philly.com watch: On the Afghan Beat with Trudy Rubin

My colleague and longtime friend, Wolf Achtner, pointed out that Trudy Rubin, on a tour of Afghanistan and Pakistan, reported today what already appeared in German publications four days ago.

Nevertheless, there is no reference to that report. We used to call that plagiarism in my day. You know, I think it’s still called plagiarism. But maybe Trudy doesn’t have a good Internet connection–only sources that tell her stuff that people already know.

Okay, it’s my last post for the moment on the intrepid Inky reporter. But it’s so much fun to see how a bankrupt newspaper can spend money to send a bankrupt reporter to cover nothing while spending a whole lot of money. Sorry.

allmedia.com: The Times Sorta Admits It Was Wrong

Remember that “Arab spring” when “democratic” uprisings swept through Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, and other locales. Well, the New York Times just discovered that the picture isn’t as rosy as the media portrayed it. See http://nyti.ms/l5VOeG

The operative paragraph is the following:

…the specter of divisions — religion in Egypt, fundamentalism in Tunisia, sect in Syria and Bahrain, clan in Libya — has threatened uprisings that once seemed to promise to resolve questions that have vexed the Arab world since the colonialism era.

I guess that’s the Times say it was wrong.

allmedia.com watch: NYT’s Tommy Friedman Gives Me Another Headache

I got another headache trying to figure out exactly what Tommy Friedman was talking about. I wonder how he gets away with his “listen-up-class statements” in his columns. I say that in my college classes, and I get killed in the evaluations.

His listen-up moment is:

If you are not feeling both these impulses, you’re not paying attention.

Gee, Tommy, if I don’t agree with you, I am not paying attention. Well, I have been paying attention. I disagree with you.

Then comes a classic: Can anyone please explain the following line for me?

As I’ve tried to argue, this [Mideast] uprising, at root, is not political. It’s existential. It is much more Albert Camus than Che Guevara.

Huh? What does Camus have to do with Che? What does either have to do with the Middle East?

I also do not believe the world is flat, but I guess that’s just me. http://nyti.ms/ltLOqk

I found out how to get rid of my headache by listening to a song, “I’m A Man,” my old rock group played–a Bo Diddley classic performed by the Spencer Davis Group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlE33bQRws4

It’s a lot better than Tommy’s column!

philly.com watch: Trudy Rubin Overcomes Flight Delay, Poor Dinner Reservations En Route to Afghan Front

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s intrepid foreign affairs expert, Trudy Rubin, overcomes a 12-hour flight delay, an inappropriate seating at a Kandahar restaurant given her rank and a peaceful day in the city. Unfortunately, she does not overcome some really bad writing and some really poor editing.

You will have to find this post. I don’t want to make to provide the URL because could appear that someone really wants to read this junk. Please note that I have changed from tripe because I actually like tripe.

allmedia.com watch: Slate’s Parody of the New York Times’ Final Edition is Brilliant

This will go viral. Slate outdoes the Onion for the final edition of the New York Times. It is absolutely brilliant.

For all of us who hate the Times, this one is for us. http://slate.me/lcaEnG

allmedia.com watch: Let’s Get Back to Work after the Osama Party

The party’s over from Osama bin Laden’s death. Now it’s time to take a look at the mess that’s left on the ground.

Remember that democratic revolution in Egypt? Think again. Muslims are after Christians.

And we had Moammar Gadhafi on the run in Libya? Not anymore. Then there’s Syria where the regime has gone as brutal, if not more than Libya. Seventeen people died yesterday in several Syrian cities. As Robert Fisk. a longtime Middle East hand now with The Independent, reconciliation in Syria isn’t going to happen anytime soon. See the entire article at http://ind.pn/ikgHfu

By the way, did you seen there was a terrorist attack against a popular spot in Morocco frequented by foreigners.

Meanwhile, some numbskull in the federal bureaucracy said that the bin Laden computers and documents included locations of safe houses and other important information about the al-Qaeda game plan. Well, the safe houses are empty now and the game plan has changed. Nice work to those who leaked that information. But there is another numbskull who approved this story for the Philadelphia Inquirer about the terrorism teams in the Philadelphia area. Isn’t secrecy an important part of battling terrorism?

So here’s the deal. Osama was last week. Let’s get back to work this next.

allmedia.com watch: Where is Willie Mays in the Mainstream Media?

I was a longtime San Francisco Giants’ fan. I actually had a signed baseball from one of the greatest teams that never won a World Series: Wilie McCovey, Juan Marichal, and yes, Willie Mays. I wish I still had it. It might be worth a lot of money.

What is more important is that it is absolutely amazing to me that I found a tribute to Willie Mays on espn.com on his 80th birthday and nowhere else. Maybe some other legacy media site has it buried somewhere. Thank you ESPN and shame on the rest of you for not recognizing Mays today.

philly.com watch: No Sign of Osama on the Front Page

I am unhappy to report that philly.com leads with a review of a dreadful movie. Nowhere to be found on the first screen are the implications of the death of Osama bin-Laden.

I was in Wilkes Barre, a city that combined with nearby Scranton has nearly half a million people,  for the past three days.

In the breakfast room, everyone looked up at the television screen when anything about OBL came up.

Maybe a few field trips might give the philly.com leaders an indication about what people are interested in. Shoe leather is always better than Google Analytics. Talking to people is what makes for good journalism and good content.

philly.com watch: Osama bin-Laden is Gone

MIA. Sorry, I was testifying in a trial. philly.com doesn’t have an excuse. OBL is gone and his death’s implications are gone in 72 hours. Amazingly bad journalism.

allmedia.com: Inky’s Trudy Rubin Misses the Target As Usual

At some point there will be a realization that the “foreign policy expert” of the Philadelphia Inquirer doesn’t have a clue what she’s writing about. In an absolutely absurd column, Rubin writes that the death of Osama bin-Laden allows the United States to put terrorism into perspective. Here is part of what she wrote in her column:

“Yes, terrorism will remain a threat in many parts of the world and reprisals for his death are likely. And al-Qaeda groups in Yemen and North Africa will still try to mount operations in Western countries. But with their corporate chief gone, and virtually irreplaceable, it is easier to combat these smaller terrorist franchises in their local or regional context. The problem becomes more manageable.”

This type of thinking is exactly what allowed al-Qaeda to rise in the first place and led to the bungling of critical intelligence before 9/11. The slippery slope of Rubin’s argument is less money for intelligence, less money for the military, and less vigilance by everyone. Bad argument and bad advice.

This is not a peaceful word today and the death of bin-Laden does not change that.

Rubin’s tripe may be found here: http://bit.ly/lSwCQX