattling toward Iran, check out this article on a Kuwaiti columnist. And, the Kuwaitis are generally hardly the most critical of the US."

Check it out at (edited to add: These are news stories for today - April 4th, 2006).

http://www.juancole.com/
 
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