Tuesday, February 13, 2007

See!! It's not just you!!

He saves some real tears for mommy too!

Note on comments

Based on this post I'm turning off the word verification requirement. We'll see how it goes.

More evidence the press wants us (or at least Bush) to lose

Every day, Slate magazine has a column called "Today's Papers" which summarizes the top headlines from the top five newspapers in the country. I highly recommend it as a great way to get a quick overview of what's going on.

These are quotes from "Today's Papers" in the last four days (FOUR DAYS! Imagine all the things that aren't as obvious!).

The NYT goes inside with news that virtuoso U.S. envoy Christopher Hill is close to a deal on North Korea's nuclear program, swapping it for fuel and normalization talks. He sounds pretty confident, calling it "a Libya model," but he "wants to be careful about predicting success tomorrow." Just think: Bush's record on the Axis of Evil could be two down, one to go. (Saturday, 2/10)
Wow! That looks pretty promising. But of course it's Saturday, and no one will notice a bit of pro-Bush news on a Saturday. But then on Sunday, as most people settle into the morning with the Sunday paper, let's see what's going on in the world:
On the other axis of evil front, talks with North Korea have been extended after negotiators failed to reach an agreement over the energy aid North Korea would receive as compensation for closing its main nuclear reactor. (Sunday, 2/11)
Notice the emphasis on "failed to reach" by making that the link. That's Slate's spin but that story's from the Washington Post whereas the first was the New York Times.
The New York Times fronts the presentation, but leads with the apparent collapse of the North Korea talks. The main stumbling point appears to be North Korea's demands for large amounts of aid before it agrees to anything. (Monday, 2/12)
Ok, now it's Monday morning and people go back to work—unless you work for the state—and check in on the news and the NYT is making up for it's absent-minded pro-bush slip over the weekend. How did that Bush-lover get in the door, anyway? But wait, look what comes next!
The New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times lead, while the Wall Street Journal tops its world-wide newsbox, with word that negotiators from six countries reached a tentative agreement that could be the first step in getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear program. Under terms of the agreement, which wasn't released but the papers all have sources, North Korea would be given energy assistance and aid in exchange for the closing down of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon and readmitting nuclear inspectors into the country. Discussions about North Korea's existing nuclear weapons and fuel would be left for a later date. (Tuesday, 2/13)
"Uh, never mind." Things turned out fine after all! I guess they were too eager for something to go wrong to wait for TWO DAYS in the middle of years-long negotiations to give anything the administration does the benifit of the doubt.

Thursday, February 01, 2007


 

blogger templates